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Discovery High Students Make Connections, Earn College Credit

By Contributor December 6, 2024

Environment and Engineering

Getting a Leg Up

Students from Discovery Polytech Early College High School are taking a leap into higher education by earning credits from Springfield Technical Community College (STCC).

This innovative partnership offers students a head start on their college journey, giving them the opportunity to take college-level courses, gain valuable academic experience, and save on future tuition costs.

As part of the ‘wall-to-wall’ early college program, high-schoolers ride a bus to the STCC campus two days a week — Tuesdays and Thursdays –— to take STEM-focused classes together in cohorts. The only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC is one of six area colleges and universities that offer an opportunity for Discovery students to earn at least three to six college credits per semester.

Discovery is one of the schools operated by the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP), which has collaborated with STCC since 2020, when students at Springfield High School of Commerce started taking college courses to earn credit.

Discovery is one of several in the family of Commerce schools. These schools have distinct identities and leadership teams that serve their student and family communities, while still reflected as part of Commerce at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The Springfield Empowerment Zone is a partnership between Springfield Public Schools, the state, and the Springfield Education Assoc.

Discovery students started coming to STCC in the fall of 2023. They are taking classes focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and are enrolled in the following pathways at STCC: business, cybersecurity, healthcare, optics and photonics, mechanical engineering technology, and technical arts.

Students in the cybersecurity pathway take courses in the newly opened Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity of Excellence at Union Station in Springfield, which features a cyber range, which is a virtual environment to practice real-world skills.

STCC President John Cook said the partnership with Discovery gives students a valuable opportunity to get exposure to a college environment and take classes in programs that cannot be found elsewhere in the region.

“The students are gaining a significant head start, and the experiences they have here will help prepare them for the next steps in their academic and professional lives,” he said. “We are thrilled to welcome Discovery students, and we are proud to work with the Springfield Empowerment Zone.”

SEZP collaborates with STCC staff, including Melanie Laurin, director of Early College Initiatives. The academic pathways align with the Pioneer Valley Labor Market Blueprint, said Kelley Gangi, chief of School Innovation for SEZP.

“Melanie and I and others on the STCC team have been strategic on which pathways are optimal for high-wage, high-growth career areas,” Gangi said. “We’re so blessed to be one of the first on the ground at the STCC cyber range.”

View to the Future

The wall-to-wall early-college program means all students taking college classes are on a pathway to earn an associate degree or 60 credits toward their bachelor’s degree for free, said Declan O’Connor, principal of Discovery. They begin classes on the STCC campus or other college campuses starting in the spring of their freshman year.

“We’re a STEM high school,” O’Connor said. “Our kids pick us because they want to be in a STEM environment. They’re gamers, they’re coders, they’re interested in digital media and managing social media. No student would come to us that didn’t have an interest in a STEM field.”

Gangi said some Discovery students may obtain a degree from STCC, while others might take classes at STCC but obtain a degree from another partner institution, depending on their major.

For many students, this program provides an opportunity to explore a field of study that interests them and prepare for the academic rigors of college. It also fosters a sense of independence and responsibility as they navigate college courses, manage their time, and engage with STCC’s diverse student body and faculty.

“They are definitely learning how to be on a college campus,” O’Connor said. “Nobody is sitting in on their classes. They’re walking to their classes. They’re experiencing college life.”

Izabella Martinez, a senior, has earned about 42 college credits so far. “I take two classes at STCC, and my professors have been very helpful,” she said. “During the first few weeks, they always welcomed us into class. The professors are easy to email. They brought supplemental instructors into class to help us. We are getting the experience that other college students are getting.”

Martinez takes a Computer Basics course with STCC Professor Anthony Rondinelli. On one October day, he was teaching the high-school students Microsoft Excel, showing them how to manipulate data, use formulas, create graphs, and more.

“They have different needs as students who are not yet graduated, but they’re very pleasant, and they want to learn. They’re receptive to being taught,” Rondinelli said. “I really believe in the partnership. A lot of the students have voiced to me that they like the course and they’re learning a lot. That’s really important to me, and hopefully it’s something that will continue on for many years to come.”

Accepting the Challenge

For the Discovery students, there are challenges as well as rewards to studying on a college campus like STCC.

Michael Anderson said some days he would rather be with his friends than be in a class. But he understands that knuckling down on his schoolwork will ultimately lead to the reward of earning college credit. “It always trickles down to your mindset: you might not be a college student, but you have to act like one. You’ve got to think, ‘what would a college student do?’”

The partnership aligns with STCC’s mission to provide accessible, affordable education to students from all backgrounds and to support pathways to higher education for underrepresented communities. It also reflects the growing trend of early-college programs across Massachusetts, designed to increase college readiness and close the achievement gap for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Discovery students are already reaping the benefits of this program, with many feeling more confident and motivated to pursue their educational goals.

“It’s very exciting being on a college campus,” Martinez said. “We are used to being in the same building every day and seeing the same faces. When we are on the college campus, we can work with people in fields that we eventually want to get to. We’re also able to network with people in those fields.”

Giving Guide 2024

By BusinessWest Staff December 5, 2024

Regional Philanthropic Opportunities

Click on the image to view the PDF flipbook

The importance of giving to those in need — and to the organizations who help others secure their basic needs — doesn’t take a holiday, and there’s no season of the year when their work is not critical, especially at a time when an uncertain economy continues to pose challenges to so many individuals and nonprofits.

Still, there’s no doubt that people think about giving more around the year-end holidays, and that’s why BusinessWest and the Healthcare News publishes its annual Giving Guide around this time: to shine a spotlight on specific community needs and show you not only how to support them, but exactly what your money and time can accomplish.

These 25 profiles of area nonprofit organizations are just a sampling of the region’s thousands of nonprofits. These profiles are intended to educate readers about what these groups are doing to improve quality of life for the people living and working in the 413, but also to inspire them to provide the critical support (which comes in many different forms) that these organizations and so many others desperately need.

These profiles within the Giving Guide list not only giving opportunities — everything from online donations to corporate sponsorships — but also volunteer opportunities. And it is through volunteering, as much as with a cash donation, that individuals can help a nonprofit carry out its important mission within our community.

BusinessWest and HCN launched the Giving Guide to 2011 to harness this region’s incredibly strong track record of philanthropy and support of the organizations dedicated to helping those in need. This special section is designed to inform, but also to encourage individuals and organizations to find new and imaginative ways to give back. We are confident it will succeed with both of those assignments

Joseph Bednar, Editor
John Gormally, Publisher
Kate Campiti, Associate Publisher

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To Unlock the Potential of AI, Nonprofits Must First Know the Risks

By Contributor December 5, 2024

Insurance Special Coverage

Real Talk on Artificial Intelligence

By Timm Marini

Timm Marini, president of Personal Lines Insurance at Hub International New England.

Artificial intelligence can help give nonprofits a leg up with donors and benefactors, but better AI safeguards may be needed to defend against potential cyber threats and other technology-related risks. Here’s what your organization needs to know.

Nonprofits are increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations and communication platforms, with their integration efforts actually outpacing their private-sector counterparts 58% to 47%.

AI enables nonprofits to enhance stakeholder engagement and can help them access solutions to social problems they are working to address. About 70% of nonprofits believe generative AI will help them achieve their organizations’ sustainable development goals by enhancing productivity, improving access to information, and increasing awareness to drive policy change.

But AI also presents risks that could threaten a nonprofit financially, reputationally, and operationally.

How Nonprofits Are Using AI

AI has surged since 2020 thanks to swift advances in technology to generate text, images, and videos. Nonprofits are tapping into generative AI and its large language model (LLM) subset to create text from big sets of data to enhance efficiency and expand their reach. Additionally, nonprofits can use AI to automate repetitive tasks, including certain administrative duties like scheduling meetings, data entry, or volunteer management, so they can instead focus their limited employee and volunteer resources on other important work.

“About 70% of nonprofits believe generative AI will help them achieve their organizations’ sustainable development goals by enhancing productivity, improving access to information, and increasing awareness to drive policy change. But AI also presents risks that could threaten a nonprofit financially, reputationally, and operationally.”

Savvy organizations are also leveraging predictive AI to analyze donor data and gain insights into potential future donors. These insights can guide generative AI to create personalized appeals through targeted communications such as letters, advertising, and other content. Some AI applications are even more ambitious by providing actionable information to people looking to get involved in a cause or mobilize resources.

The Risks in AI — and How to Combat Them

Despite AI’s benefits, risks abound, including errors in word choice, tone, or potential copyright infringement in AI-generated materials. It is critical that organizations have a process to fact-check AI-generated materials and develop usage rules and policies for employees or volunteers supported by awareness training. Organizations should also consider media liability insurance against AI content-related claims of personal injury, copyright/trademark infringement, and plagiarism.

Cybercrime is another concern. AI has enabled cyber criminals to improve the speed, scale, and automation of cyber attacks. The technology can turbo-charge schemes like phishing or ransomware and be used to mimic voices of real people ‘authorizing’ fraudulent activities, known as ‘deepfakes.’

AI systems can be targets as well. If a threat actor was able to compromise a language model and poison the information within it, the outputs generated by AI algorithms leveraging that model could be damaging.

“Savvy organizations are also leveraging predictive AI to analyze donor data and gain insights into potential future donors.”

Unfortunately, many nonprofits are resource-challenged and increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. About 68% of nonprofits have had at least one data breach in the last three years, 75% don’t actively monitor their networks, and more than 70% don’t run vulnerability assessments.

Every organization using or considering AI technology needs best practices and policies to protect against the potential risks. Here are some steps to consider:

• Document AI use policies. Organizations need to determine who can use public AI tools, and for what purpose. For instance, can business or personal email accounts be linked to the programs? How will access be managed — and by whom?

• Perform due diligence. Third-party AI tools that organizations or its vendors can buy, license, or access cause more than half of all AI failures, which includes providing inaccurate or copyrighted information. Organizations must thoroughly evaluate AI tools and the AI practices of any potential vendors to ensure they are guarding against threats. Rigorous contractual risk management — including hold-harmless, indemnification, and insurance provisions — is a must.

• Conduct awareness training. All staff should be trained in the use of AI tools and general cybersecurity protocols.

• Ensure risk management. An experienced broker is an invaluable resource to help organizations assess their cyber risk. Organizations should work with their broker to ensure they have the right insurance for AI-related exposures, such as cyber insurance and intellectual-property coverage.

Contact HUB International’s nonprofit insurance specialists to learn more about how to protect yourself against AI-related risks and take full advantage of the technology.

Timm Marini is president of Personal Lines Insurance at Hub International New England.

Auto Dealers Reflect on a Solid Year, Project More of the Same in 2025

By George O'Brien December 5, 2024

Autos Special Coverage

Drive Time

Ben Sullivan, seen here with a Honda Prologue, says sales of all-electric vehicles, as well as hybrids and plug-in hybrids, have been rising as consumers become more familiar with them.

‘Almost normal.’

Those are the two words that Ben Sullivan, chief operating officer for Balise Motor Sales, used to describe 2024 when it comes to just about every aspect of the auto-sales industry.

After four years of relative turmoil generated by COVID and its aftereffects, things were back to normal — almost, said Sullivan. To get his point across, he referenced the southernmost end of the huge parking lot for Balise’s Chevy/GMC dealership on West Columbus Avenue in Springfield.

Even 18 months ago, it was so barren, several people asked Sullivan if Balise had sold the lot. Now, it is heavily populated with cars — especially the commercial vehicles that were visible several years ago but were simply not available due to supply-chain issues in the wake of COVID.

That’s the case in every one of the many dealerships Balise has in Western Mass., the Cape, and Rhode Island, said Sullivan, noting that, when it comes to inventory levels, things are almost back to what was seen pre-pandemic.

“Until this year, there were cars coming in and cars going out, but there was zero stock to walk in and say, ‘I want to take something home today,’” he told BusinessWest. “We’re not back to totally normal levels now, but it’s getting a lot closer to what people would say is normal.”

Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group, which boasts Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Volvo, and Genesis stores, agreed. In fact, she said that, in some cases, inventories even exceed pre-pandemic levels.

“Until this year, there were cars coming in and cars going out, but there was zero stock to walk in and say, ‘I want to take something home today. We’re not back to totally normal levels now, but it’s getting a lot closer to what people would say is normal.”

Which helps explain some of the aggressive incentives being offered by some of those brands, including 0% financing on a Nissan Rogue and a $79-a-month lease deal on a Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV. And they help explain why, on the Monday of Thanksgiving week, normally a traditionally slower time, the TommyCar dealerships were “swamped.”

“I think they’re trying to build demand for the increased production,” Cosenzi said of the manufacturers, adding that these incentives were one of the key contributors to a very solid year.

Sullivan agreed that 2024 was a good year saleswise — better than most in the industry, and he puts himself in that category, were projecting roughly a year ago.

At Balise, sales were up roughly 10% (most years, 3% to 5% is the average), a performance he attributes to lingering pent-up demand from the COVID years and availability of most models and most trims, including the lower-priced options on cars and SUVs that manufacturers pushed to the sidelines in favor of the higher-priced trims during COVID.

“This year was the first time that you started to get what people would consider to be real availability back,” he said.

Mike Filomeno, left, and Mike Marcotte show off a Mustang Mach-E, one of the many EVs now sold by Ford.

Mike Marcotte, president of Marcotte Ford in Holyoke, said his dealership has also recorded a nearly 10% increase in overall revenue in 2024, which he attributed to those same factors, particularly availability — on both the consumer and commercial sides of the ledger — with December, traditionally a big month, especially on the commercial side, still to go.

“Ford has put some great incentives out there to end the year out,” he said, adding that these cover everything from pickups to EVs that come with free chargers. “It’s been a good year, and we’re expecting to end it in strong fashion.”

Cosenzi said final numbers are obviously not in yet, but she is projecting 8% growth for 2024, and something along those same lines for 2025.

While things are returning to normal on most fronts, on the electric vehicle and hybrid segment, there isn’t really a ‘normal,’ because this is an emerging market, one that is building some momentum, although there are now real question marks about the future of the EV consumer tax credit.

“You’re seeing a big increase in customer demand for hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” said Sullivan, adding that many see them as an alternative to — or a bridge to — EVs, which are enjoying gradual growth in sales amid more options and better incentives, for the moment, anyway. “People might be scared to get into an electric, but they’re saying, ‘what can I do?’

“This hybrid technology has been out there for some time, it’s performing very well quality- and reliability-wise, and people are a lot more comfortable getting into these vehicles,” he went on. “The percentage of sales of hybrids versus non-hybrids continues to grow.”

To a Higher Gear

To get his points across regarding availability, getting back to normal, and even the EV and hybrid markets, Sullivan referenced Balise’s Honda dealership on Riverdale Road in West Springfield.

“During COVID and the post-COVID era, it was not unusual for us to finish the month with maybe 16 vehicles for sale,” he told BusinessWest. “Now that they’re starting to build more Hondas, I think we’ll finish this month [November] — and we had a very good month — with 80 to 100 to choose from if someone wanted to walk in and take one today.

“You went through three years of expecting to have to put a deposit down on something that was inbound on a ship, a train, or a truck,” he went on. “And now, you’re getting to the point where there’s a good chance you can find what you’re looking for available — not the same levels as before COVID, but at a level where the customer probably wouldn’t notice the difference.”

Elaborating, Sullivan said normal stocking levels would be 30 to 45 days of inventory, or maybe 140 cars in the case of this Honda dealership. At present, as noted, there are maybe 100, and they cover all trim levels.

“You went through three years of expecting to have to put a deposit down on something that was inbound on a ship, a train, or a truc. And now, you’re getting to the point where there’s a good chance you can find what you’re looking for available.”

It’s pretty much the same across the spectrum, he said, adding that inventory levels vary with the dealership, but most are working their way back to ‘normal.’

Improved availability is one of the key reasons why 2024 was a better year than most were expecting, said those we spoke with, noting that there is still a large amount of pent-up demand — and, now, many options for meeting that demand.

Indeed, during COVID and its immediate aftermath, manufacturers, hit with massive supply-chain issues, focused mostly on higher-end vehicles, driving up the average cost of a new car to levels many consumers were not willing to pay, said Cosenzi, adding that lots are now close to full with models across all trim levels, which has certainly helped drive sales.

“It was very hard to find middle and lower trim levels during that time,” she explained. “Now that things are opening back up again, it’s a lot easier to find a selection of low, middle, and high-end options of the same model. Buyers have more options than they’ve had in years.”

Meanwhile, other contributing factors include comparatively low unemployment, relatively strong consumer confidence, and those incentives from the manufacturers, Cosenzi said. “We’ve seen the manufacturers get more and more aggressive. Right now, we have 0% for 60 months — Nissan has it on its Rogue, which is a prime model, Volkswagen has it … 0% is back. Meanwhile, the Hyundai Tucson has 1.9%; those are examples of how aggressive the incentives are.”

Marcotte agreed, noting that these incentives come in many forms, including the Ford Power Promise, whereby those buying or leasing an EV become eligible for a complimentary home charger and standard installation.

Picking up Speed

With improved availability and overall sales up 10%, the question then becomes, ‘what are people buying?’

Some of everything is the obvious answer, but especially SUVs and crossovers — in part because there are simply fewer cars to buy — as well as trucks, EVs, and hybrids, said those we spoke with.

And commercial vehicles as well, noted Sullivan, adding that year end is traditionally a busy time for such sales as contractors and others look to take advantage of Section 179 tax deductions. But until recently, they simply weren’t available.

“We’re finally at the point where we can take care of those customers, and that’s making them happy, and it makes us happy,” said Sullivan, noting that the southern end of the crowded parking lot at the Chevy/GMC store reflects this reality. “The past several years, in many cases, people just said, ‘we’ll wait until next year.’ It was a very difficult time getting commercial vehicles.”

Mike Filomeno, Sales manager at Marcotte Ford, agreed, noting that truck sales, on both the commercial and consumer sides, remain solid as inventories grow. He cited, as one example, Ford’s Maverick, a small pickup with prices starting at $27,000.

“It comes in a hybrid and all-wheel drive, so it’s pretty popular; that’s a great price point,” he said, adding that Ford’s lineup of larger trucks is also performing well.

And used-car sales are also solid, said Filomeno, noting that inventories have improved somewhat, prices have returned to something approaching normal, and, as a result of both factors, sales are up, contributing to the dealership’s growth this year.

As for SUVs, they continue to dominate the market, with most manufacturers cutting back to one or two car models. Ford, for example, has just one, the Mustang.

But Sullivan said those in the industry are starting to see some movement among the younger generations toward cars.

“It’s too early to see if it’s a trend or just data, but there is some indication that the young people, the Millennials, don’t want to be in SUVs like their parents were,” he noted. “And you’re starting to see a lot of young people migrate into the sedan market.”

If that movement accelerates, then manufacturers may need to rethink their lineups and add more sedans, he went on. For now, the focus remains on SUVs. And larger numbers of these are coming in the hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV varieties, said those we spoke with, adding that sales of those vehicles are up across the board.

EVs still comprise only around 6% of all sales, said Sullivan, adding that the numbers continue to gradually improve as the options increase and consumers become more familiar with them.

To that point, he said Balise recently brought each of the 23 EVs sold across its stable of dealerships to an event at the Palmer Motor Sports Park, where consumers could get acquainted with the various vehicles — and drive them on a racetrack. More than 100 consumers turned out, and most all of them came away impressed with what they saw and experienced.

“I did not speak to one of them who didn’t say, ‘now that I’ve driven one, I believe it’s the car for me,’” he recalled, adding that familiarity breeds comfort.

Marcotte agreed, noting that Ford’s lineup of EVs includes everything from the Mustang Mach-E to the F-150 Lightning pickup to an E-Transit cargo van, and that, increasingly, consumers are becoming more comfortable with such vehicles.

Cosenzi concurred, noting that the Hyundai store put more than 30 people in the IONIQ 5 this month, thanks to the $79-a-month, 13-month lease deal. She said the outlook for continued improvement is generally positive, but much depends on whether the incoming Trump administration makes good on plans to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for EV purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation.

“There’s a lot of speculation about what might happen with those incentives,” she said, adding that, at more than $10,000 in many cases, they certainly help some consumers get over the hump and into an EV.

Hospitals Respond Proactively, Creatively to ‘Relentless’ Challenges

By George O'Brien December 5, 2024

Healthcare News Special Coverage

Beyond the Status Quo

Baystate Health is undergoing some pain now, including the loss of many leadership positions, but plans to be on solid financial footing by the end of 2025.

Spiros Hatiras was looking for some wood to knock on.

The president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) had just told BusinessWest that his hospital had a solid year in 2024 and made progress with many of the challenges facing all providers, and he was generally optimistic about the immediate future.

“Knock on wood,” he added quickly, noting that he and others in this sector are always wary of the unforeseen — like a global pandemic, for example, or the extreme workforce challenges that came in its wake, or a cyber attack … or any changes to Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act, which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in Medicaid to sell outpatient drugs at discounted prices to hospitals that serve many uninsured and low-income patients.

“That’s a program that’s a lifeline for hospitals, and it constantly gets attacked, usually by pharmaceutical companies who want to do away with it because they have to discount drugs at a very high rate,” said Hatiras, who, like and others we spoke with, is not expecting any real changes to the 340B program, but acknowledged they could happen. In the meantime, they stressed that, while the unforeseen is always concerning, the many challenges that are in plain sight are certainly daunting enough.

Indeed, ‘relentless’ was the word Dr. Robert Roose, president of Mercy Medical Center, used to describe these ongoing headwinds, which include everything from spiraling costs and inflation to persistently inadequate reimbursements from payers, especially those of the public variety; from continuing workforce challenges to access and capacity issues.

And then, there is the overriding issue driving all those listed above — caring for a population that is older and sicker than what has been seen historically.

Dr. Robert Roose

“The challenges in healthcare over the past five years have shifted, but they have not let up. And they ultimately result in financial challenges that are stressing the ways in which we collectively provide access to care in our communities.”

“The challenges in healthcare over the past five years have shifted, but they have not let up,” Roose said. “And they ultimately result in financial challenges that are stressing the ways in which we collectively provide access to care in our communities.”

The many hardships facing hospitals large and small have been effectively encapsulated in recent headlines involving the Baystate Health system, which includes four hospitals.

The system went public recently to detail recent struggles — including $300 million in operating losses over the past few years — and its response.

That includes the sale of its lab (which helped stem the flow of red ink for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30), the pending sale of Health New England, and, most recently, the announced elimination of 130 administrative positions.

Those steps are part of what Baystate’s new president and CEO, Peter Banko, called a “transformation plan, one that calls for making hard decisions, relieving cost pressures, some cuts, but also investments in the years to come and greater financial stability.

“Next year at this time, we’ll be talking about being in a growth mode,” he added. “Not contracting, not selling things, but investing $1.2 billion over the next six years.”

There has been a good deal of red ink within the industry — 75% of Bay State hospitals will lose money in 2024, according to the Massachusetts Hospital Assoc. — but Hatiras said HMC has been able to stay in the black, in part through help from the Commonwealth, which has been very supportive of its hospitals, but also by managing carefully.

“We don’t have a lot to fall back on, so we’re careful,” he noted. “We also try to think outside the box and be smart about the risks we take.”

As they looked ahead to 2025 and beyond, those we spoke with made heavy use of that phrase ‘guarded optimism’ when it comes to improvement of the overall bottom line as well as issues such as the workforce. But they also spoke of the need for real change when it comes to how people are cared for.

Peter Banko

“We need to develop more personalized care. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work; someone who’s 85 needs different care than someone’s who’s 65 or 55 or 25. I’ve been in this industry for 40 years; we’ve never personalized care or personalized care models to each person — it’s ‘here’s our model, and you’re going to fit into it.’”

“We need to develop more personalized care,” Banko said. “One-size-fits-all doesn’t work; someone who’s 85 needs different care than someone’s who’s 65 or 55 or 25. I’ve been in this industry for 40 years; we’ve never personalized care or personalized care models to each person — it’s ‘here’s our model, and you’re going to fit into it.’”

For this issue’s look at the healthcare outlook for 2025, we talked with these hospital leaders about what’s happening today, and what needs to happen for tomorrow.

Age-old Problems

Nov. 2 at 4 a.m.

That’s when Mercy Medical Center flipped the switch, if you will, and converted to the Epic EHR electronic health records system. The conversion comes at a price tag “in the eight figures,” over the next several years, and has been, in general, both all-consuming and quite necessary, Roose said.

“This has been a journey for us for several years that intensified over the past year — it’s a transformational moment,” he explained, adding that the system will greatly improve coordination of care. “It’s been incredible investment in terms of time — tens of thousands of hours — and money.”

Conversion to systems like Epic, taking place across the country, comprise just one of the many challenges — and huge expenses — facing all healthcare systems today.

And those challenges have been, as Roose said, relentless — both since the start of COVID and, on many fronts, since well before that.

One of the larger issues facing all providers today is simply caring for a population that is older — the oldest Baby Boomers are approaching 80, and there are a lot of them — and, for reasons both known and unknown, sicker.

“There’s been a spike in things, which everyone is still trying to explain,” Hatiras said. “We’ve seen a spike in cancers, a spike in heart conditions, spikes in cardiovascular and stroke … people are very, very sick, sicker than in years prior.

Spiros Hatiras

“There’s been a spike in things, which everyone is still trying to explain. We’ve seen a spike in cancers, a spike in heart conditions, spikes in cardiovascular and stroke … people are very, very sick, sicker than in years prior.”

“People are still trying to figure out why this is happening,” he said, not wanting to speculate himself but while also listing theories ranging from long COVID to vaccines to people putting off needed care during the pandemic.

“The bottom line is, we’re a lot busier,” he went on, adding that this phrase applies to many constituencies, including employees. Indeed, the hospital, which is self-insured, has seen claims for such conditions as cancers, cardiac disease, and stroke up 30% to 40%, spikes that are certainly not normal.

Banko noted that, in many respects, what hospitals are seeing relates to demographics — a large percentage of the population reaching its 60s and 70s at the same time more people are living well into their 80s, 90s, and beyond — and the resulting consequences. Meanwhile, in Western Mass., there is virtually no growth among younger people, leaving an older, sicker population to care for.

“We look at our growth over the next five to 10 years … there’s a little in the 25-to-44 age range, the 45-64 range is declining, the zero to 25 is declining. The most rapid increase in our population here in Western Mass. and the Northeast is the 65 and older, and the largest increase is 75 and over.

“What that means is more complex care and more chronic conditions; today, we’re at 70% Medicare, and that’s only to increase moving forward,” he went on, adding that these statistics explain why hospitals in this region are under more financial stress than those in growth areas such as the Southwest and Southeast.

“People are living longer, and when they live longer, there are chronic conditions,” Banko continued. “Decisions made in your 30s, 40s, and 50s show up in your 70s and 80s … you’re probably going to experience cancer, and you may experience heart disease or stroke, and you may need a hip replacement or spine surgery.”

Work in Progress

This surge in business presents a host of challenges, including crowded emergency departments, with backlogs of people getting into beds, and then backlogs when those people are ready for discharge because there is a lack of beds in nursing homes and other facilities.

“We have access issues,” Banko said. “It’s hard to access primary care and specialists, we don’t have physicians and workforce to care for the needs of the community, we don’t have enough beds … we don’t have enough capacity.”

These capacity issues are compounded by financial struggles, which make it more difficult to make needed investments in facilities and personnel, he went on, adding that a big part of Baystate’s transformation plan is to invest and expand so that more people can be treated in this market and fewer people will have to go to Boston or other markets for care.

Looking ahead, he said 2025 and the years to follow will be “tough but invigorating.”

And these challenges come amid workforce issues, amplified by those aforementioned demographics — Boomer doctors, nurses, and other professionals are retiring — and the unprecedented levels of stress generated by the pandemic, which prompted some to leave healthcare for other sectors or retire early.

Those we spoke with said there has been some easing on the workforce front, especially as hospitals offer incentives to nurses and other professionals, as well as more flexibility with hours and work/life balance. But the challenge persists.

One of the reasons why is capacity, said Hatiras, noting that incentive programs, which all area hospitals have now implemented, mostly result in professionals moving from one hospital or system to another, with no general improvement in numbers across the sector.

“I wish that, rather than us trying to attract staff that works somewhere else — when we hire someone, that leaves a hole somewhere else — we could find some way to grow the pie rather than share it differently,” he said. “But if you’re a small player like us, in order to survive, you have to have staff. Unfortunately, the game we have to play is to make this place as attractive as possible to attract people here, even if it’s from other institutions, which I’d rather not do, but, unfortunately, I have to.”

To attract these professionals, HMC and other providers are focusing on culture, while also creating more flexibility with schedules, something that is in demand, especially from younger generations of workers.

“We find more people who don’t want to work weekends, or they don’t want to work nights,” said Hatiras, adding that someone has to work those shifts, and the challenge is to incentivize people to want to.

Roose agreed, noting that, through some creative initiatives involving schedules, compensation, and overall culture, Mercy Medical Center has recorded a 33% reduction in turnover rates over the past nine months.

Bottom Line

As they looked ahead, those we spoke with again referenced the unforeseen, which is always a concern in this sector — again, because the ongoing issues are stern enough.

Hatiras said that, in addition to ongoing attacks by Big Pharma on Section 340B, there is some concern about planned cuts to the amount of support given to disproportionate-share hospitals, as contained in the Affordable Care Act.

Those cuts, included in the landmark legislation on the assumption that more people would have health insurance and that the need for additional support would be reduced, have not been implemented, he told BusinessWest, adding that the program expires Jan. 1, and there are questions about whether this lame-duck Congress will continue to kick that can down the road.

“If those cuts go into effect, it’s a lot of money — in Massachusetts, I think it’s $600 million, maybe $800 million,” he said, adding that hospitals like HMC will certainly be impacted.

Banko isn’t predicting any cuts to 340B or Medicaid’s Disproportionate Share Hospital program, adding that reductions to either would be devastating to the state’s hospitals and, therefore, unlikely.

As for the longer term, he noted that the demographics he cited earlier will continue to challenge hospitals and healthcare systems in this region, underscoring the need for real change in how care is provided.

“How we get paid versus how we provide care are two different things,” he said. “We’re going to have to figure out new care models with physicians, advanced practice providers, how we provide nursing, more virtual care, more outpatient care. Compared to other parts of the country, we don’t have a lot of ambulatory outpatient access points, so not a lot of imaging centers, surgery centers, or urgent care.

“So now, we’re stuck going to the big-box hospital,” Banko went on. “So we have to find ways to offload care to community settings, less costly settings, and starting to develop personalized care.”

Roose agreed. He called this an inflection point for the sector, one that requires a call to action and a transformation in how care is provided, with more intervention earlier that may prevent real problems later.

“Personally and professionally,” he said, “I see a real calling to try move upstream and intervene earlier — not only with individual improvements through lifestyle changes that can attend to the factors that can contribute to chronic disease, be that movement, appropriate nutrition, or good sleep, but also thinking more systemically about how we support the decisions and the resources within the community to lead people toward better health, better wellness.”

UMass Amherst Named Partner Institution in $15 Million NSF I-Corps Hub

By BusinessWest Staff December 5, 2024

Environment and Engineering Special Coverage

The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Sundar Krishnamurty says I-Corps speaks to the vision of building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has named UMass Amherst a partner in the NSF I-Corps Hub: New England Region. The university will receive more than $1.4 million from the partnership, which will be led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The hub will receive $15 million over five years to promote entrepreneurialism among STEM researchers, with I-Corps trained faculty, researchers, and students working to transform deep technology inventions into marketable products.

“We train our researchers to apply their findings to create value. We call it Innovation 101,” said Sundar Krishnamurty, faculty lead of the I-Corps program at UMass, Ronnie & Eugene M. Isenberg distinguished professor in Engineering, and department head of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. “The interdisciplinary program reaches into the whole STEM world. This speaks to the chancellor’s vision of building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus.”

UMass has expertise in translating research from scientific and technology domains that are key focus areas for the I-Corps Hub: New England Region. These areas are bluetech (advanced technologies and innovations related to the marine and maritime domains), forestry/sustainability, and biotech/life sciences.

UMass has been an I-Corps site since 2018, but this new award marks the NSF’s shift from individual sites to what the NSF describes as “a more integrated model, I-Corps Hubs, comprising a lead and partner institutions, that form the operational backbone of the National Innovation Network.”

Now, in addition to running these trainings for the UMass community, the UMass I-Corps team will be recruiting from other universities within the UMass system, as well as Western Mass. institutions such as Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Springfield Technical Community College. The outreach initiative aims to correct persistent gender, race, and geographic disparities in entrepreneurship.

“The goal of the I-Corps program is to deploy experiential education to help researchers reduce the time necessary to translate promising ideas from laboratory benches to widespread implementation that in turn impacts economic growth regionally and nationally.”

“Our prior I-Corps site was highly successful in providing essential tech translation training programs to UMass faculty and student teams,” said Sanjay Raman, principal investigator of the UMass Amherst New England Hub I-Corps effort, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and dean of the College of Engineering. “In total, over 60 regional teams were trained, 15 went on to the national level I-Corps program, and 12 new ventures were formed. We are thrilled to join MIT and our other New England partner universities to expand our impact throughout the region, in particular underserved, more rural regions.”

Examples of Impact

Successful I-Corps participants from UMass include Myrias Optics, an emerging developer of nanopatterned structures on glass called metaoptics; Latde, a company that designs inexpensive diagnostic tests to guide antibiotic treatment, starting with urinary-tract infections; and rStream, a startup creating AI-based systems to sort recycling.

Sanjay Raman

“Innovation is a core value for our campus. The I-Corps Hub and the opportunity to participate as a partner directly aligns with existing campus efforts to create an environment that supports the research, development, and mechanisms leading to deep technology ventures,” said Mike Malone, vice chancellor for Research and Engagement.

Ina Ganguli, professor of Economics in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Isenberg School of Management, and director of the UMass Computational Social Science Institute, is the hub research lead. She brings her expertise in how to effectively involve individuals with diverse experiences and identities in university innovation and commercialization activities and how to create more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Laura Burnham will continue to serve as program director. She brings more than 20 years of experience leading the development, design, and delivery of early-stage science and technology programs in the U.S. and globally.

“The goal of the I-Corps program is to deploy experiential education to help researchers reduce the time necessary to translate promising ideas from laboratory benches to widespread implementation that in turn impacts economic growth regionally and nationally,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF’s assistant director for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships. “Each regional NSF I-Corps Hub provides training essential in entrepreneurship and customer discovery, leading to new products, startups, and jobs. In effect, we are investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs for our nation.”

The NSF I-Corps Hub: New England Region is one of three new regional hubs, bringing the total number of higher-education institutions with an I-Corps site across the country to 128. Led by MIT, the hub also includes Brown University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, the University of Maine, and the University of New Hampshire.

History, Culture, Nature Converge in Sturbridge

By George O'Brien November 22, 2024

Michael Harrington, left, seen here with Michael Glick

Community Spotlight

James Donahue says visitation at Old Sturbridge Village has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels.

‘Converge.’

That’s the word you hear probably most often when people talk about Sturbridge. And with good reason.

That’s what families, wedding guests, members of trade associations, tourists, and other constituencies do. They converge here because … well, it’s easy to, given that this community of almost 10,000 residents is located at the intersection of I-84, the Mass Pike, and Route 20; sits just a short distance from Worcester Municipal Airport; and is not far from both Worcester and Springfield.

