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INCORPORATIONS The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties between mid-November and mid-December, the latest available. They are listed by community.

AMHERST

Craftsbury Kids Inc., 310 Montague Road, Amherst 01002. Cecilia Leibovitz, same. Online retail of handmade products

Sharevision Inc., 800 Main St., Amherst 01002. Richard Baldwin, same. Therapy, counseling, coaching, training, and consulting services, etc.

Ultimate Hall of Fame & Center for Cultural Change through Sport Inc., 352 East Hadley Road, Amherst 01002. James D. Pitts, same. (Nonprofit) To celebrate the living history of ultimate, to promote the continuing growth of the ultimate sport (frisbee), etc.

CHICOPEE

Electronic Distribution Corp., 698 Chicopee St., Chicopee 01013. Michael Roth, 477 Main St., Hackensack, NJ 07601. C T Corporation System, 101 Federal St., Boston 02110, registered agent. (Foreign corp; DE) Data base typesetting.

Northeast Construction Roofing Services Inc., 140 Joy St., Chicopee 01013. Elliott Beals Jr., same. To deal in real estate, perform roofing services, etc.

EASTHAMPTON

Blue Moon Grocery Inc., 3 Chapman Ave., Easthampton 01027. Deborah Robinson, 41 Edwards Road, Westhampton 01027. To operate a natural food store.

Easthampton Tire Inc., 141 Northampton St., Easthampton 01027. George R. Dion, 205 Elm St., Northampton 01060. To sell and service all types of motor vehicles — trucks, autos, and vans.

HOLYOKE

ElderCare Initiatives Inc., 4 Mill Valley Road, Holyoke 01040. Constance A. Clancy, 73 School St., South Hadley 01075. (Nonprofit) To provide elderly and handicapped persons with appropriate housing and services, etc.

Iglesia de Cristo LA.vidverdadera, 326 Appleton St., Holyoke 01040. Noemi Torres, 137 Cobb St., Springfield 01119. (Nonprofit) To engage in all community services, improve the social status, etc.

Massachusetts Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Inc., 225 High St., Suite 410, Holyoke 01040. Hector Bauza, 101 Cabot St., Suite 601, Holyoke 01040. (Nonprofit) To promote the industrial, commercial, civic, and cultural welfare of the four counties of Western Mass., etc.

United Trading Corp., 110 Lyman St., Holyoke 01040. Shahzad Ahmad, 380 Hatfield St., Northampton 01060. Import, export (wholesale).

INDIAN ORCHARD

SKCS Inc., 537-539 Main St., Indian Orchard 01151. Karen Scott, 11 Maximillian Dr., Granby 01033. To own and operate one or more bars, taverns, restaurants, grilles, etc.

Smith & Son Jewelers II Inc., 568 Main St., Indian Orchard 01151. Andrew W. Smith, 11 Woodside Dr., Wilbraham 01095. To deal in watches, timepieces, jewelry, giftware, etc.

LUDLOW

Baystate Bookkeeping Services Inc., 18 Keith Circle, Ludlow 01056. Lisa L. Roger, same. Bookkeeping and income tax preparation.

Poppi’s Pizzeria Inc., 351 West Ave., Ludlow 01056. Jorge Martins, 35 Mass. Ave., Ludlow 01056. To operate a restaurant.

NORTHAMPTON

Bailey Tebaldi Enterprises Inc., 348 King St., Northampton 01060. Adam A. Tebaldi, same. (Foreign corp; DE) (Foreign corp; GA) Auto parts sale.

Edible Atoms Inc., 38 Gleason Road, Northampton 01060. Paul Hathaway, same. To operate a restaurant.

Pioneer Valley Food Factory Inc., The, 320 Riverside Dr., Suite 10, Northampton 01060. Van Sullivan, 323 Prospect St., Northampton 01060. To conduct a catering service for on- and off-premises consumption.

R B & G Inc., 223 Pleasant St., Northampton 01060. Peter St. Martin, 7 Lyman St., Easthampton 01027. To operate a restaurant.

Urban Design Group Inc., The, 20 Strong Ave., Northampton 01060. Lynne Elizabeth Lande, 537 West Road, Ashfield 01330. Land development and construction.

PALMER

Katie-Sue Inc., 166 Peterson Road, Palmer 01069. John W. Morrison, same. Real estate development.

SOUTH HADLEY

Wall Tax & Financial Group Inc., 34 Bridge St., South Hadley 01075. Edward Wall, same. Tax preparation and financial services.

SPRINGFIELD

B Big Boys Social Club Inc., 827 1/2 State St., Springfield 01109. Tennison S. Clark, 255 College St., Springfield 01109. (Nonprofit) A fraternal organization to promote the development of its members, etc.

Better Homes Liberty Hill Inc., 5 Northampton Ave., Springfield 01109. Jeffrey Sullivan, 300 Florentine Gardens, Springfield 01108. To deal in real and personal property.

Iglesia Pentecostal Maranata Inc., 22 Ringgold St., Springfield 01107. Osvaldo Colon, same. (Nonprofit) To promote the teaching of the Gospel of God among members and non-members.

Liberty Grill Inc., 67 Liberty St., Springfield 01103. Frank L. Newman, 89 Hill St., West Springfield 01103. Restaurant.

Northstar Recycling of New Jersey Inc., 89 Guion St., Springfield 01104. Seth Goodman, same. Paper recycling.

O’Shea, Getz & Kosakowski, P.C., 1500 Main St., Suite 912, Springfield 01115. Patrick J. O’Shea, 61 Wilkin Dr., Longmeadow 01106. Professional legal services.

Pioneer Valley Diagnostic Center Inc., 7 Sorrento St., Springfield 01108. Dmitriy Shlemanov, same. To operate an ultrasound medical facility.

Potters House of Refuge Inc., 802 Alden St., Springfield 01109. Cynthia L. Curtis, same. (Nonprofit) To provide housing, personal, and educational services to needy veterans in Massachusetts, etc.

Springdale Education Center Inc., One Carando Dr., Springfield 01104. John A. Foley, Jr., 1308 Northampton St., Holyoke 01040. To provide highly structured programs for people with severe emotional disturbances, etc.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Foley Insurance Group Inc., 37 Elm St., West Springfield 01089. Brian T. Foley, 100 Jonquil Lane, Longmeadow 01106. Insurance agency.

Rental Remarketing Inc., 74-80 Baldwin St., West Springfield 01089. Michael M. Gentile, 8 Devonshire Dr., Wilbraham 01005. To deal in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, etc., of all kinds.

WESTFIELD

CMS Transportation Inc., 46 Sheppard St., Westfield 01085. Joseph S. Cressotti, 33 Harold Ave., Westfield 01085. General freight — refrigerated and non-refrigerated, trucking and hauling.

SS and CJ Corp., 524 Pochassic Road, Westfield 01085. Guy E. Waldo, same. To operate a package store.

The Light House Fellowship Inc., 110 Union St., Westfield 01085. Pari Lirim Hoxha, 50 1/2 Jefferson St., Westfield 01085. To spread the Gospel through ministries, via media, evangelical services, etc.

WILBRAHAM

Harrington Trace Corp., The, 198 Main St., Wilbraham 01095. John D.L. McBride, 196 Main St., Wilbraham 01095. (Foreign corp; DE) The importation of specialty foods and beverages.

Picture of Health

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‘Craig Melin, who orchestrated a stunning turnaround at Cooley Dickinson Hospital more than a decade ago, and is currently leading the facility through a period of expansion and innovation, has been chosen as BusinessWest’s ‘Top Entrepreneur for 2004.’

Craig Melin says that if a hospital does what’s right, and not necessarily what’s expected, it can often get better outcomes — meaning both a healthier community and a healthier bottom line.

Take bill collection, for example.

The aggressive policies of some hospitals have become fodder for the network news magazine shows, and the exposure has created a public relations problem for some institutions, said Melin, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) in Northampton. But beyond the bad press, the stern tactics don’t often yield the best results.

"We do not put liens on people’s houses and we do not charge interest — with some of the work-out plans people get into with other hospitals, the interest on how much they owe is higher than the monthly payment they’re making," he told BusinessWest. "We work out plans with people based on what they can afford, and, interestingly, our collection rates are much better than anyone else’s.

"I think that comes from relating to all our of our community as patients, or people in need who wish to be taken care of; they go out of their way to work with us because we’re going out of our way to work with them," he continued. "Did we know it would be this way when we started? No, but we knew that supporting access for people regardless of their ability to pay was the right value for us."

There are many other examples of how doing what’s right has worked out for CDH and the community it serves, said Melin, who was chosen BusinessWest’s ’Top Entrepreneur for 2004’ by the magazine’s editorial board. It’s an honor that Melin understands — sort of — but one that he accepts grudgingly.

"It’s not one person," he said at least 10 times, referring to an entrepreneurial mind-set that pervades the hospital. "Here, ideas come from everywhere."

Perhaps, but Melin has created an environment in which ideas are allowed to flourish, said BusinessWest Publisher John Gormally, who noted that while a hospital administrator may seem an unusual pick for ’top entrepreneur,’ it is certainly warranted in this case.

"He has led the hospital back to sound fiscal health at a very difficult time for all health care providers," said Gormally, referring to CDH’s stunning turnaround — from a facility on the brink of fiscal collapse in the early ’90s to one of the few hospitals in the Commonwealth to record surpluses the past several years. "And while what he’s done is important, it’s how he’s done it that is most impressive; he has people thinking outside the box, and in the process, Cooley Dickinson is creating models for hospitals across the country."

Indeed, a few days after Tom Brokaw, in one of his final broadcasts, presented a piece on aggressive bill-collecting policies, CDH conducted a conference call, including more than 100 hospitals nationwide, to present details on its less-forceful, more successful tactics.

"When the American Hospital Assoc. saw that there were lawsuits across the nation stemming from these aggressive tactics, it wanted to help hospitals figure out what to do in response," said Melin. "It identified seven places, including Cooley Dickinson, as examples of how to do things differently — and effectively."

CDH is doing many things differently these days, in areas from nurse recruitment to food services; its bloodmobile to a unique program designed to keep people with congestive heart problems out of the hospital. The ideas have, indeed, come from everywhere, but Melin has set a distinctive entrepreneurial tone.

BusinessWest looks this month at how and why that philosophy has flourished, and what it means for the hospital and the community it serves.

Healthy Outlook

When BusinessWest initiated its ’Top Entrepreneur’ award in 1996, it did so to recognize individuals who embody the many aspects of that term. Entrepreneurs are generally defined as risk-takers, and the picture that most often comes to mind is that of someone who takes an idea or a new product and creates from it a thriving enterprise.

But BusinessWest believes entrepreneurs come in many forms. In 1999, for example, the magazine gave its award to now former Springfield Technical Community College President Andrew Scibelli for his leadership in the creation of the school’s technology park and enterprise center — and also for his ability to inspire an entrepreneurial spirit that enabled STCC to gain regional and national acclaim for its work in education in economic development.

This year’s pick is in a similar vein.

During his 16-year tenure at the hospital, Melin has displayed leadership that has helped guide CDH through turbulent financial waters and put it in the national spotlight. CDH had six years of increasing losses before and just after Melin arrived — $1.4 million in 1988 and $1 million in just the first quarter of 1989 — before he structured a turnaround plan that included wage and salary freezes, a hiring freeze, construction freeze, and reduction in staff and other measures.

Melin also orchestrated an affiliation with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in 1993, a move that eventually led to formation of a multiple-hospital system known as the Dartmouth Hitchcock Alliance, an affiliation that has brought a number of benefits to the hospital.

In 1995, CDH was selected as a national Comeback Hospital of the Year by the American Hospital Association and Coopers & Lybrand, and in 2000, the facility was named one of the top 100 regional hospitals in the nation. And at a time when more than half of the state’s hospitals are recording annual operating losses, CDH has recorded surpluses during each of the past eight years.

Last summer, the hospital announced a $45 million expansion plan that will include new operating rooms, a new central sterile laboratory, more private patient rooms, and a parking garage.

Behind these accomplishments is a culture of innovation, said Melin, who told BusinessWest that departments, individual employees, and those handling the hospital’s marketing are encouraged to seek new, often non-traditional ways to achieve desired results and a healthier community.

There are many examples, including:

• An imaginative campaign to recruit new nurses and other health care professionals. The campaign goes well beyond traditional help-wanted ads, and invites prospective candidates to have dinner with hospital adminsitrators at a Northampton restaurant and talk about opportunities. ’We Need Med Surg Nurses — Let’s Talk about it Over Dinner,’ is the headline over one of the many print ads being used. The program also makes use of television to recruit nurses, partly in recognition of the fact that many nurses lead busy lives and don’t have time to ready the daily paper;

• Way Cooley Coffee. This is an ambitious program, in which CDH has teamed with Orange-based fair trade coffee roaster Deans Beans to create its own blend of coffee, which is served in patient rooms and in the coffee shop. Proceeds from the sale are used to support Hampshire Health Connect (HHC), a CDH-sponsored program that connects uninsured people in the community with health care and coverage. Through HHC, the hospital has seen a decrease in the amount of free care it administers, at a time when most facilities are experiencing increases.

• A Wood Chip Plant. CDH uses a wood-chip burning plant to heat and cool and its facilities. The plant not only saves the hospital about $1,000 a day (the difference between burning wood chips rather than oil or gas), it also helps the environment and enables the hospital to better connect with a more environmentally conscious region.

Care Package

In some way, each of the entrepreneurial ventures relates to a hospital-wide effort to move from what Melin calls "good care to really great care," and they often involve looking beyond what might be accepted, or expected, in the health care community — and they involve a measure of calculated risk.

As one example, Melin pointed to a program launched in 2002 that concerns individuals with congestive heart problems. In essence, the hospital is "spending money to lose money," as Melin put it.

A community case manager hired by the hospital at a cost of $100,000 follows up on patients that fit certain clinical criteria upon discharge from the hospital, he said. This group includes those with congestive heart failure, who require steady monitoring of their weight and other factors if they are to stay out of the hospital, its emergency room, or a nursing home.

"As we looked it, the program reduces the cost to Medicare by about $150,000 to $200,000 a year; we’re saving the system money by keeping people healthier," Melin said. "But it costs us money to do that.

"There are no economic incentives in this at all for us — we’re keeping people out of our own hospital," he continued. "We do it to provide better care for people; our view is that this is the right thing to do and that it will eventually pay back for us. It’s by a doing a series of things like this that we’re making Northampton a healthier community and that will benefit us in the long run."

Another somewhat non-traditional approach is the hospital’s ongoing efforts to "staff up," as Melin calls it, while most hospitals are doing the opposite due to growing budget pressures.

In both the nursing and nursing-support areas, CDH has invested several million dollars in new hiring that has yielded benefits such as improved overall care, improved morale, and sharp reductions in the use of expensive temporary, or agency personnel.

"Some of the best things we did was add tray-passers and transporters, so that our nurses could be nurses," he explained, adding that by adding more permanent staff, the hospital has eliminated most of its $1.5 million annual bill for temporary help, while gaining happier employees and thus facilitating recruitment efforts in the process. "While there was a risk to putting the money upfront, it was a risk well worth taking."

Still another example of entrepreneurial thinking is the hospital’s bloodmobile, which was put on the road last year. The investment was made in the wake of the ever-increasing price of blood and difficulties maintaining adequate supplies year-round, said Melin, noting that facility has addressed both concerns. And projections show that the vehicle will be paid for in less than a year.

The bloodmobile project was conceived by the staff at the hospital’s blood bank, said Melin, noting that this just one example of how the hospital gives departments and individuals the incentive and support to run with new ideas.

"We’ve definitely been giving people room to test ideas and initiate them," he explained. "A lot of times, the tendency is try to design something absolutely perfectly — and it takes a lot of do that. Instead, we want to test things out in increments, and if you get some good early returns you can keep improving and get to the best place faster that way.

"As long as we’re not putting anyone at risk, we’re finding it easier to test things early on and get them going, rather than leaving things in study for too long," he continued. "It’s much better to identify key components, understand what you’re going to measure, move ahead with it, and see what differences you’re making rather than to study something to death."

And by moving forward with many of its initiatives, CDH is increasingly becoming a model for other hospitals. The facility’s bill-collection policies are one example of this phenomenon, said Melin, who added that the bloodmobile initiative has drawn some inquiries, as has another program designed to ease a patient’s transition from the hospital to a nursing home.

In Good Condition

When asked how CDH has managed to record surpluses at a time when many hospitals are losing money, Melin says it comes down to a simple philosophy about patients and how to care for them.

"Central to the concept is the belief that patients in our community are patients of Cooley Dickinson Hospital and our medical staff, and not patients of the managed care companies," he explained, adding that rates paid by insurers to CDH are slightly higher than the cost of the care provided — an unusual situation in today’s health care environment — and that the payers can afford such a scenario because of the work the hospital does to keep people healthy, and, ironically, out of the hospital.

This broad approach to health care has won Cooley Dickinson some time in the national spotlight, and its president some praise and a few unique awards — including designation as a Top Entrepreneur.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

In Good Company

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Nan Langowitz says the latest study on women-led businesses in the Commonwealth shows that nearly half the 100 companies at the top of the revenue chart grew by more than 5% over the course of the past year, far exceeding the national expansion rate.

But it wasn’t just the numbers that stood out in the report, said Langowitz, director of the Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College, one of the organizers of the study; it was also how they were attained.

Indeed, the study, conducted in conjunction with the Commonwealth Institute, a non-profit group founded in 1997 to help women entrepreneurs, CEOs, and corporate executives build successful businesses, revealed that many of the Top-100 companies have flat organizational structures with open and collaborative management styles that play a key role in their strong growth patterns.

What’s more, most of the businesses focus on creating favorable work environments that foster loyalty and productivity. Despite a still-sluggish economy, these companies offer employee incentives such as profit sharing, professional development, and flexible work schedules.

"What this study shows is that these strategies work," said Langowitz, noting quickly that while women-led businesses do not have a monopoly on such operating philosophies, they utilize them in greater numbers. "By taking steps to create a positive work environment, these businesses achieve a higher degree of loyalty and, in many cases, higher productivity, which leads to their success."

That has certainly been the case at Randall’s Farm Inc. in Ludlow, where Karen Randall, the second-generation owner of the family-run business, has expanded the former fruit and vegetable stand into a multi-faceted operation with $6 million in annual revenues, good enough to tie for the 73rd slot in the Top-100.

Randall told BusinessWest that diversity and flexibility have been the keys to the company’s success, but she also underscored the importance of a work environment that helps people balance their jobs and their many other responsibilities.

"I have a lot of high school and college students working here, and I tell them that school and their family are the most important things, and that work comes next," said Randall. "We have flexible schedules and work with people; we’re very accommodating, and that pays off — we don’t have much turnover."

Martha Borawski, president of Pioneer Valley Travel in Northampton, another Western Mass. company on the Top-100 list (No. 90), said similar strategies have helped her company weather a number of changes in the travel industry that have driven many companies out of business.

"We’re had to reinvent ourselves a few times," she said, "and I’d like to think we’ve created an environment where new ideas and creative thinking can flourish."

BusinessWest looks this month at the latest Babson-Commonwealth Institute study — this is the third in what will be an ongoing initiative — and also at what’s behind the numbers and how area businesses are reflective of the trends that are emerging.

Taking the Lead

Langowitz told BusinessWest that Babson initiated the study on women-led businesses in 2000 because Ö well, they had never really been studied before. And as their numbers have grown over the past few decades, it became clear that they should be studied.

"So many studies have focused on businesses that are male-dominated," she explained, adding that she and others involved in the study feel it is important to benchmark what women business leaders are doing. "We wanted to get another perspective and focus on this specific, growing segment of the economy."

As the name implies, the 2003 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts study focuses on businesses with women at the helm — both owners and CEOs/presidents. The 237 companies that responded were ranked according to total revenues, not by employment, said Langowitz, noting that she considers this a more scientific statistic concerning overall size, although there is no perfect barometer.

Topping the list were Cumberland Farms Inc. in Canton; Massachusetts Electric Company in Northborough; Western Massachusetts Electric Co. in West Springfield; Domain, a retail home furnishings business, in Norwood; and Granite City Electric Supply Co. in Quincy.

