People On the Move

The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) announced that Dianne Fabrocini has joined the organization as Executive Director of the ACGCS affiliate, the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5).
Fabrocini will serve as the liaison between the ERC5 and the ACCGS and will be responsible for carrying out the direction set by the board of directors. She will also work with ACCGS staff in developing membership programs, benefits, and services; producing events; and enhancing municipal relations in the five communities served by the ERC5: East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham. Fabrocini brings to the organization nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and management. Most recently, she served as office manager for Vulcan Products Co. in Enfield, Conn. Prior to that, she owned Fabro & Associates, a professional sports-management company providing event planning, promotions, player representation, and contract negotiations to various clients throughout Western Mass., where she founded the Legends Celebrity Golf Classic and brought the first United Soccer League professional men’s soccer team to the region. Fabrocini also served as general manager and owner of the Springfield Sirens women’s soccer team, now known as the New England Mutiny, and held the position of regional director for the National Kidney Foundation. Fabrocini is a graduate of the University of Akron in Ohio.
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The Board of Directors of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce recently announced new officers for 2014, led by second one-year-term president Larry Archey, Director of Facilities and Grounds at Hampshire College. Archey will be joined by Nancy Buffone, UMass Executive Director of External Affairs and University Events, as First Vice President, and Julie Marcus, Director of Marketing at New England Environmental, as Second Vice President. Other new board members include:
• Mark Ellsworth, Center for Extended Care, treasurer;
• Jerry Guidera, Spanish Studies Abroad, secretary; and
• Jim Brassord, Amherst College, at large.
Kathryn Grandonico, Lincoln Real Estate, remains immediate past president. Returning board members include Aaron Jolly, the Pub; Meredith Schmidt, UMass Campus Center; Meghan Gregoire, PeoplesBank; Felicity Hardee, attorney; Niels la Cour, UMass Planning; Reza Rahmani, Lit and Moti; Barry Roberts, EV Realty Trust; G. Christopher Blauvelt, Innovara; John Kokoski, Mapleline Farm; and Youssef Fadel, New England Promotional Marketing. The appointments were effective Jan. 1 and formally ratified at the chamber’s annual meeting at the Lord Jeffery Inn on Jan. 15. The mission of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce is to create, maintain, and promote a vital, thriving business climate throughout the Amherst area and to initiate and support the civic, educational, recreational, and economic well-being of the Amherst area.
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The Springfield-based regional law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. recently announced that Adam Basch and Benjamin Coyle have been named shareholders of the firm. Basch, a member of the litigation department, practices in the areas of construction litigation, personal injury, general litigation, and commercial litigation. He is a former secretary of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., a six-time recipient of the SuperLawyers Rising Stars distinction, and serves as a member of the Wilbraham Planning Board and the United Way Allocation Committee. He teaches litigation and business law at Bay Path College and is the author of numerous construction and general litigation articles. Basch earned his JD from Western New England University School of Law and his B.A. from Union College. He is a member of the firm’s business and corporate, estate planning and elder, litigation, and municipal departments. He is a five-time recipient of the SuperLawyers Rising Stars distinction and a board member of the Western Mass. Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He earned his JD from Western New England University School of Law and his BSBA from Western New England University.
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Easthampton Savings Bank announced that William Fontes has joined the bank as Vice President Commercial Lending. Fontes has more than 30 years of banking experience in commercial lending and most recently was senior vice president, commercial banking team leader at United Bank and, prior to that, a commercial banking team leader at People’s United Bank. Fontes earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Massachusetts and his MBA, majoring in finance, from Bryant University.
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The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts recently elected President and CEO David Pinsky to its board of directors. His three-year term, serving the nonprofit organization that has been fighting hunger in Western Mass. for more than 30 years, began this month. Pinsky, who serves as Tighe & Bond’s President and CEO, has worked at the engineering firm since 1988.  He also serves on the board of directors for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. A professional engineer for more than 25 years, Pinsky holds an MS in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a BS in civil engineering from the University of New Hampshire. He is also an active member of numerous professional societies and organizations in the engineering profession, such as the American Water Works Assoc., the Massachusetts Water Works Assoc., and the New England Water Works Assoc.
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Thomas Dowling, CPA, MST, was recently hired by Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. for the position of Senior Associate, where he will be responsible for guiding staff-level accountants in their duties and helping to manage the day-to-day operations of engagements. Dowling has worked in various capacities at small to mid-sized CPA firms for four years. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor in accountancy degree from Bentley University and continued at Bentley to earn his master’s in taxation, graduating with high distinction. He is a member of AICPA, MSCPA, and the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society.
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The YMCA of Greater Springfield recently announced the addition of Lydia Martinez, Assistant Superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, to its corporate board of directors, and named Sarah Williams the new chairperson. Williams, the Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management at the Hartford Insurance, joined the YMCA of Greater Springfield board in 2011.
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Dr. Junie Baldonado recently joined Ludlow Family Dentistry and doctors R. Carl Szarlan, Joseph Wegiel, Frank Mitera, and Michelle Roberts in providing general dentistry to the families of Ludlow and the surrounding towns. Baldonado is a graduate of Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in Riverside, Calif. He attended NYU for his undergraduate work and majored in fine arts, while completing the pre-med requirements for entrance into dental school. Baldonado had been practicing in the Sacramento, Calif. area prior to joining the Ludlow dental practice and is now accepting new patients and in all phases of dentistry.
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Springfield-based NUVO Bank & Trust Co. recently announced that Chief Executive Officer M. Dale Janes was awarded the Sally Barnhart Leadership Award from the Assoc. for Community Living in appreciation for his voluntary leadership as president of the board of directors. Janes is the immediate past president and has been a member of the board of directors since 2006. He has also served on the finance and audit, investment, executive, and ad hoc committees, providing guidance throughout the purchase of a new headquarters, major renovations at the Inclusive Community Center located in Hadley, expansion of services for the medically challenged in Hampshire County, and developing a two-year strategic plan.
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Christopher Boino was recently appointed President of Western Builders, a construction management and general contracting firm, a subsidiary company of the O’Connell Companies, headquartered in Granby. Joining Western Builders as a project manager in 2013, Boino brings more than 14 years of experience in the construction industry and is now responsible for the successful day-to-day operation of the company. Boino earned his MBA from Bentley University and a bachelor of science in Construction Management from Arizona State University’s Del Webb School of Construction. Boino is a LEED-accredited professional and is a certified project-management professional. He was previously employed in the Boston area with Shawmut Design & Construction and Cafco Construction. Western Builders was established in 1975 and has successfully completed new construction and renovation projects throughout New England in the areas of academics, healthcare, and housing.