“Sturbridge has an amazing location — it’s right in the heart of Massachuetts,” said Monique Joseph, president and CEO of Discover Central Massachusetts, the regional tourism bureau for a 35-community area that includes Sturbridge. “It’s a very popular location for the meeting planner or the event planner, and for bus tours, and for weddings.”

But this convergence quality, if you will, is just part of the story in Sturbridge. Another part — and it’s related, and a reason why people meet here — is everything they can do after they converge.

They can take in some history — at Old Sturbridge Village (OSV), which recreates life in rural New England in the early 19th century, but also the historic town common and other spots. They can hike — there are dozens of miles of trails in this rural community, as we’ll see. They can shop and enjoy fine dining, craft beer, and some locally distilled spirits. They can camp, bicycle, and kayak. They can buy antiques — Brimfield is one town over. They can even do some axe throwing (although that’s mostly a ‘locals’ thing), and soon, they’ll be able to take in a movie with new ownership of an eight-screen complex at the Center at Hobbs Brook set to open later this year.

“It’s called Sturbridge Luxury Cinemas, a dine-in theater with luxury seating,” said Alexandra McNitt, executive director of the Chamber of Central Mass South, which includes 12 communities, including Sturbridge. She said the theater complex comprises one of several new businesses, including some retail, that will provide still more for visitors to do.

There wasn’t much converging — or much of anything listed above — during the pandemic, so Sturbridge suffered as much as any community in this region during the pandemic, losing several hospitality-related businesses, including the movie complex and the Stageloft Repertory Theater, while countless others experienced severe setbacks. But the town has made what most would say is an almost full recovery from COVID and the workforce challenges that followed, said Mike Harrington, a principal at the Publick House, an historic inn and restaurant known for its history, holiday-season activities, and even the occasional rumored ghost sighting.

“Our rooms business has been very good, up 6% from last year,” he said. “We see a lot more activity on weekends with people stopping through Sturbridge on their way to Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont — they stay overnight — and we’re seeing corporate business come back, which is very helpful. We’re on a good path.”

James Donahue, president and CEO of OSV, agreed, noting that, while school field trips, a significant portion of total visitation, have not fully come back to pre-pandemic levels (transportation costs are certainly a factor), overall numbers are approaching those posted in 2019 and before, despite ever-growing competition for the time — and spending dollars — of families.

“Our rooms business has been very good, up 6% from last year. We see a lot more activity on weekends with people stopping through Sturbridge on their way to Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont — they stay overnight — and we’re seeing corporate business come back, which is very helpful. We’re on a good path.”

“Technology plays a much bigger role in what people are doing now, and there continue to be more demands on families; the station-wagon trip isn’t as common as it was when I was growing up,” he said, adding that, despite these headwinds, ‘the Village,’ as it’s called, continues to draw visitors from across the region — and across the country.”

For this latest installment of our Community Spotlight series, we turn the lens on Sturbridge, where there’s a whole lot of converging going on.

Walking the Walk

McNitt told BusinessWest she recently welcomed an addition to the family, a new puppy.

Among other things, this canine companion has provided her with a greater (let’s say even greater) appreciation of the trail network in this community.

“The Sturbridge Trails Committee has created some really vast, fun, passive-recreation networks,” she said. “And they’ve made them accessible.”

Monique Joseph says Sturbridge’s location at the crossroads of New England makes it the ideal spot for weddings, association meetings, family reunions, and other types of gatherings.

There are more than 50 miles of trails in Sturbridge. They include the Grand Trunk Trail, also known as Titanic Railroad, because it follows the path of an old railroad bed, a project that was abandoned after its founder perished on the ill-fated ocean liner.

There’s also the Burgess Discovery Trail, located on the grounds of Burgess Elementary School, a short, family-friendly walk that offers many opportunities to interact with nature, including a wetland bog bridge, glacial boulders, and local wildlife; as well as the Tantiusques Reservation, where hikers can see remnants of New England’s first mining operation, a graphite mine operated by the native Nipmuc tribe and local English colonists until it was abandoned in the late 1800s.

The walking and biking trails, which often combine nature and history, are just one of the many converging (there’s that word again) stories in Sturbridge, where the phrase ‘something for everyone’ is certainly not hyberpole, Joseph said.

“It’s a charming town that strikes the perfect balance; it’s rich in history, and it’s modern-day fun, so it is a wonderful location to attract families,” she noted. “Whether you’re looking for history or outdoor activities, or you just want great food, Sturbridge has it all.”

One of the main attractions, of course, is OSV, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, which includes more than 40 structures, everything from several houses and a law office to a bank and a blacksmith shop.

Donahue told BusinessWest that the Village had to close for several months at the height of the pandemic, a scary time during which gifts from donors helped the facility keep its employees, many of them with unusual skills, on the payroll.

“It’s a charming town that strikes the perfect balance; it’s rich in history, and it’s modern-day fun, so it is a wonderful location to attract families.”

“My fear was that, if I have to lay people off and I lose a blacksmith or a tinsmith or someone who’s an expert in textiles … those are difficult skills to find in the marketplace,” he said. “So the key, to me, was keeping everyone whole until we opened again.”

OSV has certainly been helped by the fact that it is mostly an outdoor museum, and over the past few years, it has seen overall attendance rise steadily — it was up 8% for the fiscal year that just ended in September — and approach the 250,000 mark that was the annual average pre-pandemic.

More recently, it’s been aided by several months of cooperative weather — a streak that has continued into November.

Sturbridge at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1738
Population: 9,867
Area: 39.0 square miles
County: Worcester
Residential Tax Rate: $16.49
Commercial Tax Rate: $16.49
Median Household Income: $56,519
Family Household Income: $64,455
Type of government: Town Administrator, Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: OFS Optics, Old Sturbridge Village, Arland Tool & Manufacturing Inc., Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center
* Latest information available

“I wrote a quick update to our board recently talking about the success of October, and one of the members said, ‘you’re doing a great job.’ I said, ‘it wasn’t me — it was Mother Nature all the way,” said Donahue, who is now gearing up for the holidays, perhaps the busiest time of year at OSV. Indeed, Christmas by Candlelight at the Village begins the day after Thanksgiving and includes decorations in all the houses, special food, bonfires, carolers, and, a new addition this year — a show in the museum’s theater on the history of Christmas carols called “Upon a Midnight Clear.”

If the Spirit Moves You

In addition to history, Sturbridge has a large and diverse hospitality sector that boasts several restaurants, lodging facilities, wedding venues, breweries, and a recent addition, Deep Roots Distillery, which is now also home to Into the Grain Axe Throwing.

Keith Devarenne, co-owner of both ventures, said the distillery, like many other recent entrepreneurial ventures, came about as a result of some soul searching during the pandemic.

“I retired from the Department of Corrections in Connecticut in 2020, and my wife started working at home,” he recalled. “She said, ‘we should open a distillery.’ I said, ‘you’re crazy.’ She told our other partner that, and he said ‘you’re crazy,’ too.”

They would put down the idea, but also research it — and that research told them there weren’t many distilleries in the area, which posed a business opportunity.

Michael Harrington, left, seen here with Michael Glick, general manager of the Publick House, says 2024 has been a solid year for the Sturbridge landmark, marked by an increase in business gatherings.

They seized it, moving from home experimentation to buying an old cotton mill, where they now produce a wide variety of rums, vodkas, whiskeys, and liqueurs.

“The hardest thing was making the jump to doing this professionally and opening the doors,” he said, adding that the venue draws visitors from across this region and well beyond, including many stopping at Tree House Brewing Co. in neighboring Charlton.

The axe-throwing facility, which opened in May 2023, came about through a desire to provide something else for locals — and maybe some visitors — to do, said Devarenne, adding that a portion of the old mill behind the distillery’s tasting room was renovated for that purpose, and they made a fairly modest investment in axes, targets, and the lanes that keep participants safe.

As in the few other locations where such facilities have been created, axe throwing is catching on in Sturbridge, said Devarenne, noting that groups will often come in after dinner at one of the local restaurants (including the one at the distillery), on weekend afternoons, or for the league on Thursday nights.

“We’re very weather-dependent — if it’s rainy on Friday and Saturday, we’re usually very busy,” he said. “So far, so good; people are coming in and giving it a try.”

While axe throwing is new to Sturbridge, the Publick House is quite old, dating back to 1771, when it was a stagecoach stop. Harrington’s family acquired the property in 2003 and has made significant investments in new rooms and renovations to existing facilities.

The complex is one of several lodging destinations that play host to a wide range of different events, from business and trade-association meetings to family gatherings to weddings, which are a huge business in this community — again, partly because of its location in the middle of the state and the middle of New England, right off major highways.

Each of those segments is solid, if not booming, said Harrington, noting that the facility is on pace to handle 153 weddings this year, which is about average, although it has done as many as 180.

Meanwhile, corporate business is coming back, to about 70% of what it was before the pandemic, he added, noting that, after years of meeting by Zoom, business groups and associations are meeting in person again, and taking advantage of Sturbridge’s central location — which remains, as always, an ideal place to converge.

Is a Backdoor Roth IRA the Right Choice for You?

By Contributor November 22, 2024

Banking and Financial Services

Weighing the Options

By Keara King

With the rapid growth of social media, we are more connected than ever, allowing immediate and constant access to a wealth of advice and information. Some of the financial advice you run into online may be beneficial, but be wary of making financial decisions based on advice that is not specific to your financial situation, nor provided by a verifiable source. Financial decisions are far from a one-size-fits-all approach.

One piece of advice that has been making the rounds on TikTok is making backdoor Roth IRA contributions as a tax-advantage tool to build your wealth.

What Is a Backdoor Roth IRA?

A Roth IRA is a retirement account that allows individuals to contribute after-tax dollars. The contributions and earnings grow tax-free, and you can take tax-free distributions once certain requirements are met.

However, not everyone is eligible to contribute directly to a Roth IRA. Eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA is based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For 2024, the maximum contribution starts to reduce at MAGI of $146,000 for single filers and $230,000 for joint filers.

However, there is a way around the income limitation for high-income taxpayers. A backdoor Roth IRA is a strategy that allows high-income taxpayers to contribute to a Roth IRA by converting funds from a traditional IRA. This is typically done by making your annual contribution to a traditional non-deductible IRA and then immediately converting this to a Roth IRA. Doing this as soon as possible prevents earnings on your traditional IRA from being taxable on the conversion.

Keara King

“A backdoor Roth IRA is a strategy that allows high-income taxpayers to contribute to a Roth IRA by converting funds from a traditional IRA. This is typically done by making your annual contribution to a traditional non-deductible IRA and then immediately converting this to a Roth IRA.”

Some financial advisors offer support in handling a backdoor Roth conversion for their clients, so reach out for help before starting the process of converting.

Nevertheless, before leaping to follow internet advice to contribute to a backdoor Roth IRA, you should consider these three things:

• Do you already have an IRA or Roth IRA account(s)?

• Does your current employer offer a 401(k) with a company match?

• What is your expected income for the year?

The IRS views all of your IRAs as a single account when determining the tax you owe on distributions, including Roth IRA conversions. If your traditional IRA accounts include both pre-tax (deductible, retirement-plan rollovers) and after-tax (non-deductible) contributions, the pro rata rule dictates that your Roth conversion will be taxed proportionate to your pre- and post-tax percentages. You cannot dictate that your Roth conversion will use only after-tax funds.

For example, if you have an existing $100,000 traditional IRA and $7,000 came from non-deductible contributions, your non-taxable percentage would be 3% (or 7,000/100,000). This turns your IRA conversion of $7,000 into $6,510 of ordinary income on your tax return.

Alternatively, if you do not have an existing traditional IRA or all your contributions were non-deductible, your pro rata would be 0%, and none of your IRA conversion would be considered taxable income on your return. Backdoor Roth IRAs can be valuable for the right taxpayer. However, it isn’t right for everyone.

In addition to the backdoor Roth IRAs, there are several other options to consider for retirement planning.

401(k) Plans and Company Matches

A 401(k) is a retirement savings plan that allows taxpayers to make contributions through their employer to a defined contribution plan. The contribution limit for 401(k)s is $23,000 in 2024 or $30,500 for those over age 50. Some employers will offer a company match; typically, around 3% of the employee’s salary will be contributed to your account, up to a set limit. This is the biggest benefit of a 401(k), as it is essentially free money to the taxpayer. It’s also important to note that your employer’s contribution does not count toward the annual contribution limit.

When you open a 401(k) with your employer, you can usually decide for yourself between a traditional and/or Roth account. The difference is primarily how they are taxed. With a traditional 401(k), the employee contributes pre-tax dollars and thus reduces their taxable income in the current year. This is beneficial for high-income taxpayers, who are currently paying a premium tax rate. When the taxpayer withdraws the retirement funds, they should be in a lower tax bracket, thus the tax on the withdrawal (money contributed plus earnings) should be minimal.

On the other hand, with a Roth 401(k), the employee contributes post-tax dollars — thus, paying the tax on the income in the current year so that it can grow tax-free in your retirement account. There is no tax deduction on this type of contribution, as you reap the benefits in the future. This type of account is beneficial for taxpayers who want to shield themselves from potential increases in tax rates in the future by paying the tax now. Moreover, it is important to note employer contributions can be made to both traditional and Roth 401(k) plans no matter what option you pick.

If your employer doesn’t offer a company match, consider looking at other IRA or Roth IRA contributions. Going through a separate broker outside of your work plan will give you access to a larger selection of investments and help avoid administrative fees.

IRAs

Taxpayers are allowed to contribute a combined total of $7,000 to all traditional and Roth IRA accounts in 2024, or $8,000 if you are over age 50. There is no employer match for contributions to either type of IRA.

Traditional IRA contributions are ideal for taxpayers who are seeking an immediate tax break. However, if you are covered by an employer retirement plan, your deduction may be reduced or eliminated based on income levels. In 2024, single or head-of-household taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income of $87,000 or more (and are covered by a retirement plan through work) are not eligible for the deduction. Meanwhile, the phaseout from a full deduction to a partial deduction starts at $77,001 for single or head of household.

Similarly, married-filing-jointly taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income of $143,000 or more (and are covered by a retirement plan through work) are not eligible for the deduction. The phaseout for married filing jointly starts at $123,001. However, you are still eligible to contribute to a non-deductible IRA even if your income is over the eligibility threshold.

Roth IRA contributions are ideal for taxpayers who are not eligible for the traditional IRA deduction and for those who expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the future. They are also ideal for younger investors with a long-time horizon until retirement who can really benefit from the tax-free growth. A taxpayer’s eligibility for a Roth IRA is not impacted by their 401(k) retirement through work. However, as mentioned above, there are income limitations to keep in mind.

Bottom Line

When deciding what savings vehicle you want to contribute to this tax year, it is important to weigh the tax advantages, eligibility, and contribution limits beforehand. Talk with a financial advisor and/or your tax accountant about the best strategy to implement for your future today.

Finally, remember that this article is intended to serve only as a general guideline. Your personal circumstances will likely require careful examination and should be discussed with an appropriate professional.

Keara King is a senior associate with Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. in Holyoke.

STCC, HCC Take Home Awards for Marketing

By Joseph Bednar November 22, 2024

Business Innovation

Team Efforts

STCC’s Marketing and Communications team includes, from left, Jim Danko, Nicola Ludwig, and Eli Freund.

Two local community colleges took home awards at the District 1 Conference of the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), held Oct. 23-25 in Baltimore.

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) won Medallion Awards in three categories: Microsite/Landing Page (bronze); Social Media Post or Story A (bronze); and TV/Video Paid Advertisement (single) (silver).

Meanwhile, Holyoke Community College (HCC) won the top two Medallion Awards in the category of Excellence in Writing – Short Form, for stories up to 800 words.

NCMPR, which supports marketing and public-relations professionals at community and technical colleges, holds the District Medallion Awards annually in the fall. These awards are regarded as a benchmark for excellence in communications and marketing in higher education.

STCC Wins for Design and Communication

Competing against colleges across the Northeast (District 1), STCC’s marketing team was recognized for design and communication. Peers from other districts in the U.S. judged the entries.

“I am proud of the talented STCC Marketing and Communications team for being recognized for their terrific work,” said Karen Walker, assistant vice president of Advancement, who oversees the Marketing and Communications team. “This achievement underscores the department’s excellence in promoting STCC’s mission, student success stories, and innovative programs, while also showcasing its impactful communication strategies.”

The STCC Marketing and Communications Department’s recent success at the NCMPR awards is a testament to its dedication to delivering high-quality, effective communication that resonates with students, families, and the community, said Eli Freund, director of Marketing and Communications at STCC.

“We are thrilled to receive these awards, which reflect the hard work and creativity of our team,” he added. “Our mission is to inspire and inform through the stories of our students and the impactful programs STCC offers, and it’s an honor to be recognized by our peers in higher-education marketing.”

The NCMPR District 1 awards affirm STCC’s role as a leader in community-college marketing and communication, showcasing the institution’s commitment to supporting student success and connecting with the community, he noted.

The team includes Freund, Assistant Director of Communications Jim Danko, and Digital and Social Media Manager Nicola Ludwig.

HCC Honored for Writing Excellence

HCC won the top two Medallion Awards in the category of Excellence in Writing – Short Form, for stories up to 800 words. Taking gold was “Name That Tune,” a short profile of HCC math major Tom Dulac ’23, now a student at Westfield State University. In 2023, Dulac won a national award for musical composition that he submitted under the pseudonym ‘Zac Dune.’

Taking silver was “Ready to Go,” a commencement profile about Tatiana McKnight ’23, who suffered from agoraphobia as a teenager. Encouraged by her grandmother, the Puerto Rican educator and author Sonia Nieto, McKnight enrolled at HCC, where she excelled, using her experience as a springboard for transfer to Mount Holyoke College.

HCC Media Relations Manager Chris Yurko and Multimedia Specialist Louis Burgos with the college’s gold and silver Medallion awards.

Both stories were written by HCC Media Relations Manager Chris Yurko. “Name That Tune” was published in the Alumni Out & About section of the spring 2024 issue of HCC’s award-winning college magazine, the Connection, and “Ready to Go” in the Spotlight section of the HCC website in July 2023.

“It always feels good to be recognized by one’s colleagues, but it gives me even greater joy to be able to bring attention to the great work being done at the college and the remarkable achievements of our students,” said Yurko, who is also editor-in-chief of the Connection, which received a national Paragon award from NCMPR in 2023.

Recognized Across a Broad Territory

NCMPR represents marketing and public-relations professionals at community and technical colleges in the U.S. and beyond. The NCMPR Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in design and communication in each of NCMPR’s seven districts.

STCC and HCC resides in District 1, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

Faces of Finance

By BusinessWest Staff November 21, 2024

Faces of Business Features Special Coverage Special Publications

Financial services is a broad and robust sector in Western Mass., running the gamut from banking and lending to insurance and accounting to wealth management.

On the following pages, meet leaders from two local institutions — Matt Lauro, senior vice president and Western Massachusetts Commercial Lending team leader at MountainOne, and Deb Esposito, senior vice president and Business Banking officer at Greenfield Cooperative Bank.

We asked these financial leaders to share why they were first drawn to their work, how their journeys brought them to their current leadership roles, how the rewards and challenges of banking and finance have evolved, and why this sector presents attractive options for young people seeking a meaningful career.

Faces of Finance is part of BusinessWest’s Faces of Business series, which was launched with Faces of Construction earlier this year. So read on as these hardworking and thoughtful professionals tell you what they love about their work, what they do for fun, and why they’re deservedly proud of the success they’ve built.

Matt Lauro

Senior Vice President, Western Massachusetts Commercial Team Leader, MountainOne

Matt Lauro, Senior Vice President, Western Massachusetts Commercial Lending Team Leader, MountainOne

Matt Lauro says he’s the product of “outstanding mentorship.”

That started the summer before his junior year of college, when he interned at Fidelity Management and Research Co., which encouraged networking and collaboration, setting an example of the kind of leader he would eventually be.

“I fell in love with analyzing different industries and businesses and listening to executive management speak about all the changes that would exist in my career lifetime,” Lauro recalls. “I loved the hybrid challenge of communicating with people and utilizing analytic abilities.”

In 2021, his career brought him back to Western Massachusetts. Through his network, he was introduced to Robert Fraser, president and CEO of MountainOne. “Bob was looking to add depth to our commercial lending team. I met with Bob and Richard (Dick) Kelly, our senior commercial risk officer, and the rest is history.”

These days, as MountainOne’s commercial leader for Western Massachusetts, Lauro is responsible for motivating, managing, and expanding a team of commercial bankers, as well as growing the region’s commercial portfolio. In addition, he oversees a diverse portfolio of clients across the Commonwealth.

“I am lucky,” he says. “I have an incredibly talented team in place with many years of experience, and we have built an outstanding portfolio of high-quality companies and individuals.”

He has achieved this during a time of significant challenge and opportunity in the financial-services sector. “The economic environment and the industry are evolving rapidly. The key opportunity is for banks and bankers to lead these changes,” he explains. “For instance, a banker who stays updated on economic trends can engage in more informed conversations with clients, fostering stronger, long-lasting relationships. It’s not just about making loans; it’s about managing relationships over the long term and helping clients navigate through periods of uncertainty.

“Additionally,” Lauro adds, “investing in new technology, introducing innovative products, and enhancing the customer experience are crucial for offsetting the long-term trend of rising costs.”

In all, it’s been a gratifying career, one he says young people would be wise to consider. While there’s no straight-line path to success, he offered some advice to anyone pursuing this field.

“Maintain intellectual curiosity and a desire to learn from the right people. Create a network of individuals that you can rely on for advice and lean on for their own expertise. Create mentorship opportunities for yourself, and identify people that you look up to and aspire to have careers similar to. Work tirelessly to master the skills most important in your path.”

Lauro’s life is much more than his work at MountainOne, of course.

“My family is my biggest motivation, and spending time together is my favorite hobby, whether that be on long drives, walks, or dinners,” he tells BusinessWest. “Between my wife Susanna, my daughter Annie, and our dog Nipsey, we have created an incredible support system for one another, and we’re very grateful for our lives together.”

He added that his parents instilled a sense of civic involvement while growing up, and he saw how committed they were to causes they were most passionate about — an example he has followed with his own family. He and his wife serve on several nonprofit boards and donate countless hours to charitable foundations; Lauro currently sits on the boards of Grit & Gratitude Wrestling Academy, Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust, and Berkshire County Education and Correction.

“Overall, we are interested in continuing our involvement with youth and animal-welfare causes across the Commonwealth,” Lauro adds. “We take tremendous pride as a family with our charitable giving, nonprofit involvement, and community involvement.”

While his long-term professional goal is to be president of a financial institution, Lauro says he’s focused on helping to make MountainOne the best commercial banking organization it can be, and takes pride in that work.

“Personally, I am most proud of the flexibility I have in my career. I have been a peak performer at every level and have been flexible and curious enough to be a part of multiple different banking teams with different goals and accomplishments,” he notes. “Professionally, I am most proud of our portfolio of clients that our team has built. We have developed an outstanding commercial portfolio comprised of accomplished business owners, investors, and developers. I have spent countless hours with many of these individuals and have learned a great deal from them myself.”

In short, “our team plays to win,” Lauro says. “We win when our customers excel, when we forge new relationships, and when we collaborate creatively to develop effective solutions. The most gratifying part of the job is working with our customers to find ways to add value. As a team, we take great pride in being able to create tailored solutions for each client.”

Deb Esposito

Senior Vice President – Business Banking Officer, Greenfield Cooperative Bank

Deb Esposito, Senior Vice President – Business Banking Officer,
Greenfield Cooperative Bank

Young people have plenty of options when it comes to choosing a career. For Deb Esposito, the factors were simple.

“I had an interest in business and finance, and a passion for everyone to enjoy a better financial future,” she says of her entry into the world of financial services — a path that has led to her latest role as senior vice president and Business Banking officer at Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB).

“As a senior in high school in the Midwest, I was recruited out of a business program, hired into a local bank, and worked there until I graduated from college,” she recalls. “After my college graduation and my foundation in banking, it was a natural career path for me to continue in.”

In her current role — a newly created one at GCB — Esposito leads the growth and development of new and existing business relationships in partnership with the Commercial Lending, Government Banking, and Retail departments. She also takes an active role implementing marketing strategies to strengthen the bank’s brand awareness across Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.

The bank offers some explanation why that new role is important. “As a community bank, Greenfield Cooperative Bank strives to provide a full compliment of products and services to our customers. Debbie is a terrific addition to GCB’s team and will ensure we continue to provide excellent service to the businesses throughout Western Mass.”

That service, Esposito notes, includes “the ability to host consultative conversations with clients, companies, and organizations and walk away with a business plan of action for them. I’m able to guide them on banking solutions they need for efficiency, their cash flow and lending needs, challenges they may be facing, the growth or sale of their company, and so much more.”

To do that, she says, she needs to stay current in terms of financial matters such as the economy, the Federal Reserve and potential rate adjustments, stock-market activity, and banking regulation changes. “As a subject-matter expert, clients seek our guidance on managing their financial affairs, both on a personal level and business level.”

Esposito holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, and marketing from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and a nonprofit certification with a financial focus from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. With more than two decades of experience in the financial industry, she brings a wealth of expertise in business, commercial, and cash-management solutions. Prior to joining GCB, she served as vice president of Cash Management Sales for PeoplesBank and vice president, senior Treasury Management relationship manager for Citizens Bank.

She is also committed to community involvement, actively volunteering for various organizations across Western Mass.

“A recent favorite was our team build day for children play homes with Habitat for Humanity,” she notes. “An annual favorite includes my husband and I volunteering at the Boston Marathon finish line, scoring all runners and interacting with the press and media from various countries.”

It makes sense that she seeks roles that get her outside. “I am a outdoor enthusiast, originally from the Midwest, who loves the Northeast and the four seasons,” she tells BusinessWest. “Family time includes biking, hiking, traveling to Maine to enjoy the coastal beaches, Vermont and New Hampshire for the mountains, and so much more.”

In addition, “I’m an avid fan of all Boston sports as we are nicely spoiled by the success of our New England teams.”

That sense of gratitude extends deeply into Esposito’s work at GCB.

“I am pleased to have worked with a variety of excellent mentors who shaped my financial career to where I am today,” she says. “In my new role as senior vice president with Greenfield Cooperative Bank, I’m proud to be a part of a local community bank that mirrors my vision of helping people achieve their financial goals.”

It’s a challenging but satisfying career she says would be suitable for any young person with a desire to learn — and help people.

Her advice for them? “Be patient — very patient — in your career, and the rewards will follow. Enlist a good mentor and be a sponge to absorb knowledge in each of your roles. Enjoy being a professional networker and stay active in your community.”

Esposito’s recognition that each client is unique, and their banking services should never be one-size-fits-all, as well as her ability to listen to her customers and develop tailored financial solutions, is clearly the right fit for this important new position.

“We are thrilled to welcome Debbie to the Greenfield Cooperative Bank team,” says Tony Worden, president and CEO of GCB. “Her extensive experience and deep understanding of the local business landscape will be a tremendous asset as we continue to provide our customers with innovative financial solutions.”

Banks, Credit Unions Moving On from a Tough Grind in 2024

By George O'Brien November 21, 2024

Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Turning the Corner

Jeff Sullivan says the ‘drill’ is now part of doing business — an important part, and an expensive part.

He was referring to a recent exercise at Springfield-based New Valley Bank, in which a cyber attack was carried out and the staff’s response was chronicled, scored, and evaluated.

“You come in the morning and your screen is black — what do you do now?” said Sullivan, president and CEO of the institution. “Then someone gets an email, and it’s says, ‘pay X amount of ransom by the end of the day.’ What do you do? They test your preparedness for things that can happen.”

This simulated cyber attack is one of many aspects of disaster planning at the bank — there’s another drill where there’s a tripledemic and no employees can come to work — and at all banks, large and small. It represents aspects of a “brave new world,” as Sullivan called it, and one of many ongoing challenges and expenses for financial-services institutions.

And there are many others. They include:

• Continually growing competition, both from non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and players within the industry, including regional and national powers such as JPMorganChase, which has opened 75 branches in Massachusetts, including several in the 413 in an aggressive bid for market share;

Jeff Sullivan

“You come in the morning and your screen is black — what do you do now? Then someone gets an email, and it’s says, ‘pay X amount of ransom by the end of the day.’ What do you do? They test your preparedness for things that can happen.”

• The many aspects of technology, including the need to keep up with the larger players with deeper pockets while also correctly gauging what customers want and not investing for the sake of investing;

• Artificial intelligence, specifically the need to understand this emerging technology and then deploy it in ways that improve the customer experience and overall efficiency while maximizing the time of human talent;

• Margin compression, a function of rapidly rising interest rates and corresponding huge increases in the cost of deposits in 2023 and early 2024. Interest rates are coming down, and the situation is easing, but there will be a lag;

• A still-sluggish housing market marked by fewer sales because people don’t want to trade a lower-rate mortgage for a much higher one, and a virtually nonexistent refi market; and

• The ongoing need to grow, and the question of how to accomplish this given all of the above.

These issues and others were addressed by several area banking leaders as BusinessWest asked them to put 2024 in perspective and speculate on what they expect to happen over the next several quarters.

“The rate increases by the Fed really hammered bank margins and, therefore, bank profitability; it was a tough grind in 2024,” said Matt Sosik, president and CEO of bankESB, who described this year as one in which the price was paid for 500 basis points worth of interest-rate increases that started early in 2023. “Most banks are just now starting to turn the corner.”

Most area banks were fortunate to have their balance sheets structured in a way that allowed them to be resilient and absorb the blows, and even record decent, if less-profitable, years in 2024, but the rate hikes still took a toll, Sosik went on, adding that, as rates come down (the Fed approved another drop earlier this month), margins will start to improve. But there will be a lag, just as there was when rates started climbing.

Matt Sosik

“The rate increases by the Fed really hammered bank margins and, therefore, bank profitability; it was a tough grind in 2024. Most banks are just now starting to turn the corner.”

As for technology, it remains the quintessential combination of challenge and opportunity for banks. The opportunity comes in the form of improved service to customers and thus the ability to retain and perhaps grow market share. The challenge comes with keeping up, the cost of keeping up, not paying for something customers don’t want, and keeping customer information safe.

“You don’t want to be chasing shiny objects or next greatest thing,” said Matt Garrity, president and CEO of Florence Bank. “You really want to be rooted in understanding what it is your client wants from you and that you’re delivering the best possible product, the best possible service, to address what they’re after.”

By All Accounts

As he told BusinessWest that “banks have hit bottom,” Sosik acknowledged this might not be the best way to describe the current state of the industry.

But it works.

“We’ve seen the bottom, and we’re on the upswing,” he said, adding that, as interest rates come down and pressure on margins eases, banks should see some improvement on the bottom line. “There will be positive earnings impacts in the fourth quarter and into 2025, and slow movement back toward more normal margins.”

Matt Garrity

“You don’t want to be chasing shiny objects or next greatest thing. You really want to be rooted in understanding what it is your client wants from you and that you’re delivering the best possible product, the best possible service, to address what they’re after.”

Overall, while 2024 was, indeed, a grind, most area institutions fared comparatively well because they took a conservative approach, although performance, meaning profitability, was off from previous years due to the margin squeeze resulting from a slow, persistent, 550-basis-point increase in interest rates over roughly a year, which was largely unprecedented, by most accounts.

As a result, most institutions in this region were simply less profitable than usual, said Sosik, noting that 2025 should see the pendulum continue its swing back to where bottom lines were a few years ago.

Sullivan agreed, and projected improvement on everything from margins to the yield curve, although it may come at a slower pace than the industry would want.

“The bond market has sensed inflation being persistent, and it shows by the long-term rates running back up over the past two months,” he noted. “That is actually normalizing the yield curve; an investor should get paid more for locking her money up for a longer time period.

“The inverted yield curve that we’ve had the past two years [short-term rates higher than long-term] is really bad for community banks, so this change back to a normal yield curve is welcomed,” he added. “We’ll see about whether the Fed cuts interest rates a lot next year; there is now talk that the short-term rate reductions will be slower, but Trump will want them to be faster to juice the economy.”

But there are several caveats that make it difficult to project how pronounced a bounceback will be seen over the next few quarters. Indeed, while there is general agreement on perhaps another 100 basis points worth of rate cuts in the year to come, there is less consensus on the prospects for a recession or what will happen with inflation.

Dave Glidden

“As rates decline and the pressure relieves a little on margins, banks, if they’re smart, will stay laser-focused on the cost of funding and their deposit mix.”

Indeed, Glenn Welch, president and CEO of Freedom Credit Union, said the kinds of tariffs on foreign products trumpeted by President-elect Trump could cause inflation to spike — and have other repercussions.

“If those tariffs are put in place, we’re going to see higher inflation, and then the Fed won’t be able to drop interest rates as quickly as many are projecting,” he noted.

Meanwhile, although interest rates are expected to continue their downward trend, there will be a lag when it comes to the overall impact on deposit rates, especially with banks hard-focused on protecting their deposit bases.

“The competition for deposits will continue through the balance of this year and into 2025,” said Dave Glidden, president and CEO of Middletown, Conn.-based Liberty Bank, which has expanded its footprint into Western Mass. “Each bank will have to make their own decisions based on their deposit composition and cost of funding overall, but I expect that the rates on deposits won’t come down as fast as the Fed drops interest rates because deposits are the lifeblood of banks. As rates decline and the pressure relieves a little on margins, banks, if they’re smart, will stay laser-focused on the cost of funding and their deposit mix.”

Points of Interest

Glidden didn’t really want to speculate too much on Chase Bank’s strategy of adding new branches; like others, he preferred to talk about his own institution.

But he said the Jamie Dimon-led institution’s aggressive push is yet another indication that competition continues to increase — and come from seemingly everywhere.

That includes NBFIs, also known as NBFCs (non-bank financial companies), such as investment banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, private mortgage lenders, and other players. And it includes area banks and credit unions that are continually expanding their footprints — in this region, this state, and into neighboring Connecticut. It even includes the federal government. “People can get better rates on T-bills than they can get in the banks,” Sullivan said.

Dan Moriarty

“Organic growth is becoming tougher and tougher. But as the bigger banks get bigger, we feel we can provide services and faster response times for small to mid-size companies. That’s our niche, and that’s what we’ll continue to focus on, but it’s getting tougher.”

As for Chase’s move, Glidden said there is lot of science and analytics behind it, and the bank, which he called the “900-pound gorilla,” is already making a dent when it comes to market share. “Branches are very expensive, and they’re always going to be a critical part of a bank’s distribution network, but you don’t build branches today haphazardly. Jamie Dimon hasn’t called me to let me know what he’s doing, but he puts a lot of science behind it.”

And this heightened competition from Chase and elsewhere comes as banks face the many challenges detailed above — at a time when they need to continuing growing in the wake of the many rising costs they’re facing and the need for economies of scale.

In this environment, the community banks that dominate this region need to focus on blocking and tackling, said those we spoke with, meaning an emphasis on what they do right, specifically a generally higher brand of personalized service.

“Organic growth is becoming tougher and tougher,” said Dan Moriarty, president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank. “But as the bigger banks get bigger, we feel we can provide services and faster response times for small to mid-size companies. That’s our niche, and that’s what we’ll continue to focus on, but it’s getting tougher.