Western Mass. was well represented on the list, with 10 companies. In addition to WMECO, led by CEO Cheryl Grise, other area companies on the list are: Realty World Sawicki (No. 12), an Amherst-based realty company led by Ernestine Sawicki; Bassett Boat Company Inc. (23) in West Springfield, led by President Diane Bassett Zable; Bay State Moving Systems in Chicopee (38), led by President Elizabeth Schofield; The Center for Extended Care in Amherst (61), led by President Bette Skole Kravetz; United Personnel Services Inc. in Springfield (65), led by President Mary Ellen Scott; Randall’s Farm; NEPM in Wilbraham (75), a company specializing in custom imprinted promotional products and business gifts, led by President Kathryn Selvia; Pioneer Valley Travel; and Chicopee-based MicroTek Inc. (90), an electronics manufacturing company led by Anne Paradis.

Langowitz told BusinessWest that the Women’s Institute at Babson, created five years ago to focus on the advancement of women at all stages of professional development, and the Commonwealth Institute decided to conduct regular studies of women-led businesses to watch trends develop over time, rather than gain what she called a "snapshot."

Lois Silverman, founder of the Commonwealth Institute and one of the first women in Massachusetts to take a company public when she was CEO of CRA Managed Care, concurred. She said the 2003 study shows that women-led businesses are becoming an increasingly more powerful economic engine in the Commonwealth.

"Women have demonstrated their success in building companies for long-term growth," she said. "These firms, in business for an average of 19 years, have continued to achieve solid gains despite the ups and downs of numerous business cycles."

The latest findings from the study, which charted revenues from 2003, revealed several trends about women-led businesses. Among them:

• They have more women in top management positions than other businesses. While the percentage of women in senior positions declines in larger firms, it is still higher than in the general business population;

• The companies on the list continue to achieve success. Of the Top-100 companies listed in the 2002 report, 72 of them are on the 2003 list. Meanwhile, total revenues for the No. 100 company in 2002 were $3 million; for 2003, the number was $4.8 million.

• Nearly 80% of the women-led businesses are run by their founding entrepreneurs. The average tenure of these CEOs is 13 years, which is longer than that of businesses run by men;

• Ninety-two percent of businesses surveyed anticipate growth over the next two years, with 62% expecting growth to be greater than 5%. Their strategies to drive growth include new clients or customer accounts, new products, and strategic alliances. The largest companies also rely on acquisitions for expansion;

• While the women-led businesses in the study span a number of industries, the top four were professional services, high-tech, construction, and manufacturing.

Beyond the numbers are the operating strategies that have enabled women-led businesses to achieve solid growth, said Langowitz, referring to flat management structures, rather than a typical hierarchy, and employee-friendly policies.

"I believe there is certainly a connection between their success and the organizational styles and management philosophies being used," she said. "And there are lessons there for all companies."

Borawski, who took the helm at the family run business in 1980, said she has worked to create an atmosphere where employees can be entrepreneurial and where ideas are allowed to take root. Such a climate is needed in an industry where there is constant change — the Internet now allows individuals to do much of the work traditionally handled by travel agents — and companies have to find new business niches if they want to survive.

At Pioneer Valley Travel, for instance, the company has diversified and become more specialized. For example, it specializes in family reunions, world-wide golf vacations, and destination weddings. In addition, Borawski specializes in travel to Australia, and other staff members have become experts on other spots on the globe.

"We’re constantly recreating ourselves — we’re not airline ticket issuers," she said, noting that many companies that haven’t been able to adapt to the changing landscape have gone out of business. "We’ve made a commitment to being the customer’s advocate; that’s what companies like this one have to be in this age."

Borawski credits her staff members with helping Pioneer Travel make its needed transformation, and she works hard to keep them. She implemented a profit-sharing trust in 1985, and has initiated other programs, such as flex time, to help employees manage work and life. She also encourages staffers to travel, and offers additional paid time to those heading for new destinations.

"For a small company, we offer a lot in terms of flexibility and keeping people employed here," she said. "Good help really is hard to find, and we try to hang on to it."

But turnover is a fact of life at a business with many part-time employees and students, noted Randall, who said it is still important to maintain a sense of continuity and to foster a positive work environment.

She has done so with flexible schedules, a number of benefit programs, and a door to her office that is always open — figuratively if not literally.

"And people take advantage of that open door," she said. "I try to make myself accessible to people and I try to work with them; overall, I’m a good listener.

"People don’t make it a career to be in this size retail operation," she continued. "So it has to be satisfying in other ways."

Randall grew up working at the business, started by her father, which began by producing and selling eggs and produce grown at the family’s 80 acres of farmland. She majored in elementary education at UMass, but graduated in 1976 to a glut of teachers in the region. So she rejoined the company, whch eventually expanded with a greenhouse operation and a creamery, and never left.

She took the reins of the business in 1987 after her father passed away, and in 1997 undertook a major expansion that included a retail center, bakery, deli, and other components. "I was 40 at that time, and knew that I either had to get out or take things to the next level," she said, noting that while there were growing pains the first few years — "people liked what we did, but the books said otherwise" — the venture has enjoyed steady growth since.

The company now employees more than 100 people, including Randall’s two sisters, Anna and Tammy. They are part of a flat organizational structure in which most people wear a number of hats and contribute to continued efforts to diversify the company.

"We know that we can’t stand still — a business has to keep growing or it will die," she said, adding that recent additions include entertainment offerings such as hay rides and pumpkin picking. "We’re selling to the next generation of consumers, and that generation likes to be entertained."

The Bottom Line

Adjusting to the changing needs of consumers is just one of the keys to surviving in business today, said Langowitz, who told BusinessWest that the studies on women-led businesses have revealed a pattern of flexibility.

"That’s one of the many trends we’re seeing," she said, noting that the regular studies will continue, with the hope of garnering more quantitative and qualitative analysis of this growing segment of the economy. "There is a lot that the business community can learn for the organizational, financing, and growth strategies of these companies."

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

Down-to-Earth Design

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A modern, environmentally friendly architectural trend is shaping the construction of new buildings across the region. These ’green buildings’ offer a contrast to the conservative, classic designs that dominate Western Mass. — and they provide comfortable work environments, as well.

It’s called green architecture: the practice of using energy conservation as the cornerstone of a building’s design.

It’s a concept that has been around for years, and for a while in the 1980s enjoyed some popularity nationwide more for its aesthetic appeal than its eco-friendly roots.

But now, some area architects are seeing a resurgence in awareness and interest in the green architecture school of thought, and, one building at a time, it is slowly changing the man-made landscape of Western Mass.

Designing a ’green’ building necessitates a limited use of plastics and other non-biodegradable materials, and also maximizes the use of building materials containing at least 50% recycled materials, while minimizing the creation of construction waste. Green buildings also often use copious windows for natural light, frequently employ alternative power sources such as solar panels and heat pumps, and utilize lighting and heating control systems that conserve energy.

Because of the materials and planning used, called sustainable design, buildings blueprinted with green architecture in mind typically take on a specific, modern appearance. They can be more angular, with sharper lines and wide-open interiors.

David Owen, a project manager with Mount Vernon Group Architects’ Chicopee office, said, it is still possible to maintain traditional design while at the same time being sensitive to environmental requirements. But most green buildings are still very different from the classic New England architecture commonly found in Western Mass.

"And because of the ecological benefits, many companies, municipalities, institutions and other organizations are considering green architecture for their next project," said Owen.

"This region has a tendency to be architecturally conservative," added Earl Pope, a partner with Juster Pope Frazier Architecture in Shelburne Falls. "But people are now considering more sophisticated designs, in addition to a renewed interest in green architecture. For a while it was popular because of how it looked, and it is important to enjoy the space you’re in. But people are just now realizing that we need to do this to address ongoing ecological problems."

Taking the LEED

Pope said his firm has applied green architecture concepts to many of its recent projects, including the recently constructed Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the Springfield Visitors Center in downtown Springfield.

The museum, located in Amherst, was completed in 2002 with the cooperation of Eric Carle, the children’s illustrator and author. Pope explained that the museum was designed to fit well into the Western Mass. landscape, even modeling a portion of its silhouette after the Holyoke Mountain Range, which serves as the building’s backdrop.

The 43,000-square-foot museum also incorporates several sustainable design features, such as wide-open gallery spaces and natural light, accessed through large panel windows and skylights that augment the artwork inside.

Similarly, the Springfield Visitors Center was designed specifically to appeal to passersby on I-91 and to showcase local historical artifacts, such as a GeeBee plane, Cat in the Hat memorabilia, and Indian motocycles, but the design also incorporates the spcious interiors and recycled materials that are a hallmark of green design.

Several renovations and additions at area colleges have also been completed recently, Pope said, incorporating more modern buildings into a campus of older, more classic designs — and employing tenets of green architecture in the process.

Higher education institutions, as well as public and private schools, have been at the forefront of green architecture’s development, due in part to readiness to incorporate LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ‚ standards into new projects.

Owen explained that LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings that has been used in local project designs including Chicopee High School, which was recently completed, and Chicopee Comprehensive High School, which is on the drawing board.

"The concepts behind green architecture are growing in popularity because of programs like LEED," he said, "that raise awareness of what green architecture is and the role it can play in education."

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED standards were created to better define ’green building’ in relation to all projects, educational or otherwise, by establishing a common standard of measurement; promote integrated, whole-building design practices; recognize environmental leadership in the building industry; stimulate ’green competition’ among designers and contractors; raise consumer awareness of green building benefits, and to transform the overall building market in the United States.

Owen noted that the concepts demonstrated in LEED and green-building projects are being utilized in a significant portion of the architectural projects in Western Mass. as well as across the country, despite the fact that green building is generally more costly than other more conventional methods because of the use of specific materials and energy conserving operating systems such as heating, cooling, and water systems.

He added that the rise in green building is also occurring despite a slowdown in architectural projects in the region in 2004.

The lag in design projects has resulted from a number of factors, including general sluggishness in the regional and national economy, as well as the natural ebb and flow of building trends in the area. Institutions such as colleges and universities and health care facilities, for instance, tend to plan renovation and addition projects about every decade, according to Pope.

"We’re coming to the end of the latest building cycle," he said. "But business will probably pick up; I expect us to be reasonably busy in the coming year."

Owen echoed Pope’s sentiments on the health of the architecture industry, noting that cycles in architecture affect all aspects of construction. And, like others in the business, he expects slow, steady improvement as confidence in the economy builds and the state’s fiscal health improves, paving the way for more new schools and other public projects..

And with that rise in business, they said, will come a greater number of green building and LEED projects.

"LEED projects are, by necessity, the place to be for clients and architects today," said Owen, referring to the heightened attention that various organizations, and those that fund new building projects, are paying to ecological responsibility.

Trending Up

In addition, local architects must stay on top of new trends in design and building practices such as green architecture in part to compete with a wide array of competitors, and that variable is keeping green architecture very visible in Western Mass.

When the market is slow, for instance, firms of varying sizes, including several that migrate from the Boston area, compete against each other for a limited number of projects. Pope said when the market is brisk, competition statewide may lessen, but when the Boston firms pull back, regional architects are left to sell clients on their skills without falling into too specific niches and running the risk of losing jobs to a more diversified company.

Owen said green architecture factors specifically into the local architecture scene in that it crosses over a number of architectural specialties, including residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial design, and heralds a move toward refurbishing and revitalizing the area with state-of-the-art schools, businesses, housing, and other facilities.

And, it will also offer another attractive building and design option to potential developers as they assess the pros and cons of relocating to Western Mass.

"The Pioneer Valley is home to many amazing buildings being under utilized," Owen said, referring to a number of structures, including former manufacturing plants, schools, and churches, in Holyoke, Springfield, and other communities. "What is needed is someone to invest in the existing building infrastructure long-term in order to bring them up to their full potential," he said.

"New construction is one way to make an area attractive," he continued, " but by making full and best use of existing properties, the area will be more attractive in the long run, and it is the long run we must pay attention to."

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Building Permits

By
Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of November 2004.

AGAWAM

Olympic Manufacturing Group
153 Bowles Road
$4,800,000 — Construct manufacturing warehouse facility

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.
1615 Suffield St.
$117,384 — Miscellaneous alterations, heating, electric, doors

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
151 College St.
$130,000 — Install wireless telecommunications facility on smokestack of Amherst College

Amherst Housing Authority
32 Chestnut Court
$13,000 — Re-roof

Amherst Pelham Reg. School District
21 Mattoon St.
$10,400 — Install new kitchen hood vent system

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District
21 Mattoon St.
$992,000 — Remove existing roof, add new roofing

Amherst Shopping Center Assoc.
181 University Dr.
$812,500 — 13,500-square-foot addition to Big Y shopping center. Shell construction only

The Brook at Amherst Green
170 East Hadley Road
$19,620 — Remove and replace existing roof

University of Mass Alumni
778 North Pleasant St.
$8,000 — New kitchen

Verizon
20 Fearing St.
$800,000 — Upgrade interior electrical and mechanical systems

CHICOPEE

Mountainview Landscape & Lawncare Inc.
67 Old James St.
$15,000 — Temporary office building

New Beginning Church of God
17 Quarry Ave.
$146,000 — Build church

EAST LONGMEADOW

Chestnut Hill Nursing Home
32 Chestnut St.
$149,000 — Re-roof

Eb Games
436A North Main St.
$14,000 — Interior renovations

HOLYOKE

Bobala Tech Center
55-59 Bobala Dr.
$25,950 — Build out building for American Cancer Society

MAP Development LLC
198-210 High St.
$5,000 — Remove two partitions, repair ceiling

Open Square Inc.
383 Dwight St.
$25,000 — Interior partitions

Pyramid Co. of Holyoke
50 Holyoke St.
$113,100 — Remodel Verizon store

Pyramid Co. of Holyoke
50 Holyoke St.
$61,000 — Remodel Desert Moon

Sunoco Products Co.
200 South Water St.
$6,975 — Install new entrance

SPRINGFIELD

Cathedral High School
260 Surrey Road
$54,125 — Refinish girls locker room

Eastfield Mall
1655 Boston Road
$95,000 — Interior renovations to several stores

Lestal Inc.
44 Rost St.
$6,000 — Interior repair

Marci Webber
18-20 Springfield St.
$200,000 — Convert to bed and breakfast

Mt. Zion Baptist Church
368 Bay St.
$8,000 — Repair handicap ramp

Northgate Center
1985 Main St.
$47,500 — Renovations

Northgate Center
1081 Main St.
$81,000 — Renovations

Pride
1211 East St.
$353,000 — New gas station

Shirley’s Handy Variety
469-475 Boston Road
$25,000 — Interior repairs

Third Baptist Church
148 Walnut St.
$32,800 — New roof

NORTHAMPTON

APC Realty Trust
32 Main St.
$28,519 — Replace roof

B’Nai Isreal Congregational
253 Prospect St.
$2,500 — Construct two walls

Carl and Edith Gutowski
206 King St.
$49,000 — Enclose existing porch for retail space, renovate second-floor apartment

City of Northampton
137 High St.
$10,500 — Strip and shingle roof

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
30 Locust St.
$8,500 — Remove bathroom and construct walls in admin. building

Dimension Realty LLC
59 Service Center
$39,000 — Install new roof

Kollmorgen Corporation
347 King St.
$120,000 — Interior renovations

Northampton Co-operative Bank
8 Main St.
$1,693,674 — Construct new bank and retail space (foundation only)

Incorporations

By
Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties between mid-October and mid-November, the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

1813 Main Street Corp., 1813 Main St., Agawam 01001. Carlo P. Bonavita, 68 Old Feeding Hills Road, Westfield 01085. To own and operate a restaurant/bar.

AMHERST

Matthieu J. Massengill, P.C., South East St., Amherst 01002. Matthieu J. Massengill, same. The practice of law.

Valley Arts Project Inc., 129 Glendale Road, Amherst 01002. Michael Brooks, 192 Belchertown Road, Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To create performance opportunities to showcase the talents of young artists in the Pioneer Valley, etc.

ZX Inc., 135 Belchertown Road, Amherst 01002. Xiaoda Xiao, same. To sell newly invented Vector Blind Spot Mirrors to completely eliminate blind spots.

BELCHERTOWN

CBA Marketing USA II Inc., One Main St., Belchertown 01007. Irene A. Kane, 684 Ridge Road, Wilbraham 01095. Freight forwarding and freight management.

Uncommon Photography Inc., 145 River St., Belchertown 01007. Robert Wallace, same. Photography.

CHICOPEE

DJDF Real Estate Inc., 40 Nichols Road, Chicopee 01013. David Deslauriers, 82 Lord Terrace, Chicopee 01020. Real estate.

J.M.B.B. Company Inc., 45 Doverbrook Road, Chicopee 01022. Joyce Chapin, same. Consulting for mortgage brokers.

New Tour Corp., 9 Stanley Dr., Chicopee 01020. Si Yuan Tseng, same. Chartered bus.

Two-Putt Inc., 1469 Granby Road, Chicopee 01020. Joseph L. Larrivee, 27 Windpath E., West Springfield 01089. Real estate holding.

EASTHAMPTON

Uncommon Clarity Inc., 3 Payson Ave., Easthampton 01027. Ann Latham, same. Business operations consulting.

FEEDING HILLS

CMBW Inc., 22 Kathy Terrace, Feeding Hills 01030. Robert J. Wierdo, same. Ladies physical fitness.

FLORENCE

NCP and Associates Inc., 60 Platinum Circle (Rear), Florence 01062. Patricia Haynes Nnaji, same. To provide practical advice for individuals undergoing occupational change, financial stress, etc.

HOLYOKE

Appleton Pre-School, Early Learning Center and Childcare Inc., 397 Apppleton St., Holyoke 01040. Sharon Zayas, 18 White Birch Dr., Springfield 01119. To provide pre-school, early learning and childcare services to the public.

T.W.C. Towing Inc., 56 Jackson St., Holyoke 01040. Juan Figueroa, same. Towing, selling automobiles and automobile parts, detailing automobiles.

LONGMEADOW

M.W.C. Construction Inc., 1661 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow 01106. Michael C. DeMarche, 46 Mohawk Dr., Longmeadow 01106. Construction.

R.F.L. Electric Inc., 195 Redfern Dr., Longmeadow 01108. Robert Lipp, same. Electrical contracting.

LUDLOW

Sekoswki Family Inc., 67 Bluebird Circle, Ludlow 01056. Gabriela Sekowski, same. To own and operate a package store.

Your Choice Insurance Agency Inc., 120 East St., Ludlow 01056. Samuel R. Hanmer, 123 Englewood Road, Longmeadow 01106. An insurance agency.

NORTHAMPTON

Healing Across the Divides Inc., 72 Laurel Park., Northampton 01060. Lawrence Lowenthal, American Jewish Committee, 126 High St., Boston, 02110. (Nonprofit) To promote cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian health organizations/individuals, etc.

Pioneer Valley Travel Medicine, P.C., 69 State St., Northampton 01060. Ann K. Markes, 124 Maple Ridge Road, Florence 01062. To engage in the practice of travel medicine.

PALMER

New Millenium Appraisal Inc., 11 Diane St., Palmer 01069. Barry J. Cook, same. To offer real estate appraisal services, develop methods and materials to appraisers of real estate.

SPRINGFIELD

Antique and Specialty Flooring Company Inc., 169 Paridon St., Springfield 01118. Anthony Frogameni, 76 Pembroke Lane, Agawam 01001. Purchase of antique wood and manufacturing and sale of flooring products made therefrom.

Compass Car Rental Inc., 155 Allen Park Road, Springfield 01118. Olga Arnst, 107 Chestnut St., West Springfield 01089. Car rental agency.

Gordies Gourmet Inc., 1209 Sumner Ave., Springfield 01118. Gordon Richard Weissman, 174 Abbott St., Springfield 01118. The manufacturing, packaging and sale of snack food.

J.T. Home Improvements Inc., 38 Jenness St., Springfield 01004. Jeff Lariviere, same, president, treasurer, and secretary. Home improvements and repairs.

Latin Flava Cafe Inc., 1677 Main St., Springfield 01103. Isabel Pellot, same. To provide Spanish food and beverages in a cafe atmosphere.

Law Offices of Brian Shea, P.C., 127 Mulberry St., Springfield 01105. Brian Shea, same. To operate a legal practice.

Law Offices of Frank A. Caruso, P.C., 127 Mulberry St., Springfield 01105. Frank A. Caruso, same. To operate a legal practice.

Orr Chevrolet Inc., 10 Mill St., Springfield 01104. Sterling A. Orr, II, 12 Winterberry Dr., Wilbraham 01095. Automobile dealership.

