People on the Move Archives - Page 9 of 10

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 17, 2013

Departments People on the Move

A. Hazel Mugo

The law firm Bulkley Richardson announced that A. Hazel Mugo has joined the firm as Counsel. A member of the Business and Finance Department, she focuses her practice on general corporate, business, and financial law and commercial transactions. Mugo works principally in Bulkley Richardson’s Springfield office, and is also a member of the New York Bar. She has advised borrowers and lenders on all aspects of financing, including secured and unsecured debt financing, and venture-capital and acquisition financing. She has also advised financial institutions on private placements and securities-law matters. Mugo teaches mutual-fund and hedge-fund law at the University of Connecticut School of Law on an adjunct basis, and serves as a fellow at the school’s Insurance Law Center. She earned her doctorate and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and LL.B., magna cum laude, from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and practiced as a corporate associate at major international firms.
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Caron LaCour

West Springfield-based Burkhart, Pizzanelli, P.C. announced that Caron LaCour has joined the certified public accounting firm. LaCour’s prior experience includes six years with J.M. O’Brien & Co., P.C. as a Senior Tax Specialist and 11 years as a Staff Accountant for Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., LLC. LaCour received her BS in Accounting from Western New England University.
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David Chase

The Gray House recently inducted David Chase, Vice President/Commercial Lender at Hampden Bank in Springfield, to its board of directors for a three-year term. The nonprofit organization is a small neighborhood human-services agency that assists neighbors facing hardships in meeting their immediate and transitional needs by providing food, clothing, and educational services in a safe, positive environment in the North End of Springfield. Chase, who has more than 20 years of banking experience, also serves on the Agawam Planning Board, is a member of the Board of Directors of the West of the River Chamber, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield.
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Hampden Bank recently announced the following:

Amy Scribner

• Amy Scribner has been promoted to Vice President and Director of Marketing. She joined Hampden Bank in 1990 and has worked in the Marketing Department since 2002. She is now responsible for the support of the bank’s strategic marketing initiatives as well as all marketing and advertising; and

Tara Corthell

• Tara Corthell has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Director of Finance. She joined Hampden Bank in 2005 as the Financial Manager; she previously worked at Investors Bank & Trust in Boston as a Reporting and Compliance manager. Corthell will oversee all of the organization’s financial functions.
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The Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce announced its first-ever Chamber Ambassador of the Year Award, honoring Darlene Morse, Business Account Representative at CareerPoint. Morse received the award after volunteering the most hours of any ambassador this past year. Since becoming an ambassador in 2006, Morse has attended and assisted in over 100 events. Morse and her manager, CareerPoint Executive Director David Gadaire, will be honored at the chamber’s Holiday Business Breakfast on Dec. 11 at the Delaney House in Holyoke.
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Ralph Abbott Jr.

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a Springfield-based labor and employment law firm serving the Greater Springfield area, announced that Ralph Abbott Jr. was named to the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield, Mass., as Labor Law-Management Lawyer of the Year. A partner in the firm since 1975, Abbott represents management in labor relations and employment-related matters, providing employment-related advice to employers, assisting clients in remaining union-free, and representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board. Those honored as Lawyers of the Year have received particularly high ratings in surveys by earning a superior level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. This is Abbott’s second win in three years.
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Allison Chen has been named Manager of Great Ideas at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). Formerly with Fidelity Investments in Smithfield, R.I., Chen brings her experience in business analysis, customer experience, satisfaction planning, and service delivery with her to STCC, where she will serve as Manager of Great Ideas, a ‘Voice of the Associate’ program implemented at the college in 2011 to better serve the campus community. The Great Ideas program has implemented more than 1,500 employee ideas with a projected cost savings to the college of more than $700,000. Chen earned her BS in 1997 from the UMass Amherst and her MBA from Boston College in 2011.
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Elvira Loncto

Elvira Loncto, a Service Line Manager of Geriatrics and Extended Care at VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, was recently honored at the 11th annual Excellence in Government Awards luncheon, hosted by the Federal Executive Assoc. of Western Massachusetts (FEAWM) at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. The FEAWM recognizes the best and the brightest employees in federal service in the region in 15 categories. Loncto supervises staff in seven community-care programs, is the local administrator of the Community Living Center, and oversees a substantial budget, which impacts older enrolled veterans from Berkshire County to Fitchburg.
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The Springfield Group of Northwestern Mutual recently appointed Cathy Hunter, Nico Santaniello, and Timothy Barnes as Financial Representatives. They will join a network of specialists offering a wide array of products including business-continuation planning, business risk management, financial planning, retirement planning, and more. Before joining Northwestern Mutual, Hunter was a Real Estate Broker at Goggins Real Estate in Northampton, and received a bachelor’s degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Previous to joining Northwestern Mutual, Santaniello was a Teller at TD Bank in Longmeadow, and received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Western New England University. Prior to his new position, Barnes was Life Enhancement Director at Loomis Communities, and received an associate’s degree from Holyoke Community College and a Community Health certificate from Springfield Technical Community College.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Freedom Credit Union, which has nine branches throughout the Pioneer Valley, recently announced the following:

Patricia Carbee

• Patricia Carbee, Freedom’s Assistant Vice President of Internal Auditing, has been promoted to Vice President and Director of Enterprise Risk Management. Carbee, with more than 33 years of experience in the finance industry, including expertise in regulatory auditing, compliance auditing, lending, and management, will manage risk management, guide the development of a risk-based culture throughout all product lines, and oversee the Compliance Department, loan-litigation matters, and business continuity. Most recently, she was an Auditor with New England Credit Union Services, LLC, a division of the Massachusetts Credit Union League. Carbee earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Nichols College. She is also member of the Assoc. of Credit Union Internal Auditors and the Mass. Bankers Internal Auditors Assoc.;

Jeffrey Smith

• Jeffrey Smith joined Freedom as Chief Lending Officer and will manage commercial, mortgage, and consumer lending activities. Smith has 30 years of lending experience in the financial-services industry and has held several senior management positions throughout his career, including his most recent position as Vice President at Florence Savings Bank. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono and his MBA in Finance from Western New England University. He is currently President of the Northampton Rotary Club and a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. Smith has also been an instructor for the Center for Financial Training since 1994, teaching courses on subjects such as real-estate finance, marketing, accounting, and analyzing financial statements; and

Nora Braska

• Nora Braska was named Freedom’s Training and Development Officer. She is responsible for managing employee training of Freedom’s staff and overseeing their professional development. Braska has more than 20 years of experience in the financial-services industry, including her most recent position as Assistant Vice President and Training Officer at Hampden Bank. She is a board member of the Center for Financial Training – Springfield Regional Council, and is a member of the Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Mass.
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Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq., a partner in the Springfield-based law firm Goldsmith, Katz & Argenio, P.C., was selected as the first recipient of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court Pro Bono Award for Western Mass. Goldsmith received the recognition from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Goldsmith was presented the award by at a special reception held at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston on Oct. 23. The program honors those in the legal professions who have improved the availability of and delivered volunteer legal services in Massachusetts, and recognizes those who have served their local communities as well as assisted in the administration of justice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. For more than 25 years, Goldsmith, a specialist in bankruptcy and commercial law, has represented debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, financial institutions, and creditors’ committees. Goldsmith received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law.
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Jewish Geriatric Services (JGS), a healthcare system serving seniors and their families for more than 100 years, recently announced the following:
• Alta Stark has been named Director of Marketing & Public Relations and is responsible for ongoing marketing, public relations, and corporate communications for JGS and its affiliates. Stark comes to JGS from Baystate Health, where she spent more than six years as a senior communications specialist. Stark holds a master’s degree in Television, Radio & Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and graduated from SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising Design.
• Darlene Francis has been named Executive Vice President of Wernick Adult Day Health Care Center, located on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of JGS. Francis is responsible for directing, supervising, and coordinating daily activities for participants at Wernick. Most recently, Francis was the practice manager of the JGS Family Medical Practice, which closed in June 2013. Francis received an associate’s degree in Medical Assisting from Springfield Technical Community College, and is certified by the AAMA. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from American International College, where she earned the Martha Wilson Memorial Award.
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Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Amy B. Royal, Esq., Founding Partner of Royal LLP, the woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been elected to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Center for Human Development Inc.
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TD Bank has promoted Lauren Winters to Store Manager of the 412 Boston Road store location. Winters is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing day-to-day operations. Winters has six years in banking centered on the customer experience, operations, and training. She joined TD Bank in 2011 and most recently served as an Assistant Store Manager in Chicopee.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 19, 2013

Departments People on the Move

The law firm Bulkley Richardson, with offices in Springfield, Boston, and Amherst, recently announced that 10 lawyers have been named to 2013 Massachusetts Super Lawyers, a list of top lawyers in the state, and that two lawyers were named to Rising Stars, a list of top up-and-coming lawyers. No more than 5% of the lawyers in Massachusetts are selected for the Super Lawyers list, and no more than 2.5% of the lawyers in the state are selected as Rising Stars. Both lists will be published in the 2013 New England Super Lawyers magazine. The following Bulkley Richardson lawyers were named Super Lawyers:

Francis Dibble Jr.

J. Patrick Kennedy

Mary Kennedy

Kevin Maynard

Kelly McCarthy

David Parke

John Pucci

Donn Randall

Ellen Randle

Ronald Weiss

• Francis Dibble Jr., whose practice areas include business litigation, health law, and antitrust litigation;
• J. Patrick Kennedy, business litigation, banking, and intellectual property litigation;
• Mary Kennedy, employment and labor and schools and education;
• Kevin Maynard, business litigation, general litigation, and nonprofits;
• Kelly McCarthy, health law;
• David Parke, business/corporate law and mergers and acquisitions;
• John Pucci, criminal defense, white collar;
• Donn Randall, banking and business litigation;
• Ellen Randle, family law; and
• Ronald Weiss, mergers and acquisitions, closely held business, and estate planning and probate.
Named Rising Stars were:
• Matthew Kane

Matthew Kane

Kelly Koch

, banking, business litigation, and general litigation; and
• Kelly Koch, family law and estate planning and probate.
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Kirk Smith

Kirk Smith, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, has been invited to join the Board of Directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), an organization founded in 1927 as the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The human-relations organization is dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry, and racism in America. NCCJ promotes understanding and respect among all races, religions, and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution, and education. Smith took on the role of President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield in 2011. Among his many leadership roles in Western Mass., he serves on the board of directors for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Committee for the Alliance of YMCAs of Massachusetts. He also serves as the head coach for the YMCA of Greater Springfield Buckeyes, a U16 AAU basketball team.
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James Chadwell

Antonio Dos Santos

Crear, Chadwell & Dos Santos, P.C. recently announced that shareholder James Chadwell, Esq., and shareholder Antonio Dos Santos, Esq. have been selected as a 2013 Massachusetts Super Lawyer and Rising Star, respectively, and will appear in the 2013 New England Super Lawyers magazine. Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive the Super Lawyer honor, which recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice through a rigorous selection process and third-party validation of their professional accomplishments. Chadwell, who has received this honor four years in a row, focuses his practice on representing insurers, self-insurers, and employers in workers’ compensation requests. Dos Santos, who specializes in all facets of commercial real estate, commercial finance, and general business law, and represents many closely held businesses regarding entity formation, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and financing, has again been selected as a Massachusetts Rising Star for his work in real estate, the ninth year in a row. No more than 2.5% of lawyers in the state are named to the Rising Star list, and they must be nominated by other lawyers who have personally observed them in action, either as opposing counsel or co-counsel, or through other firsthand courtroom observation.
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Easthampton Savings Bank announced that Randall Gage has been hired as the new Senior Vice President of Residential Lending. Gage has more than 20 years of banking experience. Most recently he was Senior Vice President and Special Assets Officer at United Bank. Gage’s lending background dates from his early career as a bank examiner in the Holyoke Field Office of the FDIC, and includes experience with all areas of residential lending at Hometown Bank, Apple Valley Bank, and finally New England Bank and United Bank. Gage obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and his juris doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Assoc. and the American Bar Assoc., and coaches youth soccer and basketball.
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Hilton Hotels Corporation has honored Mary Annis, Guest Service Agent, Hampton Inn, Hadley, with the company’s national Spirit Award, designating Annis as a top performer within the Hilton family of hotels.
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Jeannette Strange

PeoplesBank has announced the appointment of Jeannette Strange as a Mortgage Consultant who will focus primarily on the communities of Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield, South Hadley, and Ludlow. Strange, who is fluent in Spanish, will offer mortgage refinancing and special first-time homebuyers’ programs. She brings more than 10 years of mortgage and lending experience to her new position, and most recently served as a Senior Loan Associate at PeoplesBank and, prior to that, as a Loan Specialist. Strange is an active member of the Realtor Assoc. of the Pioneer Valley, BuyHolyokeNow, BuySpringfieldNow, and the Latino Chamber of Commerce.
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Annie Lajoie

The Northampton-based management-side only labor and employment law firm of Royal LLP recently welcomed Annie Lajoie to the firm. Lajoie will focus her practice in labor law and complex employment litigation, and counsel companies on the multitude of state and federal employment laws impacting them, including employment discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, disability and leave, workplace safety, OSHA, affirmative action, and contract negotiations. Her work will also includes drafting employee manuals, preparing non-disclosure, non-solicitation, and non-compete agreements, and conducting management training. Lajoie is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a graduate of Western New England University School of Law.
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The Springfield-based regional law firm of Bacon Wilson, P.C. is pleased to announce that Kenneth J. Albano, Esq., has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Western Mass. Division of the March of Dimes. Albano is a shareholder and a member of the firm’s corporate, finance, and healthcare departments. He is also a member of the Mass. Municipal Law Association, and he currently serves as Town Counsel to the communities of Monson, Southwick, and Holland. Albano earned his BA from Providence College and his JD from Western New England University School of Law.
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Springfield College recently named Brian Magoffin Director of Sports Communications. Magoffin is responsible for all aspects of media and sports information relating to the 26 intercollegiate men’s and women’s sports teams. His responsibilities include website maintenance and redesign, designing recruiting publications, updating and creating all social media elements involving Pride Athletics, and overseeing game-day functions. He has been a member of the athletics staff at the college since 2007, serving as the assistant director of sports communications, also serving as the interim director since July 2012. Magoffin earned a BS in Sport Management from Springfield College in 2005.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 4, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Bryan Moore

Country Bank recently named Bryan Moore Small Business Lending Officer, Commercial Lending Department. In this role, Moore will connect with regional business owners and assist small businesses with lending and business-banking needs, specifically through the SBA Express Program, which offers a quick turnaround and a fair-priced lending alternative to qualified borrowers. Moore began his banking career as a Personal Banking Representative for Sovereign Bank in 2006 and earned a BS with a double major in International Business and International Economics from Assumption College.
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Keith Minoff

Springfield-based Attorney Keith Minoff has been selected for inclusion on the 2014 list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers. The Super Lawyers selection process is based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5% of the lawyers in each state are selected each year for inclusion. In practice for over 25 years, Minoff specializes in business and employment litigation.
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Tonya Laird

North Brookfield Savings Bank announced the promotion of Tonya Laird to Branch Manager at the bank’s North Brookfield/Gilbert Street location from the her previous position of Assistant Branch Manager. Laird joined North Brookfield Savings in 2002 as a teller, and brings an employment and educational background in customer service, management, IRAs, and other facets of banking and finance.
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Tanzania Cannon-Eckerle

Tanzania Cannon-Eckerle, Esq., an attorney at Royal LLP, a Northampton-based, woman-owned, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been elected to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Hampshire Regional YMCA.
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Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., with offices in Springfield, Worcester and Meriden, Conn., announced that six of the firm’s attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2013 Super Lawyers list for their contributions to employment law. Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor:

Ralph Abbott Jr

• Ralph Abbott Jr., a partner since 1975, represents management in labor relations and employment-related matters, providing employment-related advice to employers, assisting clients in remaining union-free, and representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board. Abbott also has numerous credits as an author, editor, and teacher; boasts a record of civic and community involvement; has been ranked as one of the best labor and employment attorneys in Massachusetts by the prestigious Chambers USA rating service; and has been named Best Lawyers Management Lawyer of the Year in Springfield for 2014;

Marylou Fabbo

• Marylou Fabbo, a partner in the Springfield office, joined the firm in 1995. Head of the firm’s litigation team, she practices in all areas of employment litigation and provides counsel to management on taking proactive steps to reduce the risk of legal liability that may be imposed as the result of illegal employment practices, and defends employers who are faced with lawsuits and administrative charges filed by current and former employers;

Susan Fentin

• Susan Fentin, a partner in the firm, joined the practice in 1999 after spending several years working in the labor and employment department of a large Hartford firm. Fentin is editor of the Massachusetts Employment Law Letter and has been ranked as one of the best labor and employment attorneys in Massachusetts by the prestigious Chambers USA rating service. She teaches master classes on both the FMLA and the ADA and is experienced in both labor law and employment litigation;

John Glenn

• John Glenn, a partner of the firm since 1979, has spent his career representing management in labor relations and employment-related matters. He assists clients in remaining union-free and represents employers before the National Labor Relations Board. Glenn has extensive experience negotiating collective-bargaining agreements and representing employers at arbitration hearings and before state and federal agencies. Prior to joining the firm, Glenn was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Cincinnati. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Labor Law at Western New England University School of Law and is a member of the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys;

Kimberly Klimczuk

• Kimberly Klimczuk joined the firm in 2004 and concentrates her practice on labor law and employment litigation. Her experience includes negotiating collective-bargaining agreements and advising on contract interpretation, and successfully defending clients in state and federal court and before administrative agencies in a variety of areas of employment law, including wage-and-hour law, discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, and workers’ compensation claims. She has assisted employers in compliance matters involving the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; and

Jay Presser

• Jay Presser has more than 35 years of experience litigating employment cases, has successfully defended employers in civil actions and jury trials, and has handled cases in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, wage-and-hour law, FMLA, ERISA, and defamation. Presser has won appeals before the Supreme Judicial Court and the First and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals, and represented employers in hundreds of arbitration cases arising under collective-bargaining agreements.
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Anabela Blake

TD Bank has promoted Anabela Blake to Assistant Vice President, Store Manager II in the store located at 60 Main St. in Westfield. She will continue to be responsible for new business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the store. Blake has 25 years of experience in retail sales and banking and joined TD Bank in 2004 as an Assistant Store Manager before her most recent position as Store Manager I. Blake is a 1995 graduate of Western New England University.
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The YMCA of Greater Springfield recently announced the advancement of two of the organization’s senior leaders:

Kristine Allard

• Kristine Allard was named Chief Operating Officer and will oversee all operations for the association’s three family centers, as well as fund development and communications for the organization. Serving in the agency’s number-two position, Allard joined the YMCA of Greater Springfield in 2011 as Vice President of Development & Communications; and

Robin Olejarz

• Robin Olejarz has added the title of Chief Administrative Officer to her role as Chief Financial Officer. In addition to managing the association’s financial health, Olejarz, who joined the YMCA team in 2006, will provide oversight to the agency’s policies, standards and procedures, human resources, and projects, facilities, and risk management.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff October 22, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Christine McCormick

Christine McCormick, Dean of the College of Education at UMass Amherst, was elected a fellow in Division 15 Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Assoc. (APA), the premier scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the U.S. The APA is the world’s largest association of psychologists, with more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students as its members. Fellow status is an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. With UMass Amherst since 2005, McCormick is the author or co-author of publications on a variety of topics in child development and education. In 2012, she was elected to serve a three-year term on the executive board of the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions, an assembly of deans of education from research and land-grant institutions throughout North America. She was also elected to the executive committee of the American Educational Research Association’s Organization of Institutional Affiliates, which provides a forum for academic institutions, non-university-based research institutions, and professional associations to share information about federal education research issues, people, and events, as well as to be engaged in shaping policy with regard to significant research issues. She was appointed by Gov. Deval Patrick to the Mass. Special Commission on Civic Engagement and Learning, which completed its work last January, and also served on the editorial boards of two major journals in her field: the Journal of Educational Psychology and Educational Psychology Review. She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology, with a minor in measurement and statistics, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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The Springfield-based regional law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that Francis Mirkin, Esq. has been named 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Real Estate by lawyer-ranking service Martindale-Hubbell. This distinction will appear in the December issue of American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel magazine. Mirkin is a shareholder and a member of the firm’s real-estate and banking and finance departments. He is also member of the Mass. Real Estate Conveyancer’s Assoc. and a frequent speaker on commercial real-estate and foreclosure-related matters. He is a multi-year recipient of the SuperLawyer distinction and is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest ranking achievable. Mirkin earned his BA from the University of Massachusetts and his JD from Suffolk University School of Law.
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Teresa Parker

