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Partnership Between MCLA, BIC Takes Aim at Workforce Needs

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Special Coverage Technology

Creating Collisions

While the pandemic was a time of upheaval in higher education, not all the changes that occurred were negative.

Indeed, Gina Puc said colleges and universities have seen higher education transformed in some ways, with a new sensitivity to innovative models of learning.

“We took a close look at how we were serving students in this new environment,” said Puc, chief of staff at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams. And one good example is MCLA’s new partnership with the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) in Pittsfield on an MBA program to enhance and expand experiences and career connections to prepare graduates for innovation-driven careers in the Berkshires and beyond. 

This fall and spring, BIC will host students from MCLA for 10 Saturdays as part of their MBA program, which will be taught online and on-site at BIC in a hybrid format. Applications for the fall 2023 program are due by Aug. 18.  

Puc said the partnership is reaching students who may not have thought about getting their MBAs pre-pandemic, but are drawn by this innovative, experiential model. “We’re meeting students at this moment in time through the collaborative nature of this MBA program.”

The BIC has been an intriguing story in its own right. With the approval of more than 80 regional stakeholders in the private sector, government, and academia, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded the city of Pittsfield a $9.7 million capital grant in May 2014, with the goal of developing a 20,000-square-foot innovation center in Pittsfield’s William Stanley Business Park, the former site of General Electric.

These days, the BIC, which officially opened in 2020, provides regional manufacturers and STEM businesses with advanced research and development equipment, state-of-the-art lab and training facilities, and collaboration opportunities with BIC’s research partners, as well as internship and apprenticeship programs for local students.

A relationship with Berkshire County’s only four-year public college just made sense, said Dennis Rebelo, BIC’s chief learning officer.

“BIC’s three pillars are community, technology, and learning, and innovation is most likely to be robust and have a likelihood of succeeding at the interaction of those [pillars],” he explained, noting that such interactions can range from hyper-localizing the supply chain of building a new product to technology workshops that teach companies — from hundred-year-old firms like Crane Currency to much newer entities like Boyd Biomedical — how technology can be a tranformative agent in ways they might not have considered.

Gina Puc

Coming out of the pandemic, Gina Puc says, higher education was being transformed, and colleges were taking a hard look at serving students in more innovative ways.

“There are different ways technology can be a catalyst in economic growth and development,” he said. “When we saw what was happening with MCLA, we started exploring how they could be more embedded in our world and how we could serve them. It made sense to host their MBA program as partners; we’re now referring to it as an innovation-based MBA.

“An MBA student does a capstone — maybe it’s building a new product, like an advanced car seat, maybe a therapeutic device, or maybe something like SolaBlock,” he went on, referring to the Easthampton-based developer of solar masonry units. “They can have coffee with an industry leader and talk about clean tech. They have access to all these organizations.”

MCLA President James Birge, a BIC board member, added that “it’s incredible to see two major Berkshire County institutions come together to leverage the growth of MCLA’s programming with the BIC advancement opportunities. I’m looking forward to the networking and educational opportunities this will provide for our MBA students and the collaborations with industry leaders at the BIC.”

 

Innovative Model

Through this partnership, MCLA aims to contribute to the BIC’s efforts to foster growth within the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and all regional technology and innovation-based sectors. 

“To explain an MBA influenced by innovation … you could substitute the word innovation for creativity. What we’re able to do by having the classes at the BIC is that we’re allowing students to be adjacent to the creative process,” Rebelo said. “To be able to spark additional thinking that conjures up new ideas that can also be socially responsible is a big win. You may think about technology as anti-human, but we think about it as really serving humanity … we think about things more from a humanitarian standpoint.”

Dennis Rebelo

Dennis Rebelo

“When we saw what was happening with MCLA, we started exploring how they could be more embedded in our world and how we could serve them.”

Josh Mendel, associate dean of Graduate and Continuing Education at MCLA, agreed. “The possibilities are really limitless for our students to embrace and be a part of the future of advanced technologies,” he said, adding that this partnership allows the college to fulfill the critical needs of the advanced-manufacturing industry in Berkshire County to grow and enhance the future of the county’s workforce, and that partnering with BIC in this way was a logical next step in the MBA program.

“We needed to be at this hub of innovation, advancement, and opportunities for students to grow and support a critical sector in the Berkshires,” he explained.

Mendel said he expects applicants to the program to be a blend of recent MCLA graduates with a passion and desire to stay in the Berkshires and want to be part of the energy happening at BIC, and also working professionals who have an interest in getting their MBA to get to the next pay grade or promotional opportunity.

“Some are about to become entrepreneurs; we’ve had several students in the past couple of years start their own business organization,” he said. “So this made so much logical sense — our mission is to support critical growth sectors in the Berkshires, and what better partner than BIC?”

The Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation

The Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation at MCLA, which prepares students to enter the research pipeline and STEM careers.

The Berkshire Innovation Center’s programming includes the BIC Manufacturing Academy, an industry-led training collaborative designed to address persistent challenges facing the manufacturing economy in the Berkshire region by closing the gap between local supply-chain capabilities and the needs of larger manufacturers through ongoing education, training, and technology assistance. Another program is the BIC Stage 2 Accelerator, a 30-week, hands-on, results-oriented program designed to serve early-stage tech startups that are building a physical product and moving toward the manufacturing phase.

Josh Mendel

Josh Mendel

“We needed to be at this hub of innovation, advancement, and opportunities for students to grow and support a critical sector in the Berkshires.”

There’s also a robust slate of ‘learning series’ — for students, BIC members, community members, and executives — some of which MCLA’s students will be able to access. But beyond the specific programming, Rebelo said, the BIC is also a space that will excite students about learning, not only through classes and panel discussions, but through day-to-day conversations with people doing innovative work.

“They’ll have access to resources and ‘collisions’ — and the collisions they make in the café could lead to some of the most valuable outcomes of these innovative relationships,” he noted.

 

Staying Connected

Drawing on the ‘systems thinking’ philosophy of Peter Senge, a pioneer in organizational development, Rebelo noted that, “if we’re going to be a learning organization that thrives in the 21st century, MCLA and BIC have to be in constant conversations about the systems we’re creating together and strive for mastery of the educational experience of the adult learner.”

In addition, Mendel told BusinessWest that MCLA draws many students from outside the Berkshires, and connecting them to a hub like BIC could be a factor in keeping young talent within the region.

“It’s very important to us to connect these students back to these companies and organizations and job opportunities and internships, so they stay and grow and raise families and have full-time careers here in the Berkshires.”

Puc agreed. “We’re in a rural community, and I can’t think of another hub like BIC that serves a rural community they way they are. That speaks to the efficacy of our educational programs and the innovation of BIC, in the way we serve learners in a rural community.”

Square One Moves Forward with New Facility in Springfield’s South End

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Square One’s facility
Nonprofit Management Special Coverage

Building on a Legacy

aerial photo shows the former Square One property

This aerial photo shows the former Square One property, at lower right, the day after the tornado ripped through Springfield’s South End in 2011.
Photo by John Suchocki The Republican

While early-education provider Square One has a presence in several Springfield neighborhoods and serves residents city-wide, it has always been associated with the South End.

That’s where it’s been headquartered since the beginning, in 1883, when it was founded as Springfield Day Nursery by Harriett Merriam, the daughter of Charles Merriam, of Merriam-Webster dictionary fame, to meet a critical need for childcare among the city’s working families, said Dawn DiStefano, the agency’s president and CEO.

“We’ve always been anchored in the South End,” she said. “And it doesn’t take too much effort to walk into the South End and see that it is in woeful need of some attention.”

The bond with the South End was — and is — so strong that, when the agency’s facilities at 947 Main St. were heavily damaged by the June 1, 2011 tornado that devastated a large swath of that neighborhood and eventually razed, then-President and CEO Joan Kagan quickly pledged that the agency, which soon started leasing space at 1095 Main St., would rebuild in that section of the city.

But fulfilling that pledge has proven to be an enormous challenge.

“We’ve always been anchored in the South End. And it doesn’t take too much effort to walk into the South End and see that it is in woeful need of some attention.”

Indeed, although other options were looked at early on, it quickly became clear that, if the agency was going to rebuild in the South End, it would have to be on the property it owned, DiStefano said. And this property is fraught with challenges because of its small size, odd dimensions, contamination in the wake of the tornado, and other factors.

But, in a measure of its commitment to the South End, the agency is taking on all those challenges and moving forward with plans for a 26,000-square-foot, $12 million, three-story facility that will be built on the east end of the property that fronts Main Street.

Dawn DiStefano

Dawn DiStefano stands at the site on Main Street where Square One had a facility — and will again.

Plans call for erecting a Butler-style building on the property, one that features a number of pre-fabricated elements, which serves to reduce the overall cost of designing and building a structure, DiStefano said.

“We’re savings millions of dollars because we’re not doing a traditional brick-and-mortar building,” she explained, adding that the agency is working with One Development & Construction LLC in Westfield, which specializes in Butler-style construction, on the project.

The current timetable calls for construction to begin late this year, probably November, with the new facility slated to open its doors in the fall of 2024.

The agency is in the early — also known as the ‘quiet’ — stage of a capital campaign for the new building, with nearly $3 million committed to date — $950,000 from the city in the form of ARPA money, and a $2 million commitment from the state.

DiStefano said early indications suggest a strong measure of support for Square One’s initiative, and she expects the nonprofit will be able to open its facility with little, if any, debt.

“It’s all achievable … but we’re not working with 10 acres here. We ultimately determined that we could do something with this site.”

“The most enjoyable, and most encouraging, part of this project has been how many people and institutions are compelled to give or have shown promise,” she explained, adding that the agency undertook a feasibility study on the campaign, one that surveyed 42 individuals and companies and revealed “100% intent to support the project.”

For this issue and its focus on the region’s nonprofit sector, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Square One’s building plans and how they reflect a nearly century-and-a-half-old commitment to a city and especially one of its proudest, and neediest, neighborhoods.

 

Building Momentum

As she talked about the many challenges with building a new home for Square One, DiStefano said it’s good to keep things in their proper perspective.

Indeed, while there has been nothing easy about this building project, and it has a long way to go, the overall degree of difficulty pales in comparison — in most respects, anyway — with coming back from the twin disasters of 2011 and 2012 — and coping with the pandemic of 2020, for that matter.

The agency was completely displaced by the 2011 tornado; staff, teachers, and students were forced from the building and never allowed to return before engineers determined that it had to be demolished. In 2012, a natural-gas explosion downtown extensively damaged another Square One learning facility, to the point where it had to be abandoned. And early in the pandemic, Square One was forced to close its childcare facilities, as well as its operations on Main Street, before having to completely revamp operations after it was allowed to reopen to meet a huge need for childcare services.

Square One’s facility

An architect’s rendering of Square One’s facility to be built in Springfield’s South End.

The agency managed to push on and meet its broad mission — it provides early-learning services to more than 500 infants, toddlers, and school-aged children, and also offers an array of support services to more than 1,500 families each year — through all of that, DiStefano said, adding that the ability to do so offers strong testimony to the imagination and resiliency of its staff.

Those same qualities have been necessary for this building project, she went on, adding that, while rebuilding in the South End has always been the goal and the promise, it has proven to be a daunting challenge.

Indeed, the property that was ultimately destroyed by the tornado in 2011 was wedged into a narrow but deep lot, said DiStefano noted there was an administration building fronting Main Street and a two-story, L-shaped school building that extended eastward a few hundred feet. In a perfect world, or at least in a neighborhood with several alternatives when it comes to buildable lots and available property, Square One almost certainly wouldn’t rebuild on its former site, she added.

But this isn’t a perfect world. And Square One is building here only because there are few if any other options, she said, adding that she tried to purchase the brick property adjacent to former home of the agency, a move that would have provided considerably more frontage on Main Street, but was unsuccessful in that effort, just as her predecessor was unsuccessful in her efforts to secure other lots on which to build.

So the agency then focused its attention on building on its former home — an undertaking made challenging by the size and shape of the property as well as contamination from the demolition of the structures that once occupied the site.

“The bricks and all the materials from the homes that were razed obviously have asbestos and lead and other chemicals that have now seeped into the ground,” the explained, adding that the agency is currently working with a remediation company to determine just what is in the ground and what needs to be done to make the property ready for its intended use — as a home for programs for children.

Before even getting to that point, though, the agency had to conduct some due diligence to make sure it was feasible to build what it wanted to build on that parcel.

“This land is so awkward and small and weird that we didn’t want to buy it if we couldn’t build a building on it,” she explained, adding that Square One engaged in discussions with One Development to determine if its plan, its dream, was, in fact, doable.

Brad Miller, senior project manager with One Development, said that he and others ultimately determined that the answer to that question is ‘yes.’

“It is a challenging site because of its narrowness — it’s wedged between Hubbard and Williams streets,” he explained. “We only have so many options as far as the building footprint goes. The agency also needs a certain number of parking spaces, which we have to find a location for on that site, as well as a playground. It’s all achievable … but we’re not working with 10 acres here. We ultimately determined that we could do something with this site.”

The plans, still to be finalized, call for those parking spaces to be located on the Main Street end of the property, with the playground and building located toward the rear of the site, on a combination of the original site and a few smaller parcels acquired by the agency, DiStefano explained.

The planned structure will give the agency far more space than it has presently in the South End, she said, adding that the facility destroyed by the tornado had more classrooms than the currently facility.

Miller described what is planned for the site as a ‘Butler-hybrid’ building, a combination of conventional steel structure, with Butler components on the interior.

“This will a be steel-framed building with insulated metal panels on the outside, as well as some masonry on the first floor of the building,” he explained, adding that it will have a glass entranceway.

This pre-engineered building will ultimately save on design costs, he went on, adding that this is a design-build project, with One Development managing a large portion of the design as well as the construction.

While work continues on design aspects of the building project, Square One is proceeding with its capital campaign to raise funds to build the new facility.

As noted earlier, the agency has entered the quiet phase of the campaign, focusing on major grants from foundations and other donors, DiStefano said, adding that, by the start of 2024, she anticipates the process will enter the public phase.

 

Bottom Line

Returning to that feasibility study on the capital campaign and the resounding support it revealed, DiStefano said those results validate the agency’s determination to clear a long row of hurdles and ultimately build in the neighborhood where it was founded back when Chester A. Arthur was patrolling the White House.

“Those results make it enjoyable — that pushes you when you’re ready to say that this piece of land is too difficult to build on and it’s going to cost too much to do this,” she said, adding that this vote of confidence provides another dose of determination.

And even more commitment for Square One to build on a legacy that’s been 140 years in the making.

 

BusinessTalk with Chikmedia’s Meghan Rothschild

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Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 173: July 31, 2023

Joe Interviews Chikmedia’s Meghan Rothschild

Even with a strong background in marketing, Meghan Rothschild had reservations about launching her own business. But once she took the leap in 2013, she had plenty of confidence in her vision for the company: one of fierceness, attitude, and constant learning in the service of helping clients — many of them women business owners as well — reach the next level through better branding and messaging. As Chikmedia celebrates its 10th anniversary, Meghan joins BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar on the next installment of BusinessTalk for a wide-ranging conversation about the challenges of entrpreneurship, the evolving world of marketing, and her important work in the realm of skin-cancer awareness. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

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BusinessTalk with Valley Blue Sox General Manager Tyler Descheneaux

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Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 172: July 24, 2023

BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks to Valley Blue Sox General Manager Tyler Descheneaux

It’s not easy building a sports franchise that wins on the field while consistently growing its attendance and presence in the community. But the Valley Blue Sox, which has brought collegiate summer baseball to Holyoke since 2008, has certainly done both. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, as the team makes a late-season playoff push, General Manager Tyler Descheneaux joins BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar for a wide-ranging discussion of what it takes to build a roster; how the team is connecting with families, businesses, and nonprofits through promotions and community outreach; how attendance has been ticking back up since the pandemic; and much more. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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Banks Fight Upstream from Domino Effect of Higher Interest Rates

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Banking and Financial Services Community Spotlight Special Coverage

An Uphill Climb

Dan Moriarty was among the participants in the recent IRONMAN competition that wound its way through many Western Mass. communities.

The president and CEO of Monson Savings bank, Moriarty is also an avid biker, and decided to take things up a notch — or two, or three — with the IRONMAN, which featured a mile swim, downstream, in the Connecticut River; a 56-mile bike trek; and a half-marathon (13 miles and change).

Moriarty said his time — and he doesn’t like to talk about time — was roughly seven hours, and joked that that he believes he met what was his primary goal: “I wanted to come in first among all the local bank presidents.”

As things are turning out, the IRONMAN isn’t the only test of endurance he will face this year and next (yes, he’s already scheduled to take part again in 2024). He and all other banking leaders are facing another stern challenge, and where they finish on this one … well, there are several factors that will ultimately determine that, as we’ll see.

Indeed, the past year or so has been a long, mostly uphill, upstream stretch for banks, which are being severely tested by unprecedented interest rates hikes implemented by the Fed, which have a domino effect on banks — and their customers. For banks, these moves are squeezing margins that were already tight, with some margins off 50 basis points or more from last year. And for public banks, their stocks have, for the most part, been hammered.

This domino effect involves everything from the huge increase in interest paid to customers on their deposits to the manner in which those interest-rate hikes have brought the home-mortgage business to a virtual standstill.

To quantify that increase in interest paid to consumers, Tom Senecal, president and CEO of PeoplesBank, recalled a quote he read from the president of a large national bank that put things in their proper perspective.

“I won’t even call this a short-term problem anymore when it comes to profitability. It’s a medium-term problem that we’re all having to adjust to.”

“He said, ‘my raw-material costs have increased 600%,’” Senecal noted. “His raw materials are the funding for deposits for his wholesale assets, which have literally gone up 600%. If you look at any business and their profit margins — our raw materials have gone up 600%, so that squeezes our margins.”

Meanwhile, with interest rates more than double what they were a year or so ago, the refi market has obviously disappeared, said Kevin O’Connor, executive vice president of Westfield Bank, adding that, with home sales, those who might be thinking about trading up wouldn’t want to trade a 2% or 3% mortgage for one closer to 7% mortgage, so they’re taking what could be called a pause.

As is the Fed, which is taking a close look at the impact of its interest-rate hikes before deciding what to do next, although most experts expect at least one more rate hike this year.

And that will keep banks on this current treadmill, said Jeff Sullivan, president and CEO of Springfield-based New Valley Bank, adding that, while there has been talk that rates might start coming down this year, that likely won’t happen until at least early next year.

By then, the country may well be in recession, adding new levels of intrigue, said Moriarty, noting that the yield curve is currently inverted, a historically accurate predictor of recession.

“We’re going to eventually get into a recession in the third or fourth quarter of this year,” he said. “We were anticipating it might happen a little earlier with hopes that the Fed would have cut rates before of 2023, but now, we’re guessing that interest rates are going to be elevated another year out until they start cutting.”

Tom Senecal

Tom Senecal says unprecedented interest-rate hikes have put a great deal of pressure on banks large and small.

Overall, banks’ fortunes are tied, ironically enough, to how well the economy is doing, and they are in the unusual position of hoping that things cool off a little, said O’Connor, adding that, like the Fed itself, banks don’t want to see efforts to curb inflation throw the economy into reverse.

The biggest question, among many others, concerns when the pendulum might start swinging in the other direction and things will improve for banks. There is no consensus there — not with the economy still doing well, a presidential election looming in 2024, and other factors.

But the general feeling is that the uphill portion of this trek won’t be over soon.

“I won’t even call this a short-term problem anymore when it comes to profitability,” Sullivan said. “It’s a medium-term problem that we’re all having to adjust to.”

Moriarty agreed, noting that, while the first two quarters of 2023 has been a difficult year for most banks, the rest of this year and 2024 might be an even more of an uphill climb.

 

Points of Interest

Senecal told BusinessWest that, as he was heading home for the first weekend in March, he planned to take a break from his phone and spend a few days unplugged.

And he did … until news broke that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in California had failed after a bank run on its deposits.

So he started looking at his phone again. And he kept looking at it.

“The weekend that SVB failed, the four largest banks in the country took in roughly $140 billion in new deposits, and community banks, in general, lost $130 million in deposits. There was a huge move to larger institutions out of fear.”

Indeed, there were many discussions with other leaders of the bank about how to communicate with customers and convince them that their deposits were safe.

“That whole weekend, myself and our commercial team and our retail people were on the phone explaining what was going on, answering their questions, and putting their minds at ease,” he recalled. “And I talked to a number of my competitors, and they were doing the same thing.”

Such discussions were necessary, he said, because even though those deposits were becoming far more burdensome, cost-wise, as he noted earlier, all banks need them to have the money to grow their loans, and consumers were getting skittish.

Jeff Sullivan

Despite the interest-rate hikes, the economy is still humming in many respects, Jeff Sullivan says, meaning the Fed may still have some work to do to slow it down.

“The weekend that SVB failed, the four largest banks in the country took in roughly $140 billion in new deposits, and community banks, in general, lost $130 million in deposits,” he said, citing a combination of concern fueled by social media and the ease with which consumers can now move money electronically as the dominant causes. “There was a huge move to larger institutions out of fear.”

Overall, there was less fallout in this region, said O’Connor, another of those banking leaders who was the phone to customers assuring them that their assets were safe, adding that the failure of SVB and a few other banks this spring, and the resulting fallout from depositors, were just one of the many speedbumps encountered by banks in 2023.

Indeed, this was a year the industry knew would be challenging — or more challenging — going in, especially with regard to rising interest rates. Just not this challenging.

“Just a year ago, rates were quite low, and everyone thought rates were going up a point and a half, maybe 2%, something in that ballpark — that was the consensus prior to August of last year, when Chairman [Jerome] Powell said, ‘no, we’re really going to stomp on the brakes,’” Sullivan said. “Up to that point, we thought that rates would go up slightly, and we were modeling our projections on that; I don’t think there’s anyone who projected that rates would go up 5% in seven months — that’s unprecedented territory, and that’s what is causing the squeeze.”

O’Connor agreed. A year or so, banks were paying maybe a half-percent interest on deposits, he recalled, adding that most new CD products being advertised are featuring rates in the 4.5% to 4.9% range on the higher end, while rates on money-market accounts are coming up as well, numbers that reflect both the need to garner new deposits and growing competion for those assets.

“You have competition from other banks, internet-only banks, the security brokers — everyone is clamoring for those deposits,” O’Connor said. “And that certainly puts pressure on all banks, including community banks.”

Institutions are adjusting to this landscape, said those we spoke with, but it’s going to take some time to fully adjust because the rate hikes came so quickly and profoundly.

And such adjustments take several forms, they said, including efforts to trade fixed-rate assets for variable-rate assets, initiatives that take time and come with their own set of risks — indeed, rates could, that’s could, go down quickly.

Dan Moriarty

Dan Moriarty says many ominous signs point toward a recession, which could bring more challenges for banks and their customers.

On the mortgage side of the equation, there aren’t many options. Senecal said PeoplesBank has been working to acquire mortgages written in areas that are still relatively hot, such as Cape Cod. Meanwhile, O’Connor said Westfield Bank and institutions like it are pushing home-equity loans, and there is a good market for them as homeowners look to take that equity and put it back into their homes or make other large purchases.

“It certainly doesn’t make up for what we’re losing in mortgages and refis, but it does help,” O’Connor said. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in home-equity loans.”

 

No Margin for Error

While banks cope with the present, there is just as much discussion, if not more, concerning what will happen next and when conditions will improve for this sector.

And most of that discussion obviously involves the Fed and what will happen with interest rates, because it’s these rates that determine what happens with all those dominoes.

There is some general uncertainty about what the Fed will do, said those we spoke with, because the jury is still out, in some respects and at least in some quarters, on whether it has accomplished its mission when it comes to slowing down the economy and curbing inflation. This uncertainty led to intense discussion at the most recent Fed board meeting, Senecal said.

“There are two schools of thought on this. One is, ‘let’s wait and see what our rate increases are doing to the economy, because it’s like steering a battleship — it doesn’t happen right away,’” he told BusinessWest. “So the Fed took this pause trying to gauge what happened, and what happened? Inflation came down little bit; it was up to 6 or 7%, and now it’s 3.5% or 4%. But their goal is to get it to 2%. So do they continue to raise rates and wait to pause, or do they raise and do a long pause to see if inflation comes down to their target level of 2%?”

“I don’t think there’s anyone who projected that rates would go up 5% in seven months — that’s unprecedented territory, and that’s what is causing the squeeze.”

While inflation slowed in June — the consumer price index rose 0.2% last month and was up 3% from a year ago, the lowest level since March 2021 — core inflation is still running well above the Fed’s 2% target. And Moriarty is among those saying there is ample evidence that the Fed still has work to do to slow the economy and further decrease inflation.

“Employment numbers are surging, and that’s an indication the economy is still moving fast and hot,” he said. “My uneducated crystal ball is telling me we might see a few more interest-rate moves, which means it’s going to be more difficult for the economy to continue on this path.”

Many are saying that the probable course will be another rate increase and then that pause, he went on, adding that there is more conjecture about what will then happen. Will rates stay where they are, or will they start to come down and perhaps reverse the trends seen over the past year or so?

Kevin O’Connor

Kevin O’Connor says rising interest rates have slowed the mortgage business — and destroyed the refi business.

“The consensus is that the economy is starting to slow down — not quickly, but it’s starting to slow down — and that rate cuts will probably start to happen in 2024 because inflation and economic growth both show signs of slowing down,” Sullivan said. “When that happens, we can start to price the deposit costs down.

“We’re probably not going back to where we were before,” he went on, meaning rates near zero. “We’re going back to normal, or what could be a new normal — deposit rates in the 3% range. They’re not going to be zero, and they’re not going to be 5%; they’re probably going to be somewhere in the middle once all this settles out.”

When things will settle down is another question that is difficult to answer because the economy is still chugging along, and, with the notable exception of the mortgage market, consumers are still borrowing money.

“Borrowers have gotten used to paying loan rates in the 6s and 7s — they’re not happy about it, but it doesn’t seem to be stopping anyone’s appetite for acquiring assets and borrowing money,” Sullivan said. “There’s still plenty of business out there, and that would support what Powell has been saying — that they haven’t really slowed the economy yet; in fact, it’s pretty darned good. We’re taking applications every day, and we’re writing loans every day; we’re running our business as usual.”

 

Taking Account

Well … not quite usual at most institutions, especially with regard to mortgages and refis, a huge part of the success formula for the region’s community banks and credit unions.

In this environment, O’Connor said, Westfield Bank and institutions like it are putting even more emphasis on customer service, attracting new customers and retaining existing customers.

“We have to make sure that we’re the bank of choice and remain that,” he said. “We work hard at the commercial relationships, the consumer relationships … our branch teams, our cash-management teams, our lenders, everyone is out there being very available to our customers and working hard to attract new customers from other banks.”

Banks are always working hard on attracting and retaining customers, he said in conclusion, but this year, and in this climate, there is even more emphasis on such initiatives.

It’s all part of a broad response to something that is a little more than your typical economic cycle. It’s somewhat unprecedented, in fact … and certainly a long, uphill climb for most banks.

 

Double Edge Theatre Reflects a Holistic View of the World

By
Creative Economy Special Coverage

Art and Soul

Double Edge Theatre isn’t the easiest organization to describe.

Or, perhaps more accurately, it’s not an entity that lends itself to one obvious description. And that’s a positive thing, said Adam Bright, the company’s producing executive director.

“If you ask a different Double Edge ensemble member or anyone who works here, they’ll have a slightly different answer, I would imagine,” Bright said. “But for me, it’s simply that we’re trying to live together with an understanding, with certain agreements, about how we want to leave the world after we’ve stepped through it.”

That said, “we’re definitely an arts organization first, and everybody here is extremely creatively minded,” he noted. “We all come from different educational backgrounds, different parts of the world, we all grew up in different places, but we’ve all been magnetized to this strange little place.

“Everything you’ll see here comes from that seed of creative thinking,” Bright went on. “The way we’ve renovated the buildings that could no longer be used for dairy farming and were repurposed. The way we create theater and art, and how we integrate that with our work with conservationists, the Native peoples of this area, and how they approach the land. It’s a holistic way of thinking and being.”

Double Edge was born in Boston in 1982 but moved to Ashfield, a bucolic Franklin County community, in 1997, repurposing, as Bright noted, a former dairy farm into a theater company that stages performances, including ‘spectacles’ the audience follows across the grounds (more on those later), but also hosts training programs, workshops, and much more.

It does so while centered on values that are painted in large letters on one of the property’s buildings.

“We’re trying to live together with an understanding, with certain agreements, about how we want to leave the world after we’ve stepped through it.”