RGoodridge Inc., 206 Marsden St., Springfield 01109. Winifred Renee Haskins, same. E-commerce retail.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Canterbury Development Inc., 84 Cedar Woods Glen, West Springfield 01089. Kathleen H. Sweeney, same. To own real property, remodeling, construction, etc.

Carl Yam Inc., 1051 Elm St., Unit 9, West Springfield 01089. Koang Cheu Yam, same. The sale of food.

Rural Lane Inc., 1771 Riverdale Road, West Springfield 01089. Mark S. Lyon, 53 Rural Lane, East Longmeadow 01028. Purchasing for resale or the consignment of household/business furnishings and household-related items.

Sullivan Private Label Inc., 42 Progress Ave., West Springfield 01089. Paul Fortini, 120 Greystone Ave., West Springfield 01089. To design and distribute retail packaging products to major department stores and specialty stores.

Valley Convenience Plus Inc., 242 Cayenne St., West Springfield 01089. Olga Alkattan, same. Convenience store and mini market.

WESTFIELD

Codru Transport Inc., 14 Sycamore St., #22, Westfield 01085. Stepan Foksha, same. A local, interstate and coast-to-coast trucking business.

Crane Marketing Associates Inc., 362 Granville Road, #105, Westfield 01085. Donald F. Hogan, same. The marketing of specialty chemicals and related products.

New England Pizza Restaurant of Westfield Inc., 280 Southampton Road, Westfield 01085. Jose M. Davila, 10 So. Maple St., Enfield, CT 06082. Jose M. Davila, 280 Southampton Road, Westfield 01085, resident agent. Restaurant.

WILBRAHAM

Halon Estates Homeowners Association Inc., 2148 Boston Road, Wilbraham 01095. Jason Sares, 168 Fuller St., Ludlow 01056. (Nonprofit) To maintain the common open space areas and subdivisions of “Halon Estates”.

JLS Architects Inc., 7 Rice Dr., Wilbraham 01095. John L. Strandberg, same. Architectural services.

Taste of Greece, Springfield Inc., 6 Evergreen Circle, Wilbraham 01095. Christine Dourountoudakis, same. To operate a deli and variety store, distribute food supplies to individuals, stores and restaurants.

Positive Signs for Springfield

By
Features
MassMutual Chairman Robert O’Connell wasn’t sure he needed a large, formal press conference to announce the company’s $40 million expansion.

As he told the large group assembled for the event late last month, MassMutual’s support for, and confidence in, the city of Springfield isn’t exactly news. After all, the company has long been one of the city’s largest employers, and it has shown its support in ways ranging from the creation of Baystate West (now Tower Square) to the purchase of naming rights for the convention center taking shape on Main Street.

But O’Connell figured that a project of this magnitude deserved a ’celebratory moment,’ as he put it, and that residents and business owners might need to be reminded that, at a time when the headlines are dominated by the city’s fiscal woes, crime, and the many effects of poverty, there are some good things happening here.

The Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the Springfield Business Improvement District came to roughly the same conclusion.

The two agencies are splitting the bill for a radio advertising campaign that compares and contrasts Springfield to the rest of the Commonwealth with regard to several economic statistics. The data shows that, since 2001, the number of new businesses in Springfield is up 32%, compared to 9% for the entire state. Likewise, the number of Springfield residents employed increased 2.6% during that period, while the state as a whole, increased just 0.7%.

People can use statistics to say whatever they want, and these numbers certainly reflect how much the state is lagging behind the country in terms of overall recovery. But the numbers do show progress, a message that Russell Denver, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, did not want lost amid all the negative headlines about Springfield’s control board, $30 million deficits, tax delinquents, and squabbles with city unions over concessions.

The ad campaign, which will cost about $15,000, is unprecedented, says Denver, but it is also quite necessary to let people know that in Springfield, it’s not all gloom and doom.

Quite the contrary, actually.

As BusinessWest’s annual economic outlook (which starts on the next page) shows, there are many indications that the recovery, which has been less than spectacular to date, will become more pronounced in the year ahead.

A look at the jobs picture, for example, shows that the volume of job postings in the Greater Springfield area is up, while the number of people looking for work is down — and the numbers have been trending in this fashion for several months. The employment news is especially positive in the manufacturing sector, which has struggled in recent years amid growing foreign competition. Many local manufacturers have begun adding both part-time and full-time employees, and some are confident enough to move forward with major expansions and new construction.

In East Longmeadow, for example, German-owned papermaker Suddekor is building a 100,000-square-foot plant and Maybury Material Handling is moving ahead with a new, 40,000-square-foot facility.

The new construction is not limited to manufacturing. In Chicopee, the Memorial Drive corridor is growing by leaps and bounds, adding both a Home Depot and Wal-mart in just the past year, with Staples and Marshall’s on the way.

The construction activity is an especially positive sign, because while area hospitals and colleges have been building steadily over the past several years, the most high-profile initiatives have instead been publicly funded projects such as the Basketball Hall of Fame, the new federal courthouse on State Street, Union Station, and the new convention center. Private-sector building is always a strong indicator of confidence in a community’s future.

Not all the news in Springfield is positive, to be sure. The control board will reign over the city’s finances for years to come, and the work to take the community out of the red will be very challenging indeed. Meanwhile, the city’s problems with crime and poverty will not be corrected quickly or easily. These are not the best of times.

But O’Connell and Denver are right to say that the city’s fiscal problems and high murder rate should not overshadow the good things that are happening here and in surrounding communities.

The signs point to a more-robust economy in the year ahead, and MassMutual’s expansion is merely one expression of a growing feeling of confidence that will hopefully translate into many more positive business stories.

Study in Determination

By
Features
Recently appointed Holyoke Community College President William Messner is a firm believer in the community college mission of inclusion, not exclusion. But that assignment is becoming increasingly challenging at a time when the commitment to public higher education is waning.

William Messner says it wasn’t that long ago when community colleges were considered schools of last resort.

"If you couldn’t get in anywhere else, or if you didn’t know what to do with yourself, you went to a school like this," said Messner, who recently succeeded long-time Holyoke Community College President David Bartley. He noted that times have changed, however, and today the schools are often a first choice for people looking to enter some fields, and an attractive alternative for individuals and families suffering from sticker-shock when considering private institutions.

But community colleges must still serve those who don’t have the grades or wherewithal to attend most other schools, he explained, and they must also cater to those who need some time to figure out what they want to do professionally. And this is one of the many challenges facing community colleges in this day and age.

"We’re not a selective institution and we shouldn’t be — we’re a community college," he explained. "You can’t be closing the door on half the community and effectively carry out your mission. But being an open-door institution means you’re bringing in students at all levels of the preparedness spectrum, and you’re expected to deal with all those students at all those levels.

"That’s an incredible challenge," he continued. "And it’s made even moreso by the fact that the state has disinvested in the public higher education system over the past several years."

Messner, who has a deep background in public higher education, comes to HCC from the University of Wisconsin Colleges, where he served as chancellor and was responsible for the management of a 13-campus institution that served as the transfer arm of the university system.

He desired to return to a campus setting, however — he was former president of SUNY Orange in Middletown, N.Y. and held other administrative posts at individual schools — and chose HCC, which is at an intriguing time in its 58-year history.

The school remains in an expansion mode — in terms of both enrollment and campus infrastructure — and is currently building an $18 million business center that will bear the name of Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge.

As construction of the center continues, Messner is focusing his efforts on making it a true community resource, not a classroom building.

"One of my priorities is to more effectively connect the college to the community … we’ve done a good job of that historically, but much more needs to be done," he said. "And the best example is the business center. Our challenge is to make it a center for the community and not physical structure.

"It should be a manifestation of a programmatic outreach on the part of the college to better serve the needs of the community," he said. "We’re calling it a business center, and while in some respects that’s accurate, it’s a center not just for businesses, but for individuals, groups, and organizations that are about the business of the region."

While he is focused on his new school, Messner said he is also looking at collaborations with other area institutions, especially Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and Greenfield Community College (GCC), in an effort to maximize the region’s public higher education resources.

The goal, he said, is not to squander any of those facilities’ resources by unnecessarily duplicating programs, especially when two of the schools, HCC and STCC, are only a few miles apart.

BusinessWest wraps up its series of stories on new college presidents in the Pioneer Valley with a wide-ranging discussion with Messner, who has dedicated much of his career to community colleges and fully understands their value to the cities and towns they serve

Grade Expectations

Since arriving in Holyoke, Messner has been "getting around," as he put it, in an effort to gain a full appreciation of the school, the city of Holyoke, the Pioneer Valley, and region’s higher education infrastructure.

He ran down a recent day’s calendar of events to illustrate the variety in his travels.

"I started off at a chamber breakfast, and ate lunch at a homeless shelter in downtown Holyoke," he said. "That night, I was at the 25th anniversary celebration for the Holyoke Mall, followed by an event at Heritage State Park — a poetry reading and the unveiling of a mural that 3- and 4-year-olds had created."

The next day, Messner spent the bulk of his morning at a program dedicated to improvement of workforce-development initiatives in the region. "These are the sorts of things a community college and its president should be involved in," he said. "That’s how we extend ourselves beyond our walls and into the community."

Messner told BusinessWest he enjoys handling the day-to-day challenges at a school, and also being actively involved in the community — elements that were missing from his duties as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin Colleges.

Prior to his work there, he served as vice provost of the State University of New York (SUNY) in Systems Administration. That assignment followed a 10-year stint as president of SUNY Orange, formerly Orange County Community College. There, he led development of a diversity program for the college resulting in a tripling of minority student enrollment and faculty hiring, completed the school’s first capital campaign, and established a marketing office and campaign that resulted in record student enrollments for two consecutive years.

Messner transitioned into college administration after a five-year run as a history instructor at Keystone College in La Plume, Pa. He later served that school as dean of the college and later a vice president before moving to SUNY Orange, where he served as vice president of Academic Affairs before becoming president.

At HCC, he said there are a number of items on his preliminary to-do list — which he described as a work in progress — and that many of them reflect challenges he confronted in New York and Wisconsin. He told BusinessWest that while enrollment at HCC is up, the number of what he called ’new’ students, those starting their college education rather than continuing it, has been fairly stagnant, and he plans to address that concern.

Part of the solution may be continued work to convey the message that HCC is truly a regional school. "I think we still struggle with that in some ways — some people think we’re just an institution for Holyoke," he explained. "We’re not; we attract students from across the region, including many from Springfield."

Another priority for Messner and all state and community college presidents in the Commonwealth is rebuilding the faculty and staff in the wake of cutbacks and early retirement. Like other schools, HCC has been forced to make greater use of adjunct faculty and part-time staff, who simply don’t have the same commitment to the school or its students as their full-time counterparts.

"At some of the schools I’ve worked at, adjuncts were some of our best instructors," he explained. "But what they don’t do, and what you can’t expect them to do, is everything outside the classroom that we expect and have delivered by full-time faculty.

"You also don’t get the continuity in terms of programming from semester to semester that you get from full-time faculty, nor the development of the curriculum that you get from full-time faculty," he continued. "You’re constantly in a mode of getting these adjuncts up to snuff, only to have them walk out the door the following semester or the following year," he continued. "We’re in the process of setting priorities for the school, priorities that will drive the budget. And I’ll be surprised if a commitment to improving the numbers of full-time faculty and staff is not at the top of that priority list."

A Stern Test

Meanwhile, another stated goal is to expand the school’s presence in the city of Holyoke — from both a cultural and economic perspective — and form additional partnerships with the city’s large Hispanic community.

"There’s a perception on the part of some that even though it’s only two miles from the center of Holyoke to our campus, those two miles loom large in some people’s minds relative to their willingness to avail themselves of our services," he said, adding that, conversely, some believe the college is too far from from the city’s center to have any real economic impact. "If you’re a Latino businessman in the center of Holyoke, do you perceive the community college as a resource to be taken advantage of, or do you perceive it to be a cluster of buildings out there on the perifery of town that has little if any relationship to what you’re about on a daily basis?"

To ease these perception problems, many have suggested that the school create a physical presence in the city’s downtown. Messner understands that sentiment, and told BusinessWest there may be some opportunities for the school to be visible and to have that presence, but not necessarily with a satellite campus.

"I believe the college needs to increase its presence in the downtown area of Holyoke, but I am dubious that this would involve a campus in the traditional sense that people use that word," he said. "I have used the term ’educational incubator,’ rather than campus, to describe the type of physical entity with which the college might be involved."

A downtown center could be used for a variety of programs, including adult basic education, high school equivalency test preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, and others. It would thus become an asset for both the city and the school.

Messner said that such an incubator might involve several institutions offering a variety of programming that would help local residents further their educational goals and subsequently connect to the broader array of programming offered by those educational facilities on their campuses.

One venue for such a facility could be an intermodal transportation center that would be created in a now-abandoned four-story fire station on Maple Street. A number of uses are being considered for the facility, including transportation, retail, and hospitality, said Messner, adding that one of the floors could be used to create classrooms and other learning facilities.

"Since I’ve arrived here, I’ve been impressed with Holyoke in terms of the vibrancy and the spirit of ’we can advance’ — we just need to do it together," he said. "I’m pleased that the college is part of that, but just one part. No group can do it themselves; we really need to do it together."

The Kittredge Center will play a role in this process, he said, adding that he is seeking input from institutions as diverse as the Springfield Urban League and Holyoke Medical Center to gain direction on the center’s function in the Pioneer Valley.

"Having dialogue with groups like that is critical before we decide which programs to pursue and what the overall business plan for the center will be," he said.

Aggressive Course

Like other public school presidents BusinessWest has profiled this fall, Messner has noticed a weakening in the commitment that has been made to public higher education.

At the University of Wisconsin, he said, a budget that was $1 billion a few years ago, has but cut by 25%. "That’s happening across the country," he explained. "Spending on public higher education has been reduced in 49 of the 50 states."

Economics have played a big part in this phenomenon, he said, but there are other factors at play, including a lack of recognition — on a national and regional level — of the importance of public higher education, and the profound impact on communities when a college education is put out of the reach of even small segments of the population.

"What makes public higher education particularly susceptible to the knife is the perception that we have an alternative source of revenue that the highway department or the correctional department doesn’t have — it’s called students and student tuition," he explained. "The state believes it can simply cut its support and pass on its share to the students in the form of higher tuition; every state has done it.

"The only problem is, when you raise tuition, especially in communities like Holyoke and Springfield, where we’re drawing on people at all levels of income, you’re going to price some students out of the market," he continued. "And many states — Wisconsin is one of them — have seen dramatic declines in the numbers of students of color and those who are low-income."

HCC strives to keep tuition as low as possible, he said, but it also committed to quality education, and therein lies a catch-22.

While working to strengthen the commitment to public higher education and thus ensure that community colleges can continue their practice of inclusion, Messner said he will help promote the regional approach taken to economic development and education in the Pioneer Valley.

He said he is encouraged by the new, recently unveiled Plan for Progress, which takes a decidedly regional philosophy and lists as one of its priorities a more-effective leveraging of its 14 colleges and universities.

He said it is unusual to have community colleges as close together geographically as HCC and STCC, a situation he believes poses both challenges and opportunities. He said he has had discussion with new STCC President Ira Rubenzahl and his counterpart at GCC, Robert Pura, about what he called a "regional strategy" that will also involve Westfield State College and UMass.

"The needs in this area are so acute in terms of education, human resource development, workforce development, or whatever label you want," he said. "No single institution can handle all that alone. The challenge is to effectively leverage the resources of our schools and not squander them, not duplicate, and not needlessly compete."

Final Exam

As he surveys the public higher education landscape, Messner can clearly see the progress that community colleges have made in the past few decades — in terms of public perception and the role they play in educating all elements of society.

The task at hand, he said, is to staunchly defend the ground that’s been gained and to make additional progress.

"Community colleges don’t face the same uphill battle they did when I started with them … we’re no longer considered the school of last resort," he said. "We’re more viable now, but we have some new challenges. v

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

By
Departments

The following building permits were issued during the months of September 2004.

AGAWAM

Silver Street Associates
104 Silver St.
$205,000 — Interior construction of warehouse and offices

United Methodist Church
454 Mill St.
$25,000 — Vinyl siding

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
Kirby Theater
$13,000 — Install steel to support scenery-rigging equipment

Amherst College Trustees
Kirby Theater
$21,300 — Install acoustical material on walls

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
170 University Dr.
$9,000 — Repair retaining wall, add guardrail

Hampshire College
Greenwich House
$19,998 — Extend roof overhang

Paul C. Shumway
330 College St.
$6,000 — Interior renovations

Trustees of Hampshire College
Music and Dance Building
$7,483 — Renovate recital hall

CHICOPEE

Mcork Realty Trust
510 Front St.
$521,925 — Erect First American Insurance building

EAST LONGMEADOW

East Longmeadow Center Village for Walgreens
31 Maple St.
$1,160,000 — New building

Maybury Association
90 Denslow Road
$1,898,891 — New building

HOLYOKE

Benderson Development Co.
375 Whitney Ave.
$6,148,410 — Erect five-story hotel

Homestead Grocery
625 Homestead Ave.
$125,000 — Interior renovations and addition

Joseph Miller
56 Jackson St.
$4,000 — Interior renovations — prefab spray booth

Nicholas Sierros
1735 Northampton St.
$7,200 — Modify to operate Domino’s Pizza

Sisters of St. Joseph
34 Lower Westfield Road
$246,903 — Modify offices and bedrooms

NORTHAMPTON

Birch Hill LLC
4 Lawn Ave.
$10,000 — Interior renovations

City of Northampton
274 Main St.
$95,000 — Construct handicap ramp

Hampshire Property Management
51 Clark Ave.
$40,000 — Strip and shingle roof

Levee LLC
163 Conz St.
$67,000 — Reconfigure two rooms, repair sidewalk

Locust Professional Condo
51 Locust St.
$23,500 — New roof

Matthew Pitoniak and B. Feeney
21 Main St.
$99,800 — Interior renovations for bar/tavern

Rockwell Management Corp.
17 New South St.
$22,000 — Interior renovations

Trustees of Smith College
15 Arnold Ave.
$30,000 — Demolish fire-damaged structure

Ten Main Street Florence LLC
10 Main St.
$112,865 — First-floor interior renovations

SPRINGFIELD

Charter One Bank
296 Cooley St.
$120,000 — Interior and exterior remodeling

First Park Memorial Baptist Church
4 Garfield St.
$90,750 — Remove and replace roof

WNEC D’Amour Library
1215 Wilbraham Road
$1,222,441 — Three-story addition

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Bank of America
225 Memorial Ave.
$27,145 — New roof

Discount Office Furniture
2131 Riverdale St.
$51,800 — New roof

WESTFIELD

Elm Development
40 Court St.
$6,000,000 – New building

Incorporations

By
Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties between mid-July and mid-August, the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Agawam Family Physicians, P.C., 141 Main St. Agawam 01001. Michael J. Jawitz, 17 Wyman St., Agawam 01001. To practice medicine.

Atlas Founders Inc., 36 Hampden Lane, Agawam 01001. Peter J. Carras, 28 Powder Hill Road, Middlefield, CT 06455. George L. Vershon Jr., 36 Hampden Lane, Agawam 01001, treasurer. A foundry manufacturing products of tin and other metals, etc.

Deluxe Limousine Inc., 81 Ramah Circle, Agawam 01001. Edward Dersarkis, same. Limousine service.

P & G Realty Holding Corp., 36 Hampden Lane, Agawam 01001. Peter J. Carras, 28 Powder Hill Road, Middleton, CT 06455. George L. Vershon Jr., 36 Hampden Lane, Agawam 01001, treasurer. A real estate holding company.

Sports Performance Inc., 11 South Bridge Dr., Agawam 01001. Steven J. Hurwitz, 467 Laurel St., Longmeadow 01106. To enhance performance in sports and sport-related activities for children and adults.

Vallid Laboratories Inc., 295 Silver St., Agawam 01001. Debra Vallides, same. (Foreign corp; CT) To test food and portable water, acquire related instruments, etc.

AMHERST

Artshow Amherst Inc., 409 Main St., c/o Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, Amherst 01002. March Lambert, 83 North Whitney St., Amherst 01002. Nonprofit) To attract visual artists to the area, provide related services, etc.

Tiancheng International Inc., 345 Lincoln Ave., #511, Amherst 01002. Wai Ning Chan, same. Import and export agent.