“We’re trying to go against the super bigs and sell our services and our reputation,” he went on, adding that Monson Savings picked up some market share when a Citizens Bank branch closed.

Garrity concurred. He noted that, while mergers and acquisitions will continue — and perhaps pick up as the skies clear — the cleaner path is organic growth, and that comes through customer service, new branches when and where they are appropriate, and keeping pace with the larger institutions on technology.

Sullivan agreed, noting the sizable investments New Valley is making both in cybersecurity and new online banking products.

“We have to stay relevant with the big players, we’ve got to have the same sort of offerings that they have, and, in some cases, we have to be even better,” he said, adding that keeping up is a big part of doing business in this environment.

Technically Speaking

As he talked about technology, Sosik spoke for all those we interviewed when he said customer expectations are high — as in sky-high.

“When customers use technology, they want it to work. When you turned on your laptop this morning and the wheels spun a little bit or it took longer to load your email, you said, ‘what’s going on here?’” he told BusinessWest. “So the expectations are really high, and the margin for error is really thin; you have to have near-perfect execution.”

Couple high expectations with the equally high cost of technology, security, and compliance, and banks and credit unions are under enormous pressure to get it right.

“Twenty years ago, it was basically bad loans that could kill a bank,” Glidden said. They would kill a bank over time, and you could kind of see it coming. Today, with technology, a privacy breach, a cyberattack, ransomware … those things can change the fate or status of a bank in seconds.

“That’s why I call that side of technology ‘table stakes,’” he went on. “You have to invest, and invest heavily.”

By that he meant investments in new technology aimed at improving customer service, in training and drills like simulated cyberattacks, and in AI, which amounts to a new frontier for financial-services institutions, and another area where they need to get it right.

Welch said Freedom has recently deployed AI in its call center, a strategy with many goals.

“We’re rolling it out slowly, and we rolled out the first part over the past few weeks; it’s answering the phone and transferring people to where they want to go,” he explained. “Shortly, customers will be able to get balances and do transactions like transferring money between accounts.

“The whole idea is to free up the call-center people to deal with more complicated financial issues that customers have when they call in, rather than ‘what’s my balance?’ and ‘transfer $1,000 to this account,’” he went on, adding that maybe 25% to 40% of the calls to the center can be handled by AI.

Other area institutions are in similar early-stage rollout phases, but most are still doing research and deciding how to best implement the emerging technology.

Moriarty, like others we spoke with, said his bank is looking at AI not to replace face-to-face interactions and decision making, but instead to help make decisions faster.

And like other institutions we spoke with, Monson will measure twice and cut once when it comes to all aspects of AI, especially when it comes to security.

“Confidentiality is a critical component of a bank’s reputation,” he told BusinessWest. “If banks start using this too quickly, they could run into a situation where information might be out in the open or in the cloud somewhere. So we’re going to be very prudent about when and how we use AI to give information.”

Garrity agreed. “We want to integrate AI in our business, but it’s going to be a longer process overall to make sure that we understand what the risk components are,” he said. “We want to look at how we can use those tools to make our team members more efficient in serving our customer. It’s a tool to use, and a not a replacement of that team member.”

And it’s just one more challenge — and opportunity — banks face as they turn the corner from a tough 2024 into an uncertain 2025.

The World of Digital Marketing Continues to Evolve

By Joseph Bednar November 21, 2024

Business Innovation Special Coverage

Delivering a Message

Alfonso Santaniello says a marketing strategy begins with figuring out who the customers are and then taking the message to where they are.

When Alfonso Santaniello launched the Creative Strategy Agency 15 years ago — into the teeth of the Great Recession, no less — digital marketing was a simpler world, though not always a more effective one.

By that, he means it was easier to navigate the fewer available online channels back then, but the myriad options for getting a message out today pose more opportunities to finely target a message.

“When I started consulting, I wanted to focus on digital, and at the time, it was really websites and emails, and Facebook had just become public to everyday users,” he said. “And Facebook didn’t have business pages at the time. There was no advertising. Their algorithm was pretty great because you would see the feed in chronological order, before the algorithm came in, before advertising came in.”

When the recession began to fade and company advertising budgets grew, the digital marketing landscape changed as well, Santaniello said, with Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter growing in scope alongside other options.

“People were starting to realize it wasn’t going anywhere, and it wasn’t just Facebook — more were popping up,” he said. At the same time, “that’s when Facebook started pivoting to business pages, creating advertising platforms for businesses to target. But then other things changed, where a post would reach only 10% of your audience.”

“Companies think they’re doing good. And it’s important that their consumers know what they’re doing. That can be product-oriented to some extent, and it can be community-oriented to some extent. But whatever it is, it’s got to be interesting to their audience.”

John Garvey, president of Garvey Communication Associates Inc. (GCAi), said the digital world has opened up countless opportunities for marketers.

“What we’re about, I think, is success and education. Companies think they’re doing good. And it’s important that their consumers know what they’re doing. That can be product-oriented to some extent, and it can be community-oriented to some extent. But whatever it is, it’s got to be interesting to their audience.”

A better word, he added, might be ‘relevant.’ “If it’s not important to me, I’ll move on,” he said. So, from a marketing perspective, the question becomes, “what’s important to the audience, and where is this audience? How am I going to reach this audience on various platforms? You have to chase audience to some degree.”

Dylan Pilon, who started Cloud 9 Marketing Group a decade ago, said Facebook and Instagram remain key channels for content creation and targeted advertising, but a number of clients also leverage LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, and YouTube channels, as well as email marketing and other tools.

“People would probably say that 2010 to 2012 was the heyday for Facebook; organic reach was really good back then. A message could go a lot farther without the need to put paid, targeted advertising behind it,” he explained.

“Since then, Facebook has sort of throttled down the organic reach because they realized that they were giving the milk away for free. Nobody was buying the advertising cow, right? So since then, it’s been more difficult to break through because there’s also a lot more content being created. There’s a lot of noise.

“So the goal is to create a piece of content that will stop somebody from scrolling and capture their attention with a nice hook and then keep their attention engaged so you can deliver your message,” Pilon added. “Now, the focus is more on finding a way to craft creative that can stop someone’s thumb from moving.

While the tools may evolve, John Garvey says marketing always comes back to what’s important to the audience.

“It’s not a cookie-cutter approach,” he went on. “We don’t have packages; we don’t have tiers. Our entire service is a la carte. You come in, and we present you a menu: ‘here are the things that you could do. What are you interested in?’ We’ll give you feedback on what we think would be the most beneficial and the most impactful. And then we build you a customized plan tailored just for you.”

Again, there are more opportunities in digital marketing today, but also, as Pilon noted, more noise — meaning more challenges.

“I feel like it was easier then, where now it’s highlighting the brand in a way that will reach the right people, but in a way that they will engage, or they will consume,” Santaniello said. “And every demographic consumes different content in different ways. Some people like to read, some people want videos.

“So now, it’s multiple targets. You’re not just targeting Western Mass.; now, we’re targeting this specific age group in Western Mass., with this interest, and we can do all that now within Facebook or Instagram or any platform,” he explained. “So the targeting and the way we want to reach people now is much more accessible, where before, we were just throwing things out there and hoping that we reach our audience.”

Medium and Message

All three company owners BusinessWest spoke with said they work with clients in traditional media as well — print, radio, TV, etc. — but digital marketing offers a new way to take a message directly to the public. And sometimes, one campaign can encompass both traditional and new media.

For example, Garvey’s firm specializes in a unique style of video storytelling in its campaigns.

“The goal is to create a piece of content that will stop somebody from scrolling and capture their attention with a nice hook and then keep their attention engaged so you can deliver your message.”

“It starts with shooting a video,” he said. “We then take narrative from the video. In this case, that narrative has to be approved. So there’s a third party that has to say, ‘yeah, that all works.’ And we can take the narrative from the video and turn part of it into a printout. Or we can take that narrative from the video and turn it into audio and create a promoted radio campaign with that. And that video can be a digital campaign on LinkedIn or various platforms. We have a multiple array of channels that we can go through to get this information out.”

Pilon said Cloud 9 has strong in-house capability for graphic design and copywriting, while working with strategic partners on photography and videography. “So we are able to act in the capacity of a full-service agency, but you don’t have to pay full-service agency pricing.”

When working with clients — its main industry focuses are real estate, building trades, and food and beverage — Cloud 9 offers a robust digital toolbox but also works in traditional media.

“Sometimes we have clients that are interested in print or radio, direct mail, those types of things. We don’t discriminate. Everything might not work for everyone,” Pilon said. “So depending on who the client is and who they’re trying to get their message out to, traditional methods could very well be a fit for sure.”

Dylan Pilon says it’s critical to make sure the messaging being created is providing value to the audience.

Santaniello added that “I usually spend a lot of time building out a strategy — first, really figuring out who the customers are, and then going to where they are. We’re not in a day where you build it and they will come. It’s kind of build it, find out where are they are, and then get it in front of them.”

In other words, “you don’t need to be on Facebook if that’s not where your audience is,” he said. “It’s really focusing on who the audience is and going where they are. That’s where you engage. You can’t wait for people to come to you. You have to go to them.”

For many clients, he added, “we do a lot of content and story. So it ties into the website, then we connect it to social. It’s a more multi-channel approach, compared to, ‘let’s just create a post and throw it on social.’ For me, it’s more, ‘OK, with that post, what is the call to action? What do we want them to do? Do we want them just to engage with the post? Do we want them to click a link to go somewhere, and if so, where are they going? What’s on that page? What do we want them to do?’ It’s a much more thought-out, strategic process than just throwing this out on social media and seeing what happens.”

Santaniello said traditional media is important to some clients, especially in pockets of this region that don’t have high-speed internet, and while he thinks in terms of digital first, the goal is always the same: “how do you connect with people offline and bring them online? And when they’re online, how do you bring them to your storefront offline? It’s full-circle. It’s not just that you’re doing only traditional, or only digital — you should be doing both.”

Checking the Numbers

Whatever the medium, it’s critical to assess the analytics to determine who is engaging with a campaign, and in what ways.

“If you’re not evaluating at least on an annual basis — if not biannually or even quarterly — what you’re doing and where you’re doing it and how you’re doing it, you’re at a disadvantage,” Pilon said. “So it’s not only having a strategy, having a plan, having a budget, but being able to say, ‘here is the measurable impact; here’s what we’ve been able to accomplish in three months, six months, a year, what have you.’”

Garvey said he offers detailed tools to measure not only impressions, but engagement actions, and for good reason: “video views and link clicks are two different results.”

Elaborating, he added, “I like to talk about what’s important to that audience, what’s helpful to them, what’s relevant. And the outcome that’s going to measure whether or not it’s relevant is engagement. The tools and measurement aspects are all available to the client, so we can say, ‘here’s what’s working.’”

Pilon agreed. “One thing that’s very important is making sure that the messaging that you’re creating is going to provide value with the audience. A lot of people talk at their customers on the internet instead of talking to their customers on the internet. And digital marketing and social media has such a customer-service aspect to it.”

Santaniello agreed that businesses need to examine the data.

“For marketing be more successful than the way it used to be done, they have to look at the numbers — they have to know why people are coming to the website, where are they coming from, what posts are doing well. Going in and regularly looking at the data will tell you what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong.”

As for the next big thing in digital marketing? Santaniello had an easy answer.

“If you want to know what the next platform is, ask a high-school student. They’re going to know,” he said. “Then give it five years, and they’ll find a way to add advertising revenue to it and introduce it to businesses.”

Westmass Area Redevelopment Corp. Seeks Ways to Broaden Its Impact

By Joseph Bednar November 21, 2024

Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

Developing a Strategy

Community Development & Planning Coordinator Sean O’Donnell (left) and President and CEO Jeff Daley.

Since its inception in 1960, the role of Westmass Area Development Corp. has remained remarkably consistent in many ways.

Created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a not-for-profit economic and real-estate development firm, its mission has long been to develop and manage properties and enhance and strengthen communities through investments that create jobs, housing, and sustainability. But the way Westmass is accomplishing those goals is evolving.

“Traditionally, we would build infrastructure, sell off individual lots, have the town adopt those as public ways, and then we would go on and do the next projects. We are the economic-development agency for Western Mass. to really advance job creation and increase the economic tax base for communities in the region,” said Sean O’Donnell, Community Development & Planning coordinator, noting that the firm’s work has helped facilitate more than 10,000 jobs in the region.

While Westmass has done some consulting work in the past, it has mostly focused on its own real-estate projects, he noted, from its business parks to Ludlow Mills, which has been its flagship project since 2012.

“But over time,” O’Donnell went on, “and with my background and with the team we have here, we increasingly see opportunity in Western Mass. where we can play a facilitator role and a consulting role.”

Specifically, he explained, Westmass can take on this role for brownfield developers and municipalities that are trying to come up with creative ways to publicly finance their infrastructure. “We can put together different financing tools to make some of these more challenging real-estate projects in Western Mass. pencil out, and build these public-private partnerships.”

“We see a lot of opportunity in underserved areas in Western Mass. that could be thinking about economic development — not necessarily in the traditional sense, but how that embeds within a community that might want to stay rural.”

One example is the Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton, where Westmass is assisting on the pre-development side and seeking cleanup funding to facilitate some of the planned housing work there. Others include a current business-park feasibility study for the town of Northfield and work with the town of East Longmeadow on the former Carlin Combustion Technology site at 70 Maple St., coordinating with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and looking into funding resources.

“My interest and background is in planning, particularly rural economic development, and we see a lot of opportunity in underserved areas in Western Mass. that could be thinking about economic development — not necessarily in the traditional sense, but how that embeds within a community that might want to stay rural,” O’Donnell said. “In the case of Northfield, that’s a business park that aligns with a recreation-based economy, rural tourism, agritourism, that type of thing. We’re trying to find all these different niches in Western Massachusetts.

Sean O’Donnell presents at the Western Massachusetts Brownfields Roundtable hosted by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on Sept. 17.

“We have a lot of experience as a nonprofit developer and are very much a community-based developer,” he went on, “but I think we can play, and we have been playing, a really strong intermediary role and facilitating role with private projects and communities, while also looking out to Boston to see what new programs and financing and funding sources might be available to pull into Western Mass.”

Jeff Daley, president and CEO of Westmass, told BusinessWest that another growth area for the company is helping with or taking on projects that most developers can’t handle on their own.

“A lot of projects don’t pencil out anyways, and if you throw in the mix of outdated, dilapidated buildings that have potential contamination, brownfields, whatever, they can’t pencil financially for any developer,” Daley said. “So not only do we take on projects ourselves, but we also partner with projects to get through.”

One example is the most recent housing units to open up at Ludlow Mills, in Mill 8, a joint venture with Winn Development that allowed Westmass to retain 48,000 square feet on the first floor for commercial use.

“We invested our own money, we invested our own time, and we invested other monies that we received through grants and/or other mechanisms of financing to offset some of the cost explosion during COVID. We’re technically a joint-venture partner with Winn in that project,” Daley explained.

“By partnering with others, we certainly can bring added value to the team to make sure these things actually do pencil out at the end of the day.”

“So we can do projects like that to help make projects pencil, because it’s very, very hard today. In the economy we’re in, plus the cost of doing business, it’s really hard to make a lot of projects work. So by partnering with others, we certainly can bring added value to the team to make sure these things actually do pencil out at the end of the day.”

Opportunity Knocks

O’Donnell said Westmass’s expanding work in development services can benefit all types of projects, from housing to recreation to downtown revitalization.

“We’re increasingly looking on the housing side, keeping a close eye on the housing bond bill that passed in Boston a couple months back, seeing what new programs might be coming down the pipeline, and maybe finding a project that was thinking more commercial — maybe there’s an opportunity for mixed use, to have a residential component, because that can tie in new funding sources that can make the overall project more feasible.”

O’Donnell sees the client roster continuing to include both municipalities and private developers.

“It’s sometimes municipalities that maybe have a private development that’s proposed in town, but they know they need to get public infrastructure to the site. So they’re thinking about things like district improvement financing or grant writing to make that more plausible or more affordable for the community,” he explained. “But on the developer side, with us as a nonprofit partner, we might be able to help tap into some grant-funding resources that a private, for-profit developer might not otherwise be able to.”

Westmass also took over leadership of Develop Springfield late last year; one current project on that front is McCaffery Interests’ work on the Clocktower Building in Springfield’s South End, which will include market-rate housing. “We’re working with them as consultants, helping them with their capital stack, figuring out where financing can come from,” Daley said.

The Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton is an example of the brownfield and mill properties Westmass works on.

And housing — specifically the need for more of it in most area cities and towns right now — poses significant opportunities for Westmass, O’Donnell added.

“Communities are trying to be proactive, but many communities might not have a full-time planner on staff or have the capacity to re-examine where they might want to expand public infrastructure to make a certain site or area of town viable for housing. They’re also looking at maybe recalibrating their zoning so they can allow for more mixed-use or multi-family in certain areas of the town. I think that’s where we can help, in partnership with other planning firms and the planning commissions as well.”

He noted that Westmass is uniquely situated to be a resource to municipalities and developers, especially in the case of brownfields sites, of which there are hundreds in Western Mass.

For example, in the case of the Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton, “as a nonprofit, we’re doing a land lease of the property to have site control in order to go after cleanup dollars from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Even though the development following the cleanup will be led by the for-profit developer and the partners there, as a nonprofit, if we have site control during the EPA grant, we can receive those grant funds, clean up the site, and get it ready for projects.

“That’s a huge role that I think is increasingly needed in Western Mass.,” he added. “There’s more funding right now at the federal level, particularly for cleanup and brownfield mill redevelopment work. And I think that we can play a really great, active role with those types of projects around here.”

Community Support

O’Donnell took his current role at Westmass in 2020, the year after Daley took the reins at the company.

“I was Facilities manager over at Ludlow Mills, so I cut my teeth over there. And I was Leasing manager over there for a while,” said O’Donnell, who earned a master’s degree in regional planning from UMass Amherst and has worked at planning commissions at the municipal level. “But my interest is really in economic development and mill redevelopment.”

As for Ludlow Mills, progress continues apace at that complex, where the residential units at Mill 8 were recently completed and Westmass is finishing about $3 million worth of roads and sewer and water service to all the buildings on campus.

“All the electrical’s going in; instead of overhead wires, we put conduit underground, and every single building there will have their own meter, and it will all be underground,” Daley said, adding that Westmass is also partnering with the town through a MassWorks grant to have a $3.5 million road built. “Once that’s built and the town accepts it, then we’ll probably have about 40 acres to develop. So it’s moving; there’s a lot of stuff going on.”

Pre-development work continues on Mill 11, the largest building with about 400,000 square feet, which is awaiting some cooperative work with the National Park Service to remove a historical building on site. “But once we do that, we think it will probably generate about 220 apartments and probably 15 or 20 condominiums, and 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of commercial space,” Daley said. “That’s the big gorilla that we need to get done over there. It’s projected to be a quarter-billion-dollar project.”

Ludlow Mills is a project that clearly impacts an entire neighborhood and town, and O’Donnell sees further opportunities to make similar impacts around Western Mass. in the future.

“Ludlow is a unique case, but I don’t think it would be possible without the community support that started before even we bought it. Westmass started those conversations early, started to lay out what a plan might look like for the entire campus, and the town has been such an incredible partner all the way through,” he told BusinessWest. “And we’re seeing the same thing at Easthampton with the mill projects over there. You need that community buy-in and to have those conversations early to make these large-scale redevelopment projects successful. We want everybody paddling in the same direction, for sure.”

Among its other recent projects, Westmass has worked in a number of ways on the proposed data center in Westfield — from helping the developer through tax-financing programs to securing energy costs with Westfield Gas & Electric to working on state legislation for a personal property-tax exemption — and played a construction-management role for Baystate Health on its Mary Lane Hospital decommissioning, to name just a couple. Westmass was also recently selected also as a house doctor for MassDevelopment projects.

And it’s just getting started.

“We just want to continue expanding our impact,” O’Donnell said. “I think we’ve played a really strong role in these discrete projects, but I think we have an incredible team and the bandwidth to start thinking about potentially larger partnerships and projects throughout Western Mass.

“It’s going to be an evolutionary process on our part, and hopefully we keep bringing in enough work that we can hire some more staff and a team to keep growing this thing,” he added. “It’s incremental at this point, but we’re really trying to build those relationships and get those projects moving.”

Pittsfield Focuses on the Future, Not the Past

By George O'Brien November 8, 2024

Community Spotlight

Mayor Peter Marchetti says several projects in various stages of development should help ease a critical housing shortage in Pittsfield.

Starting early in his career in financial services at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, Peter Marchetti, like many of his colleagues, made it a point to get involved in the community.

He donated time and energy to everything from the United Way to youth bowling; from Pittsfield Community Television to the Pittsfield Parade Committee.

But starting in the late ’90s, he took that involvement to a higher plane, running, successfully, for a seat on the City Council. In 2011, he sought to take things to a still higher level, running for mayor, only to lose a very tight race. After a hiatus from elected office, he returned to the City Council, and in 2023 launched another bid for the corner office, this one successful.

When asked why, he indicated that there was still much work to be done as this city of roughly 44,000, the largest in the Berkshires, continues its transition from being, in essence, a company town — in this case General Electric — to a city with a far more diverse economy, and one that has moved on from GE in every way, including a reimagining of the huge, mostly undeveloped tract that was its massive transformer-manufacturing complex.

“I saw our city at a crossroads, where we have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves; there are many people who still look at us as the old GE manufacturing community. I think we have some opportunities to turn the corner, and I wanted to lead that turnaround,” said Marchetti, who retired from Pittsfield Co-op as senior vice president of Retail Banking Operations. Ten months into his first four-year term, he can cite progress on several fronts.

These include the William Stanley Business Park, created at the GE site, where work is set to commence on a 20,000-square-foot facility that will provide room to grow for many of the startups that now call the Berkshire Innovation Center home.

And also the city’s downtown, still evolving from the GE days, where new businesses have landed and much-needed housing initiatives are taking shape (more on these later).

Beyond Marchetti’s first year in office and his emerging agenda, there are plenty of other developing stories in Pittsfield, many of them taking place downtown, where several issues and trends are colliding, and where that ongoing process of evolution continues.

The expansive downtown area, while now home to several new business and with a falling vacancy rate, continues to experience fallout from the emergence of remote work and a broad decline in daily foot traffic, which is impacting many hospitality and service-oriented businesses.

“Downtown has shifted away from some of our larger companies that would have people here during the day and out for lunch, grabbing coffee, or going out to a bar after work. Now that they’re remote, we’re definitely in need of people downtown regularly. The addition of housing in our downtown will make that difference.”

This decline has been one of the driving forces in the return of First Fridays at Five and other events geared toward generating additional foot traffic, while also helping to inspire efforts to redevelop some downtown properties into housing, which is in short supply and thus a negative force in economic development and business growth.

Indeed, like other communities facing this challenge, Pittsfield is looking at ways to convert office and retail spaces into housing — opportunities that will help meet the need for housing while also bringing back some of the vibrancy lost to remote work.

The return of First Fridays at Five has helped bring more foot traffic to downtown Pittsfield.
Photo by Autumn Phoenix Photography

“Downtown has shifted away from some of our larger companies that would have people here during the day and out for lunch, grabbing coffee, or going out to a bar after work. Now that they’re remote, we’re definitely in need of people downtown regularly,” said Rebecca Brien, managing director of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. (DPI). “The addition of housing in our downtown will make that difference.”

Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berkshire, the county-wide economic-development agency, agreed.

“I think it’s naive to think that everyone is going to go back to 9-to-5 at the office,” he said. “So what we’re doing throughout the Berkshires, with downtown Pittsfield being a centerpiece of this, is looking at the housing crisis, how we can get more housing built, and looking at some of this commercial space in our downtown.”

For the latest installment in its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest turns its lens on Pittsfield, a city that continues to move on from its GE-dominated past and put the focus squarely on the present and future.

Progress Report

Marchetti grew up in Pittsfield, and, like everyone his age who did, he has fond memories of life in the city when GE was bustling and employing north of 10,000 people, most of whom would be spending their paychecks in a thriving downtown dominated by all kinds of retail, including several large department stores.

Like his immediate predecessors in the mayor’s office, Marchetti stresses a need not to look back, but to instead continue turning the pages on an ongoing evolution.

“People can’t find quality housing in the rental market that is desirable enough for them to stay here. Or, when you’re recruiting and looking to bring transplants to the region, they’re not able to buy a home at a price point that’s realistic, or find quality rental housing that meets their expectations. That’s a huge issue for us.”

He noted progress in many corners of the city, including the former GE site. Once a huge and imposing mass of concrete, the site is being made less intimidating and more ready for redevelopment, one parcel at a time.

Indeed, the parcel known as site 9, has been “completely rehabilitated,” said Marchetti, meaning there has been landscaping and other improvements designed to make it shovel-ready. Meanwhile, $500,000 in grant funding has been received to do the same for sites 7 and 8.

Plans are also moving forward for the construction of a new facility near the innovation center, one that will accelerate new-business development in the park, he noted.

“We have several businesses that have started in the innovation center, and they’re running out of space at that location. This is their opportunity to expand and allow space to be cleared up for additional incubator companies.”

Meanwhile, there has been progress on the housing front, the mayor said, noting that, like most Berkshires communities, Pittsfield is suffering from a shortage of housing, especially of the affordable variety, which is making it increasingly difficult for many to live — or stay — in the city, while also impacting businesses already facing challenges with building and maintaining a workforce.

Rebecca Brien says the return of First Fridays at Five is just one of many initiatives undertaken by Downtown Pittsfield Inc. to bring foot traffic, and vibrancy, to the downtown area.
Photo by Autumn Phoenix Photography

Within the downtown, there are two projects in early-stage development. One involves conversion of the Wright Building on North Street and an adjacent shoe store, formerly home to a candlepin bowling alley and several offices and shops, into roughly 30 units of affordable housing. The other involves redevelopment of the White Terrace apartments, which will bring another 25 to 30 units online.

Meanwhile, two transitional housing projects are slated to be underway in the coming months, and plans are being forwarded for conversion of a former elementary school into housing, said Marchetti, who said projects currently in the pipeline will add another 100 units, but the city needs another 250 to 300 units, minimum, to meet the growing need.

“The hardest part of bringing new housing online is the millions of dollars it costs to redevelop these properties,” he said, adding that the price tag for the Wright Building project exceeds $17 million.

Butler concurred, but noted that housing is critical to Pittsfield’s ongoing efforts to reinvent itself and sustain the businesses that now call it home.

“Housing is the issue contributing to the workforce problems facing employers today,” he explained. “People can’t find quality housing in the rental market that is desirable enough for them to stay here. Or, when you’re recruiting and looking to bring transplants to the region, they’re not able to buy a home at a price point that’s realistic, or find quality rental housing that meets their expectations. That’s a huge issue for us.”

Downtown Developments

Additional housing is expected to bring more vibrancy and new opportunities to the downtown area, said Brien, noting that there are already several initiatives in various stages of development to bring more foot traffic to the area.

One has been the return of First Fridays at Five, which is an amalgam of the former Third Thursday and First Friday Artswalk events, aimed at bringing back what Brien called a “street-festival vibe.”

Pittsfield at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1761
Population: 43,927
Area: 42.5 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $18.45
Commercial Tax Rate: $39.61
Median Household Income: $35,655
Median family Income: $46,228
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Berkshire Health Systems; General Dynamics; Petricca Industries Inc.; SABIC Innovative Plastics; Berkshire Bank
* Latest information available

“We started small,” she said, referring to what was essentially a one-block initiative that started in May and featured everything from musical performers to a small-vendors market; from a beer garden hosted to Hot Plate Brewing to restaurants with on-street dining.

In September, the concept grew with something called Taste of Pittsfield, which featured additional music, dancing, art, food trucks, and activities stretched over another block, from Park Square to Columbus Avenue.

That larger footprint will be used next year, said Brien, adding that the goal moving forward is to continue to add new draws, such as a car show, to bring individuals and families into the downtown and let them experience all that is happening there.

And there is quite a bit in that category, she told BusinessWest, adding that downtown continues to change, evolve, and present a solid mix of anchors (the Colonial Theater and Barrington Stage Co.), long-time businesses such as Carr Hardware and Museum Outlets, and new or relatively new additions, such as Hot Plate; Thistle and Thorn, a gift shop; Witch Slapped, a “haven for all things metaphysical and mystical”; and the Plant Connector, which has a mission “to connect people to the joy of plants and foster a thriving green community.”

Meanwhile, the roster of restaurants continues to grow and evolve, she went on, listing a new steakhouse in Hotel on North; BB’s Hot Spot at the Lantern Bar, a Jamaican restaurant on North Street; and Marie’s North Street Eatery and Gallery, a contemporary deli located in the historic Shipton Building.

This mix is succeeding in making downtown more of a destination for locals and tourists alike, Brien said, adding that one challenge moving forward is to grow a steady pace of foot traffic that extends well beyond First Fridays and other event days.

Another challenge is sustainability, she went on, adding that DPI has created educational opportunities for business owners with the goal of helping them work on, though not necessarily in, their businesses to help ensure continued success.

“Stability is something we need to be focused on, with both existing businesses and the businesses that are coming in,” she explained. “We had a grant opportunity for some of our existing businesses this past summer that enabled them to work with a consultant on such things as marketing and workflow and accounting systems. And next year, we’ll be offering some co-op marketing dollars. We’re great at telling people downtown that we’re here, but we need to make that sure that word is getting out beyond us.

“And in January, we’ll be offering seminars on things like how to read a P&L sheet and how to use Facebook,” she went on, adding that DPI is committed to providing members with educational opportunities to help ensure that they thrive.

That’s just one of many examples of how leadership in this community, on many different levels, is indeed focused on the future and not on the past.

Consider These Strategies for a Future-proof Workforce

By Contributor November 8, 2024

Employment

Retaining Talent in 2025

By Nicole Polite

In 2025, the business world faces a significant challenge: employee retention. The job market has become fiercely competitive, and the shifting expectations of employees demand proactive and innovative approaches from organizations seeking to retain their top talent. As we navigate this evolving landscape, our focus is on current trends influencing employee retention and offering actionable strategies to engage and keep our workforce.

The outlook in 2025 is one where employees place a high value on workplaces that prioritize their mental and physical well-being. The global shift toward understanding mental health means employees are drawn to environments where their welfare is respected and nurtured. Organizations ignoring these critical aspects risk higher turnover rates as employees gravitate toward healthier work-life balances.

Nicole Polite

“The global shift toward understanding mental health means employees are drawn to environments where their welfare is respected and nurtured.”

Flexible working arrangements are now standard. The advent of remote work and hybrid models offers individuals the flexibility to effectively balance personal and professional responsibilities. Companies not willing to offer this flexibility may struggle to attract or retain talent in an era when work-life integration is vital.

Career development is another major factor. Employees are now looking beyond their current roles. They seek continuous learning opportunities and routes for career advancement. The organizations that invest in their employees’ growth not only improve their skills, but also increase loyalty and retention.

In 2025, diversity and inclusion are more important than ever. Workplaces that celebrate and support diverse backgrounds create a sense of belonging, leading to higher employee satisfaction and commitment. Strategic integration of AI and automation can also attract tech-savvy employees, provided workplaces maintain a balance between technology and human-centric approaches.

Positive Steps

Let’s explore strategies for employee retention that you can utilize.

First, fostering a positive workplace culture is vital. Building a culture of respect, inclusivity, and appreciation is foundational for retaining talent. Encourage open communication and ensure every employee feels valued and heard.

Second, enhancing work-life balance is critical. Provide flexible working conditions that enable employees to manage their personal and professional lives effectively. Encourage time off to prevent burnout and increase productivity.

Third, investing in career development is crucial. Offering professional-development programs, mentorship, and clear career-advancement pathways shows your commitment to employee growth, fostering loyalty.

Fourth, recognizing and rewarding efforts is key. Acknowledging contributions through structured programs reinforces positive behavior and boosts morale.

Fifth, improving employee benefits is important. Regularly reviewing your benefits package will ensure it meets the changing needs of your workforce. Consider comprehensive health plans, retirement savings options, and wellness programs to enhance employee satisfaction and retention.

Sixth, solicit and act on feedback. Regular surveys and feedback sessions provide valuable insights into employee concerns and aspirations. Acting on feedback shows a true commitment to an improved work environment, bolstering trust.

Seventh, emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion. Creating an environment where all employees feel they belong boosts morale and engagement.

Eighth, leverage technology wisely. Use technology to improve work processes, but ensure it doesn’t replace human interactions. Investing in tools that enhance communication without compromising personal connections is important.

Bottom Line

By focusing on these strategies, businesses can significantly reduce turnover rates. Prioritizing employee well-being and growth, creating inclusive cultures, and adapting to changing workforce demands positions your organization for higher retention rates and success.

A future-proof workforce is not just about retaining talent; it’s about nurturing a thriving organizational culture that encourages growth, innovation, and collaboration. Success on this front results in not only higher retention rates, but also enhanced productivity and success.

Nicole Polite is the owner and founder of the MH Group and author of Expectations Aligned: Forging Better Paths for Employers and Employees to Meet in the Middle.

Sen. Velis Named Legislator of the Year by Providers’ Council

By BusinessWest Staff November 8, 2024

Health Care Healthcare News

‘He Truly Shows Up’

The Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers recently presented state Sen. John Velis with the 2024 Legislator of the Year Award during the council’s 49th annual convention and expo in Boston.

“Our human-service workers are truly some of the most selfless people out there, directly caring for those in our communities with disabilities or those struggling with a behavioral-health challenge. I am truly beyond honored to be recognized by the Providers’ Council and their members for my work advocating for these frontline heroes,” said Velis, who serves as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery.

Velis was joined the Providers’ Council at Westfield State University as a guest speaker this past September during the organization’s Western Massachusetts Caring Force Rally, which highlighted the essential services provided by direct-support professionals.

“Senator Velis demonstrates his commitment to the individuals of Massachusetts who need support and services to manage the challenges that substance use and behavioral health bring to their lives. His support of our industry, the providers that work hard every day to make a difference, is unwavering, and he ensures his advocacy for the resources we need to carry out our missions.”

In the current legislative session, Velis helped usher an expansive substance-use and recovery bill through the Senate, which would establish a licensure process for recovery coaches in the Commonwealth. If included in the final Senate-House compromise package, this provision would provide recognition of the importance of lived experience and help grow this profession within the human-services sector.

“Senator Velis demonstrates his commitment to the individuals of Massachusetts who need support and services to manage the challenges that substance use and behavioral health bring to their lives. His support of our industry, the providers that work hard every day to make a difference, is unwavering, and he ensures his advocacy for the resources we need to carry out our missions,” said Lois Nesci, CEO of Gándara Center. “He does this in both words and action. I have often shared with the senator that, when he visits a program or attends an event, he truly shows up — ready to support, ready to listen, and ready to take the next steps. My sincere congratulations to someone who makes an incredible difference every day.”

Added Velis, “I am particularly grateful to my dear friend Lois Nesci and all those at the Gándara Center for nominating me for this award. It is such a privilege to be able to work alongside such dedicated community partners like the Gándara Center to learn about the challenges that need to be addressed to make behavioral healthcare more accessible.”

The Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers is Massachusetts’s largest human-services membership association, representing more than 220 community-based agencies around the Commonwealth, including Gándara Center. During the ceremony, the Providers’ Council recognized 13 other individuals from across the state for their work in the human-services sector.

KeyBank Foundation Grant Boosts Innovative Job Program at Springfield Rescue Mission

By Joseph Bednar November 7, 2024

Employment Special Coverage

A Hand Up, Not a Handout

Springfield Rescue Mission CEO Kevin Ramsdell

Springfield Rescue Mission has long helped its homeless clients find jobs. Sabra Ramsdell was concerned about how often those jobs didn’t stick.

“What is the value in work? A lot of people don’t understand that the value in work is that it teaches you a discipline,” she told BusinessWest. “It’s not just a paycheck. It teaches you how to build self-esteem in yourself.”

And for whatever reason, motivation or otherwise, “we would find that guys would just hit a brick wall and quit. And we were scratching our heads going, ‘why? What’s going on?’ But we had no mechanism to call an employer and say, ‘well, what happened?’ And if you talk to the residents, you get one side. So I finally just said, ‘this isn’t going to work this way.’”

So Ramsdell, chief of staff at Springfield Rescue Mission (and the wife of CEO Kevin Ramsdell), started thinking about different models.

“The one entity that I’ve seen that does this over the long haul is the DDS,” she said, referring to the state Department of Developmental Services. “They have a mechanism that works between HR departments, companies, and employees. Many of these guys who are housed in group homes come to, say, Big Y through an agency. Well, we’re an agency, so how come we can’t develop a program that would ensure to companies that they would have a fallback to contact us if they were running into an issue? It’s really that simple.”

That’s how the mission’s Workforce Development Outreach program was born. And on Oct. 30, the program got a major boost of funding — and a vote of confidence, really — from KeyBank Foundation in the form of a two-year, $150,000 grant to create a liaison position that will work with employers to help the mission’s transitional residents secure jobs best suited for them, and then keep them and grow in their careers.

“This grant reflects our ongoing dedication to investing in local communities and helping individuals build brighter futures.”

“One of KeyBank’s philanthropic focus areas is workforce development and helping individuals achieve the skills, education, and capabilities they need to succeed in current and future employment opportunities,” said Matthew Hummel, KeyBank’s market president for Connecticut and Massachusetts. “This grant reflects our ongoing dedication to investing in local communities and helping individuals build brighter futures.”

Essentially, the Workforce Development Outreach program matches mission residents with potential employers, while providing training and support to the residents to become effective, retainable employees. The grant is a way to build and expand partnerships with local companies and, through the new liaison, coordinate efforts between employers, employees, and the mission’s case-management team.

the $150,000 grant to Springfield Rescue Mission

KeyBank’s Matthew Hummel, flanked by Sabra and Kevin Ramsdell and joined by local and state leaders, presents the $150,000 grant to Springfield Rescue Mission.

“We are incredibly grateful to KeyBank for the generous funding, which will greatly enhance our Workforce Development Outreach program,” Kevin Ramsdell said during the check-presentation ceremony. “This support will empower us to help more individuals in need gain valuable skills and opportunities to secure sustainable employment and self-sufficiency.”

Shared Mission

Hummel told the crowd gathered at the check presentation that KeyBank Foundation’s focus on helping people attain the skills and education needed to succeed in careers fits squarely with the mission’s work.

“The Workforce Development Outreach program is not just about job training, it’s about equipping people with the skills, the confidence, and the support they need to rebuild their lives. It’s about giving people hope, dignity, and the opportunity for a better future. That’s also a mission that we can stand behind,” he said. “With this grant, we’re helping them create a pathway to success, offering tools to allow individuals to secure meaningful employment, achieve financial independence, and ultimately contribute to the privacy of this community.

“Employers are going to have that support, too. They’ve got somebody else that they can talk to about what’s really going on. And we genuinely want these guys to realize their dream and become effective employees.”

“By partnering with not-for-profits and nonprofits like Springfield Rescue Mission,” Hummel added, “we can help individuals rise above their challenges and build a foundation for long-term success.”

It’s a message that also resonated with state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, who touted Springfield Rescue Mission’s status as the first shelter of its kind in the state of Massachusetts, and the fifth-oldest in the U.S.

“This is about our community. This is not about helping with a handout, it’s helping with a hand up. That’s what this program is about,” he said. “These opportunities are about not only sheltering, but about rehabilitation.”

City Councilman Melvin Edwards spoke to the Christian values that undergird the mission’s work.

“I know that the mission is biblical, and we’re supposed to feed those in need and house them,” he said. “I believe this program is about the fact that some of us are in a better position than others, but … our collective success is dependent on the people around us and whether they’re willing to reach out and give us a helping hand. So for those of you who are providing the services, thank you.

“For those who are receiving services, look in the mirror and recognize you do have value, you are loved, and people in the community do respect you,” Edwards added. “Sometimes we can’t control how people speak about us and look at us. But you should look at yourselves and realize you do have value.”

Sabra Ramsdell emphasized during her short address that the underserved population needs more than just simply a job. “Most of us could go get a job,” she noted. “The trick is to get a job doing something you love because, as my husband likes to say, you’ll never really work a day in your life if you love what you’re doing.

Matthew Hummel says workforce development is one of KeyBank’s philanthropic focus areas.

“Secondly, you need real support from employers who understand that the population we’re dealing with … may not completely have all the skills necessary to perform the way we would like. So this program was born to bring about a relationship between employer, case management, and resident in an effective way that we hope solves problems and produces more active, robust employees.”

More Than a Job

Springfield Rescue Mission’s Taylor Street site hosts an emergency shelter accommodating 45 men nightly, offering meals, showers, and clothing, while its Rehabilitation Program supports transitions with healthcare, addiction services, and mental-health support. At the mission’s Mill Street location, the New Life Rehabilitation Program aids up to 60 men over six to 12 months through a holistic wellness track, including medical care, academic support, workforce development, and life-skills training. The mission also distributes 3.1 million pounds of food annually, benefiting hundreds through meals and community outreach.

After the check presentation, Sabra Ramsdell told BusinessWest that she wants to help people succeed in life by creating more of a mentoring partnership between employers and underserved populations.
“Employers are going to have that support, too. They’ve got somebody else that they can talk to about what’s really going on. And we genuinely want these guys to realize their dream and become effective employees.”

If the liaison to be hired with KeyBank Foundation’s grant funding is as effective as hoped, Ramsdell said she could see this program becoming a model that could be incorporated into other social services.

“I don’t have a social-service background. I was a banker for 20 years. I did mortgage work. So I know what I know — the pathway to becoming independent financially as a first-time homebuyer. But I don’t know this other piece, which is getting somebody from where these guys are to that point.”

To aid in that process of economic advancement, the mission also provides digital-literacy training to help residents gain the basic skills they need to work in many settings.

As for long-term goals, she noted, “you have to look at that whole person and say, ‘how old are you? What is your dream? What did you dream? What did you like doing when you were a kid? Tell me about your life, your family.’ You’ve got to analyze where they really are and then figure out where they need to go.”

The Workforce Development Outreach program is open to all the mission’s transitional-living clients, more than 100 at a time. So the impact could be significant, boosting local businesses in need of workers while providing not just jobs, but potentially career pathways beyond minimum wage.

“If it’s a difference between $15 an hour and $25 an hour or more,” Ramsdell said, “that gets them out of that cycle of poverty.”

End-of-year Tax Planning

By Contributor November 7, 2024

Accounting and Tax Planning Special Coverage

Despite Uncertainty in Washington, Solid Advice Abounds

By Kristina Drzal Houghton, CPA

As we come to the end of 2024, it’s time to discuss end-of-year tax planning. This past year has seen some significant tax legislation that, if enacted in its current form, would impact year-end tax strategy. Understanding this legislation, and how it might affect 2024’s tax obligations, is essential for making informed tax-planning decisions.

Kristina Drzal Houghton

In this article, I will address both business and individual tax-planning strategies and provide some insight on how possible legislation might affect your year-end planning decisions. Many of my clients ask me about my thoughts on taxes depending on a Republican or Democratic victory for president. My reply is that no one person can determine legislation, and the makeup of the House and Senate need to be considered.

One of the most notable legislative proposals this year was the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. This bipartisan bill would have provided tax relief to parents by enhancing the Child Tax Credit.

For businesses, the bill would have restored immediate expensing for U.S.-based research and development (R&D) investments, instead of deducting such expenses over five years. Full and immediate expensing for investments in machinery, equipment, and vehicles would also have been restored, and the amount of investment that small businesses can immediately write off would have been increased to $1.29 million. The bill also addressed the treatment of business interest expense, bonus depreciation, and research and experimental costs.

Although the bill failed to pass in the Senate, various provisions have been resurrected separately. However, Congress has yet to pass a 2025 budget or address various expiring provisions and extenders, including the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Possible legislative changes, which may include an increase in the corporate tax rate to 28%, along with adjustments to tax brackets, retirement contribution limits, and the gift-tax exclusion, underscore the importance of staying informed and prepared.

YEAR-END TAX PLANNING FOR BUSINESSES

Whether or not tax increases become effective next year, the standard year-end approach of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes will continue to produce the best results for most small businesses, as will the bunching of deductible expenses into this year or next to maximize their tax value.

If proposed tax increases do pass, however, the highest-income businesses and owners may find that the opposite strategies produce better results: pulling income into 2024 to be taxed at currently lower rates, and deferring deductible expenses until 2025, when they can be taken to offset what would be higher-taxed income. This will require careful evaluation of all relevant factors.

What’s New for Businesses in 2024?

As noted earlier, one of the most notable legislative proposals this year was the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024.

Without more legislation, bonus depreciation will fall to 60% for most qualified business property placed in service in 2024 (down from 100% in 2022 and 80% in 2023).

However, more taxpayers can deduct business loan interest in 2024 as the adjusted gross income limit for small taxpayers increases to $30 million.

Depreciation and Expensing

One consideration is the possibility of changes in the taxpayer’s tax rate in future years, whether based on predictions about the taxpayer’s business or about legislative changes in tax rates. For example, a possibility of sufficiently higher future rates may result in trying to defer deductions by deferring purchases of property eligible for full expensing or bonus depreciation. On the other hand, an example of a reason not to defer purchases is that the rate of bonus depreciation is phasing down to 0% in 2027.

Bonus Depreciation

For 2024, a first-year bonus depreciation deduction falls to 60% of the adjusted basis of depreciable property allowed for qualified property acquired and placed in service during the year.

For 2024, the maximum amount of section 179 property that can be expensed is $1,220,000 ($1,250,000 for 2025). That full amount is available until qualifying property placed in service during the year reaches $3,050,000 ($3,130,000 for 2025), at which point a phaseout begins.

Proposed Changes

While not actually proposed legislation, a presidential candidate has discussed the idea of raising the corporate income-tax rate to 28%. This adjustment would raise federal revenue but could impact the bottom line of large corporations. These companies may need to reassess their financial strategies, including cost management and investment plans, to accommodate the higher tax burden.

Net Operating Losses

For the 2024 tax year, net operating losses (NOLs) of corporate taxpayers may not be carried back (except for farm losses, which may be carried back two years), but may be carried forward indefinitely. In addition, for the 2024 tax year, the NOL deduction is subject to an 80% of taxable income limitation (not counting the NOL or the qualified business income deduction).

A taxpayer that may have difficulty taking advantage of the full amount of an NOL carry-forward this year should consider shifting income into and deductions away from this year. By doing so, the taxpayer can avoid the intervening year modifications that would apply if the NOL is not fully absorbed in 2024. This may also avoid potentially higher tax rates next year on the accelerated income and increase the tax value of deferred deductions.

Losses and Shareholder or Partnership Basis

A shareholder can deduct its pro rata share of S-corporation losses only to the extent of the total of its basis in the S-corporation stock and debt. This determination is made as of the end of the S-corporation tax year in which the loss occurs. Any loss or deduction that can’t be used on account of this limitation can be carried forward indefinitely.

If a shareholder wants to claim a 2024 S-corporation loss on its own 2024 return, but the loss exceeds the basis for its S-corporation stock and debt, it can still claim the loss in full by lending the S corporation more money or by making a capital contribution by the end of the S corporation’s tax year (in the case of a calendar-year corporation, by Dec. 31).

Similarly, a partner’s share of partnership losses is deductible only to the extent of their partnership basis as of the end of the partnership year in which the loss occurs. Basis can be increased by a capital contribution, or in some cases by the partnership itself borrowing money or by the partner taking on a larger share of the partnership’s liabilities before the end of the partnership’s tax year.

YEAR-END TAX PLANNING FOR INDIVIDUALS

Whether or not tax increases become effective next year, the standard year-end approach of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes will continue to produce the best results for all but the highest-income taxpayers, as will the bunching of deductible expenses into this year or next to avoid restrictions and maximize deductions.

If proposed tax increases do pass, however, the highest-income taxpayers may find that the opposite strategies produce better results: pulling income into 2024 to be taxed at currently lower rates, and deferring deductible expenses until 2024, when they can offset what would be higher-taxed income. This will require careful evaluation of all relevant factors.

What’s New for Individuals in 2024?

• Penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts. Domestic-abuse victims under age 59½ may take up to $10,000 in penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts. Individuals with an emergency can take a penalty-free withdrawal up to $1,000 penalty-free.

• Increased catch-up retirement contributions. IRA catch-up contributions are indexed for inflation beginning in 2024. In 2025, the 401(k) catch-up contribution amount increases from $7,500 to $10,000 for workers ages 60 to 63.

• Some catch-up contributions must be made to a Roth account. Beginning in 2024, taxpayers with income of $145,000 or more must make any catch-up contributions to a Roth or Roth 401(k) account.

• Leftover money in a 529 plan. Leftover money in a 529 plan can be rolled over tax-free into a Roth IRA. Restrictions apply.

• Increased RMD age. RMD age remains age 73 in 2024 and increases gradually to age 75 in 2033.

• Qualified charitable distribution cap. IRA owners can transfer up to $105,000 tax-free to a charity.

Filing Status and Dependents

When considering year-end tax-planning strategies, think about your expected filing status this year and next and the number of dependents that you expect to claim in each year.

Additionally, the Massachusetts millionaire’s tax allows an exemption of $1 million for all filing statuses. For 2024, Massachusetts requires, in most situations, that the Massachusetts filing status mirror the federal filing status. Potential Massachusetts savings for higher-income earners needs to be compared with any federal benefit of married filing jointly.

Who Should Increase Income?

A taxpayer who expects to be taxed at a higher rate next year should explore strategies to increase income this year by accelerating the recognition of income. An individual taxpayer might be in a higher tax bracket next year if:

• The taxpayer is graduating from school or a training program and moving into the paid workforce;

• Head-of-household or surviving-spouse status ends after this year;

• The taxpayer plans to get married next year and will be subject to a marriage penalty; or

• The taxpayer expects to be eligible for one or more credits next year (e.g., the child tax credit) that is subject to phaseout when AGI reaches specified limits and is otherwise not eligible for the credit this year.

Caution: any decision to accelerate income from a later year into an earlier one should consider the time value of money.

Who Should Decrease Income?

A taxpayer who expects to be subject to the same or a lower tax rate next year should consider deferring income recognition. A taxpayer might be in a lower tax bracket next year if:

• The taxpayer becomes eligible for head-of-household status next year;

• The taxpayer expects to have a lower income next year due to retirement, job change, or other change in circumstance; or

• The taxpayer is currently a child who will escape the kiddie tax next year and be in a lower bracket than their parents.

Numerous tax benefits phase out at specified income thresholds. As year end nears, taxpayers who otherwise qualify for a tax benefit should consider strategies to reduce income this year to keep their income level below the relevant phaseout threshold.

Capital Gains and Losses

The appropriate year-end planning strategy for capital gains and losses depends on many factors, including an individual’s taxable income, tax rate, amount of adjusted net capital gain, and whether the individual has unrealized capital losses. For high-income taxpayers, planning must also account for the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT).

Installment Sales

An installment sale can be an effective technique for closing certain transactions this year while deferring a substantial part of the tax on the sale to later years.

Passive-activity Limitations

Losses generated by passive activities may be used only to offset passive-activity income. Passive-activity credits may be used only to offset tax on income from passive activities, with a carryover of any unused credits. In addition, the 3.8% NIIT applies to income from passive activities, but not from income generated by an activity in which the taxpayer is a material participant. Taxpayers can employ several year-end strategies for managing passive-activity limitations.

Pass-through Income

A key dollar threshold on the 20% deduction for pass-through income rises in 2024. Self-employed individuals and owners of LLCs, S corporations, and other pass-throughs can deduct 20% of their qualified business income, subject to limitations for individuals with taxable incomes of more than $383,900 for joint filers and $191,950 for all others.

Itemized Deductions and Charitable Contributions

Many taxpayers won’t want to itemize because of the high basic standard deduction amounts that apply for 2024 ($29,200 for joint filers, $14,600 for singles and for married filing separately, $21,900 for heads of household), and because many itemized deductions have been reduced (such as the $10,000 deduction limit on state and local taxes) or abolished (such as the miscellaneous itemized deduction and the deduction for non-disaster-related personal casualty losses).

Some taxpayers may be able to work around these deduction restrictions by applying a bunching strategy to pull or push discretionary medical expenses and charitable contributions into the year where they will do some tax good. For example, a taxpayer who will be able to itemize deductions this year but not next will benefit by making two years’ worth of charitable contributions this year.

Individuals may deduct contributions to charitable organizations up to a certain percent of their contribution base (generally, AGI). Through 2025, that percentage is 60% for cash contributions and 30% for non-cash contributions.

For year-end planning, it’s beneficial to review whether you have charitable-contribution carryovers from a prior year. If income will decline, care should be taken to use the carryovers before they expire.

Taxpayers with low-basis, highly appreciated stock may want to consider funding a charitable contribution with the stock. The charity can sell the stock without incurring any income tax. The donor can also claim a charitable deduction in the year the gift was handled that is equal to the fair market value without recognizing the gain, subject to limitations.

Tuition Credits

There are two credits that taxpayers can claim to offset the cost of education: the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and the Lifetime Learning Credit. Both credits phase out for higher-income taxpayers.

AOTC is a credit for qualified education expenses paid for an eligible student for the first four years of higher education. The maximum annual AOTC is $2,500 per eligible student, and it is refundable up to $1,000.

The Lifetime Learning Credit is a credit up to $2,000 per return for qualified tuition and related expenses paid for eligible students enrolled in an eligible educational institution. This includes undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree courses, as well as courses to acquire or improve job skills. There is no limit on the number of years a taxpayer can claim this credit.

Taxpayers can claim credits for eligible expenses paid for education that begins this year or during the first three months of next year. A taxpayer who hasn’t already maximized education credits for the student this year should consider making the spring tuition payment before year end. Conversely, if a child is expected to graduate and begin employment, delaying paying tuition might give them the benefit of a tuition credit otherwise limited by the parents’ income level.

Caution: if educational expenses paid and deducted in 2024 are refunded in 2025, be mindful of the tax-benefit rule — the taxpayer may need to include the benefit amount in income this year, even if the student is no longer the taxpayer’s dependent.

Conclusion

It is difficult to do tax planning in anticipation of what might happen in Washington, especially with this being an election year and the great divide on tax policy between the parties. Maybe the best planning would be to plan for possible tax changes in 2025 depending not only on the party that wins the presidential election, but also on the makeup of the House and the Senate.

It could well be time to accelerate gifting, accelerate income, and postpone deductions. Perhaps with optimism, you can imagine that those postponed R&D and interest deductions will give you a deduction at a higher tax rate, and maybe this can lessen the pain of accepting possible increased tax rates.

Finally, remember that this article is intended to serve only as a general guideline. Your personal circumstances will likely require careful examination and should be discussed with your tax adviser.

Kristina Drzal Houghton is a partner at the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

MiraVista Finds Success with Substance-use Treatment by Reaching into the Community

By Joseph Bednar November 7, 2024

Healthcare News Special Coverage

Meeting Them Where They Are

Charles DiRosa and Lauren Temple say MiraVista has found success going out and meeting addicts where they are, instead of waiting for them to walk through the doors.

Charles DiRosa knows all about the challenges of substance-use recovery. And looking back on 11 years of sobriety, he also knows how the treatment landscape has changed for the better.

“Being in recovery myself, I’m so proud to be a part of the resources we have here,” said DiRosa, a recovery support navigator at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center in Holyoke. “Looking back on it, 11 years ago, it wasn’t like this. It was a lot harder to get sober and to work a recovery.”

One example is same-day methadone dosing.

“In the past, you would have to make an appointment, maybe wait a couple of days to see the doctor, even a week, and then come in. For addicts, when they make that decision to get clean, usually we have to follow up with them pretty quickly because their mind is constantly changing.”

By accepting walk-ins, he noted, “our goal is, hopefully within an hour, we’ll get them in our system, get them an ID card, and get them dosed, all in the same day. We also offer transportation.”

But another key change at MiraVista has been an emphasis on reaching out into the community, rather than wait for people struggling with addiction to walk through the doors.

“By going to the individual instead of waiting for them to come to us, we’ve noticed a big increase in our numbers, and also our success rate,” DiRosa said. “It’s just providing our resources, letting them know that what we have to offer. If they’re already seeking our services, then we ask them to bring the word of mouth back to their loved ones or people they might know in the community.”

Kimberley Lee, MiraVista’s chief of Creative Strategy and Development, agreed that proactive outreach is making a difference.

DR. ROBBIE GOLDSTEIN

“It is heartening to see this significant decrease in fatal overdoses — a direct result of the ongoing hard work in our communities to reach those struggling with substance-use disorder.”

“We’ve gone into parks, we’ve gone and hung out at McDonald’s on Appleton Street, in front of other well-known high-traffic areas. We’re just setting up a table, having a little snack, bottles of water, and using that as an opportunity to engage individuals,” she explained.

“What’s really heartwarming and really supports our work is that, when you’re in a park, and you make a connection with an individual, and you give them your card and the flyer, they may not be ready in that moment. But the next day, we see them in the front lobby. It’s very reassuring to know that type of connection has worked for that individual, and then to see them progress from when they first arrived to later on in their treatment — to see the change, the metamorphosis that takes place for these individuals.”

DiRosa called it “planting seeds.” And in his role, he can help people grow those seeds from a place of empathy and compassion.

He’s currently involved in a program called State Opioid Response, which provides extra funding to MiraVista’s outpatient methadone clinic to help those who need extra resouces to be successful throughout their recovery.

“What that might look like is, they would come to me and let me know they’re in need of — let’s say housing, or they lost their insurance, or maybe they need a new cell phone because theirs broke, or whatever the case may be. My role is to look out in the community, find those resources, bring it back to them, and bridge the gap. That way, they can continue to be successful in their recovery.

“Especially in early recovery, it’s very easy for them to get overwhelmed with all these steps or goals that they have in mind. A lot of times, they don’t have the guidance; they don’t have the support,” he added. “So we’re making sure that we’re supporting our clients, making sure we’re finding those resources out in the community for them.”

By reaching out and bridging these gaps, DiRosa said he’s helping to provide hope at a critical time.

“A lot of times, we meet individuals on the streets that might not have an ID, might not have insurance, and we tell them, ‘hey, we can still get you in and get you enrolled.’ So I’m not only providing resources in-house, but also bringing resources out to the streets, which has been pretty successful, in my opinion.”

Mixed Bag of Data

This outreach and support work is especially critical in MiraVista’s environs. While opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts decreased by 10% in 2023 — the largest single-year decline since 2009-10 — according to Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) data, Holyoke actually saw an increase.

Statewide, there were 2,125 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths in 2023 — 232 fewer than in 2022, when Massachusetts had a record 2,357 fatal opioid-related overdoses. As noted, the opioid-related overdose death rate decreased by 10% to 30.2 per 100,000 people compared to 33.5 in 2022.

Kimberley Lee

“They’re approaching our clients and our patients with either their own personal experience or their own personal knowledge of the disease of addiction and how important it is for people who are starting their pathway to recovery to know that they’re not alone.”

“While we are encouraged by the overall decrease in overdose deaths, this report also is a reminder of the work that we still need to do to bring deaths down for all people and all areas of the state,” Gov. Maura Healey said when the report was released late in the spring. “Our administration remains committed to prioritizing prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts to address the overdose crisis that continues to claim too many lives and devastate too many families in Massachusetts.”

Preliminary data from the first three months of 2024 indicated a continued decline in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts, showing 507 confirmed and estimated deaths, a 9% drop compared to estimates from the same time last year.

“It is heartening to see this significant decrease in fatal overdoses — a direct result of the ongoing hard work in our communities to reach those struggling with substance-use disorder,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, Department of Public Health commissioner. “To sustain these hard-won gains, we must focus even more deeply on the populations that have not yet seen such dramatic improvements. This means doubling outreach efforts in communities of color, particularly for Black residents, and people living in our most rural communities, who, as the data show, are most disproportionately impacted by overdose deaths.”

DiRosa posed one reason why overdose death rates are still high in Holyoke, while cities like Brockton, Lawrence, and Pittsfield saw declines, and it has to do with accessibility and cost.

“In a lot of the outreach that we do in the community, we’ve noticed the drop in the cost of the drugs. Back maybe five, seven years ago, where one bag of heroin would cost $10 or $15, it’s now going for $3 to $5. So it’s keeping people actively using these substances longer and not seeking treatment.”

When they do seek help, addicts have treatment options. MiraVista’s Intensive Outpatient Program is an enhanced level of care for individuals who need more intensive support for their recovery from addiction and want to remain in the community, while the Opioid Treatment Program (which includes the methadone dosing) offers a continuum of outpatient services, including individualized medication management, comprehensive addiction assessments, individual and group counseling, case management, referral support, harm-reduction education, and more.

“We’re bringing education into the community that we’re here, and we’re going to be able to care for the patients when they’re ready to come through our doors,” said Lauren Temple, director of Clinical Services, adding that prompt appointments are a big part of that. “We’re going to get you a same-day appointment as quick as we can. We don’t want you to wait.”

One Step at a Time

“Every overdose death is tragic, preventable, and unacceptable,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh said when the state’s report was issued earlier this year. “While we are proud and encouraged that fewer Massachusetts residents were lost to overdose last year, we know that inequities persist, and our work is not done. Our understanding of where gaps in treatment and services occur, and the people who we are not yet reaching, drives our work and helps focus our efforts.”

Those thoughts dovetail well with MiraVista’s efforts in Greater Holyoke.

“We try to stay with our clients moving forward. We check up on them on a regular basis,” DiRosa said. “Sometimes our clients might need that extra phone call; they might need extra support. We want them to take pride in their recovery, but also help them see that we do care.”

Like DiRosa, much of Miravista’s outpatient-services team have lived experience with these challenges, Lee added.

“So they’re approaching our clients and our patients with either their own personal experience or their own personal knowledge of the disease of addiction and how important it is for people who are starting their pathway to recovery to know that they’re not alone,” she added. “We are here to walk with them, whether it’s the first step they’re taking or the 100th step. There are people here who understand and who can appreciate the journey. They’re not alone.”

Corporate Holiday Parties Are Back on the Menu These Days

By Joseph Bednar November 7, 2024

Holiday Party Planner Special Coverage

’Tis the Season

Mick Corduff has been in the restaurant business long enough to know what brings customers in.

In many cases, it’s a simple change in the weather.

“It kind of clicks into gear right now. I think most people’s grills are being put away, and the patio furniture has been brought in, so people are starting to go out a little bit more,” he said. “And now we’re gearing up for the holiday season.”

Ah, yes, holiday parties. As owner of two venerable Holyoke dining spots — the Log Cabin, with plenty of space for large company events, and the Delaney House, suitable for smaller gatherings — Corduff understands the draw of corporate get-togethers, and he’s hoping other strong signs from 2024 carry over into November and December.

“We’re coming off a really busy wedding season, and foliage season has been going really well. We just finished some Thanksgiving menus, finished up the Christmas to-go packages, and the reservations for holiday gatherings are starting to trickle in now.”

Corduff said companies who like their experience with the Log Cabin or Delaney House have learned to rebook early.

“There’s always a last-minute Sally, but then there’s the customer base that has the same Friday every year — the Friday before Christmas, or two weeks before, or the first Saturday in December. We’re actually seeing some holiday Christmas parties in November, a little earlier than usual, especially with the bigger ones. They really want to have it on a Friday night or a Saturday night, and the Saturday nights tend to be grabbed up really quick. So we have a few customers that are doing it in late November, mid-November, in and around Thanksgiving.

“We just finished some Thanksgiving menus, finished up the Christmas to-go packages, and the reservations for holiday gatherings are starting to trickle in now.”

“You can work with them on pricing when there isn’t such a high demand, so that’s always a good thing for them,” he added. “Or they might get the whole facility, rather than having to do smaller rooms because it fits what we have. Like I said, we’re really starting to pick up on Fridays and Saturdays right now.”

Holiday bookings seem comparable to where they were in 2023, he added, partly due to the loyalty factor.

Mick Corduff says many repeat customers for holiday parties like to book the same dates year after year.

“We have a loyal customer base that comes to us year over year. Some of the larger companies have come to us on the same dates,” he told BusinessWest. “It also really depends on how the holidays fall. Christmas falls in the middle of the week this year, so it’s a little different.”

Edison Yee, principal managing partner of the Bean Restaurant Group, which boasts more than a dozen establishments, ranging from quick service to fast casual to more upscale, said the holiday season is an exciting time of the year for the company.

“We began planning months ago; for most restaurants, it’s the busiest time of the year,” he said, noting that the Student Prince, on Fort Street in Springfield, and the Boathouse, on the Connecticut River in South Hadley, do most of the function-type business, and holiday bookings start coming in during the summer.

“Christmastime on Fort Street is very, very festive. It’s decorated — we have great new decorations this year — and we have the Fort carolers, which are always a smash hit. People come back, families come back, businesses come back year after year for the festivities. With the traditions of Fort Street, it’s a great time to be there.

“At the Boathouse, it’s usually the same — that’s a function house as well, with ample room,” Yee explained. “They both do great business over the holidays, and we have Christmas with Santa at both locations.”

In short, it’s a busy time, he said. “The other restaurants are busy as well, but they don’t do so much the big functions of 300, 400, or 500 people because they don’t have the room. They do have a lot of smaller functions throughout the holidays, though. Right after Black Friday, everything kicks off.”

Slow Climb Back

The pandemic four years ago crushed the holiday-party season, and 2021 started a slow climb back, but a national survey conducted toward the end of 2023 suggested that companies are clamoring once again to celebrate the holidays with their teams in-person.

According to survey results from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., 64.4% of companies reported having in-person holiday parties in 2023, up from 57% who reported the same in 2022 and 27% who held in-person parties in 2021. It marked the highest percentage of companies holding in-person holiday parties since 75% of companies reported they held parties in 2019.

Local restaurant leaders like Corduff and Yee hope that trend continues, though only time will tell.

“We have quite a few that are post-holiday,” Corduff said. “It brightens up the winter. We see them probably until the end of January, even.”

Such a choice makes sense for businesses with a heavy end-of-year load, but it makes life easier on many fronts regardless of the company, he pointed out.

“If you do it early or you do it late, you have a little bit more flexibility. Sometimes the space can be more grandiose, and usually other vendors are more available — a DJ is not as busy in late January. So it’s not just us as a venue, but the availability of any vendor. A company can probably get a better deal and maybe do more for their customers or staff or whoever they’re trying to entertain.”

Edison Yee

“Times are challenging now for restaurants. Food inflation and wage inflation and insurance costs have escalated. So it’s important to be on top of it.”

Yee said restaurant workers are among the groups who might want to get past the holidays to celebrate, adding that November and December are certainly much busier for parties across the Bean Group than January.

Corduff said the Log Cabin has found much success with large holiday parties that many small businesses attend, with a variety of price points.

“At the public holiday parties, you can have a hairdressing salon with a table of lawyers and a mechanic shop down the street, all intermingling and having a great time. It’s an economic way for businesses to take people out to a big Christmas party.

“You might have a small, more intimate event at the Delaney House, whether it’s 8, 10, 16, 20 people,” he went on. “Usually in that environment, it tends to be more about the dining experience, whereas, at some of the group holiday parties, we have the entertainment built in. Whether it’s comedy or a DJ and dancing, food and wine pairings, you have a wide variety of options there. We’re always trying to think outside the box to keep it fresh and stay creative and have a good time with it.”

One trend Corduff has noticed is that people are going out to eat, and planning events, a little earlier in the evening than before.

“I think it’s not just a Western Mass. thing, but a lot of restaurants are seeing 9 o’clock at night and the restaurant’s empty. Some of the restaurateurs that I talk to in Springfield say, ‘we used to have 9 o’clock reservations; we don’t anymore. You know, 8:30 is our last reservation these days.’ So either people are going to bed earlier, or who knows what it is, but the trend has shifted to an earlier dining slot.”

Back to Normal

As for the restaurant business is general, Yee said the gradual fade of the pandemic saw a rush of people tired of staying indoors.

“They wanted to go celebrate, and finally, they could do that. And now things have kind of leveled off for a more normal holiday.”

Corduff agreed. “COVID has still been around, unfortunately. But I think people are just getting on with their lives. If you’re sick, you stay in bed. Don’t go out. If you have the flu, you do the same exact thing.

“But I do think people are going out, having a good time; people aren’t as fearful as they were, and it’s showing in the numbers of people going out,” he added. “The group holiday parties were non-existent post-COVID. If a hairdressing salon was having a party, they probably had it at their shop. And we saw a lot of catering business post-COVID; we survived off those catering parties. So we still do it.”

Yee said he’s happy to see things returning to normalcy.

“We have restaurants throughout Western Mass. and Northern Connecticut, and overall, we’re up a small percentage, about 4%. I’m hearing mixed signals from different restaurateurs; some are up, some are down. For us, we like to say we have pockets or different regions that are stronger than others.”

For example, the Connecticut eateries have been fairly strong. “The quick service has been a little bit weaker overall. Our casual dining has been strong. Elevated dining is a little flat.”

That said, “times are challenging now for restaurants,” Yee said. “Food inflation and wage inflation and insurance costs have escalated. So it’s important to be on top of it. We think we’re in a good place.”

With a busy holiday season ahead to bring the cheer — and the business.

Western Mass. Offers a Bounty of Options for Local Gifts

By BusinessWest Staff November 7, 2024

Holiday Gift Guide Shop Local Special Coverage

Beyond the Big Box

Paw Street Barkery

The gift-giving season is quickly approaching, and the business of everyday life can make it difficult to find the perfectly thoughtful gift. Fortunately, the 413 is full of good ideas. For our annual Shop Local Gift Guide, BusinessWest offers up 18 such options, whether you’re looking for a physical gift to wrap up, a service, or an always-welcome gift card.

Arts Unlimited Gift Gallery

25 College St., South Hadley

(413) 532-7047

www.facebook.com/artsunlimitedgifts

Arts Unlimited was founded with one goal in mind: to provide customers with a high-quality, smart, and reliable gift shop. Offerings include a wide variety of art, accessories, and decorations, and gifts for birthdays, retirements, weddings, holidays, and more.

