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‘Music for the Eyes’ Exhibition, Reception
Through April 7: The artwork of Preston Trombly, host of Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s nationally broadcast Symphony Hall channel, titled “Music for the Eyes,” will be exhibited through April 7 at the Arno Maris Gallery in Ely Hall on the Westfield State University campus. An artist reception at the gallery is planned for Feb. 29 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. On March 7 at 9:30 a.m., Trombly will present a lecture on his work at the gallery titled “Confluence of Creativity: Similarities Between Composing Music and Making Visual Art.” Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m., Thursday from 2 to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call (413) 572-4400 or visit www.westfield.ma.edu/galleries.

Manufacturing Seminar
Feb. 29: Presentations by the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Offices of International Trade and Investment, and Associated Industries of Massachusetts will highlight a seminar titled “Promoting Manufacturing in Massachusetts,” from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. A networking reception is also planned. For more information or to register, contact Gloria Fischer at [email protected].

Zonta Club to Fete Gobi
March 12: State Rep. Anne M. Gobi has been chosen by the Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley to receive its Founders Day Award. Gobi will be honored at the club’s dinner meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Ludlow Country Club, 1 Tony Lema Dr., Ludlow. Gobi was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2001, and represents the 11 towns of the 5th Worcester District. She previously taught in the public school system, and opened her own law practice in 1996. She has worked with Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Mass. to provide free legal services to victims of domestic violence. She is currently a member of the Women’s Caucus, and has co-sponsored bills to update 209A restraining orders to give victims greater protections and enhance the ability of law enforcement to act on the orders. The Founders Day Award is given annually to a woman in the greater Quaboag area who exemplifies the ideals of Zonta International, a service organization of business and professional women. The event is open to the public and tickets must be reserved by March 1. Tickets are $18 payable by March 1, or $20 payable at the door. For more information, contact Marge Cavanaugh at (413) 283-6448 or via e-mail to [email protected], or visit www.zontaqv.org.

Women in Philanthropy Conference
March 13: Women in Philanthropy of Western Mass. will host a conference titled “Growing Philanthropy, New Visions, New Voices,” from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MassMutual Center, 1277 Main St., Springfield. The event features nationally known leaders in the field of fund development, and is appropriate for women and men who are seasoned professionals or newcomers to the field. Workshops will be led by Penelope Burk, author of Donor-Centered Fundraising; Phil Cubeta, chair in Philanthropy of the American College; and Karen Osborne, president of the Osborne Group. The keynote address, titled “New Leadership for a New Nonprofit Sector,” will be presented by Rosetta Thurman. In addition, sessions will be led by Diana McLain Smith, chief transformation officer of New Profit Inc.; Kristin Leutz and Katie Allan Zobel of the Community Foundation of Western Mass.; Phyllis Williams-Thompson of the Prematurity Campaign of the March of Dimes; Deborah Koch, director of grants at Springfield Technical Community College; Dennis Bidwell of Bidwell Advisors; and Joe Waters and Joanna MacDonald, co-authors of Cause Marketing for Dummies. For more conference details, visit www.wipwm.com. The cost of the conference, with an early discount, is $140. For more information, contact Carol Constant at (413) 222-1761 or [email protected].

Financing Your Business
March 16: The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network will host a lecture titled “Financing Your Business” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Speakers will include Ray Milano of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Gary Besser of First Niagara Bank, and Christopher Sikes, director of Common Capital Inc. Topics include what lenders are looking for, SBA loan programs, new SBA programs, and venture capital and grants. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass. The cost is $40.

Pioneer Valley USO Gala
March 16: The Log Cabin on Easthampton Road in Holyoke will be the setting for the second annual dinner-dance gala of the Pioneer Valley USO. The featured speaker will be American Captain Richard Phillips, who offered himself as a hostage to save his crew from Somali pirates and was freed in a high-seas rescue by U.S. Navy SEALS. The gala theme will be “Proud to be an American.” A cocktail hour at 6 p.m. will be followed by the dinner program at 7. Heroes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and top Pioneer Valley USO supporters will be honored. The Western Massachusetts All Stars Band, led by Joe Pereira, will provide the evening’s entertainment. Tickets are $45 per person and are available online at www.pioneervalleyuso.org or by calling (413) 557-3290. Tickets are limited. The mission of the Pioneer Valley USO is to “lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families.”

Difference Makers
March 22: BusinessWest will stage its Fourth Annual Difference Makers Celebration at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The program recognizes area individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in this region. This year’s honorees are:
• Donald and Charlie D’Amour, chairman/CEO and president/COO, respectively, of Big Y Foods;
• William Messner, president of Holyoke Community College;
• Majors Tom and Linda-Jo Perks, officers with the Springfield Corps of the Salvation Army;
• Bob Schwarz, executive vice president of Peter Pan Bus Lines; and
• The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.
The awards ceremony will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’ oeuvres, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $55 per person, with tables of 10 available. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.businesswest.com.

Women’s Leadership Conference
March 23: Keynote speakers Sister Helen Prejean, Marjora Carter, and Ashley Judd will share personal stories, as well as insightful advice and perspectives, during Bay Path College’s annual event at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The theme for the 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. event is “Lead with Compassion.” Prejean is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille and an anti-death penalty activist, while Carter, an eco-entrepreneur, is president of the Majora Carter Group, and Judd is a film and stage actor and human-rights activist. For more information on the conference or to register, visit www.baypathconference.com or call Briana Sitler, director of special programs, at (413) 565-1066.

Author Lecture
March 28: Internationally acclaimed author Tom Perrotta will read from his upcoming novel, The Leftovers, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. Two of Perrotta’s books, Election and Little Children, have been made into movies, and five novels have been national bestsellers. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 5: Former NBA player and businessman Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman will be the guest speaker at the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation’s third annual Not Just Business as Usual event at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by the dinner program from 7 to 9 p.m. Bridgeman spent most of his 12-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, but also played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the current franchise owner of more than 160 Wendy’s and 120 Chili’s restaurants. The event encourages local businesses to come together for an evening to network, learn from one another, and support student success. Funds from the event will provide students access to opportunities through scholarships, technology, and career direction to be successful future employees and citizens. “It’s a time to celebrate innovations, change, and our region’s success,” said STCC Foundation Interim Director Robert LePage. A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available, and individual tickets are $175 each. For more information, contact LePage at (413) 755-4477 or [email protected].

Constitution Café
April 10: Author and philosopher Christopher Phillips’ latest book, Constitution Café, draws on the nation’s rebellious past to incite meaningful change today. He proposes that Americans revise the Constitution every so often, not just to reflect the changing times, but to revive and perpetuate the original revolutionary spirit. He will present a free lecture at 8 p.m. in the dining hall at Blake Student Commons, on the Bay Path College campus, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. The lecture is part of the annual Kaleidoscope series. For more information, call (413) 565-1000 or visit www.baypath.edu.

Marketing Basics Seminar
April 11: The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network will host a lecture titled “Marketing Basics” from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Dianne Doherty of the MSBDC Network will present the workshop that will focus on the basic disciplines of marketing, beginning with research (primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative). For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass. The cost is $40.

Slam Poet Lecture
April 13: Taylor Mali, a former high-school teacher who has emerged from the slam-poetry movement as one of its leaders, will discuss his performances at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Comedy Night to
Benefit Charities
April 21: Smith & Wesson Corp. will host a benefit comedy show to support two local children’s charities, the Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Ronald McDonald House, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Cedars Banquet Hall, 419 Island Pond Road, Springfield. Tickets are $30 per person, and include the show, hot and cold hors d’oeuvres prior to the show, a cash bar, raffles, fund-raising, games, and music. Teddie Barrett of Teddie B. Comedy will emcee the event, featuring professional comedians Bill Campbell, Dan Crohn, and Stacy Yannetty Pema. For tickets or more information, contact Phyllis Settembro, Smith & Wesson, (413) 747-3597; Karen Motyka, Shriners Hospital, (413) 787-2032; or Jennifer Putnam, Ronald McDonald House, (413) 794-5683.

Walk of Champions
May 6: The Goodnough Dike area of the Quabbin Reservoir will be the setting for the seventh annual Walk of Champions in Ware. Participants walk in honor or in memory of loved ones affected by cancer, with the determination to make a difference in those affected by the disease. The event offers a five-mile or two-mile walk, with entertainment and refreshments along the route. For more information, visit www.baystatehealth.org/woc or e-mail Michelle Graci, manager of fund-raising events at Baystate Health at [email protected].

40 Under Forty
June 21: BusinessWest will present its sixth class of regional rising stars at its annual 40 Under Forty gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Nominations are currently being scored by a panel of five judges. The 40 highest scorers will be feted at the June 21 gala, which will feature music, lavish food stations, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $60 per person, with tables of 10 available. Early registration is advised, as seating is limited. For more information, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Western Mass.
Business Expo
Oct. 11: BusinessWest will again present the Western Mass. Business Expo. The event, which made its debut last fall at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, will feature more than 180 exhibitors, seminars, special presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and the year’s most extensive networking opportunity. Comcast Business Class will again be the presenting sponsor of the event. Details, including breakfast and lunch agendas, seminar topics, and featured speakers, will be printed in the pages of BusinessWest over the coming months. For more information or to purchase a booth, call (413) 781-8600, or e-mail [email protected], or visit www.wmbexpo.com.

Donald and Charlie D’Amour

By
Class of 2012 Difference Makers

Chairman/CEO and President/COO, Big Y Foods Inc.

Charlie, left, and Donald D’Amour. Photo courtesy of Big Y Foods

Charlie, left, and Donald D’Amour.
Photo courtesy of Big Y Foods

It’s called the Y-AIM Program.

The A stands for ‘achieve academically.’ The I, ‘inspire to attend college,’ and the M, ‘move toward personal, family, and community advancement.’

The Y? Well, that’s there for two of the main drivers in this ambitious initiative, the YMCA of Greater Springfield and the 75-year-old local grocery chain Big Y, which provided financial and logistical support to help get it off the ground, and remains a strong supporter.

In a nutshell, the program, which started with Springfield Sci-Tech High School and has recently been expanded to two more schools, places youth advocates in those facilities to help young people stay connected, engaged, motivated, and productive. And the first-year results were stunning.

In a school system where the dropout rate is just under 50%, 38 of the 39 seniors who participated in the initiative’s pilot program graduated, 36 applied to college, and all of them were accepted; two more entered the military.

“And these were at-risk kids,” said Charlie D’Amour, president and COO of Big Y. “This was not a selected pool of kids who would do well anywhere; they were clearly at risk of dropping out and not finishing high school.”

Participation in the Y-AIM program is just one of myriad reasons why D’Amour and his cousin Donald (chairman and CEO), the sons of Big Y founders Gerry and Paul D’Amour, respectively, have been chosen as Difference Makers for 2012. The two have long records of success in business, community service, and philanthropy, and perhaps the best thing they’ve done is involve other executives at Big Y, rank-and-file employees, and customers in many of the initiatives, a point they reiterated many times.

Here is just a partial list of those reasons:

• Company growth. Under their joint leadership, which unofficially began in the late ’80s (the transfer of power was a fluid process), Donald and Charlie D’Amour have more than doubled the size of the family business, with total sales now above $1.5 billion, and a projected annual economic impact (payroll and spending at local businesses) of $375 million.

• Employment in Big Y food and liquor stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which now totals more than 10,000. Meanwhile, over the years, the company has provided several thousand people with their first job, a fact the two cousins say they are seemingly reminded of every day.

• Community service to area organizations and institutions. While there are many lines on both résumés, Donald is perhaps best known for his work with the Springfield Library & Museums. In fact, one of the facilities is now known as the Michele & Donald D’Amour Fine Arts Museum in recognition of their many contributions of time, money, and inspiration. Charlie, meanwhile, is most known for his long service to Baystate Health; he’s been on the board of directors for many years, and was president in 2009 when the critical decision was made to move forward with the $296 million Hospital of the Future project, despite the fact that the economy was in free fall.

• Many contributions in the broad realm of education, from Y-AIM to a scholarship program that has awarded more than $3 million to date, to the Homework Helpline, a one-on-one homework-assistance service for students in kindergarten through grade 12.

• Donations of food by the Big Y corporation to area food pantries that average an estimated $5 million annually.

• Contributions in health care, perhaps the most notable being a financial donation that put the D’Amour name over Baystate Health’s cancer center.

• Fund-raising efforts staged at Big Y stores to benefit the victims of disasters ranging from the tornado in Springfield to the earthquake in Haiti, to the tsunami in Japan.

• An annual giving campaign involving employees which now raises in excess of $350,000, with all proceeds spent locally.

• The BEST (Big Y Employees Sharing Time) program, through which employees of specific stores donate time to the host community for initiatives ranging from park cleanup to service at a local shelter.

On the occasion of their being selected as Difference Makers for 2012, BusinessWest conducted a lengthy phone interview with the two cousins (Donald now winters in Florida), which was laced with good-natured barbs between the two, who grew up delivering watermelons together for the business their fathers were then taking to the next level.

Consider this exchange:

While noting that his time spent on endeavors within the community has escalated over the years, Charlie said, “people say I’m pretty good at what I do here at Big Y; they joke that maybe I should try doing it full-time.” To which Don remarked, “they’re not joking.”

But the two were much more serious when talking about that lengthy list of reasons why they’ll be honored at the Log Cabin on March 22. Indeed, when asked about the motivations for their work with area institutions and within the broad realm of philanthropy, Charlie said, “we look for things that can have an impact.”

“We’re focused on health, education, and hunger, because we’re in the food business,” he continued. “We look for programs that are going to be meaningful in the community and that will have direct impact.”

Don concurred, noting that, in many respects, he and Charlie are continuing and escalating a tradition of giving back started by their fathers.

“They set the tone for us,” Donald said of his father and uncle. “They were always doing things in the community — and they were very busy, too; they worked around the clock. I’m not saying that we don’t work hard, but Gerry would work at home on Sundays doing the ads, and those two were always on the phone talking to one another.

“They didn’t have a lot of leisure time,” he continued. “But they somehow found the time to get involved in the community. They sat on local community boards, be it chambers of commerce, hospitals, or colleges, and were always in a philanthropic mode. They set a very good precedent for us.”

Don noted that his paternal grandmother was a schoolteacher, and she impressed upon his father and uncle the importance of education, a philanthropic attitude that has manifested itself in many ways, from donations of time and money by the first generation to Western New England University, where the library now bears the names of Big Y’s founders, to the Homework Helpline.

The Y-AIM program is the latest example of this focus on education, and the results speak for themselves, said Charlie.

“There is so much being thrown at the Springfield schools to try to move that needle and improve graduation rates and improve college matriculation rates,” he said. “And they’re nowhere near as successful in terms of getting results as this one, and I think it’s because of its comprehensive nature with youth advocates in the schools working directly with these young people.”

There is a work component to the program, said Don, noting that many participants land jobs with Big Y, and for most of them, it’s their first work experience. Providing such opportunities is a responsibility all those at the company take very seriously, he noted.

Charlie agreed. “We have to teach these young people how to dress, work with the public, read a schedule, and what to do with a paycheck,” he explained. “It’s very gratifying to see that sense of empowerment that these kids feel when they earn their first paycheck and it’s their money.”

For providing a path to those first paychecks — and for the many other reasons listed (and not listed) above, Donald and Charlie D’Amour, and all those in the Big Y family involved in their efforts, are truly Difference Makers.

— George O’Brien

Majors Tom and Linda-Jo Perks

By
Class of 2012 Difference Makers

Officers, the Springfield Corps of the Salvation Army

Majors Tom and Linda-Jo Perks Photo by Denise Smith Photography

Majors Tom and Linda-Jo Perks
Photo by Denise Smith Photography

Tom and Linda-Jo Perks were hardly novices when it came to disaster response last June 1, when tornadoes plowed through several communities in Western Mass.

Indeed, Tom, commanding officer of the Salvation Army’s Springfield Corps, was in Lower Manhattan only a few days after 9/11, working to provide relief to the survivors of the terrorist attacks. And his wife, Linda-Jo Perks, co-commanding officer, was in Biloxi, Miss. just after Hurricane Katrina barreled through in 2005, doing similar work.

But both told BusinessWest that there was a dissimilar feel to the relief efforts in Springfield after the twister changed thousands of lives in a matter of seconds that fateful Wednesday afternoon, a phenomenon Linda-Jo summed up quickly and effectively when she said, “it’s different when it’s your disaster.

“We were used to people telling us what to do, and we’d respond,” she continued. “But when it’s your disaster, you’re in charge, and the next morning, we just knew that the people who were isolated needed food and care — and we moved.”

Elaborating, Tom said there was a far-greater personal connection to the human side of the devastation, because responders knew some of the people who were impacted, as well as that much greater sense of ownership of the relief efforts. This sensation would, unfortunately, be repeated a few months later when a hurricane swept across Western Mass., and again in October, when a freak snowstorm cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people.

Effective disaster response in a tumultuous 2011 is only one of many reasons why the Perkses, or “the majors,” as some call them, have become part of the latest class of Difference Makers. Most all others involve issues and problems that are with the region on a constant basis — and for which the Perkses and the team they direct have crafted results-driven responses that have stood the test of time.

There are seasonal programs such as Coats for Kids, Toys for Joy, and a summer literacy program, as well as ongoing initiatives including a family reading program, tutoring services involving students from Springfield College and area high schools, teen violence and gang-prevention efforts, food pantries, and clothing assistance.

And then, there’s a groundbreaking endeavor called Bridging the Gap.

Now 15 years old, BTG, as it’s called, was created to help teenage first-time offenders become one-time offenders and get their lives back on the right path.

It does so through a 12-week program (classes are conducted three days a week for three hours a day) focusing on life skills ranging from communication to money management; from building self-esteem to goal setting.

Those who successfully complete the program and do not commit another crime within a year of that accomplishment have their criminal records expunged, “which can have a serious impact if you’re talking about college or getting a job when you’re 15,” said Tom, noting that BTG has enjoyed an 89% success rate. It has won a prestigious honor — the National Justice Department Outstanding Youth Program of the Year Award — and is now a model for many other organizations serving young people, with an average of eight to 10 groups coming to Springfield each year to see how it works.

BTG is an example, said Tom, of how the Salvation Army earns attention and headlines for its response to tornadoes and hurricanes, but the bulk of its work is “with people who come through the door each day with their own disaster.”

Reflecting on their quarter-century of service to the Salvation Army, the Perkses noted that they took different paths to the organization. Linda-Jo said her parents were Salvation Army officers, and she essentially grew up with the institution knowing she would one day be a part of it.

Tom, meanwhile, said his route to the Springfield Corps’ Pearl Street facility was more a matter of circumstance than destiny. He was 4 years old when, to try to get along with a gang of boys in his Warren, Ohio neighborhood, he let the air out of the tires of dozens of cars before he was eventually caught in the act. He remembers the police officer who escorted him home telling his mother, “you better do something with him, or he’s going to be mine.”

“She heard that the Salvation Army was a church and that it had a boys program, and we started attending, so I grew up in the Salvation Army,” said Perks, adding that, despite this, he still wandered down the wrong path. He had become involved in drugs and alcohol and was a young man without much direction or purpose in his life when another incident provided him with both. Not long after graduating from high school, he and a good friend were in a serious automobile accident. Perks was left with a fat lip, while his friend, the driver (and the straightest-laced guy in the world), was left in a coma.

“I said, ‘this is not fair; I should be the one who’s hurt really bad, not him,’” Perks recalled. “God said it wasn’t the first time it was someone else when it should have been me, and that I needed to decide what to do with the rest of my life. I considered the Salvation Army, and when other doors closed and that one opened, I walked through it.”

The Perkses met on the first day they were in seminary, and have been together virtually every day since that moment. Their pending 25th wedding anniversary and 25th anniversary of graduating from the seminary were only a few days apart.

They started their careers with the Salvation Army in the Worcester corps, and made subsequent stops in Greenfield and Pittsfield before coming to Springfield, the third-largest corps in the state.

When asked what constitutes a typical day for them, they said there is no such thing, which is what they like most about their work.

“There’s never what I would call a normal day,” said Linda-Jo. “Each day is different; you could be counseling a runaway, giving a bus ticket to a transient, helping someone whose loved one has died and needs to get to the funeral, performing a marriage, helping a child to read … you never know what you’re going to see when you come in the door.”

This was especially true in 2011, when one weather-related disaster followed another, with many families impacted by two or even three of them.

The Perkses were at their home in Agawam when the tornado carved its path through Western Mass. It missed them, but they knew from watching on television that it didn’t miss many sections of Springfield. They couldn’t get into Springfield right away, but immediately started mobilizing the organization’s resources, staff, and volunteers for a multifaceted response.

It involved everything from bringing food directly to families in the impacted areas to getting necessities to families displaced by the disaster and living temporarily in the MassMutual Center, to coordinating collections of items ranging from bottled water to diapers.

