Education Archives - Page 40 of 68

Urban Renewal

By BusinessWest Staff July 15, 2014

Architecture Sections

Jablonski DeVriese Architects Strives to Preserve the Past

Steve Jablonski, left, and Brian DeVriese say the Northeast offers a rich lode of opportunity in preservation and renovation work.

Their business cards read ‘preserve, adapt, renew.’ That’s the philosophy Stephen Jablonski and Brian DeVriese bring to each of their architectural projects — whenever possible, anyway.

Take, for example, the Clifford A. Phaneuf Environmental Center at Forest Park, which has housed the Environmental Center for Our Schools (ECOS) program — utilized by thousands of Springfield public-school students and teachers annually — since 1970.

The structure was built in the 1930s as a warming house for ice skaters, Jablonski said. “It was built by the Springfield DPW, right after the Depression, but it’s basically sat there for 70, 80 years without any renovation whatsoever.”

Hence the $2.5 million expansion and renovation expected to go out to bid to contractors soon. The plan is to update the building and bring it up to safety codes; provide space for revenue-generating activities during after-school hours, weekends, and the summer months; and incorporate ‘green’ technologies such as a hydro-geothermal HVAC system; cutting-edge insulation; and energy-efficient windows, all of which will contribute to the project’s LEED Silver rating.

“It’s a fairly major expansion and renovation,” Jablonski said before detailing how the design reflects all three elements of Jabonski DeVriese Architects.

“We’re preserving it, maintaining its character; we had to submit documentation to the Mass. Historical Commission,” he explained. “We’re adapting it because it wasn’t originally designed as an educational facility. And we’re renewing it by adding on and preparing for the future.”

Nearby, however, another project at Forest Park does none of those things. The firm has designed a new storage facility for the Bright Nights displays, which Spirit of Springfield had been keeping in a ramshackle horse barn.

“Preserve, adapt, renew isn’t practical in this case because all the posts are rotted, and there aren’t any character elements to this horse barn,” Jablonski said, although the new structure will include classrooms for a skills-training center for the manufacturing and contstruction trades, part of a federally funded workforce-training program that will involve local unions, Springfield Technical Community College, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, and the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County.

So, yes, there is some ‘adapting’ going on.

“It’s kind of a niche market that’s prevalent in Western Mass., and in the Northeast in general — historical-preservation projects, adapting, preserving, renewing,” Jablonski told BusinessWest. When he and DeVriese merged their solo practices in 2011, “we figured, well, everyone seems to have a specialty. We were trained to do anything. But people want to know if you have a specialty now.”

Simply put, he said, “we preserve old buildings. It’s something that’s really starting to grab hold in society. Preservation is good. People are moving back to urban areas. Mid-size cities that have architectural character, like Springfield, are on their way up, no matter what people say about the city. I live in Springfield, I was born here, and I’m a big fan of Springfield. That’s not to say that problems don’t exist, but it’s on its way up. ”

When some people see a neglected building, DeVriese added, their first instinct is to knock it down, but he and and his partner see potential — not just to maintain and enhance the strucutre’s architectural heritage, but to improve its environmental impact. “After all,” he said, quoting noted architect Carl Elefante, “the greenest building is the one already standing.”

For this issue’s focus on architecture, Jablonski and DeVriese talked with BusinessWest about some specific ways in which they’ve preserved some of the region’s heritage by putting their names to some truly unique projects.

Together Again

Jablonski had been working as a sole practitioner in Springfield since 1995, and DeVriese had managed a solo practice in Shelburne Falls since 1997, when they began collaborating on projects, notably the design of the Museum of Springfield History at the Quadrangle — a classic adaptive-reuse project, since it’s housed in a former Verizon office building.

“Steve approached me about helping with the Springfield Museums project, and that was a significant project for both of us,” said DeVriese. “We started doing more and more together over the years, and in 2011 we incorporated as partners. We were very, very busy at the time.”

