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Person of the Year
Attorney Laura Santaniello Gentile, Hampden County Clerk of Courts, was recently honored by the Springfield chapter of UNICO, the Italian-American Service organization, as its first Person of the Year, replacing the previous Man of the Year designation. At left: Gentile with her husband, Thomas Gentile, and her son, Thomas Gentile Jr. Right: Gentile receives the award from Frank Stirlacci, president of the Springfield chapter of UNICO.
Big Plans for the Plaza
Charles Irving, principal of the Davenport Companies (left), and Christopher Knisley, president and partner of Albany Road Real Estate Partners (second from left), recently entered into a joint venture to purchase the 440,000-square-foot Springfield Plaza shopping center on Liberty Street for $35 million. Present for the announcement were, from left, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Springfield Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy, and Springfield City Councilor Orlando Ramos. In addition to the initial outlay, Davenport (which is also the development partner of MGM Springfield) and Albany Road plan on pouring another $5 million into the property in renovations.
Celebrate Springfield
DevelopSpringfield hosted its 3rd annual Celebrate Springfield dinner to observe Springfield and the many accomplishments the community has achieved over the past year. The Partner in Progress Award was given to three individuals who, through their leadership and ability to motivate and inspire others, have supported the Rebuild Springfield Plan. From left to right: Helen Caulton-Harris, left, director of Springfield’s Department of Health & Human Services, and Armando Feliciano, chairman of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority and a DevelopSpringfield board member, honor Colleen Loveless, executive director of Rebuilding Together; Feliciano and Caulton-Harris recognize Terry Powe, principal of Elias Brookings Elementary School; Suzanne Bharati Hendery, vice president of Marketing and Communications at Baystate Health, accepts the award from Caulton-Harris and Feliciano on behalf of honoree Mark Tolosky, former president and CEO of Baystate Health.