“Our vision is to prioritize imagination in times of creative, emotional, spiritual, and political uncertainty,” the message reads. “Our mission is to pursue authenticity, interaction, and identity with whomever is seeking creative, emotional, spiritual, and political clarity. Our art is grounded in a rigorous ensemble aesthetic unfolded in dream, imagery, metaphor, mystery, and symbolism. Our work is created and sustained within an open, honest, meaningful, relevant shared experience. We call this ‘living culture.’”

And then: “Our dedication is to face isolation and erasure, to face despair and pain that can translate into personal incapacity and political paralysis. To uplift. We call this ‘art justice.’”

It’s a mouthful, and Bright knows it. But at its core is a reflection of life that many people in this modern world — especially post-pandemic — have gotten away from.

“I think we’ve isolated ourselves more and more. Even in neighborhoods that seem great, everyone goes to their little boxes, and then they’re isolated,” he explained. “I think what we’re creating here — or recreating, let’s say — is something closer to a village, and that feels healthy. On any given day, there will be 70 people working here, ages 18 to 70-something, from all over the world: different languages, different cultures, different music, all of these things in this little place.”

Adam Bright

Adam Bright says Double Edge is an arts organization first, but one that is always considering how it interacts with and impacts its community and its world.

As part of that philosophy, Double Edge has taken a keen interest over the years in the Indigenous history of Ashfield and its environs, specifically the Nipmuc Tribal Nation, which traces its lineage in the region back 12,000 years. The theater company has partnered with the Ohketeau Cultural Center in efforts to bring awareness to this heritage and support Native priorities today.

“Our interactions introduced us to the Indigenous peoples who still inhabit this land after millennia, even though their presence has been rendered invisible on the land we now occupy,” Double Edge notes in its literature. “Ashfield may never be ‘diverse’ within the currently circumscribed and restrictive use of the term. However, the mission, values, vision, and work of Double Edge will always reflect the larger population of our region, our state, and our country.”

 

Making a Spectacle of Themselves

Amid its cultural passions, this is, as Bright noted, primarily an arts organization, and its performances — both on site and touring — have become widely noted for their unique, eclectic, and interactive nature.

“The art is predominantly theater, although we touch all the mediums of art,” Bright said, noting that company members — some live on the grounds for extended stretches, while others commute — not only write and perform works, but build and paint sets; create costumes; handle lighting, sound, rigging, and other production aspects; and more,

The summer performances are called ‘spectacles,’ and it’s an apt term. “They move around this farm, so the whole farm turns into a theatrical stage, essentially,” Bright said. “We really interact with the outside world; there are giant puppets and fire.”

“Even in neighborhoods that seem great, everyone goes to their little boxes, and then they’re isolated. I think what we’re creating here — or recreating, let’s say — is something closer to a village, and that feels healthy.”

The audience — which is capped at 80 to 90 per night — follows the performance across the grounds, both inside and outside its buildings, and are often timed to begin in sunlight and end with dark skies, beside a small lagoon lit by fire and stage lights, lined with platforms in the trees, a trapeze, a trampoline, and more. It’s … well, a spectacle.

“We essentially guide everything, from parking the car through the final hurrah,” Bright explained. “There’s a whole journey that the audience follows, and whether you’re at the front or the back, you’ll experience the whole thing. You won’t miss out on anything, although each audience member experiences it differently.”

Double Edge creates ‘spectacles’

Double Edge creates ‘spectacles’ that move around the farm, so the whole property turns into a theatrical stage.
Photo by David Weiland

The spectacles have been a staple of Double Edge’s offerings for a couple decades. “Lots of people are involved; it could be painting giant murals or doing puppets, making costumes,” he said. “We also work with a bunch of contractors that come in to help us with some heavy lifting, certain set pieces. So, really, lots of people are involved before we even open the performance.”

The current spectacle, directed by Double Edge founder and Artistic Director Stacy Klein, is called The Hidden Territories of the Bacchae, and is “our response to Euripides’ Bacchae, in which women’s rites are no longer in hidden territories and women are freely able to express their deeply held desires,” according to the company’s description. It runs from July 19 through Aug. 6, and tickets are available at doubleedgetheatre.org.

“Then, other times of the year, we make other works that can go into regular-type theatres, and we tour,” Bright said. “We just got back from Europe for a couple of tours there. It’s still large-scale, but it becomes a little bit more intimate, and you can control more in the theatrical setting than outdoors. There are different limitations, I would say. But it’s still visually stunning, very physical, poetic … it’s definitely not your average Shakespeare recital.”

Meanwhile, Double Edge offers residencies and other cooperative oppportunities to like-minded companies across the U.S., he noted. “We come together once or twice a year, and we train together, and sometimes we present each other’s work. So it’s really a cool thing.”

Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of Greenfield Business Assoc., who recently came on board Double Edge as its team and relationships manager, called the organization one of the most well-organized and communicative companies she’s ever worked for.

The concepts of ‘living culture’ and ‘art justice’

The concepts of ‘living culture’ and ‘art justice’ are integral to the training and performance work going on at Double Edge.

“You don’t find that in a lot of arts organizations. Sometimes the art is taking over so much that the business side lacks a little, and I think one of the real strengths of Double Edge, and one of the reasons that we rise as a real leader and attract people from many sectors, not just the art sector, is because, though our message is really complex, it’s also very clear because it’s being rolled out in a way that a lot of different people can relate to.”

 

Living History

Klein founded Double Edge in 1982 as a feminist ensemble collective alongside co-founder and emerita ensemble member Carroll Durand and several other women, performing in six-week rentals of various Boston theaters.

In 1985, the ensemble located a parish hall in Allston, a long-unused building at the Episcopal Church of Saints Luke and Margaret. Following renovations, this was its home for the next 12 years. In 1994, the company located a new home in Ashfield, precipitated by the economic impossibility of paying exorbitant rent in the Boston area, and by the desire to house overseas guest artists for long periods.

After driving back and forth for a couple years, the Double Edge team opened their first performance space in Ashfield — in a converted barn — in 1997.

In addition to its spectacles, which launched in 2002, Klein and her team have created seven performance cycles, or series of plays, that have toured around the world, including:

• The Garden of Intimacy and Desire (2002-08), a cycle exploring distinctive visions of magic realism in Jewish and Hispanic culture;

• The Chagall Cycle (2010-15), which was imagined entirely from the visual art of Marc Chagall;

• The Latin American Cycle (2015-18), which began as an effort to come to artistic terms with Co-Artistic Director Carlos Uriona’s sociocultural and personal background; and

• The Surrealist Cycle (2017-present) three performances, loosely woven together, relating to the Latin American Cycle and research into surrealism.

In addition, the Ashfield Town Spectacle & Culture Fair (May 2017) and We the People (summer 2017 and 2018) were a duet and ode to the history of Ashfield and the surrounding hilltowns of Western Mass. Eighty local artists and groups participated in each two-day event, which took place throughout the entire town of Ashfield, ending in a 700-person parade and an aerial flight over the Ashfield Lake.

“There’s a whole journey that the audience follows, and whether you’re at the front or the back, you’ll experience the whole thing. You won’t miss out on anything, although each audience member experiences it differently.”

Clearly, a sense of place and culture is a constant theme here, and Double Edge itself is a model for a living community. About 10 years ago, the ensemble started thinking about ‘greening’ and the necessity of moving off the grid, “not only as giveback for what we receive from nature, but also as a model for theaters around the country and other organizations who are themselves modeling unsustainable building and operating practices,” the organization notes.

With that in mind, single-use plastic was banned from the farm for our students, audiences, and daily living, and the property has also started using solar energy and wants to replace all its heating systems, with the dream of building a solar farm and multi-acre apiary and wildflower sanctuary.

So, yes — this is a theater company with a lot on its mind, one that takes a holistic approach to art and life, striving to find the critical connections that often get lost in today’s world.

“I’m always in the intersection of economic development and the creative arts, and how those things come together,” Rechtschaffen said. “It’s a constant process of figuring out how to communicate that in a way that every sector can understand. I think that’s something that we do incredibly well and have an opportunity to do even more — to figure out how to grow that impact.”

 

Goodless Electric Charges Ahead in Its Eighth Decade

By
President Jeff Goodless
Building Trades Special Coverage

Current Events

President Jeff Goodless

President Jeff Goodless

Early on, Jeff Goodless knew life wasn’t easy in the world of electrical contracting.

But he also knew his family had built a strong reputation in the field since 1945, so it was always on his mind to one day enter the family business.

“I went to Northeastern University for five years,” he said, studying electrical engineering and business management there in the 1970s and taking advantage of NU’s well-known co-op work programs. “Everybody said, ‘why did you go to the co-op school?’ But I wanted to go through the experience of actually working and doing real interviews, knowing I was coming here, just to have that experience.

“I came back here and thought I was going to take a month off, and my father said, ‘you can have a day off,’” he went on. “So I came right to work, right out of college.”

He knew that was a good decision and knows it even more now, almost a half-century later, with Goodless Electric marking 78 years in business, still serving clients in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, just like his father, Leon Goodless, and uncle, Irving Goodless, did from the start.

Irving launched the business behind his parents’ home in Springfield, and his brother Leon joined in 1957, when the firm took the name Goodless Brothers Electric Co.

They did quite a bit of moving in the first few decades, Jeff said, to Riverdale Road in West Springfield, Worthington Street and then Winter Street in Springfield, then to the current location at 100 Memorial Ave. in West Springfield, alongside the Route 5 rotary at the Memorial Bridge. Irving retired in 1977, Irving retired in 1977, around the time his nephew came on board part-time. Jeff moved into a full-time role around 1982 and eventually took over the firm’s leadership.

“Everybody went into computer technology. That’s really what happened; they all went into IT, computer technology, and they weren’t going through the electrical programs. But now, I think the classrooms are filling up again.”

“Believe it or not, the type of work has stayed the same, although maybe on a larger scale later,” Jeff told BusinessWest. “But even way back when, they always did residential, industrial, and commercial work. They ran maybe three, four, six guys.”

At its heyday, Goodless said, the company was running about 90 workers, where now, it boasts about 20, keeping them busy with projects ranging from parking-lot maintenance and upgrades, generator services, and fire-alarm systems to lighting retrofits, swimming pools and hot tubs, and residential and commercial service upgrades, just to name a few.

“There’s a lot of jobs with UMass Amherst, a lot of state work, some city work, fire stations, DPW facilities, a little bit of everything. A lot of work for the housing authorities throughout the years, too,” he said. “We don’t do new homes, but I do additions and a lot of repair work. Out of our service department, we run about four vans, and we roll basically 24 hours a day.”

Goodless Electric celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2020

Goodless Electric celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2020, a major milestone for any company.

As the firm celebrated 75 years in business in 2020, an emerging pandemic posed serious challenges, especially since it was performing work at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where COVID killed 84 residents.

“I couldn’t get my people to go up there, and I couldn’t really blame them,” Goodless recalled. “People didn’t want to work; people were scared. I had an outbreak in my office. It was challenging.”

What made a difference, he said, was the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which poured funds into businesses to keep their teams employed. “We took advantage of that; it was so helpful. We used it right. We used it responsibly. We kept guys going. In fact, we didn’t have to let anybody go through the pandemic at all.”

“I tell them, ‘if you work hard, if you work diligently, you can have anything you want. The sky’s the limit if you want to work.”

The economic ripple effects from the pandemic — particularly higher costs and supply-chain issues — still resonate, however. Goodless was able to stock up on things like 100-amp and 200-amp panels to keep housing projects moving, but said customers are still shocked to hear it might take nine to 10 months to get switchgear in.

“We say it over and over again: we’re not the chef; we’re the waiter. We don’t make the stuff,” he said. “It’s still a very difficult message to get through, though.”

 

The Next Generation

Goodless said the company’s reputation for fast response and competitive bids has helped it earn multiple awards for customer service.

At the same time, though, growth is challenging at a time when building trades of all kinds are beset with a talent drain.

“The workforce situation is awful,” he said. “You can get people, but it’s very hard to get good people in. But I’ve been pretty fortunate; I’ve been able to pick up a few people along the way during the past couple of years, and I’m working on a third one right now.”

Part of the issue has been the pipeline of new, young talent not keeping up with the pace of retirements, but Goodless said that might be changing.

Jeff Goodless’ first projects

This wall represents some of Jeff Goodless’ first projects for clients in the late ‘70s.

“Over the years, we noticed a huge decline in the electrical trade,” he said, referring to the programs young people were choosing to study. “Everybody went into computer technology. That’s really what happened; they all went into IT, computer technology, and they weren’t going through the electrical programs. But now, I think the classrooms are filling up again.”

He’s gleaned as much through conversations with teachers at the trade schools in Springfield, Westfield, Holyoke, and others, who say students are more serious than before about entering the electrical field and other trades. Part of the reason may be the talk of graduates of four-year colleges entering the workforce with six-figure debt and a cloudy career path.

“A kid in a trade, they’ll pay their dues and go through the program, and at the end, you can make well over 100 grand a year. And you’re going to do your side jobs like everyone does and make another 25 grand,” he said. “I tell them, ‘if you work hard, if you work diligently, you can have anything you want. The sky’s the limit if you want to work.’”

And work hard Goodless has over the past four-plus decades, outlasting many former clients whose companies are no longer in business. And it’s work he relishes.

“Everybody will have something different to say,” he noted when asked what he enjoys about running this 78-year-old business. “I love going after a bid, going over the numbers, and winning the bid. That gives me a thrill. My second-biggest thrill is going out and doing the buys.”

He’s also got his eye on making sure Goodless Electric continues to be a force for many years to come, even after it moves past family ownership.

“I always think about what I’m going to do with this business as I’m getting older. My ultimate goal is to turn it over to the employees, or half to the employees and maybe sell the other half, something of that nature,” he said. “I just want to keep the business going, keep the name going.”

Retreating Cannabis Sector Changes Real-estate Landscape in Holyoke

By
Trulieve will soon be leaving the Massachusetts market
Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

Building Anxiety

Trulieve will soon be leaving the Massachusetts market

Trulieve will soon be leaving the Massachusetts market, and its property on Canal Street in Holyoke, leaving questions about the site’s future.

Aaron Vega calls it the ‘year of reckoning.’

And he’s not the only one who uses such language when talking about 2023 and the cannabis industry.

This has been a year when a confluence of forces has brought stern challenges to a sector that got off to a fast and hot start in this region. These forces, including mounting competition and falling prices, have prompted some players to exit the market — Truelieve was the latest to make that decision — and others to delay or cancel entry into it.

The impact of these rather sudden changes in the fortunes of the cannabis industry has changed the landscape in many different ways and in many different communities. But perhaps the greatest impact has been on the commercial real-estate market in the city that has most aggressively pursued this sector: Holyoke.

Indeed, a market that was once white-hot as Holyoke officials, led by former Mayor Alex Morse, rolled out the red carpet for cannabis has cooled off substantially, said Vega, director of the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, adding that this trend will likely continue as the cannabis sector continues adjusting and responding to the changing climate.

“We’re wondering … how does that property move? What does that company want to sell it for, and what is the acquisition cost going to be? It comes currently with a $300,000 tax bill; that’s a lot of money to keep a building empty. We’re hoping they’re able to move it or work with the city to find a public solution.”

A number of properties have been purchased or leased, and at prices that could not have imagined a decade ago. And as some cannabis businesses close or leave the market and others delay their plans to start, questions mount about all that real estate and what will happen with it.

“A lot of the buildings were locked up because they were purchased at a much higher price than they were probably worth, and now those companies are not going forward, or their timelines are stretched out,” he said. “Are they going to sell these buildings? Are they going to be able to maintain these buildings? They come with tax bills, and they come with maintenance; if you don’t have anything going on inside that you’re making money with, it becomes more of a struggle.”

The most visible manifestation of this changing landscape is the property at 56 Canal St., home (but not for much longer) to Trulieve’s 126,000-square-foot growing, processing, and testing facility, the former Conklin Office Furniture building. Truelieve poured tens of millions into purchasing, renovating, and retrofitting the former mill for cannabis-related uses, said Vega, who wondered out loud how the company could possibly recover that kind of investment given the current fortunes of the cannabis industry.

“We’re wondering … how does that property move? What does that company want to sell it for, and what is the acquisition cost going to be?” he asked. “It comes currently with a $300,000 tax bill; that’s a lot of money to keep a building empty. We’re hoping they’re able to move it or work with the city to find a public solution.”

While some ventures are slated to open in the coming weeks and months, Vega said, there are at least 20 properties for which special permits have been approved — for one or more of the several types of cannabis-related businesses — but where there has been little movement, if any, on site toward opening those businesses.

Vega said he was only half-kidding when he suggested that Trulieve donate its Canal Street property to the city and its redevelopment authority, which could then try to attract more and different kinds of indoor agriculture businesses. Among other things, the transformation of old mills across the city for cannabis-related uses has shown what can be done with those properties, he noted, adding that indoor agriculture could be a growth industry for the city — literally and figuratively — moving forward.

Meanwhile, another emerging model for these mills could be an incubator-like facility, such as the one taking shape at 1 Cabot St., another old mill, the former Riverside Paper Co. building, purchased by Tom and Karen Cusano in 2018.

1 Cabot St. will become an incubator of sorts

Tom Cusano says the property at 1 Cabot St. will become an incubator of sorts for several small, cannabis-related businesses, a model he believes has a great deal of promise.

There, several smaller companies, many of them social-equity ventures, are moving forward with plans, Tom said, adding that this is a different kind of model, and one he believes has some staying power.

“We have one operating tenant and four tenants who are in the licensing process, and we’re building out their space — they should be operational within 90 to 120 days,” he said, adding that this model calls for reasonable lease rates, most buildout handled by the owner, and opportunities to grow if and when the businesses do.

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, we take a look at what’s happening in Holyoke — and not happening, as the case may be — and what it all means moving forward.

 

Pot Luck

Vega told BusinessWest that the cannabis experience — and it is ongoing — has benefited Holyoke in a number of ways.

Beyond the hundreds of thousands of square feet of old mill space that has been absorbed and the jobs created, the arrival of this industry has given the city a tremendous amount of exposure locally, regionally, and even nationally and internationally, he said, adding that many people in business who didn’t know about the city’s assets and benefits, from available real estate to green, comparatively inexpensive energy, now do. And this bodes well moving forward.

For the immediate future, though, the relative strength and resilience of the local cannabis industry is the primary topic of conversation in this year of reckoning. At the very least, there are now real questions about whether this sector has already peaked, and if not, how much more it can grow.

To quantify and qualify the changes that have taken place, Vega talked about phone-call volume — as in calls from cannabis companies calling with questions about the city and opportunities to land there — and his overall workload when it comes to handling license applications and related matters.

“When I started in this job two and a half years ago, we were talking to companies once a week, and we had that peak of having 70 host agreements,” he noted. “Working with the City Council, we got 38 special permits approved; that’s a lot of work on a lot of people’s part.

“But now, I think we had two host-community agreements in the last three months, and two projects in front of the City Council and other departments for review,” he went on. “In two years, it’s changed quite a bit.”

Elaborating, he said many of the major players and ‘funders’ in this industry have already moved on to the next emerging markets in this industry, such as Connecticut and New York, with their attention also focused on federal legislation to legalize cannabis.

“With the cannabis industry, it was kind of predatory; everyone looked at it like it was the golden goose. If you had a building, you asked for four times what it was worth, and if you had space to lease, you asked the tenant to spend millions of dollars to fix up your run-down building.”

All of this is reflected in the commercial real-estate market, he said, referencing the large question marks now hanging over several of the properties acquired or leased — at high prices — with cannabis businesses in mind.

Cusano, who purchased his property not long after cannabis was legalized in this state, summed up the market frenzy, if that’s the right term, this way:

“With the cannabis industry, it was kind of predatory; everyone looked at it like it was the golden goose. If you had a building, you asked for four times what it was worth, and if you had space to lease, you asked the tenant to spend millions of dollars to fix up your run-down building. And, quite honestly, very few people could afford that.

“Some of the big, multi-state operators came in with deep pockets and dumped tons of money,” he went on. “And as we can see with Trulieve, that doesn’t seem to work.”

He’s taking a different approach, one he thinks will generate some long-term success.

Indeed, at the Cabot Street property, he’s drawing on 20 years of experience with renovating and then leasing out a former mill building to emerging small businesses in New Hampshire.

“We’re trying to help these small businesses get started; we’re doing the lion’s share of the renovation work and essentially giving them a turnkey operation except for fixtures and whatever they need to run their business, whether they’re doing cultivation, manufacturing, or processing,” he said. “We’ve talked with multiple tenants; we’ll have a retail dispensary in the front of the building that we’re working on.”

Elaborating, he said he and Karen purchased the building “for a song” and have invested far more than $1 million in it thus far. He said he’s had some experience with the cannabis industry in New Hampshire and Maine and understands its potential, both as a source of tenants and its importance to the community in question.

At present, there is one business operating at the property on Cabot Street, Mill Town, a cultivation and light-manufacturing operation, Cusano said, adding that several more are in the pipeline, ventures that will occupy 10,000- to 35,000-square-foot spaces.

He believes this model will fare better than some of the other strategies that have been tried — mostly companies overpaying to purchase or lease property, a situation that adds another layer of challenge to their ability to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.

“People were overpaying, dumping a ton of money into these properties, and then the market collapsed because of oversupply, and they were upside-down,” he said. “We have a saying in the retail business — you can sell below cost and make up the difference with volume. But not for long.”

 

Bottom Line

Returning to his thoughts about indoor farming and how properties like the Trulieve facility might be turned over to such uses, Vega said such prospects represent just one of the ways the changing real-estate climate in Holyoke represents both challenge and opportunity.

“Let’s keep the cannabis industry, but let’s also help the local food economy,” he said. “Someone growing lettuce and micrograins can’t afford a $40 million building, but if the redevelopment authority can gain control of that building or sell it without needing to make a profit, and we can get a whole industry or a bunch of small businesses going, we can create a food economy, and that would be huge.”

He acknowledged, without actually saying so, that such plans represent a real long shot. The reality is that, rather than solutions, there might be more question marks for the buildings bought with designs on entering what looked at the time to be a lucrative cannabis sector.

And if things break the wrong way, Holyoke may wind up with what it had before it rolled out the red carpet for this industry — a large number of vacant and underutilized properties.

BusinessTalk with CDH’s president and CEO, Dr. Lynnette Watkins

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 171: July 17, 2023

BusinessWest contributing writer George O’Brien talks with CDH’s president and CEO, Dr. Lynnette Watkins

Lynnette Watkins

This month marks the 10th anniversary of Cooley Dickinson Hospital becoming a member of the Mass General Brigham network of care. It’s been a rich and fulfilling relationship, one that has led to new initiatives and improved the overall quality of care, said CDH’s president and CEO, Dr. Lynnette Watkins. This partnership was one of many topics she discussed with BusinessWest contributing writer George O’Brien on the next installment of BusinessTalk. The two also talked about the latest phase of COVID, groundbreaking for an expansion of CDH’s Emergency Department, and ongoing workforce challenges. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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BusinessTalk with with Craig Della Penna, president of the Norwottuck Network Inc.

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 170: July 10, 2023

Joe Bednar talks with Craig Della Penna, president of the Norwottuck Network Inc. board of directors and broker at the Murphys Realtors

Rail trails are much more than a recreational option for pedestrians and bicyclists. They also connect communities, promote both personal wellness and a healthy travel alternative to carbon-emitting vehicles, and are increasingly being seen as an economic driver, especially in and around gateway cities. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Craig Della Penna, president of the Norwottuck Network Inc. board of directors and broker at the Murphys Realtors, about his decades of work promoting progress around rail trails — most recently with efforts to complete the 104-mile Massachusetts Central Rail Trail between Northampton and Boston. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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Fitzgerald Law Continues Course of Expansion, Diversification

By
Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.
Law Special Coverage

Working in Concert

Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.

Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.

 

“Non-traditional.’

That’s not a term you hear often in reference to a law firm. That’s because … well, the vast majority of them would still be considered the opposite — traditional, operating pretty much the way law firms have operated for decades now.

But Seth Stratton uses the word quite liberally as he talks about the firm he serves as managing partner, Fitzgerald Law, P.C., which is based in East Longmeadow but also has an office in downtown Springfield.

He says it applies to the firm’s founder and still very active partner, Frank Fitzgerald — “he’s always marched to a different beat when it comes to the practice of law; he’s a businessperson first and lawyer second” — and also how the firm’s members go about team building. Most recently, it was at a Bruno Mars concert at MGM Springfield (Stratton formerly served as vice president and legal counsel of MGM Resorts’ Northeast Group, and still had the requisite connections to buy 40 seats to the show), preceded by some bowling in the casino’s alleys.

That term also applies, to one degree or another, to how the firm is expanding, adding lawyers, and even making them partners.

Indeed, Andrea O’Connor, a bankruptcy and insolvency specialist who joined the firm in 2020 (not long before Stratton left MGM and rejoined Fitzgerald), was recently made a shareholder, continuing a pattern of growth and what Stratton called “re-invention.”

“More people have gotten involved as shareholders in the firm,” he explained. “And we’ve also been bringing in mid-career lawyers who have considerable experience and a lot that they can bring to the firm. We’re bringing people in non-traditionally to grow our firm, and as we grow, we’ll talk out ownership opportunities in the firm.”

The addition of O’Connor, as well as Christina Turgeon, another bankruptcy specialist formerly in solo practice, and Daryl Johnson, who specializes in everything from commercial lending to zoning, further diversify a firm focused mostly on business advisory work, said Stratton, noting that it handles a wide array of legal issues, including commercial real-estate development, acquisition, and sale; zoning, permitting, and licensing; and business succession and estate planning.

Bankruptcy and restructuring are now part of that mix, and an important part, he said, because, while the economy remains strong and bankruptcies have generally been on the decline in recent years, businesses do fail, and such work is part of providing the full range of services that businesses might need.

“We’re trying to figure out a model that allows us to capitalize on talent but not be wed to a traditional law-firm model. We are a little different, and we think this is what many of our clients like about us.”

Meanwhile, there are few firms in this region that have such expertise, he went on, adding that this is a key component of the firm’s overall growth strategy.

As he talked about that strategy, Stratton said the broad plan is to continue to grow and diversify the firm — it has added several new lawyers over the past few years and now boasts 10 attorneys and five partners — and take its expertise to different markets.

The Fitzgerald firm has opened a satellite office in Worcester, he noted, enabling it to better serve clients and potential clients in that part of state, and O’Connor and other attorneys in the firm are serving a growing number of clients in Boston and other metropolitan areas, as clients take advantage of the firm’s deep portfolio of services — and at Springfield-area rates.

Overall, Stratton said the firm is still trying to determine the “sweet spot” when it comes to the desired size of the firm, and hinted strongly that it will essentially know what that size is when it gets there.

In the meantime, it will continue to look for opportunities to add some rock stars to the roster and continue to grow and diversify in a way that could, indeed, be called ‘non-traditional.’

 

Additions of Note

O’Connor told BusinessWest that she would consider her own career path non-traditional.

She started with the Springfield-based firm Hendel & Collins, which specializes in bankruptcy and related work, after graduating from law school. After six years there, she left to serve as a clerk for the bankruptcy court.

She then returned to the firm, which became Hendel, Collins & O’Connor, P.C. While her partners eventually started winding down their practices, she was looking to take hers to the next level. The question was … where?

She said she had a number of options, but eventually decided to join the Fitzgerald firm in August 2020, the height of the pandemic.

“I started my last firm when I was eight months pregnant, so I make bold choices sometimes,” she said with a laugh. “But when the opportunity comes, you have to seize it; it was a huge opportunity for me to come here and work with this team.”

Fitzgerald has been creating such opportunities for other mid-career lawyers, said Stratton, adding that the traditional path that lawyers took for years — one where they would join a firm as an associate; make partner after six, seven, or eight years; get a bigger office; and stay with that firm for the next several decades — is increasingly not the norm.

Especially at Fitzgerald, a firm that was founded in 1992.

“There is a sweet spot in terms of size, and we’re all trying to figure out what it is.”

“We’re trying to figure out a model that allows us to capitalize on talent but not be wed to a traditional law-firm model,” said Stratton, who was on the partnership track at a large regional law firm but ultimately rejected that path and left for Fitzgerald and ultimately returned to it after a six-year stint with MGM that eventually saw him become the face of the casino. “We are a little different, and we think this is what many of our clients like about us.”

And when he returned, as managing partner, he continued and accelerated that process of reinvention, adding that it involves expansion and diversification of the firm, while focusing on what it does well.

Elaborating, he said the firm moved on from the work it was doing in such areas as family law and personal injury, and focused all its talent and energies on serving businesses and their families in all the ways they need to be served, including areas such as bankruptcy and insolvency.