CHICOPEE

Cardinal Complete Door Distributor Inc., 38 Wheatland Ave., Chicopee 01013. Francis D. Cardinal, same. To sell and install doors, hardware,
security products, etc.

Chicopee Storage Inc., 1981 Memorial Dr., #187, Chicopee 01020. Barbara E. Donahue, 105 Hampshire Ct., Deptford, NJ 080965. John J. Santanielle, 134 Carol Ann St., Springfield 01128. To provide warehousing.

Multiline Warehousing and Transportation Inc., 181 Kendall St., Chicopee 01020. Stanislaw Borawski, 1221 Dundix Road, Unit 153, Miississaugo, On Lay 3Y9 CAN. Agnes Ruszczyk, 181 Kendall St., Chicopee 01020, registered agent. Warehousing and transportation.

Pauly Whally Inc., 205 Chicopee St., Chicopee 01013. Paul L. Boyd, same. To operate a restaurant.

FEEDING HILLS

Agawam Alexander’s Inc., 660 North Westfield St., Feeding Hills 01030. Barry Szymojko, 373 North Westfield St., Feeding Hills 01030. To operate a restaurant and bar.

FLORENCE

Easthampton Mortgage Company Inc., 28 Sylvan Lane, Florence 01062. Anthony Andersen, same. Mortgage brokerage.

Parent-Teacher Organization of John F. Kennedy Middle School Inc., 100 Bridge Road, Florence 01062. Cathleen E. Santosus, 73 Barrett St., #2098, Northampton 01060. (Nonprofit) To provide resources to support an excellent, well-rounded education for JFK Middle School children, etc.

GRANBY

Granby Grain Inc., 108 West State St., Granby 01033. Paul E. Grenier, 29 1/2 Sczygiel Road, Ware 01082. To sell, at retail, grain and other farm products.

Stony Falls Mini Golf Inc., 84 East St., Granby 01033. Stephen Douglas McCray, same. Leisure time activities.

HADLEY

Asian International Imported Food Market Inc., 206 Russell St., Hadley 01035. Ry B. Som, 447 Amherst Road, Belchertown 01007. Retail sale of groceries.

Western Massachusetts Gymnastics Association Inc., 200 Old Lyman Road, South Hadley 01075. Marie Boucino, 86 Sabin St., Belchertown 01007. (Nonprofit) To improve the sport of gymnastics in Massachusetts, foster national and international amateur sports competition, etc.

HAMPDEN

Radharaman Corp., 63 Somers Road, Hampden 01036. Prahaladbhai V. Patel, 4308 Newkirk Ave., North Bergen 07047. To operate convenience stores-gas stations.

HOLYOKE

Certified Real Estate Appraisers Inc., 330 Whitney Ave., Suite 232, Holyoke 01040. Chris E. Monalakis, 219 Christopher Terrace, West Springfield 01089. Real estate appraisals.

Gangster Enterprises Inc., 245 Stafford Road, Holland 01521. John Reed, same. Manufacturing, selling, franchising of motorcycles, etc., related goods and restaurant related thereto.

Lean On Me Inc., 48 Franklin St., Suite 1, Holyoke 0040. Yvonne Garcia, 361 Chestnut St., Holyoke 01040. (Nonprofit) To educate and improve the lives of young people and their families living around the intersection of Franklin and Chestnut St., in Holyoke, etc.

Patriot Towing and Recovery Inc., 81 Brook St., Holyoke 01040. Roselee T. Williams, same. Towing of vehicles.

School Based Services Inc., 72 Front St., Holyoke 01040. John A. Foley Jr., 1308 Northampton St., Holyoke 01040. To provide a complete range of administrative and financial services to educational entities, etc.

LONGMEADOW

Saillant Realty Corp., 908 Shaker Road, Longmeadow 01106. Eduardo A. Saillant, 34-10 84th St., Apt. H, Jackson Heights, NY 11372. Donna Taylor, 908 Shaker Road, Longmeadow 01106, registered agent. Real estate investment.

LUDLOW

Big John Inc., 60 Ravenwood Dr., Ludlow 01056. John P. Green, P.O. Box 115, Ludlow 01056. Machine shop and metal works.

Leonard Enterprises Inc., 17 Deponte Dr., Ludlow 01095. William B. Leonard, same. To purchase, renovate and sell renovated houses.

Starlight Entertainment Inc., 83 Church St., Ludlow 01056. Charles J. Stagnaro, same. Sales and service of vending machines.

NORTHAMPTON

The Breast Form Fund Inc., 14 Center St., Northampton 01060. Judith Pine, 28 Perkins Ave., Northampton 01060. (Nonprofit) To provide breast prosthesis and/or post-mastectomy bras to uninsured or under-insured women, etc.

Class Action Network Inc., 245 Main St., #207, Northampton 01060. Felice Yeskel, 137 State St., Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To educate people about issues of social class and money, publish related literature, etc.

Comprehensive Life Coaching Inc., 349 Coles Meadow Road, Northampton 01060. Cheryl L. Pascucci, same. To address health and wellness of individuals by self-assessment, self-management, etc.

ESD Electronics Inc., 64 Gothic St., Suite 6, Northampton 01060. Wilfried Voss, 158 Log Plain Road, Greenfield 01301. Software and hardware development and sales.

Harlow Inc., 196 Main St., Northampton 01060. Robert G. Burdick Jr., 67 Cherry St., North Adams 01247. To deal in leather and silver items.

James E. Clayton Jr., DMD, P.C., 243 King St., Suite 112, Northampton 01060. James E. Clayton Jr., 63 Prospect St., Northampton 01060. To provide dental services.

MMY Associates Inc., 41 Main St., Northampton 01060. Teh-Jing Sun, 40 Appalossa Lane, West Springfield 01089. To operate a bar and restaurant.

Northampton Aeronautics Inc., Old Ferry Road, Northampton 01060. Robert J. Bacon, 22 Overlook Dr., Westfield 01085. To operate an airport.

Precision Audio Inc., 376 Easthampton Road, Northampton 01060. Jose R. Fernandez, 89 Edgewood Ave., Chicopee 01013. To operate an automobile accessories business.

R.G. McGee Inc., 76 Crescent St., Suite 1, Northampton 01060. Richard G. McGee, same. Planning, development and restoration of historical structures.

The Western Massachusetts Library Club Inc., 20 West St., Northampton 01060. Dorothy O. Carmody, 281 Chauncey Walker St., #22PVP, South Hadley 01007. (Nonprofit) To promote library services and librarianship in Western Mass.

PALMER

Shree Vallabha Krupa Corp., 1458 North Main St., Palmer 01069. Virendrakumar Dahyabhai Patel, 37 Whytleville Road, London E7 9LP, England. Ashokkumar Dahyabhai Patel, 1040 North Pleasant St., Apt. 518, Amherst 01002, treasurer. Restaurant and food service.

SPRINGFIELD

Hands for Change Outreach Inc., 38 Hunter Place, Springfield 01109. Lawrence Johnson, 39 Lamont St., 2nd Fl., Springfield 01109. (Nonprofit) To provide various outreach programs to benefit the residents of Hampden County, etc.

Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal, Un Nuevo Renovacion Inc., 758 Main St. West Springfield 01089. Luis A. Baes, 30 Laurel St., Springfield 01107. (Nonprofit) To provide for the civic, social and educational welfare of people in need of supportive services, etc.

Laravee Builders Inc., 83 Pilgrim Road, Springfield 01118. David B. Laravee, 65 Woodbridge Circle, Chicopee 01020. Residential construction.

Last Frontier of Springfield Inc., 477 State St., Springfield 01105.
Charles Burlingham, 238 River Road, Agawam 01001. (Nonprofit) To own and operate a general restaurant, cafe, lounge.

NACCE Inc., 1 Federal St., Springfield 01105. Thomas A. Goodrow, 33 Cynthia Place, Feeding Hills 01030. (Nonprofit) To foster economic vitality for local communities through entrepreneurship education programs in community colleges, etc.

Paramount Pizza Inc., 1626 Main St., Springfield 01105. Halil Turan, 49 Lancashire Road, Springfield 01104. A restaurant business.

Salsakids Inc., 1242 Main St., Suite 301, Springfield 01103. Nector Garcia, 120 Oak Grove Ave., Springfield 01109. (Nonprofit) To improve the lives of at-risk children, teens and their families, etc.

Sergey Inc., 1725 Page Blvd., Springfield 01104. Sergey Privedenyuk, same, president, treasurer and secretary. Catering.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., 2100 Roosevelt Ave., Springfield 01102. Roy C. Cuny, same. (Foreign corp; NY) Manufacture of firearms and related products.

Springfield School Volunteers Foundation Inc., 195 State St., P.O. Box 1410, Springfield 01102. Robert Bolduc, 49 Woodsley Road, Longmeadow 01106. (Nonprofit) To assist and carry out the purposes of Springfield School Volunteers, Inc., etc.

TMS Cartunes and Electronics Inc., 100 Verge St., Springfield 01129. George A. Romano III, 17 Aldrew Terrace, Springfield 01119. Auto electronics sales and installation.

Universal Kitchen & Bath Inc., 113 Harkness Ave., Springfield 01108. Craig S. O’Connor, same. General contracting.

Western Medical Supply Inc., 1500 Main St., Suite 2308, Springfield 01115. Bradford A. Miller, 6 Valley Ln., Garrison, NY.10524. Jerry B. Plumb, 1500 Main St., Suite 2308, Springfield 01115, registered agent. To supply durable medical equipment.

Worthington Associates Inc., 21 Prescott St., Springfield 01108. Michael E. Chagnon, 52 DePalma St., Feeding Hills 01030. To deal in real estate.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Ashley Management Inc., 117 Park Ave., Suite 201, West Springfield 01009. Donna M. LaFond, 27 Hilton St., Chicopee 01020. To deal in real estate.

Pioneer Valley Enterprises Inc., 209 Main St. West Springfield 01089. Kristin L. Salha, same. Financial and consulting services.

Power Seal Inc., 80 Wilder Terrace West Springfield 01089. William D. Berte, same. Cleaning, maintenance, pressure washing.

WESTFIELD

Diversified Restaurant Concepts of Westfield Inc., 15 Knox Circle, Westfield 01085. George Flevotomos, same. Restaurant and related services.

K & B Lumber Inc., 100 Apremont Way, Westfield 01085. Keith B. Cressotti, 60 Piper Road, West Springfield 01089. To deal in construction materials and supplies.

Motorsports Policy and Prevention Network Inc.,
60 Lindbergh Blvd., Westfield 01085. Michael G. Pease, same. (Nonprofit) To engage in any civic, educational, charitable and benevolent purpose.

Piper Green Estates Inc., 60 Cardinal Lane, Westfield 01085. Mark T. Bergeron, same. To deal in real estate.

Business Certificates

By
Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of June and July 2004.

AGAWAM

A & J Drywall
583 Springfield St.
Andre and Jean Turgeon

AAA Signs & Rentals Div. of
Advertising Products
33 Tom St.
Inge Henderson

Aardvark Tent Rentals
96 Strawberry Road
Mark Thomas

Advance Telemessage Service Inc.
850 Springfield St.
Morando DeFronzo

Agawam Landscaping
396 Main St.
Walter Meisser III

American Classics Restaurant
740 Springfield St.
Carlos Silva

Annalees’s Sweet Creations
339 North Westfield St.
Laurie Fountain

Bambi Nursery School
22 Vernon St.
Sylvia Molta

Blackwells Beds & Borders
10 Stillbrook Lane
Robyn Kononitz

Bob Lareau Remodeling
115 South West St.
Bob Lareau

brivers.com
426 North Westfield St.
William Rivers

Business Promotional Ideas
390 North St.
William Gowdy

Chicago Hair Company Inc.
674 Springfield St.
David Strange

E. Wayne Smith Used Cars
1016 Springfield St.
Wayne Smith

Easterntronics
312 Springfield St.
Dang VanHuynk

Five Star Transportation Inc.
384 Shoemaker Lane
Theresa Lacrenski

Gail’s Cleaning Service
221 Regency Park Dr.
Gail Richard

The Homeowner’s Handyman
6 Hope Farms Dr.
Patrick Devine

J.R. Sweeping Service
28 Moylan Lane
James Rico

Jay Morin Liner Replacements
258 North West St.
Jason Morin

Joslad & Associates
15 Marlene Dr.
Joseph Aimua

Kit and Kaboddle Inc.
152 South Westfield St.
Lyle Pearsons

Leaflitter of New England Inc.
1325 Springfield St.
Robert Bushey Jr.

Low Temp Refrigeration
332 Regency Park Dr.
Michael Robertson

M & S Painting
23 Katherine Dr.
Jeff O’Keefe

Malkoon Motors
1039 Springfield St.
Paul Malkoon

Maria’s Pizza & Restaurant
605 Silver St.
Maria Cuccovia

Nemil’s Subway
840 Suffield St.
Navin Patel

Park Place Realty
545 School St.
Carl Breyer Jr.

Patriot Marketing Services
21 Patriot Lane
Suzanne Schutt

Poolman Pools
297 Springfield St.
Kelly Peucker

R C Construction
80 Howard St.
Ryan Kane

Royal Air/Rainbow Vacuum
46 Suffield St.
Peter Moskvitch

S.G.M. Quality Products
103 Valentine St.
Sherrie McKinnon

Shear Illusions
497 Springfield St.
Valerie Mulka

Silver Leasing Associates
325 Silver St.
Philip Chmura

Six Flags New England
1623 Main St.
Riverside Park Enterprises Inc.

Six Flags New England
1477 Main St.
Riverside Park Food Services Inc.

Southgate Liquors
842 Suffield St.
Agawam Liquors

Suff Telephone &
Communications
195 Clover Hill Dr.
James Safarik

Super Models Unlimited
1 South End Bridge Circle
Kim Lawrence

Top Shelf Entertainment
112 Monroe St.
Jeffrey Schumann

Yankee Mattress Factory
314 Springfield St.
Joseph Noblit

AMHERST

Amherst Nails
9 Pleasant St.
Hang Le Thi Nguyen

Amherst Nutrition Center
800 Main St.
Lorraine Chavinard

Amherst Office Park
463 West St.
Donald Verdiere

Atlas Computer
22 Harlow Dr.
Brian Sloffer

Atticus Glass
211 Grantwood Dr.
Atticus Robbins

Christine Enterprises
Village Park Road #109
Christine LaFountain

Direct Financial Aid Professional Services
19 Jason Court
Paul Baker

The Early Childhood Center for Teaching & Learning
867 North Pleasant St.
Dotty Meyer

Fat Lady Productions
38 Trillium Way
Loren Christiansen

Hair East
103 North Pleasant St.
Dawn Eichorn

Hawkins Meadow Apartments
370E Northampton Road
Amherst Association

Helping Hands
120 Pulpit Hill Road
John Porcino

Law Office of Patricia A. McChesney
22 Ussey St. #37D
Patricia McChesney

Market America
95F Southpoint Dr.
Chunlung Zhu

Mary Miller Baskets
84 Chestnut St.
Mary Miller

Massachusetts Space Exploration Systems
15 Blue Hills Road
Robert Hyers, Abhijit Deshmukh

Middle Ridge Design
902 North Pleasant St.
Diane Russell

Old Friends Farm
416 Bay Road
Melissa Bahret

Random Element Music
488 South East St.
Gregory Aldrich

Roy Young Interior/Garden
998 East Pleasant St.
Roy Young

Smart Cat Media
1040 North Pleasant St. #248
Gordon Morehouse

Twinkle Import & Export
153 Village Park Road
Xiauchuan Hu

ZX Inc.
135 Belchertown Road
Xiasda Xias, Xiasyang Tang

CHICOPEE

A-1 Pizza
486 Springfield St.
Ugur Kus

Bee Happy Homes
175 Beauregard Terrace
Kurt William Pressey

Berkshire County Enterprises
269D College St.
Colleen Coyte

C & C Lamination
34 Pajak St.
Carol Cataldo

Chicopee Food Saver
505 Front St.
Muhammad Sabir

Chicopee Wireless
245 Tolpe Circle
Scott Kerkhoff

Cruise Genies.com
52 Wheatland Ave.
Anne-Marie Williams

I.D. Gourmet Coffee House
137 Wheatland Ave.
Louise Ingram, Jodi Delude

Interstate Towing
1745 Donahue Road
Jeremy Procon

Jak-of-All-Trades
10 Atwater St.
Kieth Lussier, Jason Knightly

Lavender Nails Salon
196 East St.
Giang Thai

Lidiya’s Floral Creations
21 Grove St.
Lidiya Ionkin

Lukasik Construction
63 Goodhue St.
Timothy Lukasik

Marty’s Real Estate
23 White Birch Plaza
Martin Dietter

Multiline Warehousing & Transportation Inc.
181 Kendall St.
Agnes Ruszczyk

On Route Services
48 Rimmon Ave.
Kelly Conroy

PJT Productions
125 Chateaugay St.
Patrick Tobin

Penwise
71 Mary St.
Chanah Wizenberg

Print & Packaging Recruiting
295 Toplar Circle
Myron Sanford

Rivervalley Woodworking
253 Fairview Ave.
Karl Nawskon

Scissorsmith
974 Chicopee St.
Nicholas Diaz

TechDoneRight.com
98 Doverbrook Road
Scott Haselkorn

YourDentalTech.com
98 Doverbrook Road
Scott Haselkorn

EAST LONGMEADOW

A&L Holistic Health Spa
280 North Main St.
Alice Shabunin

Bosworth Landscaping
6 Maynard St.
Richard Bosworth

Civil Engineering Association
10 Crane Ave.
Robert Cafarilli

Ferrero Property Management
333 North Main St.
Joseph Ferrero

Lussier & Sons Construction
43 Breezyknoll Road
Steven Lussier

White Stone Marketing Group
246 Canterbury Circle
James White, Gary Stone

HADLEY

Dwight Home Improvements
27 Maple Ave.
Thomas Dwight

Fancy Nails
Hampshire Mall
Buu Van Trinh

Mojoe’s
48 Russell St.
David Faytell

Old American Antiques and Renovation
36 Lawrence Plain Road
Glenn Paquette

HOLYOKE

Al’s Daily Grind Cafe
415 Main St.
Nathaniel Davis

Commercial Auto Sale
52 Commercial St.
Antonio Espiritu Santo

Contemporary Auto Sales
63 Shawmut Ave.
Stephen Stathis

D & M Painting
42 St. James Ave.
Douglas Riel

Dean’s Mini Mart
848 Main St.
Majid Nizam Din

Fashion Nails
223 Maple St.
Kieu Dao

Greenfield Stamp & Coin
1 Martin St.
T. David Heffron

Ingleside Gift Baskets
1781 Northampton St.
Jane Lefebvre

JMC Auto Detailing
184 Suffolk St.
Claudio Perez, Joshua Acevedo

Kirkland’s
50 Holyoke St.
KirklandÌs Inc.

Lechonera Bavamon
107 High St.
Luis Perez

Lucky Footwear Inc.
354 High St.
Han Kang

Manny’s Auto Sales
736 High St.
Elisandro Cuevas

MA Career Development Institute Inc.
100 Front St.
Gaetano DeNardo

Mr. Bill’s Parts & Cycle Service
2 Cabot St.
William Wohlers

T & T Variety
362 High St.
Margarita Herrera

Tony’s Radiator Shop
84 North Bridge St.
Alan and Carol Barthelette

NORTHAMPTON

Accurate Dispersions
312 King St.
The Sherwin-Williams Co.

AkiAnn LLC
46 Columbus Ave.
Camille Nelson

Baboon Productions & Chaffee Weddings
96 Coles Meadow
Rufus Chaffee

Bobbie Turnbull
204 Fairway Village
Barbara Turnbull

Carla A Bernier, MA, CCC-SLP and Abigail B. Jaffee, MA, CCC-SLP
1 Roundhouse
Carla Bernier and Abigail Jaffee

Century Message
16 Center St.
Tora Swinchatt

Conco Paints
312 King St.
The Sherwin-Williams Co.

Cornerstone Builders
25 Phillips Place
Colin Hoffmeister

Correctional Billing Services
Hampshire Jail, 205 Rocky Hill Road
Evercon Systems Inc.

Delong Construction
76 Bancroft Road
Edmund Lennihan

Essentials
88 Main Street
Jin-Kyoo Inc.

Glidden Drywall
23 Plymouth Ave.
Mark Glidden, Sr.

Graphic Leesign
14 Strong Ave.
Sidney Lee

In Home Handyman Services
137A Damon Road
Ink Black Inc.