But beyond supplies, staff and volunteers from the Salvation Army also delivered counseling, support, and, quite often, a literal shoulder to cry on.

“People were trying to clean up, and they were crying,” said Linda-Jo. “It was sad, it was hard, it was moving. People just appreciated the fact that we thought about them, and it was really neighbor helping neighbor; it was people from Cape Cod sending tractor-trailer loads of supplies to the area and a Christian school taking a trip here and saying, ‘can we help you?’”

Tom has similar memories, and summed them up by saying that perhaps the most precious commodity the Salvation Army brought to victims was hope, and that’s something that’s supplied to all those who come through the door — literally or figuratively — with their own disaster.

For providing that hope, in whatever form it takes, the majors, and all those who work with them, are certainly Difference Makers.

— George O’Brien

The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts

By
Class of 2012 Difference Makers

Represented by Carla Oleska and Shonda Pettiford

Carla Oleska, right, and Shonda Pettiford. Photo by Denise Smith Photography

Carla Oleska, right, and Shonda Pettiford.
Photo by Denise Smith Photography

Carla Oleska calls it “a full briefcase of skills.”

That’s the term she used to describe what participants in the Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact (LIPPI) come away with beyond the certificate they’re given upon completion of the program.

Elaborating, she said LIPPI, created in 2010 by the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, is a year-long program focused on providing participants ages 18 to 60 with the knowledge, skills, courage, and, perhaps most importantly, the confidence necessary to become civic leaders in their communities, impact policy on the local, state, and national levels, and seek and hold on to elected positions.

And the LIPPI program is perhaps the most visible example of how the Women’s Fund, which Oleska has served as CEO since 2006, has adjusted and modernized its mission in recent years to reflect changing times.

“In the beginning, we used to speak about addressing the needs of women and girls,” she explained, noting that, at the time (the mid-’90s), such needs included programs involving economic self-sufficiency, housing, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, education, and much more. “Today, when we look at this time period, what we say is that this fund builds better communities for everyone in Western Mass. by investing in the lives of women and girls. And there’s a real distinction there.

“When you look around today, our social needs are gargantuan,” she continued. “One of the most underutilized resources is the unique talents of women — underutilized because they are not sitting around the decision-making tables; they are not framing the conversations and addressing the problems and issues in our country. So today, we’re investing in their talents because we believe that the more women we begin including in those discussions around the table, the more women we put in leadership positions, the better off our communities will be.”

This important change in language and focus, as well as manifestations of it, such as LIPPI, are just some of many reasons why the Women’s Fund has been chosen as one of BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2012.

Another is the nearly $2 million in grants the fund has awarded since 1998 to groups ranging from the Hampden County Correctional Institute to the Global Women’s History Collaborative; from the Railroad Street Youth Project in Great Barrington to Girls Inc. in Holyoke.

But perhaps the biggest reason is the fund’s ability to adapt and evolve to remain relevant and impactful in a constantly changing society. Current Women’s Fund board President Shonda Pettiford calls this “being nimble and responsive,” and she considers it perhaps the fund’s most important character trait.

“Times are changing for women in our communities,” she told BusinessWest, “and we’re responding in part to their needs, but also to their aspirations and supporting those, and I can see us becoming more involved in work similar to LIPPI, where we’re focused on building leadership skills and ability.”

Tracing the history of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, Oleska said it originates with the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

More than 60 women from this region were at that conference, highlighted by a speech from Hilary Clinton, who said, “women’s rights are human rights,” noted Oleska, adding that the contingent, while on a bus ride back from touring the Great Wall and inspired by what they heard, discussed options for ways to bring the energy from the conference back to Western Mass.

Their answer was to create a Women’s Fund, a component of the Women’s Funding Network, which now boasts more than 160 members, or funds, worldwide. The local fund is now one of three in the Bay State, with the others serving the Boston area and the southeastern region of the Commonwealth.

From the start, the mission has been to “advance social-change philanthropy to create economic and social equality for women and girls in Western Mass. through grant-making and strategic initiatives,” said Oleska, adding that the fund deviated from the practice of building up its endowment before supporting any initiatives.

“As soon as the money they were raising started earning interest, that first board was determined to get money right out into the communities of the four western counties,” she recalled, adding that the fund topped $1 million in grants after only a decade in existence, and is just one round of awards away from the $2 million threshold.

Oleska, who was an early grantee (her organization, Step Forward, an academic-advancement program for girls, was awarded funds in 1998), said the organization is funded primarily by individual donations, the smallest of which has been $3 in change, a bequest she cites often as symbolic of the way the fund can take seemingly small gifts and aggregate them into something significant.

“When you take that $3 in change and you connect it with $3,000, the impact of that combined funding presents all kinds of opportunities for our grantee organizations,” she explained, adding that a $10 donation made directly to an organization usually won’t have the same impact as $10 given to the Women’s Fund, which then becomes part of a larger donation to that same organization.

But beyond the monetary donation, the grantee also receives a series of professional-development workshops, with the intent of helping them strategically achieve their mission, she continued — to help those organizations work smarter, not harder.

And this is one of the many ways in which the Women’s Fund goes well beyond merely writing checks, said Pettiford, and into the broad realm of creating connections.

“The Women’s Fund, for me, is very personal — there are many personal relationships formed because of it,” she explained. “The funds we allocate help programs run, and run more effectively.

“But we also form relationships with some of these organizations, and they get to understand the fund as well,” she continued. “Through the fund, they get opportunities to connect with others who are doing similar work. Meanwhile, those of us involved with the fund as volunteers and as staff also get to connect with all these people in different parts of Western Mass. who support the same concepts and ideas and have the same values.”

Which brings her back to that word investments and, more specifically, to the LIPPI program, which, in a nutshell, helps women overcome a tendency to underestimate their abilities.

It does so through monthly, full-day sessions (staged on Saturdays for convenience) that are designed to build both skills and confidence while exposing women of all ages to successful role models. These sessions focus on subjects ranging from public speaking to effective board participation, from how to speak with elected officials to citizen activism.

The results from the first year are impressive. Five of the participants have run for office or are doing so; one woman was elected to the board of her housing development, the first tenant to do so; one woman was accepted into the Yale Women’s Campaign School; and another worked on the campaign of Holyoke’s new mayor, Alex Morse.

Looking forward, Oleska has set the ambitious goal of reaching the $3 million mark in grants by the fund’s 15th birthday, and to continue to expand the organization’s reach into every corner of the four-county area. But the most compelling goal is simply to continue efforts to be nimble, another word she used repeatedly, and continue to make investments that are paying dividends, as reflected in this comment from a LIPPI graduate:

“Participation in the LIPPI cohort has essentially provided affirmation, inspiration, and permission to continue to follow my life’s work, to develop my voice, and work collectively with the women in Berkshire County and beyond.”

That’s what comes with a full briefcase of skills. For providing that — and doing much more for women, girls, and communities — the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is truly a Difference Maker.

— George O’Brien

Editorial

By
Opinion
They Make a Difference in So Many Ways

We could call this the ‘year of the acronym.’ But we probably won’t.
That’s because doing so doesn’t come close to telling the story beyond the veritable alphabet soup of programs and initiatives that involve this year’s distinguished class of Difference Makers.
Let’s start with the Y-AIM program, initiated by the Springfield YMCA with a huge assist from Big Y Foods. It places youth advocates in Springfield high schools with the goal of helping students stay in school, inspire them to go on to college, and “move toward personal, family, and community advancement.”
There’s also LIPPI, the Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact, started by the Women’s Fund of Western Mass. with the goal of providing women with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become civic leaders in their communities, as well as the PAFEC (Picknelly Adult & Family Education Center) in the old downtown fire station in Holyoke. A collaboration between Holyoke Community College, Peter Pan, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, and other partners, it provides GED preparation and testing, adult basic education, workforce-development classes, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), tutoring, mentoring, career counseling, and other services.
Then there’s TWO (Training and Workforce Options), a unique collaboration between HCC and Springfield Technical Community College established to support the workforce-training needs of the region’s businesses and nonprofits. And don’t forget BTG (Bridging the Gap), a program run by the Springfield Corps of the Salvation Army. It was created to assist first-time offenders in Greater Springfield and get them back on the right course. Since its inception, roughly 90% of its graduates have stayed in school and stayed out of further trouble with the law.
What all these acronyms and others do is help explain what this year’s class of Difference Makers does extremely well — to show that there are, indeed, many ways in which one can make a difference, and they all matter.
This simple fact was the driving force behind BusinessWest’s decision to create the Difference Makers program in 2008, and this year’s class uses all those acronyms and more to effectively bring home the point.
• Donald and Charlie D’Amour, the chairman/COO and president, respectively, of Big Y, are Difference Makers for myriad reasons — from Y-AIM to their work with area institutions like Baystate Health and the Springfield Library & Museums; from education initiatives such as the Homework Helpline and scholarships to huge donations of food to area pantries and food banks.
• Bob Schwarz has been making a difference for more than 30 years, through his work to create the PAFEC, but also his award-winning efforts to address homelessness not through shelters, but by creating far-more-permanent solutions.
• Bill Messner, president of Holyoke Community College, is making a difference through initiatives like TWO and the PAFEC, but also, and in more broad terms, by inspiring needed changes at the institution that have made the school more accessible and much more of a force in the communities it serves.
• The Women’s Fund of Western Mass. is making a huge difference through LIPPI, which has already inspired a number of women to seek elected office, but also through donations to countless area groups and what its leaders call “investments” in women and girls.
• The Salvation Army? Well, 2011 provided a window to the seemingly endless list of ways it can make a difference — from its Coats for Kids program to its tireless work providing food, supplies, clothing, and hope to last spring’s tornado victims; from the award-winning BTG to the rapid and multifaceted response to last August’s hurricane and the freak October snowstorm.
Taken together, all those capital letters and the numbers behind them paint a very powerful picture, one of groups and individuals who have found innumerable ways to improve quality of life in this region — and, best of all, continue to look for more ways to make a difference.
Congratulations to the class of 2012 and also to all those who have helped them achieve this distinction.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Headache Relief Lecture
Feb. 15: Dr. Karin Johnson from Baystate Medical Center’s Neurodiagnostic & Sleep Center will present a free lecture titled “Headache Relief,” as part of Bay Path College’s Kaleidoscope series. Johnson will discuss the causes and theories about the physiology of migraines, as well as headache-treatment options, including trigger prevention, myofascial release, and abortive and preventative medications, at the Springfield JCC, 1160 Dickinson St., Springfield. Pre-registration is recommended by calling (413) 739-4715 or sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Human Service Forum Breakfast
Feb. 16: The Human Service Forum, which recently released a report showing the impact of human, social, and health service organizations on the region’s economy, will share the data at its monthly gathering from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Delaney House, 1 Country Club Road, Holyoke. Victor Woolridge, vice president at Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, will give the keynote address. The program cost is $25 for HSF members and $35 for non-members. To register or for more information, visit www.humanserviceforum.org.

Holyoke Chamber Legislative Luncheon
Feb. 17: State Sen. Therese Murray, president of the Massachusetts Senate, will be the keynote speaker at Issues 2012, the annual legislative luncheon of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. The 11:45 a.m. event is planned at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. State Sen. Michael Knapik will also present remarks, as well as Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse and state Rep. Michael Kane. Tickets are $36 per person and may be obtained at www.holyokechamber.com or by calling (413) 534-3376. Tables may be reserved for groups of eight or 10.

Historical Lecture at Wistariahurst Museum
Feb. 20: Alan Swedlund, professor emeritus of Anthropology at UMass Amherst, will lecture on his 30-year research into the history of mortality in the Connecticut Valley as part of the Wistariahurst Museum’s Historical Lecture Series. Swedlund’s program is planned at 6 p.m., and a $5 donation is suggested. Swedlund’s approach incorporates medical history with social history, and he uses documents from valley towns to identify epidemics and causes of death. Diaries, letters, newspapers, and other sources combine to tell the story from any given town. The lecture will be accompanied by historical images from the area. Swedlund’s most recent book is titled Shadows in the Valley: A Cultural History of Illness, Death and Loss in New England, 1840-1916. The Wistariahurst Museum is located at 238 Cabot St., Holyoke. For more information on the event, call (413) 322-5660 or visit www.wistariahurst.org.

Anthropologist Lecture
Feb. 22: Susan Darlington, a professor at Hampshire College, will discuss her latest book, The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. Darlington has studied the work of Buddhist monks in Thailand who are engaged in rural development and environmental conservation. The science-based talks, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, will also include insights into religion and social activism. The presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

ACCGS Outlook Luncheon
Feb. 27: Congressman Richard Neal and Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, are featured speakers at the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s annual Outlook Luncheon. The event is planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. In addition to remarks by Neal and Widmer, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno will outline the recently unveiled Rebuild Springfield Plan. For more information or to register, contact Cecile Larose at [email protected] or visit www.myonlinechamber.com.

Manufacturing Seminar
Feb. 29: Presentations by the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Offices of International Trade and Investment, and Associated Industries of Massachusetts will highlight a seminar titled “Promoting Manufacturing in Massachusetts,” from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. A networking reception is also planned. For more information or to register by Feb. 4, contact Gloria Fischer at [email protected].

Difference Makers
March 22: BusinessWest will stage its Fourth Annual Difference Makers Celebration at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The program recognizes area individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in this region. The winners will be announced in the Feb. 13 edition of BusinessWest. The awards ceremony will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $55 per person, with tables of 10 available. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.businesswest.com.

Women’s Leadership Conference
March 23: Keynote speakers Sister Helen Prejean, Marjora Carter, and Ashley Judd will share personal stories, as well as insightful advice and perspectives, during Bay Path College’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The theme for the 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. event is “Lead with Compassion.” Prejean is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille and an anti-death-penalty activist; Carter, an eco-entrepreneur, is president of the Majora Carter Group; and Judd is a film and stage actor and human-rights activist. For more information on the conference or to register, log onto www.baypathconference.com or call Briana Sitler, director of special programs, at (413) 565-1066.

Bestselling Author Lecture
March 28: Internationally acclaimed author Tom Perrotta will read from his upcoming novel, The Leftovers, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. Two of Perrotta’s books, Election and Little Children, have been made into movies, and five novels have been national bestsellers. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 5: Former NBA player and businessman Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman will be the guest speaker at the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation’s third annual Not Just Business as Usual event at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by the dinner program from 7 to 9. Bridgeman spent most of his 12-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, but also played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the current franchise owner of more than 160 Wendy’s and 120 Chili’s restaurants. The event encourages local businesses to come together for an evening to network, learn from one another, and support student success. Funds from the event will provide students access to opportunities — through scholarships, technology, and career direction — to be successful future employees and citizens. “It’s a time to celebrate innovations, change, and our region’s success,” said STCC Foundation Interim Director Robert LePage. A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available, and individual tickets cost $175 each. For more information, contact LePage at (413) 755-4477 or e-mail [email protected].

Lecture by Author of Constitution Café
April 10: Author and philosopher Christopher Phillips’ latest book, Constitution Café, draws on the nation’s rebellious past to incite meaningful change today. He proposes that Americans revise the Constitution every so often, not just to reflect the changing times, but to revive and perpetuate the original revolutionary spirit. He will present a free lecture at 8 p.m. in the dining hall at Blake Student Commons on the Bay Path College campus, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. The lecture is part of the annual Kaleidoscope series. For more information, call (413) 565-1000 or visit www.baypath.edu.

Slam Poet Lecture
April 13: Taylor Mali, a former high-school teacher who has emerged from the slam-poetry movement as one of its leaders, will discuss his performances at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

40 Under Forty
June 21: BusinessWest will present its sixth class of regional rising stars at its annual 40 Under Forty gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Nominations are currently being sought for the popular program, which recognizes young people in realms including business, education, health care, nonprofit management, and government service. Nominations, which are due Feb. 17, will be scored by a team of five judges. The 40 highest scorers will be feted at the June 21 gala, which will feature music, lavish food stations, and introductions of the winners. Tickets cost $60 per person, with tables of 10 available. Early registration is advised, as seating is limited. For more information, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Wine Tasting
Feb. 10: The Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke will host its annual “I Love Wine Event” from 6 to 8 p.m., sponsored by Liquors 44 and Historic Holyoke at Wistariahurst. Wines will be available from distributors including Bay State Wines, MS Walker, Commonwealth, and United. Light refreshments will be provided. Advance tickets are $25 each or $40 per couple; door admission is $30 each or $50 per couple. Reservations are necessary. For more information, call the museum at (413) 322-5660. The museum is located at 238 Cabot St.

Historical Lecture
Feb. 20: Professor emeritus Alan Swedlund will lecture on his 30-year research on the history of mortality in the Connecticut Valley as part of the Wistariahurst Museum’s Historical Lecture Series. Swedlund’s program is planned at 6 p.m., and there is a $5 suggested donation. Swedlund’s approach incorporates medical history with social history, and he uses documents from valley towns to identify epidemics and causes of death. Diaries, letters, newspapers, and other sources combine to tell the story from any given town. The lecture will be accompanied by historical images from the area. Swedlund is professor emeritus of Anthropology at UMass Amherst. His most recent book is titled Shadows in the Valley: A Cultural History of Illness, Death and Loss in New England, 1840-1916. The Wistariahurst Museum is located at 238 Cabot St., Holyoke. For more information, call the museum at (413) 322-5660 or visit www.wistariahurst.org.

Anthropologist Lecture
Feb. 22: Susan Darlington, a professor at Hampshire College, will discuss her latest book, The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. Darlington has studied the work of Buddhist monks in Thailand who are engaged in rural development and environmental conservation. The science-based talks, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, will also include insights into religion and social activism. The presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Author Lecture
March 28: Internationally acclaimed author Tom Perrotta will read from his upcoming novel, The Leftovers, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. Two of Perrotta’s books, Election and Little Children, have been made into movies, and five novels have been national bestsellers. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Slam Poet Lecture
April 13: Taylor Mali, a former high-school teacher who has emerged from the slam-poetry movement as one of its leaders, will discuss his performances at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Difference Makers
March 22: BusinessWest will stage its fourth annual Difference Makers Celebration at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The program recognizes area individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in this region. The winners will be announced in the Feb. 13 edition of BusinessWest. The awards ceremony will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $55 per person, with tables of 10 available. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.businesswest.com.

Outlook 2012
Feb. 22: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield will stage its annual Outlook program at a new venue, the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The event will feature co-keynote speakers: U.S. Rep. Richard Neal will provide the federal outlook, and Michael Widmer, president of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation, will provide a state perspective. Tickets are $50 person, with tables of 10 available for $475. For more information, call (413) 755-1313, or visit www.myonlinechamber.com.

40 Under Forty
June 21: BusinessWest will present its sixth class of regional rising stars at its annual 40 Under Forty gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Nominations are currently being sought for the popular program, which recognizes young people in realms including business, education, health care, nonprofits, government, law, and many others. Nominations, due Feb. 17, will be scored by a team of five judges. The 40 highest scorers will be feted at the June 21 gala, which will feature music, lavish food stations, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $60 per person, with tables of 10 available. Early registration is advised, as seating is limited. For more information, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Anthropologist Lecture
Feb. 22: Susan Darlington, a professor at Hampshire College, will discuss her latest book, The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. Darlington has studied the work of Buddhist monks in Thailand who are engaged in rural development and environmental conservation. The science-based talks, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, will also include insights into religion and social activism. The presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Author Lecture
March 28: Internationally acclaimed author Tom Perrotta will read from his upcoming novel, The Leftovers, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. Two of Perrotta’s books, Election, and Little Children, have been made into movies, and five novels have been national bestsellers. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Slam Poet Lecture
April 13: Taylor Mali, a former high-school teacher who has emerged from the slam-poetry movement as one of its leaders, will discuss his performances at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Difference Makers
March 22: BusinessWest will stage its fourth annual Difference Makers Celebration at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The program recognizes area individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in this region. The winners will be announced in February. The awards ceremony will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’ oeuvres, and introductions of the winners. Tickets are $55 per person, with tables of 10 available. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail to [email protected], or visit www.businesswest.com.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Anthropologist Lecture
Feb. 22: Susan Darlington, a professor at Hampshire College, will discuss her latest book, The Ordination of a Tree: the Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. Darlington has studied the work of Buddhist monks in Thailand who are engaged in rural development and environmental conservation. The science-based talks, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, will also include insights into religion and social activism. The presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.
Author Lecture
March 28: Internationally acclaimed author Tom Perrotta will read from his upcoming novel, The Leftovers, at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. Two of Perrotta’s books, Election and Little Children, have been made into movies, and five novels have been national bestsellers. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Slam Poet Lecture
April 13: Taylor Mali, a former high-school teacher who has emerged from the slam poetry movement as one of its leaders, will discuss his performances at 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in Scibelli Hall Theater, as part of the Ovations series at Springfield Technical Community College. The talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 755-4233.