Work in that realm has been relatively slow in recent years, said O’Connor, adding that an expected surge — or wave, or tsunami — of personal and business bankruptcies, one that would accompany an end of COVID-related relief efforts, has yet to materialize, and now there are doubts that it will.

“We’ve had a really good economy for a very long time,” she told BusinessWest, adding that the high-water mark for bankruptcy work came at the height of the Great Recession, some 15 years ago, and has been fairly tepid ever since, to the point where she believes fewer people are entering this specific specialty.

But there is always work in this realm, she said, adding that most of hers involve businesses in distress. Recently, she was appointed a Chapter 7 panel trustee in Connecticut, administering bankruptcy cases, primarily in New Haven, but also in Bridgeport and Hartford.

This additional focus on bankruptcy and insolvency enables the firm to better navigate the cyclical nature of the economy, said Stratton, adding that it also helps separate it from many competitors.

“This allows us to be more diversified and recession-proof in our own business,” he explained. “When the economy is good, the bread and butter of our business — transactional work, real-estate development work, loans and financing — is busy. When the economy goes in the other direction, some of that work dries up, but then, bankruptcy and insolvency work picks up, so it allows us to diversify.”

The recent staff additions to the firm have enabled it to get both younger and more gender-diverse, said Stratton, adding that he anticipates this growth pattern to continue in the years to come.

“I expect that the approach we’ve taken over the past two years will continue over the next several years,” he said. “But there is a sweet spot in terms of size, and we’re all trying to figure out what it is. We want to have enough lawyers to service the business, without growing too big to where we take on additional overhead, which pushes rate structures higher and you feel less competitive with clients.

“We don’t know what that sweet spot is yet,” he went on, “but we will find it.”

 

Bottom Line

Getting back to the Bruno Mars concert, Stratton said he still has a few MGM employees on speed dial who were able to make it happen.

The concert, bowling, and dinner in the sports bar before the show was a decidedly different course for the firm’s annual summer outing, and one that provided another example of how Fitzgerald is different and — here comes that word again — non-traditional.

Thus far, that character trait is serving it well, and Stratton and his growing team are committed to staying on this course moving forward.

Where it will take them is a question to be answered later — when they find that aforementioned sweet spot. For now, it’s a path toward continued growth and diversity, in every sense of that word.

 

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital to Open in Holyoke This Summer

By
The new hospital
Healthcare News Special Coverage

Specialized Approach

 

The new hospital

The new hospital, seen here in the late stages of construction, will open in August.

 

As Dr. Barry Sarvet surveys Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital a couple months before its opening, he’s excited about what he sees.

“We are extremely excited to be providing a brand new, state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital facility for our communities in the Pioneer Valley,” said Sarvet, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Baystate Health. “Hospital care for behavioral-health patients requires a specialized environment of care to ensure safety, comfort, and privacy for patients and a setting for a full range of therapeutic services to support their recovery.”

The Holyoke-based hospital does just that, he noted. “Our new facility is spacious and will have an abundance of natural light. It includes ample spaces for psychotherapy, rooms for art and occupational therapy, a gymnasium for physical activity and recreation, and access to outdoor spaces for fresh air. Psychiatric patients deserve to be treated in an environment of care that supports their dignity, and we’re so pleased to be able to offer this.”

But he’s just as excited, if not moreso, about what the hospital, a joint venture between Baystate Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, means for access to behavioral healthcare in the region, which still faces a shortage of inpatient psychiatric services and increasing mental-health needs.

“We care deeply about people who need psychiatric services and are committed to the success of this new project,” he said, adding that the partnership with Lifepoint is smart considering that organization’s expertise in the development of new specialty hospitals and its commitment to quality care. “In developing this new hospital with our Lifepoint partners, we are continuing and enhancing our commitment to fulfilling the mental-health needs of people in our region.”

Dr. Barry Sarvet

Dr. Barry Sarvet

“Hospital care for behavioral-health patients requires a specialized environment of care to ensure safety, comfort, and privacy for patients and a setting for a full range of therapeutic services to support their recovery.”

Baystate actually announced a partnership on this project with Kindred Healthcare LLC during the summer of 2000, before Kindred was purchased by Lifepoint Health about a year and a half ago. Lifepoint boasts more than 100 specialty hospitals across the U.S. focused on four divisions: skilled nursing, rehabilitation, acute care, and behavioral health, said Roy Sasenaraine, CEO of Valley Springs.

“There’s a significant need in Western Mass. for this specialized hospital. The behavioral-health needs in the population are so great, and the differentiation between this service line and every other service line is so different, you need something like this; just like having a specialty hospital for children, you need a special team to come together to care for behavioral-health patients.”

The new facility, set to open in mid-August, will increase capacity for inpatient behavioral healthcare for adults, children, and adolescents in the area by 50%. Built with the unique needs of behavioral-health patients in mind, the $72 million hospital is designed so patients receive their care and treatment in an environment that supports their recovery, Sasenaraine said.

The 150-bed hospital at 45 Lower Westfield Road in Holyoke, including 30 beds dedicated to longer-term care through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, has been planned with patient safety in mind, he added.

“A benefit of new construction is that patient safety and privacy has been factored into every aspect of the building, from patient rooms to the gymnasium. We have fine-tuned every detail and thought of everything in terms of safety: toilets, window blinds, even door jambs. The new building allows us to make use of modern technology to elevate patient safety in a way retrofitting an existing unit could not.”

 

Access Points

A new service offered by Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will be on-site evaluations following a provider referral, allowing some patients to be admitted without an Emergency Department visit at a different hospital.

Currently, around one-third of the behavioral-health patients evaluated in Baystate Health’s four emergency departments are transferred to facilities outside of Western Mass. due to a shortage of psychiatric beds in the region. With the opening of Valley Springs, more patients will have the opportunity to receive treatment close to home, Sasenaraine explained. The hospital’s location is intended to provide accessibility, being close to Routes 90 and 91, while also providing a facility focused solely on specialized care for mental health.

Roy Sasenaraine

Roy Sasenaraine

“The new building allows us to make use of modern technology to elevate patient safety in a way retrofitting an existing unit could not.”

He explained that patients will be admitted in three ways: people in crisis can be taken directly to the hospital by ambulance, other care providers will refer patients in need of behavioral-health treatment, and people can also walk in off the street.

“They might say, ‘I think I need help. I’m suicidal.’ That’s what my intake-assessment team is here for, to assess them for clinical issues, suicidal ideations, whatever it may be.”

Sasenaraine also noted that the new facility will provide employment opportunities with the opportunity to positively impact the lives of patients and families in the community. Employees currently working in Baystate facilities whose services will be transferred to Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will have the opportunity to apply for positions there, in addition to opportunities for new employees to be a part of the joint venture.

“We’ll employ a lot of people, even some departments that didn’t exist before,” he said, such as a 24/7 intake department that will provide 18 full-time equivalent jobs. “For many people, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of building a new organization from the ground up.”

Behavioral-health services from Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Noble Hospital, as well as pediatric behavioral-health services from Baystate Medical Center, will begin to transition to the Valley Springs site in August. Spaces in those facilities will then be converted to primary and specialty care or will be used to accommodate the increasing demand for inpatient medical services.

Baystate Health is working closely with the Department of Public Health (DPH) during this transition. The affected inpatient facilities are expected to be fully transitioned by the end of the year, with most completing the move in the fall, and partial hospitalization programs transitioning by January 2024.

As Baystate Health works with DPH to facilitate the transition, a series of formal notices will be made, public hearings will be held, and DPH will work with Baystate Health to assure patient-access needs are met. This process has already begun, about four months before the intended full transition for each affected unit, starting in late May for Baystate Wing, mid-June for Baystate Medical Center, and late June for Baystate Noble Hospital; it will continue in July for the partial-hospitalization program at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will be affiliated with the psychiatric services operated directly by Baystate Health, including a 28-bed Adult Psychiatric Treatment Unit at Baystate Medical Center, which serves as a primary site of training for medical students and psychiatric residents within UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate educational programs. This unit has a unique role in the care of patients with co-occurring and complex medical issues, requiring the resources of a general hospital.

Baystate’s Department of Psychiatry will also continue to operate its array of ambulatory behavioral-health services, psychiatric consultation services, emergency psychiatric services, and programs supporting mental-health treatment in the primary-care setting.

In addition, Baystate Health will continue to operate its 22-bed Mental Health Unit at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, which provides inpatient behavioral healthcare for patients in Greenfield and the surrounding communities. According to Ronald Bryant, president of Baystate Regional Hospitals, the decision to keep this unit open was made based on geography and Baystate Franklin’s history of integration of behavioral-health services, such as the 24/7 presence of recovery coaches in the Emergency Department.

“Baystate Franklin has spent many years building strength in behavioral-health practices that really connects with a lot of the other types of care provided,” Bryant said. “We didn’t want to lose the continuity of that integration.”

 

Fulfilling a Mission

Before coming to Valley Springs, Sasenaraine served as vice president of Operations for the central region of Spire Orthopedic Partners, where he led new construction, patient-access initiatives, and acquisition and integration work for Spire’s nine locations in Connecticut.

Prior to that, he served as vice president of Operations for Hartford Healthcare System’s East Region behavioral-health network, where he oversaw 18 locations, including six school-based programs, two emergency departments, one inpatient psychiatric hospital, eight ambulatory locations, and one inpatient juvenile program. His leadership led to the implementation of a new care model for adolescent, pediatric, and adult patients in inpatient care, along with the implementation of a new electronic medical record across all sites of care.

“Roy’s breadth of operational experience and his deep understanding of the behavioral-health setting make him the right leader for this new, state-of-the art facility that we are excited to open in the coming months,” Dr. Andrew Artenstein, Baystate Health’s chief physician executive and chief academic officer, said when the appointment was announced in the spring.

For his part, Sasenaraine said he embraces the opportunity to oversee a new specialty hospital that will increase employment in the region and generate $1.6 million in taxes annually — but, most importantly, provide more access to behavioral healthcare at a time when it’s needed.

“I know that we have an exciting road ahead of us,” he said. “I look forward to serving patients in Western Massachusetts with safe, high-quality behavioral-healthcare services.”

Auto Dealers Gain Some Momentum, but Challenges Persist

By
Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models
Autos Special Coverage

Driving Forces

Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models

Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models on the Marcotte lot, one of the small SUVs that are seeing a surge in popularity.

 

Prior to the pandemic, Mike Marcotte recalls, there would be between 300 and 350 new cars on the lot at Marcotte Ford, the Holyoke mainstay started by his grandfather more than a half-century ago.

At the height of COVID, when there were supply-chain issues and a massive microchip shortage, there were maybe 30 or 40 cars on that same lot.

“Employees could park wherever they wanted at that time,” Marcotte, the company’s president, said with a laugh, noting that today, there are close to 200 cars on the lot on Main Street, partly out of necessity — there are still fewer cars available from the manufacturer — but also out of choice.

“You don’t need to have everything on the lot because you can factory-order vehicles,” he explained. “It’s nice to have all the options, but you have carrying costs, and you want the freshest product.”

This commitment to keeping smaller inventory levels has provided the business with another opportunity to expand what has become a complex of sorts on Main Street, one that includes everything from the dealership to a commercial truck center to a car wash. Indeed, Marcotte showed BusinessWest a row in the parking lot that is now the site of a construction project — one that will create a bank of charging stations to handle the growing volume of electric-car sales.

“You don’t need to have everything on the lot because you can factory-order vehicles.”

Rising electric and hybrid car sales and smaller inventories, by choice, are among the trends and ongoing developments in an auto-sales industry that is still in many ways adjusting to life post-COVID. It’s a time of challenge — higher interest rates, talk of recession, and some lingering availability issues when it comes to many makes and models, for example — but also opportunity, in the form of new and intriguing products (mostly those electric models), some improved incentives from the manufacturers, and some lingering, pent-up demand.

Other trends include a still-challenging used-car market — meaning challenging for dealers who struggle to find cars and challenging for consumers, who continue to face limited options and high prices — as well as steadily rising SUV sales and a growing willingness among consumers to order a vehicle rather than pick one off the lot.

Carla Cosenzi, president of the Tommy Car Auto Group, which includes Hyundai, Genesis, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Volvo dealerships, said she and her team, like most in this business, entered the year with conservative expectations, because of those challenges listed above, and two quarters into 2023, they are meeting them.

“It’s been such a volatile market, with inventory constraints, interest rates, and what’s happening with the economy, so we just made a conservative projection and figured we could always adjust if we needed to,” Cosenzi said. “We projected to increase sales over last year, which we always do, but not by a lot.”

Ben Sullivan, chief operating officer at Balise Motor Sales, concurred. He told BusinessWest that, after three years of decline, to one degree or another, and a 2022 that was essentially flat, 2023 was seen within the industry as a year when, despite higher interest rates and inflation, dealers would do some catching up.

Ben Sullivan, seen here with a Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid

Ben Sullivan, seen here with a Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid, said electric cars and plug-ins comprise a growing percentage of sales at the company’s many dealerships.

And they have, he said, although limited supplies have impacted the degree that they can do so, with some brands impacted more than others. He noted that, while there are still some supply-chain issues, the bigger challenge now is getting the cars to the lots.

“There’s still some fragility in the supply chain,” Sullivan said. “On top of chips and COVID lockdowns, which, for most part, have passed in the global supply chain, now what you’re dealing with are labor shortages at ports and shortages of rail cars — there’s a particular type of rail car that carries vehicles. And on top of that, at the end of this year, the domestic manufacturers will be renegotiating their AUW contracts.”

For this issue and its focus on auto sales, BusinessWest talked with several dealers about what’s happening with this market at the halfway point in the year, and what we can expect in quarters three and four — and beyond.

 

To a Higher Gear

Before addressing 2023, Sullivan first set the tone by recapping 2022, which was, by most measures, and especially the new-car-sales yardstick, a down, or flat, year. And the availability of cars, or the lack thereof, was the biggest factor.

“Every time we thought that someone was going to build enough cars to grow sales, they weren’t able to, or they weren’t able to ship them,” he explained, listing issues ranging from plant lockdowns due to COVID to a computer-chip shortage and backups at the ports. “So the industry was really under some pressure.”

“People like to feel and touch and experience what they’re going to be driving, so there’s definitely an opportunity to lose market when you don’t have the right inventory and your competitor does.”

The consensus within this sector was that things would rebound somewhat in 2023, but the bounce would be limited by everything from lingering shipping challenges to higher interest rates to inflation limiting consumers’ buying power.

And all that has come to pass, said those we spoke with, noting that one of the biggest issues still facing dealers is inventory. Indeed, while most all of them would carry fewer vehicles than they did before the pandemic, for those reasons mentioned above, they would prefer more than they have at present — at least with most models.

Cosenzi, like Sullivan, said inventory levels vary with the brand, with some manufacturers faring better at bringing cars to the lot than others.

“Hyundai has inventory, and inventory is becoming more available every month,” she said. “Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s inventory isn’t nearly as robust as Hyundai’s, and with Nissan, we’re slowly seeing it grow, but it’s not faring as well as Hyundai.

“Obviously, we’ve learned to be more disciplined through COVID and not having as much inventory, and I think that has trained the consumer to some respect,” she went on. “However, people like to feel and touch and experience what they’re going to be driving, so there’s definitely an opportunity to lose market when you don’t have the right inventory and your competitor does.”

Carla Cozensi

Carla Cozensi says inventory issues are among the many challenges facing dealers today.

Sullivan said inventories are generally improving across the spectrum of brands in the Balise stable, which now includes a second Subaru store (the other is in Rhode Island), with the quiet acquisition of the Steve Lewis dealership on Route 9 in Hadley early this spring. Overall, 60% of cars are now pre-sold, or factory-ordered, compared with 80% to 90% at the height of COVID.

Overall, he said, there is now more of a willingness on the part of consumers to factory-order vehicles and get exactly what they want — and wait several weeks for it — while rising inventory levels improve the odds of getting exactly what they want (or at least close) and driving it off the lot the same day.

Marcotte said levels of inventory are rising at his Ford store, but a good number of vehicles — maybe 33% of all sales, by his estimate — are still factory-ordered, with wait times of roughly six to 12 weeks, compared with four to six months at the height of COVID.

“It’s back to normal in many respects, but you’re still dealing with some supply issues; it may not be microchips, but other parts — one widget can hold up a whole vehicle,” he said, adding that it can still be challenging to secure adequate inventories of some product, especially, in his case, trucks and cargo vans.

 

Current Events

But while challenges persist, those we spoke with have seen several encouraging trends and developments.

At the top of that list is electric vehicles and hybrids, sales of which have been climbing steadily, if unspectacularly, over the past several years.

Within the Balise stable, Sullivan said, there are now 15 electric models, with more on the way, when a few years ago, there were just three.

“It’s back to normal in many respects, but you’re still dealing with some supply issues; it may not be microchips, but other parts — one widget can hold up a whole vehicle.”

“Soon, there are going to be 54 entries into just the electric-vehicle market,” he said. “And it’s going to be a very interesting landscape to watch as people decide, ‘can I go all the way in electric, and which one do I get, based on range and price and tax credits?’

“It is certainly a growing part of the business, but what’s interesting to watch as well is the number of people who go out with an electric and decide they’ll take one step away from that and go plug-in hybrid,” he went on. “We’re seeing a real demand push going on for plug-in hydrids; the hybrids have been around for a while, but the plug-in hybrid is really starting to come into its own. We’re seeing a huge increase in demand for those vehicles.”

Meanwhile, sales of SUVs, especially the smaller, crossover models, continue to dominate the market.

Some makers have all but stopped selling sedans — Ford has only the Mustang left in its portfolio, for example — amid growing popularity of SUVs, which appeal to consumers of all ages.

Cosenzi said sales of models such as the Hyundai Tuscon, Nissan Rogue, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Volvo XT60 continue to trend higher. There is still a market for sedans, she went on, noting that VW’s Jetta and Hyundai’s Elantra, both smaller models with comparatively smaller price tags, are still a strong seller. But that market is smaller and continuing to trend in that direction.

Marcotte concurred, pointing to soaring demand for the Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport, a smaller SUV that is capturing an audience.

“We’re getting a lot of new buyers because of the style of the Bronco Sport — we’ve had some Escape customers, people who have bought two or three Escapes, moving to the Bronco Sport,” he said, adding that another popular addition to the portfolio is the Maverick, a small truck that gets 40 miles to the gallon and lists for under $30,000.

As for the used-car market, 2023 has looked a whole lot like … well, 2022, said those we spoke with, much to the chagrin of consumers and dealers alike.

The problem, now and then, is inventory, or lack thereof, said Cosenzi, adding that supplies remain low, for many reasons. These include fewer new-car sales (compared to pre-pandemic levels) and, therefore, fewer trade-ins, as well as the fact that seemingly all constituencies, from consumers to car-rental companies, are hanging onto their cars longer.

That means there are fewer pre-owned cars on the lots, which equates to higher prices, a simple byproduct of the laws of supply and demand that is not likely to change any time soon, Sullivan said.

Cosenzi agreed, noting that dealers can’t get as many cars, and they have to work much harder to secure what they can.

“We’ve done a really good job sourcing them from our own customers, like marketing to people in our market that we’re interested in buying their car, and that’s how we’ve been able to maintain our levels,” she said. “But it’s been difficult. It’s been more work than it’s been in the past, that’s for sure.”

 

The Road Ahead

Summing up the mindset at Balise, Sullivan said the company is “bullish,” and in a growth mode.

And, increasingly, it is securing the fuel it needs for such growth — fuel in the form of inventory, demand for products (especially the new electric vehicles and SUVs now dominating the lots), and economic conditions that will prompt consumers to buy.

Time will tell what happens over the final two quarters of this year, but it seems likely that dealers will do more of that catching up that was projected for 2023.

 

Second Chance Animal Services Improves Lives of Pets — and People

By
Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.
Special Coverage Women in Businesss

No Place Like Home

 

Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.

Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.

 

It’s called Homebound to the Rescue.

The idea behind this initiative, one of many launched over the years by Second Chance Animal Services, is that many senior citizens can’t afford to provide basic medical care for their pets or don’t have transportation to bring them to a vet.

What Second Chance does is bring care to the pet owner’s doorstep by visiting low-income senior-housing areas to offer low-cost vaccinations, testing, and other care, so the animals stay healthy and, just as important, don’t have to be surrendered because they can’t be properly cared for.

Then there’s Project Keep Me, which provides temporary housing for the pets of domestic-violence survivors, enabling their owners to seek safe housing arrangements while ensuring the well-being of their animal companions, and later returning them to a more stable environment. Without such a program, people in crisis often have to choose between staying in a dangerous situation and losing their beloved pets.

“Our main focus is what we call surrender prevention. If they have a loving home, we want to keep them there, if at all possible.”

“Maybe your sister can temporarily house you, but she’s got dogs, and you have cats, and the dogs don’t like cats, so you have to find a place for your cats,” said Sheryl Blancato, founder and CEO of Second Chance. “So we’ll take the cats, up to 90 days. It’s a wonderful experience to be able to get those people out. We hope that shelters take the animals as well, but not all shelters do. They just need that transition time, and we need to get them out of that dangerous situation.”

“Keeping families and pets together” is a slogan found on many of Second Chance’s brochures, and for good reason: it’s at the heart of what Blancato and her team do.

Simply put, she founded the organization in 1999 primarily to find homes for homeless animals, but later began providing low-cost medical care and vaccinations, realizing that healthy animals are less likely to be surrendered. And many of the programs that have followed have been with the same goal in mind: not only to help animals find homes, but keep as many as possible from being surrendered at all.

“Our main focus is what we call surrender prevention. If they have a loving home, we want to keep them there, if at all possible,” Blancato said in describing why programs like Homebound are so important. “For those that are on Social Security, retired, on a fixed income, those pets are often their sole daily companion. They’re vital to the health of the senior as well. They provide companionship, they keep your blood pressure down, they stave off loneliness, and with dogs, they walk them, so they get outside and meet people.”

This focus on not only making sure animals have good homes, but also improving quality of life for their owners has seen Second Chance expand its reach dramatically over the past 24 years. From its beginning with $400 in cash and donated land, it now encompasses four hospitals (in North Brookfield, Springfield, Worcester, and Southbridge) and serves about 44,000 animals a year.

Second Chance’s Springfield location

Second Chance’s Springfield location is one of its four community veterinary hospitals.

“There are times I’m like, ‘wow, this is amazing,’” Blancato said. “I’ll sometimes go in a hospital to meet with a manager or something, and I just watch what goes on in the lobby, and I listen. And I think, if I had helped 44,000 animals in my whole career, that would have been great. But to have that be a yearly thing is wonderful.”

For this issue’s focus on women in business, we visited one of those hospitals to sit down with Blancato to talk about the broad work of this nonprofit, why it’s so important, and why more people — and donors — need to know about it.

 

Bringing Home Buster

At least some of the credit for her long career in animal welfare goes to an escape artist named Buster.

That’s the puppy Blancato — then a single mother of three — adopted during her 20s, following a tough stretch in which her husband left and she battled cancer. And Buster was “ridiculous” at getting out of the yard. So Blancato got to know East Brookfield’s animal-control officer, and they became friends — and he eventually offered her a job as an animal-control assistant. He retired not long after, and she took over his role.

“ I think, if I had helped 44,000 animals in my whole career, that would have been great. But to have that be a yearly thing is wonderful.”

“Once I became an animal-control officer, I picked up a lot of strays that were never claimed. And the struggle I had was getting them homes, getting them medical care, all that stuff,” she recalled. “I worked with no-kill shelters, which were many in Massachusetts, and I would have to hold on to the dog for a few weeks. And I thought, ‘we need a resource here in this community.’”

As it turned out, a neighbor had a plot of land he wasn’t using, and when Blancato approached him, saying she’d like to start a shelter, and asking if he would donate the land, he agreed. By that time, she had adopted another dog, Dusty, who had been abused.

Lindsay Doray says Second Chance not only rescues animals

Lindsay Doray says Second Chance not only rescues animals, many from other parts of the country, but also provides services that allow owners to keep their pets and not have to surrender them in the first place.

“He was the reason this became really important to me, because if I didn’t take him in, what would have happened to this dog? So that was the real kickoff for Second Chance.”

So, while raising three children — and, by that time, two stepchildren — she took that $400, raised whatever else she could, and built the adoption center that still sits on the property today.

“The original intention, when I founded the organization, was that it was for helping homeless pets, but we quickly realized that a lot of animals were being surrendered simply because the people did not have the means to afford veterinary care — something catastrophic happened in their life or to the pet.”

The shelter was offering spay/neuter services and vaccines in the early years, but Blancato realized she could do more to keep pets and families together through expanded veterinary care. The first hospital was built in neighboring North Brookfield in 2010 and expanded to full-service care in 2013, and the other three hospitals followed, giving Second Chance a broad footprint across Central and Western Mass.

“We had to strategically place hospitals because not everybody could get to North Brookfield,” she explained. “We do about 1,500 to 1,700 adoptions a year, but the rest is veterinary — spay/neuter, vaccine clinics, all of our other programs and services.”

Those services also include:

• The Helping Hands outreach, which assisted 76 rescue sites, shelters, and municipal facilities in 2022, providing low-cost spay/neuter and vet care, while accepting homeless pets from other facilities;

• Project Good Dog, which matches behaviorally needy dogs with inmates in pre-release programs at local correctional institutions, providing 24/7 care and training for the dogs while teaching handlers patience, compassion, and responsibility;

• A pet-food pantry that served more than 7,600 pets in 2022, distributing dog and cat food to 25 local human food pantries — again, helping financially struggling families keep their pets;

• Mobile adoption, education, and vet-care events; and much more.

The low-cost veterinary care provided at the hospitals makes a huge difference, longtime Development Manager Lindsay Doray said.

Rescue program brings mobile vet services

Second Chance’s Homebound to the Rescue program brings mobile vet services to seniors where they live.

“Prior to the services that we offer, people weren’t taking their pets to the vets yearly because they couldn’t afford to,” she noted. “Maybe they did the bare minimum and got the rabies vaccine, and that’s it. But when the animal became sick, either they would end up having to surrender the animal, or the animal would go without care.”

Blancato agreed that preventive care is critical.

“If you don’t get regular maintenance on your car, at some point, it breaks down, and then it’s very expensive. The same thing happens with animals,” she said. “A lot of people never go to the vet because of fear of the cost and everything involved. And once we get people in and they see that, ‘oh, this isn’t so bad,’ they understand that bringing them in yearly makes it a lot easier, and they can maintain the health of their pet for a lot less money.”

Second Chance’s services cost more than what clients can pay, so the nonprofit relies heavily on grants, donations, corporate sponsorships, and a few fundraising events each year to make up the difference and keep growing.

Even for adoptions, Doray said, “what we receive in adoption fees only covers about 50% of what we’ve put into the animal medically.”

At the same time, Second Chance is not short-changing its medical team, Blancato said.

“We have the highest quality of staff, and we pay at or above market standards because we want to attract veterinarians to us,” she said, noting that the U.S. is currently dealing with a shortage of between 7,000 and 10,000 veterinarians. Second Chance currently employs nine vets, but needs at least four more to keep up with demand.

“There’s a misnomer out there that, if you work for a nonprofit, we pay far less. And that hasn’t been true for many, many years,” she added. “We have to attract the same talent as any veterinary hospital; I’m competing for the same talent they are. I want the top talent here because I want the best of the care for the animals.”

 

Lending a Paw

Doray has worked with these animals — and families — long enough to understand the importance of what Second Chance does.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘if people can’t afford an animal, they shouldn’t have one.’ And I say, ‘well, what about your 80-year-old grandmother who loses her husband, and she’s obviously not in the workforce anymore. You think she should have to give up her 15-year-old cat because now that she doesn’t have a spouse, there’s less money in the household?’ They say, ‘well, no, you can help those people.’

“Then I’m like, ‘OK, what about the woman who lost her husband at 45, and they’ve got three kids? Should they also have to give up the family dog because the husband’s gone and the mom now has to go back to work and she’s got three kids to support?’ ‘Well, no, you can help them.’

“‘So, what about a wheelchair-bound person whose dog or cat is their sole daily companion, and they’re not able to get anywhere? Should they have to give one up because they can’t physically work because of whatever injury or disability they have?’ And then they’re like, ‘oh, now I get it.’

“These are real-world situations that happen to people,” Doray continued. “Nobody expects to lose your spouse, but it happens, and you shouldn’t have to lose something else that you care about. Sometimes it’s a very temporary situation where you lose your job, and a year later, you’re back on your feet, and you’re able to pay the full veterinary cost.”

And many Second Chance clients do, indeed, pay full cost.

“Even for them, our rates are still very competitive,” Doray said. “But they also love our vets, and they support our mission, and they know that, by coming to us, they’re helping to subsidize the cost for somebody else, for the 80-year-old woman who just lost her husband and doesn’t want to lose her cat.”