Mortgage Originator Teresa Parker is now located at United Bank’s Ludlow branch. Parker had served as the personal banker at United’s Longmeadow branch for nine years before transitioning to her new position as mortgage originator in the bank’s Springfield region. She joins Ludlow personal banker Yvonne Santos and her staff at the 528 Center St. location.
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Angela Lussier

The BrunoFox Group recently named Angela Lussier its Chief Strategy Officer. Lussier is an award-winning speaker, TEDx alumna, author, and business consultant whose advice has been featured on Yahoo!, NBC, ABC, Virgin.com, the Ladders, About.com, CBS Money Watch, and other outlets. Within this role, Lussier will serve as lead developer for the organization’s Innovation Unit, which is producing Consulting 2.0 services for entrepreneurs and young professionals. Lussier has worked with individuals, as well as Fortune 100 companies, who have used her successful strategies to achieve unprecedented results.
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Erin Catharine

Erin Catharine, copywriter with the Lenox-based creative agency Winstanley Partners, has been named Young Careerist of the Year by Western Mass. Women magazine. The award is part of the magazine’s annual Women to Watch competition, which recognizes local women working in a variety of careers. Winners were decided by nominations and votes from the public. The honor is celebrated with a special issue of Western Mass. Women and an awards banquet. The Young Careerist award was added this year to recognize a professional woman in the region between the ages of 20 and 26 who has a college degree, has been working for less than three years in her profession, and has excelled in her position through contributions to the organization, continued professional development, volunteerism, and more. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Catharine joined the Winstanley creative team in 2012 following stints with Howell Creative Group in Williamsburg, Va. and Taradel LLC in Richmond, Va. She is a past recipient of the Advertising Women of New York scholarship, a Student Silver Addy award, a Richmond, Va. Ad Club Bronze Student Cannonball Award, and the Judge’s Choice Award at the Dallas Society of Visual Communications National Advertising Student Show and Conference.
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Daniel Sullivan

The Martin J. Clayton Insurance Agency, based in Holyoke, recently named Daniel Sullivan President. Sullivan has worked at the agency since 1990 and holds the Charter Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designations. Sullivan works extensively in the commercial property and casualty arena, serving the needs of local businesses. The full-service agency provides personal and commercial insurance and financial services to clients throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.
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The Loomis Communities recently announced the appointment of Dr. Charles Hines as Medical Director at the Loomis House Nursing Center in Holyoke. Hines has been a geriatric medical practitioner for 20 years and is board-certified in gerontology and internal medicine. Hines, who graduated from St. George’s University School of Medicine, is a certified medical director through the American Medical Assoc.
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Beth Raffeld was named Vice President for Development at Smith College. Raffeld, a Senior Executive at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a 30-year career in educational fund-raising and, as the new chief development officer, will over seen an organization that raised $39 million last year and direct a staff of more than 60.
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The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) recently welcomed the following new members to its Executive Board:

Jeremy Casey

Peter Ellis

Elizabeth Ginter

Edward Nuñez

• Jeremy Casey, Assistant Vice President and Commercial Services Officer at Westfield Bank, takes the reins as President. Casey is also on the board of the Springfield Rotary Club and a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2013;
• Peter Ellis, Creative Director at DIF Designs, is the new Vice President. Ellis is a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2011;
• Elizabeth Ginter, Attorney with Ellis Title Co., returns to the board as Clerk. Ginter is a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2012 and Western Mass. Women magazine’s Women To Watch for 2013-14;
• Edward Nuñez, Assistant Vice President of Business Development at Freedom Credit Union, joins the board as Treasurer. Nuñez is a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2012 and is the 2012 recipient of the Bankers & Tradesman Credit Union Hero Award.
• Ashley Clark, Commercial Service Officer at Westfield Bank, also serves on the YPS Marketing Committee. Clark is a board member of the Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity.

Juli Thibault

• Juli Thibault, Talent Acquisition Marketing & Operations Manager at Baystate Health, is Co-Chair of the YPS Marketing Committee and Strategic Plan Task Force.

People On The Move

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Kenneth Albano, a shareholder and a member of the Corporate, Finance, and Healthcare departments for the Springfield-based Bacon Wilson, P.C. was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Western Mass. Division of the March of Dimes. Albano is a member of the Mass. Municipal Law Assoc., and currently serves as Town Counsel to the communities of Monson, Southwick, and Holland. Albano earned his BA from Providence College and his JD from Western New England University School of Law.
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Jean Deliso

Jean Deliso, Principal of Deliso Financial Services, has been elected a member of the 2013 Chairman’s Council of New York Life Insurance Co. Members of the elite Chairman’s Council rank in the top 3% of New York Life’s sales force among more than 12,250 licensed agents. A New York Life agent since 1995, Deliso is an associate with the Connecticut Valley General Office in Windsor, Conn. She is chairman of New York Life’s Agents Advisory Council and is a consistent qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table and currently a 2013 Court of the Table Member. Deliso currently serves on many boards in her community, including the Pioneer Valley AAA Auto Club, Pioneer Valley Refrigerated Warehouse, and the Community Music School of Springfield.
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Keith Minoff

Keith Minoff has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 20th edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of commercial litigation and corporate law. Minoff is a trial attorney specializing in business and employment litigation and has been in practice for more than 25 years.
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David McBride

Erica Flores

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. recently announced the addition of two new associates, David McBride and Erica Flores. Flores joined Skoler Abbott after relocating to Mass. from Pennsylvania, where she was an associate at the office of Morgan Lewis. She is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and received her BS from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2001. In addition to her litigation practice, Flores regularly advises clients with respect to day-to-day employment issues, including decisions regarding adverse employment actions and litigation avoidance. From 2005 to 2006, she served as a clerk to the Russell Nigro, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Flores is a member of the American Bar Assoc. and the Pennsylvania Bar Assoc. McBride is a 2013 graduate from the Cornell Law School and received his BA in Economics from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. His practice is concentrated in labor law and employment litigation. His experience includes work on labor and employment-law issues, including employer compliance with federal laws at a major labor union in New York.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C. a certified public accounting firm in West Springfield, announced that Deborah Penzias and Julie Quink have been admitted as partners to the firm. They join partners Richard Burkhart, Salvatore Pizzanelli, and Thomas Pratt. Penzias, who joined the firm in 1998, is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego with a BS in Accounting, and has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting. She services a diverse client base and specializes in the taxation, accounting, consulting, and information-technology areas of the practice. She serves on the finance committee of Beit Ahavah, and was formerly on the board of directors and the finance committees of Congregation B’nai Israel and the Lander Grinspoon Academy — the Solomon Schechter School of the Pioneer Valley. Quink has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting and three years in private, corporate accounting. She joined the firm in 2011 and is a graduate of Elms College with a BS in Accounting. She specializes in the accounting and auditing, financial-reporting, and litigation-support segments of the practice.
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Florence Savings Bank recently announced the promotion of Michelle Bennett to Vice President. Bennett has been the bank’s Security Officer since 2007, where she oversaw all aspects of security for the bank’s offices and ATM locations, including fraud prevention and mitigation for customers’ accounts. In that position, Bennett implemented a number of programs designed to protect customers, including FraudWatch Plus, a state-of the art fraud-detection and protection system for debit cards that electronically monitors transactions looking for suspicious or fraudulent actively, and she initiated programs to train bank staff on the recognition and detection of fraudulent situations, including elder exploitation. Bennett also created a number of education programs to help customers and members of the public prevent fraud; the most notable of these programs is FSB Shred Days. She attended Westfield State University, where she earned a BA in English with a concentration in literature.
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Janet Casey, Principal of Marketing Doctor, a full-service advertising agency in West Springfield, was recently selected for a two-year term as a National Delegate from Massachusetts to Vision 2020, a national organization based in Philadelphia that is committed to achieving women’s economic and social equality through specific goals. Casey will join Carla Oleska, Executive Director of the Women’s Fund, as a Massachusetts delegate, leading projects in the Commonwealth and across the country to accelerate leadership among women and men to reach a new dimension of American excellence by the year 2020, the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Vision 2020 is comprised of 100 delegates from across the country.
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Monson Savings Bank recently announced the promotion of Karen Cartier to Assistant Vice President, Collections, and Fraud Officer. Cartier, who joined Monson Savings in 2001, has served the banking industry for more than 20 years, beginning her career as a part-time collector. She was promoted to Collections & Fraud Officer in 2006. She currently serves as president of the Security Loss Prevention Assoc. of Massachusetts and is a River East School to Career student mentor. Serving on The March of Dimes board of directors, she has been the chair or co-chair of the Chef’s Signature Auction for the March of Dimes for several years, and is the co-founder of the Forever in Our Hearts Charity Fund to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.
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The Springfield-based law firm Robinson Donovan P.C. announced that the following attorneys were recently named by their peers to Best Lawyers in America 2014:
• James Martin — franchise law, real-estate law;
• Jeffrey McCormick — personal injury litigation (plaintiffs), personal-injury litigation (defendants);
• Carla Newton — family law;
• Nancy Frankel Pelletier — personal-injury litigation (defendants);
• Patricia Rapinchuk — employment law (management), litigation labor, and employment;
• Jeffrey Roberts — corporate law, trusts and estates; and
• Richard Gaberman — corporate law, real-estate law; tax law; trusts and estates. Gaberman was also named a Best Lawyers’ 2014 Springfield, Mass. Lawyer of the Year for trusts and estates.
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Amy Royal, founding Senior Partner and head of the litigation department of Royal LLP, the woman-owned, management-side labor and employment law firm in Northampton, has been appointed to the board of the Mass. State Council, the state chapter of the national organization Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human-resource management, serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the interests of the HR profession.
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Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a Springfield-based labor and employment law firm, announced that four of the firm’s attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014. Additionally, Ralph Abbott was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield, Mass. Labor Law – Management Lawyer of the Year for the second time in three years, succeeding Jay Presser, who was named best in that category last year.
• Ralph Abbott Jr., a partner since 1975, represents management in labor relations and employment-related matters, providing employment-related advice to employers, assisting clients in remaining union-free, and representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board;
• Jay Presser has more than 35 years of experience litigating employment cases and has successfully defended employers in civil actions and jury trials and handled cases in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour, FMLA, ERISA, and defamation;
• John Glenn, a partner since 1979, represents management in labor relations and employment-related matters. In addition to providing employment-related advice to employers, he assists clients in remaining union-free and represents employers before the NLRB; and
• Timothy Murphy, partner in the firm, joined Skoler-Abbott after serving as General Counsel to an area labor union and serving as an Assistant District Attorney for the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. His practice includes labor relations and employment litigation, as well as employment counseling.
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Springfield College announced the following:
• Pam McCray was named Assistant Director of Sports Communications and will help facilitate all aspects of media and sports information relating to the 26 intercollegiate men’s and women’s sports teams at the school. McCray joins the Springfield College Athletic Department after a tenure as a sports reporter for the Republican masslive.com. Along with her print media experience, McCray served as a production assistant for ABC 40/Fox 6 in Springfield. McCray is currently working on her MS at Springfield College, majoring in physical education and athletic administration. Prior to enrolling at SC, McCray earned a BS in communications and mass media from Western New England University in 2010.
• Richard Wood, who has been a faculty member since 2007 in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies, was named the new Director of the Center for Wellness Education and Research (CWER), which is housed in the Springfield College School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. During his tenure, Wood has been educating in the area of nutrition and conducting research related to lifestyle modification in the treatment of chronic metabolic disease. Prior to his time at SC, he served as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Wood earned a Ph.D. in nutritional science from the University of Connecticut in 2006, his MS in applied exercise science in 2001, and BS in 1999 in athletic training from Springfield College.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff September 10, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Jeffrey Fialky, shareholder of the Springfield-based law firm of Bacon Wilson, P.C., was recently named Chairman of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Fialky is a member of the firm’s corporate, commercial, banking, and municipal departments, where he specializes in sophisticated business, financing, and commercial real-estate transactions, representing the interests of business owners and lending institutions, as well as municipalities and landowners. Fialky is the former President of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, and is also currently Chair of the Springfield Museums membership and development committee, and serves as a director on the boards of the United Way of Pioneer Valley, the Scibelli Enterprise Center at STCC, Alden Credit Union, and the Jewish Federation of Western Mass. Fialky earned his BA from the University of New Hampshire and his JD from Western New England University School of Law.
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Bulkley Richardson recently announced that several of the Springfield-based firm’s lawyers were selected by their peers for legal-industry accolades. The following lawyers were named to The Best Lawyers in America 2014:
• Francis Dibble Jr. was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield Litigation – Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year. Dibble was also recognized in the areas of bet-the-company, commercial, antitrust, and securities litigation;
• David Parke was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year; and
• John Pucci was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield Criminal Defense: Non-white-collar Lawyer of the Year. Pucci was also recognized in the area of criminal defense (white collar);
• In addition, the following Bulkley Richardson lawyers were also selected for the 2014 edition of Best Lawyers in specific practice fields:
• Peter Barry, construction law;
• Michael Burke, medical-malpractice law (defendants) and personal-injury litigation (defendants);
• Mark Cress, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights, insolvency and reorganization law, and corporate law;
• Daniel Finnegan, administrative/regulatory law and litigation (construction);
• Robert Gelinas, personal-injury litigation (defendants);
• William Hart, trusts and estate;
• Kevin Maynard, commercial litigation and litigation (banking and finance, construction);
• Melinda Phelps, medical-malpractice law (defendants) and personal-injury litigation (defendants);
• Donn Randall, commercial litigation;
• Ellen Randle, family law; and
• Ronald Weiss, corporate law, mergers-and-acquisitions law, and tax law.
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United Bank recently announced the promotions of seven staff members at the bank’s corporate offices in West Springfield:
• Nira Flatley was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Collections Manager. A graduate of Bay Path College with nearly 25 years of banking experience, she is responsible for managing residential delinquencies within the bank’s loan portfolio;
• Kristyn Samere, who joined the bank in 2010, is now Assistant Vice President of Training and Development. She is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the American Society for Training and Development. A business administration graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College, she is currently pursuing an MBA at Northeastern University;
• Amy Ganci was appointed Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lending Administration. With more than 21 years of experience in the commercial-lending field, Ganci joined the bank in 2011. She holds a degree in business/financial management from Westfield State University and an associate’s degree from Greenfield Community College;
• Jennifer DeBarge was promoted to Marketing Officer. A graduate of Westfield State University, she joined the bank in 1998 as a teller and transferred to the marketing department in 2003 as marketing assistant;
• Ana Ricardo, who joined the bank in 2008 and has more than 15 years of residential lending experience, was promoted to Underwriting Officer;
• Ann Vallance was promoted to Business Banking Officer. She began her banking career in 2004 and joined the bank in 2012 in the areas of commercial lending and credit analysis; and
• Patricia Pasterczyk was promoted to Business Banking Officer. She joined the credit department in 2011 with more than 30 years of financial-services experience. She graduated magna cum laude from Elms College with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She also attended the School for Financial Studies at Babson College and holds a certificate in advanced paralegal studies from Elms College.
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Shatz, Schwartz, and Fentin, P.C. announced that eight of the Springfield-based firm’s attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014:
Stephen Shatz was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Springfield Real Estate Law Lawyer of the Year. Shatz, first listed in the publication in 1993, was selected for his work in the specialty areas of banking and finance law and real-estate law. A shareholder since 1969, he concentrates his practice in the areas of real-estate development, real-estate finance, and commercial leasing;
• Steven Schwartz was selected for the areas of corporate law, business organizations and closely held companies, and family-business law. He concentrates his practice in the areas of family-business planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and estate planning;
• Gary Fentin was selected for his work in the areas of commercial transactions and banking and finance law. His practice areas include commercial and real-estate finance and development, industrial revenue bonds, affordable housing, estate planning, business law, and business foreclosures and workouts. Fentin manages the firm’s tax-exempt bond practice and is the only counsel west of Worcester approved as bond counsel to the Mass. Development Finance Agency;
• Michele Feinstein was selected in the areas of elder law and trusts and estates. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning and administration, elder law, probate litigation, health law, and corporate and business planning;
• Carol Klyman, first listed in the publication in 2007, was selected for her work in the area of elder law. Her practice areas include elder law, estate planning and administration, special-needs trust planning, estate settlement, guardianships, and probate litigation;
• Timothy Mulhern, first listed in the publication in 2008, was selected for his work in the areas of tax law and corporate law. He concentrates his practice in family-business planning, taxation, corporate law, and estate planning;
• Ann (Ami) Weber, first listed in the publication in 2007, was selected for her work in the area of elder law. She practices in the areas of estate-tax planning, estate administration, probate, and elder law; and
• Steven Weiss, first listed in the publication in 2008, was selected for his work in the areas of bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights as well as insolvency and reorganization law. His practice areas include commercial and consumer bankruptcy, reorganization, and litigation. Weiss manages the firm’s bankruptcy, reorganization, and workout practice, and has been a member of the private panel of Chapter 7 trustees for the District of Massachusetts since 1987, and also serves as a Chapter 11 trustee.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff August 13, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Mary Paquette

Mary Paquette has been named Director of Dexter Health Services at American International College, where she will operate in a dual capacity, serving as both a clinician and Director of Medical Services. As a senior member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team, Paquette will have shared responsibility for division-wide strategic planning and assessment activities, manage the day-to-day operations of the campus health center, provide direct medical care, and respond to medical emergencies as required. Paquette will also serve as an advocate for student health needs, managing and providing leadership for a broad range of student-development-oriented departments and programs, which will focus on prevention and education to help students become knowledgeable healthcare consumers. Paquette served previously as associate director of health services at Western New England University. She earned her BSN degree from Elms College and her MSN degree from UMass Amherst. She also studied Coronary Care Nursing at Middlesex Community College and received OSHA/occupational medicine training at STCC, and works in the Emergency Department at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. and Hartford Hospital.

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Trisha Neill

Holyoke Medical Center announced the promotion of Trisha Neill to the position of Manager of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Neill received her BS in Physical Therapy from the University of New England, and during the past year, she completed her doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from Simmons College. She has worked in a variety of physical-therapy positions throughout Western Mass. and has been with Holyoke Medical Center for 11 years.

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Spherion, a national recruiting and staffing franchise, recently announced that Brian Houle is the new local franchise owner/operator of the West Springfield office. Houle will be responsible for leading the growth of the firm in the region. He is expanding temp and temp-to-hire for non-clinical healthcare positions and will focus on professional-level positions for direct hire in the areas of accounting and finance, human resources, engineering and manufacturing, and sales and marketing. Houle has a BS from the University of Lowell and an EMBA from Suffolk University, and served in the Massachusetts National Guard.

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Julie Buehler was recently appointed Vice Chancellor for Information Services and Strategy and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at UMass Amherst. Buehler, who has served as deputy CIO at the University of Rochester since 2008, will oversee UMass Amherst’s Office of Information Technologies. Working with the campus administration, individual colleges, and faculty governance bodies, and in coordination with the UMass system IT office, she will also plan and implement the campus’s information and electronic communication strategy, including academic, research, and administrative computing. Buehler, who was an American Council on Education fellow in 2010-11 at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has also been leading an organizational development initiative at the University of Rochester to strengthen communications, foster diversity, and improve the IT unit’s alignment with institutional goals. The pilot effort led to the creation of a new professional-development program for staff to share expertise and develop leadership skills. Buehler received her BS in accounting from the State University of New York at Geneseo and was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in 1994. She earned her MBA with a concentration in accounting and information systems in 1997 from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.