Difference Makers
March 22: BusinessWest will stage its fourth annual Difference Makers celebration at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The program recognizes area individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in this region. Nominations are currently accepted for the prestigious honor, and will be taken until Dec. 30. (See form, page 19). The winners will be announced in February. The awards ceremony will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres, and introductions of the winners. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.businesswest.com.

Western Mass Business Expo 2011

By
Cover Story
From the Editor and Publisher

For nearly 30 years now, BusinessWest has been shining a spotlight on the business community of Western Massachusetts and, at the same, serving as an invaluable resource for this large, diverse constituency. It’s been our mission to inform, educate, inspire, and make those all-important connections between area businesses and the communities they serve. And over the years, the methods for doing all this have evolved and expanded.

Indeed, we’ve moved beyond the printed word and also into electronic media and a host of events, including the hugely successful Forty Under 40 and Difference Makers programs, enabling us to say that we make connections in print, on line, and in person.

And this fall, BusinessWest takes things to an even higher level as producer of the inaugural Western Mass Business Expo, on Oct. 18 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. We decided to take the leadership role in making this event reality because we believe, first and foremost, that the business community truly deserves an event of this magnitude and quality. What’s more, we are dedicated to finding new and exciting ways to carry out that aforementioned mission, and the Expo is the perfect vehicle for doing so.

In conjunction with the event-planning firm Rider Productions, BusinessWest has assembled an all-star lineup of area business leaders, elected officials, and experts in several fields to lead more than two dozen seminars, panel discussions, and special presentations on the pressing issues confronting all business owners today.

We’ve also brought together more than 135 companies representing every sector of the economy — from health care to information technology; from higher education to ‘green’ energy.’ Together, they illustrate the strength and diversity of our business community and a wealth of talent and experience with which attendees should want to do business.

We’ve billed the inaugural Western Mass Business Expo as the “place to be” on Oct. 18, and it is exactly that. There, exhibitors and guests will be part of a large audience of decision-makers, contributing to a room filled with energy and excitement.

This is the event that business owners across our region have been asking for, and it is our privilege to be able to present it.

Enjoy!

George O’Brien, Editor
John Gormally, Publisher
Kate Campiti, Associate Publisher

Event Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011

Kickoff Breakfast
7 a.m.; Registration
7:30-8:50 a.m.; Program; keynote speaker,
John Morse, president, Merriam-Webster

Ribbon Cutting
9 a.m.; Show Floor Theater

Exhibition Hall
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On the Expo Floor:
• The Whalley Computer and Valley
Communications Technology Corridor
• The HealthcareNews Health Corridor
• The DiGrigoli Artistic Team

Show Floor Theater:

Session One: 9:15-10 a.m.
Thriving in a Wildly Changing Market Place

Session Two: 10:15-11:15 a.m.
The Forecast: A Look at What’s Ahead for the State and Regional Economy

Session Three: 11:30 a.m.-noon
The Anti Resume Revolution

Session Four: 12:15-12:45 p.m.
Laugh For No Reason

Session Five: 1-1:45 p.m.
Blood From A Stone: How to Get Motivated and Do More Business in Any Economy

Session Six: 2-2:30 p.m.
The 401(k) Coach

Session Seven: 2:45-3:15 p.m.
Empower Your Workforce

Session Eight: 3:30-4 p.m.
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Great

Educational Seminars,
Meeting Rooms 1, 2, and 3
Continuously, from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ACCGS & BBB Torch Awards Luncheon
11:30 a.m.; Registration
Noon-1:30 p.m.; Program; keynote speaker,
Michael Kittridge II, founder and former chairman,
Yankee Candle Corp.
Special presentation: the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards honoring: • Baystate Dental P.C., Springfield;
• St. Germain Insurance Inc., Ware; and
• Amy Alaimo of Agawam, Student of Integrity Award Winner

2011 Expo Social
presented by Meyers Brothers Kalicka P.C.
4-6 p.m.; Atrium

Show Floor Presentations

Click Here to Download the PDF: WMBEshowFloorPresentationsBW1011a

Educational Seminar Schedule

Click Here to Download the PDF: WMBEseminarSchedulesBW1011a

Floor Plan and List of Exhibitors

Click Here to Download the PDF: WMBEFloorPlan

Editorial

By
Opinion
The Region’s Show of Force

A few weeks back, we referenced how long and difficult this year has been for the region and its business community given all the natural disasters and near-disasters, as well as the lingering recession and its many effects.
Despite all that, we said, there is still much to be proud of and to look forward to as we gauge the strength and diversity of the region’s economy and its prospects for the future. And we’ll get a chance to prove it on Oct. 18 at the MassMutual Center, when the curtain rises on the first Western Mass Business Expo.
Technically, this gathering is a trade show, a business-to-business event featuring the exhibits of more than 130 companies, as well as informational seminars and presentations designed to inform and entertain, and a day-capping networking social. But in reality, it is a celebration of the region’s business community, and we hope that you’ll take part in that celebration.
That’s because, while BusinessWest is producing the expo and the MassMutual Center is hosting it, the event really belongs to the business community, and it will be responsible for providing the energy in the room and, ultimately, the momentum that can be taken from it.
But let’s back up a minute. BusinessWest made the decision to produce this event — and also change its name and character — as part of its ongoing and ever-evolving mission to turn a mirror on the region’s business sector and spotlight the people and the individual companies that define it.
For the better part of two decades, this was done via the printed word, in a monthly and then twice-monthly publication. In recent years, we’ve added special events such as the 40 Under Forty and Difference Makers recognition programs, which salute, respectively, the rising stars and individuals who find new and compelling ways to give back to the community and contribute to quality of life in Western Mass. We’ve also become an active partner with the region’s chambers of commerce, working with them in many ways to bring benefits to members and enable area businesses to become more competitive in today’s global, ultra-competitive marketplace.
The Western Mass Business Expo takes our mission a step further and to a different medium, if you will. We’re still shining a mirror, in many respects, but going much further as well, with informational seminars and programs, and the creation of the networking events aimed at helping area businesses make the all-important connections needed to grow and get to the next level.
As we said, this is a BusinessWest production, but it is really an event owned by the business community. And, ultimately, the success of a trade show isn’t measured by how many companies are exhibiting, but by how much those in attendance can take home with them and how much positive energy the event creates.
We’ve spent the spring and summer creating programs that will provide a number of take-aways for all those in attendance. They feature decision makers and they are designed for both design makers and those who carry our their decisions. But that positive energy? Well, that’s up to all those work and do business in this region.
We hope that everyone who is able will be at the MassMutual Center on Oct. 18. It’s an event that promises to be time well-spent — and it just might help people forget what a trying year this has been and focus on how great next year can be.

Picture This

By
Link to Libraries
Departments Picture This

Send photos with a caption and contact information to:  ‘Picture This’
c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103
or to [email protected]

Lucky 13th

Joe-and-Carm-ManziBrothers Joe (left) and Carmino Manzi, co-owners of Villa Napoletana restaurant in East Longmeadow, recently celebrated their 13th anniversary in business with a party at the restaurant on North Main Street. They’re standing in front of a Sunoco modified racecar they sponsor that is driven by John Catania at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.





Link to Libraries

Link to LibrariesGeorge Burtch, vice president for Global Integration at Hasbro, is seen with fourth-grade students at the Center for Excellence School in Holyoke, where he is participating in the Link to Libraries nonprofit celebrity read-aloud program. The Link to Libraries program offers youth in underserved communities reading programs, new books, and opportunities to meet area business executives who often mentor area youth. For more information on Link to Libraries, go to www.linktolibraries.org.


NCCJ Honorees

NCCJThe National Conference for Community and Justice staged its annual Human Relations Award Banquet on June 14 at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. The agency, founded in 1927 as the National Conference for Christians and Jews, is a human-relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry, and racism in America.  Honored with
NCCJ Human Relations Awards for 2001 are, from left, Dr. Saleem Bajwa, Thomas Burton, youth award recipient Rosaline Abraham, James O’S. Morton, and Hyman Darling.


Read-aloud Event

Read-aloud Event 1Read-aloud Event 2Read-aloud Event 3Read-aloud Event 4The United Way of Pioneer Valley and BusinessWest’s Difference Makers collaborated to present a special read-aloud session at the Holyoke Public Library that was part of the Connect to Reading Book Drive staged to collect books for the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative. From top, BusinessWest Senior Writer Joe Bednar engages a pair of young people in a reading exercise; BusinessWest Advertising Consultant Gwen Burke has one of the young people read to her; dozens of young people and their parents take part in the reading initiative; BusinessWest Advertising Consultant Tina Kuselias reads to a group of young students.

An Exciting New Chapter

By
Dora Robinson
Features
Partners Come Together for Ambitious Book Drive

It’s called a “worldwide day of action.”
That’s the name that the United Way has given to a program that represents a significant expansion of its annual Day of Caring program staged each September.

Dora Robinson

Dora Robinson

“It was decided that one day simply isn’t enough,” said Dora Robinson, executive director of the United Way of Pioneer Valley, noting that there will be several such days of action over the next year.
The first, coming up on June 21, will have a hard focus on the broad subject of literacy, and a very aggressive goal: collecting 5,000 books for a variety of child-literacy programs, including the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative (HSLI), which works to bridge the gap in learning that occurs when many area young people leave school for the summer months. Other programs include Link to Libraries and Book It.
To reach that lofty goal, the United Way, a long-time supporter of the HSLI, will conduct the Connect to Reading Book Drive, and is working with a number of partners on this initiative, including BusinessWest and its Difference Makers for the past three years, as well as sponsors of that event. Other partners include Link to Libraries, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, Girls Inc., the Springfield Public Library, and the Holyoke Public Library.
The Difference Makers program was initiated two years ago, and soon after the first winners of the award were feted, an initiative was announced making literacy an ongoing priority for the recipients of that honor, and a matter to which they would contribute time, energy, and imagination. To date, these efforts have focused mostly on the HSLI and collecting books to support that effort.
In each of the past two years, several hundred books have been collected, and the efforts have culminated in a book-distribution and read-aloud program at the Dunbar Community Center.
“This year, as the United Way devotes a day of action to efforts to promote literacy in this region, BusinessWest and its Difference Makers are partnering with the United Way and other groups to not only collect books, but also bring needed attention to this important issue, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher and advertising director for BusinessWest.
Each of the Difference Makers is being asked to make a commitment to collect 70 new books or the equivalent amount of money, Campiti continued, adding that recent sponsors of the event will also be invited to take part in the campaign.
And while the book drive is the focus of the June 21 day of action, this will actually be a lengthy drive that will take place between June 16 and July 5, said Robinson, adding that the drive will kick off with an elaborate read-aloud program and book-collection effort at the Barnes & Noble in Holyoke. For those books purchased at that store between June 16 and June 25, Barnes & Noble will donate 15% of the total spent toward the purchase of more books.
On the actual day of caring, a book-distribution effort will be staged at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke (and co-hosted by Girls Inc.), as well as an initiative to register young people for library cards at area libraries.
Susan O’Connor, director of the HSLI, said the United Way’s campaign will serve to bring additional awareness to the Hasbro program, and spotlight efforts to address the summer learning gap that impacts thousands of area young people.
“While the average home has 13 books per child, low-income homes have fewer than one book per child,” said O’Connor, adding that this summer’s campaign has the stated goal of collecting at least one book for every child in Hampden County involved in the HSLI (roughly 1,300), and certainly hopes to far exceed that number.
“Children who don’t have summer learning opportunities lose three months of reading every summer, which can accumulate into a two-year gap in reading by the sixth grade,” O’Connor continued. “Given that two-thirds of our children in Springfield and more in Holyoke are not proficient readers by grade 4, which is when we like to see children become proficient, we simply must keep the learning faucet on during the summer.”
For those interested in helping the United Way in its book-collecting efforts, the following list of suggested titles has been compiled by HSLI administrators. Other books are also welcome. Books can be dropped off at the United Way of Pioneer Valley in Springfield, Odyssey Books in South Hadley, Olive Tree Books in Springfield, and BusinessWest, which has offices at 1441 Main St. in Springfield.

Kindergarten and Grade 1

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Charlie Parker Played Bebop by Chris Raschka
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
My Color My World/ Mis Colores Mis Mundo by Maya Christian Gonzales
ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book by Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (and Huevos Verdes con Jamon)
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (as an early reader)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle
My Colors My World by Maya Christian Gonzales

Grades 2 and 3

Not Norman by Kelly Bennett
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater
The Paperbag Princess by Robert N. Munson
Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie by Robbin Gourley
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

Grades 4 through 6

Lon PoPo: A Red Riding Hood Story for China by Ed Young
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
The Boy on Fairfield Street by Kathleen Krull
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The Voice that Challenged the Nation: Marion Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freed
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Kadir Nelson
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The Boy on Fairfield Street by Kathleen Krull
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
Holes by Louis Sachar
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
The Giver by Louis Lowry
The Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

Chapter Books for All Teens

Missing Mae by Cynthia Rylant
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Outsiders by S.E Hinton
The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Picture books for All Ages

Martian’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
Just the Two of Us by Will Smith
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieska
Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin
Barack Obama: United States President by Roberta Edwards

Spanish Read Aloud For Young Ages

Buenas Noches, Luna (Goodnight Moon) by Lois Elhert (age 3-6)
Tu Mama es una Llama? (Is Your Mama a Llama?) by Deborah Guarino (ages 3-6)
El Gato en el Sombrero (The Cat in the Hat) by Dr. Seuss (ages 3-6)
Huevos verdes con jamón (Green Eggs and Ham) by Dr. Seuss (ages 3-6)
La Oruga Muy Hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) (board) by Eric Carle (ages 3-6)
Cinco Monitos Brincando en la Cama/Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Bilingual edition: English and Spanish) by Eileen Christelow
Un Renacuajo (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #1) (ages 6-9)
Esperanza Renace (Esperanza Rising, Spanish-language edition) (ages 6-9)
La Telarana de Carlota (Charlotte’s Web, Spanish-language Edition) by E.B. White (ages 6-9)
Ramona Empieza el Curso (Ramona series, Spanish-language edition) by Beverly Cleary (ages 6-9)
Dinosaurios al Atardecer (Dinosaurs Before Dark: Magic Tree House Series #1, Spanish-language edition) (ages 6-9)
The Complete Book of Starter Spanish, Grades Preschool-1 (bilingual)
Siempre Te Querre by Robert N. Munsch (ages 6-9)
Corduroy (Spanish-language Edition) by Don Freeman (ages 6-9)
Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Spanish-language edition) by J.K. Rowling (ages 9-12)
La Ciudad de Las Bestias (City of the Beasts, Spanish-language edition) by Isabel Allende (ages 9-12)
Cajas de Carton: Relatos de la Vida Peregrina de uno Nino Campesino (The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, Spanish-language edition) by Francisco Jimenez (ages 9-12)
El Principito (The Little Prince, Spanish-language edition) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (9-12)
Antes de Ser Libres (Before We Were Free, Spanish-language edition) by Julia Alvarez (ages 9-12)
Las Cronicas de Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia, Spanish-language edition) by C. S. Lewis (ages 9-12)
El León, la Bruja y el Ropero (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Spanish-language edition) by C. S. Lewis (ages 9-12)
Junie B. Jones Tiene un Pio Pio en el Bolsillo (Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket, Spanish-language edition) by Barbara Park (ages 9-12)
En el Tiempo de las Mariposas (In The Time of the Butterflies, Spanish-language edition) by Julia Alvarez (teens)
Crepúsculo (Twilight, movie tie-in, Spanish-language edition) by Stephenie Meyer (teens)
De Como las Muchachas Garcia Perdieron el Acento (How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Spanish-language edition) by Julia Alvarez (teens)
Matar un Ruisenor (To Kill a Mockingbird, Spanish-language edition) by Harper Lee (teens)
El Dador (The Giver) by Lois Lowry (teens)
El Príncipe Caspian (Prince Caspian) (Spanish-language edition) by C.S. Lewis (teens)
Hermanas (Sisters) (Bilingual Spanish-English edition) by Gary Paulsen (teens)
Marcada (Marked, Spanish-language edition) by P.C. Cast (teens)

Difference Makers Celebration 2011

By
Difference Makers
BusinessWest’s Program Spotlights the Many Ways People Can Make an Impact

BizDiffMakrsLOGO2011More than 350 people turned out at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House on March 24 for a lavish ceremony to honor the Difference Makers for 2011. Attendees, including area business and civic leaders, as well as friends, family, and colleagues of the five honorees, were treated to fine food, entertainment, thoughts from event sponsors, introductions of the winners, remarks from each recipient, and an update on the ongoing initiative known as Project Literacy.
Following an hour of networking, members of the Maurice A. Donahue School in Hoyoke kicked off the formal program with several patriotic songs. The evening’s events were punctuated with words of praise for the Difference Makers and inspirational thoughts from them about ways others can and must give back to the community. “It was an incredible night,” said Kate Campiti, associate publisher and advertising manager of BusinessWest. “Our honorees showed the many ways in which one can make a difference here in Western Mass., and provided inspiration for everyone to find their own ways to make an impact on the community.”

•••••••• Click here to view images of the March 24 celebration ••••••••

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

‘Be the Authority’
March 16: Claudia Gere of Claudia Gere & Co. will present a lecture titled “Be the Authority & Attract More Customers” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The lecture is hosted by the Mass. Small Business Development Center. Gere will explain how to create written content to demonstrate your expertise, establish yourself as an authority, and create trust. Templates, formulas, and how-tos will be provided. The fee is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

The Price of Presenteeism
March 22: Presenteeism is the lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below expectations due to illness, low morale, or life-issue distractions. A 1999 study sponsored by the Employers Health Coalition calculated that lost productivity from presenteeism is 7.5 times greater that that from absenteeism. Learn how much presenteeism is costing your company and what you can do to improve employee productivity at a seminar, slated for 8 to 10:30 a.m., sponsored by the Associated Industries of Mass. (AIM) and the Economic Development Council of Western Mass. Panelists will include Patricia Guenette, vice president of Human Resources for Square One; Susan Moore, director of Sales and Marketing for the Loomis Communities; Bob Oldenburg, director of the Baystate Employee Assistance Program; Sandy Reynolds, executive vice president of the Employer’s Resource Group at AIM; and Dawn Creighton, regional membership director for AIM. Registration and a continental breakfast at 8 will be followed by the discussion. For more information or to register for this free event, call (413) 233-9850 e-mail [email protected].

‘High Performance Business Owner
March 23: Westfield Bank on Elm Street, Westfield, will host a lecture, “The High Performance Business Owner,” presented by Gerald Sherman of NorthStar Management Partners. The lecture, sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network, is planned from 9 a.m. to noon. The fee is $25. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Naturally 7 at STCC
March 23: Naturally 7 will bring its unique a capella style to Springfield Technical Community College for two free performances in the gymnasium, in Scibelli Hall, at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Their voices are not only the melody, but also the ‘instruments.’ The group refers to this style as ‘vocal play,’ which goes well beyond beatboxing to create flute, horns, drums, and more. Naturally 7’s music has been called faith-infused, although it encompasses secular as well as religious melodies, and includes soul music, rap, rock, R&B, jazz, and folk, as well as their own compositions. Free parking for the performances is available in off-campus lots. Parking passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis in the STCC Human Resources office in Garvey Hall, room 249. For more information or to bring a group, contact Myra Smith at (413) 755-4414.

Cloud Computing
March 24: Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., LLC will host a workshop titled “No More Fluff: The Reality of Cloud Computing” from 9 to 11 a.m. in Farmington, Conn. ADNET Technologies, LLC will lead the workshop on cloud computing and will discuss how cloud services can help a firm plan for growth. The workshop is designed for business leaders, IT executives, and IT professionals. A complimentary continental breakfast will be served. Pre-registration is required by March 22. For more information, visit www.goadnet.com.

Difference Makers Gala
March 24: BusinessWest will salute its Difference Makers Class of 2011 at a gala slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Initiated in 2009, the Difference Makers program recognizes individuals and groups making outstanding contributions to the Western Mass. community. You can read more about this event on page 14. For further information on the event or to order tickets ($50 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Independent Contractor Statute
March 25: Attorney Susan Fentin of Skoler, Abbott & Presser will discuss the amendment to the Mass. Independent Contractor statute in 2004, and how misclassification has caught the attention of the Department of Labor. Fentin will cover the amendment, how it applies to individuals in the workforce, and the steps an employer needs to ensure compliance. The fee is $10. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

‘Web Advertising’ Workshop
March 30: Derek Allard of Gravity Switch will present a workshop titled “Web Advertising” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The morning program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network. Allard will discuss organic search-engine strategies, paid options to help attract visitors to your Web site, defining relevant keywords to target, the importance of Web-site content, building inbound links to your Web site, and paid advertising with Google AdWords and Facebook. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

USO Dinner Dance
April 2: U.S. Sen. Scott Brown will be the keynote speaker for a 1940s-themed dinner dance titled “As Time Goes By” as the Pioneer Valley United Service Organization (USO) hosts its first formal event to mark its 70 years of service to local families of the Armed Forces. The event is planned from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Brown will speak at 8:30 p.m. The event for the local USO chapter, which operates out of the Westover Air Force Reserve Base in Chicopee, will also honor Checkwriters Payroll, Clear Channel/KIX 97.9, Big Y World Class Markets, and local heroes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to the Pioneer Valley USO Volunteer of the Year. The evening will begin with a welcome reception, followed by the dinner and program with Brown and the awards presentation. The evening will end with dancing to 1940s swing, R&B, and music from the era of Motown performed by the O-Tones. For tickets or more information, call Al Tracy at the USO Office, (413) 557-3290, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.pioneervalleyuso.org.