For example, the museum project led to Springfield College hiring the firm for its complete renovation of Judd Gymnasia, renamed the Stitzer YMCA Center. For that design, Jablonski DeVries received the Paul E. Tsongas Award from Preservation Massachusetts, as well as the Springfield Preservation Trust Award for restoration and stewardship.

“For me, there was a lot more activity in this area than in Franklin County, an opportunity to work on larger projects with a longer duration,” DeVriese said. “I like Steve, and he’s great to work with.”

As for Jablonski, he said he’d occasionally been frustrated by a reluctance by state and municipal officials to award large contracts to solo architects — and he wanted an occasional day off. “For me, taking on a partner made a lot of sense, just having the ability to take a vacation and share the burden of production.

“To be honest, a lot of people advised me not to do it,” he continued. “To them, it was counterintuitive: ‘you started it, you should keep it to yourself and benefit from it.’ What they don’t realize is keeping it to yourself is not strategic; sure, you can keep it to yourself, and not get bigger projects, or run yourself into the ground because you can’t take vacations. You can have it all to yourself, but life isn’t as good.”

The pair made headlines soon after their merger when Springfield College — a long-time Jablonski client — tapped the firm to work with Erland Construction of East Windsor, Conn. to repair three residence halls hard hit by the June 2011 tornado.

The pair went through every room in every dorm and itemized all the damage to help the contractor develop a repair estimate. Once they decided the structures were salvageable, the architects and contractors had a significant challenge: to complete the work in 10 weeks, in time to house returning students.

A rendering of the new Clifford A. Phaneuf Environental Center at Forest Park, which houses an environmental-education program for Springfield students but hasn’t been renovated in more than 70 years.

The goal was not just to repair, however, but to improve the dorms where possible. After seeing several architectural renderings, in addition to replacing windows and doors torn apart by the twister, the college decided to replace the original building exteriors with higher-quality, better-insulated panels than what had existed before.

Ten weeks and $5 million after the twister ripped through, little evidence remained of anything other than a summer remodeling job. That project earned a Rebuilding Project of the Year Award in 2012 from the New England chapter of the Construction Management Assoc. of America, which selected the effort from all renovation and modernization projects under $10 million.

College Try

Architectural design for college campuses is nothing new for the firm. “We’re identified really strongly with three or four sectors,” Jablonski explained, including higher education; municipal and government work, which includes schools, libraries, park buildings, and museums; and historical buildings of all kinds, which can cut across many sectors.

“It’s been harder than Brian and I ever thought to break into new markets,” he said, “but we both decided that we can’t put all our eggs in one basket — like the city of Springfield — especially when we have an economic downturn.”

That said, “I’d say about 90% of our clients are repeat customers,” he noted, citing Springfield College and the city of Springfield as two of the most long-standing, going back 20 years. “That says we have to be doing something right. It’s not just what drawings you do; it’s showing up on time and having some flexibility, because there’s always an issue, always some problem, so you have to be flexible. When we get repeat customers, we’re pretty sure we’re doing something right, or they’d go somewhere else. There’s definitely competition in the Valley.”

Jablonski said the firm is willing to do residential restoration, although they don’t actively market in that arena, but there isn’t enough of such work to make a living doing it exclusively. Still, “when someone approaches us, obviously we do it. We recently got a really nice, very large total rehab in Longmeadow.”

And they don’t limit themselves to high-profile jobs, recently taking on, for example, several dentistry offices and small projects for the city of Northampton, as well as preparing to tackle a cold-storage warehouse with a commercial kitchen on Warehouse Road in Springfield for the city’s school system, which recently expanded its free-lunch program to all students.

“I enjoy working with municipalities professionally and appreciate the quality of people involved in local government,” said DeVriese, who has been a selectman in Heath for 15 years. “I’ve done a lot of work with small towns over the years, so it’s nice to know they can come to us to get their problem solved.”

Meanwhile, the Springfield Museums project caught the attention of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., which tapped Jablonski DeVriese to design an addition to its athletic hall of fame.