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Kazimierz Borawski

Kazimierz Borawski, Vice President of Finance at United Bank, recently graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies at Babson College, an intensive two-year program for bank managers, run by the Mass. Bankers Assoc. Borawski, who joined United Bank in 2010, is primarily responsible for coordinating all phases of financial planning, asset-liability management, profitability analysis and reporting, peer-group comparisons, and investor presentations. In addition, he is a member of United’s Asset Liability Management and Enterprise Risk Management committees. His past experience includes a role as an accounting consultant in the Retirement Services division at MassMutual Financial in Springfield. Previously, he served as senior financial associate with JPMorgan Chase in New York City, in the investment banking division. Borawski has an MBA from Manhattan College and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Baruch College in New York.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 30, 2013

Departments People on the Move

The Harold Grinspoon Foundation announced the following:

Kate Conn

• Kate Conn has joined the foundation in a newly-created position as Chief Executive Officer. Together with its founder, Harold Grinspoon, Conn will work to further the Foundation’s philanthropic mission to enhance Jewish and community life in North America, Israel, and beyond, and develop innovative strategies as the organization celebrates 20 years of philanthropy. Conn most recently served as founding Executive Director and President of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center Inc., an educational and entrepreneurial nonprofit in Madison, Wisc. Conn grew the organization into one of the region’s leading institutions as she established regional and statewide cooperative networks and strong national partnerships with community, government, and industry leaders. She is credited with the creation of a groundbreaking interactive museum and learning center and award-winning programs. Conn has served in leadership capacities at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and several cultural organizations, philanthropic endeavors, and policy institutions. In addition to her nonprofit and community work, Conn was a special consultant for an American Girl book series and an author for the Wisconsin Historical Press Badger Biography series. Since its inception in 1993, the foundation has given more than $120 million in philanthropic support of Jewish programs. HGF initiatives include PJ Library, Sifriyat Pijama (PJ Library’s sister program in Israel), JCamp180, Voices & Visions, and Life & Legacy; and

Arlene Schiff

• Arlene Schiff will lead the foundation’s new Life & Legacy Program, a legacy partnership effort that incentivizes Jewish agencies, synagogues, and day schools to secure legacy gifts and steward donors. With widespread recognition that a large transfer of generational wealth is taking place — about $41 trillion by 2020, according to a 1999 Boston Foundation study — the Life & Legacy program aims to assist Jewish organizations with proactively securing endowments through legacy gifts. Schiff will lead the program after a successful tenure as executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, where she worked since 2001. At the federation, she increased the donor base and fund-raising substantially and directed many community initiatives. Nationally, she has been active in Jewish community service with the Jewish Federations of North America. Locally, she has served on the Berkshire Housing Development Corp., the Berkshire Immigrant Center Advisory Board, the Lenox School Committee, and others. The Life & Legacy is a partnership program that invites up to seven communities a year to apply to partner with HGF. The foundation commits funds to the selected program for two years. If fund-raising goals are met, the partner receives a matching grant from HGF that covers 50% of the partner agency’s annual budget, up to $150,000, for each year. In this first year, the partners are the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community, the Jewish Foundation of Memphis, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven, the Orange County Jewish Community Foundation, the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer.

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Three new board members were recently inducted for three-year terms to the Gray House, a Springfield nonprofit that helps neighbors facing hardships to meet immediate and transitional needs by providing food, clothing, and educational services in a safe, positive environment. They are:

Richard Marcil

• Richard Marcil, owner of Golden Ear Studios and the Minister of Music for the Wachogue Congregational Church. He also conducts the annual Holiday Grand Chorus as part of a benefit to raise money for cancer research;

Susan Mastroianni

• Susan Mastroianni, Partner and Director of Media Services at FitzGerald & Mastroianni Advertising in Springfield. She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield and previously served on its Board of Directors; and

Gregory Schmidt

• Gregory Schmidt, an Attorney with Springfield-based Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy P.C. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Museum at Holyoke Inc. and the Advisory Board of the Scibelli Enterprise Center at Springfield Technical Community College.

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Rosemary Nevins

Royal LLP, the woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, announced that Attorney Rosemary Nevins has been selected as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s “Top Women of Law.” The program celebrates outstanding achievements by exceptional women. Each year Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly honors women who have made great professional strides and demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in the legal community. Nevins will be honored at an event in Boston in October.

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Kate Campiti

Human Resources Unlimited, a Springfield-area nonprofit corporation that helps more than 1,300 people per year with physical and mental disabilities, recently named Kate Campiti to the Board of Directors. Campiti is the Associate Publisher of BusinessWest and the Healthcare News and has extensive experience in management, leadership, and sales. She is a graduate of UMass Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Political Science. Prior to her current position, she served as a Sales Executive with OneStar Communications. Campiti joins Timm Marini, Chairman; Patrick Leary, Vice Chairman; Michael Moriarty, Treasurer; Charlene Smolkowicz, Secretary-Clerk; and board members William Marsh, Thomas Bienkowski, Ed Wytrych, Francis Fitzgerald, Curtis Edgin, Amy Royal, Chester Wojcik, and Alfonso Santaniello.

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Christina Tuohey

Christina Tuohey was recently appointed Director of Annual Giving and Alumni relations at Springfield Technical Community College by the STCC Board of Trustees. A graduate of Georgia State University, Tuohey brings several years of experience working in a variety of development and annual-giving positions. She has served as the Annual Giving Associate and Corporate, Foundations, and Government Relations Associate for the Museum of Science in Boston; Membership Development Specialist and Volunteer Development Specialist for the Girl Scouts of Central/Western Massachusetts in East Longmeadow; and most recently as the Fundraising Coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. located in Glastonbury, Conn.

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Westfield-based Tighe & Bond recently announced professional milestones reached by four employees:

Page Czepiga

• Page Czepiga, a Land Use Planner in the Westfield office and member of the American Planning Assoc., recently became a Certified Land Use Planner after passing the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam. The AICP designation is the most highly regarded certification in the field of land-use planning, and the designation requires an intensive certification-maintenance and continuing-education program to keep certification valid. Czepiga provides planning and permitting support for a wide variety of the firm’s projects, and she regularly performs environmental and zoning analyses for renewable-energy feasibility and land-use/redevelopment studies. Her experience includes brownfields redevelopment, wetlands, and environmental-resource permitting, and she is currently active in the preliminary planning and permitting of the $800 million Hard Rock International hotel and casino complex proposed in West Springfield. Czepiga earned her BS in Community and International Development from the University of Vermont;

• Elizabette Botelho, an Engineer, recently passed her PE exam to become a licensed engineer. Botelho currently provides engineering services for solid-waste landfill projects and has completed hydrologic and hydraulic analysis to assess the flood hazard of more than 40 high hazard dams in Massachusetts. She works out of the firm’s Westfield office and has been employed at Tighe & Bond since 2006, when she graduated from Northeastern University with a BS in Civil Engineering;

• Engineer Cynthia Castello also passed her PE exam. She has worked on water and wastewater projects, and has provided construction services in Connecticut and design and construction services in West Springfield. She has five years of industry experience, has worked out of the firm’s Middletown office since 2011, and received her BA in Physics from Colgate University and her MS in Environmental Engineering from UMass Amherst; and

• Christina Jones, an engineer at the Westfield office, also passed her PE exam. She has worked on water-system modeling projects for the cities of Chicopee and Portsmouth, N.H., as well as water-system design projects for Amherst and Connecticut’s Metropolitan District Commission and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority. She is a member of Engineers Without Borders and is on the New England Water Works Assoc. program committee and the New England Water Environment Assoc. student activities committee. Jones began her career at Tighe & Bond in 2009 after receiving her MS in Environmental Engineering from UMass Amherst.

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Maureen Buxton

Richard Collins, President and CEO of United Bank, announced that Maureen Buxton is the 2013 winner of the President’s Award, the highest honor bestowed by the institution. The annual award is presented to an employee who exemplifies professional excellence through teamwork, integrity, a positive attitude, and a strong commitment to United Bank. Buxton, the Personal Banker for United’s Chicopee branch, was instrumental in the training and transition of New England Bank employees in Connecticut following that bank’s merger with United last fall. Earlier in her United career, Buxton received the bank’s quarterly Service Excellence Award in recognition of her exceptional job performance. Buxton joined United Bank in 1998 as a Customer Service Representative at the Holyoke branch and was promoted to become the Personal Banker for United Bank’s first Chicopee branch when it opened in 2009.

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Corey Lomas

Palmer-based Vartanian Custom Cabinets announced the addition of Corey Lomas as the company’s newest Sales Representative. Lomas holds a BA in Visual Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing from SUNY New Paltz. He has previous work experience in sales, which, combined with his education in the visual arts, provides an excellent foundation for his new post selling fine kitchen design and custom cabinetry. Lomas is a past winner of the Monson Council of Arts Rising Artist Award, and has exhibited his portfolio of drawings and paintings at the Wilbraham Public Library.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 16, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Eric Gouvin

University President Anthony Caprio recently announced the appointment of Eric Gouvin as the Dean of the Western New England University School of Law, effective July 1. Caprio praised Gouvin for having excelled as a faculty member and administrator at the law school since 1991. “Dean Gouvin brings a wealth of experience to the position — not only in the classroom, but also in the Springfield-area community, having worked in partnership with area entrepreneurs and small businesses as director of the University’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” he said. The appointment from within helps assure a smooth transition from the leadership of Arthur Gaudio, who returned to the faculty after 12 years of service as Dean of the School of Law, said Caprio. Over the past two decades, Gouvin has served as Associate Dean for External Affairs and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Most recently, he served as Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which serves as a catalyst for small-business development in the region, drawing on resources from across the university to provide assistance to entrepreneurs. Gouvin’s scholarly writings cover a range of financial topics, including entrepreneurial policy, corporate law, banking, and international issues. He has taught internationally at the Universite Paris La Defense, Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania, and the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongquing, China as a Fulbright Specialist. As the practice of law is changing, Gouvin said his mission as Dean is to put even more focus on the students. “Western New England University School of Law has always had a student focus, and I want to redouble that. I want us to be always reminding ourselves that what we’re offering, what we’re teaching, and how we’re teaching it is geared toward the students, and geared toward the students becoming not just scholars but legal professionals.” Gouvin earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and J.D. and LL.M. degrees from the Boston University School of Law.
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Monica Curhan

Monica Curhan has been named Senior Vice President and Marketing Director for Florence Savings Bank (FSB). Curhan joined FSB in June, having worked previously at Citizens-Union Savings Bank in Fall River. She attended Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English, and holds the Certified Financial Marketing Professional designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the American Bankers Assoc. in Washington, D.C. She is also a member of the New England Financial Marketing Assoc. and the Harland North East Users Group.

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Jeffrey Vocatura

United Fresh Foundation’s Center for Leadership Excellence recently chose Jeffrey Vocatura, Big Y World Class Market Produce and Floral Sales Manager in Stratford, Conn., as one of five top grand prize winners for its 2013 awards. Vocatura accepted the honor in San Diego, among 25 outstanding produce managers representing 21 different supermarket chains, commissaries, and independent retail stores within the U.S. and Canada. Vocatura, who has almost 16 years of supermarket experience, the past nine with Springfield-based Big Y, was the only United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Award winner from New England. In addition to several chain-wide sales and merchandising awards, he was also chosen to attend Driscolls University’s whole berry operation in California.
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The Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) recently elected Francis Hoey, senior vice president at Tighe & Bond, to the organization’s Board of Directors. Hoey leads Tighe & Bond’s efforts in the renewable-energy, real-estate-development, education, and healthcare markets. Already active in EBC, he is a member of the EBC Renewable Energy Committee Leadership Team, as well as a member of the EBC Connecticut Chapter Leadership Team. Hoey holds professional registrations in both civil and structural engineering, and has more than 20 years experience in the industry. The EBC is a nonprofit organization that was established in 1990, the first in the U.S., by environmental and energy-company executives who began meeting on a regular basis to exchange ideas and share experiences.
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Kirk Smith

Kirk Smith, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, has joined the Board of Directors for Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV). Formed in 2010 to build a network of emerging and existing leaders to address the challenges and opportunities of the entire Pioneer Valley, the LPV program is designed to raise awareness of the needs and challenges that affect the region, and enhance individual leadership skills. Smith took on his leadership role at the YMCA of Greater Springfield in 2011, and since then, he has committed himself to providing greater opportunities for youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility for youth, teens, families, and seniors throughout the Greater Springfield region. Smith also serves on the Board of Directors for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Committee for the Alliance of YMCAs of Massachusetts, and serves as head coach for the YMCA of Greater Springfield Buckeyes, a U16 AAU basketball team.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 2, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Steven Mitus

Steven Mitus, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Balise Motor Sales Co., was recently honored as the 2013 Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year at the ACCGS annual meeting. The award is given annually to honor the memory of Richard J. Moriarty, a long-time active participant in the ACCGS and individual who gave of his time, talent, and personal and professional resources to the local community. Currently, Mitus serves as a trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and chairs its audit and finance committees; a trustee of Baystate Health and a member of its compensation and audit committees; a trustee of Willie Ross School for the Deaf and member of its executive committee and former Chair of its audit committee; a trustee of the National Conference for Community and Justice; a director of Health New England; and a corporator of PeoplesBank. Formerly, Mitus served as a trustee of the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation and served as its treasurer and chair of the investment committee; a trustee for the Mass.State Automobile Dealers Association; a trustee of Sisters of Providence Health System and a member of its finance committee; a trustee and vice chair of Brightside for Families and Children; and a director of New England Public Radio and Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. Mitus has served in his present capacity with Balise since 1986 and is a certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant.
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Lauren Pellegrino

Berkshire Community College (BCC) recently named Lauren Pellegrino Director of Recreational Services for the college’s Paterson Field House. She is responsible for overseeing the facilities, including the pool, tennis courts, soccer fields, fitness center, and gymnasium. She also is involved with fitness and wellness programming for students, faculty, and staff. Pellegrino formerly served the Berkshire South Regional Community Center in Great Barrington as Fitness And Wellness Manager and previously served as assistant to the Director of Athletics & Wellness Center at The College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, N.Y. Pellegrino holds a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., is currently working toward a master’s degree at Bay Path College, and is a member of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
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Mark Teed

Mark Teed, principal of Teed Capital Management recently joined Raymond James as senior vice president for investments. With more than 30 years of financial services experience, Teed is an investment advisor with more than $225 million in client assets under management and a registered broker in 23 states and territories. He is a regular commentator for local TV news on market and investment trends.
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The Springfield law firm of Weiner & Lange announced the addition of Jennifer Butler as an Associate. She will concentrate her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial litigation.
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Dr. Robert Campbell, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, adult spine surgeon, and orthopedic trauma surgeon, recently joined the medical staff Cooley Dickinson Hospital and sees patients at Hampshire Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Campbell received his medical degree with honors from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed his orthopedic surgery at Brown University-Rhode Island Hospital, where he also completed fellowships in spine surgery and orthopedic trauma. Campbell earned board certification from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and is dual fellowship-trained in spine care and orthopedic trauma. In addition, Campbell served four years as an active duty orthopedic surgeon in U.S. Army and completed a tour in Afghanistan.
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Consolidated Health Plans Inc. (CHP), a Berkshire Hathaway Company, recently announced the appointment of Drew DiGiorgio as President. He will oversee management of sales and marketing, claims operations, customer service, audit, special risk and human resources. DiGiorgio has been an integral part of Consolidated Health Plans over the past 18 years, and through his involvement in sales, marketing, carrier and client relations, product development, account management, and provider relations, has allowed CHP to grow into one of the most successful businesses in Western Mass. DiGiorgio holds a BA in Business from Framingham State University.
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Diane Kieras-Ciolkos, owner of Escapes For Everyone in Hadley, has been named as one of 96 Travel Impression Ambassadors fro a newly launched program, www.travimp.com/ambassadorprogram, and will act as a brand advocate for Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas through September Kieras-Ciolkos was selected by Travel Impressions and Atlantis based on her booking history, her personal experience and knowledge, and communication skills through social media.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 18, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Myra Smith

The Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Board of Trustees recently appointed Myra Smith to the position of Vice President of Student and Multicultural Affairs. Smith served as the college’s Vice President of Human Resources and Multicultural Affairs prior to this appointment. Since joining the college in 1978, Smith has helped transform the STCC community into one of inclusiveness that celebrates cultural diversity by creating the STCC Diversity Council and its event series, which brings national and international speakers and artists to the campus, and the STCC “Think Tank” series, which brings community leaders together to assist with the retention and graduation rate of young men of color. Smith has a BS from Springfield College and an ME from Cambridge College. She was recognized in 2010 with a Community Appreciation Award from the Business Network, earned a Women of Leadership Award from Unity First in 2007, and received a Woman of Vision Award from the Elms College Step Forward Program in 2005.
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Hyman G. Darling