Workshop on Mobile Technology
April 13: Chris Amato of Knectar Design and Jeff Hobbs of Advanced Internet will lead a workshop on the various critical aspects of the shift to a mobile-technology landscape from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The workshop is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network. Amato and Hobbs will discuss how mobile and smart-phone technology has surpassed expectations to become the leading communications and application technology platform for users in many market sectors. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Marketing Basics Workshop
April 20: A workshop led by Dianne Doherty of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network will focus on the basic disciplines of marketing, beginning with research – primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative. Topics will include advertising, public relations, and the importance of developing a marketing plan. Doherty’s presentation is planned from 3 to 5 p.m. at the TD Bank community room, 175 Main St., Northampton. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

‘Not Just Business as
Usual’
April 26: Al Verrecchia, retired CEO and chairman of the board of Hasbro Inc., will be the keynote speaker for a program titled “Not Just Business As Usual,” presented by the Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation. The STCC Foundation will capture the energy and excitement of the college’s past, present, and future at the unique affair that will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. In addition, two past Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductees, Balise Motor Sales and Smith & Wesson, will be honored for their continued success and contributions to the local community. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a dinner program from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $175 each or $1500 for a table of 10. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit STCC. For more information, visit www.notjustbusinessasusual.net.
Understanding Financial Reports
April 27: Robb Morton of Boisselle, Morton & Associates will lead a workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on how to read financial statements. Following the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, a lunch is planned as well as a question session. The program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Western Mass.
Business Expo
May 4: Businesses from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties will come together for the premier trade show in the region, the Western Mass. Business Expo. Formerly known as the Market Show, the event, produced by BusinessWest, and staged at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, has been revamped and improved to provide exposure and business opportunities for area companies. The cost for a 10-by-10 booth is $700 for members of all area chambers and $750 for non-members; corner booths are $750 for all chamber members and $800 for non-members, and a 10-by-20 booth is $1,200 for all chamber members and $1,250 for non-members.
For more information, log onto www.wmbexpo.com or www.businesswest.com, or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10.

Springfield 375th Parade
May 14: The Spirit of Springfield is seeking community involvement for the city’s 375th birthday celebration, which will include a parade that represents all that Springfield has to offer, its roots, and its future. If you have a business or group that would like to get involved in the festivities, call (413) 733-3800 or e-mail [email protected].

EASTEC 2011
May 17-19: EASTEC, the East Coast’s largest annual manufacturing event, will once again be staged at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. For exhibition or registration details, call (866) 635-4692 or visit www.easteconline.com.

40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its Forty Under 40 class of 2011 at a gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early-summer tradition in the region. This year’s winners will be announced in April. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Using New Media
May 18: Gretchen Siegchrist of Media Shower Productions and Robert Malin of Malin Productions will lead a presentation from 9 to 11 a.m. that will teach participants how they can use the new media to grow their social media reach and influence. After an overview of different types of online videos for businesses, they will look at various platforms for sharing videos online including YouTube. The cost is $40 for the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network is sponsoring the event. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Summer Business Summit
June 27-28: The Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis will be the setting for the Summer Business Summit, hosted by the Massachusetts Chamber of Business and Industry. Nominations are being accepted for the Massachusetts Chamber, Business of the Year, and Employer of Choice awards. The two-day conference will feature educational speakers, presentations by lawmakers, VIP receptions, and more. For more information, visit www.masscbi.com.

The Big Night Approaches

By
BizDiffMakrsLOGO
Features
Difference Makers to Be Saluted on March 24

BizDiffMakrsLOGO2011They have become part of the tradition — and a big part of the event prep work.
These would be the ornate cloth butterflies that have come to symbolize BusinessWest’s Difference Makers program — and decorate the ceiling at the Log Cabin & Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke on the night of the awards ceremony.
“It takes several hours to get them up and looking just right,” said Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher and advertising manager. “But it’s worth it; they bring energy to the room, and they convey the forward movement, the momentum, that this program was created to generate.”
These colorful insects were chosen as the imagery for Difference Makers as a nod to something called the Butterfly Effect, the theory that small and seemingly inconsequential actions, such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can have broad, and even global, impact.
“In the case of the Difference Makers, their actions, which come in a number of forms, have had enormous impact on this region, and even beyond,” said Campiti, adding that this effect is certainly in evidence with those chosen for the honor this year. “Their work has affected, and improved, the lives of people across Western Mass.”
This year’s recipients, to be honored on Thursday, March 24 at a gala to begin at 5 p.m., are:
• Tim Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission;
• Lucia (Lucy) Giuggio-Carvalho, founder of Rays of Hope, a fund-raising walk staged to battle breast cancer;
• Don Kozera, president of Human Resources Unlimited;
• Robert Perry, retired partner/consultant with Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; and
• Anthony Scott, police chief of the city of Holyoke.
BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien said the honorees for 2011 demonstrate the many ways in which an individual can make a difference in the region.
“In Chief Scott, we have a police administrator who likes to say that he made that the cost of doing business in his city too high for criminals, thus forcing them out of town or into a different line of work,” said O’Brien. “And in Lucy Carvalho, we have someone who survived breast cancer and then created a walk that has raised more than $18 million for research and services for breast-cancer victims.
“Meanwhile, Tim Brennan authored the region’s Plan for Progress, giving it a blueprint to follow for several decades as it works to remain competitive with other regions,” O’Brien continued. “Don Kozera’s leadership has enabled Human Resources Unlimited to expand and enhance its programs for the physically and mentally challenged, and Robert Perry has donated time, energy, and imagination to a number of area nonprofit groups, especially Habitat for Humanity.
“Their contributions vary,” O’Brien went on, “but the bottom line is that all these individuals are helping to improve quality of life in this region, and truly making a difference.”
Tickets for this year’s event are still available ($50 each, with tables of 10 available) and can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600, via e-mail at [email protected]; or online at www.businesswest.com.
The gala is being sponsored by abc40/Fox 6; Baystate Medical Practices; Catuogno Court Reporting/Sten-Tel; Epstein Financial Group; Health New England; Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; Royal LLP; and Sarat Ford.

Fast Facts:

What: The Difference Makers Gala
When: Thursday, March 24
Where: The Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House
Honorees: Tim Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lucia (Lucy) Giuggio-Carvalho, founder of Rays of Hope; Don Kozera, president of Human Resources Unlimited; Robert Perry, retired partner/consultant with Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; and Anthony Scott, police chief of the city of Holyoke.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Business Plan Basics
March 3: The Mass. Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network will host a training session titled “Business Plan Basics” from 10 a.m. to noon at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, 395 Main St., Greenfield. Allen Kronick, MSBDC, will present the workshop that focuses on management fundamentals from start-up considerations through business-plan development. Topics include financing, marketing, and business planning. The fee is $35. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Dance Your Way to Wellness
March 4: The Chicopee and Greater Holyoke chambers of commerce will stage a fun night out called “Dance Your Way to Wellness” at the Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive in Chicopee, beginning at 6 p.m. The event will feature open dancing — as well as a dance production featuring award-winning dancers and student chamber members — all to the music of After All. Tickets are $40 per person for dinner and the dance production, and $20 for the production and open dancing (after 8 p.m.). For more information or to purchase tickets, call (413) 594-2101.

Transformational Leadership Forum
March 4: Randy Dobbs, author and protégé of General Electric’s legendary CEO Jack Welch, will be the keynote speaker for a forum titled “Transformational Leadership: a Blueprint for Organizational and Individual Success,” at the Western New England College (WNEC) Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship in Springfield. Hosted by WNEC and Springfield-based UnityFirst.com, the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. event will offer insights on how individuals, organizations, and businesses can drive significant business improvement by adapting to change. Dobbs will share many tested concepts from his book, Transformational Leadership. Also, a panel of thought leaders will offer perspectives on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Registration is required to attend the forum, which includes a copy of Dobbs’ book and lunch. To register, call (413) 221-7931 or e-mail [email protected].

National College Fair
March 6-7: The Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield is the setting for the Springfield National College Fair, slated from 1 to 4 p.m. on March 6 and from 9 a.m. to noon on March 7. Sponsored by the National Assoc. for College Admission Counseling, and hosted by the New England Assoc. for College Admission Counseling, the event is free and open to the public. The fair allows students and parents to meet one-on-one with admissions representatives from a wide range of national and international, public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Participants will learn about admission requirements, financial aid, course offerings, and campus environment, as well as other information pertinent to the college-selection process. Students can register at www.gotomyncf.com prior to attending the event to receive a printed, bar-coded confirmation to use on-site at the fair as an electronic ID.

Forum on Sales
March 9: The Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, will be the setting for a program titled “Prospecting, Cold Calls, and Sales, Oh My!” from 9 to 11 a.m. The program, sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network, will be presented by Sheldon Snodgrass of SteadySales.com. Snodgrass will discuss ways to approach, qualify, and close prospects, as well as how to keep one’s ego and integrity intact. Additionally, Snodgrass will explain how to distinguish between a high- and low-probability prospect, how to get appointments with decision makers, and how to present who you are and what you do. A complete workbook is included. Fee is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

The Vision Project
March 10: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield will present “The Vision Project,” an event featuring Richard Freeland, Massachusetts commissioner of Higher Education, who will detail a new public higher-education agenda that has taken that name. The talk is slated for noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Springfield Sheraton. A box lunch will be provided. The master plan unites the work of the state’s community colleges, state universities, and the UMass system, while stressing accountability and aspirations for higher-education leadership. Freeland will detail why he believes Massachusetts needs “the best-educated citizenry and workforce in the nation,” and how the state can aspire to improve educational outcomes even in tough economic times. Tickets are $20 for ACCGS members and $30 for non-members. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 755-1313 or visit www.myonlinechamber.com.

Be the Authority Lecture
March 16: Claudia Gere of Claudia Gere & Co. will present a lecture titled “Be the Authority and Attract More Customers” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The lecture is hosted by the Mass. Small Business Development Center (MSBDC). Gere will explain how to create written content to demonstrate your expertise, establish yourself as an authority, and create trust. Templates, formulas, and how-tos will be provided. The fee is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

U.S. Navy Band
Salutes City
March 18: The U.S. Navy Band will treat Springfield to an early birthday gift — a birthday concert — at 7 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall. The City of Springfield turns 375 years in May, and the band concert is just one of several events planned to mark the milestone. As the premier wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy, the band will perform a wide range of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions, and modern wind ensemble repertoire. Tickets are free and can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Spirit of Springfield/U.S. Navy Band, 101 State St., Suite 220, Springfield, MA 01103.

Difference Makers
March 24: BusinessWest will salute its Difference Makers Class of 2011 at a gala slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Initiated in 2009, the Difference Makers program recognizes individuals and groups making outstanding contributions to the Western Mass. community. The 2011 winners — Tim Brennan, Lucia Giuggio Carvalho, Don Kozera, Robert Perry, and Anthony Scott — were profiled in the magazine’s Feb. 14 issue. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($50 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10; or visit www.businesswest.com.

Lecture on Independent Contractor Statute
March 25: Attorney Susan Fentin of Skoler, Abbott & Presser will discuss the amendment to the Mass. Independent Contractor statute in 2004, and how misclassification has caught the attention of the Department of Labor. Fentin will cover the amendment, how it applies to individuals in the workforce, and the steps an employer needs to ensure compliance. The fee is $10. For more information, call (413) 737-6712, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 26: Al Verrecchia, retired CEO and chairman of the board of Hasbro Inc., will be the keynote speaker for a program titled “Not Just Business as Usual,” presented by the Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation. The STCC Foundation will capture the energy and excitement of the college’s past, present, and future at the unique affair that will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. In addition, two past Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductees, Balise Motor Sales and Smith & Wesson, will be honored for their continued success and contributions to the local community. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a dinner program from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $175 each or $1,500 for a table of 10. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit STCC. For more information on the event, visit www.notjustbusinessasusual.net.

Western Mass.
Business Expo
May 4: Businesses from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties will come together for the premier trade show in the region, the Western Mass. Business Expo. Formerly known as the Market Show, the event, produced by BusinessWest, and staged at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, has been revamped and improved to provide exposure and business opportunities for area companies. The cost for a 10-by-10 booth is $700 for members of all area chambers and $750 for non-members; corner booths are $750 for all chamber members and $800 for non-members; and a 10-by-20 booth is $1,200 for all chamber members and $1,250 for non-members. For more information, log onto www.businesswest.com, or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10.

Springfield 375th Parade
May 14: The Spirit of Springfield is seeking community involvement for the city’s 375th birthday celebration, which will include a parade that represents all that Springfield has to offer, its roots, and its future. If you have a business or group that would like to get involved in the festivities, call (413) 733-3800 or e-mail a message to [email protected].

EASTEC 2011
May 17-19: EASTEC, the East Coast’s largest annual manufacturing event, will once again be staged at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. For exhibition or registration information, call (866) 635-4692 or visit www.easteconline.com.

40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its 40 Under Forty class of 2011 at a not-to-be-missed gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early-summer tradition in the region. A team of five judges is currently scoring more than 100 nominations, and the winners will be announced in April. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10; or visit www.businesswest.com.

Summer Business Summit
June 27-28: The Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis will be the setting for the Summer Business Summit, hosted by the Mass. Chamber of Business and Industry of Boston. Nominations are being accepted for the Massachusetts Chamber, Business of the Year, and Employer of Choice awards. The two-day conference will feature educational speakers, presentations by lawmakers, VIP receptions, and more. For more information, visit www.masscbi.com.

Editorial

By
Opinion
They Make a Difference in Many Ways

This region is going to miss Anthony Scott.
Holyoke’s police chief is slated to retire in a few months, when he turns 65. In addition to making a serious dent in the level of criminal activity in the Paper City, Scott has been as outspoken as they come, making him a real favorite of the media and a royal pain to the judges and parole officers he’s criticized seemingly without end for what he considers light sentences and decisions to release repeat offenders on their own recognizance.
Scott, who will retire to a consulting gig in South Carolina, will long be remembered around here for his hard-edged sound bites and newspaper headlines, but his main contribution — it remains to be seen whether it’s a lasting contribution (that’s up to his successor) — was his success with simply driving criminals out of his city because, as he put it, he made the “overhead costs” too high to do business there.
Scott’s decade-long tenure in Holyoke is a classic example of how there are many ways to make a difference in this region through one’s work or contributions to the community. And this year’s Difference Makers, as chosen by BusinessWest (profiled beginning on page 40), really drive that point home.
Lucia (Lucy) Giuggio-Carvalho has made a difference by starting Rays of Hope. She was still recovering from breast cancer when she pulled together the concept, the sponsors, the upfront money, and, yes, the courage and determination to get this fund-raiser off the ground. Today, Rays of Hope is on the brink of surpassing the $1 million mark for funds raised in one year, and with any luck, organizers will bust down that door this fall.
But beyond the money raised — which goes toward research and a variety of services for breast-cancer victims — the walk has become, well, an event, a show of strength and perseverance for survivors and their friends and families. The results are difficult to quantify, but Carvalho and her walk have certainly made a difference in thousands of lives.
Some of Tim Brennan’s contributions are hard to quantify as well. It’s like that when you’re a long-range planner. Some of his efforts as director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission are visible — like the bike trails running through area cities and towns, a visibly cleaner Connecticut River, and a widened Coolidge Bridge. However, with initiatives such as the Plan for Progress, which Brennan initiated, the benefits are difficult to see with the naked eye.
But they have succeeded in doing something that is desperately needed in this region — promoting business owners and municipal leaders to look beyond next week, next year, or even the next decade, imagine what the competitive landscape will be like, and be ready for that day.
As for Robert Perry, as he told BusinessWest, he’s not really handy, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a driving force with Habitat for Humanity — or any of the organizations to which he’s contributed his time, energy, imagination, and ability with numbers.
In short, his contributions have added up to something special — literally and figuratively.
Which brings us to Don Kozera, whose strong leadership skills and ability to shape goals and, as he put it, “define reality” for his staff, have enabled Human Resources Unlimited to help those with physical and mental disabilities find employment, independence, and self-esteem. By doing so, he and all those at HRU are making a difference in the lives of thousands of people, and this region as a whole.
BusinessWest invites all its readers to attend the Difference Makers gala on March 24 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. We’ll be celebrating these five individuals, but also the many ways in which people can make a difference, and the hope that their work will inspire others to find and develop still more methods for having an impact.

Tim Brennan

By
Class of 2011 Difference Makers

Executive Director, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

Tim Brennan

Tim Brennan

Tim Brennan was talking about the specific skills one must possess to be a successful planner, especially a long-range planner, which is his unofficial job title.

And he focused on two traits — patience and tenacity — noting that one must have them in abundance in this arena, because some — actually, it’s more like most — initiatives don’t take a few months or years to become reality; they take a few decades, at least.

“If you get disappointed easily, and you don’t have the grit to keep coming back over and over again and make the plans work that you think should work, then you’ve picked the wrong job,” he told BusinessWest, laughing as he did so. “And it happens; some people just don’t have that demeanor for this.”

As an example of patience and tenacity, he cited work to create bike paths in the region, an initiative that dates back to when he started working for what was then known as the Lower Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Commission (LPVRPC), as the transportation planner, in 1973.

“There were none at that time, but the temperature started to change and the federal government became interested in things other than autos and transit,” he explained. “We started working on what was then the Five College Bikeway, which was a conceptual idea. Once the media-release value was gone, everyone abandoned it; but we stayed with it, and 20-something years later, I’m at the ribbon-cutting for the trail. I’m not the planner in the Transportation Department, I’m the director, and I’ve got two young daughters who are going to be able to use the Norwottuck trail.

“That’s a long time to wait for some satisfaction,” he continued, putting extra emphasis on that word ‘long.’ “But now we have these bikeway projects springing up across the area, and I think they’re really attraction amenities; they add a lot of value to communities, and when we get them to hook up with one another, they’re great assets.”

There are several other examples from Brennan’s tenure with what is now simply the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. They include everything from Connecticut River clean-up efforts to initiatives to bring more and better rail service to the area; from work to maximize the CSX complex in West Springfield as a regional economic-development asset to efforts to promote greater regionalization in this region and also neighboring Northern Conn.

For achieving progress in these areas and, overall, for giving that grit he described earlier, Brennan has been named one of BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2011. Some of the work he’s led is easy to see, such as those bike trails, a cleaner Connecticut River, and a reconstructed Coolidge Bridge. But some of it is outwardly less visible, yet equally important, such as the creation in 1994 of the Plan for Progress — a blueprint for helping the Valley remain competitive in an increasingly global economy — and its many updates since.

Brennan has seemingly always been a little ahead of his time, dating to when he did his thesis at UMass Amherst on issues concerning the collection and management of solid waste, and, specifically, the need for greater recycling. “That was kind of a radical idea at the time,” he said.

While at UMass, he took part in an internship with the city of Northampton, “which at that time was as downtrodden as any city you could imagine,” and worked on solid waste and, eventually, planning issues for then-Mayor Sean Dunphey. He was part of efforts to create a new master plan and revamped zoning laws, and was there to see the very beginnings of that city’s renaissance.

After graduating from UMass, Brennan commenced a search for employment in the region and found an opportunity at the LPVRPC as transportation planner. While in that position, he led the formation of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), one of many regional transit systems created by the state Legislature.

In 1980, when the directorship of the LPVRPC came open, Brennan applied, but did not get the nod. But when the individual who was chosen ultimately decided not to relocate from Illinois, another search was commenced, and this time Brennan triumphed.

When asked what’s kept him in this job for more than 30 years, working for and alongside countless mayors, selectmen, and planning and development leaders, Brennan said it’s the diversity of the work and the satisfaction that comes with overcoming the many challenges it takes to bring projects that are decades in the making to fruition.

He also likes the balance between working in both the present and future tenses.
“I tell people, and I really believe this, that one of the interesting things about planners is that you have to be bipolar in terms of your time zone,” he explained. “And I don’t know if you can quantify it, but both switches are always on because, if you can’t demonstrate that you’re relevant to the present, all your conjecture about the future gets completely tuned out.”