Second Chance operates mobile vaccine clinics across the region.

Second Chance operates mobile vaccine clinics across the region.

Second Chance pushed through the pandemic like all nonprofits did, but those years set back the cause of animal homelessness nationwide by bringing adoption and spay/neuter programs to a temporary standstill.

“In 2019, we were so excited because euthanasia in this country had dropped to a point that I figured, within two years, we would be at zero. Then COVID hit, and it basically flatlined everything for two years,” Blancato said. “Now, we’ve got two to five years to get to zero, when we were so close.

“It’s heartbreaking for all of us in animal welfare, and I know it’s been devastating in the South, because they got used to not having to euthanize for space, and now they’ve had to go back to it. That’s why we want to get as many animals up here as we can and get them homes, and be able to take more.”

Blancato doesn’t envision working more than 10 more years, and said the organization has been structured — with a strong, dedicated team in place — to continue thriving long after that.

And it should — “because the need isn’t going to ever go away,” she said. “There’s always going to be a need to take care of animals, there are always going to be animals that find themselves homeless, there are always going to be people who need veterinary care. So this is very gratifying. But I didn’t do it alone.”

Paying Off Your Mortgage Early

By Contributor
Special Coverage Wealth Management

Whether to Do So Depends on Several Factors

By Barbara Trombley, MBA, CPA

Should you pay off your mortgage early? This is a common question that financial planners get, and the answer is not always what you may be thinking.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, historic mortgage rates peaked in 1981 at a 30-year fixed rate of 18.63%. Throughout the 1980s, the 30-year fixed rate steadily declined to a lofty 10%+ in 1990.

According to historical data provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average price of a house sold in 1980 was $76,400. Using these numbers and an online mortgage calculator, a $60,000 mortgage payment in 1980 would be $935 per month. This would have been an extraordinary burden for the average family. Paying off a mortgage as soon as financially possible would have been an excellent financial move at that time.

Fast-forward to our reality in the last few years. Those who were lucky enough to buy before the Federal Reserve started increasing interest rates after the pandemic were able to lock in historically low mortgage rates. It was not unheard of to get a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage under 3%.

Barbara Trombley

Barbara Trombley

“You may need more money than you think in the future due to healthcare costs, inflation, family needs, etc., and if it is tied up as equity in your house, it may be difficult to access.”

Even if you didn’t purchase your house in the last few years, if your credit was good, you would have been able to refinance to get these terms. The same $60,000 mortgage in 1980, calculated at 3% interest, would result in a monthly payment of $253 versus $935 at 18.63% — a huge financial difference.

Low-rate mortgages should be considered good debt. Why is it called good debt, and what is bad debt? I would consider good debt to be a mortgage, car loan, and some student loans. These types of loans may increase your future net worth or help you achieve your goals. Most people do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank to purchase a house, so a mortgage is a great tool to achieve home ownership. Purchasing a car can be imperative to get to a job for many people. A small loan, when necessary, would be considered good debt.

The same argument would hold for student loans. Of course, we do not want students to be burdened by debt. But for many conscientious students, loans are the only way to achieve their academic dreams and set them up for a financially stable future.

Bad debt can derail your financial goals with high-interest rates. The main source of bad debt that comes to mind would be credit cards, especially when used for discretionary purchases. Credit cards have notoriously high interest rates, and many people are not good at managing the debt. If you are paying off your charges in full each month, then the interest rate does not come in to play. Other sources of bad debt would be many personal loans and payday loans. Payday loans can be extraordinarily damaging, with interest rates as high as 30%. These types of loans prey on economically disadvantaged people who need cash before their actual payday.

 

Assessing Your Needs

So, should you pay off your mortgage early? My personal point of view is that, if mortgage debt increases your net worth over time, and you are investing your funds elsewhere, it is good debt to have.

Paying off a mortgage early, for many people, would result in becoming ‘asset rich’ and ‘cash poor.’ I like to use the phrase ‘living in a piggy bank’ to describe having your money tied up in a primary home. You may need more money than you think in the future due to healthcare costs, inflation, family needs, etc., and if it is tied up as equity in your house, it may be difficult to access.

Also, many homeowners mistakenly think it is best to leave a debt-free house to their kids. In my experience, most ‘kids’ do not want their parents’ home or cannot afford the upkeep. Upon their parents’ death, they will sell the house quickly and pay off any mortgage on the property and keep the remaining proceeds.

If you have spent the last 30 years diligently paying your monthly mortgage and it is fully paid, that is something to be proud of. If you have purchased a property in the last 15 or 20 years, think carefully and weigh the pros and cons with a financial advisor before making a hasty decision.

 

Barbara Trombley is a financial planner with Wilbraham-based Trombley Associates Investment and Retirement Planning. Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Trombley Associates, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own, separate from this educational material.

BusinessTalk with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

 

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 169: July 3, 2023

BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College

Colleges are in many ways at a crossroads, emerging from the pandemic years but still battling long-term trends toward fewer applications and heightened competition. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College, about that institution’s holistic approach to standing out in a crowd, one that prioritizes not only academics, but also campus culture and a sense of belonging, as well as connections with the community on workforce-development efforts aimed at strengthening the region’s economy and keeping graduates here. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

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BusinessTalk with Nicole Polite, CEO and Founder of MH Group

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 168: June 26, 2023

Joe Bednar Interviews Nicole Polite, CEO and Founder of MH Group

It’s an interesting time, to say the least, in the world of employment and staffing, amid a shortage of talent in many industries and tidal changes in the way people work. Amid all of this, Nicole Polite has built a model at her staffing and recruiting firm, the MH Group, that aims to meet the needs of employers while helping job seekers effectively navigate the market. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Polite about her agency, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and her new nonprofit, the MH Cares Foundation, which uses the power of mentorship to help underserved populations achieve fulfilling careers. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

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Gill-based Renaissance Builders Melds History with Modern Ideas

By
Stephen Greenwald
Construction Special Coverage

Past Meets Future

Stephen Greenwald

Stephen Greenwald has built a strong reputation in a variety of construction niches over the past 47 years.

 

For Stephen Greenwald, growing his construction company was tied closely to how he saw his role in it.

“I started as a one-person company — just me, doing whatever I could do,” he said of the origin of Renaissance Builders in 1976. “The very small remodeling jobs … those were the only kinds of jobs I could get back then.”

A little over a decade later, he had nine employees, but he felt he was spending too much time building and renovating, and not enough time managing and planning.

“I still put on a tool belt and went to work most days, pounding nails,” he recalled. “And if you’re out there working, pounding nails every day in the field, the biggest issue is time commitment. You just don’t have enough time to run a company. You’re not answering the phone, doing estimates, meeting with clients, working on designs, and bidding other projects.”

As a result, “there’s a certain limit to your income,” he added. “So in the very late ’80s or very early ’90s, I came to the conclusion that, if I ever wanted this company to be more than a company where I worked in the field every day, we needed to grow in size and systems and management. So I made a conscious decision that we’re going to start looking at bigger jobs.”

“I came to the conclusion that, if I ever wanted this company to be more than a company where I worked in the field every day, we needed to grow in size and systems and management.”

Today, Renaissance, based in Gill, boasts 27 employees and a broad range of work, from residential to commercial to historical preservation, up and down the Pioneer Valley, from Springfield to Brattleboro.

By the early ’90s, “we were doing almost entirely residential work,” Greenwald recalled. “And two events happened that sort of pushed us in different directions.”

The first was an opportunity to build a water-treatment plant in Greenfield for groundwater pollution remediation, which exposed Renaissance to a new line of work. Then, in the late ’90s, Greenwald had an opportunity to tackle the interior fit-out of a food-processing facility in Turners Falls. “Now we have multiple clients in the food industry,” he said.

wrestling arena at Northfield Mount Hermon School

This award-winning wrestling arena at Northfield Mount Hermon School was designed by Jones Whitsett Architects and built by Renaissance Builders.

The bulk of the firm’s work is negotiated, though it also bids on public jobs. Since it started growing in earnest, Renaissance has dramatically broadened its scope, from restaurants and commercial kitchens — its area projects have included complete renovations for Blue Heron and Goten in Sunderland, and Hope & Olive in Greenfield — to retail establishments and service industries, including a new Greenfield Savings Bank branch in Turners Falls, which was built with energy-saving goals in mind (more on that aspect of the business later).

One intriguing renovation project was Ode Boutique in Northampton. A suspended ceiling hid the original plaster medallions on the ceiling of the downtown location, and the retail space was split in half by a wall. A new steel beam allowed the dividing wall to be removed, and the entire interior and storefront were redone in a fresh, rustic style.

Meanwhile, a three-building renovation project along Bank Row in the center of Greenfield included a complete interior and partial exterior renovation of the Allen and Pond buildings, with ground-floor and exterior renovations to the Siano building. The roof was raised to create a full third floor in the Pond building, and the basement was excavated to create usable retail space in the Allen Block. The project also included significant energy upgrades and facade renovations to historic specifications.

“During the pandemic, a lot of people were sort of investing in their homes, and they had some expensive projects to do.”

On the education front, Renaissance has done multiple public-school projects, and is starting work on Athol High School this summer. “That work ebbs and flows,” Greenwald said. “It’s driven by the purse strings of local governments and the state.”

 

Comforts of Home

Most of the company’s work is located in the Valley, but Renaissance has taken projects as far south as East Hartford. The balance between residential and commercial work tends to shift with the economy, but most residential projects have been high-end renovation work.

“There’s not a whole lot of new housing because new housing is particularly expensive these days, especially in Massachusetts,” Greenwald said. “And during the pandemic, a lot of people were sort of investing in their homes, and they had some expensive projects to do.”

Kitchens and bathrooms have been the biggest request, he added. “We have two crews that have done nothing but kitchens and baths for two years — just one right after the other.”

Renaissance Builders

Renaissance Builders has long had a strong presence in residential work, including this home in Northampton.

While design styles have understandably changed over the decades, one striking change in recent years has been why people are renovating.

“Fifteen years ago, it was, ‘I’m in this house until I can afford to move to the next house — a bigger house or a better spot.’ I’m not sure what’s driving it, but now, they’re much more focused on making big improvements even beyond what the value of their house is,” he explained. “So, clearly, they want to live there. They want to be comfortable, and they realize that, by putting $150,000 into their home, they probably couldn’t turn around and sell it tomorrow for that. But they want what they want.”

One factor, of course, may be that buying a new home is historically expensive right now, due mainly to supply-and-demand issues in the Western Mass. market, as well as still-high costs of building materials. Renaissance has navigated the inflation issue in its own business along with all other area builders.

“Some basic materials have come back down — the cost of plywood is an example. And the cost of two-by-fours has returned to where it was,” Greenwald noted. “But what hasn’t come back down is, for example, the cost of a window. I can’t speak for what a manufacturer is going to do, but my guess is that manufacturers are now getting this price, so they see no reason to not keep charging it. It’s similar to what happened the first time fuel surcharges showed up on our deliveries. Well, fuel went back down, but the fuel surcharges never went away.”

Supply-chain issues continue to nag at the industry as well, he said. “It’s gotten better, but it hasn’t gone away. There are still issues every week with items not showing up, or items showing up damaged. The supply chain is still a big issue.”

That said, “we’re very busy,” Greenwald said, noting that Renaissance has a strong reputation with clients, especially when it comes to what he called “some unique problem-solving skills, which have earned us the loyalty of customers.”

For example, “we had a client that said, ‘we have this 11-foot-diameter, 40-foot-tall cylinder which we have to put inside our building. It’s in our parking lot. And you have to come up with a plan to cut a hole in the roof, and you can only have the roof open for 12 hours.’ So that was kind of a neat challenge.

“With those jobs, the clients aren’t too interested in the cost; they’re interested that you meet their 12-hour deadline,” he went on. “We have a reputation among a lot of these manufacturers, that we’re excellent at solving these problems.”

Renaissance has a reputation for historical-renovation work as well, including elements of that Bank Row project in Greenfield, which earned the owner, Icarus, Wheaten & Finch, statewide preservation awards, and other projects, like a window restoration of Forbes Library in Northampton.

Historic-preservation work is a clear area of opportunity, Greenwald said. “It’s one of those areas where there’s not a lot of competition. And on municipally funded jobs, a lot of times, you have to be DCAM-certified in historical renovation. There are very few contractors in this part of the state that have that designation; we’re one of them.”

 

Green Thoughts

Renaissance is also well-known for green building projects. Contractors have to be these days, of course, but Greenwald got involved in energy-efficient building in the late ’80s, when such work was far from the norm.

“Western Mass. Electric, which morphed into Eversource, had a program called Energy Crafted Homes back in the early ’90s, and we built the first model for it,” he said. “For those days, it was airtight and super-insulated. It was very progressive. So, in the ’90s, we started doing that.

“The whole industry has progressed, of course,” he went on. “Building science has grown exponentially in the last 30 years, and has really made some huge leaps forward. But that’s still important to us. Even the additions we do, there’s a component that falls into green building. It’s kind of expected, almost — I mean, the building code is demanding.”

Early on in the green movement, the industry recognized the value of insulation and air sealing, he explained. “Building science has discovered over the years that, if you control the amount of air that leaks into your house, not only can you improve the health and comfort of the occupants, but you can also reliably predict how much it’s going to cost to heat the house or cool the house and design accordingly. So that’s a big element.”

Building materials comprise another element. “And there’s a lot of discussion, with all sorts of points of view, about what constitutes green building. You will get lots of varying opinions, like, should you use foam for insulation because it’s made with petroleum products? But it has a long lifespan, and, from a insulation point of view, it’s doing its job, and may be the most effective of all the insulations available, versus using Rockwool or cellulose, which are both made with some form of recycled products.”

Whatever the specific debate, it’s clear that the bar is always rising on what constitutes quality green design.

“I built my house in 1995, and it was state-of-the-art in 1995,” Greenwald said. “It’s an antique by today’s building standards, but it’s still a very efficient house.”

At the end of the day, what he appreciates most about his job is the problem-solving aspect, and how gratifying it is when a client’s plan matches reality, whether it’s historical preservation or the cutting edge of green design — or both.

“I love being able to help people achieve their goals, and coming up with unique, out-of-the-box solutions to problems,” he said. “That’s what keeps me interested in this.”

Burkhart Pizzanelli Builds on Its Strong Legacy

By
Julie Quink (left) and Deborah Penzias
Accounting and Tax Planning Special Coverage

Firm Resolve

Julie Quink (left) and Deborah Penzias

Julie Quink (left) and Deborah Penzias, partners at Burkhart Pizzanelli.

 

Julie Quink says she’s often asked about the name of the company she now leads with her partner, Deborah Penzias.

And that’s understandable, given that neither one is named Burkhart or Pizzanelli.

Those were the names of the founders, Quink explained, adding that the firm’s name has become a respected brand over the past 37 years, so she and Penzias saw, and continue to see, value in maintaining it, just as many other accounting and law firms have kept the names of their founders over the door.

“It’s such a brand, one that people across the region know,” she told BusinessWest, adding that modern technology has added an intriguing and sometimes fun twist to the equation.

Indeed, when those from the firm call, what shows up on many of today’s phone systems and their caller-ID programs is ‘Burkhart Pizza.’

“There isn’t enough room for the full name — it cuts off the ‘nelli’ part,” said Quink with a laugh, adding that some surprised call recipients will respond with, “but I didn’t order a pizza.”

“We had decades worth of tax legislation in just a few years.”

While pepperoni with extra cheese isn’t on the menu, a full menu of accounting, auditing, and business-consulting services are, said Quink, noting that, in recent years, those consulting services have become an ever-more important part of what an accounting firm, and especially this one, can provide to its clients, whether it involves strategic planning, succession planning, or maybe just a survival strategy (more on that later).

Speaking of the past few years … they have been a long and very difficult time for all those in business, but especially those in accounting, said both partners, noting both a raft of changes to tax codes and a mountain of work that falls in the category of non-traditional — everything from help with PPP loans to assistance with applying for the Employee Tax Credit.

The phrase ‘never-ending tax season’ came into vogue to describe the past three years, and both partners put it, and similar phrases that say essentially the same thing, to use.

“We had decades worth of tax legislation in just a few years,” Penzias said. “The only constant is change; the need has been pretty heavy from the client side, and rightfully so.”

Quink agreed, noting that, starting early in the pandemic and then continuing for the next few years, those in the accounting realm, and this firm especially, have been “running on adrenaline,” as she put it.

“That’s what we’ve been doing these past few years to help clients get though, help clients with various crises and whatever needs they had during that timeframe,” she said. “Clients continue to have needs, but it seems like we’re coming off that adrenaline rush now. I’m tired, and other practitioners I talk to are tired, and our team is tired, and I think this is a result of the emotional and physical toll of what’s happened over the past few years.”

Elaborating, she mentioned challenges ranging from the additional work, constantly moving deadlines, and pressures facing clients to workforce issues and simply “finding people willing to do the work.”

Actually, the adrenaline rush wore off some time ago, she said, adding quickly that the additional work and responsibilities haven’t stopped coming.

“We’re tired,” said Quink, adding that this is one of the reasons the Burkhart Pizzanelli office will be closed on Fridays for the summer, continuing a tradition started several years ago.

Some will come to the office and take advantage of the quiet to get caught up, but many will take a three-day weekend every week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a benefit that is much appreciated, especially after tax season and all the additional work of the past several years.

“Many of us take the time and recharge,” she said, adding quickly that, while the adrenaline rush has worn off, the firm is pushing ahead on many different fronts out of necessity — everything from strategic and succession planning to coping with a challenging workforce front.

The team at Burkhart Pizzanelli

The team at Burkhart Pizzanelli has been “running on adrenaline” over the past few unusual years, Julie Quink says.

For this issue and its focus on accounting and tax planning, BusinessWest talked at length with Quink and Penzias about everything from the past few years and what they’ve meant for the firm to what’s in the business plan for ‘Burkhart Pizza.’

 

A Bigger Piece of the Pie

Tracing the history of the firm, Quink said it was founded in 1986 by Richard Burkhart and Salvatore Pizzanelli. In 1987, Tom Pratt joined the firm, and for the next several years, the three operated the firm under various names before settling on Burkhart Pizzanelli, a name that has stuck for all the reasons noted above.

“They developed a nice practice in the area working with many different types of industries and types of clients,” she said, adding that firm has continued to grow and evolve over the years, building on that solid foundation laid by the partners.

“It’s a really exciting time for us; we’re growing by leaps and bounds,” said Penzias. “We would love to expand our team — providing quality services for our clientele and managing the client load is one of our biggest challenges. It’s a growth time; it’s an exciting period. The younger folks are learning rapidly, and there’s a really positive atmosphere here.”

Today, the firm serves clients of all sizes and sectors, including nonprofits, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, construction, distribution, real estate, and others.

Penzias joined the firm in 1998, and Quink came aboard in 2011. The two became principals in 2013, negotiating a buyout with their first partner in 2014 and the second one in 2015. Quink became managing principal in 2015, and the last partner was bought out in 2019.

“I’m tired, and other practitioners I talk to are tired, and our team is tired, and I think this is a result of the emotional and physical toll of what’s happened over the past few years.”

Along the way, the firm bought out the Palmer practice of Steve Chiacchia, giving it two locations, including one in the eastern part of the region, Quink said, adding that most of the retired partners are still active with the firm to one degree or another.

As noted earlier, Quink, Penzias, and other members of the leadership are working on a number of fronts simultaneously.

One is strategic planning, Quink said, adding that the firm’s broad goal is to remain independent and grow, mostly in an organic fashion, although she said will explore mergers and acquisitions, to acquire talent as much as anything else.

“There are certain ways to get people to join you team, and one of them is to acquire a firm that has good, talented staff and that’s attractive,” she explained, adding that this was part of the mindset with the Chiacchia firm, which also offered a base in the Quaboag area, one she said provides ample growth opportunities.

“There’s a lot of great businesses and opportunities for us in that market,” she noted. “That office and that practice has been growing nicely since we acquired it.”

Another priority moving forward is to maintain and build upon what the partners describe as a fairly unique corporate culture, one that probably wouldn’t fit smoothly with a larger, regional firm, she said, adding that this is one reason why the founders, and now Quink and Penzias, have entertained offers to be acquired, but ultimately rejected them.

“We want to preserve this for the team,” Quink said. “We want to keep the Burkhart legacy going as long as it makes sense to do so.”

When asked to describe that culture, she said the firm is structured in many ways like a family. To emphasize the closeness of the team and how well it works together, she went back in time to the early days of the pandemic, when working remotely became the norm, even at essential businesses like banks and, yes, accounting firms.

“We’ve had the ability to work remotely for 15 years because of the software we use and how it’s cloud-based, but during the pandemic, most of our people chose to work here, and I think that’s telling,” she said, adding that firm took the necessary precautions to make sure people were safe. “I think it’s a place where people feel comfortable and where they feel they’re not just a number.

“We’re very in tune with what’s going on with our team members, with their vision, what they want, where they want to go with their careers,” Quink went on. “We’re businesslike, but we’re very much a team, and we like to be with each other.”

 

Topping It All

The team has been together quite a bit over the past three years and three months, said Penzias, noting that the pandemic and its aftermath have produced not only longer tax seasons, or one never-ending season, but many additional types of work that clients want and need.

Increasingly, she noted, clients are looking to their accounting firm for assistance not only with taxes and auditing, but with strategic planning and navigating the many challenges facing businesses of all sizes today, from supply-chain issues to how to navigate the recession that many prognosticators say is coming.

Quink agreed, noting that the pandemic has been a long and trying time on many levels, professionally but also emotionally. Indeed, she said the firm saw several of its clients die from COVID, including one of the patients in the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.

Meanwhile, this trying period generated additional work on many different levels, she said, listing everything from individuals inheriting large sums of money due to deaths from COVID to small-business owners deciding that it was time to sell their venture or perhaps merge with another.

“Our industry is rigorous, as are many others. It’s difficult to find people who want to live this lifestyle, so to speak, and work really, really hard.”

“We had commercial clients that closed because of the world turning on its end; we helped them wind down a legacy business, a family business, or transition it to someone else because they didn’t have the capacity to handle it anymore,” she recalled. “We did see an uptick in merger-and-acquisition work over the past three years, with clients deciding, as a result of the strains being put upon them by the new world, that they were done, and either we helped them find a buyer, or they found their own buyer through a broker, and we helped them negotiate the specifics of the deal.”

Things have slowed somewhat, but the firm is still seeing some activity in that realm, Quink said, adding that, overall, many clients are still struggling to fully recover and get back to where they were pre-pandemic.

Another priority for the firm is succession planning, she told BusinessWest, adding that the firm is committed to ensuring that the next generation of leaders is in place.

“We’re developing our next succession team, so when Debbie and I retire, we have our team in place to continue moving the Burkhart legacy forward,” she said, adding that this is an important assignment for any company, and one she and her term consult with many of their clients on.

Another challenging assignment is finding and retaining talent, and this is another issue to which the firm is advising clients to take a proactive approach — while practicing what it preaches.

“We’re trying to be as creative as we possibly can to recruit,” she said, adding that, while people at this firm like to be in the office, the trend in the industry — and across the workforce, for that matter — is toward remote work and hybrid models.

As a result, the firm is willing to be flexible with work arrangements, with a mix of remote work and at least one day in the office.

“We’re seeing a lot more firms requiring people to go in one or two days a week,” she said. “So what worked for someone living in Western Mass. and working for a Boston-based firm might not fit now with these changes that we’re seeing, so that might benefit us. Overall, we’re all competing for the same talent.”

Quink cited statistics suggesting fewer people are getting into the accounting field, and there are discussions ongoing within the Massachusetts Society of CPAs about how to reverse that trend.

One obvious strategy, she said, is for people like her to get into high schools and even middle schools and talk about accounting and how this business is not just about filing tax returns. Still, it is a difficult business, and its long hours and difficult tax seasons are not easy sells.

“Our industry is rigorous, as are many others,” said Quink as she talked about the workforce challenges facing this firm and all players in this industry. “It’s difficult to find people who want to live this lifestyle, so to speak, and work really, really hard.”

 

The Crust of the Story

Looking ahead, Quink and Penzias said that, overall, the names on the company’s door are more important than their own.

Those names speak to a long track record of excellence when it comes to serving clients not just by adding up numbers, but by helping them cope with change and challenge and seize opportunities when they are appropriate.

The caller ID on the office phone may identify them as ‘Burkhart Pizza,’ but clients certainly know and appreciate who’s on the other end of the line.

Springfield Program Strives to Take Dining Option to the Next Level

By
Nadim Kashouh
Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

The Great Outdoors

 

Nadim Kashouh

Nadim Kashouh has long offered outdoor seating at his downtown Springfield establishment.

 

The term ‘parklet’ isn’t exactly new.

Larger municipalities like San Francisco, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Chicago, and others have been using it, officially or unofficially, for at least a few years now to describe efforts to repurpose and reimagine parking spaces for recreation, dining, retail, and other uses.

It’s starting to be heard more in Springfield, and it will certainly become a part of the lexicon in the future thanks in large part to $2 million worth of grants being awarded to area establishments and properties to take outdoor dining in the city to at least the next level.

Indeed, there will be at least a few parklets created through these grants, including one at Granny’s Baking Table on Bridge Street.

Todd Crossett, co-owner of the bakery, said he’s been researching the concept and, working with a local architect, has come up with a plan to bring the popular eatery, which features pies, pastries, beignets, and sandwiches, out into a large parking space originally meant for a van — 8 feet by 20 feet — and a few feet of the adjoining sidewalk, and thus bring something new and different to the city.

“We’re going to do something a little funky and take over a parking space,” he explained. “I think it will be the first of its kind, and it will be great for the city because it will generate more revenue than a parking space, because the space is free.”

Elaborating, he said Granny’s, drawing inspiration from what has been created in Evanston, Ill. and other communities, will create a tented, three-season dining deck that will include three tables and chairs as well as an awning, which can all be easily removed for the winter.

“We’re going to do something a little funky and take over a parking space.”

Beyond the parklets, though, the outdoor dining grants, funded by ARPA money awarded to the city in the wake of COVID, are expected to change the landscape in many different ways, from reactivating properties, such as the small park across Main Street from Tower Square, to changing the look and feel of other properties, such as the TD Bank building next to that park. It doesn’t have a restaurant at present — a pizzeria closed down during COVID, and a replacement has yet to be secured — but Jack Dill, who purchased the property in 2021 with a few partners, believes it will happen soon, and the option to serve patrons outdoors will likely help in the process of securing one.

Granny’s Baking Table

Granny’s Baking Table plans a tented, three-season dining deck outside.

While the grants have become the subject of some controversy — a few city councilors have essentially accused Mayor Domenic Sarno of using the grant program as a way to reward supporters and perhaps create more of them during an intriguing and potentially challenging election year — most of the focus has been on what they might mean for individual businesses and sections of the city, especially downtown.

Tim Sheehan, the city’s chief Economic Development officer, said that, while there weren’t too many positives to come out of the COVID pandemic, especially when it comes to the hospitality industry, the emergence of outdoor dining — not just as a preference for patrons, but also as a catalyst for business growth and economic development — is certainly one of them.

“The restaurant businesses recognized that this is what patrons were looking for all through COVID,” he said, adding that, while the pandemic is officially over in most all respects, there remains a focus on public health and safety within this industry and thus a continued focus on providing outdoor dining opportunities.

Nadim Kashouh, owner of Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill on Main Street, agreed. He has long offered outdoor dining at his establishment, which abuts the office tower 1350 Main St. office tower and now extends to that property with outdoor seating through a lease arrangement, and said it has become an increasingly popular option for his patrons.

“The restaurant businesses recognized that this is what patrons were looking for all through COVID.”

“People feel more comfortable sitting in an open space in the open air,” he said, adding that, with his $100,000 grant from the program, he intends to add more seats, from the current 60 to 100, as well as industrial-strength umbrellas, fire tables, heaters, a tent, and a grill that will allow him to bring what he calls a “a different kind of dining experience to the area.”

“People can come up, select their meat, and we’ll cook it for them right there and then,” he explained, adding that he expects the initiative to bring more people to his eatery and the downtown in general.

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest talked with Sheehan and several restaurateurs and property owners about the outdoor dining grants and what they might mean for individual businesses, locations, and the proverbial big picture in the City of Homes.

 

 

Food for Thought

Crossett told BusinessWest that, as those at Granny’s were preparing their application for the outdoor dining grants, which they were encouraged by city officials to pursue, they did so with a specific mindset.

“We just didn’t want to give the city a reason to say no to us,” he explained, adding that this sentiment is reflected in everything from architect’s drawings and multiple bids on construction that accompanied the application to the very specific dollar amount requested.