The Springfield-based regional law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced the appointment of Hyman Darling, CELA, as Secretary of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) 2013-14 Board of Directors. Darling began serving as NAELA secretary on June 1. As NAELA secretary, he will serve in a critical role leading NAELA toward achieving its goals while ensuring that all notices follow the NAELA bylaws or as required by law. “After serving on the Massachusetts chapter for several years and on the national board for four years, this is an exciting opportunity to serve our members,” said Darling. “Our Massachusetts chapter is the largest in the association, and the direction and advocacy of NAELA have made a tremendous difference is assisting our elders.” Darling is chairman of the Estate Planning and Elder Law department at Bacon Wilson, and he is recognized as the area’s pre-eminent estate planner. His areas of expertise include all areas of estate planning, probate, and elder law. Darling is past president of the Hampden County Estate Planning Council and also a certified elder-law attorney. In addition, he is a past president of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., teaches law at Bay Path College, and is an adjunct professor at Western New England University School of Law’s LLM program, teaching elder law. He serves on the boards of many charitable entities, including the National Planned Giving Committee of the American Cancer Society, and is former chair of the Baystate Health Professional Advisors Committee. Darling is a frequent lecturer on various estate-planning and elder-law topics at both the local and national levels. He earned his JD from Western New England University School of Law and his AB from Boston University.
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Werner Maiwald, Managing Director of the Renaissance Advisory Services and Financial Avisor of the Gaudreau Group in Wilbraham, achieved membership in the Million Dollar Round Table, an association of financial-services professionals. Maiwald, a qualifying member for many years, has 33 years experience in the financial-services sector. He holds numerous securities licenses, including Series 6, 33, 65, and 7, is a member of the National Assoc. of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and holds the certified fund specialist designation.
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ERA M. Connie Laplante Real Estate recently named Joanne Laplante the newest member of its office. Laplante has been a professional real-estate agent for 28 years.
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Historic Deerfield recently promoted David Lazaro to the position of Associate Curator of Textiles at Historic Deerfield. Lazaro received his master’s degree from UMass Amherst, where he studied fashion and textile history, with a concentration on European and American clothing and textiles from the 18th and early 19th centuries. Historic Deerfield’s fashion and textile collection includes more than 8,000 items from four centuries.
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Noble Hospital in Westfield congratulates Janette Lough-Guilmette, PTA for her selection as this year’s recipient of the Brian R. Johnson Outstanding Business Award by the Business Education Alliance. She was honored for her many years mentoring Southwick High School seniors who are placed at Noble Hospital’s Sports and Rehabilitation Center by the Business Education Alliance. These young pre-professionals work at the business of their choice as part of their graded school curriculum. Those choosing the Sports and Rehabilitation Center have an interest in health care, but it’s often their first real exposure. After their time with Lough-Guilmette, most parlay this experience to further their education. Over the years, she has launched the careers of physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and physician’s assistants.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 4, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Berkshire Bank recently recognized Tara Kimberley, Assistant Branch Manager in Sheffield, and Teddi Averin, a Teller in Westfield, for outstanding community service and awarded them Berkshire Bank’s Volunteer of the Year Awards. The annual awards celebrate employees who have made outstanding contributions to their communities.
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The members and board of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. (MMWEC), the nonprofit joint action agency for public power in Massachusetts, elected directors and officers of the organization on May 9:
• Paul Robbins, a gubernatorial appointee to the MMWEC Board of Directors, was re-elected by the board to a one-year term as Chairman; and
• Peter Dion, General Manager of the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department, was re-elected to his fifth one-year term as President.
Representatives of MMWEC’s 21-member municipal utilities also re-elected three directors to three-year terms on the board, including Mansfield Municipal Electric Department Director Gary Babin; Chicopee Electric Light Manager Jeffrey Cady; and Sterling Municipal Light Department General Manager Sean Hamilton.
Additional elected MMWEC officers include:
• Ronald DeCurzio, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary;
• Stephen Smith, Assistant Treasurer;
• Alan Menard, Assistant Treasurer;
• Nancy Brown, Assistant Secretary; and
• Nicholas Scobbo Jr., General Counsel.
Other MMWEC directors, elected previously by the membership, are:
• James Lavelle, Holyoke Gas & Electric Department Manager;
• Kevin Kelly, Groton Electric Light Department Manager;
• Philip Sweeney, Marblehead Municipal Light Department Commissioner;
• Jonathan Fitch, West Boylston Municipal Light Plant Manager;
• Michael Flynn of Wilbraham, a gubernatorial appointee to the MMWEC
board who represents the town of Wilbraham;
• Luis Vitorino, who represents the town of Ludlow; and
• Cornelius Flynn, appointed to represent the town of Hampden on the board.
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Amherst-based Oasis Law recently announced that Attorney Seunghee Cha has joined the Board of Directors of United Arc. United Arc works with individuals and families and provides advocacy and support services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in and around Hampshire and Franklin counties.
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Park Square Realty recently announced the addition of Donna Duval-Bruskiewicz as a Sales Associate in the firm’s Feeding Hills office in Agawam. With more than 18 years of realty experience, Duval-Bruskiewicz specializes in resident listings, and previously owned and operated her own brokerage, the Duval Realty Group. As a licensed Mass. real-estate broker, she holds a certified buyer representative designation and closed more than $2 million in real estate sales in 2012.
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TommyCar Auto Group announced the recent addition of Rob Madrid as its Director of Marketing and Internet. Madrid will oversee all aspects of marketing for TommyCar Auto Group’s four dealerships: Country Nissan in Hadley, Country Hyundai in Greenfield, Northampton Volkswagen in Northampton, and Patriot Buick GMC in Charlton. Madrid most recently served as the Director of Sales and Service for Weed Man Lawn Care in West Springfield and as District Sales Manager for General Motors OnStar. He holds an MBA from Western New England University and a BS from Springfield College.
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UMass Five College Federal Credit Union recently announced the selection of Sean Capaloff-Jones by the Massachusetts Credit Union League as one of the industry’s Rising Stars of 2013, joining 12 other credit-union professionals from around the state. Capaloff-Jones has been with the credit union for three years, the past two as Manager of Member Outreach, and is responsible for all financial-literacy programs. He recently developed and presented three successful personal-finance workshops geared toward college students.
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Noble Hospital announced that Janette Lough-Guilmette, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Brian R. Johnson Outstanding Business Award by the Business Education Alliance. She earned this recognition for her many years mentoring Southwick High School seniors who are placed at Noble Hospital’s Sports and Rehabilitation Center by the Business Education Alliance. Lough-Guilmette also garnered special recognition from the state Senate and House of Representatives, both of whom voted to approve special citations acknowledging her award and her years fostering the future of healthcare.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff May 21, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Royal LLP recently announced the addition of Tanzania Cannon-Eckerle to the Northampton-based management-side only labor and employment law firm. Cannon-Eckerle will focus her practice in labor law and complex employment litigation, counseling companies on the multitude of state and federal employment laws impacting them, including employment discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, disability and leave, workplace safety, OSHA, affirmative action, and contract negotiations. Cannon-Eckerle is a graduate of Indiana University School of Journalism and Southern Illinois School of Law.
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American International College announced that Heather Cahill has been promoted to Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Cahill has served as the executive director for the same department for the past three years, where she organized fund-raising and alumni operations.
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The Center for Human Development (CHD) has appointed Kirk Woodring, a licensed social worker, as Vice President of Clinical Services. Woodring will oversee several programs, including CHD’s outpatient behavioral-health clinics, the Institutes of Dynamic Living, early intervention, in-home therapy, and other program clinical services.
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FieldEddy Insurance announced the appointment of Lauren Lanza as an Account Executive for employee benefits. Lanza brings more than six years experience as a sale account executive or a Fortune 500 employee benefits provider, and as an associate underwriter for an insurance agency network.
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North Brookfield Savings Bank recently announced the appointment of Bryan Kaye as Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer. Formerly a commercial loan officer at Freedom Credit Union, Kaye holds a bachelor’s degree from Bluffton University and Omega Performance Group’s CU Business Lending School, and is involved in the Western Mass. Chapter of SCORE.
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Jessica Lapinski recently joined Kathy Borawski’s real-estate team at RE/MAX Hill & Valley in Northampton. Lapinski, formerly an agent with Trailside Realty, has been a realtor in the Pioneer Valley for 12 years.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff May 7, 2013

Departments People on the Move

The Springfield-based law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. recently announced the addition of associate attorneys:

Thomas Reidy

Spencer Stone

Kathryn Crouss

• Thomas Reidy is a member of the litigation and real estate and zoning teams, and earned his J.D. from Western New England University (WNEU) School of Law and his BA from Assumption College;
• Spencer Stone is a member of the bankruptcy and reorganization, real estate, and business and corporate departments. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from WNEU School of Law and his BA from UMass Amherst; and
• Kathryn Crouss is a member of the litigation department and earned her JD cum laude from WNEU School of Law and her BA from Allegheny College.
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Ronald Maniscalco, P.E., recently joined Tighe & Bond Inc. as a Senior Electrical Engineer in the Westfield-based firm’s expanding electrical and mechanical engineering team. With more than 20 years of experience in electrical and telecommunication design for both public and private clients, Maniscalco’s expertise includes designing, specifying, and reviewing power, lighting, technology, instrumentation, lightning protection, fire detection, security, video surveillance, as well as telephone and instrumentation systems. He also provides electrical energy-efficiency studies and electrical-services surveys to establish equipment condition and National Electrical Code compliance, and electrical arc flash analyses with overcurrent protective-device coordination studies are a specialty. Maniscalco earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a registered professional electrical engineer in 12 states. He is a member of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, the Illuminate Engineering Society, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
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Louis Abbate, retiring President and CEO of Willie Ross School for the Deaf, was presented the Member Emeritus Award by the Mass. Assoc. of 766 Approved Private Schools. The award was created in 2004 by the association’s directors to recognize those individuals who have made outstanding contributions of voluntary leadership and professional expertise to the association and its member schools. Abbate began his tenure at Willie Ross as executive director in 1985 and is responsible for numerous capital improvements and the development of the Partnership Campus with East Longmeadow, a model program that has been recognized throughout the nation. Abbate will retire in June.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff April 23, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Joseph Kulig

United Bank announced that Joseph Kulig has joined the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending in the Springfield Region. Kulig has more than 20 years of commercial banking experience, most recently as relationship manager with TDBank in Springfield. Previously, he served as a commercial loan review officer with SIS Bank in Springfield following six years as principle bank examiner with the Massachusetts Division of Banks in Boston. He holds an MBA from Western New England University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.Kulig has been an active member of the community serving on the board of Rebuilding Together Springfield since 1997 and the West Springfield Youth Soccer Club since 2012. He has coached youth baseball, soccer, and basketball in West Springfield.
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American International College announced the following promotions:

April Kearse

Esta Sobey

Nick Young

Dina Ditmar

Dahimeli Mercado

Danielle Wisniowski

• April Kearse, was named Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Advising. Prior to this new role, Kearse served as Director of Student Support Services (ACE Program) and Assistant Director of Multicultural Admissions. She has a master’s degree in Educational Psychology, and will graduate from AIC with her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in May 2014,
• Esta Sobey, was named Associate Dean of the AIC Education Department. Previously, she served as chair of the department, Director of Field Experiences, and Director of Middle/Secondary Education. She earned bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook and two graduate degrees from Columbia University,
• Nick Young was named Dean of Low Residency Programs. He previously served as associated dean of the Ed.D. program at AIC. Young received his bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from Western New England University, an Ed.D. from AIC, and a Ph.D. from Union Institute and University. Young currently serves as superintendent of schools in South Hadley,
• Dina Ditmar was promoted to Learning Resource Center and Simulation Faculty Coordinator. Ditmar started at AIC in 2005, serving as an adjunct clinical faculty member, and was named Learning Lab Coordinator in the fall of 2010. She received her BSN at Elms College and her MSN at AIC,
• Dahimeli Mercado was named Student Accounts Analyst. A graduate of AIC, Mercado previously served as a Student Accounts Representative. She earned her bachelor’s degree at AIC and is currently enrolled in the MSAT program at AIC; and
• Danielle Wisniowski was promoted to Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions. Previously an admissions counselor at AIC, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Newbury College and a juris doctorate from WNEU School of Law.
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Monson Savings Bank announced the following:

Christina Bordeau

Claire Ladue

• Christina Bordeau has been named Branch Manager for the bank’s Hampden branch. She brings more than 15 years of retail banking experience to Monson Savings, having held previous management positions at Citizens Bank and Bank of America.
• Clare Ladue has named branch manager of the Ware branch, scheduled to open this spring. Previously, she managed the Hampden location.
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John Shea

The Springfield office of Boston-based Morrison Mahoney LLP announced that Attorney John Shea had joined the staff. Shea’s concentration in estate planning, wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and related services, will be added to the firm’s trial and litigation and medical malpractice defense services. Shea was previously in private practice concentrating in all areas of estate planning and administration as well as business and real estate transactions, and has advised clients in the formation of small, family-owned and franchise businesses. Shea holds a Master of Laws with a concentration in estate planning and elder law, from the Western New England University School of Law, a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, a Master of Science in labor studies from UMass Amherst, and a Bachelor of Arts in government from Connecticut College.
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Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr

Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr., a board certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology with Baystate Wesson Women’s Group Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center, was recently named by more than 1,100 Hampden District Medical Society peers as the district’s 2013 Community Clinician of the Year. The award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. From 1995 to 2007, he was chairman of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center. Since 1995, he has been a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Long active in the Massachusetts Medical Society, Burkman has served on its committees on professional liability, maternal and perinatal welfare, and managed care. The award will be presented at the district society’s annual meeting April 30 at the Delaney House in Holyoke.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff April 9, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Anthony Montemagni

UBS Wealth Management Americas (WMA) announced that Anthony Montemagni, CFP®, Vice President of Investments, has been named to its exclusive ‘Top 35 Under 35’ program. “The Financial Advisors recognized for this program have shown an outstanding level of dedication to their clients, our firm and the industry, “said Bob McCann, CEO, UBS Wealth Management Americas. “Their commitment to partnering with clients to provide the best advice and services sets us apart from our competitors.” Montemagni has more than 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, all with UBS. He has earned extensive professional recognition for his achievements over the years. He attributes much of his success by offering his clients a combination of trust, expertise and a comprehensive understanding of their needs. In addition to being one of a select group of UBS Wealth Advisors, he has completed intensive training and testing to be recognized as a certified financial planner™ professional. He is one of an exclusive group of approved advisors in the UBS Defined Contribution Plan Consulting Program, and he is a portfolio manager within the firm’s Portfolio Management Program. He is also a member of the UBS Director’s Council.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff March 26, 2013

Departments People on the Move

American International College announced the following:

Heather Cahill

• Heather Cahill has been promoted to Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Serving as the Executive Director for Institutional Advancement for the past three years, Cahill brought much-needed organization to the fund-raising and alumni operations of the department. Cahill’s accomplishments during her tenure with AIC include the Inaugural AIC Run for Education; a $2.38 million HRSA grant, the largest grant in the college’s history; a grant from the Alden Foundation in support of a trading-room-style classroom; multiple federal grants in support of scholarships and equipment; an increase in professional training for current staff and phone-a-thon student employees, resulting in a strengthened commitment to the professional development of the staff; and the inaugural Cornerstone Society Brunch. Cahill also expanded the college’s communication to alumni through larger social-media presence and an increase in both circulation and production of Lucent magazine. Cahill received her BA and MBA from Boston University; and

Ellen Noonan

• Ellen Noonan has been named Vice President for Graduate and Adult Education at American International College. Noonan had been serving as Associate Vice President for Educational Enterprise for Extended Campus Programs at AIC. In addition to her current supervision of Extended Campus Programs and Continuing Education, Noonan will oversee all master’s-degree programs in Education, Psychology, and Business. She will also be responsible for the doctoral programs in Education and Psychology, as well as the master’s program in Cairo, Egypt. Noonan received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from AIC.

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The Center for Human Development (CHD) announced that Kirk Woodring, LICSW, has been named Vice President of Clinical Services. With 29 years of experience in human services and mental-health programs, Woodring will oversee CHD’s outpatient behavioral-health clinics, the Institute of Dynamic Living, early intervention, in-home therapy, and other program clinical services. Woodring most recently served as the Senior Director of Access, Evaluation, and Ambulatory Services for the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont. Additionally, he served as the Director of the CHD Training Institute for three years and the Senior Program Manager of Behavioral Health Network for six years. Recognized as a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists, Woodring holds an MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work and a BS in Public Administration from Western Michigan University. He teaches courses in group theory and advanced group practice at Smith College as an adjunct associate professor. In 2011, he co-authored and published the book Assessing the Risk: Suicidal Behavior in the Hospital Environment of Care.

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R. Kirk Mackey

The Dowd Agencies announced the appointment of R. Kirk Mackey as President of Dowd Financial Services LLC (DFS) and its Employee Benefits Division. DFS is a full-service financial division of the Dowd Agencies. Mackey, who has been in the financial-services industry since 1979 and with Dowd since 2005, was formerly a representative of New England Financial Group, LLC. He now specializes in corporate employee-benefit planning, including group health, life, and disability-insurance plans in addition to qualified retirement plans and selective executive-compensation arrangements. He received a BA in Business Administration from UMass in 1978, and a MBA with a concentration in Accounting from Western New England College in1987.

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David Fedor, President of the West Springfield-based Fedor Financial Group, LLC, and an independent financial advisor affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network, was named to Commonwealth’s Winners Circle. The distinction recognizes only 10% of Commonwealth’s more than 1,400 financial advisors nationwide. Fedor will join his peers at the Winners Circle conference in April at the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

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Jean Deliso was recently named Agent of the Year in the Connecticut Valley General office of New York Life Insurance Co. Deliso received the award in recognition of outstanding sales achievement and exemplary client service and professionalism. A New York Life agent for 18 years, Deliso is a member of New York Life’s Chairman’s Council and is a consistent qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table, recognized throughout the industry as the standard of excellence in life-insurance sales performance, and is currently a 2013 Court of the Table member. Members of the elite Chairman’s Council rank in the top 3% of New York Life’s elite sales force of more than 12,000 licensed agents.

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Jack Hibbard

Monson Savings Bank announced the promotion of Jack Hibbard to Assistant Vice President and Controller and the election of four new corporators. Hibbard began his career in banking in operations and then as a branch manager more than 25 years ago. He joined the financial department of Monson Savings Bank in 2004 and was promoted to Controller in 2011. Hibbard left banking while he earned his BBA in Accounting from UMass and then worked for a Big Six accounting firm before returning to community banking. New Corporators are Lisa Fallon of Lisa Fallon CPA, PC; Art Ferrara, Co-owner of Landmark Realty; Kara Rescia, Attorney with Eaton & Rescia, LLP; and Elaine Korhonen, Certified Public Accountant.

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Amherst-based New England Environmental Inc. (NEE) of Amherst recently promoted Jack Jemsek, to Vice President of NEE’s Hydrogeology and Remediation Group. Jemsek is a Massachusetts Licensed Site Professional (LSP), a Connecticut Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP), a Professional Geologist in New Hampshire, and a Certified Geologist in Maine. He has B.S. in Earth Science from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff February 26, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Audrey Rome

Audrey Rome has joined the Springfield-based law firm Cooley Shrair as a real-estate paralegal. Providing support in the Western Mass. real-estate field for more than 30 years, Rome will help to expand the firm’s real-estate department.

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The Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) announced the following:

• Michael Hurwitz has been appointed as Chairman of the board of directors, and will serve a two-year term. Hurwitz, a hospitality-industry veteran, has managed several restaurants in Western Mass., including Uno Chicago Grill, with locations in Springfield, Holyoke and Worcester; and Sonic in Springfield. He served on the GSCVB’s board of directors and executive committee in addition to his previous duties as Chairman of the Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence Committee.

• John Parsons has been named Sales and Marketing Coordinator. Parsons, a 2011 graduate of Western New England University, will promote membership within the GSCVB and assist with a number of marketing initiatives, with a special emphasis on sports.

Other officers were named by the GSCVB to serve a three-year term on its board of directors. They include:

• John Doleva, President of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, to serve as vice chairman;

• Barry Crosby of Freedom Credit Union to serve as treasurer;

• Robert Schwarz of Peter Pan Bus Lines, Inc. to serve as secretary; and

• Robert Gilbert of Dowd Insurance to serve as compliance officer.

New members of the board to serve a three-year term are:

• William Messner, President of Holyoke Community College; and

• James Woolsey, Superintendent of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site.

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Melanie Skroski

Northampton-based Royal LLP recently welcomed Attorney Melanie Skroski to the management-side-only labor and employment law firm. With practical experience in management, Skroski counsels companies on the myriad state and federal employment laws impacting them, including employment discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, disability and leave, workplace safety, and affirmative action. Her other preventive work includes drafting employee manuals; preparing non-disclosure, non-solicitation, and non-compete agreements; and conducting management training. Skroski is a graduate of Trinity College and Western New England University School of Law.

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TD Bank recently promoted Peter Simko to Store Manager of the branch located at 40 Springfield St. in Agawam. An Assistant Vice President, he is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, and managing personnel and day-to-day operations at the store, serving customers throughout the Greater Springfield area. With 13 years experience in banking, investments, real estate, and mortgages, Simko joined TD Bank in 2011. He most recently served at TD Bank as an Assistant Store Manager in Agawam. Prior to joining the bank, Simko served as an Investment Consultant at TD Waterhouse in Boston, Registered Principal at Scottrade Financial Services in Springfield, and General Partner at Center Exchange Associates, a realty-consulting firm in Chicopee.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff February 12, 2013

Departments People on the Move

The Business Networking International (BNI) Western Massachusetts Executive Team recently chose Jason Turcotte, owner of Turcotte Data & Design, a website design and development business in Ware, as the 2012 Director of the Year for Western Mass. at the organization’s annual banquet at the Delaney House. The award recognizes one director for commitment and dedication to the organization and for accomplishments within the chapters each oversees. In June 2012, after two years as a director consultant, Turcotte became the managing director of the Western Mass. BNI region, which encompasses Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire counties. In that part-time role, he oversees and provides continued structure, training, and support to the region’s chapters and members in Western Mass. to ensure that every chapter is following the BNI system, establishing goals, and keeping pace to achieve them.

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Hector Toledo

Gov. Deval L. Patrick has reappointed Hector Toledo to the Springfield Technical Community College board of trustees, effective Jan. 16, 2013 through March 1, 2017. Toledo, an alumnus of STCC, is Vice President and Sales Director at Hampden Bank and has served on the STCC board of trustees since 2008. In June 2012, Toledo was appointed by Patrick to serve as the chair of the board of trustees.

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Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C. recently announced that attorney Rebecca Thibault has joined the Springfield-based firm as an Associate. Her practice areas include general corporate, real estate, and environmental law. She was an intern of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Appeal and Dispute Resolution (Western Region) and was managing editor of Washington University Global Studies Law Review while in law school.

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Felicity Hardee

Felicity Hardee, a Partner with the regional law firm Bulkley Richardson who chairs its Real Estate and Environmental Law departments, has been elected President of the Valley Community Development Corp. The nonprofit corporation addresses the growing needs of low- and moderate-income people in the Pioneer Valley through developing and preserving affordable rental and ownership housing, cultivating economic self-sufficiency, and fostering community leadership. Hardee previously served as the organization’s vice president.

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First Niagara Bank recently announced that First Vice President of Small Business Banking John Delgadillo and Vice President of Commercial Lending Allison Standish Plimpton have each been recognized as a New Leader in Banking by the Connecticut Bankers Assoc. and Connecticut Banking magazine. Delgadillo manages small-business relationships in the New England Region for the bank, while Standish Plimpton manages commercial relationships in the Greater Hartford and Greater Manchester area. The New Leaders In Banking awards recognize bankers who show promise and potential in the local banking industry. Honorees are chosen by an independent panel, which considers Connecticut bankers under the age of 50 who are judged to be outstanding employees, managers, or business leaders and who make a notable impact within their banks or their community.