The Baker’s Pin

34 Bridge St., Northampton

(413) 586-7978

www.thebakerspin.com

This extensive kitchen store carries a wide range of cookware, cutlery, electric devices, bakeware, kitchen tools, home goods, cookbooks, and food products as well. But it also offers an array of cooking classes, both online and in person, exploring different foods and techniques appropriate for the season.

The Blue Marble

150 Main St., Northampton

(413) 253-0328

www.thebluemarble.biz

The Blue Marble, located in Thornes Marketplace, describes itself as “displayers and purveyors of American-made and fairly traded, handcrafted work,” with gifts including jewelry, scarves, pottery, wall art, and more. Its Little Blue line offers gift and clothing options for babies and preschoolers, also focusing on sustainable, organic, and ethically sourced options.

The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar

11 Housatonic St., Lenox

(413) 637-3390

www.bookstoreinlenox.com

The Bookstore, a fixture in Lenox for more than 40 years, was actually born in the neighboring town of Stockbridge, in the living room of a small rented house behind an alley that housed a then little-known café that later came to be known as Alice’s Restaurant. The bar is open whenever the bookstore is, and the bookstore stays open later some nights when the bar is open as well.

Greenfield Games

238 Main St., Greenfield

(413) 774-5225

www.greenfieldgames.com

Touting itself as the largest game store in the region, Greenfield Games carries a huge selection of collectible card games, board games, family games, classic games, role-playing books, RPG miniatures, party games, gaming supplies, puzzles, and poker supplies. Tables are available for in-store gaming.

Paw Street Barkery

1519 Memorial Dr., Chicopee

(413) 437-8014

www.pawstreetbarkery.com

For more than 10 years, Paw Street Barkery has been making tasty, healthy dog treats, including seven signature and five gourmet treats, with many seasonal flavors throughout the year. The shop also sells a selection of toys, bandanas, and other items for your furry friend.

Pioneer Valley Food Tours

(413) 320-7700

www.pioneervalleyfoodtours.com

This enterprise creates walking food tours that explore local flavors from Northampton and around the region. It also creates gift boxes sourced from the region’s fields and farms, as well as Pioneer Valley picnic baskets of selections ready to bring on an outdoor adventure. Choose a pre-set tour itinerary, or create a custom tour to suit your tastes.

Positively Africana

150 Main St., Northampton

(413) 297-8010

www.positivelyafricana.com

Located in Thornes Marketplace, this authentic gift shop focuses on handmade crafts and accessories made in Africa or inspired by the continent’s strength and beauty. It offers a wide range of handmade products, including jewelry, accessories, home decor, and clothing, as well as group exercise classes, and 25% of all profits support women entrepreneurs and artists in the Congo.

Razzmatazz Kids

803 Williams St., Longmeadow

(413) 754-3654

www.facebook.com/razzmatazzkidsstore

Formerly Zen’s Toyland, Razzmatazz Kids sells a variety of items ranging from baby teethers to adult puzzles, including high-quality, unique items that aren’t available elsewhere. All the toys are handpicked, and the shop also has a playroom for children to ‘test drive’ items.

Richardson’s Candy Kitchen

500 Greenfield Road, Deerfield

(413) 772-0443

www.richardsonscandy.com

In 1954, Henry & Viola Richards opened a roadside candy kitchen in a schoolhouse-red clapboard storefront in the historic town of Deerfield. Seventy years later, current owner Kathie Woodward Williams still uses the original recipes and celebrates the sweet traditions of the seasons, crafting scrumptious confections like hand-twisted candy canes and signature chocolates.

Springfield Museums

21 Edwards St.

(413) 263-6800

www.springfieldmuseums.org

Located in the heart of downtown Springfield, the Springfield Museums offer access to five world-class museums, including the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, all under a single admission. Gift certificates are available to share the fun, culture, and learning.

Springfield Thunderbirds

45 Bruce Landon Way, Springfield

(413) 739-4625

www.springfieldthunderbirds.com

A great deal for big-time hockey fans and folks who simply enjoy a fun night out with the family, Thunderbirds games are reasonably priced entertainment in Springfield’s vibrant downtown. The AHL franchise plays home games through April at the MassMutual Center, with a constant stream of promotions.

Springfield Wine Exchange

1500 Main St., Springfield

(413) 237-6187

www.swewines.com

Located on the ground floor of downtown Tower Square, the Springfield Wine Exchange offers customers local select craft beers and wines from around the world. The shop has assembled a collection of wines sourced and hand-selected from growers around the world, from everyday, affordable bottles to fine and rare collectibles.

Springfield Wine Exchange

Summit Center for Vibrant Living

25 Franklin Street, Lenox

(518) 441-6336

www.summitcenterforvibrantliving.com

Dolores Mannix, an intuitive body worker, spiritual mentor, and yoga teacher, brings together close to three decades of initiations and study in the Path of Light in Ecuador with her training in bodywork and yoga for somatic, spiritual, and emotional release in a safe, nurturing environment, fostering transformational experiences.

Sweet Lucy’s Bakeshop

7 South St., Bernardston

(413) 648-3160

www.sweetlucysbakeshop.com

Sweet Lucy’s Bakeshop is a new-American bakery in the heart of New England, passionately committed to providing the most craveable, high-quality pastries and cakes. Meanwhile, owner Lucy Damkoehler offers a wide array of cooking classes and sells gift certificates that can be applied to any class.

The Toy Box

201 North Amherst St.

(413) 256-8697

www.thetoyboxamherst.com

The Toy Box was born in late 2003. A few years later, the store expanded to twice its original size, expanding its product selection to include lots of gift and hard-to-find items as well as toys and games for older kids and adults. The website features a robust online sales platform with items in dozens of categories.

World Eye Bookshop

134 Main St., Greenfield

(413) 772-2186

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057448487826

World Eye Bookshop opened more than 50 years ago, and even though it has several locations, it is still Greenfield’s only independent bookshop for new books, as well as greeting cards, toys, games, journals, stuffed animals, art supplies, tarot, and more.

Zanna

187 North Pleasant St., Amherst

(413) 253-2563

www.zanna.com

Zanna describes itself as “a city style store in a little downtown,” and adds, “we toss clothes over dressing room doors, fit shoes, give honest advice, and lots of TLC. We’ve created lasting friendships for over 50 years.”

Tad Tokarz Helps Kids Envision a Bright Future

By BusinessWest Staff October 25, 2024

Where Are They Now?

Tad Tokarz in 2007 as a 40 Under Forty honoree (right) and today in his office at Springfield Central High School.

Tad Tokarz

Only a few months after being named to BusinessWest’s inaugural 40 Under Forty cohort in 2007, Tad Tokarz won a promotion.

At the time of that first award ceremony, he was wrapping up another school year as assistant principal and director of Athletics at Springfield’s Central High School. But then-Principal Dick Stoddard retired, and Tokarz, then just 33 years old, applied for and won the job.

It altered his life’s course in some ways, but has impacted the lives of young people in far more meaningful ones.

As for his career, he was the owner of the Western Mass. Sports Journal at the time, which covered sports at a variety of levels, but always with a Pioneer Valley slant. Operating out of the Scibelli Enterprise Center at Springfield Technical Community College, it was, in essence, a second full-time job, and one he couldn’t keep going after his promotion at Central.

“Once I became principal, it was just too much work. So we had to shut it down,” Tokarz recalled. “But it was good while it lasted. The experience that I got from from running my own business has helped me tremendously here, because this is a business, with the hiring and the partnerships and the thinking outside the box. So I think that experience really helped me push Central forward in a unique direction.”

And that he has, in more than one way. “Physically, it’s a different place,” he said, citing the addition of a three-story science wing with 12 classrooms, a renovation to the athletic complex, and a current project to renovate the theater and gymnasium.

But socially, Central is also different, he added, noting that “we have put so many safeguards in place and wraparound services for our kids.”

And academically, well, the numbers speak for themselves; last year’s seniors set a Central record with $24 million in scholarship offers.

“We sent kids to some of the best colleges and universities in the country, and it’s great giving kids an opportunity to excel in whatever interests them once they graduate. We tell our kids, ‘we want you to have options when you graduate,’ and I think we’re doing a pretty good job.

“It’s very rewarding to see where these kids actually end up, and to feel like you played a small part in their development.”

“We have a tremendous staff, and the district has given us an amazing amount of support,” he went on. “Yes, COVID was a real challenge for us. But we came out stronger, I think, after COVID. What transpired was kids starting to participate more in clubs and activities. That’s a big part of who we are. We want our kids to participate, whether it be ROTC, athletics, clubs, whatever it is.”

Students have also improved academically, and that success has been mirrored by Central’s athletic programs, which bring in 10 to 15 Division I athletic scholarships each year, “so we’re watching our kids play on TV, which is fun,” Tokarz told BusinessWest.

“Now, we have every college in the country recruiting our students, athletically and academically. This year, we created a new position of recruiting coordinator; he meets with a lot of the seniors about the kinds of colleges would best suit them, along with our guidance counselors, adjustment counselors, and graduation coaches. So we’re done a lot of different things the last 17 years, put in a lot of different positions, to push kids forward, not just in the classroom, but far beyond that.”

Tokarz, always willing to work toward self-improvement — for instance, he completed an Ironman triathlon in 2005 just two years after starting to train on a bike and in the pool — has earned a doctorate degree in educational leadership since his promotion to principal. But while working toward becoming a better leader, he still says it’s the students and staff that make his job fulfilling.

“They make this place what it is. And it’s never boring; you’re helping people get to the next chapter in their life, and that, to me, is very rewarding,” he said. As for the staff, “the people that we have surrounding our students are second to none, and the reason why we’ve been so successful over this time period.”

New challenges are always emerging in education; right now, Massachusetts schools are waiting to see if voters decide on Nov. 5 to keep the MCAS test as a graduation requirement.

If they decide to change course, Tokarz said, “I’m interested to see how that’s going to change the testing and the accountability, because we’ve always focused on accountability — that’s important to us.”

No matter how the standardized test is deployed, Tokarz said he and his team will continue to help students get the best grades possible and envision a future where anything is possible.

“I just came back from the 10-year reunion of the Central High School class of 2014, and we have dentists, doctors, veterinarians, people working downtown in New York City on the Today show … all kinds of stuff. It’s very rewarding to see where these kids actually end up, and to feel like you played a small part in their development.”

Where Are New Title IX Regulations Not Enforceable?

By Contributor October 25, 2024

Education

Emerging Challenges

By Kathleen E. Dion and Sabrina Galli

By Aug. 1, 2024, universities across the country were required to implement the Biden administration’s new regulations concerning Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which contained numerous expansions on the law’s protections.

Kathleen Dion

Sabrina Galli

For example, the regulations, released in April 2024, redefined sex discrimination to include “all forms of sex-based discrimination,” as opposed to only sexual harassment, and include discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

While these regulations are intended to expand protections for all under the Title IX umbrella, not all are happy with the expansions. As anticipated, litigation has emerged, challenging multiple portions of the new regulations and resulting in district courts issuing preliminary injunctions throughout the country barring enforcement of the 2024 regulations. Challengers to the new regulations oppose the expansion of the sex-discrimination definition to include discrimination based on gender identity, the ‘de minimis harm’ standard, and the definition of hostile-environment harassment as it applies to gender-identity discrimination.

As a result of these lawsuits, the 2024 regulations have not been enforced in nearly 26 states, encompassing a large portion of the South and Midwest, including but not limited to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Not only were these injunctions issued on a state-by-state basis, but one injunction out of Kansas barred enforcement of the 2024 regulations on any campus that had a chapter of one of three conservative organizations: Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, or Moms for Liberty.

“As anticipated, litigation has emerged, challenging multiple portions of the new regulations and resulting in district courts issuing preliminary injunctions throughout the country barring enforcement of the 2024 regulations.”

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) responded by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to partially stay the injunctions, allowing the non-challenged parts of the new regulations to go into effect. On Aug. 16, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Department of Education v. Louisiana, denied that request, citing the lower court’s findings that the provisions in dispute were too intertwined with other provisions of the rule to allow severability.

A dissent written by Justice Sotomayor and joined by Justices Kagan, Gorsuch, and Jackson disagreed, finding that the injunctions barring enforcement of the entire rule are too broad.

While the states enjoining enforcement of the 2024 regulations have fluctuated over the last few months, the U.S. Department of Education’s website provides a full list of enjoined states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Department also maintains a list of schools where the 2024 Title IX regulations currently cannot be enforced.

It should also be noted that schools on the department’s list are not limited to schools in the above-listed states. For example, the list currently has nine schools listed from Connecticut, four schools in Massachusetts, 20 schools in New York, and several schools in California.

Institutions included in either list may be asking, what now? In light of the litigation and injunctions, the DOE has issued guidance explaining that — in states or schools where the 2024 regulations are enjoined — the Title IX regulations, as amended in 2020, apply.

Some institutions covered by the regulations have not amended their policies that applied during the 2023-24 school year. Other schools, particularly those that are not in the 26 states covered by a statewide injunction, have decided to implement policies that are consistent (either wholly or in part) with the new 2024 regulations, reasoning that the injunctions do not apply to the schools themselves but rather to the DOE’s ability to enforce the new regulations to those schools.

As the litigations play out in due course, institutions in affected states will want to be on the lookout for any changes to these preliminary injunctions as well as consider whether any state laws weigh into their consideration whether to amend their policies to be consistent with the new regulations.

Kathleen E. Dion is chair of the education industry team at Robinson+Cole. She represents private schools, colleges, and universities in a variety of civil matters, such as tuition disputes, allegations of staff misconduct, and Title IX matters. Sabrina Galli is a member of Robinson+Cole’s business litigation group and education industry team. She represents corporate clients in general commercial litigation matters involving breach of contract and business torts, as well as in arbitrations, mediations, and settlement negotiations.

Struggling Baystate Health Puts Transformation Plan in Place

By George O'Brien October 24, 2024

Features Special Coverage

Digging Out

Baystate Health

Peter Banko says he wasn’t necessarily looking for a turn-around job when he was exploring options for his next career opportunity, but he found one as the new president and CEO at Baystate Health.

Still, he was quick to note that, these days, there are very few CEO opportunities at large hospitals and health systems that do not involve turn-around efforts.

The one at Baystate certainly does, as was made clear in a press release of sorts — it was more of a statement, actually — issued by the institution early this month. It detailed everything from $300 million in operating losses over the past few years to a Leapfrog Safety Grade of ‘D’; from erosion on the balance sheet (particularly days of cash on hand, which declined from 180 days in FY 2020 to 109 by early October) to the launch of a 24-month ‘focused transformation’ to improve core operations (acute care, ambulatory, and physician enterprise) by more than $225 million.

The statement was issued in an effort to be transparent about the system’s current fiscal situation and the plan in place to return it to sound financial health, and also prepare the ground for steps that may come next, including workforce reductions, said Banko, who arrived in Springfield in June, fully aware of exactly what he was getting himself into.

He elaborated on its various points in a recent round of interviews with media outlets from across the state, including one with BusinessWest, during which he noted that Baystate is suffering from the same affliction as most all other healthcare providers in these post-pandemic years — a situation where revenues are simply not keeping pace with expenses — and will have to make some hard decisions, and many of them, to get back on track.

“We have a clear path, and we’re working on implementing it; it’s a two-year plan to improve our core operations by more than $225 million.”

“We have a clear path, and we’re working on implementing it; it’s a two-year plan to improve our core operations by more than $225 million,” said Banko, noting that the basic playbook in this case, as it does with any struggling business in any sector, calls for growing revenues and reducing expenses, efforts carried out simultaneously.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned,” he went on, noting that the system has already taken several steps, including the termination of its defined-benefit pension plan, sale of its laboratory to Labcorp, and the pending sale of Health New England to Point32Health, a move that will “remove a distraction we don’t need right now” more than it will help the bottom line, he noted.

In the growing-revenues category, he said the system is engaging in a strategic-planning process, one involving the entire organization and community, and one that will define where the system wants to grow. Elaborating, he explained that the system is working on revenue-cycle management, especially billing-and-collection operation, “to make sure we’re collecting every dollar, no more, no less.”

Meanwhile, the system is also working on improving access to physicians as well as the larger issue of throughput — in the operating room, endoscopy, heart and vascular, and more.

On the expense side, the system is looking to reduce corporate overhead, “things that don’t touch the bedside,” he said. “We’re looking at external spends — supplies, pharmacy, the must-haves versus nice-to-haves, what pens and paper we’re using.”

But obviously, the largest item on the expense side is workforce, Banko went on, adding that reductions are all but inevitable, although he could not say where they will come or how many.

Peter Banko says he arrived at Baystate fully understanding the challenges facing the health system.

“We’re still working on the plans and execution, and we will be transparent as we make those changes, both externally and internally,” he said, adding that the system will start with reducing corporate overhead and improving billing and collections.

As he goes about leading this ‘transformation,’ a word he used instead of ‘turnaround’ to describe what’s taking place, Banko said he will call on his considerable experience with such efforts (more on that later).

Ultimately, he is confident that Baystate can and will pull out of this dive and return to something approaching profitability.

“I have complete confidence in where we’re headed,” he said. “Everyone knows where we need to go; we’re aligned about where we want to go. Everything here is fixable, and there’s a great path forward to be able to invest $1.2 billion over the next six years and get into the fun stuff.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Banko about how Baystate Health arrived at this moment, but mostly about what happens now — especially those hard decisions, the turning over of all those stones, and everything else needed to move the system into recovery.

“The light at the end of the tunnel can’t be another train coming — it has to be something better.”

While doing so, he provided some insight into the challenges facing virtually every healthcare system in the region — and the country, for that matter.

Numbers Game

As noted earlier, Banko knew exactly what he was facing when he agreed to succeed Dr. Mark Keroack as president and CEO at Baystate Health.

“The board was very transparent, and there have been no surprises,” he said, joking that, while there was a very short honeymoon period as he transitioned into the job, it is long over, and the hard work of returning the system, which includes four area hospitals — Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Noble Hospital, Baystate Wing Hospital, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center — to sound financial health is well underway.

Similar work is taking place almost everywhere in healthcare, especially across the Commonwealth, he said, noting that a recent Massachusetts Hospital Assoc. report noted that, in 2023, 75% of the hospitals in the state lost money, with some losing at a more dramatic rate than Baystate, while most others lost less.

“The American Hospital Association reported that, over the past few years, inflation grew by 12.5%, so let’s say it’s 6.25% per year,” he said, while explaining how Baystate arrived at this moment. “Our revenue at Baystate over the past 10 years has grown 5.3%, and there’s the issue: our expenses have been growing faster than our revenue.

“We have an aging population, so more than 70% of our patient base is Medicare and Medicaid, and we know neither of those cover their costs,” Banko went on. “So we rely on the other 30% to cover the cost of Medicare and Medicaid. We’ve lost commercial market share and key services to Boston and Hartford, including cancer, heart and vascular, and to a lesser extent orthopedics, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. So all the key procedural areas that are profitable for us … we’ve lost some business to elsewhere, and for a variety of reasons.”

Listing some of them, he mentioned access to physicians — “if you call us and it’s a month and you call someone in Boston and it’s ‘we’ll see you next week,’ you’re going to go to the place that will see you next week, if you have the ability to get there” — as well as a lack of awareness within this region of the talent and services available at Baystate.

This loss of revenue, compounded by rising expenses, has had far-reaching ramifications, he said, adding that it limited the system’s ability to reinvest back into itself and the community, while also stunting its ability to grow and impacting the balance sheet.

The plan to stem this tide is fundamental, Banko said, adding that it involves both growing revenue and reducing expenses, and, ultimately, growing revenues faster than expenses.

“That means we have to start growing revenue 6% to 8% a year, and we’ve got to transform our cost structure to get below that,” he said. “We’re still early on, so the more we get on the revenue side, it takes some of the pressure off on the cost side, but we’re still early in the process.”

He said Baystate is not interested in cutting back on operations or discontinuing services, in large part because it is a safety-net hospital, and many of those services are not available elsewhere.

Bottom Line

As the system goes about putting a plan in place and then implementing it, it will use some consultants, while also drawing on some of the lessons generated by providers who have managed to recover financially from the pandemic quicker than most others.

There are only a handful of those, Banko said, stressing, again, that most systems — in this region, across New England, and across the country — are fighting the same battle, although Baystate has a deeper hole from which to dig out.

“We got hit harder — our fall, post-pandemic, was further than most systems, and our recovery has been slower,” he noted, adding that those that recovered faster made the hard decisions earlier.

As noted earlier, Banko has considerable experience with turn-around projects. He’s confronted them at several of his earlier career stops, including Centura Health in Colorado, and others as a turn-around specialist in New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

As he looked around his office at the system’s corporate headquarters on Chestnut Street, Banko said that, somewhere, there’s a book on turn-arounds he read earlier in his career.

He doesn’t have to reread it because he’s lived through many of them now, and also because it isn’t exactly rocket science. It’s about fundamentals, execution, and “not relying on luck,” he noted. “For me, what’s more important than what you do is how you do it.”

Elaborating, he said one key is maintaining morale and getting buy-in on the strategic plan that is developed. This comes through transparency and focusing on the endgame. He noted that the poor Leapfrog score was a “gut punch” for the system, one that doesn’t reflect the work being done and the quality of talent within the Baystate family of hospitals.

“Still, it’s a grade, and it’s how we’re being graded; I said we’re going to be an ‘A’ organization — everyone wants to work for an ‘A,’ said Banko, who said he also serves as ‘chief culture officer’ for Baystate Health, and in that role it’s his job to set a tone and generate optimism for the system moving forward.

“The light at the end of the tunnel can’t be another train coming — it has to be something better,” he noted. “We’ve got a really nice picture of being able to grow the organization and invest a significant amount of money over the next six years if and when we do the plan.

“We don’t have to sell to someone, we don’t have to turn over the keys, we’re not in the same situation as Steward,” he said, referencing the Texas-based health system that filed for bankruptcy in May and has closed several hospitals, including two facilities in the Bay State. “We have a clear path, and if we execute on the path, we’re going to be healthy and growing and thriving for the next 140 years.”

UMass Amherst’s $600 Million Campaign Seeks to Harness Momentum, Generate More

By George O'Brien October 24, 2024

Education Special Coverage

Accelerating the Process

While UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes is thoroughly engrossed in the university’s ongoing $600 million fundraising campaign, the most ambitious in the school’s history, he admits to allowing himself to occasionally think about the next campaign and the bold, round-number goal that might be attached to it.

“I’m not sure, but most of the flagships, after having a $600 million or so campaign … they’ll go after $1 billion, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t set that goal given where we are and the stature we have,” Reyes told BusinessWest. “We’re developing a stronger foundation, a stronger philanthropic arm of the university, and I have no doubt that we’re building such a strong foundation that the next one will get us to those levels.”

But enough about the next campaign and that statement goal.

The current initiative, called “Accelerate: The Campaign for UMass Amherst,” is still in its middle stages, with much work still to be done. To date, more than $452 million has been raised from nearly 100,000 donors, with several “transformative” gifts that are helping the school make major strides with the campaign’s three major commitments: revolutionizing access to higher education; growing investment in cutting-edge research, teaching, and creative endeavors; and magnifying the university’s impact on the common good” (more on these later).

Overall, the campaign is aptly named, said Reyes, adding that, through the campaign and the funds it will raise, the institution will work toward accelerating a wave of momentum that has seen the university and individual schools and programs, such as the Isenberg School of Management, rise in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and increasingly become a school of choice.

“I’m not sure, but most of the flagships, after having a $600 million or so campaign … they’ll go after $1 billion, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t set that goal given where we are and the stature we have.”

Its $600 million goal makes a statement in its own right, he said, noting that this number speaks to not only how high the state’s flagship public university has risen, but also to its plans to continue on that trajectory at a time when many institutions are struggling.

And while the goal of the campaign is to raise money — for individual schools, programs, capital projects, and initiatives, as well as an endowment currently at roughly $600 million, well below other major state universities — in the course of doing so, many other goals are met, said Reyes and UMass Amherst Foundation President Arwen Duffy. At the top of this list is the opportunity to tell the university’s story to those who might not know all the recent chapters, and connecting — or reconnecting — with members of many different constituencies, including alumni, parents, foundations, the business community, and others.

Javier Reyes says the campaign is an opportunity to achieve a new level of fundraising — and a new way of connecting with alumni.

“It’s not a one-time buildup; it’s getting to a new level of philanthropy, a new level of fundraising efforts, a new level of connecting with your alumni,” Reyes said. “If you can continue gathering and really nurturing those relationships for the future, it sets the stage for future contributions.

“You also try to make sure that this is a way to bring to light great things happening at the university that many may not have noticed yet,” he went on. “When you look at your extensive alumni network, you’re able to show programs that have had tremendous success in the past years and leverage that for the future.”

Duffy agreed. “We’re trying to stay close to alumni and present opportunities for them to engage,” she noted. “And often, that engagement sparks a desire to give back in other ways. When people know what we’re up to, when they see the work that we’re doing, that often inspires investment.

“The goals set forth for this campaign are ambitious,” she went on. “But the collective power of our community makes them achievable. Alumni cherish their ties to the university, carry that pride with them, and bring inspiring energy to serving as ambassadors for UMass Amherst.”

On-the-Money Analysis

As she talked about the “Accelerate” campaign, its goals, the money raised to date, and the work still to be done to reach its lofty goal, Duffy drew an autumn analogy.

“It’s apple season right now,” she said. “And after you pick all the apples you can reach from the ground, you’ve got to figure out how to climb higher into the tree. It’s the same with a campaign like this one. The people that we already know and have relationships with, we’re talking to — we know where they are. As you work through all those known friends, you’ve got to figure out what’s higher up in the tree.”

And in the process of getting higher into the tree, the university will do more of that connecting and reconnecting mentioned earlier, and “inviting people in,” said Duffy, adding that this is one of the more intriguing, and beneficial, aspects of a campaign like this one — as is the ability to tell the university’s story to a wide range of audiences.

“When you look at this campaign, it gives you that kind of notoriety and the ability to project to the nation and the world where you are. Some of your alumni that may not already be connected will be found, will be connected, through these efforts, so with the next campaign, you will have a stronger network, a stronger base from which you can continue to nurture and build relationships.”

Reyes agreed. “When you look at this campaign, it gives you that kind of notoriety and the ability to project to the nation and the world where you are,” he said. “Some of your alumni that may not already be connected will be found, will be connected, through these efforts, so with the next campaign, you will have a stronger network, a stronger base from which you can continue to nurture and build relationships.”

“Accelerate,” as noted, is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the school’s 161-year history. The previous campaign, called “UMass Rising,” ran from 2010 to 2016 and raised $379 million from more than 103,000 donors.

“Accelerate” officially began in 2018, said Duffy, and was really just getting started when the pandemic hit, slowing things somewhat, especially when it comes to the face-to-face discussions that are critical when it comes to securing larger, transformational gifts.

But the campaign has certainly gained some momentum, she noted, adding that it has been helped by the generational transfer of wealth to the Baby Boom generation, a larger and seemingly more energetic alumni base, and the university’s rise in stature and the rankings.

Arwen Duffy says large, transformative gifts create opportunities to connect the university’s philanthropic priorities with the specific interests of donors.

Duffy noted that, while there are several constituencies being approached for support, the alumni base is the largest and, in many ways, the most important.

There are now more than 300,000 alums, she said, and they are scattered across the country and around the world. But there are several dense pockets — Massachusetts, obviously, but also the New York City area, Washington, D.C., the West Coast, and, increasingly “warmer climates.”

Among the foundation’s challenges is finding them, keeping them informed, and engaging them in the university and its future.

Gifts That Keep Giving

As noted earlier, the campaign has three main focal points: improving access to higher education; investments in research, teaching, and creative endeavors; and magnifying impact on the “common good.” And all of these are reflected in transformative gifts from donors. These include:

• A $21.5 million naming gift from the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Charitable Foundation to the College of Nursing, which is supporting student scholarships, an endowed professorship, the work of the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, and mentoring and research initiatives that create access and equity for nursing students from a variety of backgrounds;

• A $20 million pledge by Douglas (’71) and Diana Berthiaume to the Isenberg School of Management to create endowed faculty positions, endowed doctoral fellowships, a new behavioral research laboratory, and expanded faculty research at the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship; and

• A $10 million gift from Jerome (’60) and Linda Paros to endow the Paros Center for Atmospheric Research at UMass Amherst, a center of excellence where students and faculty conduct high-impact research projects in atmospheric sciences, distributed geophysical sensing, and hazard warning and mitigation to revolutionize the nation’s ability to forecast, plan for, and respond to climate and weather events.

The Paros Center is an example, said Duffy, of how philanthropy often provides seed money or next-stage funding — situations where donors’ interests and philanthropic priorities converge with the university’s, “and you start to get some really interesting things happening.”

Reyes agreed. “With a campaign like this, you want to elevate the institution to continue to be of national prominence, find the areas in which you already have a certain level of excellence, and strengthen them,” he explained. “When you look at what we’re doing in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, Nursing, Food Science … you find the pillars where you’re already strong and say, ‘we’re going to double down on those.’ And we need resources to bring more students into those programs, retain faculty through endowed chairs, or providing support for facilities.”

As for access, that is a huge focal point of this campaign, said Reyes, adding that, at a time when the cost of higher education continues to rise and challenge students and their families, improving access is critically important.

“One of the most important things is finding ways to make higher education affordable,” he noted, adding that, with funds raised from the campaign, the university will focus on all aspects of affordability — not simply tuition, but also the “cost of living,” as he put it, and the costs associated with undertaking an internship, such as travel and, in some cases, living in a different city of country.

Meanwhile, this campaign will place additional emphasis on reinforcing the university as a force in economic development across the state.

“When you think of community engagement, community-engaged research, reaching out to the community and being not only a partner, but a collaborator … it really is a different era for the university,” Reyes said. “And we’re going to start showcasing that as part of this campaign, since some of the resources that we’ll be able to gather from this campaign can help with that community engagement, with that outreach.”

Bottom Line

Overall, “Accelerate” comes at a pivotal moment — for the university, higher education, this region, the country, and the world. It is a critical initiative for an institution that has generated large amounts of momentum and wants to create more.

It was launched with the goal of raising $600 million, but also the larger, even more important goal of taking philanthropy at the state’s flagship university to a new level, one where the goal for the next campaign may, indeed, be $1 billion.

“Campaigns are not just about the dollars today,” Reyes said. “Campaigns are also about building the stature and the connectivity of the university such that, in the future, this support and this engagement with your alumni network and those that have a stake in the university continue to be strengthened, grown, and maintained.”

That’s what “Accelerate” is all about, and thus far, it is certainly living up to that name.

Super 60 Honorees Reflect Success, Growth, Civic Commitment

By BusinessWest Staff October 24, 2024

Special Coverage Super 60

A Regional Economic Snapshot

The Springfield Regional Chamber (SRC) recently announced the 2024 winners of its annual Super 60 awards program, honoring 60 businesses and nonprofits across five distinct categories. They will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, Nov. 8 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
For more than 30 years, the Super 60 awards have honored the accomplishments of successful and growing businesses that call the Greater Springfield area home. Last year, the Super 60 program was reimagined and expanded. In addition to the traditional categories of Revenue and Growth, the Springfield Regional Chamber added three new categories to celebrate additional measures of success.
The Start-Up category recognizes businesses that have achieved remarkable success during their early years of operation, the Give Back category recognizes businesses that made significant contributions to local communities and organizations, and the Non-Profit category recognizes organizations that have displayed selfless dedication to serving the community through exceptional programming and support.
This year’s winners represent numerous communities across myriad industries, including dining, automotive, manufacturing, finance, sports, and many more.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible diversity and innovation within our business community through this year’s Super 60 program,” said Diana Szynal, president of the Springfield Regional Chamber. “Small businesses are the heart and soul of our region, and we’re excited to celebrate so many nonprofits that make a difference in our community. It’s more important than ever to shine a light on the accomplishments and unwavering resilience of our local businesses and nonprofits. I look forward to honoring these incredibly deserving organizations at our Super 60 luncheon on November 8.”
The keynote speaker at the luncheon will be Tania Barber, president and CEO of Caring Health Center, which, under her guidance, operates five primary-care sites across the region, employing 266 professionals who provide healthcare services to about 28,000 patients.
Super 60 sponsors include Health New England, WWLP-22 News, Stand Out Truck, Florence Bank, Keiter Corp., the Republican, and Paylocity. Visit springfieldregionalchamber.com to reserve a seat at the luncheon.

Revenue:

Fontaine Brothers Inc.
Whalley Computer Associates Inc.
Tighe & Bond Inc.
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
Baltazar Contractors Massachusetts
Keiter Corp.
Maybury Associates Inc.
Freedom Credit Union
L&C Prescription
The Dowd Agencies LLC
Paragus Strategic IT Inc.
Knight Machine Tool Co.
Baystate Crushing & Recycling Inc.
Springfield Hockey LLC
Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.

Growth:

Roberts Energy
Keiter Corp.
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
Baltazar Contractors Massachusetts
Tighe & Bond Inc.
Springfield Hockey LLC
L&C Prescription
Paragus Strategic IT Inc.
Court Square Group Inc.
Giggle Gardens Inc.
Bart Truck Equipment LLC
Campora Construction
Connections Real Estate Corp.
Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting
Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.

Start-Up:

DDS Acoustical Specialties LLC
Exotic Scentsations
MorningBird Media
Rewarding Insurance Agency LLC
Hoppy Mustard
L’Amour Restaurant

Give Back:

Allied Flooring and Paint/
Budget Cabinet Sales
Bulkley Richardson
Keiter Corp.
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
MGM Springfield
Monarch Fore Charities
Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.
Springfield Hockey LLC
The Horace Smith Fund

Non-Profit:

Way Finders
Valley Opportunity Council Inc.
Springfield Partners for
Community Action Inc.
Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts
The Horace Smith Fund
WestMass Eldercare Inc.
MassHire Holyoke Career Center
Springfield Rescue Mission
Second Chance Animal Services Community Veterinary Hospital
MassHire Springfield Career Center
The Food Bank of
Western Massachusetts Inc.
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield Inc.
Clinical & Support Options
Gandara Mental Health Center Inc.
Work Opportunity Center Inc.

REVENUE

Fontaine Bros. Inc.
510 Cottage Street, Springfield, Massachusetts 01104
(413) 781-2020
www.fontainebros.com
David Fontaine Jr., CEO
Family-owned and operated for 91 years, Fontaine Bros. offers services such as general contracting, with a focus on K-12 schools, higher education, commercial properties, historical renovations, and municipal work, as well as construction management. As one of New England’s original green builders, it has expertise in building sustainably and responsibly for all kinds of projects.

Whalley Computer Associates Inc.
One Whalley Way, Southwick, MA 01077
(413) 596-4200
www.wca.com
Michael Sheil, President
Whalley Computer Associates offers data-center services, cloud backup, managed services, training, desktop services, network services, and staff-augmentation services. The company focuses its work in the corporate, finance, healthcare, K-12, higher education, retail, and SMB industries.

Tighe & Bond Inc.
53 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-1600
www.tighebond.com
Robert Belitz, President and CEO
Tighe & Bond offers engineering, design, planning, and environmental-consulting services, with focuses in building, transportation, water and wastewater engineering, coastal and waterfront solutions, environmental consulting, GIS and asset management, landscape architecture and urban design, civil engineering, and site planning.