So when asked what the Greater Springfield area might look like in 30 years, the man who always has one eye focused at least that far down the road said there will be some recognizable changes.

“What’s going to shape the region is energy and climate change,” Brennan said. “Suddenly, it’s politically unpopular to talk about climate change, but the scientists are screaming that it’s real and we have to do something about it. A few weeks ago, the state set greenhouse-gas emission-reduction goals for 2020 and 2050. I don’t think I’ll be around in 2050, but it’s my job to start, with my colleagues, to take this seriously and try to get us ready.

“So what I see is that we won’t be on fossil fuels anymore; we’ll be running off different kinds of fuels, and we’ll need a more-compact land-use pattern — we can’t keep spreading out like we have been,” he continued. “We’ll be going back to the future in a way, where some of the places that we depopulated get repopulated, including many of the urban areas, the downtowns.”

Meanwhile, the Valley will have to focus its energies on successfully existing in one of what are projected to be a dozen or so ‘super regions,’ the one in question stretching from Philadelphia to Boston.

“We have to be connected to the Northeast mega-region, or we’re toast,” Brennan told BusinessWest. “There was a guy here 10 years ago who has a national reputation, who said that if we didn’t have firm plans and follow through on them, much of New England, including this region, could end up as a cul-de-sac, and that really stuck in my mind.

“I think the Valley has all the right building blocks to be one of those regions that can sustain itself going into all these major changes,” he continued. “That’s why we’re working on rail, that’s why we’re working on the broadband, that’s why we will be working on food security; these are all designed to put the infrastructure in place for the region to be vibrant and attractive.”

Getting to that place won’t be easy, but Brennan has the requisite personality traits — patience, tenacity, and that all-important grit — to get the job done.

— George O’Brien

Lucia Giuggio Carvalho

By
Class of 2011 Difference Makers

Founder, Rays of Hope

Lucy Giuggio Carvalho

Lucy Giuggio Carvalho

Lucy Giuggio Carvalho calls them her “million-dollar sunglasses.”

She found them in a bargain bin at T.J. Maxx in the summer of 2009, and knew at first sight that she had something special.

“I think I paid $2 for them; they’re pink, they’re sparkly, they’re different,” said Carvalho, who gave them their name because she thought that, by wearing them, she could help will the fund-raising walk known as Rays of Hope — which she founded after becoming a breast-cancer survivor in 1994 — over the $1 million mark for that year’s walk.

Thus far, the shades haven’t lived up to their name — the tallies for the past few walks have come tantalizing close to what is, for now, anyway, the magic number, but haven’t crossed that threshold. But Carvalho isn’t ready to give up on her latest good-luck charm.

“They’ll be back for a third year,” she said with a large dose of conviction, adding quickly that her choice of eyewear is just one of myriad decisions to make when it comes to her Rays of Hope ensemble (everything goes with pink sneakers, apparently). Indeed, over the years she has collected vast amounts of keepsakes and gifts from event organizers and fellow walkers — survivor pins and badges, scarves, T-shirts, and assorted chochkies, as she calls them. “I couldn’t wear it all,” she joked. “If I did, it would weigh me down so much I couldn’t walk.”

There are far more scientific ways of measuring just how far Rays of Hope has come in 17 years than Carvalho’s inventory of options when it comes to accessorizing for the annual walk — such as the total raised to date, more than $8 million. But there are perhaps none that are more poignant.

They show how the event has evolved into more than a fund-raiser — although it is that, first and foremost. It has become, said Carvalho, a very powerful show of strength, and unity, in a fight that’s far from over — a sobering fact that draws more individuals and teams to the starting line every year.

For creating and nurturing this show of unity, Carvalho, a former oncology nurse and currently director of case management for Jewish Geriatric Services, has been named one of BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2011. She said that, if she had her way, she would bring the tens of thousands of walkers and event organizers to the podium with her, because it is their collective efforts that have made the event, through the dollars it raises, a difference maker in the lives of breast-cancer victims, and a role player in the ongoing efforts to find a cure.

When asked how Rays of Hope came to be, Carvalho didn’t start with her own well-documented battle with breast cancer, which began when she discovered a lump during a self-exam. Instead, she focused on her nephew’s involvement, and also her own, in an AIDS walk in Boston several years earlier, and the very important lessons she took from it.

“I come from a family that gets involved,” she said while explaining how and why she became a participant. “And it’s from that walk that I gained a lot of the vision that I wanted to see happen here. That’s where I learned so much about how important it is, and how much you can do, if you can get a group of people who are dedicated to a cause and try to make a difference.

“They raised a lot of money, and they made it fun,” she continued. “They made it fun, exciting, and educational. While you were walking, you talked with people and learned about the disease; all that made it such a fulfilling experience that you wanted to do it again, and we did.”

To make a long and inspiring story short, Calvalho and other Rays of Hope organizers have managed to do the same with their event.

Indeed, with memories of that AIDS walk still fresh in her mind and an American Cancer Society breast-cancer walk that netted $400,000 in the pouring rain further inspiring her, Carvalho, while still recovering from her own lengthy battle with the disease, set out to create her own event.

She recruited organizers, secured a media sponsor (Channel 40), and gained commitments for startup funds. Still, many people involved with her wanted her to wait a year to get on even more solid ground. She listened to that advice, but pressed ahead with her plans for that year, and is glad she did.

“I believe to this day that, if I waited a year, it wouldn’t have happened,” she explained. “It had to happen, and it had to happen that year. I had the energy, I had the passion, I had the motivation, I had the group … the stars were aligned, and it was meant to be.”

Today, funds from Rays of Hope go in several directions. Some are put toward ongoing research, including work at the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute in Springfield. Funds also go toward a wide range of services, including what are known as ‘complementary services’ for those battling the disease. These include yoga, Reiki, and something known as Art from the Heart.

Carvalho is traditionally assigned the task of reviewing requests in this complementary-services category, which she says has perhaps the most compelling direct impact on breast-cancer patients.

“It’s probably the most unscientific aspect of all this, but the piece that really helps people,” she explained. “It’s promoting wellness, and a way of helping people through the process.”

Over the years, Carvalho has turned over most all of the operational aspects of the walk to partner Baystate Health, employees there, and a massive team of volunteers. She describes the broad planning and execution process as a “well-oiled machine” with which she is still quite active.

She has what she considers a lifetime seat on the committee that receives and considers funding requests and ultimately rewards proceeds, and played a role in a five-year strategic plan for the walk undertaken in 2004. “Obviously, we’re overdue for another one.”

As for walk day itself, she said she has a badge (somewhat lost amid everything else she wears) that identifies her as the founder. “It gets me a parking space close to the start line,” she joked, adding that she is largely anonymous for the event itself, walking with a team from JGS and family members, and getting to meet as many new people as time and circumstances allow.

Carvalho told BusinessWest that fund-raising veterans have marveled at the longevity of Rays of Hope. “They say an event like this one usually runs its course in 10 years, and then you have to find something else. This one, though, shows no signs of slowing down; I don’t see it ending unless we find a cure for breast cancer.”

The one constant, she said, is change — in everything from the size and composition of the crowd of participants, to new wrinkles (a run and a walk in Greenfield were added for 2010), to the programs funded by the proceeds.

One thing that won’t change for 2011 is that pair of million-dollar sunglasses.

Carvalho isn’t sure what else she’ll be wearing — again, there are a lot of decisions to make — but weather permitting (and perhaps even if it doesn’t), the shades will return.

And Carvalho believes this year they will live up to their name.

— George O’Brien

Don Kozera

By
Class of 2011 Difference Makers

President, Human Resources Unlimited

Don Kozera

Don Kozera

Don Kozera says he applies a number of lessons from his time in teaching to his day-to-day work as president of Human Resources Unlimited (HRU).

And one of the most important dates back to his first full day at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester, Vt., and what happened after.

“The administration thought it would be an excellent idea to have the students choose their homeroom teacher,” he recalled for BusinessWest in a voice conveying no small dose of cynicism, “because if they choose their homeroom teacher they’ll be more bonded to that individual, and the teacher will become their advisor … that was the theory, anyway.

“I was a young guy right out of school, 22 years old. I coached soccer, and some of the kids thought I was a cool guy who could relate to people,” he continued. “Anyway, I had no idea what I was doing, really, but I had 300 names on my door when I arrived that first day. And then, there was this extremely experienced, but tough, science teacher across the hall from me, and she had two.”

The moral to this story? “The concept was a great one, but the execution of it just created all kinds of problems,” he explained. “That woman … she hated me for the rest of my time there, and she made my life a living hell.

“Often in management, there is great intent on the part of people like those administrators at Green Mountain Union,” he went on. “But when you put it into action, the unintended consequences of that decision were worse than having left things the way they were. By choosing their homeroom teacher, the students did bond better with the teacher — that part was true, but what they failed to realize was that they destroyed the collaboration between teachers, the sharing of information; everybody then became an island.

“That piece is something I carry with me all the time,” he continued, “and the way you apply it is that you don’t think you know the answer, and you don’t do things in isolation.”

Kozera has let that experience and many others help guide him as he’s steered HRU to continued growth and success as an organization devoted to helping mentally and physically disabled individuals find work — and, in the process, gain confidence, self-esteem, and all the other rewards that come with meaningful employment, and become productive members of society.

Since arriving in 1980 as fiscal director of what was known then as the Carval Workshop, Kozera has led the agency, which currently operates on an annual budget of $7.5 million and assists more than 1,500 people a year, on a course of expansion and evolution to where it now includes a number of working parts, including:

• A component known as Workforce Alternatives, which helps transition individuals from public assistance to the workplace through job-readiness skills, placement assistance, and ongoing support;

• Pyramid, a ‘day habilitation’ program that provides a caring environment in which individuals with developmental disabilities can enhance their physical, mental, and social competencies;

• ETS (Employment Training Support) Career Services, which provides individuals who are disabled or have developmental or other disabilities with opportunities to increase their vocational skills and find meaningful work that ranges from light assembly to sorting greeting cards bound for the Final Markdown;

• Custom Packaging, HRU’s commercial division that provides a wide range of customers with services that include light assembly, heat-sealing, shrink-wrapping, folding, collating, and mailing; and

• Four clubhouses — Lighthouse, Star Light, Forum House, and Trade Winds — that help transition members, who join on a volunteer basis, to meaningful employment.

For these efforts, as well as his recent and ongoing efforts to successfully combat what he called “mission drift,” Kozera has been named one of BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2011. More specifically, Kozera is being recognized for his work in leading the organization through times of change and extreme challenge.

This leadership comes in a number of forms — from successfully managing day-to-day operations to conducting long-term strategic planning, to maintaining the critical balance that is part and parcel to both of those assignments. And, overall, and to borrow Kozera’s own words, “making sure that the guiding principles of the organization are not simply words on a wall.”

When asked for his job description and the approach that he takes to everything on that list, Kozera thought for a minute and said that, at the end of the day, it is essentially to set goals for the agency and give his staff the tools and the direction to meet them.

And these goals must be realistic, he continued.

“That’s because, when people are constantly working on unrealistic goals, they become deflated, and then it becomes OK never to achieve — they just work hard, but they don’t achieve,” he explained. “You must have action phases that are really defined, timelines that are really defined, and goals that are aggressive but ultimately achievable.

“My job is to really define reality and to make sure everyone knows what that reality is and to pull people toward that vision and ensure that we stay in balance,” he continued. “Staying in balance is how you manage change.”

Kozera said that, whenever he’s looking or acting like the bureaucracy or regulatory aspects of his work are dragging him down, they’ll find some way to get him out to one of HRU’s various programs.

“They’ll call one of the managers to invite me to the program for some purpose,” he explained, “and then I’m fine. That’s when I’m reminded of exactly what I’m doing; by far the most rewarding thing for me is seeing the outcome of those programs.”

Which brings him back to that mission drift he mentioned and the need to be vigilant about allowing it to happen.

“Especially in bad times, it’s easy to get mission drift and essentially chase money, and we have not done that,” he explained. “Sometimes you’ll see agencies like ours, specializing in employment services, see a residential contract come out and say, ‘let’s do some residential work.’ Is that really their expertise? And is there a need for that? Often, they’re just trying to make their organization survive.

“We’ve remained very true to our mission, even in the tough times, and there have been none tougher than what we’re seeing now,” he continued. “We have a niche mission — our major focus is employment services; they are the tool to empowerment for us. In these times, everyone’s grabbing, and it’s not just on human services — you’re seeing painters looking at paving; people are just trying to stay in the game. We’re very conscious of mission drift and are committed to not letting that happen.”

As he goes about meeting that overriding goal, Kozera will keep in mind the lessons he’s learned over the past 30 years, and some that go back further, to those lists of names on the teachers’ doors at Green Mountain Union High School.

In short, he won’t just think he knows the answer, and won’t do anything in isolation.

— George O’Brien

Anthony Scott

By
Class of 2011 Difference Makers

Police Chief, City of Holyoke

Anthony Scott

Anthony Scott

Anthony Scott was talking about his penchant for garnering media attention.

He insists that he’s not a publicity hound, and that newspaper headlines and broadcast sound bites “have just happened” — everywhere he’s gone, including Holyoke.

But Scott, the city’s police chief since 2001, freely admits that he tries to align himself with the press — “I meet the media on their grounds” — and use its reach to get his various messages across. “You can’t sit down and talk to 40,000 people,” he said, noting the approximate population of the Paper City, “but you can use the media to reach them.”

As for what he does with the press and how he does it, he summons a few quotes from an old Cajun friend, passed along when Scott was a young officer with the New Orleans Police Department.

“He told me to never get into a pissing contest with someone who buys their ink by the barrel, their paper by the ton, or their videotape by the mile,” Scott told BusinessWest, acknowledging that this is time-honored advice uttered by many. “He also said that, if you can’t say something kind, nice, or good, tell the truth.”

And through a 44-year career in law enforcement, that’s exactly what Scott has been doing — telling the truth. Sometimes, actually, much of the time, it comes with a little sarcasm, and more often than not it hurts those to whom he’s referring. But this certainly has never stopped the truly outspoken Scott, who will be retiring in April, from speaking his mind.

Consider these comments concerning various topics and constituencies:

On the Holyoke City Council, with which he has butted heads seemingly since the day he arrived: “It’s funny … but when an individual gets 400 or maybe 1,000 votes, they suddenly think they know more about your job than you do. I’ve only been doing this for 40-something years. I’m not trying to be a smart aleck, but I think I know a little more about law enforcement than the average politician.”

On his seemingly incessant criticism of judges for what he considers light sentences and releasing criminals on their own recognizance, and whether this campaign has made an impact: “The judiciary won’t admit it, but it has. We can see that judges are getting a little stiffer on the sentencing and bails are increasing. I’ve been a royal pain in their tuckus; they don’t like me, and personally, I don’t care. I’m here to look out for the citizens of Holyoke, and I’m going to do that until the day I walk out of this office.”

And how about this letter, which Scott wrote to the state parole board when informed that one Angel Santiago, found guilty of breaking and entering and assault on a police officer, was scheduled for a parole hearing just six days into a 60-day sentence? “Inmate Santiago hasn’t had sufficient time to adjust to the luxuries in his present surroundings within the House of Corrections before you are in a rush to push him out the door and back into the civilized community to which he has shown nothing but contempt. Once again I ask that you excuse my sense of right and wrong, but scheduling a parole hearing does not appear to be in the best interest of public safety, nor does it send a message that one must pay for the crimes they commit. Inmate Santiago is a thief, and at the young age of 21, inmate Santiago has been arraigned 11 times in the Holyoke and Springfield district courts. To even consider this rascal for parole is an insult to me, the arresting officers, and the citizens of Holyoke.”

Scott told BusinessWest that he considers such letter-writing, such telling it like it is, to be an important part of his job. He describes all of these various efforts as part of his work to be a voice for victims — and he says there are not enough of them.

“You have a lot of people out there who are very vocal about the rights of criminals, and how fairly criminals should be treated when they go to court,” he said. “There are a lot of voices out there. But not a lot of voices saying, ‘how about the victims of crime?’”

For standing up for victims and, more importantly, for making Holyoke an inhospitable place for criminals and would-be criminals, Chief Scott has made another headline, this time as one of BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2011.

And the chief found a little irony in the fact that he was being honored by a business publication, because he has a degree in business, and, more to the point, he approaches crime like a business.

Well, to be more specific, he says he wants to make it so criminals won’t want to do business in his city.

“If a business is operating within a city and that city continues to raise its taxes and raise its fees, and the business overhead gets to be expensive for them, they’ll relocate,” he explained. “They’ll go to another city where the taxes are lower and the fees are low enough so they can operate and make a profit.

“I look at that the same way I do at criminals,” he continued. “I try to make the overhead as high as possible; I try to wreck their drug business, I try to get fees and fines increased … and those individuals from the dark side, the attorneys, help me out a lot. They charge a great deal of money for their services. So the criminal has to pay higher attorney fees, higher fines, they lose their drugs — so they are going to seek out a city that’s not driving up the overhead. I get calls from correctional officers working in Massachusetts and Connecticut who tell me that the criminal element is telling other criminals, ‘don’t go to Holyoke — that chief is crazy.’”

Dark side?

Lawyers probably like Scott because his war on crime has created more business for them, but if they don’t, it really doesn’t matter to him. As he said, he’s told the City Council on many occasions, “I don’t do touchy-feely. My job is to remove the criminal element from the street and make the community safe.”

Scott will reach mandatory retirement age (65) in a few months, and is stepping down in April. He said his plan for life after police work — and it seems well-thought-out — is to do consulting work with police departments, handle background checks on candidates for executive positions, and similar investigatory work. He said he won’t miss the judges — and took one more shot on his way out the door, saying he’ll be extra careful in retirement “because, if I get arrested for a parking ticket, I’m going to jail” — or the city councilors. He will miss the people of Holyoke, though.

“They welcomed me into their community and made me feel at home,” he said, adding that he’s not quite sure what retirement will bring for him.

Probably more of what he’s been doing all along: telling the truth.

— George O’Brien

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

‘Transformational Leadership’ Forum
March 4: Randy Dobbs, author and protégé of General Electric’s legendary CEO Jack Welch, will be the keynote speaker for a forum titled “Transformational Leadership: a Blueprint for Organizational and Individual Success,” at the Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship in Springfield. Hosted by the college and Springfield-based UnityFirst.com, the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. event will offer insights on how individuals, organizations, and businesses can drive significant business improvement by adapting to change. Dobbs will share many tested concepts from his book on transformational leadership. Also, a panel of thought leaders will offer perspectives on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Registration is required to attend the forum, which includes a copy of Dobbs’ book and lunch. To register, contact (413) 221-7931 or [email protected].

National College Fair
March 6-7: The Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield is the setting for the Springfield National College Fair, slated from 1 to 4 p.m. on March 6, and from 9 a.m. to noon on March 7. Sponsored by the National Assoc. for College Admission Counseling and hosted by the New England Assoc. for College Admission Counseling, the event is free and open to the public. The fair allows students and parents to meet one-on-one with admissions representatives from a wide range of national and international, public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Participants will learn about admission requirements, financial aid, course offerings, and campus environment, as well as other information pertinent to the college-selection process. Students can register at www.gotomyncf.com prior to attending the event to receive a printed, bar-coded confirmation to use on-site at the fair as an electronic ID.

U.S. Navy Band to Salute Springfield on Birthday
March 18: The U.S. Navy Band will treat Springfield to an early birthday gift — a birthday concert — at 7 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall. The city of Springfield turns 375 years old in May, and the band concert is just one of several events planned to mark the milestone. As the premier wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy, the band will perform a wide range of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions, and modern wind-ensemble fare. Tickets are free and can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Spirit of Springfield/U.S. Navy Band, 101 State St., Suite 220, Springfield, MA 01103.

Difference Makers Gala
March 24: BusinessWest will salute its Difference Makers Class of 2011 at a gala slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Initiated in 2009, the Difference Makers program recognizes individuals and groups making outstanding contributions to the Western Mass. community. The 2011 winners will be announced in the magazine’s Feb. 14 issue. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($50 per person, with tables of 10 available) call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10; or log on to www.businesswest.com.

Western Mass. Business Expo
May 4: Businesses from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties will come together for the premier trade show in the region, the Western Mass. Business Expo. Formerly called the Market show, the event, produced by BusinessWest and held at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, has been revamped and improved to better provide exposure and business opportunities to area companies. See the article on page 16 for more information. The cost for a 10-by-10 booth is $700 for chamber members and $750 for non-members; corner booths are $750 and $800, respectively, and a 10-by-20 booth is $1,200 for chamber members and $1,250 for non-members. For more information, log onto www.businesswest.com or www.accgs.com, or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10.

Springfield 375th Parade
May 14: The Spirit of Springfield is seeking community involvement for the city’s 375th birthday celebration, which will include a parade that represents all that Springfield has to offer, its roots, and its future. If you have a business or group that would like to get involved in the festivities, call (413) 733-3800 or e-mail a message to [email protected].