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Amherst-based New England Environmental Inc. (NEE) announced that Jack Jemsek has joined the company as a Senior Hydrogeologist. Jemsek is a Massachusetts licensed site professional, a Connecticut licensed environmental professional, a professional geologist in New Hampshire, and a certified geologist in Maine. He has a bachelor’s degree in Earth Science from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography. With more than 24 years of conducting environmental assessments, remedial investigations, hydrogeologic studies, and environmental permitting, Jemsek has been responsible for overseeing technical and regulatory aspects of environmental projects and project teams, directing and managing site investigations and risk characterizations, and designing and evaluating remedial actions for hazardous-waste disposal and brownfield sites throughout New England.

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Craig Melin, President and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, will join the founding board of the Hampshire County Regional Chamber, while the hospital has pledged a two-year, $15,000 investment to the developing initiative. Melin has been a longtime supporter of the idea of a Regional Chamber, saying it can help Northampton, Amherst, and Easthampton avoid duplication of economic-growth efforts. Melin said he brings to the board a perspective on improving the health of the community, continuously improving the quality of the broader care system and helping to make healthcare more affordable.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 29, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Jeffrey McCormick

Jeffrey McCormick, a Partner at Robinson Donovan, P.C. in Springfield, who concentrates his practice in the area of civil litigation, has been named the 2013 President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Formed in 1958, ABOTA is dedicated to the preservation of the Seventh-Amendment right to civil trial by jury, to the promotion of the legal profession and civility among the trial bar, and to the support of an independent judiciary and the rule of law. Applicants must have tried at least 20 civil cases to verdict and must practice with the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct. Massachusetts was the first colony in America to guarantee a right to a civil jury trial with the adoption of the Bodie of Liberties in 1641. McCormick, a past president of the Mass. Bar Assoc., is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has taken more than 100 trials to conclusion and has settled, mediated, and arbitrated hundreds of other cases. Among other appointments and honors, he has served on the Mass. Judicial Nominating Commission, the Mass. Board of Bar Overseers, and the Supreme Judicial Court Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct. He has consistently been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and in the past has been named a Best Lawyer of the Year in the area of personal-injury litigation in Springfield. He has also been named a Massachusetts and New England Super Lawyer and has received the Super Lawyer designation of one of the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts. He has been inducted as a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America.

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Bacon Wilson, P.C., with law offices in Springfield and Northampton, recently announced that Mark Tanner, Esq. has been named a Partner. Tanner, a trial lawyer, works predominantly out of the Northampton office and represents clients in court cases involving business disputes, serious personal injury, land use and zoning, will and estate disputes, and criminal defense. He is currently the president of the Northampton Soccer Club and serves on the Board of Directors of the People’s Institute Inc., the Franklin County Community Development Corp., and the Hampshire County Bar Assoc. A former president of the Hampshire County Bar Assoc. and recipient of the SuperLawyers Rising Stars award for five years, Tanner is also an author of numerous local articles and a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2007. Tanner earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Wyoming, his M.B.A. from University of Colorado, his B.S. cum laude from UMass, and his A.A. from New Mexico Military Institute, where he was commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserves.

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Susan Kelly

Susan Kelly, CPC, was recently honored as the 2012 Corporate Consultant of the Year by Management Search Inc. (MSI), one of the largest privately held executive-search firms in New England. As Managing Partner, Kelly specializes in placing professional positions within manufacturing and service companies in the Northeast and has been instrumental in the company’s growth. She joined MSI in March of 1987, swiftly developing her client base in the manufacturing and service industry throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.

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David Cameron has joined the Northampton office of engineering and design firm Stantec. An environmental scientist with more than 20 years of experience, Cameron has particular expertise in evaluating and permitting the natural-resources impacts of land development related to electric generation and transmission projects. Cameron will serve as a Senior Project Manager on environmental permitting projects across New England and help support Stantec’s power projects across the country. Stantec employs more than 120 employees across Massachusetts.

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Jessica Ridley

TransFluenci Interpreting and Translations Services recently promoted Jessica Ridley to Partner. Ridley was formerly the Operations Manager and has been instrumental in the company’s growth and expansion over the past six years. She previously worked at Meadowbrook as Director of Admissions and Director of Marketing. Ridley will continue to add new customers, provide more languages, and oversee the selection of high-quality interpreters and translators who provide service to state agencies, hospitals, community clinics, school districts, and legal services.

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The UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI), the public service, outreach, and economic-development unit of the UMass President’s Office, recently named Daniel Hodge as the new Director of Economic and Public Policy Research. An applied economist and lifelong resident of Massachusetts, Hodge brings to his position more than 18 years of experience assessing local, regional, state, and multi-state economies in terms of economic impacts, competitiveness, target industries, strategic plans, and infrastructure investments. Most recently, he was the principal and owner of Hodge Economic Consulting, and he has held prior positions at HDR Decision Economics, Cambridge Systematics, and Regional Economic Models Inc. His unique background combines rigorous, data-driven, quantitative economic analysis with significant experience developing strategic plans and policy initiatives, and his work has impacted major projects in Massachusetts, New England, and nationally. He was the project manager for the widely praised Innovation-based Economic Development Strategy for Holyoke and the Pioneer Valley, as well as a study for the Boston Redevelopment Authority on the Economic and Sustainability Benefits of Boston’s ARRA Investments. Most recently, he served as the on-call economist for the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Florida Department of Transportation. Hodge earned his master’s degree in Applied Economics and master’s in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and holds a B.A. in Economics and Business from Lafayette College.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 1, 2013

Departments People on the Move

James Sheils

James Sheils, a partner with Springfield-based Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., recently received the first John Auchter Award from Goodwill Industries of the Pioneer Valley for more than three decades of service to the nonprofit organization. The award, which honors those who show extraordinary dedication to community service, is named for the late John Auchter, a Pioneer Valley attorney whose own distinguished service to Goodwill included 40 years as director, president, and chairman of the board. Sheils has served on the Goodwill board for more than 30 years, during which time he has worked as legal counsel to the agency.

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Gov. Deval Patrick has appointed Westfield State University alums Terrell Hill and Steven Marcus to serve as members of the Westfield State University Board of Trustees. Hill is the founding principal of High School Inc., Hartford’s public insurance and finance academy, which opened in 2009. The school is a National Academy Foundation finance academy, whose goal is to prepare young people for college and career success based on industry-focused curricula, work-based learning experiences, and business-partner expertise. Marcus is a licensed, certified social worker who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of those in need as CEO and owner of multiple diversified healthcare enterprises, including New England Geriatrics and West Central Family and Counseling. The board is comprised of 11 trustees, one of whom is elected by the student body and one who represents the alumni; all are appointed by the governor and serve for a five-year term.

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Michael Daly

Lawrence Bossidy

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. announced that President and CEO Michael Daly has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors effective on Jan. 1, 2013. The board has also elected current Chairman Lawrence Bossidy to the new position of Lead Independent Director effective on the same day. Identical elections of Daly and Bossidy were made by the board of Berkshire Bank, the banking subsidiary of Berkshire Hills Bancorp. “I’m honored to assume the leadership of the Berkshire board, and I look forward to continuing the strong focus on business execution which has been a hallmark of Larry Bossidy’s long and distinguished leadership of our company,” said Daly. “I’m delighted that he will continue to have an active role in his new capacity as lead independent director. Our team has built a locally focused, customer-centric institution and invested in a strong infrastructure positioned across the middle of our four-state region. The board and the company remain committed to responsibly serving the financial needs of our markets and to providing strong returns to our investors.” Bossidy added, “the election of Mike Daly as chairman recognizes his success as CEO in building our strong franchise, and the confidence of our directors in his judgment, business acumen, and leadership. I look forward to working with him in my new role.” Daly was appointed president and CEO of the company and the bank in October 2002. During his tenure as chief executive, he has navigated Berkshire through significant growth, market-share expansion, and profitability gains. Total assets have risen to $5.5 billion, with 75 branches operating in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Among Daly’s achievements are the creation of Berkshire Bank’s distinctive “America’s Most Exciting Bank” brand platform and the development of a high-performance, team-oriented culture. Berkshire is now one of the country’s 100 largest exchange-traded banks. In recognition of its standing and achievements, Berkshire recently moved its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange. Bossidy joined the board as chairman in 2002 and serves on the compensation and corporate governance/nominating committees. His career has included the positions of chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, chairman and CEO of AlliedSignal, COO of General Electric Credit, president of General Electric’s Services and Materials Sector, and vice chairman of General Electric. Bossidy has also served as a member of the board of directors of Merck & Co., J.P. Morgan, and K&F Industries Holdings. In his new position, he is expected to have involvement in agenda-setting, communication with other independent directors, planning, and performance-evaluation activities. Berkshire also announced the retirement of Catherine Miller as a director of the company and the bank, effective immediately.

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Joan Ingersoll

The board of directors of the Mental Health Association Inc. (MHA) recently announced the appointment of Joan Ingersoll as the new Executive Director of the organization. She succeeds Linda Williams, who retired from MHA this month. Ingersoll, formerly president and CEO of Allied Community Services in Enfield, Conn., was selected by MHA’s executive search committee. Ingersoll began her 10-year tenure at MHA in late October. As president and CEO of Allied Community Services, she led a $10 million organization that provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities. She previously served for seven years as vice president at the Corporation for Independent Living in Hartford, a nonprofit developer of housing for people with disabilities. Her background includes leadership positions at disability agencies in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as direct service experience. Ingersoll began her career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. where she served as special assistant to the commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.

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Katie Allan Zobel

The Trustees of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts have appointed Katie Allan Zobel as its next President and CEO, and she has accepted the appointment, effective Jan. 1, 2013. For more than eight years, she and her job-share partner, Kristin Leutz, have led the Philanthropic Services team at the Community Foundation, most recently as vice presidents. A magna cum laude graduate of Boston College, she served as the director of Annual Giving for WGBY before working for 10 years for Amherst College, directing its Alumni Fund during a period when it established a college record for percentage participation that still stands. During her tenure at the foundation, she earned her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation from the American College. Additionally, Zobel has served on the boards of directors for the Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity and the Amherst Education Foundation, where she recently completed a two-year term as board president. She also regularly volunteers as an on-air fund-raiser for WGBY. “Vigorous growth and careful stewardship are the hallmarks of the Community Foundation’s first 20 years,” said Zobel. “I intend to move the foundation into an exciting new period of growth and am honored for the opportunity to serve the community I love. When I first arrived at the foundation to provide interim assistance, I intended to stay for three months until a new development director was hired. Within a few weeks, I was strategizing about how I might stay longer. Eight years later, the motivation to lead this organization has never been stronger.”

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Elms College recently honored senior Laura Fusini with the Bishop Joseph F. Maguire Award during the Western Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association (WMCOPA) President’s Inaugural and Annual Awards meeting. The award was established by WMCOPA in honor of retired Bishop Joseph Maguire in recognition of his outstanding service as the association’s chaplain for 33 years. The honor, which includes $1,000 to assist in meeting educational goals and professional objectives, is given annually to an Elms College junior or senior who is enrolled in the field of religious studies, or has made outstanding contributions to the community-service or campus-ministry programs. An English and Religious Studies double major with a 3.8 GPA, Fusini participates in a Bible study group and is the editor of Bloom, the college’s student-run literary magazine. She has been a Deanery Scholar all four years at Elms and will participate in a college service trip to Baltimore in January, where she will work in a soup kitchen and food pantry.

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Florence Savings Bank announced the following:

Shelley Daughdrill

• Shelley Daughdrill has been elected Vice President and Branch Manger for the bank’s Amherst office. Daughdrill joined FSB in December 2005. She is a graduate of Westfield State College and the New England School for Financial Studies at Babson College. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Amherst and the Highland Valley Elder Services Financial Exploitation Audit Team, and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Daughdrill is a recipient of FSB’s Presidents Award, the bank’s Community Support Award, and the Stavros’ Paul Winske Access Award; and

Kristen Adams

• Kristen Adams has been elected Assistant Vice President of Marketing for the bank. She joined FSB in 2011. Adams is a graduate of UMass Dartmouth, and is a graduate of the inaugural class of Leadership Pioneer Valley. Adams is a volunteer for the Cutchins Program and a member of the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce and Northampton Area Young Professionals.

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Jody Dion has joined the Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers team as the new executive director of VNA and Hospice. She will be replacing Barbara Hitchcock, who is retiring after 12 years in the role. Dion has more than 20 years of experience in home healthcare and was most recently manager of Quality Improvement at UMass Memorial Medical Center Home Health and Hospice. She is a registered physical therapist. Wing Memorial VNA and Hospice is located at 40 Wright St., Palmer. For information or to make an appointment, call (413) 283-9715.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 18, 2012

Departments People on the Move

American International College announced the following:

Mark Mastroianni

• Mark Mastroianni, Hampden County District Attorney, has been named to the Board of Trustees. Mastroianni received his bachelor’s degree from AIC and his juris doctorate from Western New England University. He was admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar in 1990 and the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in 1991, and served as an assistant district attorney from 1990 to 1995, where he prosecuted cases and supervised District Court staff attorneys on matters of law, trial technique, and sentencing, authorized increases and reductions in charges, and implemented and maintained office policies and procedures; and

Daniel Warwick

• Daniel Warwick, Springfield Superintendent of Schools, has been named to the Board of Trustees. A lifelong Springfield resident, he holds a certificate of advanced graduate studies and a master’s degree in Education, both from AIC, a bachelor’s degree in Education from Westfield State University, and fellowships for advanced educational learning from Harvard University, the University of Pittsburgh, and American International College. Appointed superintendent in 2012, Warwick began his career with Springfield Public Schools nearly 40 years ago and has a wealth of experience as a teacher, principal, and administrator.
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The Springfield-based law firm Bulkley Richardson announced that nine of the firm’s lawyers have been named to the 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list. They are:
• Mark Cress, whose practice areas include bonds/government finance, banking, and bankruptcy, and creditor/debtor rights;
• Francis Dibble Jr., business litigation, health law, and antitrust litigation;
• Patrick Kennedy, business litigation, banking, and intellectual-property litigation;
• Mary Kennedy, employment and labor, and schools and education;
• Kelly McCarthy, health law;
• David Parke, business/corporate and mergers and acquisitions;
• John Pucci, also included in the Top 100 list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers, whose practice areas include business litigation and criminal defense (white collar);
• Donn Randall, banking and business litigation; and
• Ellen Randle, family law.
Also, two lawyers were named to the 2012 Massachusetts Rising Stars list:
• Matthew Kane, whose practice areas include banking, business litigation, and general litigation; and
• Kelly Koch, family law and estate planning and probate.
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Jules Gaudreau, President of The Gaudreau Group Inc. Insurance and Financial Services Agency, was voted Best Insurance Agent, and Werner Maiwald was voted Best Financial Advisor, in the Best of Boston Road ceremony at Ludlow Country Club. The Wilbraham-based agency also won Best Overall Professional Services and Most Philanthropic. More than 1,600 votes were submitted to the Boston Road Business Assoc. during this year’s competition.
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Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Jay Presser as the 2013 Springfield Labor Law – Management Lawyer of the Year. Presser has been a member of the firm since 1977 and is head of the firm’s litigation practice. He has more than 35 years of experience litigating employment cases before administrative agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination, and the State Labor Relations Commission. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is being honored as the Lawyer of the Year for 2013. Presser has been selected in the 10th anniversary edition of The Best Lawyers in America because he has been included in that esteemed list for the past 10 years. In addition, Presser has been chosen by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of its Lawyers of the Year, and was recently selected as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer.
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Donald Frydryk

Monson Savings Bank has announced the appointment of Donald Frydryk to the bank’s Board of Trustees. He is also a Corporator and a customer of the bank. Frydryk, Managing Partner of Sherman & Frydryk, a land-surveying and engineering firm based in Palmer, is a professional engineer and a pofessional land surveyor.
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Michael Fenton recently joined the Springfield-based law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. Fenton is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and his practice will focus on business law, commercial real estate, and estate planning. At 25, Fenton is the youngest city councilor in the Springfield’s history, having been elected twice since his first term at 22. A graduate of Cathedral High School and a cum-laude honors graduate of Providence College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Fenton received his MBA and JD from Western New England University, where he served as publishing editor of the Law Review and was an Oliver Wendell Holmes Scholar. Fenton clerked at Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., and Bacon Wilson, P.C., and is a BusinessWest 40 Under Forty honoree in the class of 2012.
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Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced recently that James Leydon, formerly Director of Constituent Services, has replaced Attorney Thomas Walsh, former Director of Communications. In addition, William Baker joined the Mayor’s staff as the new Director of Constituent Services.
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STCU Credit Union recently hired Maria Lopez as Assistant Vice President, Westfield branch. Lopez, who speaks Spanish and English, brings over 23 years experience, including 13 years in mortgage lending.

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Michael Jonnes

The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) announced the departure of Executive Director Michael Jonnes, effective Dec. 31. Jonnes, whose career with SSO began in 1998, was instrumental in helping to acquire a distinguished roster of soloists and developing a wide range of collaborative efforts with community groups and nonprofits throughout the region. He also led the search that brought Kevin Rhodes on as music director. Jonnes has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit management in the orchestral realm. Prior to the SSO, he was the executive director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in Jackson, Tenn. Jonnes and his wife will relocate to be closer to family. A national search is currently underway to find his successor, and Peter Salerno will serve as Interim Executive Director during the search. The SSO will honor Jonnes with an audience reception following the Jan. 12, 2013 concert, “Scheherazade.”
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Jeffrey Pierce

TD Bank recently named Jeffrey Pierce as Vice President, Business Development Officer in Small Business Administration (SBA) Lending in Hartford, Conn. With 27 years of experience in banking, finance, and lending, Pierce will be responsible for providing SBA financing to qualified small businesses throughout a two-state region that includes Hartford as well as the Springfield and Worcester areas in Massachusetts.
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Shirley Stephens recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) as Housing Coordinator, where she will work in the Community Development section of the agency and will be involved in the application intake and outreach process for various PVPC-administered housing-rehabilitation programs throughout Western and Central Massachusetts. Stephens is a licensed realtor with RR & Co. Realty Inc., helping distressed homeowners in Springfield.
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Members of the WGBY Board of Tribunes have voted to accept three new members to join the 2013 roster. Merricka Breuer, Patricia Crutchfield, and Norma Friedman were named as the newest members of WGBY’s board at the station’s recent annual meeting. Breuer is director of Marketing and Business Development at Ink & Toner Solutions in Northampton, Friedman is an adjunct professor at UMass Amherst’s University Without Walls, and Crutchfield is director of Human Resources at the Gandara Mental Health Center in Springfield.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 6, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Dietz & Co. Architects Inc. announced the following:

• Michael Burgess has joined the firm as Job Captain. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies;

• Richard Dobrowski has joined the firm as an Architectural Associate. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Art and Architectural History and a master’s degree in Architecture from UMass Amherst. He studied abroad at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark through an exchange program with UMass; and

• Jason Newman, an Architectural Associate, recently earned a master of Architecture degree at UMass Amherst. He has been with the firm since May 2011.

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Keith Minoff

Keith Minoff, principal with of the Law Offices of Keith A. Minoff, P.C., was recently listed in Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2012 as being among the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the state. Minoff specializes in business and employment litigation, and has an office in downtown Springfield. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased, and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

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Kathy Petris

Kathy Petris has been named Executive Assistant to Glenn Welch, president and COO of Hampden Bank. Petris will be responsible for senior-level administrative support, report and document preparation, and workflow management. Petris, formerly with Sovereign Bank, brings more than 20 years of banking experience, having served as the commercial loan administration supervisor and senior relationship administrator, in addition to previous positions at BankBoston and BayBank.

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Jeffrey Roberts

Patricia Rapinchuk

Nancy Frankel Pelletier

James Martin

Richard Gaberman

Jeffrey McCormick

David Lawless

Michael Simolo

Jeffrey Trapani

The Springfield-based law firm Robinson Donovan announced that several of the firm’s attorneys were recently named Super Lawyers, and three attorneys were named Rising Stars, by Super Lawyers magazine, a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Rising Stars recognizes top up-and-coming attorneys, those who are under 40, or those who have been practicing for 10 years or fewer. Those recognized as Super Lawyers are Jeffrey Roberts, Patricia Rapinchuk, Nancy Frankel Pelletier, James Martin, Richard Gaberman, and Jeffrey McCormick. The up-and-coming Rising Stars include David Lawless, Michael Simolo, and Jeffrey Trapani.