“It’s not the first time someone called us up because they’d seen our work, but it is a good example of how we must be doing something right,” Jablonski told BusinessWest. “There is a lot of complexity in this business, and it’s nice to get some confirmation from someone looking at something and saying, ‘ooh, that’s nice.’”

Building for the Future

Things are looking equally good at the Springfield offices of Jablonski DeVriese, where the partners are growing a promising future.

For one thing, they’ve hired two junior architects. Nirati Shukla, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the Center for Environmental Planning & Technology in Gujarat, India, and a master’s from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, is certified as LEED AP and specializes in sustainable design. Marcel Alvarez immigrated from Ecuador and is currently a U.S. citizen. He is a graduate of Holyoke Community College and the architecture program at UMass Amherst.

And, as both Jablonski and DeVriese repeatedly stressed, there’s no shortage of opportunities to turn inadequate or neglected buildings into something that will reflect the future while respecting the past.

“Smart people are finally putting two and two together,” Jablonski said. “Instead of a continuous cycle of building new, let’s preserve it, adapt it, renew it.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Market Mentors Relocates, Doubles Space

By BusinessWest Staff July 14, 2014

Daily News

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Market Mentors, LLC, a full-service marketing, advertising, and public-relations firm, announced the grand opening of its new office located at 30 Capital Dr. in West Springfield.

The grand opening of the new Market Mentors office comes on the heels of the company’s 10th-anniversary celebration last summer. Clients of the firm represent a broad range of industries, including banking, financial planning, healthcare, higher education, insurance, law, political, nonprofit, retail, as well as manufacturing and industrial — many of which contributed to the design of the new office space, said company President Michelle Abdow.

She added that environmentally friendly business practices are becoming more than just an initiative, and the ‘green’ movement has created an entirely new set of industry standards that were included in the construction. “Working with our clients to build our new space was a natural extension of our professional relationship,” Abdow said. “For example, our new offices feature high-efficiency and energy-saving lighting from Hampden Zimmerman and appliances including high-speed, energy-efficient XLERATOR hand dryers from Excel Dryer.”

Baystate Mary Lane Hospital to Offer EMT Basic Training in September

By BusinessWest Staff July 10, 2014

Daily News

WARE — Baystate Mary Lane Hospital will partner with Quality EMS Educators Inc. to offer a basic emergency medical technical program at the hospital this fall. Classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 10 p.m. beginning Sept. 11 and will include 180 hours of class time and 10 hours of emergency-room observation time. The training time has been increased from 150 to 180 hours to meet the new National Registry Curriculum.

After successfully completing the EMT basic program, students will be eligible for the National and State Certification and Licensing Examination. Candidates must be at least 18 years of age to take the exam. This is the seventh EMT basic course sponsored by the hospital.

“Providing this training has been a critical asset to many of our communities,” said Dr. Roger Lafleur, Emergency Department physician at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital. “People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians during the most incredibly stressful situations. The physicians in our Emergency Department also depend on the excellent work and commitment EMTs provide both day and night in the many communities we serve. We are pleased to offer this training locally and proud of the positive impact the EMT basic training program has had on the many communities we serve.”

The cost for the basic EMT program is $900, which includes both tuition and books. The terms of payment are $450 due to Quality EMS Educators on the first day of class on Sept. 11, with the balance due Oct. 30. Checks, MasterCard, and Visa are accepted. Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Emergency Department physicians also conduct monthly continuing education for EMTs, intermediates, and paramedics at no cost. For more information about EMT training or to register for classes, contact Michelle Holmgren, Public Affairs and Community Relations specialist for Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, at (413) 967-2296.

UMass President Awards $270,000 for Creative-economy Initiatives

By BusinessWest Staff July 9, 2014

Daily News

BOSTON — President Robert Caret announced $270,000 in grants from the President’s Creative Economy Initiatives Fund to support eight projects by UMass faculty members in the arts, humanities, and social sciences that will bring new creative resources to Massachusetts communities.

