Cesar Ruiz, Bernard Spirito Join Board of Springfield Symphony Orchestra

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) announced that local businessman and community activist Cesar Ruiz and Bernard (“Bernie”) Spirito, who recently retired as the Springfield Museums’ chief financial officer, have joined the organization’s board of directors.

The addition of Ruiz and Spirito to the SSO board brings the number of members to 15. The SSO has added seven other new members to its board since 2022: Margaret Mantoni, Robert Bolduc, Andrew Cade, Graham Cahill, Sandra Doran, Eileen McCaffery, and Evan Plotkin.

As president and CEO of Golden Years Homecare, Ruiz leads an organization that provides quality, compassionate home-care services to those who need assistance performing their day-to-day tasks due to disability, injury, or aging. Ruiz is a prominent figure in the Hispanic community as a businessman, community activist, and entrepreneur. At age 25, he was the first Hispanic in Springfield elected to the School Committee, serving until 1986.

Ruiz is also spearheading a new, state-of-the-art sports complex in Holyoke, also set to become the new home for the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. This venture seeks to raise Holyoke’s status as the birthplace of volleyball and hub for global sports development.

Ruiz was the community leader sponsor for the SSO’s first-ever Latin-themed concert, Havana Nights, during the 2022-23 season. His partnership and connections within the community paved the way for the SSO to connect musically with the Latin community, attracting new audiences to Symphony Hall. Through his sponsorship, hundreds of middle- and high-school students from Springfield Public Schools and Holyoke Public Schools attended Havana Nights, and several local Hispanic organizations were also represented in the audience.

Spirito recently retired from the Springfield Museums, having served as the organization’s chief financial officer since 2014. During his time at the museums, he helped guide the organization from break-even status to eight years of profitability, and successfully produced 10 years of accurate budgets and year-end closings.

Spirito’s responsibilities at the Springfield Museums included the annual budget and audits for all departments, maintaining banking relationships, and completing operations reports, balance sheets, and cash-flow analyses.

Prior to the Museums, Spirito served as vice president and controller at Bassette Co. LLC for nearly 30 years. He has also worked at Smith & Wesson in various capacities, including manager of Financial Analysis and manager of Planning and Investment Analysis.

Spirito has also been very involved with the Springfield Rotary Club since 1991, currently serving as assistant treasurer, and is a past president of the organization. He is a Paul Harris Award recipient and was named Rotarian of the Year in 2012. He has also served as past chairman of Consolidated Finance Group of Springfield and past president of the Springfield chapter of Financial Executives.

According to Paul Lambert, president and CEO of the SSO, “Cesar has had a remarkable business career, and his deep commitment to community is making a mark in so many ways. His willingness to step forward in supporting the SSO’s Havana Nights program this past season helped bring new energy and a new audience to experience our symphony. He is respected in the community, and we welcome him to our board, where I know his voice will be heard as we build the SSO for the future.

“We are also honored and excited to add Bernie Spirito to our board of directors,” Lambert said. “Bernie’s remarkable career and knowledge of finance and investment matters will be of great value to our organization, and we are deeply grateful to have him join us. As a fellow Rotarian of many years, I know that Bernie will also work diligently to help build good will and better friendships for the SSO on an ongoing basis.”

In 2023, the SSO adopted new bylaws that allow the board to be expanded to 17 members over the next two years. The bylaw changes also implemented term limits for board members.