EASTEC 2011
May 17-19: EASTEC, the East Coast’s largest annual manufacturing event, will once again be staged at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. For exhibition or registration information, call (866) 635-4692 or visit www.easteconline.com.

Fifth Annual BusinessWest
40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its 40 Under Forty Class of 2011 at a not-to-be-missed gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early summer tradition in the region. Nominations are currently being accepted for this year’s class (see form, page 73), and a team of five judges will complete the scoring of those nominations in late February, with the winners being announced in April. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available) call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10; or visit www.businesswest.com.

Summer Business Summit
June 27-28: The Massachusetts Chamber of Business & Industry will host its annual two-day business summit at the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis with a host of educational speakers and presentations by lawmakers. In addition, panel discussions are planned on energy, health care, and taxes and finance. Meanwhile, recognition is planned for Business of the Year, Employer of Choice, and Friend of Business from the local legislature. For more information, call (617) 512-9667.

A Date with Destiny

By
Difference Makers Features
Celebrate This Year’s Difference Makers on March 24

Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher and advertising director, says that, when the magazine created the Difference Makers recognition program more than two years ago, it did so knowing that there were many ways in which recipients could live up to that title.
And never has that been more evident than with the class of 2011, recently chosen by the magazine after receiving dozens of worthy nominations. Indeed, this year’s cast consists of:

• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Tim Brennan, who has kept one eye on the present and the other on the future — sometimes decades into the future — as he goes about helping to create a better quality of life for area residents and enabling this region to effectively compete in an increasingly global economy. He has many legacies, including the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, a cleaner Connecticut River, several bike trails, and the Plan for Progress — with more on the horizon;

• The founder of Rays of Hope, Lucia (Lucy) Giuggio Carvalho. A breast-cancer survivor, she took inspiration, and some practical lessons in how to wage an effective event, from an AIDS walk in Boston led by, among others, her nephew, and created a walk that today draws more than 18,000 participants annually. In 17 years, Rays of Hope has raised more than $8 million for breast-cancer services and research, while also creating a strong show of unity in the ongoing fight against this killer;

• Don Kozera, president of Human Resources Unlimited, who, over the course of three decades of leadership, has enabled the organization to expand and evolve while remaining true to its original mission: helping individuals with mental and physical disabilities find employment and thus become productive members of society. Kozera has steered the agency though a number of fiscal and bureaucratic challenges while keeping it on course with its all-important goals;

• Robert Perry, a quasi-retired accountant who has, over the course of his career, devoted generous amounts of time, energy, imagination, and dedication to a number of nonprofit organizations, especially Habitat for Humanity. While lending his financial acumen and strong leadership and organizational skills to that agency as president and treasurer, he and his wife, Bobbi, also provided a large dose of inspiration when they committed to donating and raising $35,000 each toward the construction of a Habitat home, the building of which coincided with their 35th wedding anniversary; and

• Holyoke’s police chief, Anthony Scott, who says that his decade-long mission in that job — one that most would say he’s accomplished — has been to “increase the overhead” on criminals in that city, thus driving them out of business, or at least to another community. While doing so, he’s kept the heat on judges and probation officers to keep criminals in jail and off the streets.

“This year’s class of Difference Makers clearly show that there are, indeed, many ways to make a difference in our community,” said Campiti, noting that the award was created to highlight this fact and hopefully inspire others to find new and different ways to continue this legacy.
The class of 2011 will be honored at a gala slated for March 24 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, beginning with a networking hour starting at 5 p.m. The event will feature entertainment, butlered hors d’ouevres, lavish food stations, introductions of the Difference Makers, and remarks from the members of this year’s class.
Tickets are $50 per person, with tables of 10 available. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

Rick’s Place Benefit
Feb. 5: The third annual Heart to Heart fund-raiser for Rick’s Place is planned from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Ludlow Country Club. Established in memory of Rick Thorpe, who died in Tower Two of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Rick’s Place was created to provide a supportive, secure environment where families can remember their loved ones and avoid the sense of isolation that a loss can produce. For ticket information, call Shelly Bathe Lenn at (413) 348-3120 or visit www.ricksplacema.org.

Business Open House
Feb. 9: The Scibelli Enterprise Center at the STCC Technology Park in Springfield will host an open house titled “Growing Successful Small Businesses” from noon to 1 p.m. The event is offered to explain how the Enterprise Center is the regional hub for entrepreneurship for Western Mass. Small-business owners and service providers are encouraged to attend the open house. For more information, call (413) 755-6109 or visit
www.springfieldincubator.com.

Outlook 2011
Feb. 11: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) will host Outlook 2011 at Chez Josef in Agawam. The program begins at 11:45 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m. Outlook 2011 is ACCGS’s largest event of the year, where the annual legislative agenda is announced. The featured speaker will be Congressman Richard E. Neal, who will give the outlook on the federal level. As a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the House, and a congressman long-recognized for his ability and willingness to reach across the aisle to work with his Republican colleagues, Neal will discuss the agenda for the 112th Congress, including his unique insights into areas such as health care, federal tax reform, job creation, and Social Security. ACCGS is also working with Gov. Deval Patrick’s office for him to be the keynote speaker on the state level. If for some reason the governor cannot attend, a high-ranking official from the state will be on hand to present the state outlook. Additionally, the chamber’s 2011 legislative agenda will once again be presented. This year, Mary Ellen Scott, president and owner of United Personnel, and a long-time member of the chamber’s legislative steering committee, will talk about how issues on the chamber’s agenda affect a typical business such as hers. Tickets to Outlook 2011 are $50 for chamber members and $70 for non-members. A table of 10 can be purchased for $475 for members and $700 for non-members. To make reservations or for more information, contact Diane Swanson at (413) 755-1313 or
[email protected]

National College Fair
March 6-7: The Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield is the setting for the Springfield National College Fair, slated from 1 to 4 p.m. on March 6 and from 9 a.m. to noon on March 7. Sponsored by the National Assoc. for College Admission Counseling, and hosted by the New England Assoc. for College Admission Counseling, the event is free and open to the public. The fair allows students and parents to meet one-on-one with admissions representatives from a wide range of national and international, public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Participants will learn about admission requirements, financial aid, course offerings, and campus environment, as well as other information pertinent to the college-selection process. Prior to attending the event, students can register at www.gotomyncf.com to receive a printed bar-coded confirmation to use on-site at the fair as an electronic ID.

Difference Makers Gala
March 24: BusinessWest will salute its Difference Makers Class of 2011 at a gala slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Initiated in 2009, the Difference Makers program recognizes individuals and groups making outstanding contributions to the Western Mass. community. The 2011 winners will be announced in the magazine’s Feb. 14 issue. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($50 per person, with tables of 10 available) call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.

40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its 40 Under Forty Class of 2011 at a not-to-be-missed gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early-summer tradition in the region. Nominations are currently being accepted for this year’s class (see form, page 71), and a team of five judges will complete the scoring of those nominations in late February, with the winners being announced in April. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Summer Buit
June 27-28: The Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis will be the setting for the Summer Business Summit, hosted by the Mass. Chamber of Business and Industry of Boston. Nominations are being accepted for the Massachusetts Chamber, Business of the Year, and Employer of Choice awards. The two-day conference will feature educational speakers, presentations by lawmakers, VIP receptions and more. For more information, visit www.masscbi.com.

Profiles in Business

By
Doug Bowen
Features
He’s Found the Right Ingredients for Career Success

Doug Bowen

Doug Bowen, president and CEO, PeoplesBank


Doug Bowen says cooking is a big part of who he is — in more ways than one.
He and his wife, Anna, have traveled to Europe a few times for culinary tours, or extensive learning experiences (more on those later), and he really enjoys bringing new recipes off the page of a book and onto a plate — although he admits that Anna does most of the cooking at home.
Meanwhile, he jokes that it was someone else’s cooking that just might have enabled him to launch what has become a 35-year career in banking, all with the same institution: PeoplesBank.
“My wife’s mom was a short-order cook at one of the luncheonettes in Holyoke,” he said while explaining how he eventually landed work after a lengthy search in the midst of the recession of the mid-’70s. “It just happened to be where Warren Rhodes, the president of the bank, went for lunch every single day; she just kept plugging me to Warren.”
Whether it was his future mother-in-law’s persistent selling or Bowen’s résumé that landed him in PeoplesBank’s leadership-development program is a matter of speculation. What is known is that Bowen made it all the way from the teller’s window (that’s where all those in the program began, and still start today) to the president’s office, and in so doing, he provided a dramatic illustration of one of the bank’s commonly used tag lines: ‘a passion for what is possible.’
“We make it happen every day for employees and customers,” said Bowen. “When you start as a teller and end up in the corner office, that just shows that anything’s possible.”
These days, Bowen and the extended team are making PeoplesBank known for much more than a catchy marketing slogan. Indeed, it is taking the lead in everything from ecologically minded programs and ‘green lending’ to corporate philanthropy.
Indeed, toward the end of the interview in Bowen’s office at the PeoplesBank Executive Office Park in Holyoke, the bucket of a boom truck suddenly appeared in one of the windows, lifting a worker toward the top of one of the light poles in the parking lot outside the complex.
“We’re replacing the bulbs with more energy-efficient products,” he explained, adding that this exercise is one of many at the bank, which acquired the office tower a decade ago, that fall into the broad category of green initiatives. Others include everything from a LEED-certified branch in Springfield, opened earlier this year, to LED lights on holiday displays, which those in the boom truck were also putting up.
The environmentally friendly steps are like PeoplesBank’s now-regular standing near the top of the Boston Business Journal’s annual list of top corporate givers in the Commonwealth, and its recent listing among “America’s Best Banks to Work For” — just some of the ways the institution reflects the character of its president and CEO, who is quite involved in the community.
But Bowen, whose leadership efforts in all of these areas, as well as his extensive work in the community — he currently sits on six boards — helped make him one of BusinessWest’s first Difference Makers in 2009, is prolific in his use of the words ‘team’ and ‘we.’ And he states repeatedly that leadership in such things as corporate giving and going green reflect the mood and direction of an institution, not one person.
Consider this remark when he was asked about his management style and strategy. “I’m a big fan of ‘good to great,’ and I think it all starts with people, getting the right people on the bus, as they say metaphorically, getting them in the right seats, and then providing the driving and direction for the bus. My philosophy is simple: you get good people, give them some direction, and then get out of the room; they do all the heavy lifting.”
For this, the latest installment of its Profiles in Business series, BusinessWest talks with Bowen about everything from his take on the local banking scene to his fascination with wine and wine-making, to what he called a “holistic approach” to both work and life.

Shedding Some Light
Bowen said the economic conditions that prevailed when he graduated from Salem State College in the spring of 1975 were quite similar to what exists today.
“The unemployment rate was around 9%, about what it is now,” he explained. “I was looking for work — GE was right there in Lynn, and Polaroid was close by as well — but no one was hiring.”
Engaged to be married to Anna, his high-school sweetheart, at that time, Bowen started focusing his employment search in Western Mass., and eventually applied to jobs at PeoplesBank, MassMutual, and the former Third National Bank. With that assist, whatever it was worth, from his future mother-in-law, he landed in downtown Holyoke — and has never left.
He credited the leadership-development program with putting him on the proper path and honing the skills he would need to stay on it. And he now considers such talent development some of the most important and intriguing work he does.
“Our program is a little more accelerated now — we put people through it in about six to 12 months as opposed to two years when I did it,” he said. “And we still start people off as tellers, because that’s great experience. Most banks don’t have programs like this anymore, but we’re at a size where we need to have a constant influx of these management-development candidates, so we hire two to three a year, sometimes out of the Isenberg School of Management at UMass, and sometimes out of other schools in New England.
“Leadership development is probably the most fun part of my job; it’s rewarding to see these young people come on and work their way up,” he continued. “I was given the opportunity so many years ago, and it’s great to see these people at the beginning of their careers and know that there’s no limits for them. People can do what I did.”
Indeed, to say that Bowen made the most of his opportunity would be a huge understatement. Before becoming just the 10th president in the history of the 125-year-old bank in 2007, he held just about every title one could have in such an institution.
He acknowledged that most people don’t stay with one bank for 35 years, but quickly added that PeoplesBank is one of a maybe a handful of institutions in this region that someone could work with for that long, given the large number of banks that have disappeared from the landscape or been absorbed by larger banks.
“I was fortunate to work in pretty much all areas of the bank,” he explained. “I started in retail, moved on to operations, and actually trained to be the new chief financial officer, but the person who was going to retire didn’t, so I moved on, which was a good thing. I moved on to the lending areas — consumer lending, residential mortgages, and then in the early ’80s, started the commercial-loan department — before eventually becoming executive vice president.”
Today, Bowen is driving the bus at PeoplesBank, in that metaphoric sense. He has steered it toward leadership in not only green initiatives such as paper-use reduction and those LED lights on the Christmas decorations, but also in green lending. The bank has funded a number of clean-energy business initiatives, ranging from wind-power projects to a partnership with the Holyoke Gas & Electric Department to develop and expand hydroelectric facilities.
He’s also taking the bank ever higher on the Boston Business Journal’s list of the most charitable companies doing business in Massachusetts. In the most recent ranking, involving 2009 numbers, the bank was at number 35 with $705,000 in corporate giving, behind only MassMutual on the list of companies based in Western Mass. Two years earlier, it was 52nd, at $412,000.
Bowen said the bank has historically been generous in its corporate giving, but management, and the workforce as a whole, have made this even more of a priority in recent years.
As for the local banking scene, Bowen said it is more competitive than ever, and that individual institutions, like businesses in most all sectors, must work harder, and be more diligent and creative, to record the profits they have enjoyed over the years.
As an example, he cited one of the bank’s recent initiatives, a drive to open new checking accounts that included a $125 incentive, to match the bank’s 125th birthday.
“It was hugely successful; we did better than we anticipated,” he said, adding quickly that banks have to keep such creative ideas coming. “You need more programs like that because people will copy your idea or try something similar; you have to keep developing new concepts for generating business.”

Recipe for Success
Bowen says PeoplesBank got what he calls a “two-fer” when it hired him.
By that, he meant that his wife, Anna, while never actually an employee, has nonetheless been a visible and, in some cases, integral part of some of the things Bowen and the bank have been doing within the community.
“The bank got me, and it got her, too … she’s such a huge part of my life,” he said, adding quickly that the two do almost everything together, be it in Western Mass. or the Hawaiian islands, where they vacation for a few weeks every late winter, around the time the whales are migrating.
“Sometimes, we’ll kayak out to see the whales — there are hundreds of them,” he said, adding that Hawaii is the perfect place to leave the often-frenetic pace, and formal wardrobe, of a bank president far behind. “It’s a great place to relax and unwind; it’s all T-shirts, flip-flops, and shorts.”
Things were a little different when the two traveled to France and later Italy with friends to learn from some of the best chefs in the world.
The first culinary tour, to the Bordeaux region of France, was 10 compelling days spent with Jean-Pierre Moulle, long-time head chef at the renowned Chez Panisse restaurant, and his wife, Denise.
“It was an incredible experience,” Bowen recalled. “We’d go to the market every day and pick out what we wanted, we’d cook for a good part of the day, then go do a little sightseeing in the afternoon — maybe see cheesemakers or see where they made wine barrels — and then come back, finish cooking, and eat what we had prepared; we had a blast.”
The second trip was to Tuscany in Italy, “another 10-day adventure,” Bowen called it, at a facility connected with a restaurant. “Some of the things we cooked were actually served to guests that evening, and I guess we did OK — no complaints,” he said. “It’s a great way to learn about food, and for a long time I’ve been fascinated by food and how to properly prepare it.”
Bowen was quick to say that he had nothing entrepreneurial in mind when it comes to his culinary interests, and dispatched the notion that he might spend retirement running a restaurant somewhere.
“No, this is something I like to do on a very small scale; I’d never want to do this on a large scale for other people,” he explained, adding that he rarely cooks at home. “My wife is a great cook; on most days, my job is to pick out the wine for dinner, which I’m fine with. Maybe down the road I’ll do more cooking.”

The Bottom Line
Bowen says he’s not looking too far down the road at this point. He’s only 57 and not even thinking about retirement, except to the extent that, when it does come, he’ll be able to spend more time, perhaps a month or more, in Hawaii each year.
“I do two weeks now; maybe I can get it to three — I’ll have to check with the board,” he joked.
In the meantime, he’s perfectly content to keep driving the bus for the bank, helping to find new ways to be green, giving back to the community, and, perhaps most importantly, helping people unlock their passion for what’s possible.

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

Picture This

By
Program participants
Departments Picture This

One Book at a Time


Program participants

Program participants engaged in a number of learning activities with youngsters there

As part of a program called “Putting the Accent on Literacy, One Book at a Time,” BusinessWest and its Difference Makers from 2009 and 2010 coordinated a book drive in conjunction with the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, which links young people with books during the summer months, when they are away from. On August 13, more than 500 books were delivered to the Dunbar Community Center in Springfield, where program participants engaged in a number of learning activities with youngsters there, including book readings, games, and even a play (at left) involving Rosa Parks and her famous decision not to ride in the back of the bus.


Sally Fuller, project director for the Cherish Every Child

Sally Fuller, project director for the Cherish Every Child

Sally Fuller, project director for the Cherish Every Child initiative for the Davis Foundation, one of the Difference Makers for 2010, listens intently as one of the young students reads Where the Fern Grows.

Gwen Burke, left, and Nikia Davis

BusinessWest advertising consultant Gwen Burke, left, and Nikia Davis, the magazine’s senior designer

BusinessWest advertising consultant Gwen Burke, left, and Nikia Davis, the magazine’s senior designer, engage several students in a game of Scrabble Junior.

Maura Geary, project coordinator for the Regional Employment Board and one of the architects of the literacy program, gets to know several of the students involved with the summer reading initiative.

‘Nathanial’ proudly displays the book

‘Nathanial’ proudly displays the book

‘Nathanial’ proudly displays the book he chose to read to BusinessWest staff writer Joe Bednar. Each child was given a book to take home.

A Night to Remember

By
Uncategorized
A pictorial celebration of Difference Makers 2010

A Celebration — by the Book

Event Salutes Difference Makers, Focuses the Spotlight on Literacy

More than 350 people turned out to celebrate BusinessWest’s Difference Makers for 2010 at a lavish ceremony at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House on March 25. Attendees, who included a number of business and civic leaders as well as friends and family of the five winners, were treated to fine food, entertainment, introductions of the winners, and remarks from each recipient, as well as an update on an ongoing initiative called Project Literacy. A networking hour was followed by performances by students from the Gerena Community School in Springfield, and then the formal program. “It was a wonderful evening, one during which we met our two main goals,” said BusinessWest Associate Publisher and Advertising Director Kate Campiti. “We celebrated our Difference Makers for 2010, but we also generated excitement and momentum, not only for our program, but for the larger, all-important matter of giving back to the community and making a difference.”

The 2010 Difference Makers: from left, James Goodwin, president and CEO of the Center for Human Development; Mary Walachy, executive director of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation; Ellen Freyman, attorney and shareholder with the law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C.; Carol Katz, CEO of the Loomis Communities; and Robert Holub, chancellor of UMass Amherst.

Click here for a larger view

Click here for a larger view

Click here for a larger view

Click here for a larger view

Date with Destiny

By
Uncategorized
The Difference Makers Class of 2010 Will Be Honored on March 25

The stage is set — sort of.

Details are falling into place for what should be a very special night, when BusinessWest honors its Difference Makers class of 2010. The date? March 25. The place? The Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The time? Things start at 5 and will go till whenever people are done celebrating.

The occasion? Recognizing the talents and many accomplishments of this year’s Difference Makers. They are:

  • The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, to be represented by its executive director, Mary Walachy;
  • Ellen Freyman, shareholder with the Springfield-based law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C.;
  • James Goodwin, president and CEO of the Center for Human Development;
  • Carol Katz, CEO of the Loomis Communities; and
  • UMass Amherst, represented by its chancellor, Robert Holub.

    • To read the stories of these Difference Makers, visit the BusinessWest Web site, www.businessswest.com.

    More than 400 people are expected to turn out for the event, which will feature a networking hour, introductions of the winners, a short speech from each one, some live entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres and food stations, and an update on Project Literacy, an endeavor launched by the first class of Difference Makers in 2009, and one that will be continued by the 2010 winners and all future classes.

    This effort, said Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher and advertising manager, was designed to focus attention on the broad issue of literacy and to direct energy and imagination to specific projects to address this critical issue. In 2009, the Difference Makers, working with staff at BusinessWest, collected hundreds of books for the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative through the United Way of the Pioneer Valley.

    In addition, said Campiti, the group drafted a long-range strategic plan for maintaining the focus on this subject and fulfilling a new stated mission: “Creating a Culture of Literacy — One Book at a Time.”