The initiatives include supporting an LGBT community archives and education center in Northampton, developing a marketing toolkit to help nonprofit arts and cultural organizations involved in the creative economy in the Fall River-New Bedford area, and collaborating with the Peace Institute in the Dorchester section of Boston to assist victims of violence.

“The Creative Economy Initiatives Fund provides us with a unique opportunity to contribute the talent and resources of the University of Massachusetts to communities and organizations across the state that are helping to enrich the quality of life in the Commonwealth,” said Caret. “These projects — and the partnerships with nonprofits and creative industries that stem from them — are foundational to our role as an institution that is committed to making a difference wherever and whenever we can.”

The fund was created in 2007 to complement the President’s Science and Technology Initiatives Fund. In its eight years of operation, the Creative Economy Initiatives Fund has made 73 awards totaling more than $2 million. It has supported preservation of the W.E.B. Du Bois boyhood home in Great Barrington and established both the Lowell Youth Orchestra and a permanent Jack Kerouac education and tourism site in Lowell. It has brought UMass Dartmouth students together with Durfee High School students to create a photographic history of Fall River’s neighborhoods, helped establish a women artisans’ cooperative in New Bedford, developed a workers’ upholstery co-op in Springfield, and sponsored numerous music, dance, and theatre performances in Boston, Amherst, and Lowell. This year, the Creative Economy Initiatives Fund will provide $270,000 in grants to the following local initiatives and faculty members:

• Judyie Al-Bilali, Gilbert McCauley, and Priscilla Page, Theatre Department, UMass Amherst: “Art, Legacy & Community.” Project staff will work with community groups in the Greater Springfield area to produce an original theater production and develop Du Bois Performance Workshops for education in multicultural theater, with both activities to take place in Springfield. Amount awarded: $32,000.

• Mitch Boucher, University Without Walls; Julio Capo Jr., History Department and Commonwealth Honors College; and Jessica Johnson, History Department, all at UMass Amherst: “A LGBTQI Community Archives and Education Center.” This project will support the Sexual Minorities Archives (SMA) in Northampton, helping SMA preserve, build, and provide wider access to its resources; develop regional walking tours and other interactive programs; and establish greater national and international community links for these unique and valuable historical materials. Amount awarded: $29,334.

Bay Path Is Now Officially a University

By BusinessWest Staff July 3, 2014

Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path faculty, staff, and students celebrated July 1 as the official first day as a university — and the first women’s university in the Commonwealth.

Before a crowd of more than 250 members from the Bay Path community, President Carol Leary said, “we are enthusiastic about becoming Bay Path University, as it more appropriately reflects the complexity, drive, and bold dreams of this institution. Our three campuses have been expanded by a location in downtown Springfield, bringing us back to our roots, that boasts the first online college in the country exclusively for women. Soon, we will have a new location in East Longmeadow with a 57,000-square-foot building to house our programs in health science.”

She noted that 19 graduate degrees, online learning communities, and athletic fields round out the picture of “today’s Bay Path.” This spring, the college secured approvals for the transition to university status from the Mass. Department of Higher Education and the New England Assoc. of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). With this approval, the board of trustees also reaffirmed the university’s mission to the education of women at the undergraduate level.

Bay Path is a four-year, private university with an enrollment of more than 2,400 students at its Longmeadow campus and satellite campuses in Sturbridge and Burlington. The university offers undergraduate degrees for women, graduate degrees for men and women on campus and online, and the American Women’s College, offering accelerated degree programs for adult women online or on campus through its One-Day-a-Week program.