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Bryan Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

Baltazar Contractors Massachusetts
83 Carmelinas Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-6160
www.baltazarcontractors.com
Paulo Baltazar, President
Baltazar Contractors is a heavy civil construction company with services in utility construction, roadway construction, site work and development, culvert and bridge construction, earth support and shoring, and trenchless technology. The company has remained family-owned over three decades in business.

Keiter Corp.
35 Main St., Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter Corp. is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

Maybury Associates Inc.
90 Denslow Road, East Longmeadow
(888) 629-2879
www.maybury.com
William Maybury, President
A one-source provider of quality industrial products and services to manufacturing, distribution, and warehousing customers, Maybury Associates designs, supplies, and services a wide variety of handling equipment throughout New England and provides customers in a wide range of industries with solutions to move, lift, and store their parts and products.

Freedom Credit Union
1976 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 739-6961
www.freedom.coop
Glenn Welch, President and CEO
Freedom Credit Union is a credit union that offers banking and loan services to businesses and individuals. It also offers insurance plans for individuals and an investment-services division. The institution celebrated its centennial in 2022 and regularly involves customers and the community in philanthropic outreach.

L&C Prescriptions Inc.
155 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 781-2996
www.medibubble.com
Dr. Kara James, President
L&C Prescription, the parent company for Louis & Clark Pharmacy, provides medication solutions to individuals, healthcare providers, and assisted-living, independent-living, and memory-care communities, and offers online prescription refills, MediBubble pre-packaged pills, blister packs to manage daily medications, vial synchronization, consultations with registered pharmacists, and a delivery service.

The Dowd Agencies LLC
14 Bobala Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-7444
www.dowd.com
John Dowd Jr., President
Founded in 1898, the Dowd Agencies is the oldest insurance agency under continuous family ownership, and one of the most long-standing, experienced insurance agencies in Massachusetts. Its staff includes fully licensed and certified insurance and financial services agents and brokers in Holyoke, Hadley, Southampton, Indian Orchard, and Ludlow.

Paragus Strategic IT
112 Russell St., Hadley
(413) 587-2666
www.paragusit.com
Delcie Bean, President
Paragus has grown dramatically as an outsourced IT solution, providing business computer service, consulting, information-technology support, and other services to businesses of all sizes from its headquarters in Hadley and a second location in Worcester. The company is 100% employee-owned.

Knight Machine Tool Co.
11 Industrial Dr., South Hadley
(413) 532-2507
www.knightmachine.net
Gary O’Brien, Owner
Knight Machine & Tool Co. is a metalworking and welding company that offers blacksmithing, metal roofing, and other services from its 11,000-square-foot facility. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and registered with International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Baystate Blasting Inc.
36 Carmelinas Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-4440
www.baystateblasting.com
Dinis Baltazar, President and CEO
Baystate Blasting offers services in ledge and rock removal, rock blasting, and rock crushing. It performs large and small construction-site preparation, road and highway work, line drilling and trench work, quarry shots, and residential work such as foundations and in-ground pools. It is federally licensed as both a dealer and user of explosive materials.

Springfield Hockey LLC
1 Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 02110
(413) 746-4100
www.springfieldthunderbirds.com
Nathan Costa, President
Springfield Hockey LLC, better known as the Springfield Thunderbirds, is the local affiliate of the St. Louis Blues and and the American Hockey League’s 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. Playing its home games at the MassMutual Center since its inception in 2016, the team gives back to the community in multiple ways, like the Thunderbirds Foundation, Stick to Reading school programs, Hometown Salute, Frontline Fridays, and more.

Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.
535 East St., Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 589-1500
www.pvfinancial.com
Edward Sokolowski, Kelly Haber, and Karen Nogueira, Partners
Pioneer Valley Financial Group is a financial-planning service, offering services in retirement planning, business planning, asset growth, college funding, estate planning, tax planning, and risk management. It serves retirees, professionals, service members, young adults, and small and medium-sized businesses.

GROWTH

Roberts Energy
237 Albany St., Springfield, MA 01105
(413) 736-9611
www.robertsnrg.com
Frank Roberts, President
Roberts Energy is a supplier of motor fuels, heating fuels, and lubricants to commercial end-users, wholesale customers, and branded retailers. The company specializes in helping customers manage their fuel costs through risk-management products, inventory management, and innovative equipment and technology solutions.

Keiter Corp.
35 Main St., Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter Corp. is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Bryan Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

Baltazar Contractors Massachusetts
83 Carmelinas Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-6160
www.baltazarcontractors.com
Paulo Baltazar, President
Baltazar Contractors is a heavy civil construction company with services in utility construction, roadway construction, site work and development, culvert and bridge construction, earth support and shoring, and trenchless technology. The company has remained family-owned over three decades in business.

Tighe & Bond Inc.
53 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-1600
www.tighebond.com
Robert Belitz, President and CEO
Tighe & Bond offers engineering, design, planning, and environmental-consulting services, with focuses in building, transportation, water and wastewater engineering, coastal and waterfront solutions, environmental consulting, GIS and asset management, landscape architecture and urban design, civil engineering, and site planning.

Springfield Hockey LLC
1 Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 02110
(413) 746-4100
www.springfieldthunderbirds.com
Nathan Costa, President
Springfield Hockey LLC, better known as the Springfield Thunderbirds, is the local affiliate of the St. Louis Blues and and the American Hockey League’s 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. Playing its home games at the MassMutual Center since its inception in 2016, the team gives back to the community in multiple ways, like the Thunderbirds Foundation, Stick to Reading school programs, Hometown Salute, Frontline Fridays, and more.

L&C Prescriptions Inc.
155 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 781-2996
www.medibubble.com
Dr. Kara James, President
L&C Prescriptions, the parent company for Louis & Clark Pharmacy, provides medication solutions to individuals, healthcare providers, and assisted-living, independent-living, and memory-care communities, and offers online prescription refills, MediBubble pre-packaged pills, blister packs to manage daily medications, vial synchronization, consultations with registered pharmacists, and a delivery service.

Paragus Strategic IT
112 Russell St., Hadley
(413) 587-2666
www.paragusit.com
Delcie Bean, President
Paragus has grown dramatically as an outsourced IT solution, providing business computer service, consulting, information-technology support, and other services to businesses of all sizes from its headquarters in Hadley and a second location in Worcester. The company is 100% employee-owned.

Court Square Group Inc.
1350 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 746-0054
www.courtsquaregroup.com
Keith Parent, CEO
Court Square Group is a leading managed-service technology company with a focus exclusively on life science. Its business-focused approach has supported many life-science startups as well as some of the largest life-science companies. The team’s expertise provides technical, compliance, and audit-readiness support.

Giggle Gardens Inc.
627 State St., Springfield, MA 01109
(413) 439-0391
www.gigglegardens.com
Roxanne Turowsky, Owner
Giggle Gardens Learning Center is committed to quality care and the education of young children. Its team provides a safe, structured, environment for children to learn, socialize, and have fun. Early-learning programs are offered year-round for ages 3 weeks to 5 years, and school-age programs are offered year-round to ages 5-12.

Bart Truck Equipment LLC
358 River St., West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 737-2766
www.barttruckllc.com
James DiClementi, President
Bart Truck Equipment is a heavy-duty parts and trucking service company, offering different bodies (dump, platform, utility/service), snow plows and other winter removal equipment, truck-mounted generators, hook lifts and roll-offs, and more. It also custom-builds and fabricates parts for clients. It serves contractors, landscapers, fleets, municipalities, utility companies, and homeowners.

Campora Construction
43 Owens Way, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 610-1660
www.camporacc.com
Mario Campora, President
Campora Construction specializes in full-scale building construction and sidewalk, patio, and driveway installation for residential, commercial, and governmental projects. Services include custom home design and construction, complete home rebuilds from fire damage, home additions and sunroom installation, concrete demolition and infills, and commercial office fit-outs.

Connections Real Estate Corp.
85 Post Office Park, Wilbraham, MA 01095
(800) 755-7595
www.remax.com/real-estate-offices/remax-connections-wilbraham-ma/100428112
Peter Ruffini and Dawn Ruffini, Brokers/Owners
RE/MAX Connections is a full-service real-estate brokerage servicing Massachusetts and Connecticut, with referral partners worldwide. Its services encompass buying, selling, and renting properties.

Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting
78 Sylvan St., West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 351-3554
www.maaco.com/locations/ma/west-springfield-11269
Joe Houghton, Owner
Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting is America’s number-one body shop. Its locally owned and operated facility specializes in repairing routine dents, dings, and structural damages. In addition, Maaco offers premium painting solutions to rejuvenate a vehicle’s appearance. It also offers fleet and industrial services.

Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.
535 East St., Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 589-1500
www.pvfinancial.com
Edward Sokolowski, Kelly Haber, and Karen Nogueira, Partners
Pioneer Valley Financial Group is a financial-planning service, offering services in retirement planning, business planning, asset growth, college funding, estate planning, tax planning, and risk management. It serves retirees, professionals, service members, young adults, and small and medium-sized businesses.

START-UP

DDS Acoustical Specialties LLC
54 Mainline Dr., Unit C, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 248-8118
www.ddsacoustical.com
Dave Gilbert, Senior Managing Partner
Established in 2019, DDS Acoustical Specialties brings more than 45 years of combined experience in designing, managing, and installing acoustical products nationwide. DDS strives to solve noise problems across any business sector and industry, and customers receive engineered, turnkey solutions, customized for their specific area or issue.

Exotic Scentsations
50 Holyoke St., Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 783-1640
www.exoticscentsations.com
Abigail Pena Hunt, Owner
A first-generation, Black-owned small business, Exotic Scentsations produces and sells high-end aromatherapy products at affordable prices, both at its store at the Holyoke Mall and online. True to its name, Exotic Scentsations aspires to offer uncommon scents, and a range of products that can offer everyone a sense of comfort and nostalgia.

MorningBird Media
1350 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 271-7288
www.morningbird.media
Robyn Miller, Founder
MorningBird Media was founded in 2018 with the vision of helping to bring existing businesses into the digital age. While this remains a focus, MorningBird has evolved with the marketing landscape to encompass all methods of reaching potential customers. Clients who work with MorningBird get a personalized strategy that fits their business’ needs.

Rewarding Insurance Agency LLC
284 Maple St., Suite 1, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 359-2771
www.rewardingagency.com
Lidia Rodríguez and Miguel Rivera, CEOs
Since 2016, Rewarding Insurance Agency has been serving customers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, with services including life insurance, health insurance, retirement solutions, property and casualty insurance, tax-preparation services, and notary services. In 2024, the agency was named Business of the Year by the Greater Holyoke Chamber, and its CEOs were named Business People of the Year.

Hoppy Mustard
www.hoppymustard.com
Justin Peritore, Founder
Born from the culinary dreams of its founder, Hoppy Sauce is a testament to the fusion of innovation and flavor. Trained in advanced culinary arts, Peritore embarked on a quest to redefine condiments, uniting the robust essence of beer with the smoky allure of barbecue. Months of taste tests, meticulous crafting, and a commitment to inclusivity resulted in his bold, spicy, sweet, and tangy masterpiece.

L’amour Restaurant
111 Chestnut St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 301-5333
www.lamourspringfield.com
Asif Khan and Sunny Rana, Owners
L’amour aims to create a dining experience that celebrates the rich culinary traditions of Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Mediterranean, while providing exceptional hospitality and service. It is dedicated to serving authentic dishes prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients and authentic spices. In addition to the restaurant, L’amour offers a spacious and versatile banquet hall for all occasions.

GIVE BACK

Allied Flooring, Paint & Design/Budget
Cabinet Sales
350 Main St., Agawam, MA 01001
(413) 224-8260
www.alliedflooringandpaint.com
Mario Tedeschi, Partner and President
As a leading destination for flooring, paint, carpet and floor cleaning, interior design, and window treatments, Allied has an extensive track record working alongside homeowners to help turn houses into homes. Launched in 1987, the company now boasts three locations in Agawam, East Longmeadow, and Leominster, and purchased Budget Cabinet Sales in Agawam in 2022.

Bulkley Richardson
1500 Main St., Suite 2700, Springfield, MA 01115
(413) 272-6200
www.bulkley.com
Elizabeth Quick, Executive Director
Bulkley Richardson, with locations in Springfield and Hadley, has provided high-quality legal services to local and national clients for a century. Launched in 1924, the firm now boasts 23 practice areas (14 of them ranked by Best Lawyers in 2024) and 15 attorneys honored in peer-recognition programs in 2024. Active in the community, the firm supported 42 local organizations in 2023.

Keiter Corp.
35 Main St., Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter Corp. is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Bryan Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

MGM Springfield
One MGM Way, Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 273-5000
www.mgmspringfield.mgmresorts.com
Chris Kelley, President and COO
MGM Springfield recently celebrated five years of operation in downtown Springfield, offering a host of slot machines and table games, numerous restaurants, a hotel, and entertainment at Symphony Hall, Roar! Comedy Club, ARIA Ballroom, the MassMutual Center, and an outdoor plaza.

Monarch Fore Charities
One Monarch Place, 25th Floor, Springfield, MA 01144
(413) 746-4100
www.monarch-place.com
Paul Picknelly, President
Monarch Fore Charities is the philanthropic and charity-supporting arm of Monarch Enterprises, a leading commercial real-estate developer and hotel operator.

Pioneer Valley Financial Group Inc.
535 East St., Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 589-1500
www.pvfinancial.com
Charles Meyers, Edward Sokolowski, and Joseph Leonczyk, Founding Partners
Pioneer Valley Financial Group is a financial-planning service, offering services in retirement planning, business planning, asset growth, college funding, estate planning, tax planning, and risk management. It serves retirees, professionals, service members, young adults, and small and medium-sized businesses.

Springfield Hockey LLC
1 Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 02110
(413) 746-4100
www.springfieldthunderbirds.com
Nathan Costa, President
Springfield Hockey LLC, better known as the Springfield Thunderbirds, is the local affiliate of the St. Louis Blues and and the American Hockey League’s 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. Playing its home games at the MassMutual Center since its inception in 2016, the team gives back to the community in multiple ways, like the Thunderbirds Foundation, Stick to Reading school programs, Hometown Salute, Frontline Fridays, and more.

The Horace Smith Fund
16 Union Ave., Suite 2K, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 739-4222
www.horacesmithfund.org
Josephine Sarnilli, Executive Director
For more than a century, the Horace Smith Fund has helped Hampden County students finance their dreams of higher education. Award opportunities are available to residents of Hampden County who have graduated from eligible local secondary or private schools. This year, the fund awarded a total of $316,000 to local students in scholarships and fellowships.

NON-PROFIT

Way Finders
1780 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 233-1500
www.wayfinders.org
Keith Fairey, President and CEO
Way Finders is an organization dedicated to bringing home stability to people across Western Mass. since 1972. It builds and manages affordable housing in urban, rural, and suburban settings; helps families access emergency assistance and housing subsidies; helps people become first-time homebuyers; supports families experiencing homelessness or domestic abuse; and fosters housing stability through financial education and employment services.

Valley Opportunity Council Inc.
35 Mount Carmel Ave., Chicopee, MA 01013
(413) 552-1554
www.valleyopp.com
Stephen Huntley, Executive Director
The Valley Opportunity Council is the largest and most diverse community-action agency in the region. It offers a network of support and collaborative services that include energy assistance, nutrition, early education and childcare, adult education, senior services, housing, money management, and transporation.

Springfield Partners for Community Action Inc.
721 State St., Springfield, MA 01109
(413) 263-6500
www.springfieldpartnersinc.com
Paul Bailey, Executive Director
Springfield Partners for Community Action’s mission is to utilize and provide resources that assist people in need to obtain economic stability, ultimately creating a better way of life. It does so through home and energy services, income-tax assistance services, money-management services, transportation services, veterans’ services, and youth and family services.

Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts
1600 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA 01108
(413) 733-0084
www.feedwma.org
Jodi Falk, Executive Director
The mission of Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts is to alleviate hunger and reduce the waste of food resources in Western Mass. The organization takes a holistic and collaborative approach toward food security by supporting an inter-generational volunteer effort to feed and nourish local communities.

The Horace Smith Fund
16 Union Ave., Suite 2K, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 739-4222
www.horacesmithfund.org
Josephine Sarnilli, Executive Director
For more than a century, the Horace Smith Fund has helped Hampden County students finance their dreams of higher education. Award opportunities are available to residents of Hampden County who have graduated from eligible local secondary or private schools. This year, the fund awarded a total of $316,000 to local students in scholarships and fellowships.

WestMass ElderCare Inc.
4 Valley Mill Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-9020
www.wmeldercare.org
Roseann Martoccia, Executive Director
This agency’s mission is to preserve the dignity, independence, and quality of life of elders and disabled persons desiring to remain within their own community. It offers services for elders, their families and caregivers, and people with disabilities. Programs and services include supportive housing, home care, options counseling, adult family care, nutrition programs, elder mental health, family caregiver support, and health-insurance counseling.

MassHire Holyoke Career Center
850 High St., Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 532-4900
www.masshireholyoke.org
David Gadaire, President and CEO
Since 1996, the MassHire Holyoke Career Center has been serving the workforce and economic-development needs of individual job seekers, business partners, and community and faith-based organizations throughout Hampden County and beyond. It aims to develop a strong workforce system by enhancing the competitive strength of companies, improving the skills of employees and job seekers, and expanding career opportunities through economic development.

Springfield Rescue Mission
10 Mill St., Springfield, MA 01108
(413) 732-0808
www.springfieldrescuemission.org
Kevin Ramsdell, Executive Director and CEO
The Springfield Rescue Mission is a leader in meeting the needs of the poor and homeless in Greater Springfield. As an emergency shelter, mobile feeding program, rehabilitation and transformation center, and transitional living facility, it provides food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, Christian counseling, literacy training, and advocacy, free of charge.

Second Chance Animal Services
Community Veterinary Hospital
67 Mulberry St., Springfield, MA 01105
(413) 739-2343
www.secondchanceanimalservices.org
Sheryl Blancato, CEO
Second Chance Animal Services is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that operates community veterinary hospitals in Springfield, North Brookfield, Southbridge, and Worcester; subsidized rates are provided to underserved communities. Every year, Second Chance helps tens of thousands of pets through full-service veterinary care, spay/neuter services, adoption services, community and educational outreach programs, training, and a pet-food pantry.

MassHire Springfield Career Center
95 Liberty St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 858-2800
www.masshirespringfield.org
Kevin Lynn, Executive Director
Since 1996, MassHire Springfield has assisted people in building their skill sets through workshops and career training options to meet the needs of businesses, while offering companies a variety of recruitment options ranging from large job expos to on-site programs for individual companies. The organization’s goal is to match the needs of people looking for work to those of its business partners.

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Inc.
25 Carew St., Chicopee, MA 01020
(413) 247-9738
www.foodbankwma.org
Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director
The Food Bank works to end hunger in Western Mass. by providing nutritious food, strengthening the region’s food-assistance network, and developing solutions to the causes of hunger. The Food Bank receives food from a number of different sources, including state and federal government, local farms, food businesses, and community organizations, and distributes it to member food pantries, shelters, and meal sites, as well as directly to families.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield Inc.
28 West Silver St., Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-2301
www.bgcwestfield.org
Bo Sullivan, CEO
The Boys & Girls Club aims to inspire and enable young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Its programs for ages 2 to 18 are designed to support youth in achieving three priority outcomes: academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.

Clinical & Support Options
8 Atwood Dr., Suite 301, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 773-1314
www.csoinc.org
Karin Jeffers, President and CEO
CSO’s mission is to provide responsive and effective interventions and services to support individual adults, children, and families in their quest for stability, growth, and a positive quality of life. Services include crisis and emergency services; outpatient mental health; family-support programs; community-based programs; and shelter, housing, and homelessness efforts.

Gándara Mental Health Center Inc.
933 East Columbus Ave., Springfield, MA
(413) 732-2120
www.gandaracenter.org
Lois Nesci, CEO
Founded in 1977 to advocate and provide for equal services in the Hispanic community, Gándara Center delivers quality bilingual behavioral-health, substance-use, and preventive services for a diverse clientele of nearly 15,000 children, adults, and families each year in 100 locations across Massachusetts.

Work Opportunity Center Inc.
94 North Elm St., Suite 104, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 786-8830
www.wocinc.org
Mary Akers, Executive Director
Established in 1969, Work Opportunity Center is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Westfield, with various sites throughout Western Mass. WOC provides training, employment opportunities, and community-based day services to individuals with physical and/or developmental disabilities.

What’s Changing in Ludlow … and What Isn’t

By Joseph Bednar October 24, 2024

Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

Marc Strange considers it “disappointing” that the majority of the town wasn’t ready for a charter change.

When Marc Strange came to Ludlow as town administrator in the spring of 2022, he saw an opportunity to take a leadership position in a bustling community and use his experience and skills — he was formerly director of Planning and Development for Agawam and selectman in Longmeadow — to effect change in this community.

One big proposed change is not happening, but there’s still plenty on his plate.

“When I applied for the job, the number-one priority was the change of government,” he said of a push to change the town’s charter and system of government — now a board of selectmen and representative town meeting — to one many felt was more befitting a community of roughly 21,000 residents, either a town manager and town council, a mayor and city council, or perhaps a hybrid model.

“That’s been a focus of mine, although I wasn’t involved in the creation of the charter,” he told BusinessWest of the effort by a charter-review committee that eventually settled on a town council/town manager model, which included the hiring of the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management to guide the process and a series of public forums. “I took it upon myself to make sure we were pushing toward on that, putting in the request to fund a consultant and just keep that ball moving.”

But the ball stopped rolling at a town meeting earlier this month, when the charter and the government change was voted down, 41-29.

“That just means that we’re going to continue status quo, the way we’ve been operating,” Strange said. “It’s disappointing because the charter committee put together a good charter, but the town just wasn’t ready for the change. The town manager would have replaced the board of selectmen, and then a town council would have replaced town meeting as a legislative body. You’re just able to get things done quicker.

“All the surrounding towns have grown, and that has contributed to our growth. And the town of Ludlow has grown tremendously since we started.”

“We have about 21,000 people, and a $84 million budget. We’re really a small city. It certainly has a town feel to it, but in terms of the form of the government, the structure of the government, I personally think it would have been more efficient to make the change. But the town meeting didn’t see it that way.”

For many town-meeting participants, Strange said, it came down to a question of representation.

“There are a little more than 100 members, technically, but there there were 70 at this town meeting. You’re going from that many people and that many voices down to a seven-member town council. I think the overriding sentiment was, the more voices you have, the more democratic a process.”

Still, he added, “Easthampton is a city, Palmer is a city, Southbridge is a city. These are smaller towns, smaller than us, that have city forms of government.”

Strange had other goals when he was hired in 2022, including efforts to make the government more efficient, which has included balancing out staffing and combining the treasurer’s and collector’s offices, and development efforts downtown.

Karen Randall says location is her business’s number-one asset.

“I grew up in the economic-development world, in municipal government, and that’s one of the reasons why I was so excited to join Ludlow,” he said. “There’s so much potential here.”

Location, Location, Location

Karen Randall has certainly seen plenty of change in Ludlow, most of it positive. In 1962, her father built the first store at Randall’s Farm, and in 1997, the building underwent a significant expansion, including a greenhouse and big produce department.

The business also added “a postage stamp of a kitchen,” she added, which would turn out to be entirely inadequate as the bakery, deli, and prepared-food operations took off as people’s lifestyles changed.

“Center Street, where the pike exit is, is pretty built out and super busy. There are a lot of businesses there. But the downtown area, I feel like we need to really focus on that, because residents’ quality of life will rise if we can create a more exciting downtown area.”

“The kind of customers we have are mostly local customers. They’re on their way home or on their way to work, and it’s very convenient for them to have home-cooked food — not cooked in their home, but cooked in our home. We prepare everything from scratch, for the most part. And that department just went way beyond our expectations. It’s almost 40% of everything we do now, which we never saw coming. The garden center is still a big part, and produce is still a huge part, but prepared food was a surprise.”

Guests also come for the homemade hard ice cream, as well as family activities that peak in the fall with pumpkin decorating, scarecrow making, and seasonal games. Randall said the farm draws regulars from a roughly 20-mile range, from communities like Longmeadow, Westfield, and Enfield, Conn. “Sometimes people make a weekend trip just for their groceries. We have a lot of specialty grocery; we do a lot of gluten-free and allergy-friendly food. We have a big following for that.”

The Ludlow Mills project, with its mix of housing, businesses, and the restored, iconic clocktower, continues to progress each year.

But after talking about what Randall’s Farm offers, she was quick to explain what Ludlow itself offers — notably its location off Mass Pike exit 54 and near a number of growing residential communities. It also benefits from its own growth, with new residential developments in recent years (more on that later).

“We’re in a great location. Location, I would say, is our number-one asset,” Randall told BusinessWest. “Having the turnpike less than a mile away, people in the surrounding towns who are using the turnpike drive by us very often. Belchertown has grown, all the surrounding towns have grown, and that has contributed to our growth. And the town of Ludlow has grown tremendously since we started.

“It’s a great community to have a business in, with great people. The town gives us excellent young employees; we have a lot of people that start in high school, and hopefully they stay while they go to college and come back and work holidays or weekends or summers,” she went on. “Some of our young employees stay with us for six years or so until they graduate from college, and then we hate to lose them. They become nurses and engineers and go on to their careers, and they leave a big hole for us because they were excellent employees.”

Ludlow at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1774
Population: 21,002
Area: 28.2 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $18.09
Commercial Tax Rate: $18.09
Median Household Income: $53,244
Median Family Income: $67,797
Type of Government: Board of Selectmen, Representative Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Hampden County House of Correction; Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital; Massachusetts Air National Guard; Kleeberg Sheet Metal Inc.
*Latest information available

All that said, “the business is doing well,” Randall noted. “We continue to grow and change with the trends and what customers want and what other stores like us are doing. We try to stay in tune with what’s happening so we can deliver the best to our customers.”

Downtown Developments

The town has been focusing on its downtown area in recent years as well, not just at Ludlow Mills, but in the East Street corridor, where it has planned extensive infrastructure improvements to make the street more safe, pedestrian-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing, as well as expanding its District Improvement Financing (DIF) area, which had previously covered just the footprint of the mills, to East Street.

“Our East Street corridor is sort of our Main Street, and there are a lot of small businesses there that have a loyal following and are very popular,” Strange said. “So we created a DIF last year so, with any developments made in that district, instead of that additional tax revenue going into the general fund, we can keep it in the district for infrastructure improvements.

“I’m really looking forward to being able to improve the look and the feel, but also the infrastructure of East Street. We’re also going to be repaving the roads around down State Street, which is where the mills are, then around to East Street,” he added. “Center Street, where the pike exit is, is pretty built out and super busy. There are a lot of businesses there. But the downtown area, I feel like we need to really focus on that, because residents’ quality of life will rise if we can create a more exciting downtown area.”

One of the most recent business openings on East Street is BarBurrito, a new restaurant venture from Bill Collins, owner of Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow. “We were thrilled to see BarBurrito come in,” Strange said. “Bill Collins has established businesses that are popular, so to have him come invest his money into East Street, I was really excited to see that.

“There are a lot of small businesses on East Street that have a loyal following, but we do have some storefronts that tend to turn over,” Strange added. “So we’re really hoping to, again, raise the excitement level of the downtown area, beautify it, and have more businesses like BarBurrito come in and build out those storefronts.”

As for Ludlow Mills, that remains an ongoing process, one that began two decades ago and ramped up when Westmass Area Development Corp. acquired the property 13 years ago. The 95 residential units at Mill 8 should be complete next month, complimenting the 75 units in Mill 10 and a series of commercial developments across the complex’s footprint. Meanwhile, the clock tower in Mill 8 completed its renovation this year.

“Every single year there’s something. There’s always cranes and activity down there. It’s exciting, and I think it gets people excited about the future,” Strange said, noting that the new residential units are for age 55 and up, and there is a great need for that kind of housing locally.

“I can see a vibrant downtown in Ludlow,” he added. “We have a lot of beautiful residential areas, particularly in the mountains and certainly closer to downtown as well. The clocktower so iconic. I remember, before I started here, coming over the bridge to go to Randall’s and looking to the right and seeing the clock tower. It just made you feel like you had arrived someplace. Now we have corporate resources that are putting money into the area.

“I’m really excited about what the downtown could be,” Strange went on. “I feel like, if we can complete the downtown and update it, revitalize it, and make it exciting, it’s really going to make a difference for Ludlow. That’s my focus.”

North Adams Enjoys Institutional Advancement

By George O'Brien October 11, 2024

Community Spotlight

Laurie Lammare says the reopening of North Adams Regional Hospital will bring convenience to local residents.

For Laurie Lammare, the reopening of North Adams Regional Hospital (NARH) is a story that touches her professionally and personally.

Professionally … she is now system vice president and COO of NARH, now part of Berkshire Health Systems, moving from an administrative role at BHS to leading the 130-year-old hospital through the next chapter in its intriguing history.

And personally … well, she was born at NARH, her children were born there, and she fully understands the importance of this institution, on many different levels, to the North County communities it serves.

“Being able to offer such services to so many people was exciting work,” said Lammare, a North Adams native, of the long road to reopening the hospital and restoring inpatient service, noting that it was a crushing blow to the community when NARH was closed by its previous owner in 2014 after years of financial struggles and bankruptcies.

Its reopening in March, a decade to the day after it closed as an acute-care hospital, and its subsequent designation as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in July, brings new levels of convenience and accessibility to care for people who previously had to travel to Pittsfield for such care — or to visit those who were receiving care.

The reopening of NARH is one of the better stories involving this community of roughly 13,000 people, the second-largest in Berkshire County. But there are others, many of them involving the other major institution in the city — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA).

Indeed, the school, formerly known as North Adams State College, recently earned the sixth spot on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top Public Liberal Arts Schools in the nation, after earning the seventh spot for the previous three years. The college’s continued commitment to affordable education and economic prosperity is reflected in additional 2025 U.S. News rankings: the fifth-highest performer on social mobility for liberal-arts colleges in Massachusetts and second-highest performer on social mobility for public liberal-arts colleges in the country (more on what that means later).

“Part of re-establishing the inpatient beds at North Adams was really a strategic step in expanding access and reducing the healthcare barriers that the community may have found in traveling down to Pittsfield.”

“It’s always nice to go up, in this case, from 7 to 6,” MCLA President James Birge said of the public liberal-arts ranking, which puts MCLA just behind the service academies and a few other schools. “But the more compelling information is that this is the 10th consecutive year we’ve been in the top 10 nationally, and we’re really proud of that.”

Meanwhile, MCLA continues to add new programs. In 2022, it was radiological technology, and in 2023, it was nursing. This year, it’s a music, industry & production major that drew 60 applications.

James Birge says MCLA’s rise in the rankings speaks to its broad mission and its success in carrying it out.

This new program will help students contribute to a changing economy in the Berkshires and North Adams, one that has shifted from manufacturing to the arts, and is perhaps best captured by the conversion of the former Sprague Electric complex into MASSMoCA, the largest modern-art museum in the world.

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at North Adams and the many forms of progress there.

Turning Back the Clock

Tracing the history of North Adams Regional Hospital, Michael Leary, director of Media Relations for BHS, said its creation was inspired by a horrific rail accident in 1886 — roughly a decade after the opening of the Hoosac Tunnel — known locally as the train wreck at Bardswell Ferry.

The Eastern Express, traveling east toward Greenfield, came off its rails and plunged down a rocky embankment to the Deerfield River, south of Bardswell Ferry. Ten people were killed, and another 31 injured.

“North Adams was a pretty significant city in Massachusetts at that time, but it didn’t have a hospital,” Leary said. “As a result of that catastrophe, some community members got together and formed what came to be known as North Adams Regional Hospital.”

NARH operated for more than 100 years, under an organization known as Northern Berkshire Health Systems, but by the start of this century, it was struggling mightily, he explained.

“They ran into significant reimbursement and financial issues and could not sustain the hospital. They declared bankruptcy at least twice, maybe three times, in the 2000s, and when push came to shove, they could no longer make a go of it. Cash flow had significantly decreased, they were unable to pay their vendors, and they declared bankruptcy in 2014 a final time and closed just days later.”

“We went from a long weekend to 10 days where we helped students adjust to college life — with coursework, social adjustments, connecting to other people on campus who are first-year students.”

State officials and the Department of Public Health asked BHS to step in and at least reopen emergency services, Leary said, adding that the system did this and subsequently purchased the property through bankruptcy proceedings, naming it the North Adams Campus of Berkshire Medical Center and opening several outpatient services there, including imaging, wound care, surgical services, laboratory services, and orthopedics.

In 2023, following changes in the law regarding eligibility for CAH designation — which is granted by the federal government and limited to small, rural facilities that meet certain criteria to qualify for federal support in maintaining services that would otherwise not be financially and/or operationally viable — such status was attained, and BHS moved to reopen the facility under its original name, North Adams Regional Hospital.

The importance of the hospital to the region was summed up by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal in comments made at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopened NARH.

“Throughout my career in public life, I have stood by the notion that legislation changes lives. Today’s announcement is a living example of that belief, as the reopening of North Adams Regional Hospital will have a profound impact on communities throughout North County for years to come,” Neal said. “There are stark inequities in rural and underserved communities as it relates to our nation’s health system. That is why I have long advocated for changes that will address health equity and allow everyone to have a fair and just opportunity to achieve their highest level of health, regardless of who they are or where they live.”

Lammare, who had been with BHS in various capacities for 34 years before being chosen to lead NARH, concurred.

North Adams Regional Hospital reopened in March a decade to the day after closing as an acute-care hospital in 2014.

“Part of re-establishing the inpatient beds at North Adams was really a strategic step in expanding access and reducing the healthcare barriers that the community may have found in traveling down to Pittsfield — and to better serve the Berkshire County community members in a coordinated effort through the larger healthcare system,” she said, adding that the hospital reopened with 18 beds and can expand to 25 given guidelines regulating CAHs. The current census is only about five patients a day, but that number is expected to rise with the start of flu season.

School of Thought

Birge told BusinessWest that the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings help convey MCLA’s broad mission — and its success in carrying it out, especially over the past several years.

North Adams at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1878
Population: 12,961
Area: 20.6 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $17.14
Commercial Tax Rate: $36.34
Median Household Income: $35,020
Family Household Income: $57,522
Type of government: Mayor; City Council
Largest Employers: BFAIR Inc.; Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; North Adams Regional Hospital
* Latest information available

Indeed, in addition to providing a quality liberal-arts education, the school has also been a prime mover in that category known as social mobility; the college has been acknowledged on the list of national liberal-arts colleges for social mobility since that ranking was established in 2019.

Specifically, social mobility measures how well institutions graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants, typically awarded to students whose families make less than $50,000, said Birge, noting that most Pell Grant money goes to families with income below $20,000. More than 41% of MCLA undergraduate students receive Pell Grants, and 49% are the first in their families to go to college. Overall, 95% of MCLA students receive some kind of financial aid.

Beyond these rankings, MCLA is seeing other forms of momentum despite slower enrollment this fall, in part due to well-documented problems with federal financial-aid applications, but also due to MassEducate, the state’s free community-college program, which has resulted in fewer transfers to MCLA and other state colleges and universities. (For the long term, Birge noted, free community college will benefit such schools because it will put more students in the transfer pipeline.)