    “It’s really going to be a fun, exciting evening,” Campiti said of the March 25 festivities. “There will be some great networking opportunities, and, of course, we have some wonderful stories to tell.”

    Thus, this is an event with a purpose, said Campiti, adding that the event has been crafted to not only introduce the winners, but to use their stories to inspire others and hopefully create more momentum for the region moving forward.

    This momentum is summed up in what will be an ongoing theme for the Difference Makers event, the so-called Butterfly Effect, said Campiti, referring to the concept that small events (such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings) can have large, widespread consequences.

    Five area companies have signed on as sponsors for the Difference Makers event: Catugno Reporting/Sten-Tel, Comcast Business Class, Peritus Security Partners, the law firm Royal & Klimczuk, and Sarat Ford/Lincoln Mercury.

    Tickets for the event are $50 each, and tables of 10 are available. For more information or to order tickets, call Melissa Hallock, BusinessWest’s sales and marketing coordinator, at (413) 781-8600 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (413) 781-8600      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, ext. 10; or e-mail[email protected].

    James Goodwin

    By
    Class of 2010 Difference Makers

    President and CEO of the Center for Human Development

    Jim-Goodwin-StandingJim Goodwin says that too many people, especially some in the business community, look upon human services work as a “drain.”
    As he uttered that word, he paused for a second, as if to convey that maybe it was too strong a term, but then forged ahead, convinced that it wasn’t.

    “They understand that it’s a service, and they see some value in it,” he explained. “But they look at it as an expense, and not as a benefit, not as an investment. They’ll say, ‘I’m glad someone’s doing it, but I wish we didn’t have to pay for it.’ They don’t realize that, in many ways, this is something that benefits their employees, and, therefore, it benefits them as business owners.”

    In many respects, Goodwin’s work as president and CEO of the Springfield-based Center for Human Development (CHD) boils down to changing those perceptions he described. And it is because of his success in convincing others that programs in areas ranging from disability resources to the mentoring of young people; from homelessness prevention to post-incarceration services, are, in fact, investments in the community, Goodwin — and, ostensibly, the 1,300-member team he manages — is a member of the Difference Makers Class of 2010.

    And Goodwin, who has been with CHD for 30 years, or almost from its beginnings in 1972, repeatedly stressed this element of teamwork as he talked about his organization’s work with children, adults, the elderly, the mentally retarded, the mentally ill, and the chemically addicted — or what he called “probably the most downtrodden people out there.”

    Together, members of this team carry out programs that fall into several categories, including:

    • Children & Families, which includes such initiatives as Big Brothers Big Sisters, CASA (court-appointed special advocates), an emergency adolescent shelter, foster care, and many others;

    • Community Resources and Services, including a disability-resource program, an HIV/AIDS law consortium, and occupational-therapy initiatives;

    • Homelessness Prevention, which encompasses a number of programs;

    • Mental Health and Addiction Services, which includes child and adolescent mental-health services, outpatient and behavioral-health services, therapy and counseling, and many other programs; and

    • Social Enterprises, which are entrepreneurial programs, such as A New Leaf flower shop and Riverbend Furniture, that offer real jobs to people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or histories of trauma, abuse, or addiction that often keep them from working in traditional settings.

    Summing up all of this work within CHD, the largest nonprofit, multi-program human services agency in New England, in a few moments or a few sentences is quite difficult, so Goodwin talked generally about the sum of the dozens of specific programs within the organization.

    He said that, collectively, they help to make people with various physical and mental disabilities productive members of society, and not drains, as they are often perceived. “When you help people to the point where they’re employable, where they can work and get things done, and where they no longer look upon themselves as a burden, everyone’s a winner.”

    This is accomplished — again, in broad terms — by creating what Goodwin described as “hybrid services” a term he would use repeatedly as he talked with BusinessWest, because it is the cornerstone of CDH’s basic operating philosophy.

    And by hybrid, he means a combination of clinical and social services.

    “Today, a successful human-services agency has to be able to operate a continuum that deals with the social issues that people are confronted with, along with the medical issues,” he explained. “If you’re providing counseling, psychiatry, and nursing services to people who don’t have a roof over their heads and don’t have enough to eat, you’re not going to get anywhere.”

    Goodwin, who brings to his work master’s degrees in both psychology and business — a mix he says has proven quite effective — has a number of accomplishments attached to his name and title of CEO at CHD:

    • Fiscally, he’s maintained and improved the financial health of the organization over the past several years, leading the agency to 21% growth and a total surplus of $540,000;

    • He’s overseen the development of a sophisticated database that measures treatment and programmatic outcomes and that serves as a reporting tool to funding sources and stakeholders;

    • He’s developed an electronic quality-assurance system that allows programs and corporate administrative services to provide performance feedback to each other on a monthly basis;

    • He developed supported-housing models in the early 1980s that were duplicated nationally and led to major expansion and distinction for CHD; and

    • Overall, he’s developed an extensive system of creative client businesses that produce high-quality products, teach vocational skills, and provide jobs to hundreds of clients in a rehabilitative atmosphere.

    But he told BusinessWest that what he considers his greatest accomplishments are building CHD into one of the region’s largest, and best, employers — one with a 95% retention rate among management-position holders, a remarkable number in the human-services industry — and ongoing work to take that word ‘drain’ out of the lexicon when it comes to work his team does.

    And the workplace element is vitally important to the equation, he explained, returning, again, to that notion of teamwork.

    “You need a highly motivated workforce,” he explained. “You must create a situation where people are excited about the work, and where they understand how it fits in with improving the society that they live in and the city where they live.”

    As an example of the work CHD does, how it does it, and why this work is so challenging — and frustrating from a funding perspective — Goodwin pointed to an initiative called PACT, or the Program for Assertive Community Treatment. Unfortunately, this is a program for which the state recently cut funding.

    “That’s a program that basically serves people in Springfield and Holyoke who are severely mentally ill and have had tremendous difficulties,” he said. “They’ve been hospitalized many times, incarcerated, that sort of thing, and have been a real strain on the community.

    “This program was set up with a team of workers, including a psychiatrist, nursing staff, a vocational specialist, a housing specialist, peer specialists … and these people take the service into the community,” he continued. “They have kept these people functional and outside the institutions — the hospitals and the jails — at an incredible rate. To keep someone in this program for 365 days a year costs $15,000; without it, these people would have four or five major hospitalizations a year, at a cost of $600 to $800 a day. Anyone can do the math, and that’s how it works with all of our programs.”

    Recognizing the need to become visible within the community and to allow people to more easily answer the question ‘what does CHD do?’ the agency recently hired a marketing firm to create a new profile-raising brand. It includes the tag line, ‘CHD — good people, good work.’

    That’s another way of saying that that this organization — and its long-time CEO — are true Difference Makers.

    —George O’Brien

    Introducing the Class of 2010

    By
    Introducing the Class of 2010
    Class of 2010 Difference Makers
    Diffrence Makers

    Introducing the Class of 2010Their contributions to the community vary, from work to transform elder care to donations of time, energy, and imagination to a host of nonprofit agencies; from philanthropy that far exceeds grant awards to work to improve the lives of some of the most downtrodden constituencies in our society; from multi-faceted efforts to spur economic development in the region to simply inspiring others to find ways to make an impact. They are the Difference Makers Class of 2010. Their stories are powerful — and compelling.

    The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation
    Ellen Freyman
     Shareholder with Shatz,Schwartz and Fentin, P.C.
    James Goodwin
     President and CEO of the Center for Human Development
    Carol Katz
     Chief Executive Officer of Loomis Communities
    Robert Holub
     UMass Amherst and Chancellor

    OPINION

    By
    Uncategorized
    An Inspiring Class of Difference Makers

    When BusinessWest launched its Difference Makers program a year ago, it did so with many goals in mind. The first, of course, was to recognize people and institutions making important contributions to the health and well-being of this region. Beyond that, through the telling of their stories, we wanted to inspire others to make a difference as well.

    The Class of 2009 made that second goal easily reachable, and the Class of 2010 (introduced in a special section starting on page 37) will do at least as well. Indeed, if there is one word that sums up this class, it is inspirational.

    Let’s start with the Davis Foundation. Over the past 40 years or so, it has awarded grants to countless local nonprofit agencies, helping them do everything from constructing new buildings to launching new programs to simply meeting the confines of a budget. These acts of philanthropy alone are enough to make the foundation a Difference Maker. But in recent years, the organization has gone far beyond the act of donating money.

    Perhaps its most important role now is to act as a convening power, bringing groups and individuals together to address issues like education and literacy. The word agenda often has a negative connotation to it, but not in this case. The Davis Foundation has a clear agenda — to focus energy, imagination, and, yes, money on the critical matter of young people, this region’s future.

    Serving on boards and committees doesn’t necessarily make one a Difference Maker. But going well beyond the monthly or weekly meetings and compelling those involved with various groups to reach higher and work harder, well, that would put someone in that category.

    And this pretty much sums up Ellen Freyman’s approach to her work. She’s not only tutoring and mentoring members of a Somali family, she’s working with Springfield school officials to improve their chances of succeeding in the classroom. She’s also starting to work with others to find new ways to bring more adult-literacy programs online, not merely to help the Somalis, but also the countless others who need such services. She’s even put a soccer team together for Somalis and arranged for donations of equipment.

    All this shows creativity and the ability to think outside the box — just some of the traits that make her a Difference Maker.

    Jim Goodwin has been at the helm of the Center of Human Development for more than 30 years now, and in that time he has helped create and expand dozens of programs that improve quality of life for society’s most challenged constituencies.

    These include the mentally and physically challenged, children with developmental issues, seniors, those with substance-abuse problems, those who have been incarcerated, and others. He’s a Difference Maker not simply because he works with those groups, but because he’s created an organization — and a team — committed to the CHD mission.

    Carol Katz, meanwhile, is also a Difference Maker on many levels. First, as CEO of Loomis Communities, she has orchestrated strong growth of that organization while also transforming the way in which care to seniors is provided.

    She also gives back to the community, and by setting that example, and that tone, she has created a culture of community involvement in each of the Loomis properties.

    Finally, UMass Amherst and its chancellor, Robert Holub, are making a difference in many ways, especially in Springfield, through a number of economic-development programs. Efforts include establishing a physical presence in downtown Springfield, partnering with area agencies to transfer technology from the university to area precision manufacturers, research projects, the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, work to create the High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke, and much more.

    This is an exceptional class of Difference Makers, individuals and institutions that can inspire positive change while also inspiring others to follow their lead.

    Kate Campiti is associate publisher and advertising manager of BusinessWest.

    Ellen Freyman

    By
    Ellen Freyman
    Class of 2010 Difference Makers

    Ellen Freyman
    Ellen FreymanShareholder with Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C.

    Ellen Freyman was talking about her family’s work mentoring and tutoring members of a Somali family now residing in Springfield through the help of Jewish Family Services. She spoke proudly of the time and effort that she, her husband, Richard, and sons Neal and Stephen were putting into this initiative, and said she firmly believed they were improving the quality of life for this family of five.

    But she also conveyed a strong sense of frustration and concern that speaks loudly about how she approaches her voluminous work within the community and explains why she’s a member of the Difference Makers Class of 2010.

    The Somalis, who were raised in a refugee camp in Kenya, speak in a patchwork of languages and dialects, and have serious trouble reading and writing in any language, including what amounts to their own, said Freyman. “This makes it even more difficult for people to try and teach English to these kids, because they don’t know what word to use to correlate to what they know,” Freyman explained. “If you say ‘tape recorder,’ they don’t know which word to pull out of what language to say ‘tape recorder’ in Somali, or Kenyan, or whatever.”

    Freyman first met with Springfield teachers and principals, and later with Superintendent Alan Ingram, to discuss the problems facing not only ‘her’ Somali family, but others, as well as young people speaking other languages who are seemingly thrust into classes in the city’s high schools where other students are reading Hamlet and Of Mice and Men. As a result, a task force has been created to assess the problem and recommend possible solutions.

    But that group’s work probably won’t happen soon enough to help of the oldest of the children in the family the Freymans are working with. He’s now 19 (at least that’s the best guess), and he will need literacy skills if he is to get a job.

    Unfortunately, the waiting lists for adult-literacy programs in the area are so long that some people don’t even bother trying to apply. So Freyman, in addition to her one hour a week of mentoring and involvement with that aforementioned task force, is working to find a solution to the literacy-class problem.

    “I’m trying to bring a coalition of people together to work on this, to bring some attention to the problem of adult literacy and to get more classes,” she said, acknowledging that there won’t be any easy answers to this one. “We have resources in the community; people just have to be creative. Things don’t always fit in a box — sometimes you have to figure out how to work outside the box.”

    Being creative and thinking outside the box is how Freyman, a principal with the Springfield-based law firm Shatz Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., goes about her work with a long list of organizations, ranging from the Dunbar Community Center to the Community Music School; from the Springfield Jewish Federation to the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation.

    Her bio on the law firm’s Web site lists more than a dozen nonprofits and initiatives to which Freyman has lent her name and time. But that’s just part of the story. The energy, imagination, and outside-the-box thinking that she takes to not only these assignments, but projects she’s initiated, are other big parts.

    For example, there’s her work to create a group called On Board Inc., which works with area boards to help them achieve not only diversity, but also cultural sensitivity.

    It all started in the early ’90s, or not long after Freyman began her work within the Greater Springfield community with such groups as Jewish Family Services, the Springfield Library & Museums, StageWest, and others.

    “I was able to get on a lot of nonprofit boards, but I came to realize that, with the chambers and business boards and economic councils, many of them weren’t open to women,” she explained. “And it wasn’t because they were keeping women out, it was because they didn’t know women who were qualified to be on these boards.”

    So she collaborated with a few other women to create a name bank of sorts with such qualified women, and then approached banks, hospitals, and other organizations to use that resource when filling seats.

    “We met with various board representatives and nominating committees, and said, ‘we know you want your board to be more diversified, but you just don’t know how to do it, and you don’t know who’s out there.’ We met with college presidents, hospital CEOs, and banks, and within a year we had great success; we had a lot of women on these boards.

    “And very soon after we started, it was our mission to get not just women on these boards, but all non-represented groups,” she continued. “I saw that it wasn’t just women that were absent, but also people of color; boards didn’t look like our community, and they needed to.”

    The work with On Board Inc. exemplifies the approach Freyman says she takes with her work in the community — to look beyond her own basic assignment (attending a meeting or two a month) and to look for ways to, well, make a real difference.

    Returning to her work with the Somalis, for example, she said she’s working together with others to create a soccer team that will compete against other clubs in the region; she’s agreed to be its manager. With an assist from Go FIT founder (and 2009 Difference Maker) Susan Jaye-Kaplan, with whom she runs most mornings, Freyman was able to secure 36 new pairs of cleats from Boston-based Good Sports Inc. She’s also received donations of soccer balls, but she’s looking for help with arranging contests and getting the Somalis to games and practices, either through rides or donations of bicycles.

    In other words, she’s looking for more people willing to think — and work — outside the box.

    That’s part of being a Difference Maker. —George O’Brien

    Carol Katz

    By
    Class of 2010 Difference Makers

    Carol Katz
    Chief Executive Officer of Loomis Communities

    Upon hearing that more than a few of the many people who nominated her for the Difference Makers Class of 2010 wrote that she “transformed care for older adults,” Carol Katz chuckled before saying that she found such language flattering, if also a little excessive.

    “I would hardly call myself transformational, but that is a term that’s used in our industry in some ways,” said Katz, CEO of the South Hadley-based Loomis Communities, before quickly acknowledging that she obviously played a lead role in that organization’s drive to stay atop — and well above — the curve when it comes to adopting the more-patient-centered model of care now being embraced across the country (more on that shortly).

    “And besides,” she continued while explaining this concept and why and how it was incorporated at Loomis, “I certainly didn’t do it all by myself. It’s been a total team effort.”

    Elaborating on the patient-centered model, Katz said that, as the name suggests, it puts the patient at the center of care initiatives. As logical as that sounds, she told BusinessWest, until about a decade ago, the staff at long-term-care facilities such as nursing homes was in the center, in the so-called ‘patient-care’ model.

    “Traditionally, care has been provided in a very institutional way, and nursing homes in particular, like hospitals, are staff-driven, with things done for the convenience of the institution and as far from home life as it can possibly be,” she explained. “There’s been a movement afoot for some years now, in nursing homes but also other facilities, to really change the culture to what they call person-centered care.

    “It’s not enough just to make it more home-like,” she continued. “It’s placing the patient at the center of the care, not the staff. Instead of bringing in extra people on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and that’s when everyone gets their showers, you ask the patient, ‘do you like to take a shower or a bath, and would you like it in the morning or the evening? It’s not what’s convenient for the staff; it’s what the patient wants.”

    As a result of the teamwork Katz mentioned, Loomis Communities became one of the first institutions of its kind to receive state grants to implement this new way of providing care, and Loomis House was just the second nursing home in North America to receive person-centered-care accreditation.

    But these transformational efforts comprise just one of the realms for which Katz has been called a Difference Maker. Others include her work to expand the Loomis Communities, her service to innumerable nonprofits in the area, and her ongoing efforts to create a culture of giving back at all of the Loomis facilities.

    When she arrived in 1989 after stints with skilled-nursing facilities in Wisconsin and Agawam, Loomis had one facility — Loomis House in Holyoke — with a second, Loomis Village, under construction.

    Recognizing the need to continually expand to better meet its mission, but also understanding that new construction wasn’t (and still isn’t) needed because of demand levels, Loomis has grown through acquisition.

    The first such move was Applewood in Amherst, and the second was Reed’s Landing in Springfield, the bankrupt facility that was acquired late last summer. There, Katz has led a change in the fee model that has put that facility within reach of far more area residents.

    While expanding Loomis Communities and changing its model of care, Katz has also volunteered her time, energy, and expertise to organizations ranging from the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce to PeoplesBank; from Westfield State College to her synagogue; from the United Way to the Holyoke Rotary Club.

    She says she finds nonprofit governance to be “fascinating,” and, over the years, became very interested in the subject of nonprofit management, while becoming what she called a “board junkie.” However, she says she limits her work, and the number of ‘yeses’ given those who ask her to serve, to areas that have relevance to her professionally or personally, “or something I think I can help make a difference.”

    And she has made giving back to the community part of the culture of life at all of the Loomis communities. Indeed, residents have contributed to a number of causes and charitable events. For example, they have sold decorative Valentine’s Day cookies to benefit the American Heart Assoc.; sold daffodils and participated in the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society; walked, raised money, and sold more than 183 dozen blueberry muffins to benefit the Alzheimer’s Assoc. Memory Walk; staged blood drives for Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, and the American Red Cross; sold Brightside Angels at the Holyoke Mall; and wrapped gifts for the hospice program of the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Assoc.

    “Our five-year strategic plan has five focus areas, and the first one is community integration, and that means both having events on our campuses that bring the public in and engaging our residents in the broader community,” she said, noting that many residents in each Loomis facility are from the community in question. “Just because you move from an address in South Hadley to Loomis Village doesn’t mean you stop being a citizen of South Hadley.

    “We’re involved — and one of the reasons I’ve gotten involved with so many civic organizations over the years is because it’s the right thing to do; it’s the way I was brought up,” she continued. “We rely on the community to give us residents and give us services, and we owe back to the community.”

    The sum of all this work across several different fronts prompted the many who nominated Katz — a group that included some who work with her at Loomis, a few of the organization’s board members, others who serve with her on boards and commissions, and some who simply admire her work — to stretch their vocabularies and find phrases such as these:

    • “She has the uncanny ability to recognize the most important issues and figure out logical and effective ways to deal with them.”
    • “She does not just volunteer; she always seems to rise to leadership positions that place enormous demands on her time.”
    • “There are those who lead because they can; Carol Katz leads because she must.”
    • Carol is known across Massachusetts and the entire industry for her tenacity, leadership, and progressive ideas, and I am certain that we have seen only a glimpse of her vision.”
    • “With Carol’s wise direction, Loomis’ promotion of well-being of its residents has been matched by its contribution to the economy of the region.”
    • “She inspires me.”

    That last writer probably spoke for everyone who has worked with Katz in any of the many settings in which she has made a difference. —George O’Brien

    Robert Holub

    By
    Class of 2010 Difference Makers

    UMass Amherst and Chancellor
    Robert Holub

    Robert Holub says that, as what’s known as a land-grant institution — one of several dozen colleges and universities created on federally owned land — UMass Amherst has certain responsibilities to meet with regard to this region and its residents.

    Originally, they centered on the teaching of agriculture, science, and engineering, Holub, who became chancellor of the university in the summer of 2008, explained, adding that, over the past century and a half or so, these duties have evolved and now extend beyond the realm of pure academia and into the broad area of economic development.