Indeed, while most applicants rounded up, Granny’s requested $46,160. And that’s how much the city awarded the business.

Overall, 21 establishments applied for the grants, and 17 were awarded funds. Some of the awards matched or came close to what was requested, while others were a fraction of what was sought. And it was a diverse list of recipients, to be sure, with awardees ranging from the Student Prince Restaurant and the Fort to the John Boyle O’Reilly Club; from Two Guys Pizza on Page Boulevard to Uno Chicago Grill near the Basketball Hall of Fame.

park area outside 1441 Main St

Activating the park area outside 1441 Main St. could be a key element in bringing more dining options to the building.

Dollar amounts awarded ranged from $250,000 (City Line Café, the John Boyle O’Reilly Club, and White Lion Brewing) to $35,000 for the Springfield Business Improvement District to build on its improvements on Duryea Way.

There were scoring criteria, said Sheehan, listing everything from an initiative’s ability to encourage foot traffic and improve walkability in a neighborhood business district to whether an applicant had previously received ARPA money. And there were some broad goals behind the awards, but mostly an effort to promote outdoor dining and create more and better opportunities for the concept to spur growth and bring more diners to establishments.

The grant program, which was conceived just a few months ago and undertaken in aggressive fashion, recognizes that the landscape has certainly changed in this realm. In 2019, he explained, the city initiated a one-year pilot program for outdoor dining that did not garner much interest within the industry, with just a handful of applicants. In 2020, the City Council approved that pilot becoming permanent, he went on, adding that the broad objective was to activate commercial districts in specific neighborhoods.

But it wasn’t until the pandemic that the industry fully recognized the need to move to outdoor dining, he continued, adding that the grant program was initiated to help individual businesses and properties move into that realm, or move more aggressively, through initiatives ranging from parklets to White Lion’s reactivation of the Steiger’s park.

Speaking in broad terms, Sheehan said outdoor dining does more than provide an attractive alternative to the traditional experience.

“It heightens people’s engagement with the public realm that’s around them,” he explained. “And it begins to elicit the conversation of ‘how do we make the public realm better for everyone, not just diners, but also pedestrians? And how do we make the streets more accessible to all of the needs that we have relative to public rights of way?’ Because there’s growing competition for that space, whether it be bicyclists or pedestrians or outdoor diners.”

As he talked about his grant and what will happen with it, Crossett first went back in time, to the start of COVID, when many cities were gearing up for outdoor dining and providing assistance to establishments looking to enter that realm. He said he encouraged city leaders to do the same, but recalls that the response was somewhat lukewarm — ‘pusillanimous’ was the word he used.

Eventually, some money was made available, and Granny’s used it to put a few tables and chairs on the sidewalk, which was not a good fix, he said, because there simply isn’t much room on the sidewalk. The outdoor-dining grants come three years after most cities moved aggressively in this realm, he said, but they are at least a step in the right direction.

And while Crossett would prefer a cutout — similar to what the city has done on Worthington Street in front of Theodore’s and Jackalope because of the way they have slowed traffic down on those streets and enhanced outdoor dining opportunities — Granny’s will start with a parklet that he hopes to have ready for the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, slated for next month.

 

Designs on Growth

Meanwhile, other grants that were awarded will be used in different ways to introduce outdoor dining or enhance and expand already-existing outdoor facilities, Sheehan said.

At Nadim’s, for example, the grant will enable the restaurant to almost double the capacity of the outdoor dining that exists now, generating what Nadim believes will be more business overall, amid a growing preference for that dining option.

He acknowledged that outdoor dining has its limits — there’s essentially a five- to six-month window, from May to October — but it has become an important component of most restaurants’ business plans. And with more and better outdoor options, the city, and, especially its downtown, become more of a destination.

At 1441 Main St., the TD Bank building, Dill said he’s looking to essentially turn back the clock at that office tower, which once had a much larger retail and restaurant component (what he called a ‘mall’) on its first and second floors — the latter was actually connected to both the Steiger’s department store (now that aforementioned park) and Tower Square via airwalks — while also taking full advantage of the growing popularity of outdoor dining.

“People feel more comfortable sitting in an open space in the open air.”

He said the new ownership will be re-envisioning the former mall portion of the property and applied for a grant through the outdoor-dining initiative to lay the groundwork for such a facility at the property.

“We’re in early design now, but what we’re trying to do is position those underutilized parts of the building in ways that will more effectively address some non-traditional uses,” he said, adding that the plan is to find “the right operator” and then the right location within (and outside) the property for a dining operation.

“We have some flexibility,” he said, adding that there is space on more than one side of the building for an outdoor facility, including the area by the park. “We’ll want to work with the operator on what they want to accomplish from a design and operational standpoint.”

Dill said a restaurant would serve tenants in the property and neighboring office towers, obviously, but also be another key addition in a downtown that, by most accounts, needs more options for the people who come to the area for hockey games, concerts, gymnastics and dance competitions, and other gatherings.

“This is a logical place for part of that expansion to take place,” he said, adding that, while the number of office workers downtown has declined since the start of the pandemic, people are returning to offices, and he expects that trend to continue in the months and years to come.

Dill praised the entrepreneurs taking risks and opening new venues downtown, such as Jackalope and Osteria, two ventures on Worthington Street that are bringing more vitality, and people, to the area. And he said he hopes to add to the growing inventory of restaurants with an addition at 1441 Main St.

Such additions are part of the motivation behind the outdoor-dining grants, which, while small in size and scale in most respects, have the potential to have a big impact in terms of changing the landscape — figuratively and perhaps literally — and adding new words to the lexicon, like ‘parklet.’

More Than Ever, Benefits Are Key to Attracting, Retaining Employees

By
Vinnie Daboul (right, with Bob Borawski)
Insurance Special Coverage

Beyond the Paycheck

Vinnie Daboul (right, with Bob Borawski)

Vinnie Daboul (right, with Bob Borawski) says employee leverage has made things “really, really different” when crafting a benefits package.

Allison Ebner called it “a little bit of a wavy ocean at the moment.”

She was referring to the shifting calculus within companies of what benefits to offer employees and how to structure them, but the description is equally apt for the workforce challenges that are making those discussions just a little more important these days.

“We have employees that were coming out of the pandemic last year looking to add benefits in the wellness space, with financial wellness, health and wellness, and then non-traditional things like tuition reimbursement and pet insurance, which have been in play for a number of years. Those were really amped up and on the table,” said Ebner, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE).

With employers starting to worry about a recession, however, “some of that has been pulled back a little bit,” she continued. “Certain core benefits — health care, dental, vision … the practical pillars of benefits — no one’s touching those, even though some employers are seeing double-digit increases in health. But a lot of employers are saying, ‘hey, wait a minute, we want to do X, Y, and Z, but maybe let’s hold off on that a little bit.’”

The problem, of course, is that — even at a time when employers worry about economic tides — workers still have leverage due to a staffing crunch that has enveloped most sectors. And in many cases, benefits are a huge part of job seekers’ decision-making process.

Vinnie Daboul, benefits consultant with Borawski Insurance in Northampton, told BusinessWest he recently spoke with someone who had just turned down a job offer.

“They’re with a company right now with unlimited PTO and 16 weeks of maternity paid at 100%. They have a job offer from another company with unlimited PTO, but six weeks of maternity. And they’re like, ‘nah, it’s a game changer. I can’t do it. I’m not taking that job.’ Today, things are really, really different.

“Some people really want pet insurance. Some people say, ‘I need help repaying my student loans.’ You’ve got to offer personalization of benefits to employees. That’s the most effective way to attract new staff.”

“Think about this,” he went on, gesturing at Bob Borawski, the agency’s president. “Five years ago, if Bob walked in here and said to all of us, ‘hey, I just want you in the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and you can stay home on Monday and Friday,’ he’d be a hero. Today, post-COVID, you say to your employees, ‘hey, we want you in the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and you can stay home Monday and Friday,’ they’re like, ‘no way — we have to do what?’ It has drastically changed.”

Ebner said employers can no longer neglect the overall employee experience and employee value proposition, or, as she put it, “what are you going to give employees in exchange for what they do?

“That has become much more personalized,” she noted. “Some people really want pet insurance. Some people say, ‘I need help repaying my student loans.’ You’ve got to offer personalization of benefits to employees. That’s the most effective way to attract new staff.”

Allison Ebner

Allison Ebner says employers can no longer neglect the employee value proposition.

That said, Ebner went on, employers must consider several factors: the state of their industry, what fiscal shape they’re in, and how aggressive they want to be competing for talent. Those are reasonable, bottom-line considerations. But they become more complicated at a time when employees increasingly understand their value — and want to be compensated for it, in ways that go beyond the paycheck.

 

Wants and Needs

Daboul said it’s not a one-size-fits-all equation when it comes to crafting a benefits package that works for a company’s bottom line but still satisfies — and, just as important, attracts — employees.

“A lot depends on the client size,” he said. “If we’re engaging with a 10-employee client, it’s quicker. I don’t want to say it’s more transactional for them, but if I have 10 employees, I just need to get something in place. I want medical, dental, vision, and a life policy. I don’t want to say it’s easy, but it’s a different engagement.

“A lot of our clients are larger clients,” he went on, and with those employers, it’s important to sit down and build a comprehensive benefits strategy — and not just talk about it once or twice a year, but regularly discuss changing situations.

“We look at the population and do risk analysis on that population, based on the changing demographics, aging, so many different things. And we take the financial condition of the company into consideration too. How are they doing? Times have been tough for some companies; they’re laying off. Is the benefit package OK? Is it secure? We look at funding.

“Employers are looking at every avenue to accomplish three key things: make sure their expenses stay down, make sure they create a benefit package that helps them recruit and retain, and make sure the benefits are incredibly competitive.”

“So, with anything to do with the benefit program,” he went on, “it’s not just the product, but, strategically, where do you want to be this year? Where do you want to be five years from now? Those are the conversations we try to have with our clients.”

That said, Daboul agreed with Ebner that clients’ strategies around “core benefits,” as he called them — medical, dental, group life, and disability — haven’t changed much, though fewer companies are pushing to add life and disability these days. As for health insurance, the big change for employers is rising costs, particularly in this region, where a few large insurers dominate, and the lack of competition drives prices up.

As a result, employers have to decide how much to pay into a health plan and how much their employees will pay, in addition to options like higher deductibles, health savings accounts, and self-insurance.

“There are things we wouldn’t have seen five, 10, 20 years ago,” he said. “I mean, they were in the market, but when I started at MassMutual as an underwriter in 1987, I would have been fired if I self-insured a client under 500 bucks. You just wouldn’t do that.”

At the end of the day, he explained, “employers are looking at every avenue to accomplish three key things: make sure their expenses stay down, make sure they create a benefit package that helps them recruit and retain, and make sure the benefits are incredibly competitive.”

It can be a tough balance, but creativity and flexibility can help. Remote and hybrid work options, as well as generous paid time off, can appeal to a sense of work-life balance. Meanwhile, Ebner said, many employers have turned to spending accounts targeted to specific benefits — say, $1,000 per year for wellness expenses such as gym memberships and fitness equipment, or $1,000 for learning and development, such as classes or training events that the organizaion pays for.

“Lifestyle accounts have gained in popularity because they allow employees to choose what they want to spend it on, and that delivers a personalization of benefits,” she noted. “Again, we’re seeing employers re-evaluate and continuously revamp based on the value proposition and the fiscal state of the organization, which is affected heavily by things going on in the market. If they’re taking a conservative approach to the recession conversation, they’re going to maximize the benefits they do have.”

Kim Adams, a Vermont-based senior account manager at OneDigital, a national insurance, financial services, and HR platform, wrote recently that personalization and malleability have become more important in the world of benefits.

“The American workforce is currently home to five distinct generations working shoulder-to-shoulder,” she noted, and a generous 401(k) match may not be as valuable to recent college graduates bogged down with student loans, while a Gen-X employee may choose to decline healthcare coverage because their spouse has a richer plan, resulting in the company spending much less on their benefits than for most other employees.

“To combat this uneven distribution of benefits resources (and perhaps unintentionally ageist outcomes), employers may find it helpful to reconceptualize benefits as a malleable pool of resources that individual employees may allocate according to their specific needs,” Adams continued, noting options ranging from pet insurance to paying to attend a conference. “This personalized approach to benefits can effectively foster more equitable outcomes, boost employee morale, and broadcast a positive corporate culture.”

Daboul also noted the shift toward non-traditional benefits like pet insurance, tuition reimbursement, and identity-theft protection, and added that traditional products like 401(k) accounts and long-term-care insurance may be on the rise due to projections about the life expectancy of younger generations.

“I was listening to a podcast the other day,” he said, “and they’re projecting that kids being born today will have a life expectancy of 105.”

 

Give and Take

Even pre-COVID, Daboul said, the benefits calculus was changing at many companies. Now, the conversation can’t be avoided.

“As an employer today, thinking about my benefit strategy, what’s going to be my platform? How am I going to deliver the benefits to everybody? Who do I include? Because now I have contractors, I have part-time employees, I have seasonal employees. It’s drastically different, and the demographic you’re now delivering it to is a very different demographic. It’s a younger demographic, and they’re not as connected or committed to the employer.”

Ebner said the impact of the Great Resignation has eased up a little — EANE members are saying it’s not a crisis to the degree it was last year, toward the end of the pandemic, when businesses were trying to fully ramp up — but that trend could be temporary.

“And it could continue to be a problem for us, particularly in the Northeast, where we’re seeing the demographic numbers drop on a consistent basis. We don’t have as many workers available; the younger workers are leaving for greener pastures west and south. Employers are feeling that the relief is a temporary situation. So they have to focus on workplace planning — they have to have a plan in place for where to find help.”

The key, Ebner said — at least on the benefits side — is flexibility, as well as communication.

“Know your organization, and, if in doubt, ask the employers what they’re looking for in benefits. Make sure you’re working with a benefits broker that you trust, that’s bringing ideas to you and asking your employees about benefits. Take a survey; maybe they’re looking for things that you don’t anticipate. It’s always good to ask and consider any ideas they want to contribute.”

After all, a happy employee is a retained employee. These days, that’s a valuable commodity well worth the investment in the right package of benefits.

BusinessTalk with Nicole Blais, CEO of Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start

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Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 167: June 19, 2023

Joe Bednar talks with Nicole Blais, CEO of Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start

At a time when so many families with young children struggle with issues of nutrition, education, mental health, and more, the services offered by the national organization known as Head Start are more critical than ever. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Nicole Blais, CEO of Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start, not only about how the nonprofit delivers free, federally funded programs that not only give kids a … well, head start in life, but also how it supports and educates families in myriad ways so they can continue to move forward at home — and why that work is so gratifying. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

Also Available On

Scenes from the 2023 40 Under Forty July 15 Event

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40 Under 40 Event Galleries Special Coverage

View the Photo Gallery of the June 15, 2023 Event Here

[Show thumbnails]

Photography by Underwood Photography

BusinessWest recognizes the success and contributions of 40 outstanding young professionals under the age of 40 for their business accomplishments as well as philanthropic involvement and community service. This program not only recognizes young talent, it elevates expectations and perceptions of the region and serves as an instrument for economic development in Western Mass.

 

See the BusinessWest 2023 40 Under Forty Digital Issue HERE

The 2023 40 Under Forty

Tiffany Allecia
Adam Baker
Emily Banerjee
Jennifer Bell
Andrew Brow
Madison Bull
Arlen Carballo
Robert Carter
Jessica Chapin
Jason Curtis

Aimee Dalenta
Brianna Drohen
Sarah Erman
David Fontaine Jr.
Heather Gawron
Dr. Seth Gemme
Lucas Giusto
Daniel Griffin
Jordan Hart
Jessica Holloway

Sara Hulseberg
Terrell Joyner
Ashley LeBlanc
Emily Leonczyk
Delmarina López
Rob Madrid
Mike Marcotte
Jeffery Markham Jr.
Stephanie O’Leary
Nick Pandolfi

Amanda Pham
Dallas Pilecki
Israel Rivera
Chelsea Russell
Kyle Snow
Ciara Speller
Andrea St. Louis
Brian Sullivan
Erica Swallow
Ashley Tresoline

Photos by Leah Martin Photography

2023 Presenting Sponsor

2023 Partner Sponsors

2023 Presenting Sponsor Alumni Achievement Award

BusinessTalk with Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 166: June 12, 2023

Joe Bednar interviews Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council

Jessye Deane calls it “the fun county.” But a robust slate of cultural and recreational opportunities isn’t all Franklin County has going for it these days, with businesses constantly launching and growing. Yet challenges remain — from housing to transportation — for this county with a small population spread over more than two dozen communities. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council, sits down with BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar to talk about the county’s progress and promise. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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George Timmons Set to Take the Helm at HCC

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Education Special Coverage

A Calling to Serve

George Timmons

George Timmons

George Timmons recalled a conversation he had a with a friend — a college president and mentor — several years back. He had a simple question for him.

“I asked him, ‘doc, how to you know when you’re ready?” he recalled, meaning, in this case, ready to become a college president himself.

The answer wasn’t quite what he expected.

“He said, ‘George, you’ll know when you know you’re ready,’” he said. “And I used to say, ‘what do you mean?’”

Timmons said he would eventually come to understand what his friend meant — that there would come a time, after years of preparation, earning needed degrees, and working in different jobs that would provide learning experiences and the ability to hone leadership skills … when he would know that he was ready.

He said he reached that time a few years ago and soon began to at least consider jobs that carried that designation. But — and this is a big but — he stressed that he wasn’t chasing a title.

“When I looked at the student profile, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my roots, my humble beginnings, and where I came from; I’m a first-generation college graduate.”

“It was really about chasing the right opportunity that allowed me to demonstrate the skills and talents that I have that aligned with the needs of the organization and where I thought I could really add value,” he said. “For me, it’s really important that I’m at an institution where I can bring value and that I connect with, and be able to take it to a new level of excellence.”

And that’s what he saw when Holyoke Community College (HCC) began its search for someone to succeed Christina Royal last fall.

Specifically, it was the presidential profile, and especially its student profile, one that showcased a diverse population featuring a large percentage of first-generation college students, that caught his attention.

“When I looked at the student profile, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my roots, my humble beginnings, and where I came from; I’m a first-generation college graduate,” he told BusinessWest. “Also, with 48% students of color … that was very attractive to me, and would allow me to add value, particularly with an emphasis on equity and student success. I saw myself in that student profile.”

Fast-forward several months — we’ll go back and fill in all the details later — and Simmons is winding down his work at provost and senior vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, N.Y., getting ready to start at HCC the middle of next month.

Upon arriving, he intends to embark on what he called a “soft launch of a listening tour,” one that will involve several constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, area elected officials, and members of the business community.

George Timmons says it’s important to hear from all constituencies

George Timmons says it’s important to hear from all constituencies — from students, faculty, and staff to local officials and business people — early in his tenure.

“I think it’s important to hear from the stakeholders who are present, as well as getting into the community, meeting members of the business community and key stakeholders, to hear what they have to say and understand their views on the college and where they see areas of opportunity. I think it’s important that I immerse myself in the community to understand and learn where there are challenges and opportunities, get to know people, and build relationships.”

Elaborating, Simmons said that, overall, he wants to build on all that Royal has been able to accomplish at HCC — everything from bold strides on diversity, equity, and inclusion to a food pantry and a student emergency fund — while putting his own stamp on the oldest community college in the state, one that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked at length with Timmons about his new assignment, what brought him to the HCC campus, and what he hopes to achieve when he gets there.

 

Course of Action

Timmons told BusinessWest that, during one of his visits to the HCC campus for interviews, he was given a 90-minute driving tour of the city by perhaps the best-qualified person in the region to give one.

That would be Jeff Hayden, vice president of Business & Community Services at HCC and former director of Planning & Economic Development for the city.

“He’s a great tour guide,” Timmons said. “He’s a history guy, and I love history and people who like history — and there is a lot of it in Holyoke.”

The tour of the city pretty much confirmed what Timmons said he already knew — that this was a community, and a college, that he wanted to be part of, one that would provide that opportunity that he spoke of, and not merely a title.

His journey to the Paper City has been an intriguing one, and it began not far from here.

“She made me understand that, when you want to achieve a goal, it really doesn’t matter what others say or if other people will support you. Only one person gets to decide whether you will achieve that goal — and that’s you.”

Indeed, Timmons said he grew up in the Hartford area, and was essentially raised by his grandmother, who instilled in him a number of values, including the importance of education.
“She made me understand that, when you want to achieve a goal, it really doesn’t matter what others say or if other people will support you,” he recalled. “Only one person gets to decide whether you will achieve that goal — and that’s you.

“I made a commitment to myself at a very early age that no one was going to outwork me when it came to me achieving my goals,” he went on. “Those values shaped who I am today.”

Timmons has spent more than 25 years working in higher education in several different realms, from academic support services to online education; from working with adult learners to roles in both academic affairs and student affairs.

“I have a really broad breadth and depth in higher education that allows me to have a comprehensive view of a college,” he noted, adding that he believes his diverse résumé will serve him well as he takes the proverbial corner office at HCC, becoming just its fifth president in 75 years.

Timmons, who earned a bachelor’s degree in financial management at Norfolk State University in Virginia, a master’s degree in higher education at Old Dominion University in Virginia, and his Ph.D. in higher education administration at Bowling Green University in Ohio, started his career in academia in 1996 at Old Dominion as a site director at a satellite campus as part of a groundbreaking program called TELETECHNET. It provided the opportunity for students to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees at remote locations through the use of satellites and televisions with two-way video connections, a precursor of sorts of the remote-learning programs that would dominate higher education during the pandemic.

Later, he served as assistant dean of Adult Learning at North Carolina Wesleyan College before being recruited to be the founding dean of Online Education and Learning Services at Excelsior College in New York.

He served in that role for several years before becoming provost for Online Education, Learning, and Academic Services, and also serving later as dean of the School of Liberal Arts.

During that time in his career, he was able to take part in a number of professional-development opportunities, including the Harvard MLE program, as well as the American Council of Education Fellowship Program and the Aspen Rising Presidential Fellowship, which is focused on preparing community-college presidents.

“I’ve really had the opportunity to learn and hone my skills,” he explained. “I think it’s important that you learn your craft — it’s a journey; you continue to work to get better and strive to be better. There’s always room for improvement, and so it’s really important that you stay current and abreast of the trends in higher education to be effective.”

After his lengthy tenue at Excelsior, he became vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Columbia-Greene Community College, a role that carried many responsibilities, including student affairs, athletics, events planning, partnership development, and more.

It was at some point during his tenure at Columbia-Greene that he reached that point his friend and mentor alluded to: when he knew he was ready to become a college president. But as he mentioned earlier, it’s one thing to be ready, but finding the right opportunity is something else altogether.

“I’m very selective — I’m not chasing a title,” he told BusinessWest. “I say this humbly, but I could have been a president a few years ago if I was just chasing a title. It was really important for me to align myself with an institution that I could have longevity with, and I believe Holyoke Community College allows me the opportunity to plant roots in Western Mass. and work with the board of trustees, the faculty, students, staff, and administrators to carry out its mission.”

 

Grade Expectations

Which brings him back to that that profile of HCC and how it resonated with him, personally and professionally.

“I actually felt a call to serve — that’s when I knew. I felt I was ready based on what they were looking for and my background; I felt like that profile was calling me.”

And after several rounds of interviews, those conducting the search for a new president would ultimately decide to call him — literally.

And as he winds down at Columbia-Greene, he is looking ahead to July and using his time before the fall semester starts to learn more about the school, the city, the region, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

There are plenty of both, but especially opportunities, he told BusinessWest, adding that, in this time of skyrocketing costs in higher education and ever-greater emphasis on value, community colleges are an attractive alternative — as a place to start, and often as a place to finish.

“Community colleges are, to me, a great pathway to a better life,” he said. “And when you consider that almost half of all students who are in higher education are enrolled in a community college, I don’t think that’s by accident, because there’s fair criticism about the cost of higher education and how prohibitive it is for some members of community to go to college. The community-college mission of access is one that I cannot underscore enough.

“Community college is a great way to get a quality, affordable education to advance one’s social mobility, and with minimal debt,” he went on. “It gives people a great foundation that prepares them to transition to a four-year institution or to go into the workforce and earn a livable, sustainable wage. That’s why community colleges are near and dear to my heart; thay are an important pathway to the middle class.”

Getting back to that aforementioned listening tour, Timmons said listening is a huge part of what could be called his management style. Other parts include transparency, being collaborative, fostering excellence, and more.

“As a contemporary leader in higher education, you should have a broad and comprehensive leadership style grounded in transformational, collaborative, and servant leadership,” he explained. “And by that, I mean encouraging people, inspiring them, knowing how to listen, building community, leveraging mutual respect for one another … these are all vital aspects of the leadership needed to advance an institution’s success.”

Elaborating, he stressed the importance of knowing how to transform “in a way that is acceptable, but that also challenges the culture to stretch and grow.

“And to do that, you have to be able to listen, respect your colleagues, understand why things were done the way they were, and, without judgment, maybe ask the question, ‘how can we be better?’” he went on. “As people, we can always be better, and as institutions, we can always be better. So what does that look like?

“You also have to stay current with what’s happening in our space,” he continued. “You have to continually ask, ‘are we remaining competitive, and are we meeting the needs of our students and the community?’”

When asked how someone masters that art of listening, he said simply, and with a laugh, “the key is not to talk.”

Instead, “you listen by seeking input and asking questions and giving people a platform to at least share their opinions, their thoughts, and their expertise,” he went on. “One of things I want to do coming in is listen to key stakeholders and say, ‘historically, what have you liked most about the institution, where do you see areas of opportunity, and if you could make a change, what would it be?’ And then you start to look at themes, see what themes emerge, and use that to guide your next steps.”

There will be a number of next steps for Timmons, who at first didn’t really grasp that he would know when he was ready to be a college president.

Eventually he would understand what his mentor was saying, and he did know when was ready — not for a job or a title, but for a real opportunity to make a difference.

And that’s what he intends to do at HCC.

Bringing More Nurses into the Field — and Keeping Them There — Remains Critical

By
Teresa Kuta Reske
Healthcare News Special Coverage

Easing the Strain

Teresa Kuta Reske

Teresa Kuta Reske, in the nursing simulation lab at Elms College, said many nurses were influenced in their career choice by care they or a loved one received.

Teresa Kuta Reske loves nursing.

She said that on more than one occasion when speaking with BusinessWest recently for this special HCN section celebrating nurses, and especially recent nursing graduates beginning to enter the workforce.

As interim dean of the Elms College School of Nursing and director of the college’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, she also loves seeing that passion develop in students.

“We prepare nurses with the skills and knowledge it requires to be in the nursing workforce, but when partnered up in the hospital setting, with students having clinical experience and being mentored by these organizations, they’re learning about what nurses contribute to patient care, watching nurses in action, and seeing systems come together,” Reske said, adding that there’s only so much students can learn in a simulation lab; they learn to form their own professional identity when training inside the healthcare system.

She noted that many students gravitate to the profession because of positive experiences with nurses, either for themselves or a loved one. In other cases  they were influenced by a parent’s career in the field. But that passion also quickly gets tempered by the realities of an increasingly challenging job.

“When we build a strong nursing workforce, it begins with education. And educators are tasked with teaching the new demands of the healthcare system,” Reske said, with factors ranging from population-health concerns to a more interdisciplinary focus in patient care. “Learning to become a nurse means understanding the realities of the nursing workforce today.”

Those realities come at a time when staffing shortages have increased stress on nurses. At a time when the annual Gallup Honesty and Ethics poll, released in January, ranks nursing as the most trusted profession for the 21st year in a row, nurses are feeling strain.

In fact, the American Hospital Assoc. (AHA) reports that about 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce during the past two years due to stress, burnout, and retirements, and another 610,388 intend to leave by 2027, according to a recent study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

“The pandemic has stressed nurses to leave the workforce and has expedited an intent to leave in the near future, which will become a greater crisis and threaten patient populations if solutions are not enacted immediately,” said Maryann Alexander, NCSBN’s chief officer of Nursing Regulation. “There is an urgent opportunity today for healthcare systems, policymakers, regulators, and academic leaders to coalesce and enact solutions that will spur positive systemic evolution to address these challenges and maximize patient protection in care into the future.”

Among other recommendations to strengthen the healthcare workforce, AHA has urged federal lawmakers to invest in nursing schools, nurse faculty salaries, and hospital training time; enact federal protections for healthcare workers against violence and intimidation; support apprenticeship programs for nursing assistants; increase funding for the National Health Service Corps and the National Nurse Corps; and support expedition of visas for foreign-trained nurses.

For its part, Baystate Health said the Gallup poll is worth celebrating.