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Bill Lucardi

The West Springfield-based, full-service advertising agency Marketing Doctor recently announced the addition of Bill Lucardi as Agency Director. Lucardi has more than 30 years of sales experience and more than 10 years in advertising in the Hartford and Springfield markets. He will cultivate new advertising and marketing ideas for clients, as well as introduce new businesses to the vast array of services the firm has to offer.

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TD Bank recently announced the following:

• Molly McLaren, Assistant Vice President, has been named Store Manager of the 693 Memorial Dr. location in Chicopee. McLaren, who has five years of retail banking experience, is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations; and

Steven Gardner

• Steven Gardner has been named Store Manager of the 465 North Main St. location in East Longmeadow. He is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at that location. Garner has more than 10 years experience in banking and residential home lending and joined TD Bank in 2011. He previously served as an assistant store manager in Great Barrington and East Longmeadow.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff September 11, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Allison Ebner

FIT Solutions, a Springfield-based information-technology staffing firm, announced the appointment of Allison Ebner as Director of Recruiting. Ebner has worked in staffing and recruiting for more than 15 years previously, serving as a vice president for United Personnel. Since earning her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Ithaca College, she has provided resources to a variety of industries, including the marketing, manufacturing, retail-distribution, and healthcare sectors. Ebner is experienced in managing large-volume staffing projects and has assisted client companies in planning for their annual strategic staffing initiatives.

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MassMutual Retirement Services Division recently announced the addition of Christopher Stout as Sales Director to support its growing presence in the Southeast region. Stout joined the division on Aug. 1 and will be responsible for business development and sales support of MassMutual’s third-party and dedicated distribution channels focusing on retirement plans in the small-plan market.

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Todd Kirton

Tighe & Bond announced that Todd Kirton, a Senior Hydrogeologist with the firm for 17 years, has earned his Licensed Site Professional credential. Experienced in the cleanup of oil and hazardous-material contamination, he will also be responsible for developing and executing services for clients that satisfy the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection requirements.

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Sean West has been promoted to Manager of Ticket Sales for the Springfield Falcons, an AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. West was initially hired by the Falcons as an account executive following the 2011-12 season. He will oversee the ticket department, working closely with team staff and the local community to increase both season and group ticket sales.

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Suzanne Beck, Executive Director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the interim director for the emerging regional Hampshire County Chamber of Commerce, and the founding directors of that new organization recently announced the addition of two additional new Founding Directors:

Molly Keegan

• Molly Keegan, a Financial Planner with the Davis Financial Group of Hadley and a board member of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; and

Ruth Constantine

• Ruth Constantine, Vice President for Finance and Administration at Smith College.

Both will offer increased geographical representation as well as a voice for the area’s local chambers and its colleges and universities. The formation of the regional chamber was announced in March, and founding directors and regional organizations have invested over one-third of the $400,000 needed over two years to bring the concept to fruition.

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The Sisters of Providence Health System recently named Dr. Mary Tarail Chief Medical Officer for Providence Behavioral Health Hospital. Tarail, who previously served as the Associate Medical Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at Providence, will now be responsible for the medical leadership at the facility, including the coordination of all patient care and safety, quality assessment, risk management, patient satisfaction, and improvement in health care programs, and will serve as a liaison between the medical staff and administration. Previously, Tarail served as the Inpatient Unit Chief for Geriatric Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York and was also the Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. She is fellowship-trained in the psychiatric treatment of older adults and is sub-specialty board-certified.

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FieldEddy Insurance recently appointed Michael Collura as Account Executive, Commercial Lines. Collura, a Certified Insurance Service Representative in Massachusetts, will advise new and existing clients on insurance risk-management techniques.

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Hospice Services of Western Mass. announced that David McDougall, D.O. has become the Medical Director for its Feeding Hills office. McDougall graduated from the University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa in 1995. His post-graduate training was done at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, New York followed by a residency with Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He is board-eligible in internal medicine and is a member of the Long-Term and Sub-Acute Team at Hampden County Physician Associates caring for patients in local skilled-nursing facilities.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 17, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Mark R. Tolosky

Mark R. Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health, was recently awarded the prestigious 2012 William L. Lane Hospital Advocate Award from the Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) in recognition of his “exceptional leadership.” During his 20-year tenure at one of the largest health systems in New England, Tolosky has helped transform Baystate Health into one of the Top 15 health care systems in the country, as recognized by Thomson Reuters. Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the MHA, noted that Tolosky “has driven the transformation of the North End of Springfield into a vibrant ‘medical mile,’ constructing new facilities, creating jobs, improving the local community, and contributing to the economic development of the city.” Nicholas added, “under Tolosky’s leadership, Baystate Health and Health New England are also nationally recognized for top levels of quality and safety, most notably through advances made in clinical care, the adoption of health-information technology, and the development of team-based and patient-centered medical homes.” Each year at the association’s annual meeting, the MHA publicly acknowledges one senior hospital executive who exemplifies exceptional leadership and the characteristics to which all hospital and health system leaders should aspire. Tolosky was nominated by Richard B. Steele Jr., chairman of the Baystate Health Board of Trustees, and his senior leadership team at Baystate Health. “Mark sets a stellar example as a CEO who tirelessly advocates for improvement, inclusion, responsibility, preparation, taking the high road, and the importance of collaborative, positive relationships,” noted one letter in support of Tolosky’s nomination. According to Nicholas, it was the first time in the nine-year history of presenting the award that the MHA executive committee was unanimous in its selection.
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Eugene J. Cassidy

Eugene J. Cassidy became the seventh CEO of the Eastern States Exposition (ESE) in its 95-year history on June 27. He joined ESE as Director of Finance in 1993, and was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in March 2011. He succeeded Wayne McCary, who retired June 26 after 21 years at the helm of the West Springfield institution. “The Big E is a balance of agriculture, industry, and entertainment all designed to move the core mission of the exposition forward while retaining the roots on which it was built,” said Cassidy. He is accredited as a certified fair executive by the International Assoc. of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) and is actively involved as a member of the budget and finance and program committees. He is a frequent presenter at IAFE meetings on the local, regional, and national levels and served as program chair of the organization’s International Convention in Las Vegas in 2010. Cassidy began his career at KPMG Peat Marwick in Springfield. He then served as treasurer of Chicopee Cooperative Bank and Colonial Mortgage Co. and was assistant vice president of Park West Bank and Trust Co., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Westbank Corp.
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Andrea Robitaille, P.E., recently joined Tighe & Bond Inc. as a Project Engineer. She brings to that position eight years of professional experience with the firm’s expanding structural-engineering team. Robitaille has provided bridge design and inspection, construction design, and transportation-planning services for numerous clients and projects throughout New England.
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David Kalman, M.D. was recently promoted to President of Springfield Medical Associates, a multi-specialty group gractice with locations in Springfield and Enfield. Kalman has been a practicing gastroenterologist since 1927.
•••••

Amy Royal

Amy Royal, founding partner of Royal LLP, the Northampton-based woman-owned boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been invited to speak at the ExecuSummit 7th Annual National Employment Practices Liability Insurance Conference at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. in October. She will present on minimizing emotional-distress damages in employment-litigation claims.
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Danielle Nicklas

Danielle Nicklas, an attorney with the Springfield-based firm Cooley, Shrair P.C., has been appointed to serve on the Mass. Bar Assoc. (MBA) Health Law Section Council. Each council is charged with formulating and recommending policy and legislative positions, developing CLE program content for the MBA, and producing articles for Section Review and/or Lawyers Journal. Nicklas focuses her practice on the area of health law with a concentration in health care compliance, risk management, Start, and anti-kickback regulations.
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Kevin Hart

Holyoke-based Mohawk Communications announced that Kevin Hart has joined the staff as Director of Operations. Hart has more than 15 years experience in the telecommunications field, from high-end PBX systems, to fiber installation, to managing communication networks for mid- to large-sized businesses. He will be managing the customer service department along with the outside technicians and various other projects.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 3, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Wolf & Company, P.C. recently announced the promotion of Mark O’Connell, CPA, to the position of President and CEO of the firm, effective July 1. O’Connell has been a member of the 100-year-old company since 1997, and spearheaded the development of its Springfield office, which he most recently served as dirctor. O’Connell will continue to work out of the Springfield office. He is a member of Wolf & Company’s financial-institutions group, and formerly held a seat on the firm’s executive committee, which establishes the firm’s policies and strategic direction.
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Thomas R. Creed

TD Bank has named Thomas R. Creed Senior Vice President and Market Commercial Credit Manager in the new Credit Management Division in Springfield. Creed will direct approval, underwriting, and portfolio-management, staff, and procedures supporting TD Bank’s commercial-banking business in Western Mass. Creed has 27 years in banking and related fields and serves as chairman of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority and on the board of the Economic Development Council of Western Mass.
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United Bank announced the following:
• Amy Bilodeau has been promoted to the position of Personal Banking Officer at the West Springfield branch. She joined United Bank in 2008 with nearly 25 years of banking experience gained at the former Westbank, now New Alliance Bank, in West Springfield; and

Ronald A. Gannett

• Ronald A. Gannett has joined the bank’s Beverly loan production office as a Senior Vice President in Commercial Baking, focusing on commercial real-estate opportunities in the Greater Boston area. He will assist in building the bank’s brand and commercial real-estate business in that area, while complementing the current activity in the Greater Worcester and Springfield areas.
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American International College announced the following:

Linda Dagradi

• Linda Dagradi, a 1971 AIC graduate, has been promoted to Vice President for Enrollment Management. Dagradi has most recently incorporated Admissions, Marketing, and Financial Aid into the umbrella of Enrollment Management to aid AIC in growing its student population both at the undergraduate and graduate levels; and

Nicolle Cestero

• Nicolle Cestero has been promoted to Vice President for Human Resources. In that position, she will supervise and direct the human-resources activities of the college.
•••••
Business Network International (BNI) Western Mass. recently appointed Jason Turcotte as Managing Director for the region. Turcotte will be responsible for overseeing and providing continued structure, training, and support to the chapters and members of BNI Western Mass. He will ensure that every chapter is following the BNI system and is on pace to achieve goals, as well as supporting the leadership teams within the region.
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Elizabeth B. Rairigh

Elizabeth B. Rairigh, AICP, recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission as a Historic Preservation Planner. She holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation and a master’s in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
•••••
Thomas A. Miranda, an attorney with Springfield-based firm Cooley, Shrair, P.C., recently presented the seminar “Using Mediation to Settle Property Disputes” at the 2012 spring session of the CPE Forum at Holyoke Community College Kittredge Center. The forum provides educational programs to business professionals, including CPAs and CMAs. Miranda also recently presented a session on “Business Entity Organization and Structure to Limit Liability” at a Hampshire County Bar Assoc.-sponsored small-business-entity seminar.
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Richard J. Kos

The Board of Directors of Hampden Bancorp Inc., which is the holding company for Hampden Bank has named Richard J. Kos, Esq. to Chairman of the Board of the company and the bank, effective immediately. Kos has been an attorney at the firm of Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C. since 2004 and is a partner of the firm. Prior to that, he had been in private practice since 1978, and was mayor of Chicopee from 1997 to 2004. Kos has a bachelor of science degree in Economics from Amherst College, and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He currently serves as a trustee of Our Lady of the Elms College, chairman of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Incorporators of the Mason Wright Foundation of Springfield, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County. He has held prior directorships with the Pioneer Valley Red Cross, the Polish National Credit Union, Providence Place, the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., and the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation. He had been
an incorporator of Chicopee Savings Bank.
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The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced that four area leaders from the business and non-profit communities recently joined its Corporate Board of Directors. They are:

John Doleva

• John Doleva, President of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame;

Lorenzo Gaines

• Lorenzo Gaines; Program Director for ACCESS Springfield;

Paul DiGrigoli

• Paul DiGrigoli, Owner/CEO of DiGrigoli Salon and DiGrigoli School of Cosmetology; and

Jeffrey Poindexter

• Jeffrey Poindexter, an attorney with Bulkely, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP.
•••••
Friendly Ice Cream in Wilbraham recently announced the following appointments and promotions:
• Walter Kwiecien has been promoted to Director of Information Technology;
• Lionel Bisson is now Director of Training and Quality Assurance and will direct all training and development function and the quality assurance inspection process;
• Ana Alves, with the company since 1977, has been named Manager of Restaurant Technology and will be responsible for managing and developing point-of-sale systems;
• Valerie Doggett has been named Audit Service and Quality Service Assurance Manager, where she will be responsible for conducting quality service audits in both company as well as franchise-owned restaurants;
• Joseph Stiefel, a member of the IT Department since 2006, has been named Project Manager, and will be responsible for leading program development projects as well as supporting current systems from a programming and database perspective;
• Melany Howe has been appointed Senior Manager for financial planning and analysis, providing financial support and analysis for restaurant operations and all marketing and promotion activities;
• Matt Vitorino has been named Senior Financial Analyst, and will provide financial support and analysis for retail, co-pack and franchise operations;
• Christine Klingaman has been named the Franchise Business Consultant supporting several of Friendly’s franchise organizations as a liaison between the franchises and Friendly’s Support Center;
• Lynne Geiger, a 25-year employee, was named Point-of-Sale Systems Administrator, where she will be responsible for developing and maintaining Friendly’s POS systems as well as maintaining various software platforms;
• Richard Del Valle has been appointed Vice President of Restaurant Operations Support, where he is responsible for all restaurant operations support and quality assurance and training.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 19, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Westfield-based engineering firm Tighe & Bond announced the following:

Eric Fontaine

• Eric Fontaine, LEED AP has joined the staff as a Mechanical Engineer. He has more than 10 years of mechanical-engineering experience in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. His expertise includes sustainable and integrated system designs for education, government, commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. He is a member the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers and the U.S. Green Building Council; and

Jean Christy

• Jean Christy, PE has joined the staff as a Civil Engineer. She has more than 10 years of experience in the management, design, permitting, and construction of civil-engineering design projects that range from site and roadway design to complex stormwater-management analyses. She is also a licensed soil evaluator.

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The law firm Annino, Draper & Moore, P.C. announced that Attorney Tracie Kester has been made a Partner. Kester focuses her practice on residential and commercial real estate, estate planning and administration, elder law, and small-business representation.

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Easthampton-based Hogan Technology announced that Sean Hogan, President of the company that is a provider of unified communications, has been invited by Technology Assurance Group, an international organization representing nearly $350 million in product and services, to speak at its national convention in New Orleans on Sept. 9-12. He will share his vision of the future of unified communications with some of the industry’s top manufacturers, vendors, suppliers, and resellers.

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Patrick J. Willcutts

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced that Patrick J. Willcutts, Vice President, Financial Advisor, Certified Financial Planner Practitioner, and Certified Investment Management Analyst Professional in the Springfield office, has earned the Certified Private Wealth Advisor designation. Willcutts has been a member of the firm since 2008.

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Glenmeadow Retirement announced the appointment of Allan J. Ouimet to the position of Director of the Glenmeadow at Home program. Ouimet has 20 years experience in human services, including various senior-director-level positions at the Stetson School in Barre, Mass.

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Garvey Communications Associates announced two recent appointments:

Kelsey C. Vella

• Kelsey C. Vella has been named Public Relations Analyst and will create search-engine-optimized content for new media, social networks, and organic searches. She will also manage 30 different social-media platforms for public relations and advertising purposes; and

Jamie M. Dunkan

• Jamie M. Dunkan has been named accounts analyst and will insure contract compliance for more than $1 million in financial transactions annually. She will also support the agency’s online advertising and content-management efforts.

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Big Y Foods Floral Manager John Heon has been honored by United Fresh Foundation’s Center for Leadership Excellence. Heon was among 25 outstanding produce managers representing 20 different supermarket chains, commissaries, and independent retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.

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Epstein Financial Group announced the addition of Brian N. Caine, ChFC as Director of Retirement Income Planning. Caine will provide EFG clients with his expertise and knowledge in creating successful retirement outcomes customized for each individual’s unique objectives.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 5, 2012

Departments People on the Move

James F. Truden III

TD Bank has named James F. Truden III the Store Manager of the store located at 10 Center St. in Adams. An assistant vice president, he is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the store serving customers throughout Berkshire County.
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In a third return engagement, Carol Cioe Klyman an attorney with Springfield-based Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. recently acted as co-chair of the 13th annual New England Elder and Disability Law Conference in Boston. Klyman, who concentrates her practice in the areas of elder law, estate and special-needs planning, estate settlement, guardianship, and trust and estate litigation, co-presented a workshop titled “The Hidden MassHealth: What You Need to Know That’s Not in the Rule

Carol Cioe Klyman

Book.” Klyman covered the unwritten rules of MassHealth long-term care policies and procedures, including the use of caregiver agreements and private annuities, transfer of assets issues, and the application process.
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Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. has appointed Geno Auriemma as a Director of the company and of Berkshire Bank.Additionally, Berkshire Bank intends to enter into a marketing arrangement with Auriemma, subject to final approval, whereby he will serve as a spokesperson for the bank. Auriemma has been head coach of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team since 1986, is a seven-time national Coach of the Year and has won or shared the Big East Coach of the Year award eight times. He has served as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Assoc., and is involved in the national V Foundation for Cancer Research.
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Brad Larsen was recently named head coach of the American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons by Columbus Blue Jackets Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Scott Howson. Larsen spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with Columbus’ AHL affiliate, and was an assistant coach for the Springfield Falcons prior to the start of the 2010-11 season after concluding a 13-year playing career in 2009-10 with the AHL’s Portland Pirates.
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Lawrence B. Smith

Lawrence B. Smith recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission as a senior planner. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the UMass Amherst Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Smith comes to PVPC with more than 30 years’ experience in municipal planning and community development serving numerous Western Mass. communities.
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MassMutual recently named two individuals to senior vice president positions:
• Sri Dronamraju is the new Senior Vice President for Enterprise Technology and serves as MassMutual’s chief information risk officer, where he is responsible for developing and maintaining a multi-faceted approach for identifying and mitigating information risk, including strong policy, threat detection and deterrence, data-loss prevention, and employee education; and
• Scott Palmer was named Senior Vice President of Retirement Services Systems. He is responsible for managing information technology and systems for the corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers’ defined-benefit, defined-contribution, and non-qualified deferred-compensation plans for MassMutual’s Retirement Services division.
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Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office in Chicopee announced that Linda Blackburn has been added as a Sales Associate. Blackburn will provide residential real-estate services in Chicopee as well as Belchertown, Palmer, Monson, Ware, and Warren.
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John Henry has been named associate at the environmental firm of O’Reilly, Talbot & Okun Associates in Springfield. Henry is a Massachusetts- and Connecticut-licensed professional engineer with more than 20 years experience in the civil-engineering and environmental-consulting fields. Henry is very active in solar-power development projects as well as soil and groundwater remediation projects at airports, industrial and commercial facilities, schools, and religious institutions.
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PeoplesBank in South Hadley recently named Jessica L. Wales Branch Manager.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff May 22, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Denise V. Laizer

Denise V. Laizer, Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer for Easthampton Savings Bank, has been named a Community Bank Hero for 2012 by Banker and Tradesman magazine. Readers of Banker & Tradesman were asked to nominate individuals who work in a Massachusetts community bank, are respected industry professionals who have made a significant impact on those around them, and make outstanding contributions to their institution. Criteria for candidates also included giving back to the community and the industry with time, energy, and resources through volunteerism, community service, and charity. Laizer, who was one of 16 selected, will be honored at a special awards ceremony in Boston on May 23.
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Michael Ravosa was recently elected to the Board of Trustees at American International College in Springfield. He is the Vice President for Investment for the RBD Wealth Management Group, UBS Financial Services.
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United Fresh Foundation’s Center for Leadership Excellence has chosen John Heon, Produce and Floral Sales Manager, Big Y World Class Market in Great Barrington, as an honoree for its 2012 awards. Heon was honored among 25 produce managers representing 20 supermarket chains, commissaries, and independent retail stores within the U.S. and Canada. Winners were selected by a team of produce experts who examined efforts to increase produce consumption through everyday excellence in merchandising, special displays and promotions, community service, and commitment to total customer satisfaction. Heon has been with Big Y for 31 years.
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North Brookfield Savings Bank announced the following:
• Rick Egan has been named Assistant Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer. He is responsible for developing new and existing commercial-lending relationships, advising business customers on available lending products, and helping borrowers achieve their financing goals.
• Lillian Carlson has been named Loan Officer. She is responsible for creating and maintaining relationships with existing and prospective loan customers as well as assisting customers with the mortgage-lending process and helping them find financing solutions.
•••••