JB Auto
605 North King St.
Joseph Barker Jr.

Lia Honda
171 King St.
Lia Northampton Inc.

Luna Pizza
88 Pleasant St.
Luna Pizza Corp.

LV Style
1361 Westhampton Road
Lilian Valiunas

Nature’s Creations
176 Turkey Hill Road
David McCaflin

Northampton Home Improvement
61 Kensington Ave.
Henry Souza

Northampton Marketing
108 Main St.
Jonathan Podolsky

Northampton Oriental Rugs
92 King St.
Sweta Asghar

Northampton Veterinary Clinic LLC
227 South
Eleanor Shelburne, Lori Paporello

Nuva Medi Spa
163 Conz St.
Roger Allcroft

Quezno’s Sub
235 Main St.
Northampton Quez LLC

Pioneer Therapeutics
39 Main St.
Andrew Arneson

Roger Menard Insurance Agency
241 King St.
Rober Menard

Sew Good Tailoring
137D Damon Road
Sug and Soome Oh

Student Initiative Gallery of Hampshire College
114 Main St.
Lauren Van Haaeften-Schick, Christopher Madok, Cory Sahifi

T.W.C. Towing
52 Main St.
Juan Figueroa

The Townhomes at Hathaway Farms
73 Barrett St.
Hampton Associates Nominee Trust

Valley Fabrics
271 Pleasant St.
Francesca McClellan

VIA Development
87A Prospect St.
Joseph Brescia

Yankee Matress Factory
104A Damon Road
Thomas Parnell

Zoomshot
49 Williams St.
Cory Barnes

SOUTH HADLEY

NBP Roofing, Siding & Windows
77 Hildreth Ave.
Nick Peters

Superior Shed Works
4 Doane Terrace
John Mielnikowski

SPRINGFIELD

A & P Computer Design
30 Scott St.
Ernest Audet Jr.

Abrantes Remodeling Kitchens & Baths
82 Lyons St.
Antonio Abrantes

AC Siding
88 Biltmore St.
Alecsei Cherkashin

Accurate Despersions
67 Boston Road
The Sherwin-Williams Co.

Acres Dental Care
1954 Wilbraham Road
James Maslowski, D.M.D.

Adam’s New Age Construction &
Home Remodeling
101 Samuel St.
Adam Bousquet

Advanced Nutrition
451 Dickinson St.
Sean Mulka

Affordable Home Improvements
21 Eloise St.
Mike Wilson, Greg Flechsig

American Construction Co.
14 Mazarin St.
Jennifer Bradley

Arzola Cleaning Co.
52 Wait St.
Jose Arzola

Balance Massage Therapy
1739 Allen St.
LeeAnn Williams

Bass Pond Press
1305 South Branch Parkway
P. Ann Pieroway

Bella’s Massage
1039 Worcester St.
Anabela Canvalito

Bongos Studio
140 Chestnut St.
Ilan Amouyal

Branch Security Co.
48 Parallel St.
Calvin Branch, John Muise

CSR Wire LLC
250 Albany St.
Emilio Sibilia Jr.

Chestnut Park Dairy
135 Dwight St.
Farman Elahi

The Church of Jesus Christ Inc.
24 Eastern Ave.
Donovan and Marcia Hart

Cindy’s Modern Style
90 Parker St.
Cynthia Diaz

Conco Paints
670 Boston Road
The Sherwin-Williams Co.

Cost Less Electronics & Machinery
20 Florence St.
Marcel Smith

Crown Fried Chicken
1208 Main St.
Mohammed Asif

D. Melody Records
62 Bacon Road
Dulee Gumlow

Dad’s Variety Store
1081 State St.
Earl Watson

Dallas & Sons Automotive Center
118 Armory St.
Anthony Dallas

Devon Farrell Association
154 Westford Circle
Devon Farrell

Drive USA
510-520 Boston Road
Drive USA2 Inc.

El Campo Market
288 Locust St.
Aris Planco

First Time Hospitality
137 Albemarle St.
Kristie Hosey, Brenda Clark

Forest Park Mini Flea Market
451 Dickinson St.
Bridget Finn

Freedom Wireless
83C Mill St.
Scott Lubarsky

G & J Home Improvements
32 Palmyra St.
Jose Colon

Gold Coast Market
253 Bay St.
Nana Dark LLC

Have Not Entertainment
170 Buckingham St.
Kalord Lee, Lamont Stuckey,
Richard Henry, Chris LeValle

Hong Kong Garden Restaurant
475 Breckwood Blvd.
Zhou Hua Ni

Hummingbird Restaurant
347 Orange St.
Errol Campbell

Industrial Control Solutions
48 Olmstead Dr.
Daniel Mattoon

J & B Woodcrafters
15 West Laramee Green
James Brown

Jan Reynolds Design
1 Greenleaf St.
Jan Reynolds Ziter

Jantize of Springfield
69 Andrew St.
Michael Lambert

Joy’s Creations Lawncare
24 Moebeth St.
Miguel Franqui

Just B.
878 Sumner Ave.
Banca Jackson

K.C.’s Vac All
93 Grochmal Ave.
Kenneth Cross

Law Offices of Jonathan R. Goldsmith, Esq.
1350 Main St.
Jonathan Goldsmith

Lee Nails
8 Orange St.
Chuong Nguyen

Line Up Barbershop
72 Bankcroft St.
Hairol Tejada

Little Angels Child Enrichment
153 Savoy Ave.
Melissa Petreshock

Lopez Multiservice
247 Central St.
Jose Lopez

Los Monchys
906 Carew St.
Angelique and Bienvenido Lopez

Martinez Towing
279 Main St.
Agapito Martinez

Meadowbrook Lane Capital
250 Albany St.
Emilio Sebilia Jr.

Media Copiers
43 Flower St.
Scott Noyes

Media Group International
26 Hanson Dr.
Vadim Valnikov

Merit Security
155 Woodland Road
Robert Martin

Millennium Nails
1655 Boston Road
Rhung Cao

Monique Heavenly Braid Shop
344 Bay St.
Delia Brown

Mortgage Services
671 Dickinson St.
Reuben Hudson

Nancy’s Transportation
26 Huntington St.
Wanda Figueroa

One Shrimp
889 Carew St.
Thomas Bertz, Tom Grassetti

PD Auto Sales
26 Redden Road
Pierre Dovesius

Palm Tech
23 Cindy Circle
Jason Palmeira

Paradise Pizza
30 Ft. Pleasant St.
Ilyas Koc

Professional Handyman Service
25 Barnet St.
Robert Tyler Jr.

RYJ Enterprises
197 Florida St.
Rosemary Sandlin, Yasir Osman,
Jody Wright

Rapid Locksmith
433 White St.
Morris Reid

Reggae Vibes
8 Parker St.
Alfraido Wray

SK Stores
145 Manchester Terrace
Svetlana Korobkov

Smile Hair Plus Beauty Supplies
1232 Main St.
Young Man Kim

Smily’s Handy Variety Store
477 Boston Road
Darshak Convenience Inc.

TLC Vending
108 Carol Ann St.
Robert and Christine Cooley

Timmak Clothing Company
140 Chestnut St.
Timothy Thomas

Tom James of Springfield
191 Chestnut St.
Lewis and Thomas Saltz Inc.

Traveling Hands Massage
116 Westminster St.
Susan Cadwell

The Underground
172 Main St.
Tonya Claiborne, Deadrea Williams

Uniquely Gifted
439 White St.< R>Betel Arnold, Joy Quinn-Mavredakis

Victor Carpet Cleaning
537 Main St.
Victor Carmenatty

Waynerworks
357 Roosevelt Ave.
Suzanne Wayner

Zhen Bo House
762 Boston Road
Gao Fei Lin

WEST SPRINGFIELD

AJ Kendall
49 River St.
Andrea Ruest

Able Caning
15 Highland Park Dr.
Alice Zuvers

Abound Inc.
34 Fox St.
Joseph Werner

All About Va
1096 Memorial Ave.
Tania Neff

Andrey’s Home Painting
40 Windor St.
Andrey Gut

Beautiful Rooms
42 Myron St.
Gary Okun

Breast Care of Western
Massachusetts
371 Park St.
Nancy Weiss

The Car Place
47 Bradford Dr.
Anthony Ricco

Champ Computers
96 Garden St.
Tony Champagne

Countrywide Home Loans Inc.
138 Memorial Ave.
Countrywide Home Loans Inc.

The Cozy Cricket
148 River St.
Linda Vigliano

Dana’s Cleaning Service
1230 Morgan Road
Svetlana Zhuk

Di’s Daycare
39 Bonnie Brae Dr.
Diane Bonneville

East Coast Tooling
283 Elm St.
Michelle McCarthy

First Emmanuel Assembly of God Church
664 Union St.
Cicero DeSantiago, Albertina DaPenna

FishFrenzy.net
2001 Riverdale St.
Edward Pecord

Flower Design
100 New Bridge St.
Irina Lapik

Game Hunters II
683 Riverdale St.
Tuyet Diep

Hair East Inc.
8 Chestnut St.
Jennifer Gamelli

Hiland Group Inc. of
Massachusetts
23 New Bridge St.
Anthony Hill, David Saenz

Katrina’s Flowers and More
62 Union St.
Katrina Vasilchenko

The Loft
201 Westfield St.
Ann Marie Walts

Mama Mias Pizzeria
60 Park St.
Mama Mias Pizzeria Inc.

Mike Gentile Auto Sales
74-80 Baldwin St.
Michael Gentile

Murphy’s Carpentry
22 Worcester St.
Michael Murphy

Murphy Construction
22 Worcester St.
Michael Murphy

Northern Granite
380 Union St.
Vgachesav Katko

Patriot Towing and Recovery
77 Windsor St.
Rosalee Williams

Paul’s Auto Repair
17 Bosworth St.
Paul Traska

Quality Inn
1150 Riverdale St.
Shubham LLC

R. Hudson Painting
84 Day St.
Raymond Hudson Jr.

St. Jean’s Plumbing & Heating
28 Squassick Road
Arthur Jean

Town Line Flea Market
260 Westfield St.
Town Line Flea Market LLC

Venckai Consulting
43 Russell St.
Genevieve Saxton

Western Mass. Compounding Center & Palliative Care
138 Memorial Ave.
Janina Cirillo

Zykan Distribution
1596 Memorial Ave.
Kelly Doull, Arsen Dzhavadyn

WESTFIELD

Affordable Flooring
66 Montgomery St.
David Minchuk

Belleview Billing Services
55 Belleview St.
Deborah Beaudry

Brian S. Whitehall
42 Loomis Ave.
Brian Whitehall

Century 21 Home Town Associates
350 Elm St.
Victoria Minella

Colors Galore
416 North St.
Timothy Morin

Colors of the Future
93 South Maple St.
Daniel Dionne, Diana Cruz

Cummings & Cioch Home Inspection Inc.
559 Montgomery Road
Daniel Cioch

Electronics to the Max Corp.
30 Schumann Dr.
Brian Plante

European Headlines
190 East Main St.
Heli Withrow

G & E Seafood
241 East Main St.
Gregory Ramos

Hartwell Concrete & Masonry Systems
38 Ridgecrest Dr.
Bill Hartwell

Ken’s General Repair
1198 East Mountain Road
Kenneth Gamelli

King’s Cleaners
282 Southampton Road
Sook Kyung Kim

L & L Pools
26 East Glen Dr.
Terrence Lamb

L.J. Electric
1198 East Mountain Road
Louis Ganelli

Linda Nails
205 Elm St.
Nguyet Nguyen

MA Career Development Institutes Inc.
102 Elm St.
Gaetano Demardo

Musical Beginnings
16 High St.
Donna Omega Liese

Nu-Style Records
81 Main St.
Jose Bergollo

Professional Freight Carrier
43 Apple Orchard Height
Joseph McCarthy

Sara’s Organizing Solutions
41 Maple Terrace
Sara Hampton

Sneakel Jam
51 Union St.
German Flex

Specials Inc.
103 Mainline Dr.
Robert Silver

Useful Things
205 Elm St.
James Valentine, Armand Beaumier

White Services
404 Granville Road
Leslie White II

Zanto
190 East Main St.
Z3W Inc.

Building Boom

By
Sections Supplements
Several buildings are under construction and more are planned for an industrial park in East Longmeadow, which is filling quickly thanks to a combination of factors ranging from a more favorable economy to low property taxes in the rapidly growing community. The pace of progress has a downside, however, as it demonstrates just how little buildable land is available in Western Mass.

Veritech Corp. owner Steve Graziano says he started thinking years ago about taking the facilities that were spaced over three floors in an office on Prospect Street in East Longmeadow and moving them into a more efficient, more professional-looking one-story structure.

He told BusinessWest he would often get such thoughts while driving past the new buildings going up in the East Longmeadow Industrial Park on his way to and from the post office.

"We’ve been looking at that industrial park for a while … but it seemed that we always got distracted by the business at hand or the recession at hand, one or the other,"said Graziano, founder of the interactive multimedia and video solutions company. "But this year, we got serious about it."Thus, he’s part of an ongoing building boom in this community, and his new, expandable, 16,000-square-foot facility, to be built at the corner of Benton Drive and Denslow Road, will be part of a growing commercial and industrial base that is providing much-needed balance to a surge in residential building here.

And he’s helping to give Westmass Area Development Corp., the Chicopee-based, non-profit industrial park developer that is affiliated with the Economic Development Council of Western Mass. (EDC), a quick return on its investment on the purchase of more than 100 acres of former tobacco fields on the southwest corner of the town.

Two projects are already underway — construction of a 12,000-square-foot building for a company specializing in design and installation of trade show displays, and a 30,000-square-foot facility that will be subdivided for industrial tenants. And more building is planned, including Graziano’s facility (groundbreaking is set for this fall); a new, 41,000-square-foot home for Maybury Material Handling that will be located just down the street from its current location; and a 100,000-square-foot plant that will be built by the German-owned papermaker Suddekor LLC in the nearby Deer Park Business Center.

EDC President Allan Blair said the spate of new building is the product of several converging factors, including an improving economy, interest rates that remain favorable (although they’re rising), and the town’s very attractive commercial tax rate — $20.73, which is much lower than surrounding communities such as Springfield ($34.54), Chicopee ($33.16), and Westfield ($29.58). Also, there’s East Longmeadow’s location, with easy access to I-91 to the south. "This is a great place to do business if you don’t need to be in an urban setting."But the primary reason people are building in East Longmeadow, said Blair, is because that’s where much of the permitted commercial property happens to be at the moment.

And that’s the only downside to an otherwise positive story, he said, noting that the East Longmeadow property is on pace to be absorbed much faster than originally projected, which means that while developing this parcel, Westmass is also scouring the area looking for new business park sites.

"We’re filling this park quickly — that’s the good news, and I guess it’s the bad news as well,"said Blair, adding that as the inventory of buildable land dwindles, Westmass will have to become more imaginative and look toward revitalization of brownfield sites as well as raw, undeveloped land.

"That’s the next big challenge — where do we go next?"he said. "Where do you go where you already have road access, utilities, the right infrastructure, and a community that’s receptive? It gets harder to find locations, but we have to if we want to bring more jobs here."Right Place, Right Time

As he stood at the entrance to what will soon be a road into the 60-acre Deer Park site, Blair, the long-time president of Westmass, said there are inherent risks with the acquisition and assembly of any industrial site.

One need look no further than Westmass’ purchase of farmland in Westfield for the Summit Lock Industrial Park in 1988 (see related story, page 18) to see what can go wrong. The purchase came just as the region was going into a deep recession, and the economic tailspin, which brought new building to a virtual standstill, precipitated the corporation’s fall into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Additional evidence can be found with the creation of the Chicopee River Business Park, a facility that straddles the Chicopee- Springfield line. More than two decades in the making, the park came on line in 2001, just as the technology sector was crashing to earth. Only one parcel has been sold in the park, which has yet to capture the attention or imagination of the high-tech businesses it was created to host.

There were and still are risks with the East Longmeadow acquisition as well, said Blair, adding quickly that the agency felt very good about that transaction, negotiated with the Wetstone family, which had been farming the property for more than a century. Westmass eventually acquired about 40 acres off Denslow Road that abut an industrial park that has developed over the past 30 years, as well as another 70 acres adjacent to the Deer Park Business Center, a small cluster of office buildings developed by the Wetstones.

"We were confident that this was going to be a sound investment for us,"said Blair. "All the right conditions were in place — an improving economy, companies looking for places in which to expand, the zoning, the tax rate … it was all there."
Blair’s confidence in the East Longmeadow property has proven well-founded. Within months of the acquisition in late 2002, there was building underway and the promise of several other deals.

The RTH Group, a British-based trade show display-design company, has moved into its facility, which represents an effort to expand and consolidate operations that had been run out of leased offices in East Longmeadow and warehouse facilities in Connecticut.

Expansion and consolidation are also what Graziano and Maybury President John Maybury have in mind.

Graziano said his company, which specializes in the production of educational CDs, was looking to build a new facility that was more efficient, but that would also reflect the changing nature of the company’s client list.

"Our patient-education business, which involves work with many of the nation’s largest health care providers, is growing rapidly,"he explained. "We will be hosting some of the top Fortune 500 health care provider companies, and we want to be more conducive to their expectations from an image point of view.

"That’s why we’re making this move now,"he continued. "Our business has taken a big step on a national strategic alliance basis, and as their executives come to visit us and talk about relationships and expansion of alliances, we want them to feel that we’re in their league."Meanwhile, Maybury Material Hand-ling, which distributes fork trucks, shelving, catwalks, and other products for moving and storing materials, will break ground later this month on a 41,000-square-foot facility that will house all its operations. The company has been cramped in its present, 28,000-square-foot facility, said Maybury, and it has seen enough encouraging news from the nation’s still-struggling manufacturing sector to act on expansion plans.

"We need to expand again … we’re limited in terms of growth by our current building,"he said, noting that while the existing facility is expandable, the company opted to build a new plant and lease out the present site.

Maybury will build on a 15-acre site, adjacent to its current location, that includes a small pond. "We really like this parcel,"said Maybury, "as opposed to an open field."That open field is the 70 acres Westmass acquired from Wetstone behind the Deer Park Business Center, and it will soon become the home of Suddekor’s new $15 million paper-treating facility.

The company, which located its first area plant at the Westmass park built on the site of the former Bowles Airport in Agawam, plans to break ground later this month. The plant, expandable to 300,000 square feet, will be built on a 22-acre parcel.

There have been other inquiries about the Deer Park parcel, said Blair, who expects that real estate and the 10 acres remaining off Benton Drive and Denslow Road to be absorbed over the next three to five years, well ahead of the original timetable of seven years or more.

That’s good for East Longmeadow, he said, which needs to balance its residential growth with new industrial and commercial development, and, in many ways, good for the EDC and Westmass. But the pace of building also underscores the need to bring more property on line.

Westmass will stick to its guns on the Chicopee River Business Park, Blair said, and continue to pursue high-tech companies for that site rather than merely filling space with local companies looking to expand.

"We’ve been stubborn in our dedication to the original design principles there — that this park, because of its location, should be reserved for the highest-value companies that we can attract to the market,"he said. "So we have turned away opportunities that would otherwise be appropriate in a light-industrial setting.

"That’s frustrating for Chicopee,"he continued, "but in the end, I think our patience will be rewarded."
Fielding Inquiries

Maybury told BusinessWest that back in 1981, when his family built the company’s current home, it was one of the few businesses on Denslow Road.

"Benton Drive didn’t even exist then,"he said, referring to the street running perpendicular to Denslow that has seen widespread development. "There’s been a lot of change here that has been very good for the community."And more changes to the landscape are in the works, development that promises more jobs, more tax revenue, and new opportunities for the companies engaged in expansion. The rapid absorption of the real estate might be a problem, said Blair, but for now, it’s a good problem to have.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

20 Years: What’s Changed — and What Hasn’t

By
Uncategorized
Twenty years.

In the long course of human history, that’s not much time at all — not even the blink of an eye.

But when one looks at the advances in technology and medicine that have taken place in that time, it seems like an eternity.

Twenty years ago, hardly anyone had a cell phone, and if they did, it was the size and weight of a brick. Now, we simply can’t imagine getting through a day or even a round of golf without one. Two decades ago, the fax machine was revolutionizing the way people communicated in the workplace. Now, while not obsolete, it is considered slow and somewhat backward.