“The honor comes as nurses throughout the country, including here at Baystate Health, continue to deal with the effects of a nationwide nursing shortage and the emotional impact that the COVID pandemic has had on nurses,” said Joanne Miller, chief Nursing executive for Baystate Health and chief Nursing officer at Baystate Medical Center. “I am proud to say that, since the beginning of the pandemic, every nurse at Baystate Health has fulfilled our promise of advancing care and enhancing lives.”

Today’s nearly 4.4 million registered nurses in the U.S. constitute the nation’s largest healthcare profession, and the field offers a wide range of opportunities to those considering a career, including practicing as clinicians, administrators, researchers, educators, and policymakers.

In 2022, Baystate Health welcomed more than 900 nursing students into clinical placements from nursing programs at American International College, Bay Path University, Elms College, Holyoke Community College, Greenfield Community College, Springfield Technical Community College, UMass Amherst, and Westfield State University.

Linda Thompson, left, and Holyoke Community College President Christina Royal

Westfield State University President Linda Thompson, left, and Holyoke Community College President Christina Royal shake hands after signing a dual-enrollment nursing program agreement.

Newly graduated registered nurses (with less than 12 months of clinical nursing experience) can apply to its 10-month paid nurse residency program. During that time, they work directly with a unit preceptor and nurse educator for clinical instruction combined with classroom-style seminars and skills/simulation sessions. The collaborative learning approach is designed to provide the knowledge base and skillset needed to successfully transition into the role of a professional nurse.

Reske said professional experiences like these demonstrate the need for collaborative practice. “They’re not alone but working with other teams, providing patient care where everyone is thinking about how to improve the patient’s health and experience, looking at that patient’s values and experiences.

“We’re preparing students to understand the complex realities of healthcare today,” she went on. “Nurses can really make a unique difference by looking at patients through the nursing lens with a more holistic view.”

 

Satisfaction Suffers

While all this is meaningful work, many nurses feel there’s a long way to go to reach ideal job satisfaction. According to the annual “State of Nursing in Massachusetts” survey conducted by the Massachusetts Nurses Assoc. (MNA), bedside nurses feel undermined in their ability to provide quality care by understaffing and assigning unsafe numbers of patients, which fuels the flight of nurses away from the profession and leads to hospitals relying on expensive travel nurses to fill the void. Among the survey data:

• 85% of nurses say hospital care quality has deteriorated over the past two years;

• 53% say hospitals that rely on travel nurses have worse care;

• 71% of nurses say their biggest obstacle to delivering quality care is understaffing and/or having too many patients at one time; and

• 88% of nurses support legislation limiting the number of patients assigned to a nurse at one time.
That last statistic rises to 98% when only new nurses are surveyed, demonstrating that nurses are entering the field with eyes wide open to to the impact of staffing challenges.

Rather than causing the staffing crisis, said Katie Murphy, a practicing ICU nurse and president of the MNA, “the COVID-19 pandemic has simply laid bare a system already broken by hospital executives. The industry claims it cannot find nurses, but the data shows there are more nurses than ever. There is not a shortage of nurses, but rather a shortage of nurses willing to work in these unsafe conditions.”

“Nurses throughout the country, including here at Baystate Health, continue to deal with the effects of a nationwide nursing shortage and the emotional impact that the COVID pandemic has had on nurses.”

This year’s survey featured an all-time high number of nurses saying hospital care quality has gotten worse over the past two years. The survey has tracked this number since 2014, when it was 38%. In 2023, 85% of nurses saw care quality decline, up two points from last year, 30 points from 2021, and 46 points from 2019. This troubling trend tracks with survey results showing increased numbers of nurses who do not have enough time to give their patients the care and attention they need and who are forced to care for too many patients at one time. In 2023, 72% of nurses saw both of those issues as “major challenges,” up 11 and 13 points from 2021.

Newer nurses are disproportionately feeling the impact. Sixty-three percent of nurses with five or fewer years of experience say understaffing is their biggest obstacle to providing quality care, compared to 56% of all nurses. Of those nurses planning to leave the field within two years, 67% of newer nurses say they will find work outside of healthcare, compared to 31% of all nurses.

Colleges are doing what they can to draw new nurses into the pipeline. For example, Holyoke Community College (HCC) and Westfield State University (WSU) recently announced a new pathway for individuals to earn both an associate degree and bachelor’s degree in nursing simultaneously or in a streamlined manner by combining the curricula of both programs. The concurrent program is the first in the Commonwealth.

“The concurrent ADN-to-BSN pathway is an innovative approach to nursing education,” WSU Executive Director of Nursing Jessica Holden said. “It enables students to earn their ADN while simultaneously completing coursework that counts toward their BSN. This integration of education allows for a more efficient and streamlined approach to nursing education that is advantageous to some students.”

The concurrent nursing program will help address the nursing shortage by increasing the number of students who can get into a bachelor of nursing program and allow them to earn their degree faster.

According to a Massachusetts Health Policy Commission report, “registered-nurse vacancy rates in acute-care hospitals doubled from 6.4% in 2019 to 13.6% in 2022, with especially high vacancy rates in community hospitals. Employment in nursing and residential care facilities has not recovered since 2020 and remained below 2018 levels.”

HCC Director of Nursing Teresa Beaudry explained that “we had to meet with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, who had to approve it, and they’re equally as excited as we are to create another pathway for nurses to advance in their education and a different way for those students who might not be able to get into a bachelor’s of nursing program.”

 

A Question of Balance

In fact, moving up in the profession is a significant draw to many aspiring nurses. Most area colleges and universities with nursing programs have master’s and doctoral programs structured in such a way that nurses can work full-time while earning advanced degrees that will open up more doors and set them on track to be nursing managers, educators, administrators, or work in other roles.

“Usually, nurses return for an advanced degree,” Reske said. “They begin to look at, ‘what can I contribute in practice? What attracts me? Is it working in an ambulatory-care setting or rehabilitation, or as a nurse leader or a nurse educator? Maybe I want to be a nurse practitioner.’ The opportunities for nurses are amazing.”

And the education they’re getting — both in the classroom and in the field — must prepare them for the new complexities of medical care today, she added.

“Nurses definitely have to deal with more complex issues — speak the language of finance, speak the language of marketing, speak the language of population health. All those require additional learning beyond the classroom. You’re connecting practice to knowledge and knowledge to practice, and learning how to apply that.”

In short, it’s a challenging time to be a nurse, and also a time of great opportunity. Whether their love of nursing outweighs the stresses is a question for every professional in the field — and those questions are not going away any time soon.

Summer Happenings 2023

By
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

Let’s Have a Ball

Summertime is a great time to get away, but in Western Mass., it’s also a great time to stick around and enjoy the many events on the calendar. Whether you’re craving fair food or craft beer, live music or arts and crafts, historical experiences or small-town pride, the region boasts plenty of ways to celebrate the summer months. Let’s start with Hooplandia — a major basketball tournament that’s been a long time coming, as you’ll find out starting on the next page, but one that promises to grow even bigger as it returns year after year. After that, we detail 20 more recreational and cultural events to fill in those summer days. Admittedly, they only scratch the surface, so we encourage you to get out and explore everything else that makes summer in Western Mass. a memorable time.

Tipping Off a Tradition

After Delays, Hooplandia Finally Gets a Chance to Shine >>Read More

Fun in the Sun

There’s Plenty to Do in Western Mass. This Summer >> Read More

 

Homeowners Increasingly Seek Energy-efficient Technologies

By Contributor
Brian Rudd
Home Improvement Special Coverage

Sustainable Solutions

By Mark Morris

Brian Rudd

Brian Rudd compares a traditional vinyl panel with an insulated one.

In the past year, energy prices have taken a bigger chunk out of everyone’s budget. Increases at the gas pump get the most attention, but rising costs for heating and cooling homes have also taken their toll on bank accounts.

That’s why, as homeowners look to renovate and update their spaces, energy efficiency is often top of mind.

As local contractors told BusinessWest, when homeowners build or invest in new projects, long-term energy savings have become a key consideration. The good news is that many home-improvement products today use technologies that deliver that energy savings better than ever before.

Brian Rudd, owner of Vista Home Improvement in West Springfield, explained that, when people consider vinyl siding, it’s an opportunity to make their house look good and create an insulation barrier that saves energy.

“The foam insulation that is behind the siding is amazing in the way it encapsulates the home,” he said. “The siding panel that faces out looks great and is designed to reflect the sun and slow down the transfer of energy, which keeps the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.”

Rudd believes it’s important to stay on top of advances in materials and sees siding as more than a house covering; in fact, he considers siding installed 20 or 30 years ago “old technology.” Indeed, one industry statistic suggests that a proper siding job can increase energy efficiency on an average home up to 15%.

“There are advances happening in materials all the time, and we believe in staying on top of the latest technologies,” he added.

Another project that adds to aesthetics and energy efficiency is replacement windows. The Environmental Protection Agency notes that new windows can save energy and increase comfort. Like new siding, windows can also add to a home’s resale value.

“There’s nothing worse than having an attic that overheats in the summer and loses heat in the winter. Proper ventilation allows for better air flow, which contributes to a longer life for the roof and helps to better control a family’s energy costs.”

While Rudd said updating windows is always a good choice, he pointed out that it’s easy to forget about doors. “Most people with older doors have air leaks because, over time, doors shift out of place due to foundations moving from hot and cold temperatures over many years.

New doors are designed using newer technology and provide better insulation, he noted. “Some doors have self-leveling frames so they can adjust with changes in the seasons.”

Roofing technology also continues to advance as shingles are engineered with more reflective components. As important as the installation and materials, Rudd said the most effective energy savings with a new roof starts inside.

Patrick Rondeau

Patrick Rondeau says the rise in utility costs has driven demand for solar installations.

“We make sure there is proper ventilation in the attic space,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than having an attic that overheats in the summer and loses heat in the winter. Proper ventilation allows for better air flow, which contributes to a longer life for the roof and helps to better control a family’s energy costs.”

 

Here Comes the Sun

Due to international events and domestic refining issues, energy prices spiked across the board in 2022. While gasoline was a dollar higher at this time last year, it had a ripple effect on electric utility prices later in the year. At the two largest utilities in Massachusetts, National Grid raised its winter rates by 60%, and Eversource increased its rate by 30% in January.

Such increases have kept Patrick Rondeau busy. As general manager and co-owner of Valley Solar in Easthampton, he said the significant rise in utility rates has increased homeowner demand for solar-energy installations.

The cost to generate a kilowatt hour by solar averages between 7 and 14 cents over the life of the system. By contrast, winter utility rates were as high as 45 to 50 cents per kilowatt hour, he explained. “In an ideal scenario, a solar installation can produce 100% of the energy a person needs for their home.”

In many cases, in fact, solar installations can produce more than a homeowner currently needs. Rondeau encourages customers to build a system that will consider their future needs.

“In an ideal scenario, a solar installation can produce 100% of the energy a person needs for their home.”

“If someone is planning to buy an electric car, for example, their energy use will increase,” he said. “When people only look at today’s usage, they often come back two years later to see if they can add panels.”

Even if they don’t buy an electric car, Rondeau pointed out that energy use tends to increase after a solar installation because customers stop worrying about energy consumption. “It becomes a quality-of-life and comfort issue. The preoccupation with the thermostat setting goes away. I see it all the time.”

In Massachusetts, another advantage to generating more energy is net metering. When a homeowner’s solar panels generate more energy than needed, the excess energy can be sold back to the grid. As an example of how it works, Rondeau said a solar installation might produce 10,000 kilowatt hours each year, and 7,000 of those kilowatt hours might be produced during the five months of the year with the most sunshine.

“The homeowner will net meter a certain percentage of what they produce, which generates a credit on their electric bill,” he explained. “Then, in the winter months, when there are shorter, darker days, they use that credit. It’s essentially a wash.”

He further explained net metering with a familiar New England analogy. “It’s like squirrels socking away food for the winter. Instead of acorns, people are storing up credits on their electric bill.”

Some homes have limited roof or yard space to accommodate solar panels, so their systems might not generate 100% of the home’s energy needs. But Rondeau said going solar is still a worthwhile investment.

Josh Smith

Josh Smith shows off an outdoor unit that powers a mini-split heat-pump system.

“Some people are concerned about only producing enough energy for half of their needs,” he noted. “If you could lock in even half of your energy consumption at 14 cents, why wouldn’t you do that?”

 

Pump It Up

People with solar units can save even more energy and money when they install a heat pump. Recent advances in electric-powered heat pumps are helping homeowners to save energy without sacrificing comfort. These units have the ability to heat and cool a home and work best as a supplement to whatever heating system is already in the home.

“For years, heat pumps were found primarily in the south and warmer regions,” said Josh Smith, service manager for Berkshire Heating & Air Conditioning in West Springfield. “In the last 10 years, the technology has improved their efficiency so much that they are now a good choice for places like New England.”

In the simplest terms, a heat pump works like a furnace in the winter to warm the home and like an air conditioner in the summer to cool the house two to three times more efficiently than a traditional furnace or air conditioner.

For homes with a natural-gas furnace and ductwork, the heat-pump unit resembles a traditional central air-conditioner compressor. For houses without ductwork, a differently designed heat-pump compressor connects to a series of units inside the house. These air-handling units are known as mini-splits and provide cooling and heating for each room. One heat-pump compressor can feed up to six mini-splits, each one managed by remote control.

“For example, if three people are in the house and they all have different comfort levels, they can keep each room at a different temperature,” Smith said. “People really like this because they can have true zone-control for their heating and cooling using one main source.”

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that homeowners can save, on average, $1,000 per year by switching to a heat pump. Savings vary depending on the type of heating system in the home. For example, when a heat pump replaces an electric baseboard system, the savings can exceed $1,200.

By contrast, savings compared to a natural-gas furnace are a few hundred dollars. Making the switch from a natural-gas system is still encouraged because Massachusetts and other New England states have plans in place to significantly reduce the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels used for heating by the end of this decade.

“The states want more people to use electricity as their energy source,” Smith said, “and heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heat.”

While heat pumps provide plenty of benefits as the main heating and cooling source, he went on, it’s smart to keep traditional heating systems in place as a supplement.

“I like having a backup source because we live in New England where every few years we get a long cold snap,” he said. “Heat pumps have a hard time keeping up when it’s really cold, so it’s good to have that backup source when you need it.”

Even as a supplemental source, today’s traditional heating systems are more efficient than units from 10 years ago.

“Everything in the heating and cooling universe is becoming more efficient,” Smith said. “Even new oil burners use less oil than in the past.”

 

What’s in Store?

The next big development in solar involves energy storage, an area Rondeau called an increasingly large part of his business. At the most basic level, storage means batteries to keep the excess energy generated from a solar installation.

New battery-storage units are available that can send energy back to the grid as well as store it for the homeowner. The state program Connected Solutions allows utilities to pull energy out of home-based batteries during the highest-demand times and then compensate the homeowner when there is less demand. It’s up to the individual how much energy they want to make available to the grid and how much they want to store.

“People who want to be off grid as much as possible can set up their storage so they can be self-sufficient to an extent without risking too much battery drain,” Rondeau said.

Because the cost of these sophisticated storage devices can be expensive, the state offers 0% loans from Mass Save.

The biggest benefit of energy storage is evident during power outages. With the batteries storing power, a home’s electric system can continue to work uninterrupted. Rondeau noted that stored energy can be more effective and less fussy than owning a backup generator.

“Generators need to be tested every month. When you need to use them, they are noisy, and you have to buy fuel for them,” he explained. “Also, there are no 0% loans available for generators.”

As technology allows home solar systems to perform more complex tasks, the user interface is becoming simpler.

“It’s like your smartphone,” he said. “What it’s doing in the background is complex, but what you are doing with your thumb is simple.”

Because new materials are coming to market all the time, it’s important for homeowners considering any of these projects to speak with a professional. The businesses we spoke with all offer free consultations to help people get a realistic idea of what will work for them.

“I suggest people do their research,” Rudd said, “and spend the extra time to make sure they are getting exactly what they want for their home.”

BusinessTalk with Eastern States Exposition President and CEO Gene Cassidy and Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 165: June 5, 2023

Joseph Bednar Discusses Hooplandia Gene Cassidy and  John Doleva

It’s almost here! Hooplandia, a major 3-on-3 basketball tournament, descends upon the Big E fairgrounds and the Basketball Hall of Fame on June 23-25, with up to 500 teams in a variety of divisions set to compete. Having been delayed three years by the pandemic, this is truly a big deal for the region, according to Eastern States Exposition President and CEO Gene Cassidy and Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, they sit down with BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar to explain why — and also talk about how this could become a much bigger annual event and a signature draw for the region. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

 

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BusinessTalk with Erica Swallow, Top-selling Realtor for Coldwell Banker

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 164: May 30, 2023

Joseph Bednar Interviews Erica Swallow, Top-selling Realtor for Coldwell Banker

She’s led social-media efforts at the New York Times, won awards for her journalism, served as marketing lead for numerous high-growth startups, wrote a series of children’s books about entrepreneurship, and is now one of the top-selling Realtors in the world for Coldwell Banker. And that’s not all. Erica Swallow is the highest-scoring honoree in BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2023, and on this installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar sets out to learn why. In an engaging, wide-ranging interview, this Arkansas native talks about her intriguing career journey, her passion for entrepreneurship and this region, and much more. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

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Millennium Press Owners Named Small Business Persons of the Year

By
Jim and Kelly Sullivan
Features Special Coverage

News That’s Fit to Print

Jim and Kelly Sullivan

Jim and Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher

At first, Jim and Kelly Sullivan thought the email was junk or a hoax.

“It was an invitation to us from the president to go to the White House to sit in the Rose Garden with him and the vice president for a remarks ceremony,” Kelly recalled, adding that the missive was followed shortly afterward by an email from the Small Business Administration (SBA), essentially letting them know that the email from the White House was real, and they should reply — soon.

They did, and when they gathered in the Rose Garden with the other 49 Small Business Persons of the Year for each state, as recognized by the SBA, they managed to get within a few feet of the president, but didn’t fight the crowd to get any closer.

This gathering, which came during National Small Business Week, has been part of a nearly month-long whirlwind for the Sullivans, owners of Millennium Press in Agawam, the Small Business Persons of the Year from Massachusetts.

There was an awards ceremony in Washington that came just after the White House visit, and, earlier this month, another small-business awards ceremony in Massachusetts, at which they were recognized for their accomplishments in business — and for their perseverance through a series of challenges over the past 34 years.

There was an appearance on a Bloomberg podcast — “I was terrifed; I’m a printer, and they’re firing questions at you left and right,” Jim said — and, just a week ago, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, who directed the Sullivans to SBA funding, and other officials toured Millennium’s facilities to get a look at its cutting-edge technology and talk with its team of 18 employees.

“Never in a million years did I ever think we would ever win anything like this — I’m still in awe that we did get it.”

As they spoke with BusinessWest at their shop in Agawam, the Sullivans talked a little about their awards, meaning the physical awards (they each got one) they received from the SBA. They are glass, large, quite heavy … and, for now and probably for a long while, “safe at home, under lock and key,” as Jim put it.

“You don’t want to ever break something like this,” he said. “Never in a million years did I ever think we would ever win anything like this — I’m still in awe that we did get it.”

But mostly they talked about what’s behind the award and the wording on it, and how they were chosen over the 700,000 other small businesses in Massachusetts to receive it. Specifically, it would be more than 30 years of hard work, sacrifice, making those large investments in technology, coping with and overcoming adversity — from several downturns in the economy to the Great Recession to the pandemic — and, in short, doing what they had to do to keep the doors open and the dream alive.

“I feel that we did a lot of good things with these SBA programs,” said Jim, adding that, personally, the couple did everything they were asked to do to qualify for such programs, including reducing their income and even buying a smaller home.

the team at Millennium Press

Jim and Kelly Sullivan, center, with the team at
Millennium Press.
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher

SBA District Director Robert Nelson said essentially the same thing as he remarked on the Sullivans and their achievements.

“The Millennium Press story demonstrates how small businesses can persevere when faced with extraordinary challenges,” he said. “The Sullivans didn’t give up on their dreams and kept working toward sustainability with support from public/private resources, including the SBA and its lender network that help stand by your side through the toughest challenges.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the Sullivans about the SBA award, what it means to them, and why it embodies their approach to doing business and managing a workforce.

 

Don’t Stop the Presses

To say the Sullivans started small with their venture would be a huge understatement.

Indeed, they launched their business in a garage — and it wasn’t even their own garage.

“Our house didn’t have one, so we used Kelly’s brother’s garage,” said Jim, a printer by trade who was working at a shop in Holyoke at the time, but started printing short runs of specialty forms for different customers at night and on weekends, a part-time job that quickly became full-time.

Indeed, the Sullivans, who quickly became partners in the venture, said they recognized a growing need for printed forms that could be produced inexpensively and quickly. With an Apple computer, a two-color press, and a collator that would put the forms together — Kelly would handle the desktop publishing, and Jim ran the printing press — they started adding customers and achieving a foothold in the competitive printing business.

Over the course of the next 30 years, they would continue to grow the company, establishing a full-service, one-stop printing and mailing business operating out of a 20,000-square-foot building in the Agawam Industrial Park that they would eventually purchase and expand.

From the beginning, Jim recalled, they understood the importance of investing in new equipment and staying on the cutting edge of improving technology, knowing that doing so would open new doors for them.

Small Business Persons of the Year for Massachusetts in 2023

Jim and Kelly Sullivan pose with an award they recently received at the recent SCORE Boston awards breakfast, where they were recognized as Small Business Persons of the Year for Massachusetts in 2023.

This was especially true with the installation, in 2007, of an automated, six-color Heidelberg press, the XL 75, a more than $2 million investment that included not only the press, but also Heidelberg software to automate all the company’s processes, from estimating to shipping.

This was the first such installation in the U.S., he told BusinessWest, and it came on top of a $1 million expansion of the building and a number of existing equipment loans.

The acquisition of the XL 75, and those other investments, were a well-thought-out business strategy, and the equipment was expected to enable Millennium to take a major step forward, he went on. However, the timing was unfortunate, to say the least.

Indeed, just a year later, the words ‘Great Recession’ were working their way into the local lexicon. The Dow was cratering, the economy was in freefall, and businesses large and small were hunkering down and simply trying to survive the onslaught. And, by and large, no one was printing anything.

“In 2008, we saw sales drop. People weren’t purchasing as much printing — annual reports, mailings … they just weren’t doing the volume of printing they were in the past. Yet, our expenses were at their highest point.

“In 2008, that was the first year we didn’t turn a profit,” he went on. “And the banks … they want to know who you are at that point.”

Elaborating, he said the couple had a great 19-year relationship with a bank (he chose not to name it) that was sold to a larger bank, an entity that saw Millennium’s declining debt-to-income ratio and essentially said, “you’re not for us.”

The Big Picture

The Sullivans said they knew they needed to create a plan to slash debt, both business and personal. They altered their lifestyle and borrowed a significant portion of their retirement money to retain employees and pay down debt to keep the business open. They also sought help from the SBA, working with the agency’s lending team to refinance their building and business debt and essentially save the business.

And for the next decade, until 2020, the company continued to be profitable, pay down debt, and even build a reserve fund, said Kelly, adding that, by the end of 2019, they approached a traditional bank about a loan to pay off all their existing SBA debt.

“Our numbers were good enough, our equity was good enough, our debt was right where it needed to be, and they approved us in March of 2020,” said Jim, adding emphasis when noting the month and year, and for obvious reasons. That was the start of the pandemic.

“The bank came back and said, ‘we’re going to have to put your financing plan on hold,’” he went on, adding that the company saw more than half of its customers shut down, a staggering loss that forced Millennium to lay off 75% of its workforce, although the Sullivans continued to pay for their health insurance after they were laid off.

Even with a skeleton crew — the Sullivans and a few others — the company was chewing up its reserve fund at a rate that was not sustainable, Kelly said, adding that PPP loans and EIDLs (Economic Injury Disaster Loans) from the SBA not only helped Millennium, but also enabled other businesses to regain their financial footing and buy services — like printing.

“Those two products from the SBA helped jump-start the economy,” she said, adding that, by the fall of that year, Millennium was able to bring back all of its employees. The winter of 2022 brought another slowdown and more “scary” times, she added, but a second round of PPP enabled the company to retain its workforce and make it through the whitewater.

The company was also able to take advantage of an SBA debt-relief program for its outstanding loans from the agency, Jim said, noting that the SBA made payments on those loans during the pandemic — payments that did not have to be repaid.

“In 2008, we saw sales drop. People weren’t purchasing as much printing — annual reports, mailings … they just weren’t doing the volume of printing they were in the past.”

All this support had the company back to “almost normal” by the end of 2021, he went on, adding that he and Kelly again approached the bank that had approved their financing plan but put it on hold because of the pandemic — and this time it was approved, just before interest rates started climbing at a precipitous rate.

Milennium’s involvement in many SBA programs had the effect of “putting us on the agency’s map,” said Kelly, referring to recognition programs such as Small Business Person of the Year.

But what won the Sullivans this honor, in her opinion — and Jim’s — has been its willingness to invest in cutting-edge technology, its commitment to supporting its employees through the many difficult times, and to do everything they had to do keep the company on the track they set in on back in 1989, even through extreme hardship.

“To do the amount of work we do, we would probably need more than 30 employees — if we didn’t invest in the technologies we have,” Jim said. “And we have technologies that no one in this area has, especially at the small scale that we are; we’re Heidelberg’s most advanced print shop with fewer than 20 employees in the United States.”

 

Bottom Line

Jim and Kelly’s email now comes with a signature, courtesy of the SBA, identifying the sender as a 2023 Small Business Person of the Year State Winner.

Behind those words, printed on a gold banner above storefronts depicting small businesses, is a compelling story, one that involves sacrifice, perseverance, determination, and, as Nelson noted, a firm commitment not to let go of a dream.

All that has earned the Sullivans those large, glass awards they are keeping safe at home. But it has earned them much more than that — the ability to keep writing new chapters to a remarkable and inspirational success story.

 

Andrew Brow Is Living the Dream — One Sticky Rib at a Time

By
Andrew Brow outside Jackalope
Restaurants Special Coverage

A Lot on His Plate

Andrew Brow outside Jackalope

Andrew Brow outside Jackalope in downtown Springfield.

On his long and winding road to being a serial restaurateur, Andrew Brow says he’s had many inspirations, role models, teachers, and even an “idol.”

The latter would be Claudio Guerra, the now-legendary restauranteur — think Spoleto, Mama Iguana’s, the Del Raye, Paradise City Tavern, and many others — who gave Brow, like so many others, much more than a job.

“What I got from Claudio is what I wanted — I wanted to be a restaurant owner,” he explained. “It just seemed like this glamourous, fun, wonderful thing — not always, but Claudio made it something to aspire to.”

But there were others who had an impact as well, including Bill Collins, who also worked for Guerra and later hired Brow to be his executive chef at the restaurant he opened in East Longmeadow, Center Square Grill. Then there was Therri Moitui, the owner and chef of a French restaurant on Cape Fear River in North Carolina, where Brow worked for a time after leaving his native Western Mass. to find, well … something else.

“I thought I was God’s gift to the kitchen at this point, when I was 24 years old,” Brow recalled. “And, sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently, he let me know that I was not God’s gift to the kitchen and that I still had a lot to learn. And he proceeded to teach me.”

Today, Brow — owner of HighBrow, a wood-fired pizza restaurant in Northampton, and Jackalope, which just celebrated one year of bringing ‘creative American’ food to downtown Springfield — is still absorbing lessons from others, but he’s also the one passing on knowledge, experience, and keen insight to those who work for him.

His most important bit of advice, if that’s what it is: “if you stop learning, you’re no good.”

This is an operating style that has dominated his career and his time as a restaurant owner, which has been marked by overcoming adversity — as in extreme adversity in the form of the pandemic — and seizing opportunity.

As for the pandemic, it nearly cost him his dream just a few months after he opened HighBrow, but he persevered, knowing that one doesn’t get many opportunities like this one, and it might be his only opportunity.

focus is on ‘creative American’

At Jackalope, Andrew Brow says the focus is on ‘creative American’ and presenting food that is different and unique.
Staff Photo

“It was an interesting time,” he said with a large dose of understatement in his voice. “The first thing is, you feed into that fear — this is my first restaurant, this is basically my one shot; if I fail here, there probably wouldn’t be a second chance. I didn’t come from money, and without money, you can’t really do much. This was my one shot at making it out of being someone else’s chef and being my own guy.”

As it turns out, and largely because of that perseverance, HighBrow wasn’t his only shot. He seized another opportunity with the opening of Jackalope just over a year ago at the site of the former Adolfo’s on Worthington Street. At first, he didn’t want any part of downtown Springfield, thinking the city and its restaurant section had seen its day.