Kid Stuff

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Education Sections

A chart of area early education and child care facilities

Click here to download the PDF

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Briefcase Departments

MGM Springfield Wins Casino License
SPRINGFIELD — MGM Resorts International received a unanimous vote from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) approving an agreement to award MGM Springfield a license to operate a resort casino in downtown Springfield. This is the first approval of a casino license in the Commonwealth. The commission’s decision comes after an extensive, two-year process of hearings and background investigations culminating in a final week of hearings and deliberations. MGM formally announced its interest in a resort casino in Springfield in August 2012. At one time there was a field of five companies vying for the sole Western Mass. casino license. The MGM Springfield site is located on approximately 14.5 acres of land between Union and State streets, and between Columbus Avenue and Main Street. Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts, called it “a great day for Springfield, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and MGM. We’re proud of what our talented team and our many dedicated city and community partners have accomplished together. We thank the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for its thorough vetting process and look forward to continuing our work with Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and other Springfield and Western Mass. elected officials and governmental leaders, along with residents and businesses of Springfield and the region, as we move this project forward.” Murren was joined by MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle and MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis for the decision at the MassMutual Center. The crowd gathered included elected officials; civic, business, and community leaders; and MGM Springfield supporters. MGM Springfield, an $800 million investment, is designed to ignite an urban revival. MGM and its professional partners worked painstakingly to put together a design that celebrates the history of Springfield while moving the Gateway City into a new era of commerce and economic opportunity. The integrated resort casino is designed to enhance the entire urban center of Springfield. The mixed-used development project calls for a 25-story, 250-room hotel with world-class amenities, including a spa, pool, and roof deck; 125,000 square feet of gaming space with 3,000 slot machines, 75 gaming tables, a poker room, and a high-limit VIP gambling area; about 55,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space that will accommodate 15 shops and restaurants; and a multi-level parking garage. Plans also envision a high-energy dining, retail, and entertainment district with an eight-screen cinema, bowling alley, and outdoor stage. This will be developed by Davenport Properties of Boston, in partnership with MGM on land now occupied by the tornado-ravaged South End Community Center and Howard Street School. Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield president, said, “MGM is very grateful to the MGC and, most importantly, to our supporters. Today’s decision says yes to jobs, yes to downtown revitalization, and yes to opportunity and hope. We have been, and will continue to be, a committed partner to the city and the Commonwealth. We have worked hard to develop the strong relationships necessary to create a world-class urban casino resort proposal that will anchor a renaissance for an important gateway city and the region around it. We now look forward to that becoming a reality.” MGM Springfield will bring 3,000 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs to downtown Springfield. MGM has established a hiring goal of 35% of the workforce from the city of Springfield and 90% from a combination of Springfield and the region. Additionally, MGM Springfield has entered into surrounding-community agreements with neighboring communities providing for tens of millions of dollars. However, all casino projects in the Commonwealth still face the threat of a ballot repeal of the casino law, now that the Supreme Judicial Court has allowed the question to appear on the November ballot. Because the repeal effort hangs in the balance, the MGC and MGM entered into an agreement to award the single Category 1 (resort-casino) license available for Region B (Western Mass.) contingent on the outcome of the repeal matter. The future date allows the postponement of the licensing and related fees until the repeal question is resolved. “The City of Springfield deserves a brighter economic future,” Mathis said. “Its residents spoke loudly when they voted yes for MGM Springfield in a July 2013 referendum. A successful repeal would mean the loss of good jobs, new economic development, and a needed revenue stream. It would also eliminate the opportunity to recapture billions of dollars currently lost to neighboring states. MGM is ready to help the Commonwealth achieve these worthy goals.”