Kim Bushey

Santander Holdings USA Inc. and Sovereign Bank, N.A., wholly owned subsidiaries of Banco Santander, announced the appointment of Kim Bushey as Senior Vice President and Business Banking Executive for Connecticut and Western Mass. Bushey, based out of the West Hartford, Conn. office, will be responsible for serving the needs of local businesses with annual revenue of $3 million to $20 million.
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Attorney Danielle I. Nicklas has joined Cooley Shrair in Springfield as Associate Legal Counsel. Nicklas focuses her practice on health law, including health care compliance, risk management, Stark law, and anti-kickback regulations.
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James M. Lavelle, General Manager of the Holyoke Gas & Electric Department, will receive the 2012 Henry A. Fifield Award for Voluntary Service to the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. The late Henry Fifield was an Ampad executive who served the chamber in many capacities, including chairman of the board. Lavelle will be honored at the 122nd annual meeting of the Holyoke Chamber on May 30 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House. The award presentation and reception for Lavelle will be a highlight of the annual meeting, which will also include an election of officers and directors for the 2012-13 year.
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David Fedor, an independent Financial Advisor affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network and President of Fedor Financial Group in West Springfield, was named to Commonwealth’s Winners Circle. The distinction recognizes 167 out of Commonwealth’s 1,400 financial advisors nationwide.
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The Hampden County Bar Assoc. announced the following:
• Attorney Kevin J. Claffey received the John M. Greaney Award during the association’s National Law Day Ceremony at Springfield District Court; and
• Noreen E. Nardi received the John M. Greaney Award during National Law Day. The annual awards are given to both an attorney and a non-attorney who are deemed outstanding citizens of the Hampden County legal community.
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John Elder Robison was among 15 individuals recently selected to serve on the U.S. Health and Human Services Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. Robison is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College, Chicopee. He speaks publicly about his experience as a person on the autism spectrum, and is the author of Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s and Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian.
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Tighe & Bond of Westfield announced the following:
• Stephen Seigal, P.E., BCEE, has joined the firm as a Vice President, and will work out of the Worcester office. A civil engineer with 36 years of regional experience in the wastewater industry, Seigal has planned, designed, and provided construction-phase engineering services for more than 24 wastewater treatment facilities throughout the region.
• David Loring, P.E., LEED AP, has been named Technical Practice Leader for the Civil Practice Group. In this role, he will coordinate and advance the firm’s civil-engineering capabilities, oversee the continual advancement of relevant technical skills, and promote professional development of key staff. He will also ensure that the Civil Practice Group stays abreast of local, state, and federal regulations that impact clients. Loring is a licensed civil engineer and construction supervisor in Massachusetts, as well as a LEED Accredited Professional.
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American International College in Springfield has named Dr. Cesarina Thompson Dean of the School of Health Sciences. Thompson will begin her duties on July 1. She was inducted as a Fellow in the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education for her research and scholarly activities focusing on advancing nursing education. She received a Ph.D. in Adult Education and a M.S. in Nursing from the University of Connecticut, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bridgeport.
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The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) announced the following election of directors and officers:
• Paul Robbins, Principal of Paul Robbins Associates and a gubernatorial appointee, was elected Chairman;
• Phillip W. Sweeney, Marblehead Municipal Light Department Commission Chairman, was elected to a two-year term on the board;
• Kevin P. Kelly, Groton Electric Light Department Manager, was elected to a three-year board term; and
• Peter D. Dion, General Manager of the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department, was re-elected by the membership to his fourth one-year term as President of MMWEC.
Additional MMWEC officers for the coming year, as elected by the board, include:
• Ronald C. DeCurzio, CEO and Secretary;
• Jeffrey B. Iafrati, Treasurer;
• Stephen J. Smith, Assistant Treasurer;
• Nancy A. Brown, Assistant Secretary; and
• Nicholas J. Scobbo Jr., General Counsel.
Other MMWEC directors, elected previously by the membership, include:
• Gary R. Babin, Director of the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department;
• Jeffrey R. Cady, Manager of the Chicopee Muncipal Lighting Plant;
• Sean Hamilton, General Manager of the Sterling Municipal Light Department;
• Jonathan V. Fitch, Princeton Municipal Light Department Manager; and
• James M. Lavelle, Holyoke Gas & Electric Department Manager.
In addition to Robbins, Michael J. Flynn serves on the board as gubernatorial appointee. Flynn also represents the Town of Wilbraham on the board, with Luis Vitorino and John M. Flynn representing the towns of Ludlow and Hampden, respectively.
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Big Y Foods Inc. of Springfield announced the following:
• Michael J. Galat has been named interim Senior Director of Employee Services. He will oversee the entire department, including employee policies and procedures, training and development, morale and engagement, recognition, progressive discipline, employee benefits, and wellness initiatives; and
• Sean S. Nimmons has been appointed a District Director for the eastern zone. He is responsible for managing all aspects of the 15-store zone, including employees, financial performance, merchandising, and operations.
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Daniel R. Moriarty has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Monson Savings Bank. A member of the bank’s senior leadership team, he is responsible for leading the bank’s financial functions, operations, and reporting.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff February 28, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Carole Desroches

Carole Desroches has been appointed Assistant Vice President/Investment Officer at Westfield Bank. She has 16 years of experience in the banking industry, and will work primarily out of the corporate office. She will work with Westfield Bank’s investment portfolio to develop new strategies and provide ongoing analysis.
•••••
EBTEC of Agawam recently recognized nine employees, each with more than 25 years of service, representing 255 years of combined employment at the high-energy-beam-manufacturing facility. Those honored were:
• Christopher English;
• Daniel Hebert;
• Cathy Anderson;
• Mark Modzeleski;
• Mathew Girouard;
• Vincent Mammano;
• Paul Krassler;
• David Maheu, and
• Brian Havens.
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Carla J. Potts has been named Coordinator of Media Relations in the Marketing and Communications Department at Springfield Technical Community College.
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Chicopee Savings Bank announced the following:
• Irene Alves has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Retail Lending Operations;
• Gloria Faria has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Retail Banking and also manages the bank’s Ludlow office;
• Clare Ladue has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Retail Banking and is also managing the main office in Chicopee;
• Becky Elias has been promoted to Portfolio Manager; and
• Sarah Medeiros has been promoted to Credit Officer.
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Dan Carstens, publisher of the Airport News & Bradley International Cargo Guide, will serve as Marketing Consultant to the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA). His role includes identifying new routes and enhancements for Bradley International Airport and the state’s general-aviation airports. The CAA was established last July to develop, improve, and operate Bradley International and the state’s five general airports (Danielson, Groton/New London, Hartford Brainard, Waterbury-Oxford, and Windham).
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Shaun Dwyer has been named First Vice President and Commercial Team Leader for Berkshire Bank in the Pioneer Valley.
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MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division in Springfield announced the following:
• John Budd has been appointed National Practice Leader covering the division’s institutional retirement products. In this newly created role, Budd is responsible for leading MassMutual’s distribution strategy for its stable-value investment-only and defined-benefit businesses, working with the division’s managing directors and their key advisor relationships; and
• Brian Mezey has joined the division as Managing Director of Institutional Sales. In this role, Mezey is responsible for working with retirement-plan advisors in mid-sized and large markets, and is partnered with Andy Hanlon covering the Eastern New England region.
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Market Mentors in West Springfield announced the following:
• Jessica Lemieux has joined the firm as an Account Executive. She is responsible for managing accounts and client expectations, as well as outreach for new business;
• Karin O’Keefe has joined the firm as Account Coordinator and Manager of Digital Advertising. She will coordinate various accounts and oversee all social networking and digital advertising; and
• Laura Stopa has joined the firm and will assist the Art Director with Web coding and design.
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Charles Frago

Charles Frago has joined Wolf & Co., P.C. of Boston as a Principal on the tax-service team of Wolf’s Financial Institutions group. Frago will focus on tax planning, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, stock-based compensation, and preparing clients for tax examinations.
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John P. O’Rourke has been named Director of Electricity for the Hampshire Council of Governments. He will lead the Hampshire Electricity Program, and work to expand the customer base by providing lower-cost electricity to government entities, school districts, nonprofits, and businesses throughout Western Mass.
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Syeda Maham Al Rafai has joined Hatch Mott MacDonald in Holyoke as an Engineer. She is experienced in AutoCAD and Risa2D beam-column design, and will enroll in the engineer-in-training program for the state of Massachusetts.
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Michael Natale was recently named Vice President of Sales for Leonard E. Belcher Inc. He will oversee all sales operations of the multi-branded, multi-state distributor.
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Thomas W. Barney, Certified Financial Planner, has joined Heaphy Trust Group and Heaphy Investments, which offer investment-management, financial-planning, and fiduciary services to individuals, nonprofits, and retirement plans.
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Susan Barbiasz has been promoted to Manager of the Chicopee Savings Bank Ware branch. She will manage the day-to-day operations of the branch office located at Gibbs Crossing on Palmer Road.
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Michele A. Rooke has been named a Shareholder with the law firm of Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy. Rooke joined the firm in 2002 after serving as an Assistant District Attorney for Hampden County. She represents plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of civil-litigation matters. Her practice also includes criminal defense.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff February 14, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Barbara Benoit has been appointed Director of Graduate Enrollment, Management and Services at Assumption College in Worcester. She is responsible for recruiting and screening prospective students for Assumption’s graduate programs in business, counseling psychology, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, and special education.
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JC Schnabl has been named the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations at UMass Amherst and Executive Director of the UMass Amherst Alumni Assoc.
•••••
Associated Industries of Massachusetts announced the following:
• Kristen Lepore has joined the organization as Vice President of Government Affairs. She will manage efforts in the areas of health care cost control and health insurance for employers; and
• Brad MacDougall has been promoted from Associate Vice President of Government Affairs to Vice President. He will assume responsibility for the agency’s work on taxation issues.
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Edward Garbacik, Vice President of FSB Financial Group at Florence Savings Bank, has completed his CFP certification requirements that are required by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Individuals seeking certified financial planner certification are required to complete coursework and exams covering the seven major financial planning areas — general principles of financial planning, insurance planning and risk management, employee-benefits planning, investment planning, income-tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. CFP certificants must also agree to meet ongoing continuing-education requirements and uphold the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Rules of Conduct, and Financial Planning Practice Standards.
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Greenfield Savings Bank announced the following:
• Christopher Caouette has been promoted to Vice President and Commercial Credit Officer; and
• Jean Dobias has been promoted to Assistant Vice President and Trust Officer.
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Amanda Moyer has been named Director of Account Services at Market Mentors in West Springfield.
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Joseph Knapik has joined the corporate office of Environmental Compliance Services in Agawam as Director of Training and Facilities Services. He will play a key role in developing the firm’s underground storage tank operator training program. He will also be spearheading additional product launches, primarily in the training field, and will develop and expand the firm’s suite of health and safety training course offerings. Additionally, he will direct the implementation of educational, informational, and service products for the regulated business community.
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The law firm Bulkley Richardson announced the addition of four attorneys to the firm’s Litigation/Alternative Dispute Resolution Department. John P. Pucci, Andrew Levchuk and J. Lizette Richards will represent clients in all types of civil and criminal litigation, in responding to government investigations, and in conducting corporate internal investigations. They will practice from the firm’s Springfield and Boston offices. Jamie L. Kessler will handle financial services litigation from the firm’s Boston office.

John P. Pucci

• Pucci, a partner, of Northampton, is one of Massachusetts’ top civil and criminal trial lawyers, with particular experience in the areas of white-collar criminal defense and state and federal regulatory agency matters. He is the former chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Springfield, and has been a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2002. In his career, Pucci has been named to The Best Lawyers in America, and Boston Magazine’s Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Top 100 Lawyers in Massachusetts. He was most recently a Partner at Fierst, Pucci & Kane in Northampton.

Andrew Levchuk

• Levchuk, Counsel, brings high-level national experience in corporate compliance and integrity as well as experience in data privacy and Internet security to Bulkley Richardson. He served as senior trial attorney in both the DOJ Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and its Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. In 2006-2007, he chaired the U.S. delegation to the G8 Subgroup on High-Tech Crime. He has tried cases across the country and has argued 30 appellate cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Most recently, he served as Deputy Chief of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. At Bulkley Richardson, he will handle complex civil and criminal litigation and responses to government investigations, as well as advise clients in matters of data security and corporate compliance.

J. Lizette Richards

• Richards, an Associate, joins the firm with significant civil and criminal litigation experience in areas such as mail and wire fraud, tax fraud, and healthcare fraud. In the past, she worked as a New Hampshire public defender, and, during the past seven years, she was an associate at Fierst, Pucci & Kane in Northampton.

Jamie L. Kessler

• Kessler, an Associate, previously served for two years as a law clerk and paralegal at Bulkley Richardson.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 31, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Edward J. Garbacik

Edward J. Garbacik, Vice President of FSB Financial Group at Florence Savings Bank, has completed his CFP certification requirements from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standard. Certification encompasses seven major financial planning areas — general principles of financial planning, insurance planning and risk management, employee-benefits planning, investment planning, income-tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. Individuals must also agree to meet ongoing continuing-education requirements and to uphold the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Rules of Conduct, and Financial Planning Practice Standards.
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Tina M. Bennett has been named President of Conservation Services Group in Westborough. She runs the company’s day-to-day operations and oversees the executive committee. She also serves as an ex-officio member of the board of directors.
•••••

Cathy Jocelyn

Cathy Jocelyn has been promoted to Assistant Vice President/Marketing Manager at Westfield Bank. In this new role, Jocelyn is responsible for day-to-day marketing, promotion, and public relations, along with coordinating community outreach and the Future Fund.
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Michael B. Ginsberg has joined Accenture as a Partner in the life-insurance industry practice. He will work in Accenture’s Hartford office and serve several large insurance customers in Massachusetts and Connecticut in a client-account leadership role.
•••••
David J. Ericson, Physician Assistant, joined Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Medical Staff and Pioneer Valley Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeons. Ericson treats adults and children for a variety of ear, nose, and throat disorders, including allergy and sinus problems, hearing and balance disorders, and voice and swallowing problems.
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Warren R. LaBerge has been promoted to Manager of Amherst Tire.
•••••
Robert Dellatorre has been named Senior Relationship Manager in the New England Middle Market Banking Group for First Niagara. Dellatorre will manage the bank’s relationships with middle-market companies located in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
•••••
Tracey Burke has joined Park Square Realty in its Westfield office as a Sales Associate.
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Janelle Holmboe was recently named Dean of Admissions at American International College in Springfield. Most recently, Holmboe served as Associate Director of Graduate Admissions in Forest Grove, Ore.
•••••
William Dowding has been named Director of Marketing at A.W. Hasting & Co. in Enfield. The firm is a distributor of Marvin Windows and Doors.
•••••
Atlantic Fasteners announced the following:
• Tony Orvis has joined its industrial fastener division; and
• Bruce Bonzey has been named Director of Quality.
•••••
InteliCoat has announced the following:
• Dave Burgos has joined the firm as inside Sales Representative. He is responsible for supporting and growing the firm’s digital-imaging business with key distributor partners.
• Candice Bakke has joined the firm as National Telesales Representative. She is tasked with raising brand awareness for the Magic, Magiclée, and Museo product lines, as well as increasing and improving customer contact and support.
•••••

Julie M. Quink

Burkhart, Pizzanelli, P.C. announced that Julie M. Quink, CPA, has recently joined the firm. Her experience is in the accounting and auditing and forensic and fraud consulting areas of public accounting. Her past experience includes 16 years with J.M. O’Brien and Co., P.C. in Springfield, and three years with KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP in Springfield prior to its office relocation. She received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Management from Elms College. Her professional affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Mass. Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners.
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Reliable Temps announced that Erin Corriveau has joined the firm as Marketing Manager. She will be responsible for overseeing daily marketing and public relations duties for the three Massachusetts Reliable temps locations: Agawam, Easthampton, and Greenfield.
•••••
Lynda Zukowski, manager of Radiology and Imaging at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, has received the credential of Certified Radiology Administrator (CRA) through the Radiology Administration Certification Commission.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 3, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Florence Savings Bank announced the following:

Erin L. Couture

• Erin L. Couture has been elected Vice President, Commercial Lending Officer of the Commercial Lending Department; and

Nancy D. Mirkin

• Nancy D. Mirkin has been elected Vice President, Commercial Lending Officer of the Commercial Lending Department.
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Attorney John G. Bagley, Partner at Morrison Mahoney in Springfield, has been admitted to the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is the first person in the 63-year history of the firm to be inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. Bagley’s practice focuses on medical, dental, and legal malpractice; professional liability; product liability; commercial litigation; construction liability; employment litigation; and general negligence.
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Karina L. Schrengohst, Esq. has been elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Community Enterprises Inc. She is an Associate at Royal LLP, a management-side labor- and employment-law firm.
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TD Bank announced the following:
• Gregg P. Desmarais has been appointed Store Manager at the TD Bank branch at 60 Main St., Westfield. He is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations; and

Derrick P. Feuerstein

• Derrick P. Feuerstein has been named Store Manager of the TD Bank Hadley store, 140 Russell St. An Assistant Vice President, he is responsible for new-business development, managing personnel, consumer and business lending, and overseeing daily operations.
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Six-Point Creative Works in Springfield announced the following:
• Meghan Lynch has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. In her new role, she is responsible for business and client development, and continues to manage day-to-day agency operations; and
• Marsha Montori will serve as Chief Strategist for client accounts.
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Bacon Wilson, P.C. of Springfield announced that eight attorneys have been distinguished as New England “SuperLawyers,” and six of its attorneys have been distinguished as “Rising Stars” in the November issue of Boston magazine:

Paul R. Salvage

• Attorney Paul R. Salvage is the Co-chairman of the Insolvency Department. His practice deals with creditors, individuals, and companies facing financial difficulties. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Gary L. Fialky

• Attorney Gary L. Fialky is Chairman of the Corporate Department. His practice is concentrated in business and banking law, with an emphasis on business formations, mergers, and acquisitions. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Michael B. Katz

• Attorney Michael B. Katz is Co-chairman of the Bankruptcy Department. His practice is concentrated in business and insolvency law. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Paul H. Rothschild

• Attorney Paul H. Rothschild is Chairman of the Litigation Department. His practice is concentrated in general litigation, as well as personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, and employer/employee disputes. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Hyman G. Darling

• Attorney Hyman G. Darling is Chairman of the Estate Planning and Elder Law departments. His areas of expertise include all areas of estate planning, probate, and elder law. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Michael J. Coyne

• Attorney Michael J. Coyne is a member of the Litigation Department with experience in commercial litigation, motor-vehicle franchising, banking litigation, lender-liability defense, franchise-litigation defense, municipal-law litigation, and government-contracts litigation. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Francis R. Mirkin

• Attorney Francis R. Mirkin specializes in commercial and residential real estate and general business matters, as well as commercial-loan documentation. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Stephen B. Monsein

• Attorney Stephen B. Monsein is a member of the Domestic Relations and Litigation departments. His work is concentrated on divorce cases, but he also handles personal-injury cases and does OUI defense work. He was named a SuperLawyer;

Gina M. Barry

• Attorney Gina M. Barry is a member of the Estate Planning/Elder Law Department whose practice includes estate-planning issues as well as pet estate planning. Additional areas of focus include guardianship, conservatorship, planning for long-term care, and residential real estate. She was named a Rising Star;

Justin H. Dion

• Attorney Justin H. Dion focuses on insolvency, business, and financial matters. In addition to handling Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcies, he also does financial planning, conducts foreclosures, and handles collection matters for lenders, as well as practicing nonprofit and real estate law. He was named a Rising Star;

Adam J. Basch

• Attorney Adam J. Basch is a member of the Litigation Department whose areas of practice include construction litigation, personal injury, general litigation, and commercial litigation. He was named a Rising Star;