E-mail is the way to send and receive information now. At times, we wonder how in the world we ever conducted business without it. Then again, when we stare at several dozen pieces of spam each morning, we think that maybe we’d like to try.

Yes, some things have certainly changed in the past 20 years. BusinessWest, which made its debut in the spring of 1984, is devoting this issue to looking back at what has transpired — or not transpired — over that time. This issue is packed with stories (some of them reprinted from years ago) and photographs that tell a story of change, progress, and perseverance. We hope you like this retrospective, and offer this quick synopsis of the publication’s lifetime.

BusinessWest got its start in 1984, a year that is also the title of a book. George Orwell’s classic warned of the dangers of totalitarianism and institutions like the Thought Police and ëBig Brother.’ And while the world Orwell portrayed doesn’t exist even 20 years after the fact, we are, by some estimates, photographed a dozen times a day as we go to work, the bank, and the Turnpike toll booth.

Technology has been the biggest story of the past 20 years. It has changed how we work and how we live. It has given rise to new industry groups and hundreds of new businesses in the region. It has also played a large role in the fortunes of the economy.

Another sector that has seen significant change is health care. Advances in technology, procedures, and pharmaceuticals have made things that seemed impossible a generation ago very possible. However, other forces, especially managed care, falling state and federal reimbursements, and non-physician-friendly trends such as soaring malpractice insurance rates have made it difficult for hospitals and doctors to stay in business.

Looking at the region’s economy as a whole, we can say that, in many ways, the Valley is certainly better off than it was 20 years ago. While it’s true that the area has lost a number of large employers and its manufacturing base is much smaller, its economy is more diversified, and thus more resilient. Tourism is now a driving force in the economy, health care remains strong despite the many challenges facing the industry, and the technology sector is gaining a small foothold, especially in Hampshire County.

Some communities have flourished over the past 20 years. Northampton has experienced a true renaissance and has become a nationally recognized center for arts. Meanwhile, Easthampton, once a thriving mill town, has been reborn into a vibrant, eclectic community now home to a wide range of artists.

Some suburban areas have witnessed explosive residential growth, These include South Hadley, Westfield, East Longmeadow, Belchertown, and others. And in many of those communities, there has been a corresponding business boom.

But while surrounding areas have seen significant progress over the past two decades, Springfield, the largest city in the region and the seat of Western Mass., has not.

Indeed, with the notable exceptions of Monarch Place and the new Basketball Hall of Fame, the Springfield skyline looks much as it did in 1984, while in the 20 years prior to that, the city took on a completely new appearance with several new office towers, the building of I-91, and other developments.

Like other New England urban centers, Springfield has been largely stagnant in recent years, waiting for that proverbial ënext big thing,’ while trying to lure jobs. Twenty years ago, people were talking about Springfield’s vast potential and how it was an attractive, more affordable option to Boston. Today, they’re still talking about it.

There are some projects in various stages of development in greater Springfield — Union Station, a new federal courthouse, and the new convention center, already under construction. But these are mostly publicly funded initiatives, and Springfield desperately needs some private investment.

Maybe by the time BusinessWest celebrates its 25th, there will be some to write about.

Plum Assignment

By
Sections Supplements
Indian Orchard, or The Orchard, as residents call it, was once a thriving mill town. In recent years, however, the former Indian settlement and home to groves of plum trees (hence the name) has deteriorated and, in many ways, lost some of its identity. A recently unveiled master plan for the Springfield neighborhood creates a blueprint for bringing new life to the area and creating what is being called a "21st-century mill town." Optimism abounds, but the challenges facing residents, planners, and business owners are considerable.

01151. That’s the zip code for Indian Orchard, Mass., and a number that people in this blue collar neighborhood of Springfield are quite proud of.

ëThe Orchard,’ as they call it, is the only neighborhood in the city with its own postmark, and residents will usually correct parties that put ëSpringfield’ on items sent to them. "It’s an immensely proud community," said Katie Stebbins, the city’s senior planner, who long ago learned the proper way to address mail to people in this section by the Chicopee River. "The residents are proud of their history, their diversity, and their uniqueness."

This pride explains why more than 200 people turned out for an unveiling of a new master plan for the community, an important document that has created an outline for what Stebbins and others call a "21st-century mill town." That phrase was chosen to convey the need to blend the past with the future, she said, noting that the community is at a crossroads of sorts.

Its stock of residential and commercial properties is aging, and before more of them are lost to parking lots, the neighborhood wants to make a concerted effort toward becoming a destination, she explained. The plan for achieving that end is multi-faceted, and calls for connecting Main Street with the currently underutilized riverfront; making facade improvements to a number of the century-old buildings in the downtown area; attracting new small businesses, especially restaurants and other entertainment venues; and finding a new life for an old industrial complex that essentially bisects the neighborhood.

Fred Andrews, executive director of the Indian Orchard Main Street Partnership, believes all that is doable, although he acknowledges that putting goals down on paper and making them happen are two completely different things, especially at a time when the level of public funds for such endeavors is dwindling and no one can really be sure of the appetite for private investment.

But, like Stebbins, Andrews sees progress and senses both the requisite optimism and energy needed to achieve more over time. He points to several facade improvements that have already taken place downtown as movement in the right direction. And he notes a considerable uptick in the number of calls from people exploring possible investments in the neighborhood.

"There is some vibrancy downtown," he said. "We’ve had some faÁade improvements and also the hoped-for result — people in neighboring buildings seeing that progress and deciding to become part of the movement."

Charles Brush, owner of the massive Indian Orchard Mills, a home to more than 100 small businesses and artists, and a member of the panel that pushed through the master plan, sees both the vast potential in The Orchard and the challenges facing the community. Mostly, he sees enthusiasm.

"People were lined up out the door the night we unveiled the plan; people came to see what was happening," he said. "Now, we need to tap that energy and move forward. We can turn Indian Orchard into a destination — we have all the components in place."

Beyond the predictable rush of optimism that accompanied the release of the plan, however, lies the obvious question: what now?

Stebbins says she isn’t sure, and told BusinessWest that much depends on the residents and business owners who turned out to see the plan unveiled. She equated creation of the master plan to sketching an outline in a coloring book — it can be colored in any number of ways.

"What happens next is not a passive approach — waiting and hoping for something to happen — but a very active approach," she explained. "We want to be open to every opportunity that comes our way, pursuing it with the neighborhood and seeing where it leads. You treat everything as a possibility until it’s not.

"It’s like a patchwork quilt," she continued. "You keep piecing things together, and eventually you have something."

Fruits of Their Labor

The name Indian Orchard is derived from the area’s past life as both an Indian settlement and, later, a home to groves of plum trees.

In an attempt to reflect that past, street signs, building facades, Andrews’ business card, and even the back cover of the master plan’s executive summary have incorporated the color purple. And soon, new plum trees may be growing in the downtown and elsewhere in the community. Andrews said planners have done some research, and believe they’ve found a hearty variety of tree that can stand up to the climate and congestion of a Northeast urban center.

But planners also want to breathe new economic life into a community that has most often been described as ëtired’ in recent years. Indeed, the vibrancy that existed years ago has been lost due to a number of factors, including the exodus of the textile makers and many other manufacturers, the emergence of Boston Road as a major retail center, which sucked life from Main Street, and the flight of many working class residents into the region’s suburbs.

The vision for a retooled community — one that will be called ëThe Village of Indian Orchard, a neighborhood of Springfield’ — is that of a destination, said Stebbins, an area rich with shops, restaurants, artists, antiques, bike paths, walking trails, and other features that would attract people from across the region and perhaps well beyond it.

She calls it the "strolling effect."

Many communities have an area in which people can stroll, she said, noting that this activity blends recreation with window-shopping, actual shopping, and dining. Northampton is this area’s best strolling center, she noted. Springfield doesn’t have such an area at present — downtown comes close, but it lacks the requisite variety of shops, she said — and The Orchard could someday fill that role.

To make The Orchard a destination, a place to stroll, however, many things have to happen, said Stebbins, especially the link between Main Street and the riverfront. She told BusinessWest that the community’s downtown is in many ways unremarkable and similar to countless others in this area and across the country, for that matter. The scenic Chicopee River does give the neighborhood a chance to do some things that other cities and towns can’t, however.

"If we can’t get the river opened up and established as a destination point with the downtown, then Main Street is going to have a much longer road to travel."

One stated goal for planners is to create a riverfront park that would stretch from a parcel near the tip of Main Street to the Indian Orchard Mills, and construct bike trails and walking paths along that strip. Much of that property is owned by Consolidated Edison — it was sold to that corporation by Western Mass. Electric Co. as part of a divestiture of assets forced by restructuring of the energy industry — and some talks have taken place between the city and that company, said Stebbins.

Brush, whose mills have become home to a number of noted artists, believes those galleries could become a key component in making The Orchard a destination, especially if his mills can be more effectively linked to Main Street stores and restaurants and a cluster of antique outlets.

"We have 43 artists here now, and our open studios bring hundreds of people down to the mills," he said. "We need more events and attractions like that; we need to create more reasons to bring people to Indian Orchard."

Planting Seeds

While offering a quick tour of the downtown area, Andrews stopped at one of a collection of new bus stop benches. The colorful, tile-covered benches were created by artists at the Indian Orchard Mills, he explained, and are one of the many small initiatives in that area creating some enthusiasm in the community.

There are other, similar examples of progress, he said, pointing out comprehensive facade improvement projects at Indian Orchard Glass and Orchard Variety, which sit on opposite sides of Main Street. There have been other faÁade initiatives, and more are being planned, he said, adding that they give the downtown a cleaner, more modern look, one that will hopefully spur additional investments in that area.

Andrews said The Orchard is perhaps Springfield’s most culturally diverse neighborhood, with a mix of Portuguese, Polish, Hispanic, and Armenian residents, among other groups. He envisions a number of ethnic restaurants and cultural attractions in the downtown. He says there are entertainment opportunities as well, including a new life for the old Grand Theater and perhaps a much larger home for the cramped Titanic Museum.

"There’s a lot that can happen, and a number of very positive things have already happened," he said. "I think it’s a matter of getting things moving and having people want to become part of something special."

Stebbins agreed, and said that while there are several vacant storefronts downtown, this should be viewed more as an opportunity than a concern. "In many ways, it’s like a blank canvas."

She cited Red Rocket Records on Main Street, a business that draws music enthusiasts, especially heavy metal fans, from far and wide, as the type of destination attraction that The Orchard needs in much greater numbers, and she believes it can happen.

"Why not? People will find Indian Orchard to come to Red Rocket Records," she said. "If these people can find it, then other people can — if we give them a reason."

She told BusinessWest that much of her optimism stems from the amount of interest being expressed in The Orchard, from both existing business owners and some from outside the region expressing interest in living or doing business in the neighborhood.

"Every day, I get a call from someone about Indian Orchard, either someone already in The Orchard who wants to figure out how to make it better, or someone outside The Orchard who wants to find out more about it — and that’s either businesses or potential homeowners," she said. "Some of the calls are from existing business owners, some who say that they’ve been thinking about sprucing up their site, but didn’t because they didn’t think anything was happening. Now that they see things going on in the building next door, they want to do something themselves."

But is there funding available for such projects?

Stebbins paused when asked that question, and admitted that there’s never as much money as planners and entrepreneurs want or need. But she said that some money remains from a $160,000 facade improvement grant, and there are some pockets of money to tap into.

The bus stop benches were the result of a grant, she said, noting that planners will have to be diligent and imaginative in their pursuit of resources. "We’re going to turn over every rock."

Building Momentum

While exploring links between Main Street and the riverfront and trying to expand the cultural offering downtown, planners will also address a number of other issues. Some, like the benches, trees, and street signs, are smaller in scope and designed to build visibility, enhance the community’s image — it is still viewed as many as a high-crime, low-income area — and improve traffic flow.

Meanwhile, there is the matter of the former Chapman Valve/Crane site, a 52-acre strip of land that has plagued the neighborhood for decades.

Old renderings of the Indian Orchard neighborhood show a small downtown area dwarfed by the massive Chapman Valve complex, where workers, mostly immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and other European countries, made valves for various industries.

The site expanded and evolved over the years — the Navy built a foundry there in the 1940s, and the complex was actually a satellite site for the Manhattan Project — and the neighborhood grew up around it. Homes now crowd a site that is largely abandoned and overgrown.

Residential development is planed for a portion of the parcel, said Stebbins, and some construction has already begun, but the fate of the building that housed the Navy foundry is still to be determined, and there are environmental hurdles to be cleared before anything can be done on the site.

In fact, it was Stebbins’ work on the Chapman Valve site — she is the city’s brownfields coordinator — that got the ball moving toward creation of a master plan for the neighborhood. "We said to ourselves, ëwhat are we going to do with this beast?’" she said.

"We worked with the neighborhood to figure out what would be a good use for the site, and eventually, the focus shifted to the whole neighborhood."

It will likely be several years before the fate of the industrial site can be resolved and a new life for that property found, said Stebbins, adding that the long view must be taken on many elements contained in the master plan.

It could be 10 to 15 years or more before many of the visions are realized, she said, noting quickly that areas like Northampton and Alexandria, Va., both great strolling areas, took years to reach their potential.

She doesn’t know how The Orchard’s mostly blank canvas will be colored in, but she is very confident that the neighborhood’s master plan won’t gather dust on a shelf, like so many before it in a number of area communities.

"It’s the enthusiasm of the residents that will keep this from getting dusty," Stebbins said, holding the document aloft. "People are very proud of this community, and they want to see something happen with it."

Branching Out

Stebbins, 33, told BusinessWest that many people her age look at The Orchard and see the ëdestination’ potential that she does. For many older residents, however, there is more skepticism. "For many of the older people who grew up here, it’s a lot harder to see what this neighborhood can be."

For the concepts outlined in the master plan to become reality, planners must get all those in the community on the same page, literally and figuratively, and begin to create some momentum for moving forward.

Progress will come a piece at a time, said Stebbins — just like that patchwork quilt.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Doing Business as Certificates

By
Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of April 2004.

AGAWAM

Advanced Tactics & Firearms
14 Twoifby St
James Markowski

Car Perfections
74 Regency Park Dr.
Christopher Rollin

Colcord Coatings
585 South West St.
Christopher Colcord

Fortune 500 Group
743 Suffield St.
David Bonice Jr.

Muttis Sheet Metal
224 North St.
Gary Mutti

R. Holmes Construction
1004 Shoemaker Lane
Randy Holmes

Scott Mitchell
67 Coyote Circle
Scott Mitchell

Town Motors II
393 Main St.
Richard Melloni Jr. and Sr.

AMHERST

Danielle’s Accessing
155 Summit St.
Danielle Dillon

Espresso Time
162 Wildflower Dr.
Thomas Suchodolski

Herbal Commerce, LLC
1261 East Main St.
David Roy

Music Awareness
256 North Pleasant St.
Paul Bennett

Webmaster Commerce, LLC
1261 South East St.
David Roy

CHICOPEE

B & D Couriers
618 Chicopee St.
Warren Patridge

Bill of All Trades
543 Montgomery St.
William Glinka Jr.

CCA Painting Service
16 Nelson St.
Charles Arsenault

Country Kettle Cafe
129 Broadway St.
Joan Masaitis

DSD Carpentry
13 Alden St.
Sergey Durnev

Health Claim Billing
Services
956 Granby Road
Brenda Bacon

Jennifer Nail
151 Broadway St.
Ngo Hieu

MJ Nails
1893 Memorial Dr.
Chau Quach

Paradise Pizza
67 Springfield St.
Sezgin Turan

Sweetwater Cycles
66 Willmont St.
Daniel Kandilakis

Twins Variety
112 Ducharme St.
Amir Papacha

EAST LONGMEADOW

Americare Inc.
174 North Main St.
Gail Tori

Employment Essentials
94 Tanglewood Dr.
Carol Martin

Mary-Jane Kelly
143 Shaker Road
Mary-Jane Kelly

Panera Bread
450 North Main St.
P.R. Restaurant LLC

Subway
24 Shaker Road
Jim Ho Inc.

Vulcan USA
31 Lomox St.
Joseph Reale

HADLEY

Blades Lawnmower Services
122 Middle St.
Thomas Waskiewicz

Lean Business Services
77 Lawrence Plain Road
Richard Brighenti

Little Bird Daycare
341 River Road
Stacey Mushinski

Pioneer Valley Upholstery
3 Railroad St.
Jeffrey Kris

River Valley Realty Services
114 Bay Road
Timothy Murphy

HOLYOKE

McDermott’s Soft Serve
49 Ely St.
James McDermott

Neoteric Ventures
18 Manorhouse Road
David Peters

Piercing Pagoda
50 Holyoke St.
Mary Curington

Racing Mart
183 West Franklin St.
Bhikkbbai Patel

Revon Management
155 Beech St.
Antoine Kennedy

Shell Gas
225 Whiting Farms Road
Neil Tierney

SKDL Design
257 Homestead Ave.
Debra Ragoonanan

Tony’s Auto Sales
800 High St.
Anthony Trabal

Tony’s Shop
153 Sargeant St.
Virgen Lopez

Whitley’s Fitness Center
354 High St.
Dwayne Whitley

LONGMEADOW

AMS
23 Duxbury Lane
Andrew Sherman

Caren & Company
682 Bliss Road
Caren DeMarche

Coughlin’s Concrete & Masonary Inc.
1066 Frank Smith Road
Jeffrey Coughlin

North Star Benchmark
362 Converse St.
Michael Batchelor

The Sports Connection
55 Cambridge Circle
Penny Sotiropoulos

Zap Electric
785 Williams St., #181
James Jaron

NORTHAMPTON

Butcher & Briggs
100 Ryan Road
James Butcher

Doomsday Promotions
161 South St.
Katherine Livingston

Gems & Jewelry by Bobs
167 South St.
Robert Marston

Good Thyme Deli
186 Main St.
Dar V. Cote-Houghton

Homeworks
18 Ridgewood Ter.
Lori Steiner

Inspiration Soaps
38 Coolidge Ave.
Victoria Munroe

Kosmo Enterprises
53 Middle St.
Michael Koramiersky

Lisa Scollan Fine Art/Illustration
221 Pine St.
Lisa Scollan


New York Shop Exchange
26 Stronge Road
Marcia Hawkins

Noema Development
47 Pleasant St.
Shannon Baily

Northampton Medical Spa
163 Conz St.
Roger Allcroft

Sid Vintage
18 Crafts Ave.
Alix Westburg, Jill Boyce

Signs & Such
2 Easthampton Road
Gregg Lambert

Sparkles Cleaning Service
25 Finn St.
Carmen Santiago

Two Joys!
2 Mountain Laurel Path
Susan Martins

Valley Free
285 Pleasant St.
Joshua Whiting

Whiting Energy Fuels
3004 Park St.
Richard Whiting Jr.

SOUTH HADLEY

Choice Property
Enhancement
15 Harvard St.
Sheri Green

Liberty Installations
240 Brainard St.
Richard Liberty

SPRINGFIELD

ADT Specialties
75 Westbrook St.
Alan Welch

Amsterdams
172 Main St.
Ken Davis

A Touch of Class Remodeling
14 Irvington St.
Eddie Alicea

Brad Convenience Store
494 Central St.
Chantel Kouoh

Chinese Gift Shop
249 Belmont Ave.
Life Science Corp.

Creative Remodeling
61 Canal Road
Stanley Glad

Gray Enterprises
419 St. James Ave.
McGuire LLC

Heavenly Home Care
327 Franklin St.
T. Dixon

JC’s Enterprises
159 Partyka St.
Joseph Cleereman

Jasran Construction
1080 Worcester St.
Randy Wilson

MTR Auto Detailing
58 Montgomery St.
Matthew Rogalski

NJ Rehab
112 Belvidere St.
Ismael Medina

Nuevavida Systems
1655 Main St.
Gilberto Amedor

Picture Perfect
51 Lumae St.
Michael Parent

Subway
374 Cooley St.
JJSKD Inc.

UBC Surface Specialties
750 Worcester St.
Surface Specialties Inc.