This momentum includes the highest retention rates in more than a decade, which has made up for some of the first-year students the college lost for those reasons stated above. This improvement in retention came about due to some new initiatives at the school, starting with a transition from a traditional first-year student orientation to a 10-day onboarding process.

“We went from a long weekend to 10 days where we helped students adjust to college life — with coursework, social adjustments, connecting to other people on campus who are first-year students,” Birge noted. “Additionally, we invested in more academic advisors on campus a year ago, and as a result, not only did students have a major advisor among their faculty, they had a success coach who walked them through things throughout the year, like how to deal with homesickness, adjusting to college, and time-management skills. In addition to academic advising, they also had personal-life advising.”

The reopening of NARH is also a benefit for MCLA because students in its health programs can now do clinicals at that facility rather than driving to Pittsfield, said Birge, adding that the school also partners, on many levels, with MASSMoCA, where a number of students find internships or employment.

And then, there’s the new major in music, industry & production, which Birge said has “struck a chord” locally.

“The Berkshires have kind of a music vibe,” he explained. “There’s Tanglewood; there’s a world-class recording studio just down the street, Studio 9 at Porches Inn; and we have some faculty members that excel at music theory and performance, and they put together this neat little program.”

It’s one of many developments of note — both literally and figuratively — in this community that continues the process of transitioning and evolving.

How to Measure the Financial Health of a Construction Company

By Contributor October 11, 2024

Construction

Know Your Ratios

By Matthew Nash, CPA

The construction industry is unique and complex, with its own set of financial challenges and opportunities. Understanding the financial health of a construction company is crucial to making informed business decisions. Financial ratios are powerful tools that provide valuable insights into profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, and project performance.

Ratios are resources to more than just investors, shareholders, and management teams. They are also used by lenders and creditors to evaluate credit risk, by contractors and subcontractors to gauge the financial health of potential partners and ensure the ability to meet obligations, and by regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

This article highlights key financial ratios tailored specifically to construction companies, which are used to analyze a construction company’s stability and operational efficiency.

Profitability Ratios

Gross profit margin indicates how efficiently a construction company is managing its direct costs associated with projects. A higher gross profit margin suggests that the company is effective in controlling project costs and pricing. Calculation: gross profit margin = gross profit divided by revenue multiplied by 100.

Operating profit margin measures the percentage of revenue that remains after covering operating expenses, excluding interest and taxes. The operating profit margin reflects how well and how efficiently a company manages its core business operations. Calculation: operating profit margin = operating income divided by revenue multiplied by 100.

Matthew Nash

“Ratios are resources to more than just investors, shareholders, and management teams. They are also used by lenders and creditors to evaluate credit risk, by contractors and subcontractors to gauge the financial health of potential partners and ensure the ability to meet obligations, and by regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.”

Net profit margin shows the percentage of revenue that remains as profit after all expenses, including interest and taxes, have been deducted. A strong net profit margin indicates overall profitability and effective management of both operational and non-operational expenses. Calculation: net profit margin = net income divided by revenue multiplied by 100.

Liquidity Ratios

Current ratio assesses a company’s ability to meet its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. For construction companies, which often deal with significant short-term obligations due to project timelines and payment cycles, maintaining a current ratio above 1.0 indicates that the company could pay off its liabilities if they become immediately due. Calculation: current ratio = current assets divided by current liabilities.

Quick ratio, or acid-test ratio, provides a stricter measure of liquidity by excluding inventory from current assets. Given that construction companies may have substantial inventory tied up in ongoing projects, the quick ratio offers a clearer picture of the company’s ability to cover immediate obligations. Similar to the current ratio, a good quick ratio should be higher than 1.0. Calculation: quick ratio = current assets minus inventory divided by current liabilities.

Solvency Ratios

Debt-to-equity ratio indicates the proportion of debt used to finance the company’s assets relative to shareholders’ equity. A high ratio suggests greater financial leverage and risk, while a lower ratio indicates a more conservative approach to financing. For construction companies, which often rely on substantial borrowing for project financing, monitoring this ratio is critical. Ratios higher than 2.0 can indicate that a company has taken on too much debt. Calculation: debt-to-equity ratio = total liabilities divided by equity.

Interest coverage ratio measures a company’s ability to pay interest on its debt with its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). A higher ratio indicates that the company comfortably covers its interest payments, reducing financial risk. For construction firms, which may have fluctuating income based on project timelines, this ratio helps assess debt sustainability. Calculation: interest coverage ratio = EBIT divided by interest expense.

Efficiency Ratios

Working capital turnover ratio reflects how efficiently a company uses its capital to support sales and company growth. The ratio provides a company with an understanding of revenue generated for every dollar of working capital used. A high ratio indicates that the company is efficient in using its assets and liabilities to support sales, with lower ratios indicating less efficiency. However, a ratio above 30.0 could signal that a company may need more working capital to continue to grow in the future. Calculation: working capital turnover ratio = total construction sales divided by working capital. (Working capital = current assets minus current liabilities.)

Equity turnover ratio, similar to working capital turnover ratio, reflects how efficiently a company uses its value — in this case, equity — to drive construction revenue. A ratio above 15.0 may signal that a company will have trouble growing in the future. Calculation: equity turnover ratio = revenue divided by equity.

Project-specific Ratios

Work-in-progress (WIP) ratio assesses the proportion of work completed relative to the total contract value. This ratio helps gauge project progress and can indicate potential issues with project execution or financial planning. Calculation: WIP ratio = work completed to date divided by total contract value.

Contract profitability ratio evaluates the profitability of individual contracts. This ratio provides insights into how well each project contributes to overall profitability, helping in assessing project management and pricing strategies. Calculation: contract profitability ratio = contract profit divided by contract revenue multiplied by 100.

Conclusion

Financial ratios are indispensable tools for understanding the financial health of construction companies. No single ratio will provide an overall picture for the health of a construction company. However, looking at several key financial ratios can help investors, shareholders, and management teams make informed decisions, identify potential risks, and implement strategies to enhance financial and operation stability, both now and in the future.

For construction companies, maintaining a balanced approach to managing these financial metrics is pivotal to sustaining long-term success in a competitive and often unpredictable industry.

Matthew Nash, CPA is a partner with Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Cancer Connection Continues to Provide Crucial Support Services

By Joseph Bednar October 11, 2024

Healthcare News

More Than a Safe Space

Chelsea Kline says Cancer Connection is a needed ‘third space’ away from home and work for people facing a cancer diagnosis.

It began with a simple goal: to give people diagnosed with cancer — people facing perhaps the most difficult challenge of their life — someone to talk to.

Now, in its 25th year, Cancer Connection is so much more.

But thinking back to 2000, when founders Jackie Walker and Deb Orgera launched the Northampton-based nonprofit, “their vision was really to make a place for people to come and talk, if they had been diagnosed, or if they were a caregiver,” Executive Director Chelsea Kline said.

That service was called — and still is called — ‘befriending,’ she noted. “That actually evolved out of the Samaritans model, which is a hotline for people in crisis, people that are contemplating ending their lives. That’s where the initial inspiration came from — to have this hotline service for people who were newly diagnosed, who were scared, who were alone and needed some support.

“And now we’re building on our befriender training,” she added. “We’re going to be boosting that and bringing on more befrienders, which we’re really excited about.”

Meanwhile, Cancer Connection has evolved over the years to include support groups for different types of cancer and aspects of the cancer experience, from caregiving to self-care; integrative therapies like massage, acupuncture, reiki, and energy balancing to treat cancer symptoms, boost comfort, and relieve stress; and programs that nourish the body, mind, spirit, and creativity, like Qigong yoga, mindfulness in nature, knitting, music and movement, equine therapy, and more.

And, as noted, these services are available to caregivers in addition to those with a cancer diagnosis, Kline said.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about this organization — they thought about not only the person with the diagnosis, but also their support people. That’s important because there’s a tremendous amount of stress and pressure and worry — so many emotions that come along with being a caregiver for someone. And there are not many resources that are available to them outside of Cancer Connection.”

But it all starts with befriending — letting people know they have someone to talk to, either on the phone or in person.

“Cancer is a scary topic, and it’s not a topic that you can just bring up casually on the playground when you’re picking up your child, or after work, or wherever. So we are that third space for a lot of people.”

“This is a place where they can be understood and speak freely and not worry that someone doesn’t get it or someone doesn’t understand them,” Kline said. “That’s what this place is all about — we really do understand, and we are a place to find strength.”

Maintaining the Mission

All Cancer Connection services are free of charge, Kline told BusinessWest. “That has been the case from the get-go, and we have doggedly maintained that vision.”

The nonprofit is supported through donors, sponsors, and a series of fundraising events, from the annual Harvest Dinner — taking place this week, on Oct. 17 — and a Mother’s Day half-marathon coming up on its 15th year next May.

Support groups in the ‘living room’ at Cancer Connection draw both in-person and remote attendees.

Then there’s the Cancer Connection Thrift Shop on South Street in Northampton, open to the public Wednesday through Saturday. “We have an incredibly generous community — people bring handbags and jewelry and art and clothing and all kinds of amazing things. And then people will show up and purchase these beautiful things. So that’s a huge part of our funding.”

The shop has become more than a fundraising operation, though; it’s also, in many cases, an emotional support for donors.

“We had the managers of the thrift store go through our befriending training because, so often, we have people that are coming with donations that have a lot of emotional connections,” Kline said. “If someone passed away or they’re downsizing, whatever the case, there are a lot of emotions that come with these things, and people want to share their stories, or they have this object and want to take a moment to honor that item when they bring it in.

“I would say that what we offer is filling so many cracks in our community. And I shudder to think what would happen if we weren’t here to offer those things.”

“So our thrift-store managers are really skilled at having those conversations and just being present in some of those hard moments and having that deep compassion,” she added. “That’s really the main thread that flows through everything here at Cancer Connection — a deep and present compassion. It’s remarkable.”

She said part of her job is spreading the message about what happens at Cancer Connection and why it’s an important resource in the community, and the message has been received in myriad ways.

Sue Monahan (left), creator and director of the Mother’s Day Half Marathon, with Tara Brewster, host of Bed In for Cancer Connection.

“I’ve noticed how many people in the community come up with creative ideas of supporting Cancer Connection. Like, we have a fifth-grade class at the Hartsbrook School that created and sold little crafts and other items for their school store, and they raised money for Cancer Connection. The whole class came and presented us with a check and toured the center.”

Meanwhile, an organization called Crippled Old Busted Bikers put on a comedy show to raise funds for Cancer Connection, a drag revue called Camilla’s Extravaganza has taken the nonprofit on as a fundraising beneficiary, and Bed In for Cancer Connection — launched by radio personality Monte Belmonte as Monte’s Camp Out for Cancer Connection, and how hosted by Greenfield Savings Bank’s Tara Brewster — has become a popular annual fundraiser.

Kline is deeply grateful for all that support.

“It’s almost impossible to put into words the impact this organization is having on so many individuals, even if they’re coming just for a support group, and they may not know anybody, and they find they’re able to sit with a group of people and now have friends and connections in the community that they didn’t have before, and they’re not feeling so lonely.”

“I think it would be an incredible hardship on the community if Cancer Connection didn’t exist,” she said. “Massages are expensive. Acupuncture is expensive. And having a place where you can unfurl and not have to watch what you say when you’re in pain, you’re scared, and you’re feeling alone … when we think about the dwindling numbers of church attendance, when belonging to a YMCA costs money, and many of our community centers don’t have as robust attendance as they used to, there are fewer places to share community.

“Cancer is a scary topic, and it’s not a topic that you can just bring up casually on the playground when you’re picking up your child, or after work, or wherever,” she added. “So we are that third space for a lot of people, and that’s really valuable to combat isolation, to build communities, to help people just alleviate the symptoms of their treatment and feel a sense of calm and relaxation and feel that they’re understood. There’s not many places that do what we do.”

Priscilla Touhey prepares to lead a container gardening workshop at Cancer Connection.

Those services even extend to the free wigs Cancer Connection offers, thanks to donations from Visage Salon in downtown salon. “They do a lot of things for people experiencing hair loss, and they donate a lot of beautiful, brand-new wigs to us, for which we’re so grateful,” Kline noted. “We get a lot of donated wigs from other places as well, but they’re one of our main conduits. And it goes such a long way for someone’s self-esteem and confidence if they need to go back to work, or just go to the market, to have a hairstyle that feels comfortable to them.

“So I would say that what we offer is filling so many cracks in our community,” she went on. “And I shudder to think what would happen if we weren’t here to offer those things.”

Personal Connection

Kline’s own connection with the organization dates back about 20 years, when her mother was a participant.

“I was her caregiver at the time, and I was also a single mom. I remember being so relieved that she had a place that she could talk freely and not worry about scaring me or stressing me out or overwhelming me; she could be in a community with other people who really understood.

“My mother, thank God, is still with us,” she added. “She now volunteers at Cancer Connection.”

Kline, who earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and biblical literature at Smith College and a master’s degree in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, spent several years overseeing leadership and organizational studies at Bay Path University before operating Chelsea Sunday Coaching for four years, a consulting business that helped many nonprofits in transition. In between, she ran for Massachusetts State Senate in 2018, garnering 41% of the vote.

But her interest all along, she said, was in supporting people who are struggling, and alleviating suffering. She found the perfect outlet for both at Cancer Connection.

“We had someone come in for a massage the other day, and we have a little form that they fill out before the treatment and after the treatment,” she explained. “They rated their level of pain, and at the end of it, they felt so much calmer, so much more relaxed, and they felt like their pain had decreased. And that’s just one person. We have maybe six or seven appointments a day over here, just from massage alone.

“So it’s almost impossible to put into words the impact this organization is having on so many individuals, even if they’re coming just for a support group, and they may not know anybody, and they find they’re able to sit with a group of people and now have friends and connections in the community that they didn’t have before, and they’re not feeling so lonely.”

Kline’s only disappointment is not being able to help more people.

“We got a call from someone in Alaska recently, and they said, ‘oh, where’s the Cancer Connection near me?’ And we had to say, ‘sorry, I don’t think there is anything. But you can join us remotely.’

“It kills me that we can’t help everybody,” she went on. “But for what we are doing, I am so grateful to our founders and so grateful to the staff and the board that saw us through COVID, that kept us going. There are so many hands that have kept this organization viable and really stayed true to the mission, helping us offer all these good things. I feel very, very lucky that I get to be a tiny part of it. It’s an awesome place.”

What Employers Should Know About Cannabis and the Workplace

By Contributor October 11, 2024

Law

A Regulatory Minefield

By Jason Ortiz, Esq. and Elaine Reall, Esq.

Jason Ortiz

Elaine Reall

Marijuana, cannabis, weed, or whatever you want to call it is a growth industry. We know it’s still an illegal Schedule 1 drug under federal law; so how is it that we can grow, sell, or buy it in Massachusetts? And what effect does the regulatory minefield have on employers and the workplace?

Today’s article will explore the legal ins and outs of cannabis relative to Massachusetts workplaces. In addition, it will provide a brief overview of the current federal and state regulatory scheme.

Federal Stance and Future Legislation

Cannabis is still considered a Schedule 1 illicit substance under federal law. Most simply stated, this means that if one is found in possession of marijuana by a federal officer or border official, you’re in trouble. However, a growing number of states, like Massachusetts, have chosen to move forward and allow the sales and distribution of cannabis, either for medical or recreational use, within state borders. In fact, 24 states have legalized marijuana.

There have been several proposed bills in Congress to help move cannabis from its Schedule 1 classification (covering the most addictive and destructive substances, such as heroin) to Schedule 3 (defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical or psychological dependence, such as anabolic steroids). See, for example, the Marijuana 1 to 3 Act of 2023.

“Other than the obvious relaxation of legal impediments to cannabis use, the proposed federal bills have some amazing tax benefits for the cannabis industry as a whole.”

Other than the obvious relaxation of legal impediments to cannabis use, the proposed federal bills have some amazing tax benefits for the cannabis industry as a whole. For starters, IRS enforcement action would be one less problem to worry about. Currently, cannabis businesses do not enjoy the same tax deductions as the average mom-and-pop or Fortune 500 company. This is due to Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, which does not allow certain standard business deductions due to the legal risks associated with the illegal ‘trafficking’ of a Schedule 1 drug. Cannabis businesses also face higher income-tax rates as a result of their business. Most of the proposed federal laws would remove those tax obstacles and categorize cannabis as just another product sold by just another business.

Additionally, placing cannabis into a Schedule 3 classification would allow for this industry to become regulated like any other Schedule 3 drug provider. While striving for more federal regulations may sound counterintuitive for a business, the current patchwork quilt of state regulations has not served consumers well.

As noted recently in the Boston Globe, the quality of lab test results relative to marijuana mold contamination and THC levels has raised consumer concerns in Massachusetts and may have negative repercussions relative to state cannabis businesses. More specifically, state cannabis businesses have been accused of circumventing health regulations by ‘shopping’ for laboratories with loose (or non-existent) standards in order to obtain favorable testing scores.

“A straightforward, no-nonsense standard for regulation and testing, like the one the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for Schedule 3 drugs, would give consumers confidence that the products they are purchasing are both safe for consumption and contain the product described on the label.”

A straightforward, no-nonsense standard for regulation and testing, like the one the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for Schedule 3 drugs, would give consumers confidence that the products they are purchasing are both safe for consumption and contain the product described on the label.

There are other pending bills that would favorably affect the cannabis industry. One of the eagerly watched bills is the SAFE Banking Act, which was meant to make banking services accessible to state-regulated cannabis businesses without the fear of federal penalties. Specifically, its provisions would allow for the profit from a state-regulated cannabis business to be considered just that, and not proceeds from an unlawful activity.

The banking industry is traditionally quite conservative when it comes to risk taking in the area of emerging or ‘unlawful’ industries. Without such banking legislation, it remains very difficult, if not impossible, for state-regulated cannabis businesses to get routine business loans and/or building or mortgage commitments. Insurance companies, also conservative entities, have begun to craft specific policies for the cannabis industry; however, much of such coverage is prohibitively expensive.

The States Reform Act is a pending bipartisan effort to change cannabis regulation by creating a permitting process on the federal level for cannabis-based businesses. This would allow federal oversight on products that cross state lines, thus allowing lawful interstate commerce.

Under current law, the states and federal government disagree on the legality of cannabis use, thus making its transportation across state lines a legally precarious task. Such product movement currently requires ‘creative’ transportation routes. Typically, it’s the smaller companies who suffer and lose out on increasing their business if they lack the resources to come up with those creative solutions.

The framework this act would establish would create federal regulations on interstate cannabis-based activities. The act would also impose a 3% federal cannabis excise-tax structure with a 10-year moratorium on increases to said tax. With the perennial federal budget shortages, this excise tax would be a welcome addition to the federal tax coffers.

Cannabis and the Massachusetts Workplace

A big question that arises regarding cannabis in the workplace is “how is drug testing affected by employee use of medical and/or recreational cannabis?” It is important to note that, if you require your applicants or employees to be drug-tested, you should have a company-wide policy that details specific scenarios that would require drug testing. After that, enforcement becomes a management issue.

A rule of thumb to follow is that employers should generally require their employees to refrain from using alcohol and/or other drugs while on the clock. Reporting for work while intoxicated, or under the influence of mind-altering drugs, should also be addressed.

The follow-up question that is often asked is “what if an employee uses marijuana for a medical purpose?” Medicinal use of marijuana is a very real and effective remedy for several conditions and must be treated seriously in the workplace to avoid any violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It is not a business owner’s responsibility to probe every employee to see who has a disability and how they cope with it; they also are not required (as of yet) to accommodate the use of medical marijuana in the workplace. Employers are, however, required to have an interactive conversation with an employee to determine whether a reasonable accommodation is possible for an employee who uses medical marijuana to treat a disability.

Given the legal complexities, such situations need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and consulting with a business or employment lawyer well-versed in cannabis regulation is advisable.

Elaine Reall and Jason Ortiz are attorneys who specialize in labor and employment-law matters at the Royal Law Firm LLP, a woman-owned, women-managed corporate law firm that is certified as a women’s business enterprise with the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office, the National Assoc. of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Reall was a featured panelist on a panel providing insights into the legal and regulatory status of the cannabis industry at the 2024 annual meeting of the National Assoc. of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, which took place Sept. 15-18.

UMass Amherst Awarded $7.9 Million to Build AI Hardware

By BusinessWest Staff October 11, 2024

Technology

From Lab to Fab

UMass Amherst recently announced it is receiving more than $7 million from the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub through U.S. CHIPS and Science Act funding under the Microelectronics Commons program, executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator.

This award funds the first year of the project, with future funding for the entire four-year project (with a budget of $23 million) contingent on the satisfactory delivery of the milestones and the availability of funds.

The award funds collaboration between UMass Amherst and TetraMem Inc., NY CREATES, GlobalFoundries, the University of Southern California, Raytheon, BAE Systems, and Berkshire Community College, in support of efforts to accelerate domestic prototyping and expand the nation’s global leadership in microelectronics. This is one of six projects awarded to the NEMC Hub, led by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) under the Microelectronics Commons Program.

“We need close collaboration across academia, small business, major semiconductor companies, and defense contractors,” said Qiangfei Xia, principal investigator of this project and the Dev and Linda Gupta professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMass Amherst. “This project is a good example of that, in the spirit of transferring technology from the research lab to industry fab.”

Xia added that “the project’s objective is to transfer the CMOS memristor technology to U.S. semiconductor manufacturers, so that we can make power-efficient AI hardware for edge intelligence, with both military and civilian applications.”

Qiangfei Xia

“We need close collaboration across academia, small business, major semiconductor companies, and defense contractors.”

Hardware created with memristors will be able to process data locally in a time-sensitive manner while also using very little energy, as has been demonstrated by over a decade’s research by Xia and collaborators, as well as development from industrial players such as TetraMem.

The project will also offer a microelectronic fabrication course to local community colleges, such as Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, to bridge the large supply-demand gap in the semiconductor industry. Xia, who has been teaching this course for over 10 years at UMass Amherst, says the hands-on experience of building and testing integrated circuits has prepared students well for securing competitive employment.

“We are proud to bring our revolutionary, low-power analog computing technology to this important collaboration, which will advance the U.S. semiconductor industry, educate its future workforce, and benefit the economy of the Commonwealth and the region,” said Sanjay Raman, dean of the UMass Amherst College of Engineering.

MassTech CEO Carolyn Kirk added that “this award highlights the ingenuity and expertise that exists across the Northeast when it comes to microelectronics and semiconductors. The technology development and transition partnerships being fostered by the NEMC Hub will have an enduring impact on our national and economic security.”

The NEMC Hub is a network of more than 200 organizations, including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded research and development centers, and startups concentrated in eight Northeast states. Established in 2023, it is one of eight such regional hubs working to expand the nation’s global leadership in microelectronics and accelerate domestic semiconductor prototyping. It aims to foster a vibrant, connected microelectronics ecosystem to provide sustainable lab-to-fab enablement, boost education and workforce development, and spur new jobs.

“This award is a testament to the hard work, collaboration, and leadership the NEMC Hub and its members have demonstrated during the first year of the Microelectronics Commons,” NEMC Hub Director Mark Halfman said. “We have a tremendous opportunity to grow microelectronics lab-to-fab capabilities and spur the growth of game-changing technologies in this sector.”

Construction Sector Remains Busy, but Some Clients Are Hitting Pause Button

By George O'Brien October 10, 2024

Construction Special Coverage

Cooling Trend

Dave Fontaine at the site of the new Peck Middle School in Holyoke.

Bill Jodice has lived through several economic cycles since he and a few partners bought the engineering and construction firm started by his father in 1964.

And he was quick to note that this current downturn, if it can even be called that, pales in comparison to the Great Recession of 2008, the post-9/11 slump, and even the prolonged recession of the early to mid-’90s, times when the phone seemingly stopped ringing.

Still, it’s been ringing a little less often (in a figurative sense) over the past several months, said Jodice, president of Bloomfield, Conn.-based PDS Engineering & Construction, noting that, while his firm is still quite busy, things are slowing down somewhat, a result of some clients hitting the pause button starting a little over a year ago, waiting for interest rates to come down, the presidential race to be decided, or both.

“We’ve heard some people say it all depends on what happens with the election and who’s managing the finances of the country when it comes to whether they move forward with a project,” he said. “If Trump gets in, they’re going to absolutely move ahead; if Kamala gets in, they’re maybe not going to do it, or at least give it some second thoughts. Some people get nervous around elections, and we hear about it.”

Scott Keiter, president of West Springfield-based Keiter Corp., reports a slowing of many segments within this sector, especially new residential construction, one of his firm’s specialties.

“We’ve seen a lot of deals and projects that were planned with lower interest rates — those in the 2021, 2022 range — in mind that have hit some roadblocks as the interest rates have been rising, borrowing costs have been going up, and the math starts to get difficult.”

He noted that his firm has been averaging five to 10 new homes a year over the past several years, and is certainly on the low end of that range this year, primarily because of higher interest rates and comparatively attractive prices for homes on the market.

“The combination of higher interest rates and well-priced options for people to move to has definitely hit home,” said Keiter, adding that his firm is still busy with work in several areas, from projects for colleges and nonprofits to home renovations, and enjoying the benefits of a diverse portfolio.

The interior of the new Welcome Center at Western New England University, one of the many institutional projects in the Keiter Corp. portfolio.

John and Josh Raymaaker, co-owners, with their parents, of Westfield-based J.L. Raymaakers and Sons Inc., agreed. John noted that the number of invitations to bid on projects (especially on the private side) started trending downward several months ago and remains well below the pace of a few years ago.

“They’ve slowed from maybe 10 to 15 a month to eight to 10 a month — it’s not drastic, but it’s definitely noticeable,” he said, adding that the public side of the ledger, which comprises 75% of the firm’s portfolio, remains solid and seemingly unfazed by recent events.

Bill Jodice

“We’ve heard some people say it all depends on what happens with the election and who’s managing the finances of the country when it comes to whether they move forward with a project.”

Dave Fontaine, CEO of Springfield-based Fontaine Bros., noted that, generally speaking, the broad construction sector is somewhat of a lagging indicator, meaning decisions to pause or discontinue projects often don’t impact contractors until months later, meaning most firms still have projects on the books.

“We’ve seen a lot of deals and projects that were planned with lower interest rates — those in the 2021, 2022 range — in mind that have hit some roadblocks as the interest rates have been rising, borrowing costs have been going up, and the math starts to get difficult,” he said, noting that most of the hesitancy has been on the private-sector side. “We’ve seen some projects that have been put on hold and others that have been canceled.”

Meanwhile, this slowdown has manifested itself in several different ways, said Fontaine, noting everything from a general cooling of construction material costs from their peak highs (although labor costs continue climbing) to subcontractors, which were booked solid during COVID and the following years, being “hungrier” and more available (more on that later).

But, as noted, this sector remains quite busy, and most players, meaning general contractors, architects, and engineers, have plenty of work on the books now — and, for the most part, for the start of next year as well.

Michael (left) and Brian Sweitzer at the site of the new Embr cannabis retail facility on Boston Road in Springfield.

“The money is still flowing, and we anticipate that it will continue to flow,” said Curtis Edgin, a principal with the Chicopee-based architecture firm Caolo & Bieniek Associates, which counts both public and private projects on the books, everything from an elementary school in Westfield to a new Rocky’s hardware store in South Hadley.

“It seems that people are somewhat apprehensive right now, but we’re still busy and hope to still be busy a year from now,” said Edgin, who was one of many to use the phrase ‘cautiously optimistic’ to describe the outlook for the foreseeable future.

Busy Signals

Jodice calls it a “wave.”

He was referring to the explosion of new car-wash centers in Connecticut, a development that has certainly benefited his firm.

“It’s moving across the state,” he said of this wave, mostly involving facilities that offer monthly wash passes that provide benefits to consumers (if they use them) and guaranteed income to those building these facilities.

Curtis Edgin

“It seems that people are somewhat apprehensive right now, but we’re still busy and hope to still be busy a year from now.”

Beyond the car-wash wave, PDS is also benefiting from what Jodice called an ongoing “arms race” in the auto business whereby makers — Ford and Chevrolet are among the latest — are continuously refreshing dealerships to lure customers to showrooms and service bays, as well as an ongoing self-storage boom and Connecticut’s dire need to rehabilitate some aging prisons.

All of the above have brought new projects to the PDS portfolio in recent months, he said, noting that it includes several car washes for a chain called Russell Speeder’s; new dealerships or renovations for Executive Kia in Wallingford, New Country Porsche in Greenwich, and Curran Volkswagen in Stratford; and work at a prison in Cheshire.

But there has been a discernable slowing across the board, particularly in some sectors, including the defense industry (PDS has done work for several of the smaller companies that supply large defense contractors like GE and Pratt & Whitney), which he finds puzzling given the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

A new self-storage facility in East Longmeadow is one of many recent projects in the PDS Engineering & Construction portfolio.

Overall, rising interest rates have prompted some commercial and residential clients to hit pause, or at least think about whether to pause, said those we spoke with. They noted that, while interest rates are still historically low, they are certainly much higher than they’ve been over the past five or six years.

And with the Fed’s move to finally lower rates by half a percentage point last month, there is the possibility, if not the expectation, that they will go lower in either the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year.

Pat and Craig Sweitzer, the husband-and-wife owners of Monson-based Sweitzer Construction, said they’ve already seen one client benefit from waiting until this fall to build rather than early this year, as originally scheduled, and they believe there is a lot of that going on.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone say they were happy there were delays,” said Craig, noting that many clients did their original pro formas based on 3% interest rates, and with rates at or around 7%, profit margins are smaller, breeding hesitancy.

Still, like the others we spoke with, the Sweitzers, who share management responsibilities with sons Brian and Michael, are busy, having just wrapped up a new cannabis retail facility called Embr on the large, long-vacant site of the former Russell’s restaurant on Boston Road in Springfield.

The firm specializes in medical facilities, especially dental offices, but has taken on several projects in the cannabis realm over the past several years, said Pat, adding that, at this time, or any time, for that matter, diversity is an important asset.

Josh Raymaaker agreed, noting that his family’s firm remains busy with both private and especially public projects. The list for the former includes a new Dunkin’ Donuts in Easthampton, a new hangar at Barnes Airport, and construction of a new headquarters for the Raymaakers firm on Falcon Drive in Westfield.

On the public side, the firm has several projects in progress, including new sewer lines in Suffield, Conn., pump-station rehabs in Great Barrington, bridge projects in Braintree and Alford, and a new hangar for C5s at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

“The combination of interest rates and the costs of construction have definitely affected which version of the project our clients are able to proceed with; in order for them to make their numbers work, they are having to make some concessions.”

Keiter said that, while things are slower, his firm is busy on several fronts, from a move to a new headquarters building in West Springfield to projects across several realms.

Indeed, he said residential renovation work remains vibrant, despite the higher interest rates, while the firm is also handling projects for several colleges and universities, as well as nonprofits, including Girls Inc. of the Valley, which is moving onto the latest phase of renovations to its new home in the former Daniel O’Connell’s Sons headquarters in Holyoke.

“We continue to work with our nonprofit partners — we’re still seeing a good pipeline there — and with the private sector as well,” he said. “But the combination of interest rates and the costs of construction have definitely affected which version of the project our clients are able to proceed with; in order for them to make their numbers work, they are having to make some concessions.”

Elaborating, Keiter said that, while prices for materials and labor are still comparatively high, they are lower than what has been seen since the pandemic. The same is true for availability.

“Our benchmark is … screwy,” he told BusinessWest. “When you say materials availability is better, it’s in reference to a time when it was abnormally askew.”

Moving Forward

Fontaine noted that, while he can certainly understand why some businesses institutions — and homeowners — would put projects on hold until interest rates come down, there are definitely advantages to going forward now as opposed to waiting.

At the top of that list is a cooling of construction prices and better availability of materials, which are already impacting some of the projects the firm is handling, including the new East Longmeadow High School, the new Peck Middle School in Holyoke, and work at Deerfield Academy and the College of the Holy Cross.

“Just the fact that the costs have steadied and that there is increased predictability of costs is starting to be a good thing again for the market; we’re even starting to see some isolated decreases in costs,” he said, adding that these developments could and should incentivize action now, rather than waiting.

“If you can get a lower construction cost, that’s a finite figure for a project,” Fontaine noted. “People always have the option to refinance later if rates come down, but you only have one chance at lower construction costs, and that’s why this might be a good time to build.”

Keiter wouldn’t go that far, noting that no one really knows what tomorrow will bring.

“It’s always a good time to build — it just has to work for you,” he said, adding that, for some clients across different segments of this sector, it’s more difficult to make things work.

And that’s why there is anxiety and some hesitancy among those considering residential and commercial building projects.

Still, as Jodice noted at the top, while this is a slowdown, it doesn’t compare with the far more serious cycles that have visited this sector. And that’s certainly something to build on.

Three Decades Later, Rays of Hope Continues to Broaden Its Impact

By George O'Brien October 10, 2024

Healthcare News Special Coverage

Pink Power

From left, Kathy Tobin, Lucy Giuggio-Carvalho, Dr. Grace Makari-Judson, and Michelle Graci.

Kathy Tobin calls it a “big pink hug.”

That’s one of the many colorful ways she and others referred to Rays of Hope, the comprehensive program to support those with breast cancer and raise money for research, services, and grants, culminating in the annual walk and run that will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27.

To Tobin, director of Annual Events and Giving for the Baystate Health Foundation, that hug conveys that Rays of Hope (ROH) is more than a series of fundraisers, more than a gathering, more than the Walk & Run Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer, which has, to date, raised more than $17.2 million and become a time when a community of survivors, family, and friends gathers, reunites, walks, and inspires others in this fight.

It’s a support network, if you will, for those fighting breast cancer and who have survived it.

“The walk is an event, but what has happened is that this has become a year-round organization of support,” she explained. “It’s about executing support services and being there for people who call us on our phone lines; they’ve just been diagnosed, and they don’t know what to do. Or it’s someone who doesn’t have the money for a breast prosthetic; can we help them? We support, through our grant program, other organizations that are in the trenches with survivors.

“We’re like a network that works year-round. We want to surround people with a diagnosis with what they need.”

“We’re like a network that works year-round,” she went on, adding that this what she and others mean when they say ‘big pink hug.’ “We want to surround people with a diagnosis with what they need.”

Dr. Grace Makari-Judson, co-director of the Rays of Hope Center for Breast Cancer Research, agreed, noting that there have been significant advancements in breast-cancer diagnosis, treatment, and delivery of services over the past 30 years, with Rays of Hope’s fundraising efforts helping to make many of them possible, especially a far more integrated delivery of care.

Lucy Giuggio-Carvalho (left) and Kathy Tobin at the first Rays of Hope walk in 1994.

“Before 1994, care was very much linear,” she explained. “A patient would have her mammogram and biopsy, and the mammogram was often in a hospital, beside people getting imaging for other illnesses, not for health management. Meanwhile, the biopsies were often done as surgical biopsies in the operating room, as opposed to outpatient biopsies that we do today. And if there was a new diagnosis of breast cancer, the surgeon would do their breast surgery in a complete vacuum, a complete void — just doing their thing.

“And after the surgery, they would send the patient to the medical oncologist, who would do their thing if they needed chemotherapy or hormone treatments,” Makari-Judson went on. “And when they were done with that, they would go next to the radiation oncologist, who would do their thing. It was very linear — and that was not optimal.”