    In recent years, and particularly since he arrived, the university has been increasingly focused on going beyond what’s been legislated, he continued, and more toward what might be expected (and more) from a school that has 25,000 students and is one of the leading research institutions in the state.

    “We consider ourselves a citizen of Western Mass., and with that, we have special obligations to this region, and we’ve been trying to act on those responsibilities,” he continued, adding that such efforts involve the entire region, but especially the city of Springfield, the unofficial capital of Western Mass. and a municipality that, like many former manufacturing centers, is trying to reinvent itself.

    Efforts to assist Springfield and the region come in a number of forms, and together — coupled with the hope and expectation for more in the future — they have placed the university in the Difference Makers Class of 2010. These initiatives include:

    * The Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, or PVLSI, a collaborative effort with Baystate Health to fuel growth in a fledgling biosciences sector;
    * A recently announced project to move the university’s Design Center into one of the buildings in Springfield’s Court Square, a relocation expected to help create more vibrancy in the city’s central business district, help existing service businesses, and spur new ones;
    * A planned high-performance computing center in Holyoke, a much-heralded undertaking involving a partnership that includes several other colleges and universities, including MIT and Boston University, as well as private industry. The UMass system as a whole is a lead partner in the project, said Holub, but many of those laying the groundwork for the center are based on the Amherst campus;
    * The Precision Manufacturing Regional Alliance Project being undertaken with the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County and the local chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc. to transfer technology from two departments at the university (Polymer Science and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) to area precision manufacturers; and
    * Work with the Springfield school system to attract talented students to UMass Amherst with the hope that they will stay in the region and contribute to its growth and prosperity.

    “Instead of giving them fish, we want to give them the fishing pole,” Holub said of the initiative involving Springfield schools, one based on a pilot program now being developed with the city of Chelsea. “We would like to be able to attract the best and brightest students from Springfield to come to UMass Amherst, get an education here, and then go back to their community and assist with development.

    “We are, primarily, an educational institution; that’s what we do best,” he continued. “And we think that establishing a greater pipeline with the city of Springfield will enable us to help that community more than any one single program.”

    Since his arrival, a few months after Domenic Sarno was elected mayor in Springfield, there has been more communication between the university and the city, or what Holub called a true dialogue. And from those discussions came the agreement to create a presence in downtown and, specifically, Court Square.

    “The mayor has engaged us in conversations since I arrived here about the revitalization of Court Square, and we see that as something that’s necessary for the city,” he said. “And we’ve tried to fit in any way we can given the budget constraints we’re facing.”

    The school is already looking at ways to expand and enhance its presence within the city, he added, noting that administrators are looking to possibly move some backroom operations from Amherst and Hadley — where office lease rates are comparatively higher than in most area communities — to Springfield in moves that would help the city while also saving the university some money.

    The importance of efforts to assist Springfield has been underscored by Holub’s move to appoint to John Mullin, dean of UMass Amherst’s graduate school and a regional planner, as ‘point person’ for the broad initiative. His role will be to keep the lines of communication open, make needed connections within the city, and continue the current dialogue.

    “He knows what needs to be done in terms of urban development,” said Holub, adding that Mullin now dedicates a certain amount of time to the Springfield partnership, and his work has helped to move specific projects, ones that provide win-win scenarios, from the drawing board to reality.

    “We’re not a granting agency — we don’t have $2 million that we can just give to Springfield,” he explained. “We have to look for areas in which there’s mutual benefit, and we’ve been able to find quite a few of those.”

    And while Holub is encouraged, and excited, about current efforts taking place in the realm of economic development, region-wide and especially in Springfield, he fully expects the university to expand and diversify such initiatives when the economy improves sufficiently for it to do so.

    “If we didn’t have this severe economic downturn, I certainly believe that we could be doing more than we are,” he explained. “But we are doing things, and they reflect those responsibilities we feel we have to this region.

    “The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say,” he continued, “and we’ve tried to do things that are going to bring palpable results for the western part of the state and make some modest investments where we can to back up the talk.

    “And those investments are often less in terms of actual dollars — although, with something like PVLSI, it does take an actual cut out of our budget,” he continued, “and more in terms of people and ideas, and with our own ability to lobby industries and individual companies to come here, and assist with those efforts.”

    Those are the things that might be expected from such a prominent citizen of Western Massachusetts.

    —George O’Brien

    Last Chance to Nominate Groups and Individuals for Difference Makers

    By
    Features

    Those thinking about nominating a group or individual for BusinessWest’s Difference Makers Class of 2010 need to think — and move — quickly.

    The deadline for nominations is Thursday, Dec. 31.

    BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien said a number of nominations have been received to date, involving a number of individuals and organizations who are, in myriad ways, making a difference in the community.

    “We already have many excellent candidates to consider,” said O’Brien. “But there are many more people doing some incredible things who haven’t been nominated, and should be.”

    O’Brien said the nomination form on page 15 is self-explanatory and simple to use, and he encourages readers to use their imagination to identify and then nominate people worthy of the Difference Makers award.

    The inaugural class of Difference Makers included four individuals — Doug Bowen, president and CEO of PeoplesBank; Kate Kane, managing director of the Springfield office of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Group; Susan Jaye-Kaplan, founder of GoFIT and co-founder of Link to Libraries; and Bill Ward, executive director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County — and one group, the Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield.

    Together, these honorees represent an excellent cross-section of the types of groups and individuals the program was created to celebrate, said BusinessWest Associate Publisher Kate Campiti, who also urged readers to play an active role in shaping the Class of 2010.

    While nominations continue to come in, details are falling into place for the awards ceremony honoring the next class, she said. The event will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke on March 25, beginning at 5 p.m. The celebration will feature live entertainment, heavy hors d’ouevres, and introductions of this year’s winners.

    It will also include an update on an ambitious program called “Creating a Culture of Literacy — One Book at a Time.” It was created last summer at the urging of Ward and others at the Regional Employment Board to focus additional attention on the issue of literacy and its importance to the overall health and well-being of the region.

    The initiative helped collect hundreds of books for the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, and will be an ongoing concern for future classes of Difference Makers.

    Additional details on the March 25 celebration will be published in upcoming issues of BusinessWest as they become available.

    By
    Departments

    YPS New Year’s Eve Celebration

    Dec. 31: The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield has once again chosen downtown Springfield for its New Year’s Eve celebration. Only 300 tickets will be available for the affair at the Marriott Hotel in Tower Square. Businesses and individuals interested in sponsorship of the event should visit www.springfieldyps.com for more details. For ticket information, call Jill Monson of YPS at (413) 219-9692.

    Hot Topics in Philanthropy Breakfast

    Jan. 8: “Communicating in a Digital Age” is the focus of the next Hot Topics in Philanthrophy Breakfast at Bay Path College in Longmeadow. Nonprofit professionals are invited to the free event; however, registration is required. Keynote speaker Brian Reich, author of Media Rules! Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience, will provide a framework for understanding our technology-driven environment and how best to harness the appropriate digital tools to communicate an organization’s mission, vision, and purpose. In addition, panelists Suzi Craig, director of marketing at Fathom, and Megan Pete, director of development of the Food Bank of Western Mass., will share their organizational challenges and successes related to this topic. The 7:30 to 10 a.m. event is planned in the Blake Student Commons. To register, visit www.baypath.edu or call (800) 782-7284, ext. 1056.

    Legislative and Economic Forum

    Jan. 8: The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce will present a Legislative and Economic Forum with AIM (Associated Industries of Massachusetts), from 9 to 11 a.m., at Mestek Inc., 260 North Elm St., Westfield. The guest speakers will be Rick Lord, president and CEO of AIM; and Brian Gilmore, AIM’s executive vice president for public affairs. This will be an informal briefing on several political and economic issues important to the Commonwealth’s employer community. AIM stands for an economic policy that balances key public investments with a competitive cost structure that keeps jobs in the Bay State. For reservations or more information, call Marcia Kielb at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected].

    Women’s Partnership Tabletop Business Expo

    Jan. 20: The Women’s Partnership will host its 12th annual Tabletop Business Expo from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Springfield Sheraton. Plans include interactive exhibits. Businesses interested in exhibiting should e-mail Mary Petrone at the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield Inc. at [email protected]. Booth reservations include one lunch ticket at $75; lunch and event tickets are $25. The Women’s Partnership provides career-oriented professionals with leadership and growth opportunities.

    Rick’s Place Benefit

    Feb. 6: Wilbraham Country Club will be the setting for the second annual Heart to Heart fundraiser to benefit Rick’s Place Inc. Established in memory of Rick Thorpe, who died in Tower Two of the World Trade Center on 9/11, Rick’s Place Inc. was created to provide a supportive, secure environment where families can remember their loved ones and avoid the sense of isolation that a loss can produce. Rick’s Place offers bi-weekly bereavement support for families with children ages five to 18 at no cost. Tickets for the 6 to 11 p.m. fundraiser are $50. A silent auction and raffle drawing are among the highlights of the evening. Underwriting and corporate sponsorship opportunities are also still available. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to Rick’s Place, call Shelly Bathe Lenn, executive director, at (413) 348-3120, or visit www.ricksplacema.org.

    Difference Makers Celebration

    March 25: BusinessWest magazine will stage its second-annual Difference Makers Gala at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House, starting at 5 p.m. Difference Makers is a new program created to recognize individuals and groups that, through their efforts to give back the community, are making a difference in the Pioneer Valley. The first year of the program was a huge success, and organizers are expecting another sellout crowd to honor the Class of 2010. Additional details on the gala will be provided in upcoming editions of BusinessWest. For more information, call (413) 781-8600.

    Women’s Professional Development Conference

    April 30, 2010: Bay Path College will host its 15th annual Women’s Professional Development Conference at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (413) 565-1000 or visit www.baypath.edu.

    The Best Local Business Stories of 2009

    By
    Opinion

    Let’s face it, 2009 certainly wasn’t anything for the business community to write home about.

    For many, this was a year to simply hang in and hang on, a time when “flat” translated into “pretty darned good.” For businesses large and small, this was a time best forgotten — and soon.

    But there were some rays of sunlight that somehow managed to break through the clouds, some stories that offer hope of better times for those who live, work, and own businesses in the Pioneer Valley. Here are five, listed in reverse order of importance, in our view, of course.

    5. A Focus on Literacy

    OK, we can toot out own horn a little. Actually, it’s not our horn. Yes, BusinessWest created a new recognition program called Difference Makers, so-named to honor those who are making a difference in our community, and its first class was honored last spring. That was a good story; the better story came about a few months later when one of this year’s Difference Makers, Bill Ward, director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, and that group’s project manager, Maura Geary, approached us with the idea of putting all of our winners to work.

    That suggestion led to an ambitious project called ‘Creating a Culture of Literacy One Book at a Time.’ This past summer, the five Difference Makers helped collect hundreds of books donated to Hasbro Summer Learning Program, and agreed that all future winners of this award would continue to focus time, energy, and imagination on a matter of vital importance to the health and well-being of this region.

    4. Qteros Lands in Chicopee

    A little over a year ago, the news was that this region was going to lose Qteros, a company trying to revolutionize ethanol production by using not corn, by common switch grass, to the eastern part of the state. However, through the efforts of the company’s principals and some economic-development leaders in this region, the company has made good a commitment to maintain a noticeable presence in this area.

    It will do so in a research and production facility that will be located in a new office facility at Westover in Chicopee. Having Qteros in this region will provide some jobs and some additional vibrancy in the Westover area, but perhaps more importantly, it will provide inspiration to fledgling ‘green’ businesses, while sending a message that they can do business in this area code.

    3. UMass Comes to Downtown Springfield

    It was announced recently that UMass Amherst will be locating one of the university’s programs “an urban design center ” in one of the buildings in Springfield’s Court Square early next year. The move indicates a firm commitment on the part of the university to play a substantial role in economic-development efforts in the region’s largest city.

    And the better news is that all those involved with this endeavor say it is merely the beginning of efforts designed to make UMass more of a force in the City of Homes.

    2. More Signs of Progress Downtown

    Springfield’s central business district still has a long way to go in terms of returning to the vibrancy evident decades ago. But there were a few big steps in the right direction taken in 2009. They include the arrival of the Springfield Armor basketball team, a Developmental League franchise that should bring more people downtown; the opening of a new restaurant, Hot Table, in Tower Square; and, especially, successful efforts to re-tenant the former federal building with Springfield School Department offices, some employees of Baystate Health, and other agencies.

    Together, these developments represent real progress in the work to bring more downtown ‘ to live, work, and play.

    1. The High-performance Computing Center

    Six months ago, hardly anyone in this region knew what a high-performance computing center was. In truth, many still don’t know today, but the picture is starting to come into focus. A center, which brings unprecedented amounts of computing power together in one place, is going to be built in Holyoke, thanks to an impressive partnership effort involving UMass, MIT, Boston University, Cisco, and a host of other players. Holyoke was chosen because of the vast amounts of inexpensive, ‘green” energy produced by that city’s hydroelectric facilities.

    The center will create only a few dozen jobs to start, but there is enormous potential for this facility to attract government agencies, businesses from several different sectors, and support services.

    This was easily the biggest and best story in a year when there was little competition.

    A Call for Nominations

    By
    Uncategorized

    BusinessWest Associate Publisher Kate Campiti says that when the publication launched its Difference Makers initiative roughly a year ago, there were high expectations that the new recognition program would capture the business community’s imagination and inspire more landscape-changing thought and action.

    “To say that those expectations were exceeded would be a real understatement,” said Campiti, adding that the first year of the program was successful on a number of levels.

    First, the inaugural class of four individuals — Doug Bowen, president and CEO of PeoplesBank; Kate Kane, managing director of the Springfield office of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Group; Susan Jaye-Kaplan, founder of GoFIT and co-founder of Link to Libraries; and Bill Ward, executive director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County — and one group, the Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield, set a very positive tone for the program, said Campiti. Collectively, the Class of 2009 provided a number of poignant examples about how individuals and groups can, indeed, make a difference within the Western Mass. community.

    Their stories were highlighted at the Difference Makers gala, which drew nearly 500 people to the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House and generated still more excitement for the program and its future.

    But then, things got even better, said Campiti, noting that, with inspiration and motivation from Ward and others at the REB, the first class of Difference Makers was put to work addressing one of the most critical issues facing the community: Literacy. The group launched a book-collection project called “Creating a Culture of Literacy — One Book at a Time,” with the specific beneficiary being the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative. What’s more, the group agreed that literacy wouldn’t be a one-year push, but rather an ongoing concern for future classes of Difference Makers.

    All of this will make the inaugural year of this initiative a hard act to follow, said Campiti, adding quickly that she is confident that the program will only grow in popularity and relevance as more individuals and groups are recognized for their efforts and their stories are told.

    Which brings us the Class of 2010 and the nomination form on the opposite page. This is where it all begins, and readers are strongly encouraged to let their ‘voices’ be heard.

    It’s rather simple, really. If you know an individual or group that is truly making a difference in this region — making it a better place in which to live, work, play, and learn — then nominate them for this honor.

    For examples of who can be a Difference Maker, look no further than last year’s class. Bowen and Kane were nominated for their success in leading their respective institiutions, but also for their tireless work within the community on a host of causes and nonprofit boards — and encouraging employees and associates to do the same. Kaplan, meanwhile, was nominated for her work to both introduce young people to the concept of fitness (GoFIT) and put books in their hands (Link to Libraries).

    Ward was nominated for his three decades of work with the REB to generate employment opportunities and help individuals overcome barriers to earning a paycheck. Finally, YPS was nominated as a group for its efforts to help young professionals plant roots in the Pioneer Valley, contribute to quality of life here, and hopefully stay in this region rather than look elsewhere for personal and professional satisfaction.

    Those are just examples of how people can make a difference. There are countless others. The work can be done in education, government, health care, the nonprofit community, business, or any combination of the above.

    Overall, Difference Makers has two real goals, said Campiti: to recognize people whose efforts often go unnoticed or uncelebrated, and to inspire others to want to do the same.

    “Our inaugural year was simply an unqualified success,” she noted. “And among the many other things we accomplished, we built some real momentum for 2010 and beyond.”

    As stated on the nomination form, entries are due by Dec. 31. Winners will be chosen by the staff at BusinessWest by mid-January, and the Class of 2010 will be announced in February, with the second Difference Makers gala scheduled for March.

    —George O’Brien

    Getting a Good Read

    By
    Chris Matthews
    Features
    Summit Will Shine a Spotlight on the Importance of Literacy
    Chris Matthews

    Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball, will speak about the importance of literacy at the Oct. 4 event.

    Gianna Allentuck calls it “the snowball effect.”

    She’s referring to research that shows that, when communities implement successful literacy programs, businesses, families, and society reap real benefits that boost the economy.

    Allentuck is an adjustment counselor at Elias Brookings School in Springfield and the person who gave birth to the upcoming literacy-based event, “United in Hope: A Community Comes Together.”

    On Oct. 4 at 2 p.m., national media personality Chris Matthews will convene a free, inspirational program about literacy programs in the area. It will be staged at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield in collaboration with WWLP-22 News, and will include an address by Matthews as well as compelling stories.

    “We hope to encourage people in the audience to volunteer and become involved in the literacy effort as they hear stories of success,” Allentuck said. “More volunteers means more services can be offered. And if more students graduate from high school, more will go to college or into the work force, which will make Springfield stronger economically. Then, businesses from other parts of the state or other states will pay attention to this city.”

    The afternoon will begin with a talk by Matthews about the importance of education in maintaining America’s standing in the world.

    The author, international journalist, and political commentator is host of the MSNBC show Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as a weekly syndicated news program.

    Allentuck worked as a nanny for his children years ago and invited him to lead the conference. “His job is to educate people and make them think about issues and pay attention to them,” she said.

    There will also be presentations about five successful Springfield-based literacy programs. The event will be conducted in a town-hall-meeting style to allow people to interact with presenters.

    Maura Geary, project manager for the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County’s LiteracyWorks initiative, says literacy and education is a continuum.

    “It’s a fundamental part of the health and vitality of our community,” she said. “The business community consistently tells us they depend on a literate and skilled workforce. It can influence whether a business locates or remains in an area. We know literacy begins at birth and continues through school years and into adulthood.”

    The first presentation will focus on the importance of exposing children to reading and books at a young age. It will be given by Bonnie McCain from the Early Childhood Center of Greater Springfield. “She is a really excellent teacher who has done a lot of training in the community,” said Geary. “She has also had a lot of success in helping children learn to read and helping parents implement strategies at home to improve the literacy of young children.”

    The second presentation, by representatives from the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, will focus on the importance of summer programs.

    Research from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation shows that children in low-income families start school with a pronounced literacy gap. Although they may catch up during the school year, the gap remains and increases every summer. “There is a two-month gap when they enter kindergarten, which increases to a two-year gap by fifth grade,” said Geary.

    Hasbro runs a very effective program to reduce this gap that involves 3,500 children in 40 programs in Greater Springfield. It operates via a theme-based approach that includes options ranging from hip hop and drumming to theater and a hands-on Connecticut River Watershed program.

    “Hasbro’s program was developed by local experts and is aligned with the Massachusetts School Curriculum Framework,” said Geary.

    BusinessWest’s Difference Makers class of 2009 raised money to purchase 350 books for a component of the Hasbro program in which teachers work with children identified as struggling readers. Also, the magazine has committed to making literacy an ongoing focus for future classes of Difference Makers.

    The third success story comes from the Big Y Youth Employment Mentoring Program. It’s a partnership with Springfield Public Schools to reduce the high school dropout rate, which stands at 60% in Springfield and Holyoke.

    Although this statistic, combined with the poverty rate, educational gaps, and budget cuts can paint a negative picture, Geary said the program will make people aware of the “incredible things going on in our community.”

    Leslie Lawrence is a shining example of the difference an individual can make. The Springfield Schools volunteer has succesfully recruited hundreds of volunteers and mentors. She and her mentee will talk share their experiences and what it takes to make a difference in the life of a young person.

    “Research shows that in order to be successful in school and in life, children need a significant or meaningful relationship with an adult. But there are many children who don’t have that,” said Geary.

    The afternoon program will also include a focus on adult-literacy programs. Geary said 17% of adults over the age of 25 in Hampden County don’t have a high-school diploma, and 22% of the population age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home.

    “We know that adults need to have access to language and literacy programs to become productive citizens, better workers, and good members of the community,” said Geary. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, more than 1,200 adults are desperately waiting for spots to open in literacy progams in Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee.

    Angelica Bay, who came to the U.S. from Russia in 1992, will share the story of how literacy programs helped her soar to success. The 19-year-old couldn’t speak a word of English when she arrived here, but thanks to local programs, she earned a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst, is working towards a master’s degree, and is personally responsible for helping 16 people learn English and find employment.

    Event organizers include Literacy-Works, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation’s READ! Reading Success by Fourth Grade program, Springfield Public Schools, and WWLP-22 News.