US Transit Co.
34-40 Front St.
Steven Burnham

Unique Ryders Motorcycle Club
64 Joseph St.
Gary Alvarez

Wounded Lamb Ministries
77 Parkside St.
Rafael Riviera

You Body Spa Salon
1655 Main St.
Rebecca Ruiz

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Barbara Belz
2260 Westfield St.
Barbara Belz

Cori’s K9 Clip
242 Elm St.
Cori Napolitan

Custom Railing Tech. Inc.
117 Allston Ave.
Armand Cote

e Biz Opz
24 Glenview Dr.
Robert Clark

Euroimage
1616 Riverdale St.
Edward Korol

Guyette Framing & Home Improvement
76 Lombra Road
Christopher Guyette

Hampden County Cycle
117 Allston Ave.
Bryan Cote

I-Deal Solutions
39 Larone Ave.
Carl Theriault

Jobber’s Auto Electric
26 Mulberry St.
John Phillips

North Garden Inc.
42 Myron St.
Gilbert Lee

PPI Professional Pool Installations
249 Westfield St.
Patrick Durham

Ron’s Income Tax Service
454 Main St.
Roland Navone

St. Pierre Enterprises
174 Robinson Road
Robert St. Pierre

Sorrento Pizza of West Springfield Inc.
600 Kings Highway
N. Albano

Soundworks Mobile Disc Jockeys
27 Park Ave., Apt. 17
Sean Callahan

Tomas Stanelis
178 River St., Apt. 3
Tomas Stanelis

WESTFIELD

A & G Transport
241 East Main St.
Andrey Krasun

Bodysmart
48 Elm St.
Colleen Campbell, Thomas Keenan

Celebrations
24 Western Ave.
Ammeris Riviera, Tiffany Kingsley

Cheryl’s Trucking
567 Pochassic Road
James Treadwell

Diver Down Computers
25 Highland Dr.
Joe Popielzrczyk

EZ Tech Group Inc.
39 Cranston St.
Jason Gates

Estate Accents
370 Southwick Road
Jane Watras

Everest Communications
33 Plantation Cir.
Molly Watsol

The Gavel Dili
243 Elm St.
Edward Tyburski

Home Grown Art
26 Cedar Lane
Michellene Cyr, Peter Cyr

Joe’s Mobile Auto Repair
5 City View Blvd.
Joe Martin

Old Time Auto Body & Repair
932 Russell St.
Mary Johnson

Simple Treasures
95 Pineridge Dr.
Marilia Santos

Westfield Variety & Deli
57 Southwick Road
Pravinbhai Patel

BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS

By
Sections Supplements
Like the company he leads, Tom Dennis is successful, but decidedly low-key. His engineering firm, The Dennis Group, offers planning, architectural, process engineering, and construction management services to the food and beverage industries, and is among the world’s leaders in that highly competitive field. Meanwhile, Dennis and a partner have become successful players in the Springfield real estate market, having purchased and renovated several landmark office buildings. Getting him to talk about these successful ventures is difficult, however — he’d rather spend his time tending to his often-demanding clients.

It’s a script right out of central casting — a storyline that must have been written by the regional economic development commission. Tom Dennis is a local guy — he’s from Feeding Hills. After graduating from college with a degree in Engineering, he went to work in Boston. When he grew frustrated with the path his employer was on and made the decision to start his own venture, he came ëhome’ to do it, because he liked the area, and the cost of doing business was much cheaper than it was inside Route 128. And he really liked the airport that was only a few miles down the road in Windsor Locks, one that you could get in and out of without losing half a day.

He started in the attic of his home on Fairfield Street in Springfield, and eventually bought a struggling downtown landmark, Harrison Place, renovated it, and put his offices there. His company, The Dennis Group, which designs food-processing facilities and counts a number of Fortune 500 companies on its client list, doesn’t do much business locally and could be located anywhere. But Dennis — and those who have helped him build this venture — want it here.

He even lives in Springfield.

Yes, it’s a story that Allan Blair and other leaders at the EDC could turn into a promotional piece as they try to market the Pioneer Valley and the Knowledge Corridor. But it’s a story you almost have to pry out of Dennis.

Like the company itself, he is very low-key. His venture now employs more than 100 people, 70 in Springfield, and has four offices scattered across the country. But because of the unique nature of its work and the quiet nature of its leader, it flies under the radar screen. Also low-key are his real estate ventures. Dennis and a partner, William Stotler, have bought and renovated a number of Springfield office buildings, including Harrison Place (later sold to the Picknelly family) and the former Wesson Hospital. Dennis is quite active in his real estate pursuits and takes great pride in those ventures — there’s a framed picture of Harrison Place on his credenza — but he says he directs most of his energy to The Dennis Group and its continued growth.

"This business is my first priority," he said. "There are a lot of hardworking, performance-oriented people who deserve nothing less than that from me."

Dennis will give you that same answer when you ask about community involvement and participation with area non-profits and various development groups. He’d love to — but at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, he’s focusing on his clients and how to provide them quality service and, most importantly, value.

Indeed, as he talked with BusinessWest, Dennis, the subject of this month’s CEO Profile, was interrupted several times by calls from customers and potential customers. "It’s the nature of the business," he said at one juncture. "I’m here for my customers."

In a wide-ranging but fast-moving interview, Dennis talked about how he has blueprinted success for his company — although he rarely uses the word ëI.’ He credits a group of young, entrepreneurial-minded engineers — many of whom are now partners in this venture — with the firm’s steady growth over the years.

"Our guideline here has been to hire anyone who will make this a better company," he explained. "We know that if we have the right talent within our organization and create an environment that lets individuals apply their craft, then work will come our way, and it has."

Progress, by Design

Dennis, 48, told BusinessWest that he had no intention of putting his name on the company that he started in the fall of 1987. Several possibilities — most of which he can’t remember — didn’t pass muster with the state Secretary of State’s office (they were too close to existing business names), so he eventually settled on The Dennis Group — only it wasn’t really a group, just Dennis and some engineers he subcontracted work to.

He knew there would be a group, though, and that quiet confidence is part of his business philosophy and management style.

As a youth, Dennis was drawn to mathematics and science, and at Rutgers University, he earned degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biology. The biotechnology field was still in its developmental stages at that time, he said, so he focused his attention on project engineering. He eventually took a job with a Boston-area construction management company called Carlson Associates, and worked on a number of projects in this country and overseas, many in the food-processing industry.

"I was really attracted to project management work — taking an assignment from start to finish," he said. "As project manager, you get your arms around a whole project and understand it from the inside out, which to me was fulfilling and appealing."

He enjoyed the work and living in Boston, but when Carlson was bought by a French conglomerate, he would soon decide to make the shift from employee to entrepreneur, although he is still not really comfortable with the latter term.

"The French company sent a bunch of accountants over to run a design and construction-services business," he explained. "Very early on, I decided that this wasn’t compatible with my philosophy, so I decided to leave."

His decision to come back to Springfield was grounded in familiarity and, to a large extent, economics.

"My wife was pregnant at the time, and I knew that the cost of living was much less out here," he said. "Also, there was a major airport nearby, which was a necessity, and I thought that I might be more readily able to attract people as a startup company if I was here, as opposed to Boston, which was much more expensive."

He set up shop in his attic — "it was an old Victorian, and the attic was huge; it’s better than it sounds" — and got started only a few weeks before the stock market collapse in October of 1987. That event served to slow the start for The Dennis Group, but not for long.

Through contacts he had made earlier his career, Dennis was able to win a number of domestic projects, and he used that work to develop a reputation in the multi-billion-dollar food-processing industry and build a portfolio.

Food for Thought

Then, as now, the company had no salespeople and did comparitively little marketing, he explained, adding that its reputation for quality work and relationship-oriented approach to doing business have been its best selling tools.

"There are no salespeople Ö we rely on doing good work and having it lead to more work," he explained. "If we’re not developing relationships, we’re out of business. And if people don’t like what we’ve done, then we’re out of business as well."

Over the years, the company has undertaken more than 2,000 projects and enjoyed what Dennis calls controlled, or smart, growth, taking a conservative approach to business. Its main strength has been its diversity, he explained, noting that the firm can handle $5,000 consulting projects and also oversee $100 million new-plant-construction ventures.

The company has managed projects for some of the most recognizable names in the food industry, including Kraft, Smuckers, Dreyers, Lender’s, Dole, Sara Lee, Poland Spring, Campbell’s, and others, and some that are less well-known, such as the Haverhill, Mass.-based company Hans Kissle, a pioneer in the development of pre-packaged salads, desserts, and other deli items.

Recent projects include three plants, all more than 200,000 square feet, that the company built for Dole in Soledad, Calif., Springfield, Ohio, and Yuma, Ariz. to produce packaged salads; an 86,000-square-foot plant built for Heinz, Ireland in Dundalk, Ireland to produce frozen-ready meals; a 50,000-square-foot plant built for Stockpot Soup in Woodinville, Wash.; and another plant for Dole in Hulsingborg, Sweden.

"We’re efficient and very flexible, so we can handle all-sized projects," he said, noting that the firm will design and build 1 million square feet of production and warehouse facilities a year. "That diversity is very helpful to us."

This is a highly competitive industry, said Dennis, adding that competition comes from firms as large as Bechtel and as small as a two- or three-person local construction company.

Over the years, the size and scope of projects has varied, from plant design to creation of new packaging processes, said Dennis, noting that the wide geographic range of the firm has necessitated creation of another large office in Salt Lake City and smaller facilities in Toronto and San Diego.

The headquarters will remain in Springfield, however, he said, because the Pioneer Valley, with its many amenities, is a large asset for the company. "There’s a quality of life here that I enjoy and everyone here enjoys."

Dennis returned repeatedly to the subject of Bradley Airport, and said that for a business owner who spends as much time in the air as he does — 50 trips a year by his count — it is an invaluable resource.

"Logan is better now than it used to be, but it’s still hard to fly in and out of," he explained. "Some people may not realize it, but Bradley is a great asset for companies in this region."

As he talked about the firm and its consistent growth, Dennis focused consistently on the word Group in the company’s name. "There are a lot of people who are responsible for the success of this company Ö I didn’t do this myself."

Dennis told BusinessWest that, while he was sole owner at one time, he has made long-term associates partners, in a structure similar to that used by most law firms.

"There’s not a lot of vertical growth in this company," he explained. "So where people grow is in responsibility, the opportunity to become a partner and have some ownership in the firm."

Governance is shared, he said, adding that there is little of what he would call ëmanagement’ in his day-to-day activities.

"Maybe what makes us work is that we don’t have any management," he said. "What we do have is a lot of talented people. We have an administrative group, and we’re very structured in our projects, but we have none of the traditional management layers."

When asked for his own job description, Dennis said he still leads a number of projects himself, and will continue to do so.

"Last year, for example, I ran three projects, and I use that format to train people, improve our systems, develop relationships with our clients, and help grow the talent here," he said. "I could never be a full-time administrator; first of all, I don’t think I’d be very good at it, and second, I get a lot of fulfillment out of what we do."

Dennis’s approach to business — a blend of passion and conservatism — is mirrored by his philosophy with regard to commercial real estate.

He told BusinessWest that he has a fondness for old buildings, and has collaborated with Stolter to purchase several of them in downtown Springfield, including the Stearns Building, the former W.F. Young building on Lyman Street, and the old Wesson Hospital, which the partners are converting into a center for technology-based ventures.

His favorite project, however, was Harrison Place, the 10-story downtown office tower that was half-vacant and in very poor condition when the partners bought it in 1995. The two made a major investment in the property, and Dennis took the first two floors and the basement for his engineering firm.

"I really like this building, and we really enjoy being here," he said, noting that he had to be talked into selling the property, now named the Bank of Western Mass. Building, to the Picknelly group in 1999. "There’s some history here."

Producing Results

Thinking back to those early days in his attic on Fairfield Street, Dennis said he couldn’t have predicted then that his company would grow to its current size and stature.

But he knew he had the necessary ingredients for a successful venture. Listing them again, he mentioned people, location, diversity, and a firm focus on quality and price — "those are the keys to any business."

Putting that package together has provided Dennis with a career that’s been rewarding on a number of levels. And it’s given the Pioneer Valley’s economic development leaders a script they would like others to follow — a true blueprint for success.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Incorporations

By
Departments

AMHERST

High Quality Teaching Institute Inc., 24 Tamarack Dr., Amherst 01002. Farideh Seihoun, Ed.D., same. (Nonprofit) To provide in-service education to pre K-12 teachers, etc.

John F. Edwards, Attorney at Law, P.C., 437 Main St., Amherst 01002. John F. Edwards, 20 Mt. Holyoke Dr., Amherst 01002. The general practice of law.

Professional Marketing Associates Inc., 37 South Pleasant St., Suite 3, Amherst 01002. Joseph R. Arak, 60 Maplewood Dr., Amherst 01002. To provide marketing services to businesses.

RC One Inc., 17 Kellogg Ave., Amherst 01002. Jeffrey Waskiewicz, same. Retail food and beverage sales.

BELCHERTOWN

Avery Renovations Inc., 40 Aldrich St., Belchertown 01007. Terry Avery, same. Home improvement, renovations, etc.

Perkins Stone Inc., 53 Oakridge Dr., Belchertown 01007. Timothy Paul Perkins, same. To quarry and deliver fieldstone and gravel.

Tilton Automotive Inc., 3 Amherst Road, Belchertown 01007. Frederick E. Tilton, 52 Daniel Shaw Hwy., Belchertown 01007. Automobile repair, etc.

EASTHAMPTON

Hogan Communications Inc., 81 East St., Easthampton 01027. Sean M. Hogan, 110 Devon Terrace, Westfield 01085. To deal in communication systems and networks.

Masscat Inc., 1 Cottage St., Suite 1-01, Easthampton 01027. William C. Murchison, same. (Nonprofit) To provide educational resources and training in computers, aerospace, and technology, etc.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Maniti Enterprises Inc., 448 North Main St., East Longmeadow 01028. Veena K. Kantesaria, 18 Apple Hill Road, Wilbraham 01095. To operate a retail nutrition, health, and/or fitness business.

Yummydough Inc., 53 North Main St., East Longmeadow 01028. Mike Chang, 30 McCusker Dr., #7, Braintree 02184. To operate one or more restaurants, etc.

FEEDING HILLS

James P. Shea, 525 Springfield St., Suite M-N, Feeding Hills 01030. James P. Shea, 52 Bridge St., Wilbraham 01095. Certified public accounting services.

FLORENCE

Medalco Metals Inc., One Corticelli St., Florence 01062. Dwight J. Klepacki, 30 Ashton Lane, South Hadley 01075. To design and provide products for use by building product stores.

Study Abroad Hawaii Inc., 448 Bridge St., Florence 01062. Jeffrey Palm, same. To develop educational courses for students going to Hawaii for further courses toward their graduation requirements.

GRANBY

Bill Herlihy Barrel Company Inc., 6 Carver St., Granby 01033. William Herlihy Jr., same. To deal in fiber, plastic, and steel drum barrels.

Drapeau & Patla Home Improvement Inc., 156 Kendall St., Granby 01033. Steven Drapeau, same. Installation of siding and windows, home remodeling, etc.

Sirius Center Dog Training Inc., 122 Amherst St., Granby 01033. Herbert A. Everett, same. To operate a dog training center.

V.C. More Investments Inc., 231 Amherst St., Granby 01003. Chad O’Rourke, same. Real estate investments.

HADLEY

Parmar and Sons Inc., 239 Russell St., Hadley 01035. Laxman S. Parmar, same. To own and operate a motel.

HATFIELD

Abacus Associates Inc., 52 School St., Hatfield 01038. Janet Grenzk, same. A strategic research firm.

HOLYOKE

BMT Development Corp., 26 Westfield Road, Holyoke 1040. Bryan J. Dec, same. To develop real estate.

Cellular World Inc., 50 Holyoke St., Holyoke 01049. Firuz Mammadov, same. Cellular phones sales.

HOLLAND

CYD Inc., 25 Williams Road, Holland 01521. Charles Houston Taylor, same. Distribution of food and grocery products.

INDIAN ORCHARD

A. Martins & Son Construction Inc., 28 Goodwin St., Indian Orchard 01151. Antonio M. Martins, 43 Lawrence St., Ludlow 01056. Construction.

LONGMEADOW

The Cup Inc., 70 Brooks Road, Longmeadow 01006. Michael Sullivan-Calvanese, same. To deal in restaurants, inns, etc.

LUDLOW

Apex Construction Inc., 14 Birch St., Ludlow 01056. Jeremy Duchesne, same. To operate a general construction company.

Flooring Services Unlimited Inc., 196 Irla Dr., Ludlow 01056. Ray St. Marie, same. To clean, repair, and install floors.

Matlasz Realty Inc., 318 Colonial Dr., Ludlow 01056. Matthew M. Matlasz, same. To deal in real estate.

Flooring Services Unlimited Inc., 196 Irla Dr., Ludlow 01056. Ray St. Marie, same. To clean, repair, and install floors.

Pioneer Valley Hotel Group Inc., 321 Center St., Ludlow 01056. Shardool S. Parmar, 239 Russell St., Hadley 01035. To provide management and consulting services in motel, hotel, and other hospitality operations.

River Shore Real Estate Inc., 165 Moore St., Ludlow 01056. David Coppolo, same. Real estate development.

Varandas & Sons Construction Inc., 69 Pine St., Ludlow 01056. Ricardo Varandas, same. Construction of roads, piping, concrete and asphalt work, etc.

NORTH AMHERST

Watroba’s Liquors Inc., 79 Sunderland Road, North Amherst 01059. Matthew W. Corcoran, 417 Long Plain Road, Leverett 01054. To deal in liquor and related products.

NORTHAMPTON

Haymarket Cafe Inc., 12 Crafts Ave., Northampton 01060. David Simpson, 20 Jennie Lane, Edgartown 02539. To own and operate Haymarket Cafe in Northampton.

Northampton Reach Out and Read Inc., 193 Locust St., Northampton 01060, Jonathan S. Schwab, 575 Coles Meadow Road, Northampton 01060. (Nonprofit) To assist and encourage children to begin reading at an early age, etc.

Northampton Rotary Foundation Inc., c/o Morse & Sacks, P.C., 31 Trumbull Road, Northampton 01060. Julee Clement, 152 Legate Hill, Charlemont 01339. (Non-profit) To serve the youth of Northampton through coaching, tutoring, mentoring, etc.

Thomas Douglas Architects Inc., 138 West St., Northampton 01060. Thomas Douglas, 204 Crescent St., Northampton 01060. Architectural and related services.

PALMER

J C K Marketing Inc., 1020 Central St., Palmer 01069. Joseph C. Knight, 35 Upper Palmer Road, Monson 01057. To conduct a store dealing in vacuum cleaners.

SOUTH HADLEY

Interstate Towing Inc., 180 Willimansett St., South Hadley 01075. Jeremy J. Procon, 97 Allison Lane, Ludlow 01056. To tow and deal in automobiles, motorcycles, etc.

Jorma Inc., 80 Granby Road, South Hadley 01075. Jason R. Houle, 89 Granby Road, South Hadley 01075. To own and operate a restaurant.

SOUTHAMPTON

Andre Senecal & Sons Inc., 138 D Fomer Road, Southampton 01073. Andre Senecal, same. General contractors and builders.

SPRINGFIELD

Commercial Insurance Associates Inc., 17 Fenimore St., Springfield 01108. Bonnie Smith, same, president, treasurer, and clerk. To act exclusively as an insurance producer.

Hartley Botanic Inc., 1380 Main St., Suite 202, Springfield 01103. Gordon Walker Carruthers, Hill Top, Goldford Lane, Bickerton, Cheshire, SY14 8LN, GBR. Arthur W. Price, Esq., 1380 Main St., Suite 202, Springfield 01103, resident agent. To deal in glasshouses and conservatories, etc.

Main Fashions Inc., 2469 Main St., Springfield 01107. Carmen N. Rosario, 50 Old Lane Road, Springfield 01129. To sell clothing, souvenirs, general merchandise, food, etc.

Steckley Studios Inc., 45 Willow St., Apt. 427, Springfield 01103. Edwin Steckley, same. Commercial artist, custom caricatures, etc.

Twenty First Association Properties Inc., 995 Worthington St., Springfield 01109. Kelly Rapp, 78 Starling Road, Springfield 01119. (Nonprofit) To provide elderly and handicapped persons with housing facilities and services, etc.

Urban League of Springfield Camp Atwater Foundation Inc., 765 State St., Springfield 01109. Cynthia A. Tucker, 35 Riverview Terrace, Springfield 01108. (Nonprofit) To be involved in the operation of the Urban League of Springfield Inc., etc.

Victor Apartments Inc., 2469 Main St., Springfield 01107. Victor M. Rosario Jr., 50 Old Lane Road, Springfield 01129. To deal in, improve, and rehabilitate real estate, etc.