Todd C. Ratner

• Attorney Todd C. Ratner is a member of the Estate Planning/Elder Law Department whose practice includes estate-planning issues. Additional areas of practice include commercial and residential real estate together with general business and corporate law. He was named a Rising Star;

Benjamin M. Coyle

• Attorney Benjamin M. Coyle is a member of the Business and Corporate, Estate Planning and Elder, Litigation, and Municipal departments. He was named a Rising Star; and

Kevin V. Maltby

• Attorney Kevin V. Maltby concentrates his practice on litigation and employment law. He was named a Rising Star.
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The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced five new board members. They are:
• Ray Berry;
• Jules Gaudreau;
• Brendon Hutchins;
• John Koomson; and
• Sarah A. Williams.
The addition of these new members brings the total number of board members to 26.
•••••
Freedom Credit Union announced the following:
• Amy E. Fyden has been appointed Branch Officer of the Easthampton branch; and
• Beverly Walz has been appointed Branch Officer of the Sixteen Acres branch in Springfield.
As branch officers, both women oversee the financial and lending operations of their branch, develop new business opportunities with individuals and businesses, and promote financial literacy at area schools.
•••••
SABIC in the Americas, based in Pittsfield, announced the following:
• Innovative Plastics Executive Vice Presi-dent Charlie Crew will retire on Jan. 1; and
• Keith J. Smith, formerly of DuPont, will succeed Crew. Smith joined the company in December to plan for the transition.
SABIC acquired GE Plastics in 2007 and integrated it into its diverse portfolio as the Innovative Plastics strategic business unit.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 20, 2011

Departments People on the Move

The Board of Directors of Hampden Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Hampden Bank, has unanimously elected Glenn S. Welch President and Chief Operating Officer of the company and the bank effective Jan. 1, 2012. In addition, effective Jan. 1, 2012, Welch has been appointed as a director of the company and the bank. As president, Welch will succeed Thomas R. Burton, who, after serving 17 years as President and CEO, will remain on as the Vice Chairman and CEO of the company and the bank. “After conducting an extensive search that identified several superbly qualified candidates, we have decided that Glenn S. Welch is our choice to lead Hampden,” said Stuart F. Young Jr., Chairman of the Board. “It was extremely important that we find a new president who could build on the strong foundation already in place at Hampden — for which we are grateful for the leadership our current president, Tom Burton, has provided over the years.” In announcing Welch’s appointment, Burton commented, “as a purpose-driven organization, it is vital that we select a leader who not only understands the inner workings of the bank and the industry, but one who has a constant focus on our customers, our shareholders, and on the communities we serve. Glenn was the single candidate who demonstrated he could deliver on all counts. I am delighted with this decision.” Welch has been employed by Hampden since April 1998, serving most recently as executive vice president and division executive of Business Banking. He previously served as vice president of Commercial Loans from April 1998 to June 2002. Prior to joining Hampden, Welch served as vice president, Middle Market Group, at Fleet Bank. Welch is a graduate of Western New England University and earned his MBA from the University of Massachusetts. He currently serves as chairman of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS), chair of the board of the Scibelli Enterprise Center and Western New England University Business Advisory Board, Treasurer of the Exchange Club of Springfield, member of DevelopSpringfield, and participant in the City2City project.

•••••

Stephen A. Roulier

Stephen A. Roulier has joined Springfield College as Director of the Marketing and Communications Department. He is responsible for strategic marketing, public relations, and brand management.
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Michelle R. Crosby has been appointed Branch Manager at PeoplesBank for its East Main Street office in Westfield.
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Rebecca Caplice

Rebecca Caplice, President and Chief Executive Officer of Greenfield Savings Bank, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of American International College in Springfield.
•••••

Michael P. Buckmaster

Michael P. Buckmaster has been named Vice President, Commercial Lending at NUVO Bank & Trust Co. in Springfield.
•••••
Freedom Credit Union of Springfield announced the following:

Amy E. Fyden

• Amy E. Fyden has been appointed Branch Officer of the Easthampton branch; and

Beverly Walz

• Beverly Walz has been appointed Branch Officer of the 16 Acres branch in Springfield. As branch officers, both Fyden and Walz oversee the financial and lending operations of their branch, develop new business opportunities with individuals and businesses, and promote financial literacy at area schools.
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Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, has been nominated into the National Arts Strategies’ highly competitive chief executive program. She is one of 100 executive leaders in the cultural sector chosen to participate in the program. During the next two years, she will engage in discussions with colleagues from the U.S. and abroad about issues including budgeting, financial stability, marketing and development, as well as abstract problems including the role of the arts in modern life and maintaining relevance in a diverse, rapidly changing world.
•••••
Attorney Diana Sorrentini-Velez recently engaged in a discussion with area high-school student peer mediators to enhance their understanding and knowledge surrounding effective mediation and conflict resolution. She is an attorney at Cooley, Shrair in Springfield, and concentrates her practice on mediation, divorce, family law, and special-education law. She also serves as a family-law mediator, having completed the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education-sponsored Family Law Meditation training program.
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Thomas L. Plasse has been named Director of Finance of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.
•••••
Nadia M. Baral has joined Westfield Bank as Vice President and Compliance Officer. A certified regulatory compliance manager, Baral is responsible for the bank’s overall regulatory compliance.
•••••
Mary MacIlvain has joined Dietz & Co. Architects as Marketing Coordinator.
•••••
Glenmeadow in Longmeadow recently announced new board officers and members. They are:
• Eric Fuller, Chairman;
• Suzanne Smith, Vice Chair;
• Paul Nicholson, Treasurer;
• Mary Downey Costello, Clerk;
• Mark Cress, new member of the board; and
• Christopher Gill, new member of the board. In addition,
• Lawrence Bernstein has been elected a Corporator;
• Suzanne Boniface has been elected a Corporator;
• Rabbi Amy Wallk Katz has been elected a Corporator; and
• David Carlson has been elected a Corporator.
Existing members of the board include William Burrows, George Keady, Peter Landon, Ellen McKenna, Mary Meehan, Ann Marie Rome, Joel Weiss, Rachel St. Onge-Boisseau, and Sr. Betsy Sullivan.
•••••
The Johnson Memorial Medical Center (JMMC) board of directors announced recently that David R. Morgan will lead JMMC as President and Chief Executive Officer, dropping the “interim” from his title. Morgan began his tenure at JMMC in 2008 as a consultant and in 2009 was named interim chief operating officer of the organization. During just those two years Morgan restructured the financial and revenue cycle operations of JMMC, and created and implemented an operations improvement program. Morgan continued to serve as JMMC’s chief operating officer until May of this year when he was named interim president and chief executive officer.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 6, 2011

Departments People on the Move

Meghan Lynch

Meghan Lynch has been appointed President and CEO of Six-Point Creative Works in Springfield. In her new role, Lynch is responsible for business and client development, while continuing to manage day-to-day agency operations for the advertising and brand-development agency.
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Kimberly A. Camp has joined Capuano Care as Marketing Liaison. She will direct the agency’s communication with the medical community.
•••••
Melissa Nelson has been named Project Manager for Medvest LLC, the local franchise holder for Doctors Express Urgent Care Centers in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In her role, she is responsible for supporting the development and management of Doctors Express Urgent Care Centers.
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James D. Chadwell

Crear & Chadwell, P.C. announced that shareholder James D. Chadwell, Esq. has been selected as a 2011 Massachusetts Super Lawyer. He is the only Western Mass. defense attorney to have been chosen as a Super Lawyer based on his professional achievements in workers’ compensation, as well as a high level of peer recognition. Chadwell focuses 100% of his practice on representing insurers, self-insurers, and employers in their workers’ compensation requests. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. In the Massachusetts Super Lawyers selection process, ballots are sent by Law & Politics to over 31,000 Massachusetts attorneys, each of whom must have been in practice for five years or more. Independent research is then conducted on each of the nominees, followed by a panel-review process. Only the top 5% of attorneys in each state are identified by Super Lawyers. Chadwell is well-known throughout Massachusetts as an expert workers’ compensation attorney, and was selected by Super Lawyers in 2005 as a Rising Star. He is a member of both the Hampden County and Massachusetts bar associations. Chadwell has been a member of, or very active in, local community and charitable organizations, including the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, the Springfield Technical Community College Board of Trustees, the Western Mass. March of Dimes Golf Tournament, and the Alzheimer’s Assoc.
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Amy B. Royal, Esq. has been elected Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Hampshire County. She is Senior Partner at Royal LLP, a management-side labor and employment law firm in Northampton.
•••••
Gwen Orzel has joined King & Cushman Inc. of Northampton as a Personal Lines Insurance Representative. She is a licensed broker with a certified insurance service representative designation.
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Attorney Gregory S. Bombard has joined the law firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas as an Associate in its litigation and alternative dispute resolution department. His practice focuses on representing financial institutions in mortgage-related litigation and on general commercial and business litigation. The firm has offices in Springfield, Boston, and Amherst.
•••••
Environmental Compliance Services of Agawam announced the following:
• Mark C. Hellstein has been named President and CEO. Hellstein, the company’s founder, also serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors;
• Kevin C. Sheehan has been designated Corporate Operating Officer. He has been with the firm since 1989 and is a member of the board of directors. He also oversees the health and safety operations;
• Michael L. Fiorini has been named Senior Vice President, Business Development. He has been with the firm since 1989 and will continue to serve as treasurer and a member of the board of directors;
• Daniel W. Felten has been appointed Senior Vice President, Technology. Felten has been with the firm since 1999 and is a member of the board of directors. He is also responsible for the information-technology operations;
• Jon P. Berntsen has been designated Senior Vice President and Regional Manager. He has been with the firm since 2000 and will be responsible for the management of the company’s offices in Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Columbus, Ohio. He is also a member of the board of directors;
• Douglas M. McVey will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer and Trustee but will now oversee the firm’s human resources department in addition to accounting. He joined the firm in 1999 and is a member of the board of directors; and
• William J. Alpine Jr. will continue to serve as Director of Cost Recovery and Internal Counsel but will now oversee real estate and facilities for the firm. He joined the company in 2005 and also serves as a member of the board of directors.
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Linda S. Syniec, CPA of Holyoke, has joined the accounting firm of Sullivan, Poulin & Payne, P.C. of West Springfield (sppcpa.com). She has more than 25 years of public accounting experience. Her expertise is in providing tax services to clients in most every industry group including closely held private companies and high net worth individuals. Syniec graduated from Western New England University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.
•••••
Frederick L. Sullivan, founding Partner at Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn, has been named to the 2011 Irish Legal 100. The Irish Legal 100 is a network of distinguished and accomplished men and women of Irish descent in the legal profession.
•••••
Thompson & Thompson, of Springfield, has announced the following:
• Robert F. Hennessy has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney.
• Amos Nissenbaum has been promoted to Senior Paralegal.
•••••
Andrea Stalf has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
•••••
Claire Kenna has joined Park Square Realty in its Westfield office as a Sales Associate.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 22, 2011

Departments People on the Move

Josiah B. Neiderbach recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in Springfield as a Land Use and Environment Planner.
•••••

Lynn Brown

Lynn Brown has been appointed First Vice President of Commercial Banking at PeoplesBank in Holyoke. Brown joins PeoplesBank with more than 26 years of experience in the financial-services industry. She is a seasoned commercial banking professional who has worked in the area for the majority of her career. At her previous position, Brown was responsible for managing a commercial-loan portfolio totaling more than $85 million. She is the chair of the board of directors for the Behavioral Health Network and is a member the board of directors for the East Longmeadow Education Endowment Fund.
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Amy B. Royal has been named a Director of Aditus Inc., a community-based education and employment agency serving individuals with developmental disabilities. She is a Senior Partner at Royal LLP, a management-side labor- and employment-law firm.
•••••

Nancy Milkey

Nancy Milkey, PG, LSP, has been named Tighe & Bond’s Technical Practice Leader for the Environmental Practice Group. In this role, she coordinates and champions the Westfield firm’s extensive environmental-assessment capabilities and ensures the group stays abreast of local, state, and federal regulations that impact clients. She is a registered brownfields professional, a Massachusetts-licensed site professional, and a professional geologist in New Hampshire.
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Alicia M. Szenda has been appointed Director of Sales at the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. She previously served as Group Sales Manager. In her new position, Szenda manages convention and meetings sales for all member properties in the Pioneer Valley, and serves as the hotel liaison for the TEAM Springfield sales strategy for conventions. She will also coordinate group tour activities for the bureau.
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Elisabeth E. Johnson has been appointed by TD Bank as Vice President, Portfolio Manager in Commercial Real Estate in Springfield. She is responsible for managing a $280 million portfolio of commercial mortgages and lines of credit, as well as credit administration, risk management, and compliance of existing loans.
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Katya Cerar has been named Director of Transition Aged Youth Services at ServiceNet.
•••••
United Bank, based in West Springfield, announced the following:

Donna George-Ebbeling

• Donna George-Ebbeling has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. She brings with her more than 25 years of banking experience in credit administration, most recently with People’s United Bank and previously with the former Bank of Boston. Her experience includes credit analysis, management of regional credit departments, and risk-management responsibilities.
• Donna Easton-Vicalvi has been promoted to Vice President, Government Banking. A former town treasurer with more than 15 years experience in municipal government and banking when she joined United Bank in 2008 as assistant vice president of government banking, Easton-Vicalvi has since built and maintained significant customer relationships with numerous municipalities in the surrounding area. She also plays an active role with various industry and community organizations.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 8, 2011

Departments People on the Move

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. of Springfield and Northampton announced that eight of the firm’s attorneys have been selected as 2011 Massachusetts Super Lawyers. In choosing Super Lawyers, ballots are sent by Law & Politics to more than 31,000 Massachusetts attorneys who have been in practice for five or more years. These attorneys then nominate their peers based on professional achievement and a high level of peer recognition. Independent research is then conducted on each of the nominees, followed by a blue-ribbon panel-review process, and the top 5% in each state are named Super Lawyers. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. The following Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. attorneys have been named 2011 Super Lawyers:

Stephen A. Shatz

• Stephen A. Shatz, who specializes in real-estate development, real-estate finance, and commercial leasing;
• Steven J. Schwartz, family-business planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and estate planning;

Gary S. Fentin

• Gary S. Fentin, commercial and tax-exempt finance, real estate, reorganization and workout, and representation of not-for-profit organizations;

Timothy P. Mulhern

• Timothy P. Mulhern, taxation law, business organizations, exit planning for business owners, estate planning, and probate;

Steven Weiss

• Steven Weiss, business bankruptcy, workout, and reorganization;

Michele J. Feinstein

• Michele J. Feinstein, estate planning and taxation, estate administration, probate, and elder law;

Carol Cioe Klyman

• Carol Cioe Klyman, estate planning, estate settlement, elder law, guardianships, and probate litigation; and

Ann I. Weber

• Ann I. Weber, estate planning, elder law, and probate.

L. Alexandra Hogan

The firm also announced that L. Alexandra Hogan has been selected as a 2011 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 1998, Super Lawyers launched Rising Stars in Minnesota to recognize the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state — those who are 40 years old or younger or who have been practicing for 10 years or fewer. Today, Rising Stars honors attorneys in more than 35 states. Hogan focuses her practice on business litigation, bankruptcy, and creditor and debtor rights.
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David W. Eidle has joined Berkshire Bank as Senior Vice President of Corporate Initiatives. He will lead the project-management office and provide leadership, design, direction, and strategic oversight for all corporate-wide initiatives, including mergers-and-acquisition integration, primary systems conversions, major business initiatives, and program implementation.
•••••
Stephen H. Bryant, President of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts in Springfield, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the New England Council, a nonpartisan alliance of businesses and academic and health institutions.
•••••

Claire Kenna

Claire Kenna has joined Park Square Realty’s Westfield office as a Sales Associate.
•••••
Seth N. Stratton has joined Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law in East Longmeadow. Stratton is a litigator with experience at Boston and Hartford firms.
•••••
Structural Engineer Matthew Dodge has joined Tighe & Bond of Westfield, specializing in the assessment and mitigation of vibrations on building structures to ensure occupant comfort and satisfactory operation of sensitive equipment. He also specializes in designing massive jointless concrete structures that resist cracking from temperature fluctuations and long-term shrinkage.
•••••

Keith A. Minoff

Attorney Keith A. Minoff has been named to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2011 and is featured in New England Super Lawyers Magazine, a supplement to the November issue of Boston magazine. The selections for the list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, a service of the Thomson Reuters legal division, which undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, and a peer review of candidates by practice area. Each year, more than 37,000 ballots are sent to lawyers statewide. The Super Lawyers list represents the top 5% of attorneys in Massachusetts. Attorney Minoff specializes in business litigation and employment law. He has a law office in Springfield and lives in Northampton.
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Arley Ewald has been promoted to Financial Reporting Officer for Chicopee Savings Bank and Chicopee Bancorp Inc.
•••••
Matthew C. Wisdom has been named Manager of TD Bank at 460 Newton St., South Hadley. An assistant vice president, he is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the branch bank.
•••••
Attorney Aaron W. Wilson has been reappointed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick to the Holyoke Housing Authority. He will serve a five-term term through May 2016. He is the current Vice Chair, and served as Chair of the board the last three years.
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Top Women of Law, the fourth annual event sponsored by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, recently celebrated legal educators, trailblazers, and role models who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in social justice, advocacy, and business.

Ellen W. Freyman

Attorney Ellen W. Freyman of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., of Springfield and Northampton, was among the women honored for accomplishments in the legal community.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff October 25, 2011

Departments People on the Move

Yuki Cohen

Yuki Cohen has been named Vice President and Wealth Advisor for the Wealth Management Division of Berkshire Bank in Pittsfield. Cohen will work with a variety of clients and institutions throughout the Berkshire County and Pioneer Valley markets, providing trust-administration and asset-allocation services to wealth-management clients.
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Attorney Karina L. Schrengohst has joined Royal LLP, based in Northampton, focusing her practice in labor law. She will represent unionized employers in court, defending them against unfair labor practice charges, and before administrative agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board. Also, she will assist clients at arbitrations in matters involving contract interpretation and employee discipline or discharge and advise non-union clients on developing the best practices for maintaining a union-free workplace.
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Shefali Desai has been appointed National Sales Leader of Emerging Markets for MassMutual’s Retirement Services division, based in Springfield. Desai is responsible for leading the division’s 15 sales directors, as well as third-party administrator channel managers targeting small-market retirement plans.
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Ralph F. Abbott Jr.

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., with offices in Springfield, Worcester, and Meriden, Conn., has announced that Ralph F. Abbott Jr. has been named the 2012 Springfield Employment Law-Management Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication in the legal profession. Abbott has been a member of the firm since 1975. In addition to providing employment-related advice to employers, he assists clients in remaining union-free and represents employers before the National Labor Relations Board.
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Heather Bosworth has joined Park Square Realty’s Westfield office as a Sales Associate.
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Johanna M. LaClair has joined the Insurance Center of New England as a Personal Lines Sales Representative.
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James E. Vinick has been named Treasurer of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.
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Chicopee Savings Bank announced the following:
• Martha M. Rickson has been named Branch Officer of the West Springfield branch office; and
• Maribel Torres has been named Assistant Vice President of Retail Lending.
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Western New England College in Springfield announced the following:
• Nuno C. Alves has been named Instructor of Electrical and Computer Engineering;
• Anthony E. English has been named Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering;
• Joe A. Riofrio has been named Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering; and
• Brian K. Smith has been named Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering.
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Joseph DaSilva has been named Vice President of Administration at Springfield Technical Community College.
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Florence Savings Bank announced the following promotions:
• Susan A. Pepin-Phillips has been named Vice President of Marketing;
• Shelley M. Daughdrill has been elected Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager;
• Michele Z. Lawrence-Bennett has been named Assistant Vice President and Security Officer;
• Sharon C. Malouin has been elected Audit Officer; and
• Robert E. Teto has been elected Virtual Branch Manager.
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Western New England University in Springfield recently appointed new members of the faculty at the College of Arts and Sciences:
• Eric L. Clark has been named Assistant Professor of Mathematics;
• William R. Force has been named Assistant Professor of Sociology;
• Jacob L. Krans has been named Assistant Professor of Neuroscience;
• Sean P. McClintock has been named Assistant Professor of Chemistry;
• Alexander S. Rosas has been named Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Law and Society program; and
• Heather Stassen-Ferrara has been named Assistant Professor of Communication.

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