Since its inception 30 years ago, Rays of Hope has been supporting individuals in their breast-cancer fights by walking with them on their cancer journey, literally, but also figuratively. Through the Baystate Health Breast Network, ROH supports research at the Rays of Hope Center for Breast Cancer Research; provides funding for state-of-the-art equipment, breast-health programs, and outreach and education throughout Baystate Health; supports patients and survivors; and provides grants for complementary therapies and cancer programs to community partners across the region.

All this is what Lucy Giuggio-Carvalho, a breast-cancer survivor, had in mind when she conceived the Rays of Hope walk back in 1994. Well, sort of.

Back then, she just wanted to do something to help those facing what she faced, and provide the kind of love and support she felt when faced with her own diagnosis.

She told BusinessWest she was thinking big back then, but couldn’t have imagined just how broad and impactful her concept would become.

“I wanted it to be an event from day one, but I never thought it would just go on and on, get bigger and bigger, and survive,” she told BusinessWest, noting, like Tobin, that it has become more than an event; it has become a powerful force for those battling the disease and looking for many different forms of support.

“There was no breast center at that time. You had to figure out who to see and what to do next. I already had a medical background, but I found it extremely difficult because you’re dealing with all the emotional aspects of having breast cancer.”

Three decades later, there is now also a Rays of Hope Endowment within the Baystate Health Foundation, through which the community can designate gifts that will perpetually support the mission.

For this issue and its focus on cancer care, we take an in-depth look at this big pink hug; how it has grown, evolved, and widened its impact; and where it can go from here.

Walking the Walk

“In 1993, I was 38 years old and diagnosed with stage-1 breast cancer. I felt overwhelmed, alone, and lost about how to proceed with treatment and life during and after breast cancer. I was on an emotional rollercoaster with many ups and downs. My family and friends came together to support me, and I realized the incredible power of love and support when facing breast cancer.”

That’s one of the many powerful passages in a message Giuggio-Carvalho wrote for the fall 2023 issue of Supporting Hope, a newsletter of the Baystate Health Foundation on the 30th anniversary of the walk and run.

Looking back — and ahead — she and others we spoke with said ROH continues to meet its mission and help ensure that no one facing breast cancer has to feel alone, overwhelmed, or lost. There will always be an emotional roller-coaster ride with ups and downs, but ROH can make that ride more manageable.

Looking back, Giuggio-Carvalho, who was named a Difference Maker by BusinessWest in 2011 for her efforts to launch Rays of Hope, said she started the program to help provide the region with all that was missing when she (an oncology nurse at the time) was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Walkers gather at Temple Beth-El before one of the past Rays of Hope events.

“There was no breast center at that time,” she noted. “You had to figure out who to see and what to do next. I already had a medical background, but I found it extremely difficult because you’re dealing with all the emotional aspects of having breast cancer.

“That, in itself, is one of the more remarkable things that Rays of Hope has brought,” she went on. “We have a team; we have a breast center where people can go. That was lacking at the time, and that’s what precipitated my idea to start a walk and raise money — I was in Boston and went to a breast center, where all the people met together and I was able to hear everyone’s opinion at the same time. I said, ‘this is what we need,’ and now we have it.”

Tobin agreed. “The way we took care of breast cancer was on the cusp of changing — Rays of Hope made it happen faster.”

Makari-Judson concurred, noting that perhaps the biggest, most-needed change was a shift toward a more team-based, integrated model for delivery of care.

“Today, we have a multi-disciplinary team; people communicate, and it’s very integrated, so that people get not only the best care, but the best care in the right sequence,” she explained, adding that the Baystate Health Breast Network was created to look at guidelines and ensure that people were being treated in a guideline-based, consensus-based approach.

There have been many other advances over the past 30 years, she said, adding that, prior to 1994, there were limited support services, limited educational materials, and no survivorship clinics or programs. ROH has helped make them all available, as well as other products and technology needed to provide comprehensive care.

“When we hear that budgets are tight and there isn’t money for something, that’s when we step in,” Tobin said. “Or if there’s something we can’t afford that capital year, we can sometimes provide the funding so we get it a little faster and we keep this region ahead of the curve.”

Steps in the Right Direction

Rays of Hope has been able to support services, research, and developments such as a tissue registry, as well as providing grants through fundraising that has also evolved over the years, adding events and programs such as Pink in the Rink, established by the Springfield Thunderbirds and staged each March.

As for the walk and run itself, it has continued to grow and evolve, said Michelle Graci, manager of Events for the Baystate Health Foundation, noting that COVID forced the actual event (but not the fundraising) to pause for two years, with turnout slowly building back to what it was pre-pandemic.

Last year, more than 20,000 people turned out, with the event raising more than $500,000, she said, noting, as others did, that the walk owes its success to the manner in which organizers listen to participants, adjust, and keep the event fresh and different, while also maintaining elements that have become synonymous with its mission.

These include a survivors’ photo, one that gets bigger each year, as well as a moment to reflect on those who have lost their battles to breast cancer. Overall, said all those we spoke with, the walk is intended to be a celebration — of survivors, the progress made in diagnosing and treating the disease, and the fighting spirit of those battling the disease and their many supporters.

“We celebrate life — this is not a downer,” said Tobin, noting that the gathering of walkers and runners in the parking lot of Temple Beth El in Springfield has become a tradition, an opportunity to renew acquaintances, swap stories, and show that there is strength in numbers.

Graci agreed. “Everyone just crowds into that parking lot, and there’s a lot of love, a lot of laughter, hugging, tears — happy tears, sad tears. It’s just a lot of giving, as Kathy said, a giant pink hug.”

And while the event continues to grow in size and impact each year, organizers have long understood the need to make sure the work of Rays of Hope continues for decades to come — and ensure that it will through the creation of an endowment, through the Baystate Health Foundation, to coincide with ROH’s 30th anniversary.

“This is now a place where people can put their money, and those who understand the importance of long-term planning will get that, and this endowment will only continue to grow,” Tobin said. “Based on the support we’ve received over the past 30 years, I’m confident that this fund will grow proportionately now that it’s in place.”

Overall, Rays of Hope has provided ample proof that a small group of people can accomplish big things and make a huge impact when they work together, Giuggio-Carvalho said.

And this, as much as anything else, is what is being celebrated each October as thousands of people gather to walk and run.

A Changing Landscape in Workplace Discrimination

By Contributor October 10, 2024

Law Special Coverage

Beyond the Job Title

By Michael Roundy, Esq.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently changed the landscape for certain workplace discrimination claims with its decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, issued in April. Employers need to be aware of the change as it could affect their internal decisions on how to address allegations of discrimination and avoid similar lawsuits.

In Muldrow, the Supreme Court held that transferring an employee to another position, even without any loss of pay or benefits, may violate the anti-discrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the case dealt with an internal transfer, the court’s opinion focused on changes to the terms and conditions of employment, which could implicate workplace changes far beyond transfers.

Sgt. Jatonya Muldrow worked for nine years as a plainclothes officer in the St. Louis Police Department’s Intelligence Division. When a new commander took over the division, Muldrow was transferred out, against her wishes, in favor of a male officer who the new commander said was a better fit for the division’s “very dangerous” work.

While Muldrow’s rank, pay, and benefits did not change, her new position in uniform involved different responsibilities, offered fewer perks, was less prestigious, and required weekend shifts, all of which were changes to the terms and conditions of her employment.

The District Court had dismissed Muldrow’s sex-discrimination suit on a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the changes in the conditions of her employment did not meet a heightened standard requiring her to show a “significant” change to her responsibilities. The Eighth Circuit affirmed that decision.

The Supreme Court took up the appeal to address and resolve a circuit split over whether a Title VII discrimination claim requires a showing of “significant” harm or just some degree of harm caused by the changed working conditions. Most circuit courts, including our First Circuit, had required that a change or detrimental impact be a “material” or “significant” change to working conditions, whereas the D.C. Circuit had recently rejected such a requirement.

The Supreme Court held that the statute does not require any elevated standard of harm. On its face, Title VII makes it unlawful to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s … sex” (among other characteristics).

Michael Roundy

“Investigations handled internally may be perceived as biased and conclusory, particularly where the allegations involve upper management. Using an outside, neutral third party can counteract that perception of bias.”

The court held that this language does not require a “significant” or “serious” or “material” change, but only that Muldrow show some disadvantageous change in employment terms or conditions. Put another way, the statute prohibits “treat[ing] a person worse” because of her sex or other protected trait (race, color, religion, national origin).

A Title VII claim, therefore, must show “some harm” relating to a term or condition of employment, and need not show “significant” harm. In this case, the transfer of Muldrow to a position with less responsibility, fewer perks, less prestige, and requiring a rotating schedule including weekends met the “some harm” requirement. The Supreme Court therefore vacated the Eighth Circuit’s judgment, resurrecting Muldrow’s discrimination claims, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The Takeaway for Employers

Outcomes like this could be avoided by employers by addressing complaints when they arise, long before they result in litigation. More and more employers have recognized the value of thorough and impartial workplace investigations conducted quickly after complaints arise. An external, third-party investigator limits the perception of bias by the complaining employee, helps ensure that manager actions are properly scrutinized, and may in some cases even help limit liability.

A credible investigation requires more than just an impartial investigator. It requires that the investigator be perceived as impartial as well. Investigations handled internally may be perceived as biased and conclusory, particularly where the allegations involve upper management. Using an outside, neutral third party can counteract that perception of bias.

As an outside investigator, I often find that employees will speak more freely with me and provide more complete and detailed information than originally reported internally to HR. With the benefit of more complete information, I am able to render better-informed findings and provide the employer the context needed for sound decisions and better workplace practices going forward.

In the context of Muldrow, a prompt and impartial investigation may also help employers avoid taking employment actions that later end up in litigation, by identifying responses and practices that should be avoided.

If an employee complains about sex discrimination, for example, and a prompt, neutral investigation confirms there may be some form of discrimination occurring, the employer will be in a position to avoid taking actions that could lead to liability — actions such as transferring the complaining employee to another position that changes the terms and conditions of his or her employment, changing the employee’s shift without his or her consent, or changing the job duties in a way that harms the employee’s chances for advancement. Each of these changes may not be considered “significant” changes, but under Muldrow, they could nonetheless result in liability for discrimination.

The employment law landscape is continuously shifting, as Muldrow v. City of St. Louis illustrates. Employers should continue to seek guidance and assistance from experienced labor and employment attorneys to ensure their policies are up to date and implemented properly and that, when complaints arise, they are investigated quickly and neutrally.

Michael Roundy a partner at the Springfield-based law firm Bulkley Richardson.

State Awards More Than $3.5 Million to Manufacturers

By Contributor October 10, 2024

Special Coverage Technology

Designs on Innovation

Twenty-three companies, including five from Western Mass., were awarded significant grants at this year’s Manufacturing Mash-Up at Gillette Stadium.

Yvonne Hao, secretary of Economic Development, put it succinctly when she explained the critical intersection of manufacturing, technology and innovation, and workforce development in Massachusetts.

“Massachusetts excels in advanced manufacturing because of our robust ecosystem made up of researchers discovering cutting-edge tools and technologies, universities spinning out startups and a pipeline of talented workers, and businesses advancing new solutions to meet global demands,” Hao said during last month’s Manufacturing Mash-Up at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. “We’re excited to showcase the strength of our ecosystem at the annual Mash-Up event, and to invest in the manufacturing sector through these MMAP awards.”

Specifically, she was referring to more than $3.5 million distributed at the event to 23 manufacturing companies through the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP), which aims to strengthen supply chains and spur growth in the manufacturing sector. The grants will support the creation of up to 130 advanced-manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts and training for up to 151 workers.

“Massachusetts companies benefit from a state that engages with the private sector to catalyze collaborations with nonprofit partners and provide the resources needed to support growth in manufacturing through the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies.”

The Mash-Up, which brings together companies, students, and state officials, is hosted annually by the Massachusetts Center of Advanced Manufacturing (CAM), a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), a public economic-development agency tasked with supporting business formation and growth in the Commonwealth’s tech and innovation sectors.

“Every year, the Mash-Up proves Massachusetts has a vibrant and engaged manufacturing ecosystem,” MassTech CEO Carolyn Kirk said. “CAM is inspiring the next-generation workforce to enter the field, as evidenced by the hundreds of students who turn out to participate in the event.”

MMAP invests in small- to medium-sized manufacturers, funds capital equipment purchases, and creates partnerships between the manufacturers and nonprofit, academic, or quasi-public partners.

Yvonne Hao

“Massachusetts excels in advanced manufacturing because of our robust ecosystem made up of researchers discovering cutting-edge tools and technologies, universities spinning out startups and a pipeline of talented workers, and businesses advancing new solutions to meet global demands.”

“Massachusetts companies benefit from a state that engages with the private sector to catalyze collaborations with nonprofit partners and provide the resources needed to support growth in manufacturing through the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies,” said Ben Linville-Engler, CAM’s chief investment strategist and acting director. “Programs like MMAP also invest in workers through new jobs and upskilling opportunities, which will help ensure we have a strong advanced-manufacturing technology and talent base to support sectors across the Commonwealth’s economy.”

Local Impact

Five of the 23 companies awarded grants are based in the Pioneer Valley or the Berkshires. The total amount is $772,134.38, and the projects will create an estimated 27 to 35 jobs.

• Bay State Machine in Easthampton is a manufacturer of components for a wide array of companies within the defense, aerospace, medical, and semiconductor industries. Its $179,000 grant will enable Bay State to purchase a five-axis CNC machining center with an auto loader, allowing it to run lights-out to support its increasing demand for complex parts. As a result of this project, Bay State expects to upskill one to three employees.

• Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing in Lee is a contract manufacturer that produces sterile injectable drugs for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. Its $200,000 grant will enable it to purchase a state-of-the-art, high-capacity, pharmaceutical-grade vial washer, allowing Berkshire Sterile to ensure compliance with stringent regulations, increase automation capabilities, and save energy while reducing wastewater production. As a result of this project, Berkshire Sterile expects to upskill at least 11 employees.

• Cartamundi in East Longmeadow is a card- and board-game manufacturer that produces games for Hasbro and others. Its $193,134.38 grant will enable it to purchase a high speed, side-weld pouch machine for the manufacturing of plastic card sleeves used to protect trading, game, and collectible cards. There are no known manufacturers of protective sleeves within the U.S., with the current sleeves on the market being produced in China, Vietnam, and Japan. As a result of this project, Cartamundi expects to upskill four to six employees.

• Elegant Stitches Inc. in Pittsfield is a minority-owned custom embroidery and screen-printing company, whose clients include the U.S. Army and the FBI. Its $198,930.21 grant will enable it to purchase two new embroidery machines, a laser cutter and engraver, and a robotic sewing machine, allowing it to produce at higher volumes and efficiency and positioning the company to be a formidable manufacturer in the defense industry. As a result of this project, Elegant Stitches expects to upskill four to six employees.

• Lenco Industries Inc. is the nation’s leading designer and manufacturer of commercial armored response and rescue vehicles used by the U.S. military, U.S. law enforcement, and government agencies worldwide. Its $200,000 grant will enable it to purchase a robotic welding system, allowing it to automate a formerly manual process. Lenco will produce small batches of custom parts and high-volume components at a quality that will meet strict standards. As a result of this project, it expects to upskill seven to 10 employees.

The 18 other grant awardees include Accutronics LCC in Chelmsford ($200,000), Aimtek in Auburn ($106,205), Allium Engineering in Somerville ($200,000), Alogus Innovation & Design in Somerville ($55,217), Atlas Devices in Chelmsford ($100,000), Evans Machine Co. in Brockton ($200,000), Finwave Semiconductor Inc. in Waltham ($61,972), Gemline in Lawerence ($200,000), H&S Tool and Engineering Inc. in Fall River ($200,000), Innofiber in Sterling ($110,000), Iradion in Uxbridge ($84,255), OutCast Lures in Holliston ($58,894), RH Adhesives in Acton ($200,000), Salem Metal Inc. in Middleton ($200,000), South Shore Millwork Inc. in Norton ($200,000), Steele Canvas Basket Corp. in Wilmington ($139,851), Stergis Windows and Doors in Attleboro ($200,000), and Wellness Croft Inc. in Plymouth ($100,000).

Wilbraham Balances Growth, Small-town Feel

By George O'Brien September 27, 2024

Community Spotlight

Mike and Barbara Trombley returned to Wilbraham for its quality of life — and to be the succession plan for the financial-services firm started by Mike’s father.

Like many young people who grow up in Western Mass., Mike Trombley left this region to start his professional career and then returned because of the quality of life it affords.

His story, and his career, have not been like most others, though.

Indeed, Trombley, who excelled on the baseball diamond at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, would go on to play to play at Duke and be drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

Mostly a relief pitcher — with a career record of 37-47 and a high of 24 saves in 1995 — he played for the Twins, Orioles, and, briefly, the Dodgers until 2002. Living in Florida with his wife, Barbara, and three children after his playing days were over, he dabbled in real estate and managed to survive relatively unscathed when the market collapsed.

By 2009, the Trombleys decided that Florida wasn’t really for them, so they relocated to Wilbraham to live and essentially become the succession plan for Mike’s father, Ray Trombley, who founded the financial-services firm Trombley Associates in 1965.

The Wilbraham Mike returned to was and is very much like the one he left, meaning it has maintained its small-town charm and rural character — there are more than 20 farms within the community.

But there have been some significant changes, including the mailing address for the Trombley firm — Post Office Park on Route 20, a business park that includes the Scantic Valley YMCA, a post office (hence the name), and dozens of businesses — as well as many new businesses along that thoroughfare. There have also been some changes on Main Street and just off it, including the town’s new senior center, which was a dozen years in the making, and a new mixed-use development that includes several apartments, a brewery, a restaurant, and a wine-and-cheese shop.

This combination of small-time charm and an eclectic business community makes Wilbraham an attractive community, one where residents sometimes take all they have for granted but shouldn’t, Mike said.

“This is the quintessential New England town; any time anyone would go down Main Street and see Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the Village Store … it’s just a picturesque postcard driving through town.”

“It’s very interesting seeing Wilbraham as an adult. I grew up in this town, then left to go to go to college and play baseball; we were away a long time and came back. To see it as an adult … Barbara said to me, and it’s true, ‘Wilbraham is a charming town.’

“I’m a big fan of New England,” he went on. “And this is the quintessential New England town; any time anyone would go down Main Street and see Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the Village Store … it’s just a picturesque postcard driving through town, especially at this time of year, and I appreciate it much more as an adult.”

This is the message the town’s Economic Development Committee is trying to put out — or, at least, part of the message.

Indeed, the commission has ramped up efforts to let it be known that this community of almost 15,000 people is open for business and has plenty to offer those who wish to set up shop here.

That list includes a single tax rate, one lower for businesses than neighboring Springfield (and some other communities, for that matter); busy Route 20, which is already home to dozens of businesses, with room for many more; access to other neighboring communities; proximity to what will be a totally reimagined Eastfield Mall; that aforementioned quality of life; and, coming sometime soon, a town-owned fiber network that will bring faster and more reliable service to residents and businesses alike.

“We have many attractive selling points here in Wilbraham,” said Mike Mazzuca, chair of the Economic Development Committee. “And we’re going to work harder to make sure businesses are aware of all that we have to offer.”

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Wilbraham and its ongoing, and quite successful, efforts to balance its rural character with needed business growth.

Getting Down to Business

Brady Suomala is a senior at Minnechaug High, captain of the soccer team, and … an intern with the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, which counts Wilbraham among the five communities it serves.

Since coming aboard just after school started, Suomala, who is focusing his internship on marketing and graphics, has been visiting many businesses in town with chamber Executive Director Grace Barone. He’s been talking with their graphics and marketing people about their work and possible career paths, while also, in some cases, gauging their marketing needs and whether the chamber might be of any assistance.

He’s stopped by a few banks, and recently visited with Sandy Polom, owner of the Scented Garden Gift Shoppe, located in the Wilbraham Shops on Route 20, who is coming up on her five-year anniversary of buying the business and is planning a celebration.

As an intern with the ERC5 Chamber of Commerce, high-school senior Brady Suomala is gaining unique insight into Wibraham’s business community.

Suomala’s work to date relates the importance of internships like his to introducing young people to the world of work, while also introducing them to businesses and possible careers. It also helps tell the story of Wilbraham’s business community, which, as noted, is both diverse — with a blend of local companies and regional and even national chains (like Home Depot) — and deep, with many businesses, like Trombley Associates, the Scented Garden, Rice’s Fruit Farm, and many others having well-established roots.

Indeed, the Scented Garden has been a mainstay in the community, and region, for more than 30 years now.

“We reached out to businesses at the mall and were successful in bringing a few here.”

Polom, who had been in medical and pharmaceutical sales for 26 years, was looking for a change, and less travel, and bought the business five years ago.

That was just a few months before COVID, which wound up essentially shutting her down for three and half months.

“That was a little scary, to say the least,” she said, adding that the pause, while unwelcome, gave her an opportunity to refresh the store and make some needed changes. Upon reopening, she has been continuously buoyed by local support — a running theme among business owners in town — but also shoppers from neighboring communities and those passing through along Route 20 or stopping in to other businesses in the shops.

They’re drawn to her mix of gift items, from women’s and children’s clothing to jewelry to home items, with a focus on products made in this country.

As for Trombley Associates, it has been a nice, but not easy, transition for Mike and a solid second career, one where Barbara, a CPA by trade, is his business partner.

Barbara, a frequent contributor of articles to BusinessWest on the many aspects of financial planning, handles the tax side of the business, but also shares the financial-planning work with Mike.

Wilbraham at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1763
Population: 14,613
Area: 22.4 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $18.50
Commercial Tax Rate: $18.50
Median Household Income: $65,014
Median Family Income: $73,825
Type of government: Board of Selectmen, Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Baystate Wing Wilbraham Medical Center; Friendly Ice Cream Corp.; Big Y; Home Depot; Wilbraham & Monson Academy
*Latest information available

Together, they have grown the client portfolio and, overall, continued a business that traces it roots back 60 years.

“I think my father would be very proud that we’ve carried the torch and, hopefully, made it better in his eyes,” Mike said.

The broad goal for the town’s Economic Development Committee is to help write more success stories like these in Wilbraham, said Mazzuca, adding that the mixed-use project on Main Street, which now includes several apartments, Pafumi’s on Main restaurant, the Guilty Grape wine-and-cheese store, and Scantic River Brewery, has generated momentum in efforts to bring more businesses, and vibrancy, to what would be considered the community’s downtown, the Main Street area.

Meanwhile, Wilbraham has become more focused on promoting itself and its assets and attracting more businesses. The town was successful is recruiting two of the former tenants of the Eastfield Mall — the Mall Barber and School of Fish, an aquarium store — for some of the reasons stated earlier, such as location and proximity to Route 20.

“We reached out to businesses at the mall and were successful in bringing a few here,” said Mazzuca, “because this is a great place to do business.”

Jeff Smith, vice chair of the Economic Development Committee and a small-business owner himself, agreed. He said the town’s single tax rate has incentivized Home Depot and other businesses to locate in town, and there are many other assets as well.

“We have a lot of open space — the trail systems are extensive, and we have two fantastic farms that put on all kinds of activities in the fall,” he explained. “There’s also water, sewer, access to Route 20, and a very business-friendly town government.”

As for the planned new Eastfield Mall … there are still many questions to be answered on that project, but if it is redeveloped as planned, with a mix of local and national stores and restaurant chains, it should bring more traffic through and into Wilbraham.

“If the stores that are proposed to go up do go up, that will draw more people into the area,” Mazzuca said. “For people going to the Eastfield Mall, when it’s time to go to a restaurant, you’ll have more people coming to Wilbraham. We have fantastic restaurants here, and in addition, some of our niche shops are spectacular.”

Bottom Line

Returning to those thoughts he had about how he appreciates Wilbraham even more now than when he was growing up there, Mike Trombley said that, overall, little has changed beyond that appreciation level.

“There’s no way you can avoid progress, which is a good thing, but the town has kept its home-town feel, which is good, too,” he said, noting, as others did, that this community has much to offer — to residents, yes, but also to those who want to get down to business here.

Conference Brings Together Library, Lawyers for Civil Rights

By Joseph Bednar September 27, 2024

Entrepreneurship

Tools to Grow

Roz Freeman recognizes and values the connection between civil rights and economic justice, which is why she’s gratified by the work being done by BizGrow, an arm of Massachusetts-based Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR).

LCR was born during the Civil Rights era, said Freeman, entrepreneurship manager for Lawyers for Civil Rights, noting that it sprung from the broader, national movement known as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

LCR was created in 1968 (more on that later), but about 20 years ago, it established BizGrow, which provides free legal assistance, business support, and technical assistance to minority, immigrant, and women business owners, aiming to ensure they encounter fewer obstacles and more opportunities. Assistance can come in many areas, including starting a business, growing an enterprise, shifting ownership, managing transactional issues, or any other challenge small businesses are faced with.

Now, LCR has launched a new partnership with Springfield City Library aimed at transforming the support landscape for small-business owners and entrepreneurs in and around the city. The collaboration will kick off with the free BizGrow Conference on Thursday, Oct. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. at the library, located at 220 State St.

At the BizGrow Conference, modeled after a similar annual event in Boston, current and aspiring small-business owners will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with volunteer attorneys for free legal advice, connect with local and state organizations that provide essential resources and support to small businesses, and network with other local business owners. Dozens of business owners and entrepreneurs, pro bono attorneys, and providers of business technical assistance are expected to attend.

Roz Freeman

“We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our connections to Springfield and offer this valuable event to the small-business community,” said Priya Lane, BizGrow director at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

Birth of a Notion

LCR traces its national roots back to June 1963, when President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with 250 leading American lawyers at the White House to discuss the role lawyers could and should play in the deepening civil-rights crisis.

The nation recently had been shaken by television and news accounts of police-led violence against peaceful demonstrations led by Martin Luther King Jr., and by the spectacle of U.S. Army intervention to enforce court orders requiring the University of Alabama to admit Black students against a defiant Gov. George Wallace.

The Kennedy brothers made an appeal to the lawyers to mobilize the voice and work of the legal profession to support the struggle for civil rights in the nation. Locally, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Assoc. was formed in 1968. Funded with a grant from the Ford Foundation and contributions from major Boston law firms, it became the first of eight independent affiliates of the national Lawyers’ Committee. The only Lawyers’ Committee in the country affiliated with a major bar association, it rebranded as Lawyers for Civil Rights in 2018.

But before that, BizGrow developed from a recognition that social justice also means economic opportunity, and LCR had a role to play there as well.

Priya Lane

“Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

“After many years, we wanted to connect fighting for justice with economic justice and wealth creation for disadvantaged communities,” Freeman explained. “Lawyers for Civil Rights and BizGrow partner with law firms that provide pro bono opportunities to support small businesses. Businesses, in turn, get a free legal network to support them.”

Sheila Coon, owner of Hot Oven Cookies, which has locations in Sprngfield and Chicopee, speaks well of her experiences working with lawyers through LCR, and says others should reach out.

“The attorneys I’ve connected with through LCR and BizGrow have been invaluable to solving key issues for my small business,” she noted. “I am so excited that this amazing resource is coming to Springfield.”

Hot Oven is just one of roughly 1,600 different businesses Lawyers for Civil Rights has worked with in 2024 alone through workshops, free legal clinics, and its Boston conference, Freeman told BusinessWest.

And many one-on-one connections made at the conference between entrepreneurs and attorneys will be forged before the event itself, to ensure that each volunteer lawyer has the background needed to help a particular business owner.

“We match businesses with the right attorneys in the area; we talk ahead of time to make sure the questions are clear and they’re able to make most of the meeting with the attorney during the conference,” she explained. “Then, if they need long-term legal representation, we can make a match for free legal support. Any questions that don’t get answered within a 30-minute session during the conference, we can follow up with support.”

Support for the Journey

Of course, BizGrow’s presence in Springfield will extend well beyond one conference.

“We are reaching out to small-business owners to make sure they’re getting the wraparound supports that businesses need. So we offer workshops and legal clinics, too,” Freeman said. “But the reason for the in-person conference is we want to not only bring resources on the ground in Springfield, but also provide a networking opportunity for small businesses. That’s why we partnered with the library.

“Fifteen different small-business resource partners will be there. So entrepreneurs can come to the event and get the support they need and make connections with many of those business resources in the region,” she added. “We’re looking to support Western Mass. businesses in a way we haven’t before.”

The partnership with Lawyers for Civil Rights promises to be “a fantastic opportunity for Springfield’s small-business community,” said Elizabeth McKinstry, programming and training librarian for the 167-year-old Springfield City Library.

“We are thrilled to host the BizGrow Conference and bring such vital resources to our local entrepreneurs,” she added. “For many small-business owners, access to legal advice and business networks can be a game changer. We are hopeful this event will have a lasting impact on the growth of small businesses in our community.”

To register for the BizGrow Conference Springfield, visit bit.ly/BizGrowSpringfield2024.

Stay Safe by Preparing for Holiday Driving Season

By Contributor September 27, 2024

Insurance

Rules of the Road

By Jack Dowd

Holiday season, which will ramp up over the next few months, is peak travel time. “From Atlantic to Pacific / Gee, the traffic is terrific,” goes the song, and it’s about 10 times truer today than it was when Perry Como sang it in 1954. The more people on the road, the more important it is to take extra care preparing for your trip and driving with safety in mind.

Preparation Is Key

90% of safe travel is in the planning. Even if you’ve driven to grandmother’s house more times than you can count, it’s still essential to run through a safety checklist before you hit the road.

Auto Insurance

Make sure your auto or motorcycle insurance policy is up to date and has the coverage you need. The rates of accidents spike during the holiday season, and even the most careful drivers can find themselves in dangerous situations. It’s best to be sure you’re covered.

Jack Dowd

“The one guaranteed result of road rage is regret. Don’t leap at the opportunity to join in on someone else’s bad judgment.”

License and Registration, Please

And pack proof of insurance while you’re at it. Again, despite a careful driver’s best efforts, accidents do happen, so be sure you’ve got an active driver’s license, current registration, and proof of insurance at the ready. We know you’ll follow all state and local speed limits, of course, so we won’t even bother to discuss that here.

Roadside Assistance

Whether you have roadside assistance through your insurance agency, your bank, a cell-phone carrier, or AAA, make sure your policy is active before you set out on your trip. If you choose not to participate in a roadside assistance program, be sure you have all the tools you need to change a tire or take care of any other minor repair en route. While you’re at it, check your spare and be sure it’s properly inflated and in good condition.

Basic Car Maintenance

If you’ve been putting off an oil change and haven’t checked your tire pressure in a while, take a little time to get your car ready for the long haul. Check the levels of oil, coolant, windshield fluid, and brake fluid. Test your lights, including turn signals, taillights, reverse lights, and the low and high beams on your headlights. Bring your tires up to their recommended PSI. Make sure your wipers work well and your windows are clean.

Know Where You’re Going

Don’t be too dependent on your phone to tell you where to go. Review your route carefully before you leave, and note some of the key milestones, exits, and turns. Heaven forbid you lose cell service, overshoot a turn, and miss the turkey!

Watch the Weather

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts for all the regions you’ll pass through along the way. Watch out for storm warnings and predictions of rain, snow, and ice. If it looks like a major storm will impact your route, seriously consider delaying the trip until it’s cleared. If you’re traveling through steep or mountainous terrain, or roads that tend not to be cleared regularly, bring tire chains with you or put your snow tires on before you leave.

Charge Your Devices

Start your drive with a fully charged phone. Bring along both a car charger and a rechargeable battery pack. That way, should your car break down, you can still keep your phone charged to call emergency services, friends, relatives, hotels, or airlines.

Keep a Calm State of Mind

When it comes to safe holiday driving, getting there is what’s important. Don’t worry about getting there before the car in the other lane or teaching that tailgater a lesson. It’s not a contest, and it’s not a race. The one guaranteed result of road rage is regret. Don’t leap at the opportunity to join in on someone else’s bad judgment. Maintain a smooth, safe speed; drive carefully; and visualize grandma’s apple pie. Relaxing music also goes a long way.

Mind the Speed Limit

Should you still be tempted to drive aggressively to make up time, get ready for a big surprise. According to AAA, speeding accomplishes nothing of the sort. If you drive 65 mph on a 45 mph-posted road for five miles, the most you will save is a whopping 1.9 minutes — not exactly worth risking your life or the lives of others. Keep cool and prioritize arriving in one piece.

Jack Dowd is vice president of the Dowd Agencies in Holyoke.

State Expands Job-training Programs for Homeless Individuals

By Contributor September 27, 2024

Manufacturing

Innovative Strategy

The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced the expansion of job-training programs for individuals who face barriers to employment, including those staying in Emergency Assistance (EA) shelters. These programs are part of the administration’s efforts to meet the needs of the state’s employers who are looking to hire skilled talent and connect individuals experiencing homelessness with the training they need to get jobs and move out of shelters into more stable housing.

The administration has created a new ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) for Employment program to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with ESOL training, job-placement programs, and career wrap-around services. Eligible applicants, including community-based organizations, training providers, employers, community colleges, and industry associations, can apply at the Commonwealth Corp. website, commcorp.org/funding. The program is open to work-authorized individuals who are eligible for EA, which includes both long-term Massachusetts families and newly arrived immigrant families.

“Training and job-placement programs provide more access to underserved communities while helping our businesses stay competitive.”

“Employers across Massachusetts have job openings in high-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, human services, and hospitality. We also have individuals in EA shelter who have their work authorizations, who want to contribute to our communities and economy, and who want to move their families out of shelter into more stable housing,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “These programs help us meet all of those needs by providing EA residents with the training they need to succeed in the workplace and connecting them directly with employers who are hiring. We’re grateful to the Legislature for their continued partnership as we work to lessen the strain on the EA system and strengthen our economy.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll added that “training and job-placement programs provide more access to underserved communities while helping our businesses stay competitive. We know language is a barrier to employment, and that’s why the administration has launched a cross-secretariat effort to increase ESOL programs across the state, which will improve worker skills and productivity for our businesses.”

The administration has also made additional funding available for current Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF) awardees to incorporate additional cohorts or slots into pre-existing, currently active grants, including Kenneth Donnelly Success grants, ESOL Continuation grants, and Healthcare and Behavioral Health Hub grants. The WCTF invests in initiatives aimed at increasing access to well-paying jobs for residents facing employment barriers and improving the competitive stature of Massachusetts businesses by enhancing worker skills and productivity.

The funding for these programs was provided for in the April 2024 supplemental budget and distributed by Commonwealth Corp.

Additionally, the Division of Apprentice Standards (DAS) has made $500,000 available for training programs for individuals and families in the Emergency Assistance program or in temporary respite sites across the state.

“The Healey-Driscoll administration has been intentional in our efforts to connect work-authorized individuals with job training and placement, and these grants will help this effort by providing necessary workforce supports for some of our most vulnerable residents,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said. “We look forward to working with applicants as they provide vital ESOL training and help individuals and families foster economic stability.”

Commonwealth Corp. President and CEO Molly Jacobson added that “this funding will support employers, training providers, and regional partners breaking down barriers for thousands of job seekers, particularly those experiencing homelessness.”