But a visit to the soft opening of Dewey’s nightclub, next door to Adolfo’s and owned by a friend, Kenny Lumpkin, changed his mind.

“I went back the next day because I had enjoyed myself that night, and I was standing on the patio and thinking, ‘maybe I could do something over there,’” he said, adding that this ‘something’ is Jackalope, which he described as a place where could “create and plate whimsical, fun, different things.”

That list includes everything from grilled pizza to mac & cheese to prosciutto-wrapped rabbit saddle. And on the appetizer side, there are his now-famous ‘sticky ribs,’ braised baby-back pork ribs cooked in a host of secret ingredients and juices and then made crispy.

‘Sticky ribs’ are becoming part of the local culinary lexicon — his restaurants go through more than 1,000 pounds of ribs per week — and Brow, one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty honorees for 2023, is one of the rising stars in the region’s galaxy of restaurateurs.

His is an intriguing story of someone who forged a dream when he was just in high school and then, thanks to hard work and lessons from those mentors and idols, made it happen.

 

A Different Breed

The jackalope, by most accounts, anyway, is a mythical creature, a jackrabbit with antelope horns — hence the name — said to be ferocious and quite deadly. Stories about them have appeared in many cultures worldwide.

By now, Brow has become an expert on the subject.

“A Jackalope drinks bourbon and beer and eats bologna — and they get enraged,” he explained. “And they would go and attack hunters, who would wear stovepipes on their legs so they wouldn’t get ripped up.”

But he admits that, in this case, the chosen name for his restaurant (after he put aside plans to resurrect the name Caffeine’s) was more a nickname for an old friend who “would drink beer and act crazy in the woods,” than anything else.

“I was having coffee with my wife one day, and she said, ‘when’s the Jackalope moving back up?’” he recalled, adding that the name resonated, and he eventually chose it. Today, there are stuffed jackalopes on his walls, and the logo is on everything from the door to the menu to T-shirts.

Andrew Brow recalls thinking downtown Springfield had seen its day

Andrew Brow recalls thinking downtown Springfield had seen its day, but a few visits to the area convinced him he wanted to be part of the scene there.

The road to opening Jackalope, his second restaurant, has been a long and winding one, with, as noted earlier, countless lessons and influences on his life and career along the way.

Our story begins in Northampton, where Brow grew up in the “projects,” as he put it. Anxious to climb out, he sought work as soon as he could. That was age 15, when, with the proper paperwork, he could work at a Dunkin’ Donuts.

This was a location that was still making its own donuts, rather than having them shipped in from a commissary, so Brow was able to get real experience making things in the kitchen. His work at Dunkin’ came during his freshman year at Smith Vocational in Northampton, and it inspired him to enter the culinary-arts program there, which fueled more interest in cooking as a career.

His first job in a restaurant, at age 16, was as a dishwasher at La Cazuela, owned by Barry and Rosemary Schmidt, who became his first real mentors and role models.

“They were two of the coolest restaurant owners I ever met,” he recalled. “They were kind of like ’60s hippie people, and for them, everything was from scratch and quality. They would fly down to New Mexico and Mexico, and they would meet chili farmers and buy wholesale dried chilis from these farmers; that showed me the passion behind actually loving what you do. It was very inspirational.”

From the dishes, Brow moved up to the pots and pans, which means he also got to prep some of the rice and beans, shred the cheese, and fry the tortilla chips. “It was grunt work, but I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and a few months later, I was a line cook.”

From there, he did a stint at the landmark Joe’s Pizza as a pizza cook, and then a job at the recently opened Spoleto Express, one of several restaurants owned by Guerra, as a sauté cook. There, he met Collins, and the two quickly bonded.

“We became like brothers,” Brow said, noting that he worked for the Spoleto Restaurant Group for close to a decade, helping to open several new restaurants along the way. “I was like the young, rising chef in the organization; I lived the restaurant business.”

He took that passion with him to North Carolina as he sought to get away and do something different somewhere else. “I grew up, I’d spent all my time here, I didn’t go to college … I got out of a long-term relationship, and I was like, ‘why am I still where I was born?’ I wanted to go see something different and new.”

 

Food for Thought

Brow stayed in North Carolina for two years, learning butchery, charcuterie, French techniques, French sauces, and much more, before returning to Western Mass. to tend to his ailing grandmother.

He first took a job at Springfield Smoked Fish Company, and soon took on some part-time work at the recently opened Center Square Grill. Eventually, he became executive chef there and stayed in that position for four years before he fulfilled that lifelong dream to own a restaurant, buying a wood-fired pizza restaurant from Guerra and renaming it HighBrow.

Pizza wasn’t exactly his passion, he admitted, but this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. And, as things turned out, it was a godsend because, as noted earlier, Brow became a restaurant owner just a few months before the pandemic reached Western Mass.

Pizza was a model that lent itself to delivery and pickup more easily than other types of restaurants, he explained, adding that he was able to pivot in many different ways, including by partnering with other businesses to bring meals to frontline workers, including those at hospitals and the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.

“I started off with just myself — I laid everyone off,” he recalled. “I told them to be on standby until we knew what the world was going to look like. Later, it was me and one of my cooks, Carlos. We would come in every day, and we’d go to Restaurant Depot every morning. We would have a limited menu; he would cook pizzas, and I would cook sauté and salads and appetizers. Eventually, I slowly introduced more staff as we were getting busier and I could justify putting more people back on payroll.”

Brow said he wasn’t exactly looking to open a second restaurant when Lumpkin implored him to take a hard look at the Adolfo’s site, but eventually he warmed to the idea of being part of the scene — and part of a comeback — in the central business district.

Over the course of his first year, there has been some change — and pivoting — there as well, he said, adding that he started off focusing primarily on fine dining, but has shifted and evolved, as he put it, and is now offering “more approachable things — but done with the detail we would use if we were plating a filet Oscar or something with delicate construction.”

For instance, with the mac & cheese, he offers a unique pasta with a cheese sauce made with many different types of cheeses, topped with crushed Goldfish crackers instead of the usual breadcrumbs.

“I try to be unique — I don’t like to do anything the same as anybody else around me is doing,” he explained. “I try to be different.”

And, like the name over the door, he is.

Unlike the jackalope — or Claudia Guerra, for that matter — Brow is not the stuff of legend. Yet. But he is getting there — one sticky rib at a time.

 

At Girls on the Run, Everyone Has a Winning Time

By
Girls on the Run
Nonprofit Management Special Coverage

Confidence Games

Girls on the Run

 

Alison Berman recalls a girl who finished her first 5K with Girls on the Run last year.

“This was a girl who had never even walked three miles, which is true for many of our kids. And it took her two hours. I mean, everything was being packed up, and when she finished, it was the most moving thing when she came across that finish line. Her aunt was crying. It was just … something that she never thought that she could possibly do.”

That, in a nutshell, is why Girls on the Run (GOTR) really isn’t about running — at least, not in the sense that competitive runners think about a 5K.

“You have the kid who can do it in 20 minutes and the kid who can do it in two hours,” said Berman, council director of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts. “It’s not timed. They keep their own goals.”

So, if running isn’t the main focus, what is Girls on the Run about?

In a nutshell, it’s a physical activity-based, positive youth-development program that uses running games and dynamic discussions to teach life skills to girls in grades 3-8. During the 10-week program each semester, girls participate in lessons that foster confidence, build peer connections, and encourage community service while they prepare for a celebratory, end-of-season 5K event.

“The goal, really, is for them to increase their confidence and be able to achieve something they haven’t achieved before.”

Berman explained that each session features a social-emotional life-skills lesson drawn from a nationally distributed curriculum. “There are lessons on how to stand up for yourself, lessons on choosing friends, lessons on identifying and expressing emotions, on stopping to take a breather, empathy, gratitude.”

Meanwhile, each team — there are 75 of them in the Western Mass. council — tackles a community-impact project to give back to their community, Berman explained.

“They could write letters to children’s hospitals, or they can make things for animal shelters. We have one school in Chicopee that did a project in their girls’ bathroom because it was so gross; they made all these amazing signs for it.

“And then, all the while, they’re also training to run a 5K,” she went on. “But running is really secondary to the social-emotional part of it. They can run, they can walk, but the goal, really, is for them to increase their confidence and be able to achieve something they haven’t achieved before.”

The Western Mass. council of GOTR launched in 2015 with 90 girls on six teams. Now, the chapter boasts 75 different teams — 1,030 girls in all — and 285 volunteer coaches. Molly Hoyt, the nonprofit’s program director, started out as a coach herself and can speak to why these women — about half of them teachers by trade — volunteer.

“I think it touches the heart of a lot of people, thinking about themselves at that age and what they needed and probably could have benefited from and didn’t have. So I think they’re filling a gap, and they want to give back” she explained. “And I think teachers see a lack of social and emotional learning in schools. The days are so busy. So it’s a way to give this kind of education to some kids.

From left, Molly Hoyt, Alison Berman, and Coleen Ryan

From left, Molly Hoyt, Alison Berman, and Coleen Ryan say Girls on the Run changes not only the participants’ lives, but often the culture of their schools.

“They also learn stuff from this,” Hoyt went on. “I think the reason we have coaches come back season after season is because they are also benefiting from it. I love coaching. I feel like I learned a lot from it. And there are lessons that are really great at any age; they work for all the coaches too.”

 

Keeping on Track

The end of the fall and spring seasons end with a 5K celebration, with the spring event typically being the larger of the two. That will take place on Saturday, June 3 at Western New England University, where about 4,000 runners, families, coaches, and supporters are expected to gather.

Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., fun events get underway at 9:30, a group warmup begins at 10, and the walk/run steps off at 10:30. The registration cost is $30 for adults and $10 for youth and includes an event shirt. Volunteers are still welcome to sign up. For more information about the event, how to register, and volunteer opportunities, visit www.girlsontherunwesternma.org.

“We have families come with coolers and lawn chairs and signs, and they set up like they’re tailgating,” Hoyt said. “It’s really fun. It’s a very special day … it’s very unifying. They feel like they’re part of something bigger.”

“It’s a group of girls around the same age going through the same things together. And when you put caring adults with them, it kind of holds them in this vessel and allows them to take risks and lean in a little bit and have these discussions.”

She emphasized that the 5K, like other GOTR activities, is not about achieving a time, but about personal growth.

“I feel like this redefines what running means to them. I think that a lot of kids think, if they’re a runner, it means they have to run marathons or win races. Here, they start understanding that anyone can be a runner because it’s super individual, and what you get out of it is what you want.”

Hoyt said her daughter took part in the program and had never been a runner, and now she runs cross country at school.

“We hear that from a lot of kids; they just did the program and really weren’t into the running piece while they were doing Girls on the Run, but discovered that actually they can do it if they want to. So I do think it redefines the whole concept of being physically active and what running is.”

Coleen Ryan, program manager at GOTR Western Massachusetts, added that, once girls develop a love for running, they find it’s an always-available pastime. “Running doesn’t cost money. Anybody can go out their door and run and be successful.”

She added that the groups at each session are kept to a healthy coach-to-child ratio, so when they’re having discussions or doing laps, they get a lot of individualized attention. “That makes a difference.”

While the girls’ personal growth is exciting, Berman said, perhaps even moreso is the impact of those changes on their families and schools.

“A lot of our coaches who are teachers tell us that they see the kids using the curriculum in the classroom, and they’re becoming leaders in school, like standing up for their friends. So we see the impact at a community level as well. We’ve had some of our teachers, coaches, and principals talk about how it’s also changed the culture of their school and how it’s even gotten guardians and parents more involved.”

end-of-semester 5K events

The end-of-semester 5K events are always celebratory, not competitive.

And it’s not only the girls who are internalizing lessons and deploying them outside of Girls on the Run, Hoyt said — so are the coaches.

“The nice thing about coaching as a parent or a teacher is that you are learning the same language that the girls are during practice, so you can really support them, at home with your own child or in the classroom with kids in the program. You have that common language and start the lessons from the same page. I think it allows adults to support kids better when they go through the experience with them.”

 

Mission Accomplished

As one girl stated in a video created by GOTR Western Massachusetts, “one thing I love about Girls on the Run is that it’s about body positivity and showing that I’m who I am.”

It’s a message, among many others, that has caught on over the years. The national Girls on the Run organization was formed in 1996 and has since reached more than 2 million girls, with at least one council in every state; three call Massachusetts home.

GOTR claims to make a stronger impact than organized sports and physical-education programs in teaching life skills such as managing emotions, resolving conflict, helping others, and making intentional decisions. There are separate curricula for grades 3-5 and 6-8, so the lessons are age-appropriate. And the girls keep journals to track their personal goals and progress.

“That progress is what’s important,” Hoyt said. “It’s not really about how fast anyone is or how far anyone’s running, but that they’re making individual progress.”

That sense of personal growth — Girls on the Run describes itself as developing joyful, healthy, and confident girls — is an attractive quality when so many negative factors are weighing on kids’ mental health these days, Berman said.

“We’ve definitely tapped into a need. There’s a huge child mental-health crisis right now. And whatever’s going on with them, Girls on the Run is giving them this extra layer of skills to support them. And it’s not just the lessons, but having these caring adults that are outside of their school and their parents, who are hopefully building up their resilience.”

Hoyt agreed. “It’s a group of girls around the same age going through the same things together. And when you put caring adults with them, it kind of holds them in this vessel and allows them to take risks and lean in a little bit and have these discussions.”

Berman emphasized that the coaches aren’t trained in running; instead, they’re skilled in the truly important things. “They’re more trained in how to hold a group of kids and how to facilitate discussions and be aware of some mental-health stuff that might come up — because, obviously, there’s a lot of behavioral stuff that comes up in the groups as well. And they have to know how to handle that.”

Because of the importance of the program, Berman said 65% of participants are on full or partial scholarships, which defrays the $160 cost based on ability to pay. “We don’t turn anybody away for financial need. And we also provide shoes for anybody that doesn’t have shoes. We also provide a snack for everybody.”

GOTR relies on fundraising to support its work, including grants and business sponsorships, to help pay for not only the 10-week program twice a year, but also, starting this July, an annual week-long summer camp in Chicopee.

But before that is the not-so-small matter of hosting 4,000 people at Western New England University on June 3 for the region’s most celebratory 5K.

“Normally you might be cheering someone on to win,” Ryan said, “but this is just like, ‘you did it. Everybody, you did it!’”

Proposals Sought for Large Parcel Within Uniroyal Property

By
Lee Pouliot
Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

The Last Big Piece of the Puzzle

 

Lee Pouliot

Since he’s only 37, Lee Pouliot has only known the buildings on the Uniroyal site as empty shells. With the request for proposals, that may finally change.

 

Lee Pouliot says he’s always had what he calls a bit of a fascination with what is known simply as the Uniroyal property in Chicopee — although there is nothing simple about it.

He grew up the city, but, because he’s only 37 (and a BusinessWest 40 Under Forty winner in 2020), all he’s known of the buildings — most of them, anyway — is as empty shells, the subjects of stories that almost every long-time resident of this community tells about working at the tire-manufacturing complex, or being related to someone who did.

While he was earning a master’s degree in landscape architecture at Cornell more than a dozen years ago, Pouliot took this fascination to a higher level, engaging himself and a few of his classmates in a final project — one that would create a development plan for the complex of buildings for the Uniroyal and adjacent Facemate properties, located in the center of the city.

Later, as an intern in the Chicopee’s Community Development office and then as a staffer in that office, he worked with city leaders to move a project to redevelop that complex, through a series of critical next steps.

“The reality is that there are a number of developers who have considerable experience with mill conversions. And so, in some ways, the city is trying to target developers who have this kind of experience, in the hope that we can see something creative done with those buildings that keeps them standing.”

And now, as city planner, a position he’s held since 2015, Pouliot is playing a lead role in writing what is essentially the final chapter in a long, complicated story that has, in some ways, been more than 40 years in the making.

This chapter involves a 9.58-acre parcel at the Uniroyal site, one of two yet to be developed, the other a 10-acre parcel being eyed by the city for recreational uses. A request for proposals was recently issued for the first of those parcels, which includes four buildings, including one that served as an administration building.

Those requests are due back on July 21, and Pouliot, like everyone else in the city, is anxious to see what the development community has in mind for this parcel, which is being marketed as RiverMills at Chicopee Falls, and especially the four remaining buildings on it, which the city opted not to demolish, in part because of their structural soundness.

the former Uniroyal buildings

This drone shot shows demolition of one of the former Uniroyal buildings. A request for proposals has been issued for the still-standing structures at the top of this image.

“The reality is that there are a number of developers who have considerable experience with mill conversions,” he explained. “And so, in some ways, the city is trying to target developers who have this kind of experience, in the hope that we can see something creative done with those buildings that keeps them standing.”

The bid package issued by the city touts this as “one of the largest contiguous areas of former industrial properties poised for redevelopment in Western Massachusetts.”

Further, the big package notes, “unlike other comparable sites, most of the costly and lengthy procedures required to prepare for redevelopment have been completed, reducing the risk and uncertainty typically associated with brownfield redevelopment.”

It is hoped that these amenities, if they can be called that, will trigger the imaginations of developers and yield some intriguing proposals, said Pouliot, adding that there are many possible uses for the buildings and the property. Housing is still a priority for the city and region, and the buildings, with some work, will lend themselves to that purpose. But there are other potential uses as well, he said, including retail, hospitality, and service businesses.

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest talked with Pouliot about the long journey that Chicopee has taken to reach this critical juncture with the Uniroyal property, and what might happen next.

 

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

When asked what it was like, personally and professionally, to see the project reach this important milestone, Pouliot exhaled, glanced toward the ceiling, and then shook his head a few times.

“Housing is still a priority. I think anyone looking at the state of housing in the Commonwealth, or this country, would be foolish not to consider housing a likely piece of redevelopment here.”

The body language spoke volumes about the length and complexity of this project, which has been ongoing — in some respects, anyway — longer than he’s been alive and has involved several different mayors, planners, and Community Development directors.

“In some ways, it feels odd that we’re nearing the end because so much of our time has been focused on getting to this point,” he said. “But it’s also significant — this has been no small feat for a community of Chicopee’s size; this is a huge milestone for the city.”

Recapping the Uniroyal story quickly, Pouliot said it starts back in the late 1800s, when that the land was first used for manufacturing. From 1896 to 1898, the property was owned by Spaulding and Pepper Co., which manufactured bicycle tires. Fisk Rubber Co., which later changed its name to United States Rubber Co. and then to Uniroyal, manufactured bicycle, automobile, and truck tires and adhesives at the site from 1898 to 1981.

a shift change at the Uniroyal plant

This photograph, taken some time in the 1930s, shows a shift change at the Uniroyal plant, which employed more than 3,000 people in its heyday.

Uniroyal closed its plant in 1980 and sold the property — which stretched over 65 acres and included 23 buildings — to Facemate Corp., located adjacent to Uniroyal, in 1981.

Fast-forwarding, he said the city spent years working to acquire both the Uniroyal and Facemate property (Facemate went bankrupt in 2003), and did so in 2009, soon embarking on a massive cleanup that would cost more than $40 million and involve federal, state, and local money, while also planning work for development.

Eventually, individual parcels on the site were developed; the initial redevelopment project involved construction of the RiverMills Senior Center. Later, a private developer built River Mills Assisted Living at Chicopee Falls on a three-acre parcel. A third, four-acre parcel has been optioned to Brisa Development LLC of New York, which plans to build a mixed-use development that includes a 107-unit apartment building, an indoor sports complex, and a brewery and restaurant.

The 9.58-acre parcel that is the subject of the request for proposals is essentially the last big piece of the puzzle, said Pouliot, adding that it’s dominated by the four remaining Uniroyal buildings.

One is the administration building, or Building 26. The city has an agreement with the Massachusetts Historical Commission to try to see that structure redeveloped, he explained, adding that it is eligible for listing on the National Historic Register.

There is also a smaller building, what Pouliot called a retail shop for Fisk Rubber Co., where it sold and even installed tires, as well as two large manufacturing buildings, numbered 27 and 42, that are considered to be in “structurally decent condition,” he said.

“Instead of incurring the cost of demolition, which would have been a few million dollars more than what we were paying for cleanup, we decided to preserve them and see if there was appetite within the development community to do something with them,” he explained, adding that, if there is no appetite for taking them on, the city will look at what developers are proposing and decide the best course from there.

“We’re not going to predicate a decision on just whether or not all the buildings can be reused,” he said. “Certainly it is the city’s intention to sell the land and see something happen; this is just one of the criteria we’re looking at to see what the development community can respond with.

“There are a number of developers who would prefer raw land, but the reality with this site is that it’s not raw land,” he went on. “You could consider this an industrial archaeological site; there are going to be limitations on development regardless of whether the buildings are standing or not.”

Elaborating, Pouliot said he’s learned much about the property — and tire manufacturing — over the years, including the fact that, at some point between the two world wars (exactly when he’s not sure), the U.S. government began to oversee rubber production to make sure there would be enough tires for the war effort.

This government involvement helps explain why many of the buildings at the Uniroyal site, including Buildings 27 and 42, were built to withstand aerial bombing, he went on, adding that the structures are still sound a century or more after they were built, in some cases, which may become a factor in whether those in the development community want to try to do something with them. “Their structural capacity is incredible.”

Returning to the matter of what the city would like to see by way of development, Pouliot said priorities were spelled out in the River Mills Vision Plan, the development plan created for both the Uniroyal and Facemate properties combined.

“We were looking for redevelopment that reconnected these properties to the Chicopee Falls neighborhood and supported the neighborhood with appropriate-scale development,” he said of the overarching objective, adding that there hasn’t been any connection, other than history, for many years.

aerial shot from 2008

This aerial shot from 2008 shows the Uniroyal complex before the start of demolition of many of the buildings at that site.

This effort would ideally be a mixed-use project that can connect people with the river, he went on, adding that housing was, and still is, a need within the city.

“Housing is still a priority,” he said. “I think anyone looking at the state of housing in the Commonwealth, or this country, would be foolish not to consider housing a likely piece of redevelopment here.”

When asked for a timeline for the project, Pouliot said the city will likely take six to eight months to review the submitted proposals before eventually choosing a preferred developer. That developer will then need time to secure the various forms of financing that will be needed, he said, adding that it will likely be two to four years before work actually commences.

 

View to the Future

Returning to that project that he and a few of his classmates took on at Cornell, Pouliot said that, while creating that development plan — one that in many ways mirrored the one crafted by the city — he and the others involved worked to get a “feel for the community’s relationship with this property, its context within the city, and what they wanted to see.

“And one of the big takeaways, even for me, having grown up in this city, was just how many families had someone who worked at this property throughout history,” he went on. “So many people could tie themselves back to a sports league or working there, or the shift changes — we heard so many stories about how loud and noisy Chicopee Falls was when that plant was operating, and the volume of people.”

For the better part of 40 years now, most all talk concerning Uniroyal has been in the past tense. But if the request for proposals yields the imaginative concepts that city officials are hoping for, that will soon change — and people will start talking about what’s happening there now, not what happened a half-century or more ago.

As Pouliot noted, it’s odd in some ways to be at this point in the process. But it’s also quite rewarding. There’s plenty of work left to do, but a milestone has been reached.

 

BusinessTalk with Alison Berman, council director of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachusetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 163: May 22, 2023

BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Alison Berman, council director of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts

Girls today deal with a host of challenges, from school stress to social pressures and much more, all of which can weigh on their happiness and health, both physical and mental. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Alison Berman, council director of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts, an organization that uses running as a framework for crucial lessons on self-care, managing emotions, empathy, gratitude, building confidence … the list goes on. Just weeks before its celebratory 5K event steps off on June 3, Berman explains why Girls on the Run’s mission resonates so powerfully.

 

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BusinessTalk with Paul Lambert, president and CEO of the SSO

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 162: May 15, 2023

Joe Bednar talks with Paul Lambert, president and CEO of the SSO

The Springfield Symphony Orchestra recently struck a harmonious note with its musicians, announcing a new, two-year labor deal. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Paul Lambert, president and CEO of the SSO, about how that deal came about and what it means moving forward. They also discuss the importance of the symphony to the region, the challenge of creating a robust and diverse season of performances, how the organization is connecting with the next generation of young music lovers, and much more. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

 

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Southwick Is Building Momentum — Literally

By Contributor
Doug Moglin and Heather Kies
Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

By Mark Morris

Doug Moglin and Heather Kies

Doug Moglin and Heather Kies stand at the construction site for Whalley Computer Associates’ 85,000-square-foot addition.

When Whalley Computer Associates in Southwick recently broke ground for a new 85,000-square-foot warehouse and office addition, Doug Moglin said the company was making a statement about its commitment to the town.

“We’ve been operating in Southwick for 44 years, and the new facility represents our investment in the next 25 to 30 years,” said Moglin, vice president for Whalley’s OEM business.

While many of its customers are based in New England, Whalley sells all over the U.S. and internationally. Warehousing is essential because a big part of the business involves acquiring various types of computer equipment from manufacturers, customizing it to clients’ specific needs, and then shipping out the final product. All of that requires space, which can present a challenge. Moglin gave an example of a national retail chain that needed new servers, a case that explains the need for the expansion.

“One day, 8,000 servers showed up to our near-capacity warehouse,” he explained. “And because only eight servers fit on each pallet, it quickly became a math problem.”

The company currently uses warehouse space in Westfield to handle the overflow, but the need keeps growing. For several years, senior managers had discussed building more warehouse capacity on the parcels that surround Whalley’s main facility in Southwick. Supply-chain issues during the pandemic accelerated those discussions.

“Supply-chain reliability is a concern for our customers, so having components on hand is a huge benefit,” Moglin explained. “Having the capacity to hold more inventory brings additional customers to us because, instead of buying direct from manufacturers or companies like ours out of the area, they have a local resource that provides better service and better support.”

Heather Kies, marketing manager for Whalley, called its evolution “a great story of a company that’s growing but still staying in its hometown.”

The Southwick Select Board and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development worked with Whalley to secure a tax-increment financing (TIF) agreement.

Russell Fox, chair of the Select Board and a selectman for most of the past 40 years, said the TIF was well worth the effort to keep the project in Southwick. Under the agreement, Whalley has agreed to add to the 200 workers it currently employs. “The Whalley project is all positive news for Southwick,” Fox said.

“The reconfiguration addresses the concerns of people who don’t want a huge operation. I think it’s a good way to use this industrially zoned parcel.”

In another part of town, the Planning Board is now considering a reconfiguration of the site where a Carvana facility was once proposed but then shot down by residents over concerns of increased traffic along College Highway. Now the same area has been redrawn as five separate lots, with some facing the road and smaller lots positioned in the back of the parcel. Fox sees the new plan as a great compromise.

“The reconfiguration addresses the concerns of people who don’t want a huge operation. I think it’s a good way to use this industrially zoned parcel,” Fox said, adding that, when new businesses occupy that parcel, it will help the town make its case to add a traffic light at the Tannery Road intersection.

Moving forward, the town’s goal is to continue decades of work to create an attractive balance. Fox noted that, while Southwick is known as a recreational community — it is home to the Congamond Lakes, a successful motocross track, and two golf courses — it is also a town that wants and needs to continually grow its business community.

Overall, it strives to be a community where people can play, work, and live, with new housing developments under construction and others set to come off the drawing board, as we’ll see later.

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Southwick and how this community on the Connecticut border is building momentum — in all kinds of ways.

 

Getting Down to Business

A key agenda item at the upcoming Southwick town meeting in May involves bringing fiber optics into town to handle its cable-TV and internet services.

The process involves forming a municipal light plant, which voters approved at a special town meeting last fall. A second vote for the plant will be taken at the May meeting. Fox pointed out that the municipal light plant is an entity in name only. If the second vote is successful, Southwick will begin interviewing firms to install and maintain the fiber-optic network. Whip City Fiber in Westfield will be among the companies under consideration.

“We’re telling all bidders that they must cover the entire town and not just the densely populated neighborhoods; that’s a non-negotiable point,” he said. “We are a community, so everyone must have access.”

The fiber-optic network is considered an important step forward for the community, one that will bring faster, more reliable service to existing residential and business customers, and provide one more selling point as town leaders continue their work to attract more employers, across a wide range of sectors.

Diane DeMarco has a special trade-show display

Diane DeMarco has a special trade-show display room to help clients pick the right materials for their needs.

The town already boasts a large and growing business community, one that is served by the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, which has increased its membership among Southwick businesses, a sign of growth both in Southwick and in the chamber.

Indeed, last year, the chamber reported 13 members from Southwick, while this year, that number has grown to 20.