Wolverines Baseball Inc., 244 Bridge St., Springfield 01003. James Blain, 102 Primrose Dr., Longmeadow 01106. (Nonprofit) To assist the interest of players who will participate in Wolverines Baseball Inc., help develop qualities of citizenship, etc.

THREE RIVERS

PAR Packaging Inc., 6 Springfield St., P.O. Box 82, Three Rivers 01080. David Jagodowski, 45 West St., Belchertown 01007. To deal in packaging and packaged paper products, metals, fabrics, etc.

WALES

Island Ink of Massachusetts Inc., 3 Shore Dr., Wales 01081. Serges LaRiviere, 421 State St., Belchertown 01007. To deal in products and services for refilling and replacing of inkjet cartridges, toners, etc.

Primo Enterprises Inc., 3 Shore Dr., Wales 01081. Serges LaRiviere, 421 State St., Belchertown 01007. To sell products and services in the refilling and replacement of ink-jet cartridges, etc.

WESTFIELD

Amelia Park Figure Skating Club Inc., 21 South Broad St., Westfield 01085. Stephen Blanchard, 40 Highland Ave., Easthampton 01027. (Nonprofit) To encourage the members in all the disciplines of figure skating, etc.

Baby Wink Inc., 501A Southampton Road, Westfield 01085. Joseph C. Dunlap, 31 Mathers Road, Westfield 01085. To deal in maternity products.

Daris Cutter Grinding Company Inc., 26 Airport Dr., Westfield 01085. Gerard J. Daris, 562 Birnie Ave., West Springfield 01089. To operate a machine shop to include Bridgeport grinding, millwork, etc.

I Will I Do …. Inc., 45 Cardinal Lane, Westfield 01085. Melissa M. Schechterle, 5 Mulberry Lane, Somers, CT 06071. Alice E. Zaft, 46 Cardinal Lane, Westfield, clerk. To consult and assist in the planning of wedding services.

Law Offices of Kathryn M. Parakilas, P.C., 10 School St., Westfield 01085. Kathryn M. Parakilas, 24 Plantation Circle, Westfield 01085. The practice of law.

Sign Shop Inc., 215 East Main St., Westfield 01085. Monica Sobczyk, 7 Belleview Dr., Westfield 01085. To deal in residential and commercial signs.

St Pierre & Sons Drywall Inc., 244 Montgomery Road, Westfield 01085. Chad E. St. Pierre, same. Drywall work and related services.

WILBRAHAM

Apothecary Center Inc., 16 Primrose Lane, Wilbraham 01095. Philip O. Goncalves, same. Retail druggists, pharmacists, and chemists, etc.

Just Building Inc., 106 Faculty St., Wilbraham 01095. Cameron M. Belcastro, same. General construction and remodeling contracting.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Beauty Gate Salon & Day Spa Inc., 1646 Riverdale St., West Springfield 01089. Eizbieta Chmiel, 89 Lincoln St., Feeding Hills 01030. Hairstyling, coloring, etc., and spa.

Professional Evaluation Network Inc., 22 Boulevard Place, West Springfield 01089. Laura K. Cascella, same. To accept and review medical files from insurance carriers, legal groups, etc.

West Springfield Rotary Foundation Inc., 75 Pease Ave., West Springfield 01069. Theodore Hebert, same. (Nonprofit) To promote and carry out the efforts of the Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace, etc.

Windpath Corp., 14 Windpath West, West Springfield 01089. Howard H. Hanson, same. To operate a liquor store.

Doing Business As Certificates

By
Departments

AGAWAM

Athena’s By Ali
65 South Alhambra Circle
Allison Nitch

Bear Realty
491B Springfield St.
John Kudlic

Dr. Andrew E. Boraski
334 Walnut St. Ext.
Dr. Andrew E. Boraski

Dragon Conditioning
75 Christopher Lane
Phil McGeoghan

The Handy Helpers
887 Shoemaker Lane
Edward McCabe Jr.

Just Deserts
77 Parkview Dr.
Sandra Gingras

Motor City Car Co.
91 Ramah Circle
Richard Conlon

Prestige Carpentry & Remodeling
161 Adams St.
Dave Maciver, Joseph Bucalo

Robbie’s Only The Best Inc.
1226B Springfield St.
Roberta DeMarco

T.J. Vending Corp.
33 Norman Terrace, #116
Thomas Paglia

Xtreme Paintball
1775 Main St.
Krzysztof Matusik

AMHERST

The Holistic School
893 West St.
Johnathon Litant, Lionel
Claris, Len Peters

Justice for Woody
P.O. Box 802
Mary Rives, Keith Carlson

Karen’s Kitchen
460 West St.
Karen Weber

The Toy Box
201 North Pleasant St.
Elizabeth Rosenburg

Utopia Arts
54 Larkspur Dr.
Daniel Thibedeau

Utopia Technology Consulting
54 Larkspur Dr.
Daniel Thibedeau

CHICOPEE

Access-Ability
200 Lambert Terrace
Jennifer Fimbel

Bob’s Renovation Service
159 Casey Dr.
Robert Zygarowski

Chester Sierzutowski, Electrician
50 Chartier St.
Chester Sierzutowski

Classic Nail
212 Exchange St.
Tina Nguyen

Genesis Enterprises
583 LaFleur Dr.
Phelemon and Patricia Dansereau

Great Crowns
109 Church St.
Walter Gazda Jr.

John’s Asphalt Paving
900 Chicopee St.
John Kezer

Lemelin Electrical and Petroleum Services
26 Paderewski Ave.
Daniel Lemelin

MJ Nails
1893 Memorial Dr.
Trang Nguyen

New England Home
Improvement
32 Prospect St.
David Guidenko

RD Design Group
58 Columba St.
Kossivi Djagli

Rodriguez Party Planner
922 Chicopee St.
Ludia Rodriguez

Royal Real Estate Service
342 Britton St.
Gerald Roy

Stafford Courier Service
127 Austin St.
John Stafford

’Treasures-n-Pleasures’
477 Chicopee St.
Lisa Lemelin

Video Ambiance
649 Prospect St.
Uche Ogwudu

EAST LONGMEADOW

Classic Tile
22 Day Ave.
Nicholas Gamache

EFS Insurance Agency LLC
180 Denslow Road
John Ernst

Idia African Accents
355 Kibbe Road
Adeleke and Ehimwema Thomas

Mark Oil Inc.
135 Denslow Road
Chester and Mark Czupryna

Mark Service Center
135 Denslow Road
Mark Czupryna

The Meadows Insurance Agency
200 North Main St.
Jeffrey Smith

Spa Europa
60 Shaker Road
Kelly Laviolette

The Toy Box
135 Denslow Road
Mark and Lorraine Czupryna

Westwand Enterprises
145 Hamden Road
Wesley Turner

HADLEY

Leon’s Auto Sales
65 East St.
Leon Szymborn

T.R.B. Glass
36 Lawrence Plain Road
Timothy Landers

HOLYOKE

Arron Sturgeon Fine Arts
195 Mountain View Dr.
Arron Sturgeon

Cache Inc.
50 Holyoke St.
Thomas Reinckens

Easy Spirit
50 Holyoke St.
Joseph Donnalley

Paramount Pizza
2287 Northampton St.
Avdin Oflu

Street Dreams/Greek Spot
a/k/a The Spot
338 Main St.
James Mickens

NORTHAMPTON

Audiometric
404 Chesterfield Road
Steven Retchin

Bonnie G. Co.
111 Franklin St.
Bonnie Gintzler

Joan Bergas Computer Consultant
39 Ridgewood Terrace
Joan Bergas

Lhasa Cafe
159 Main St.
Thondnup and Dolma Tsering

Paradise Taxi
142 North Maple St.
John Benoit

Pioneer Vending
243 State St.
Catherine Rittenoure

Precision Audio/Wayside Auto Body
367 Easthampton Road
Jose Fernandez, Efrain Diaz

RSVP Designs
85 Market St.
Maegan Moynahan

SPRINGFIELD

All Radiator Sales
111 Farnham Ave.
Ann Orlando

Artistic Interior Paint Co.
3 Bonnyview St.
Alvin Page Jr.

Banknorth Insurance Agency
2077 Roosevelt Ave.
Banknorth Insurance Agency Inc.

Better Care Cleaning
178 Albemarle St.
Willie Jones Jr.

C & T Fashions
2 Orange St.
Timothy Knighton

Chestnut Park Dairy
135 Dwight St.
Mohammed Awan

CommuniCare Services Inc.
41 Florence St.
Steven Williams

Company Clean
26 Benton St.
Walter Cheeks

Computer Troubleshooters DP
35 Gresham St.
David Pickrell

DJ’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
& Snow Removal
88 Fort Pleasant Ave.
DeJoun Johnson

Florence
48 Chase Ave.
Yefim Kachka

Gifts From the Heart
414 Boston Road
Susan Lecuyer

Gordon Contracting
55 Harkness Ave.
Inna Gordon

The House of Cakes
107 Northampton Ave.
Irma Zayas

Imanta #2 Hair Salon
2662 Main St.
Judith Cruzado, Shora Ziacarias

Imperial Real Estate Services
116 Berkshire St.
Oleg Abramchuk

John Gelanis Home
Improvement
115 Edgemere Road
John Gelanis

KJ Cleaning Service
96 Kensington Ave.
Kevin James

Karen Wathne
15 Bryant St.
Karen Wathne

New England Novelties
172 Main St.
Wilfredo Oyolo

P.M. Variety
62 Stebbins St.
Peter Mason

Red Flamingo Roti Shop
231 Hancock St.
Diane and Andre Botas

Romille Inc.
344 Allen St.
Daphne Ottani, Rosemary Romito

S.B.D. Enterprises
47 Appleton St.
Stuart Davis

Satisfaction Auto Detailing
160 Magazine St.
Garfield Weston, Evelyn Roman

Seven Tees Construction & Office Management Services
45E Alvord St.
Buliah Thomas

Solutions in Wood
34 Front St.
Donald Haynes

Street Corner Sips, Snax & Stuff
1655 Boston Road
Frank Falco

Sweet Grace Inc.
458 Bridge St.
Bernice Foster

Talk of the Town Restaurant
320 Wilbraham Road
Cornela Forbes

Taylor St. Auto Services
469 Taylor St.
Yefim Gurevich

www.wholesaledaily.com
15 Clayton St.
Antonio Acenedo

V.D.V. Repair Shop
1292 Dwight St.
Vitaliy and Vladimir Kostenko,
Dmitriy Salagornik

WEST SPRINGFIELD

A C Motor Express LLC
339C Bliss St.
John Nekitopoulos

Baskets By Ginette
90 Pine St.
Ginette LeClerc

Century Auto Service
1615 Riverdale St.
Peter Platanitis Jr.

Century Auto Wholesalers
1615 Riverdale St.
Peter Platanitis

Columbia National
11 Central St.
American Home Mortgage Corp.

The Crop Shop
338B Westfield St.
Nancy Jamrog

Denis Godbout Drywall
177 West Autumn Road
Denis Godbout

Eric Goodkowsky P.I.
51 Park Ave.
Eric Goodkowsky

Felix Contracting
61 Pheasants Crossing
Andrew Felix

Home Rites
2001 Riverdale St.
George Changalhara, Reenu George

In-N-Out Auto Rental and Leasing
1718 Memorial Ave.
Mark Walker

J & A Snowplowing
59 Kelso Ave.
James Kearing

Janet Ahearn
448 Elm St.
Janet Ahearn

John R. Sweeney Insurance Agency
56 Union St.
John Sweeney

Long Horn Steakhouse
1105 Riverdale St.
Rare Hospitality International Inc.

Molly’s Catering
174 Brush Hill Ave.
Brian Letendre

My Dad’s Landscape
201 Great Plains Road
John Suckau

Oishi Sushi (Japanese Restaurant)
1455 Riverdale St.
Yong Woo Lee

Phil’s Plowing and Transportation
121 Westwood Dr.
Philip Guazzaloca

WESTFIELD

The Bachaan Co.
34 Bayberry Lane
Michael Glenzel

Competitive Door
33 Noble St.
Shawn Kana

Computer Connections Solutions
98 Sargeant Tom Dion Way
Louis Dupuis

Connoisseur Conference & Lecture Services
79 Elm St.
Donald Normann, Daniel
Farrell

First U.S. Dollar
249 East Main St.
Malham Hamami

Gift Baskets Galore
79 Main St.
Jerelyn and Stephen Jaikissoon

The Health Well Services
118 Hampden St.
Joyce Waters

Little Black Dog Gallery
16 Union Ave.
Jackie Koller

M.D. Nadeau Insurance Co.
80 Susan Dr.
Mike Nadeau

Peppermill Catering
420 Union St.
Catherine Gendreau

Robert Burch Illusion
26 School St.
Robert Burch

Sammy’s Pizza
868 Southampton Road
Robert Lacus

Town Marketing
11 Shadow Lane
Adam Federer

Wild Angel Designs
50 Franklin St.
Ann Rex

Making a Splash

By
Opinion
New England’s largest theme park has room to grow, as evidenced by this year’s major expansion of its water park. Times are good all around, the park’s general manager says, and not just for the company. Agawam is reaping greater tax revenues from Six Flags than ever before, while the park has proven to be a major asset for the region’s increasing emphasis on tourism.

Ron Sevart climbed to the top of a waterslide tower and pointed to the ground below. He then pointed in another direction, and then another.

If he was trying to demonstrate the scope of the newest project at Six Flags New England, a massive expansion of the water park, it worked. The expansion wraps around the existing water area, adding nine slides, a second wave pool, vastly expanded deck space, and a new entrance from Main Street. The end result? Twice as much room for water recreation.

"It was already the largest water park in New England," said Sevart, the park’s general manager. "Now there’s a lot more space."

When it comes to park arithmetic, however, Sevart isn’t content to stop at the doubling of the water park. He also likes to talk in multiples of 10 — that is, the fact that Six Flags brings in about 10 times the tax revenues for Agawam that Riverside Park did eight years ago, an increase from about $240,000 to an anticipated $2.4 million this year.

In effect, entering its fourth year as a Six Flags park — having added attractions in each of those years — the facility is enjoying a better relationship with its neighbors and its town than ever before, Sevart said, and that’s crucial, given that the coming years will bring even more physical growth to New England’s largest amusement park.

Meanwhile, the tourism efforts along Springfield’s riverfront and across the Pioneer Valley offer an opportunity for the park to partner with other organizations in promoting the entire region — an effort that promises to be beneficial to the individual attractions.

Six Flags is indeed making a splash — one that Sevart thinks you don’t have to get wet to notice.

Water, Water Everywhere

Those who do want to get wet, however, need to look no further than Hurricane Harbor, the new name of the water park originally dubbed Island Kingdom. The new name, said Sevart, is one used throughout the Six Flags brand for water parks that reach a certain size; the only three others are in New Jersey, California, and Texas.

The expansion — which cost the company around $8 million — doubles the water park’s size, adding more than 10 new attractions, such as the Tornado, a funnel-shaped tube that ’flushes’ riders into the pool below, the first slide of its kind in the world.

In the center of the new wave pool is Hurricane Falls, which features six body slides, and nearby are Zooma Falls and Geronimo Falls, both of which use ’cloverleaf’ rafts in which three or four guests can ride together. Looking down at the sprawling construction from the top of an existing set of waterslides, Sevart said the park is accustomed to major changes.

"The transition from Island Kingdom to Hurricane Harbor sort of mirrors our transition from Riverside Park to Six Flags," he said. "In each case, you can see the effect of the capital investment."

Access to the water park is still free with park admission, and Sevart said the major expansion is meant to give guests something new — and hopefully make them repeat customers.

"We’d like to increase attendance," he said, recognizing that wet weather in each of the past two summers has hindered those efforts to some extent. "With this facility, people can experience even more, and at the end of the day, they’ll want to come back again."

A new park entrance is being constructed at the south end, beside Hurricane Harbor, but that doesn’t mark the end of the line for physical growth. With plenty of unused land owned by Six Flags south of the existing park — including parking space on the west side of Main Street that stretches to Connecticut — Sevart said the company is by no means done with its expansion plans.

The question arises, of course, as to how big is too big, especially with a park that straddles a riverway. Unlike some theme parks — such as the Disney parks in Florida — which are built in a circular pattern, the Agawam facility is more of a straight line, requiring a longer walk to hit every attraction.

Sevart suggested that some type of people-mover ride, whether a chair lift, a train, or something similar, might be required if the park expands any more to the south. But that ride would be an attraction in itself, he added, asking, "who wouldn’t want to ride a train?"

Besides, he said, some areas of the park, particularly at each end, already form walking loops, and any design for expansion would have to take into consideration the most efficient foot-traffic pattern to save visitors time.

Speaking of saving time, the park’s Fast Lane service, a reservation system for the busiest rides, was a big success after its launch last spring, Sevart said, even though it posed an additional cost to park visitors.

"Time is more important than money for visitors at that point. Once people are here, they want to experience as much as they can without waiting in long lines," he said. "It’s about quality time with family. That’s what we’re selling, and that’s important."

Indeed, Fast Lane was an idea brought about by park visitors’ main concern, which was wasting too much time waiting in line, he added. Another addition last year, the floorless roller coaster Batman: the Dark Knight, alleviated the line issue even more by giving the park another marquee attraction to siphon people away from other long-wait rides, like the hugely popular Superman: Ride of Steel.

In fact, wait times — and park traffic in general — are a key concern for any facility, which is why Six Flags tries to push visitors to midweek dates with bargain prices.

Sevart said he knows of people with season passes — which don’t cost much more than the price of one admission — who arrive first thing in the morning, ride Superman once or twice, and leave. Others like to show up on the spur of the moment after a rainstorm.

"If I didn’t work for the park," he laughed, "I’d get a season pass and come when it isn’t busy."

Hot Property

But weekend attendance — and ticket sales in general — have been steadily on the rise, he said, which is why the Six Flags corporation continues to invest capital in the New England park, which it sees as a growth property, between its popularity and its expansion possibilities. The $8 million water park project comes on the heels of another $8 million in new attractions in 2002, and more than $50 million in the past four years.

"We’re seen as a park that’s experiencing growth, and we’re fortunate to be part of a company that invests in parks that are successful," Sevart said. "We’re competing on an ongoing basis with the other parks for capital investment."

And the park is succeeding even when measured against Six Flags parks in warmer climes that are able to stay open more than six months a year. However, Sevart said, it’s not a huge disadvantage because the high season of most amusement parks corresponds to summer vacation for students, which is why Six Flags parks are typically open only on weekends until school lets out in June.

A more important consideration in Western Mass. is how the park complements — and in some ways spearheads — a developing tourism industry in the region, characterized by a number of driving destinations, from the new Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield to Yankee Candle in South Deerfield.

Park management sees an opportunity in those attractions, not competition. That’s why Six Flags has teamed up with the Hall of Fame on marketing materials that promote educational programs at each facility, such as a student ’physics day’ at Six Flags. Sevart is aware of how hotels, such as the successful new Hilton Garden Inn bordering the Hall, are doing, and he’s encouraged.

"The attractions are working together," Sevart said. "We know what’s going on in each other’s business."

The town of Agawam is certainly aware of Six Flags’ business side, he added, considering that the tax revenue has exploded in the past decade, which helps to keep down residential taxes. In addition, the park pays for the town’s police and fire services itself — this on top of a recent $9 million investment in parking and development of a workable traffic plan.

Meanwhile, Sevart talks to the facility’s immediate Main Street neighbors a few times a year and sends them newsletters to keep them apprised of new developments — a necessary part of life when running such a sprawling operation 145 days a year. "I’m finding that it’s the best relationship we’ve ever had with the town," he said.

Exciting Ride

That relationship will be a plus as the park looks to further expansion. It has been open about those plans and aggressive so far in bringing something new to the banks of the Connecticut River.

From his office, Sevart can look directly down on the front corridor of the park, which stretches from the front gate and the classic carousel past the old Thunderbolt roller coaster, now one of eight coasters on the grounds.

Because of those attractions and others, that pathway certainly retains some of the old-style feel of Riverside Park. But now, there’s something new being added every year, and the success of those ventures can be measured simply with a look out the window. "I can tell what kind of day we’re having by how crowded that walkway is," Sevart said.

Similarly, he can tell what kind of year it’s been by what the Six Flags corporation has in the pipeline. And by all accounts, the old amusement park on the riverside in Agawam still has plenty of growing to do.