Diane DeMarco, owner of Spotlight Graphics in Southwick, is a long-time chamber member. For 10 years, the company has provided area businesses with logo signage, trade-show materials, and graphic vehicle wrapping, among many other services offered.

When COVID hit, Spotlight lost a few clients when it was forced to shut down. Since then, DeMarco reports she has gained back many more clients than she lost. “Business has been very good for us. We have new clients coming on board, and word of mouth about us is spreading.”

She credits customer loyalty through the years thanks to the relationships she and her staff have built. “Our customers aren’t buying their graphics from a company; they are working with Allie, David, or Diane,” she said, listing long-time employees at the business.

In addition to offering full-service, quality work, Spotlight Graphics is a nationally certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and certified by the state as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). DeMarco explained the state designation has led to work from clients who are required to do business with DBE firms as part of their state contract. She described it as a win-win.

“The client is fulfilling their contractual requirement for the state by working with a woman-owned business, and they are getting a quality product at a fair price,” she said.

While DeMarco competes with online graphic firms that offer cheaper prices, she’s not worried because they often can’t match Spotlight’s quality.

Southwick at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1770
Population: 9,232
Area: 31.7 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $16.11
Commercial Tax Rate: $16.11
Median Household Income: $52,296
Family Household Income: $64,456
Type of Government: Open Town Meeting; Select Board
Largest Employers: Big Y; Whalley Computer Associates; Southwick Regional School District
*Latest information available

“Sometimes a client will buy an inexpensive retractable banner stand or go for the cheap price on a poster,” she said. “Then, when the stand breaks or the poster is the wrong color, they come to us to get it done right.”

In fact, Spotlight clients can see and touch the quality of banner stands and other graphic materials at its trade-show display room. DeMarco said online and print catalogs provide only an approximate idea of the size and quality of trade-show materials.

“People who are new to trade shows or have to revamp their current displays like to stop by because they can see the actual items they would use and get answers to their questions from our staff.”

 

No Place Like Home

While its business community continues to grow, Southwick is experiencing residential growth as well.

Indeed, the Greens of Southwick, a housing development located on both sides of College Highway on the former Southwick Country Club property, is nearing completion. With 25 lots on the west side and 38 on the east side, only a handful of parcels remain for this custom-built home development.

Fox appreciated the quality of the homes that added to the number of new residences in Southwick. “The developers did a tremendous job with the houses there,” he said. “The whole project is a real asset to our town.”

Next up for new housing, a 100-unit condominium complex has been approved at Depot and Powder Mill roads. While construction has not yet started, the town has already secured a grant to install sidewalks around the perimeter of the eventual construction. Fox said the sidewalks make sense because the location of the condos is an active area.

“The sidewalk will connect to Whalley Park, the rail trail, the Southwick Recreation Center, and to the schools at the other end of Powder Ridge,” he explained.

In Southwick, much of today’s activity is as much about the future as it is about the present.

As Moglin noted about Whalley Computer’s building addition, “this is not a 2024 investment; this is a 2044 investment, and beyond.”

The same can be said of the fiber-optic network soon to be built, the plans to divide and then develop the site eyed by Carvana, and the many housing projects in various stages of development.

In short, this is a community with expanding horizons, both literally and figuratively.

Springfield Science Museum Unveils State-of-the-Art Planetarium Projector

By
new Zeiss projector
Features Special Coverage

The Sky’s the Limit

new Zeiss projector

[email protected]

 

For a few minutes on April 28, if you were looking for a gaggle of local lawmakers and Springfield Museums board members, you’d have to look beyond earth, because they were traveling through space.

At least, they felt like they were.

That’s the idea, anyway, and it’s becoming reality thanks to the addition of a state-of-the-art Zeiss Velvet full-dome projector in the Seymour Planetarium, which will provide a fully immersive, 3D experience for visitors to the Springfield Science Museum. The planetarium opened to the public with the new system on April 29, the day after legislators and museum supporters got a tour.

“Our new projector creates an incredibly immersive experience,” said Jenny Powers, director of the Science Museum. “We hope that even more in-depth learning will happen when our visitors feel that they are traveling through part of our universe.”

The planetarium’s venerable Korkosz star ball — in continuous operation since 1937 — is not being replaced; in fact, it works in tandem with the Zeiss projector to create a more detailed, realistic virtual journey through the cosmos.

Meanwhile, just down the hall from the planetarium, a newly upgraded, interactive International Space Station exhibit will provide visitors with a better understanding of what it takes (and what it’s like) to fly among the stars, living and working in outer space for months on end. That improved exhibit also opened on April 29.

“In addition to the educational value of these improvements for schools and workforce development, the dynamic additions to the Science Museum will help drive tourism and generate critical economic development for the region.”

Taken together, these improvements — and others throughout the Science Museum — represent a $750,000 investment made possible through private donations as well as support from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under a federal earmark sponsored by U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren.

Kay Simpson, president and CEO of the Springfield Museums, said these projects are major steps toward the goal of making the museums the premier STEM learning center of the region.

“Today is historic,” she told the gathered guests the day before the new exhibits opened. “The story starts back in 1934 to 1937, when the Korkosz brothers of Chicopee made a star-ball projector by hand for the Seymour Planetarium. And they did this because it was the Depression and the museum could not afford a state-of-the-art Zeiss projection system. That being said, this star-ball projector was a marvel of innovation and invention. And it entertained such celebrities as movie star Clark Gable, who actually saw a live show in the planetarium in 1939.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and the museum was still using what had become the oldest operating star ball, not just in the country, but in the world, she added.

“So we’re very, very proud of our antique star ball, but we knew that we could do so much more to teach children and families about the wonders of the universe and really provide high-quality STEM learning experiences for students,” Simpson said. “So we’re fortunate that we were able to receive funding through federal and state earmarks so we could finally purchase the state-of-the-art Zeiss projector that we could not afford back in 1934. We have come full circle, and we are so excited about what is happening.”

 

The Final Frontier

In 2018, Simpson explained, the Springfield Museums launched its Evolution Campaign, which was designed to make the Science Museum a 21st-century, state-of-the-art attraction.

“In addition to the educational value of these improvements for schools and workforce development, the dynamic additions to the Science Museum will help drive tourism and generate critical economic development for the region,” she said.

Simpson emphasized the public and private support for the project, which has drawn on state and federal earmarks and leveraged funding from private foundations and individuals as well.

“So, needless to say, this is just an incredible moment for the Science Museum and a major investment in amplifying our importance as an educational resource for students and also a must-see tourist attraction. And I think we are really doing great work on both fronts.

opening of the upgraded planetarium

Kay Simpson celebrates the opening of the upgraded planetarium alongside (from left) state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, state Sen. Jake Oliveira, and Darryl Williams from the office of state Rep. Bud Williams.

“We all know that the education for our children is essential for workforce development,” she added. “We hear a lot about educational equity. Museums are playing a role in all of that. And tourism, as we all know, is a major economic driver in Western Massachusetts.”

State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez agreed. “We know the importance of tourism; we know the importance of these destinations,” he said. “Having these locations to bring people from across the world to visit is so critical and important. But also, for the community and city of Springfield to come and embrace the educational opportunities that they have here is so great.”

State Sen. Jake Oliveira agreed. “Tourism is our third-largest industry, and it is so important for the Pioneer Valley, and the Springfield Museums have played such a critical role in that.”

He added that he was pleased to attend the legislative visit as someone who has always loved outer space. In fact, he recalled visiting the Springfield Museums as a child, taking in the space exhibits, and dreaming of one day being an astronaut.

“That dream ended very quickly when I realized I’m afraid of heights, small places, and fires. So that dream ended very quickly,” Oliveira said. “But I’m so glad that so many families can explore the opportunities of space that we have here at the Springfield Museums — and going into a planetarium that can actually project the images of the Webb Space Telescope, which are some of the most beautiful images of our galaxy and beyond that we can see.”

Powers emphasized the potential the Seymour Planetarium will have in creating customized programs for local teachers and students.

“There are two different ways that we’re going to be able to serve schools,” she said. “First of all, the planetarium shows have previews, and we’ve been able to embed them on our website so teachers can see them in advance and match the content of the show to what they need to teach their children. That’s really important.”

“The planetarium shows have previews, and we’ve been able to embed them on our website so teachers can see them in advance and match the content of the show to what they need to teach their children.”

In addition, Kevin Kopchynski, STEM curator for the Springfield Museums, can create custom shows for students, Powers explained.

“So if a teacher comes in from any level, from kindergarten up through college, and has a particular thing they need to focus on, Kevin can make them a show about that. It’s something that’s highly customizable.”

Also, for the first time ever, the planetarium will offer Spanish-language planetarium shows.

“We can do almost any kind of representation that we want to using this system,” Powers said. “The modern planetarium shows offer us such a greater diversity of people than the old ones do. That’s one way we can serve not only schools, but all of our visitors. We’re incredibly excited about that.

 

The Next Generation

Darryl Williams, district director for state Rep. Bud Williams, spoke at the legislative event and, like Oliveira, recalled fond early memories of the Science Museum.

“This is my favorite museum here in Springfield. I grew up going to this museum every summer; my parents made sure that we came here,” he said, noting that his parents also bought him a telescope to gaze at Mars and Venus and myriad constellations — and that he was inspired by learning about the accomplishments of scientists during his museum visits.

“I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to many, many more years,” he said, “and I look forward showing my grandkids this one day.”

That’s the kind of legacy the Springfield Science Museum and its Seymour Planetarium has cultivated for generations, and will continue to cultivate — only now, in much sharper detail.

Meyers Brothers Kalicka Celebrates 75 Years of Change — and What Hasn’t Changed

By
The five partners at Meyers Brothers Kalicka
Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Marking a Milestone

The five partners at Meyers Brothers Kalicka

The five partners at Meyers Brothers Kalicka: from left, Jim Krupienski, Kristi Reale, Howard Cheney, Rudy D’Agostino, and Kristina Drzal Houghton.

It’s called the ‘Founders Room.’

This is a small conference room at Holyoke-based Meyers Brothers Kalicka featuring a table that can comfortably seat six or seven people, which makes it a popular spot for smaller meetings and an attractive alternative to the cavernous main conference room, which can host more than 40.

There are a few other gathering spots at this accounting firm, but this one is unique because it pays homage to those who were there at the beginning — and in the decades that followed — for both Meyers Brothers and Joseph Kalicka and Co., two accounting firms that started the same year, 1948, and came together in a consequential merger in 2004 that created the firm known to most by the letters MBK.

The Founders Room takes on a little more importance this year as the firm celebrates a milestone — its 75th anniversary. As it does so, it looks back at the important work of the three Meyers brothers who went into business together — Ben, Raymond, and Maurice (there’s a photo of them on the wall in the Founders Room) — and Joseph Kalicka, founder of the firm that took his name (there’s a photo of him with former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis).

But the present and the future are the dominant topics of conversation on this occasion, and there was much to discuss as we gathered thoughts from the five partners now setting a course for the firm — Howard Cheney, Rudy D’Agostino, Kristina Drzal Houghton, James Krupienski, and Kristi Reale — as well as David Kalicka, partner emeritus.

Collectively, they said the tenets put in place by the founders of both firms in 1948 — everything from a laser focus on customer service to a tradition of innovation and an emphasis on anticipating what the future might bring (and being ready for it) — are still serving MBK well as it copes with an onslaught of change coming from every direction.

“I’ve always felt that the strength of our firm is the people here. It’s a collaborative effort. People work really well together; we’ve got a lot of smart people who work hard. From the top down and the bottom up, everybody works as a team.”

This change involves everything from technology and how it is used to better serve both the company and its clients to creating a workplace that recognizes emerging needs and enables several generations of employees to work effectively — work that was in some ways impacted by, and accelerated by, the pandemic and the many ways in which it impacted the workplace.

For this issue and its focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest talked with MBK’s partners about the past 75 years, but mostly about what will come next — for both the firm and the industry.

 

Addition by … Addition

It was in early 2003 that talks began about merging Meyers Brothers and Joseph Kalicka and Co., two firms that were in ‘friendly competition’ — a phrase heard early and often — for more than a half-century and had a lot of things in common.

Looking back on those days, Drzal Houghton, who joined Meyers Brothers in 1995, said that, while the firms were operating in many of the same spaces, or sectors of the business community, they had different niches. Also, Meyers Brothers had a benefits-consulting business as well as a wealth-management business. So a merger made sense on many levels.

“Both firms had a lot of clients in the medical field, but Meyers Brothers had a lot of clients in the nonprofit industry, so there was a lot of summer work,” she explained. “Whereas, Joseph Kalicka and Co. didn’t have as much summer work, so that was a good fit. Meanwhile, Joseph Kalicka and Co. had a lot of work in the construction and real-estate industries, so it was just clear that we would be stronger together.”

Kalicka agreed. “We decided that it had been 50 years since we’ve been competing against each other and we’d both do better if we merged,” he explained. “It’s worked great; it’s helped us to survive different challenges. We’ve been around for a long time and have been approached by several bigger firms to merge and have turned them down.”

D’Agostino, who joined the Kalicka firm in 1995, noted that there were several young partners with that firm at the time, a core of leadership that appealed to those at Meyers Brothers and made a merger even more attractive.

“The opportunity to make the firm stronger, work on some bigger accounts, and have a good nucleus of young partners — those were all driving forces in the merger,” he noted. “And the culture was very similar.”

The firm that emerged from that merger is now the largest accounting firm based in Western Mass., with more than 60 employees. And that size brings with it several advantages, said the partners, including the ability to attract young talent, a challenge that has only grown in size and scope in recent years as competition for talent grows and the need for young leaders to replace retiring Baby Boomers increases.

MBK serves individuals, privately held businesses, family and independent businesses, and not-for-profit organizations in Western Mass. and well beyond. Services include taxation, accounting, auditing, and business-advisory work. The client list is deep and diverse, and it reflects the many business sectors served and the niches the company has developed. That client list includes Peter Pan Bus Lines, the Springfield Thunderbirds, the construction firm Fontaine Bros., the nonprofit agencies Square One and Mental Health Assoc., and small to mid-sized businesses such as New England Dermatology and Tyler Equipment Corp.

Partners Kristi Reale and Jim Krupienski

Partners Kristi Reale and Jim Krupienski, seen here in MBK’s Founders Room, say the firm has priorities for the future, but especially the need to develop the next generation of leadership.

As they talked about what makes MBK different, and successful, the partners used different words and phrases, but essentially said it comes to down to people — those at all levels of the organization.

“I’ve always felt that the strength of our firm is the people here,” Cheney said. “It’s a collaborative effort. People work really well together; we’ve got a lot of smart people who work hard. From the top down and the bottom up, everybody works as a team.”

Drzal Houghton agreed. “We believe here that it’s family first,” she said. “Our clients think of us as family, and I think it’s just that whole feeling … the clients feel it, the employees feel it. And it really makes us different — we care about every member of our team and every client, like family.”

As they look ahead, the partners again spoke with one voice as they talked about the priorities moving forward and what will be needed for this firm to thrive for another 75 years.

Remaining an independent firm at a time when mergers remain the order of the day and the partners field calls from private-equity firms about acquisition on a regular basis is an important goal — and also a major challenge, said those we spoke with.

“We’d like to remain independent; it’s a tough fight to stay independent, but it’s worth it because it benefits the clients,” D’Agostino said. “We make the decisions here, the philosophy that the client comes first — we can keep that. We all have to follow the same regulations, but we like to make sure we are doing things responsibly and really know our clients.”

Drzal Houghton agreed. “We definitely want to stay independent,” she said. “In the industry, there have been a lot of mergers; a lot of private equity is trying to buy firms, but we have worked very hard to be independent, and we want to give that opportunity to our rising stars.”

 

Crunching the Numbers

MBK’s partners told BusinessWest that, years ago, the firm’s leadership team would conduct an annual two-day retreat to discuss matters and set in place a strategic plan for the future.

Now, they stage four- to five-hour strategy sessions every six to seven weeks. The shorter, more frequent sessions are ultimately more productive — people are tired and less effective at the end of the second day of a retreat, they noted — and follow-up and accountability are more manageable. Meanwhile, change is coming at such a constant and profound rate that more frequent strategy meetings with shorter agendas are certainly necessary.

“We’re maintaining the momentum and holding ourselves more accountable,” said Krupienski, adding that items for discussion include everything from staffing to succession planning; from IT conversions to client services and client development.

Staffing is certainly a common agenda item, and there are layers to this issue, said those we spoke with, adding that these include everything from attracting and retaining talent to creating policies for remote work.

“We definitely want to stay independent. In the industry, there have been a lot of mergers; a lot of private equity is trying to buy firms, but we have worked very hard to be independent, and we want to give that opportunity to our rising stars.”

“A major issue with all businesses, and especially accounting firms, over the past few years has been staffing — staff costs, recruiting staff, and maintaining staff have all been significant concerns within this industry,” said D’Agostino, adding that there are some issues unique to the accounting sector, such as the compression of work during tax season and a reluctance on the part of many younger workers to “want to work the kinds of hours the previous generations have.”

“So we need to adapt to that,” he said, adding quickly that this is one of the many reasons why firms need to embrace technology — especially the technology that can handle some of the more mundane accounting tasks and thus enable professionals in the industry to focus more on consulting and advising clients.

“A lot of the bigger firms are embracing artificial intelligence,” said Reale. “We’re not there yet, but we should look at it and determine if there is anything that AI can help us with.”

Elaborating, she said that, while there is concern in some sectors about AI and its potential for eliminating jobs by doing work that humans can do (see related story on page 32), forward-looking accounting firms need to focus on its potential to create efficiencies and free up professionals to serve clients in different ways.

“AI is not going to be able to have meaningful discussions with a client and help grow its business,” she explained, adding that, increasingly, clients are looking for such consulting services — everything from contracts to mergers and acquisitions — from their accounting firm.

To provide these services effectively, firms need a pipeline of talent, said the partners we spoke with, adding that maintaining such a pipeline has become more difficult in recent years, and for a number of reasons, some of them amplified by the pandemic.

Indeed, Krupienski noted that, years ago, local and regional firms might have had a leg up when it came to the graduates of local colleges and their accounting programs, but now, those same individuals are fielding offers from firms on the other side of the country offering remote work opportunities at wages higher than those traditionally offered in Western Mass.

And that’s one of many challenges this firm and others in the region face as they try to recruit and maintain talent, said D’Agostino, adding that the firm generally likes to hire people with three to five years of experience, but there are simply fewer people with that background available to hire in this market.

Thus, the firm is hiring more individuals out of college, training them, and hoping to hang on to them when they have that three to five years of experience.

 

Then and Now

As they talked about what’s changed in the industry and for this firm, and what hasn’t, the partners we spoke with started with the later.

And Krupienski offered the obligatory “death and taxes.”

That was his way of saying that many of the services — basic and complex — have remained the same over the past 75 years. How they are provided, and sometimes when … well, that’s a different story.

This firm has been essentially paperless for years, said Reale, noting also that the phone has been replaced by email, which has, to a large degree, been replaced by the text, which can come at all hours of the day or night. And, for the most part, it needs to be answered soon after it’s received.

The midnight or 5 a.m. text comprises just one of the many changes that have taken place within the industry, said the partners, adding that many significant changes have also come in the workplace.

Elaborating, they said the younger generations now dominating workplaces like MBK have different needs and priorities than those that preceded them, and firms that want to be successful must acknowledge this and respond accordingly.

And flexible schedules are just part of the equation, said D’Agostino, adding that these generations place a premium on work-life balance and how to achieve that balance.

As an example, he recalled a few younger team members departing at 5:15 p.m. during the height of tax season to go to spinning class, something those in his generation wouldn’t think about doing.

But beyond a need to go to the gym when they need to go the gym, these generations want different things from their work, and they want them more quickly than previous generations, he went on.

“They want diversity in their work situation,” D’Agostino said. “They don’t want to just do a tax return; they want to do consulting work, they want to do something above and beyond that, they want to do things that are interesting to them, and they want challenges.

“In order for this firm to continue to survive, we have to be flexible and accommodate the next generation,” he went on. “That’s what every firm is dealing with; I’m resistant to change, but things have to change, because this is the next generation of leadership here, and this is how they operate.”

Meanwhile, another change that has taken place at MBK is a greater focus on giving back to the community and getting involved with its many nonprofits and causes, said Reale, who couldn’t speak to how things were 75 years ago, but can point to a dramatic change over the 23 years she has been with the firm.

“Twenty years ago, we would do one or two charity days,” she recalled. “And now, every other Friday, there’s a specific dress-down for charity, and some of our team members pick a special organization each month, and we do something for the community each month, whether it’s a service, or stuff the bus, or bringing in toys for the holidays, or providing needed items for the homeless … as a firm, we’re much more involved.”

As an example, she cited work involving an employee who was born in Ukraine and whose family was still in that country when the war with Russia started.

“When that war began, they needed certain things,” she recalled, adding that a local church put out a call for items, and the firm answered that call. Indeed, clothing and other items were donated by employees and clients alike over several days during tax season.

“You couldn’t walk in our lobby; they took three truckloads of items to that church,” she went on. “And that really hit home because it affected one of our team members.”

This heightened involvement in the community is important to the younger team members at MBK, said D’Agostino, and it’s one of the many cultural traits that will aid efforts to recruit and retain talent.

“They want to feel that the firm is behind certain community activities and certain charities because that’s important to them beyond the work environment,” he said. “Usually, it’s one of the staff people that takes the lead on these initiatives, and they really do enjoy it.”

 

Bottom Line

The photos along the walls in the Founders Room generally speak to another time. Indeed, most of those in the pictures have passed away, and the black-and-white images are stark reminders of just how much technology has advanced and the world has changed.

Still, the partners we spoke with said that, when it comes to the business of accounting and auditing, what truly matters most hasn’t changed since 1948, and it won’t change. This would be the matter of working closely with clients to handle their needs and help them set a course for success. And the ability to do this, as stated earlier, comes down to having people who care.

This has always been the main ingredient in the success formula, and as MBK looks forward to the next 75 years, it isn’t about to change that recipe.

Hayley Procon Takes the Route of a True Entrepreneur

By
Special Coverage Women in Businesss

From the Grounds Up

Hayley Procon

Hayley Procon entered college with the goal of one day getting into broadcast journalism.

In fact, her ambition was to be the “next Erin Andrews,” as she put it, referencing the well-known sideline reporter for FOX on its NFL broadcasts.

“I loved baseball, and I still love baseball; I just wanted to be on the sideline for the Red Sox,” she told BusinessWest, adding that it wasn’t long after arriving at Suffolk University in Boston that she realized that this wasn’t a realistic, or even desirable, goal.

And upon transferring to Springfield College, she would set a new goal — to be her own boss.

“I definitely didn’t want to work for someone else,” she explained, with a note of extreme confidence in her voice. “I didn’t want to put in the work and put in the effort and see someone else basically reap the benefits; I don’t want to work hard for someone else’s success.”

She kept pursuing that goal and made it reality in what would be called a joint venture with her mother, Kristen Procon. Together, they acquired an established business, Common Grounds, a coffee shop on busy Boston Road in Wilbraham, while she was still in college — a venture for which she would win the Spirit Award from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

“I definitely didn’t want to work for someone else. I didn’t want to put in the work and put in the effort and see someone else basically reap the benefits; I don’t want to work hard for someone else’s success.”

Together, the partners made a few subtle changes, building on an existing foundation, and have built on that success story. While doing so, though, they have taken things to a different level, becoming serial entrepreneurs with the opening of Aura Day Spa in Ludlow, a new venture they have taken from the ground up — as opposed to the grounds up with the coffee shop.

As she talked about these ventures, Procon used many of the words and phrases summoned by others profiled over the years in BusinessWest’s Women in Business sections. She said her work has been fun and rewarding, but also challenging and, at times, a little frightening.

In the end, though, she has no second thoughts about the entrepreneurial path she has chosen because she’s ultimately doing what she set out to do back in college — put her name over the door, figuratively if not literally, and sign the front of the paycheck, not the back.

“I really enjoy it,” she said of the entrepreneur’s life. “There are some days when I wish I did the 9-to-5 and went to work for someone else, but I don’t think I would have been happy in the long run.”

 

Bean Entrepreneurial

Procon told BusinessWest that she’d been coming to Common Grounds, a popular spot in the back of a large office and retail plaza on Boston Road, when she was in high school.

The business came onto the market in September 2020 — yes, the height of the pandemic — and, despite the many challenges facing all businesses at that time, but especially those in the broad hospitality sector, Hayley and her mother decided to take the plunge.

Haley Procon and her business partner and mother, Kristen Procon

Haley Procon and her business partner and mother, Kristen Procon, have become true serial entrepreneurs, starting with Common Grounds and then opening Aura Day Spa.

“It was COVID, and everything was still pretty weird,” she recalled, using that word to sum up a time when many consumers were still hunkering down, college students like herself (she was just starting her senior year) were mostly taking courses remotely, and those in hospitality were managing day to day. “We found out it was for sale, we walked in, we sat down with the owner, and we bought it a month later.”

As noted earlier, the two partners took the existing, and fairly successful, business and made some minor but important tweaks, including adjustments to the menu, changing some furniture, extending the hours of operation, and, perhaps most importantly, opening on Sundays.

“Sunday is a good coffee day, a good breakfast day,” Procon said. “But overall, this place has been running great, and we wanted to keep the same vibe; we have a lot of great regulars, and we have great work-of-mouth.”

She said the business draws heavily from the plaza it’s located in, as well as the massive Post Office Park, home to a YMCA and dozens of businesses large and small, just down the street.

While she’s managing her own business, this is certainly not what she was thinking about when she was in college and planning and plotting to work for herself one day — and soon.

“I never thought I’d own a coffee shop … I’ve never worked with coffee before, and I figured, ‘how hard can it be?’” Procon asked rhetorically, before answering the question by saying that every business, even an existing one with a core of loyal customers, comes with a complete set of challenges.

“I just loved the idea of having a spa and building from scratch. My hobby is building; I like taking things from the ground up and just expanding from there. Seeing it from start to finish is something I really wanted to do.”

She said the partners split up the duties of running the business, with her mother handling most of the accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities while she tackles marketing, social media, and many of the day-to-day operations.

It’s a juggling act that was taken to a much higher plane when the two decided to double down, if you will, and take entrepreneurial plunge, this time with a new business, a spa they opened in Ludlow last September called Aura Day Spa.

Unlike Common Grounds, this was something that she aspired to do and has been thinking about for some time now.

“A spa has always been a dream of mine,” she said. “And when we realized how well we did with this place [Common Grounds] and how well we worked together, we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘let’s try to open a spa.’

“Neither one of us is in the cosmetology industry; we don’t do any of the services,” she went on. “But I just loved the idea of having a spa and building from scratch. My hobby is building; I like taking things from the ground up and just expanding from there. Seeing it from start to finish is something I really wanted to do.”

Having a dream and making it a reality are two different things, she acknowledged, adding that she did extensive research into everything from where her spa concept might work (Ludlow was quickly identified as a community in need of such a facility) to what types of services should be offered.

“I was all over the internet looking at spas; I went around here looking at spas, and just pieced together how ours would run,” she told BusinessWest. “We have no experience in the industry, but we did our homework, and here we are.”

That due diligence led to a former dance studio on Holyoke Street that the partners gutted and converted to a facility offering everything from facials to massage; body contouring to a sauna.

The venture is off to a solid start that Procon credits to hiring the right people to provide those services, some aggressive efforts to get the word out about the facility, and continued work researching the industry with an eye toward best practices and the best avenues for achieving results.

“I’m always looking at other places — East Coast, West Coast, just seeing what other places are doing and how to stay up to date in the industry and what we can add,” she said. “I just like to stay on top of all that and find new ways to bring people and add more services.”

Procon dares to ponder where this venture might go next and perhaps the possibility of opening several Aura spas. For now, though, she and her mother have their hands more than full managing these two businesses, as well as the ups and downs and emotional swings that are part of parcel to being business owners.

“It’s a grind,” she said, borrowing another term, sort of, from her coffee-shop business. “I love the idea of being a business owner, and everything falls on you at that point; I just knew that this is exactly what I wanted.

“I realize that the more I put into it, the more I’ll get out of it,” she went on. “I’m excited to get to that point — I know it will take a few years, but we’ll get there.”

 

Skin in the Game

When asked about the path she’s chosen and what she likes about being an entrepreneur, Procon said this life offers her everything she wanted and expected. Well, sort of.

“I like the freedom that it offers,” she explained. “I have very little right now — I’m tied to both of these places for quite a long time, but just being able to show people what we did and what we started and what our goals are, it’s really rewarding, knowing that I’m in here most mornings at 5:30 and then go over to the spa. Some people call me crazy, but it’s very rewarding.”

It is certainly that, and the woman who wanted to be the next Erin Andrews found something much better.

 

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