SJC Approves November Referendum on Casinos
BOSTON — On June 24, the state Supreme Judicial Court cleared the way for a repeal of the state casino law in November’s election. In a unanimous vote, the SJC ruled that Attorney General Martha Coakley was wrong to reject the anti-casino ballot question last year. “We conclude that the attorney general erred in declining to certify and grant the requested relief so that the initiative may be decided by the voters at the November election,” the court said in a lengthy decision written by Justice Ralph Gants. The ruling paves the way the way for what experts predict will be a protracted — and expensive — campaign that will certainly draw significant national interest. Commenting on the court’s decision, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno stated, “I appreciate the due diligence and consideration the SJC has given to this case. Going forward, we will proceed like we did last year before our local referendum and present the facts on what this means to not only Springfield but to Western Mass. and the entire Commonwealth.” He argued that the two main keys to knocking down poverty and public-safety issues inurban America are education and jobs. “People are hungry to work. MGMSpringfield is a massive jobs-generation project. It also means $50 milliondollars in local vendor procurement opportunities and the redevelopment of the downtown area heavily affected by the June 1, 2011 tornado.” He added, “The entertainment attractions that MGM Springfield will offer to all of New England will not only bring new life and vibrancy to Western Mass., but help to repatriate over a billion dollars currently leaving Massachusetts to other resort destinations. We are prepared and optimistic that, once the voters of the Commonwealth see and hear all the facts, we will prevail.” Michael Mathis, president of MGM Springfield, also weighed in on the decision in a preparedstatement. “MGM Resorts has spent three years collaborating and talking with the people of Western Mass. on the value of a casino resort as a unique economic-development catalyst,” he said. “We are confident that our urban revitalization project in Springfield, one of the Commonwealth’s most prominent gateway cities, is something to which all Massachusetts voters can relate. It is a comeback story in progress with hardworking people eager to grow jobs and get back to work. We are fully prepared to extend this message to a larger audience through a statewide campaign to educate the voters on the enormouseconomic benefits that would be lost to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth in a repeal.”

DevelopSpringfield Announces Grant for State Street Improvements
SPRINGFIELD — DevelopSpringfield announced that it has awarded a $25,321 grant for facade improvements to the 886-892 State St. property owned by Lorilee I, LLC. Building tenants include the new restaurant Q Smokin’ Good Food. The grant is made possible under DevelopSpringfield’s Corridor Storefront Improvement Program, which provides grants of up to $10,000 per storefront for exterior improvements to first-floor businesses located on State and Main streets in Springfield. Improvements to this space included renovations to three separate storefronts, two which were combined to create the new restaurant space. The recently awarded funds were used to revitalize and repair the existing façade and included new windows, doors, and signage. The grant is supporting a substantial investment for improvements to the building by the property owners. Q, featuring homemade southern barbeque, opened in mid-May. “We are grateful for DevelopSpringfield’s support of our façade renovations. We are a family-run business and are thrilled to bring our love of great southern barbecue to the neighborhood,” said Craig Spagnoli, Q co-owner. “We’ve already received great feedback from folks who have appreciated the visible improvements to the building and have also enjoyed our food. We serve both lunch and dinner, along with takeout, and look forward to serving this community.” The project shows a strong commitment to reinvestment and revitalization along the State Street corridor. It is also an example of initiatives recommended in the State Street Redevelopment Program and the Rebuild Springfield Plan to focus on strategic redevelopment in this area. For more information on the Corridor Storefront Improvement Program, visit www.developspringfield.com and click on ‘programs,’ or contact Jay Minkarah, DevelopSpringfield President and CEO, at (413) 209-8808 or [email protected].

Northampton Jazz Festival Seeks Additional Funding
NORTHAMPTON — Facing the loss of a major sponsorship, the founders and organizers of the fourth annual Northampton Jazz Festival are looking to the community for financial support so that September’s full slate of offerings can continue to be held free of charge. This year’s festival is slated to begin Tuesday, Sept. 2 with various events held each day of the week, leading up to the Saturday, Sept. 6 main festival event from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Northampton. Musicians on tap will include some of the “most cutting-edge players, mostly from the New York scene,” said Tom Reney, host of WFCR’s Jazz a la Mode radio show. Rick Gifford, a founding member of the board of directors, said the cost of the festival is about $35,000 per year: $15,000 for the musicians and another $20,000 in maintenance and set-up costs. This year, the festival lost an annual $10,000 sponsorship from a large corporation due to a change in its funding priorities. Gifford and fellow festival board members are hoping to close the gap with new business sponsorships as well as private donations, which they are seeking from the community at large for the first time. “We’re determined to continue to make it a free concert for participants,” Gifford said. “All of the music that is supported by our sponsors and patrons of the arts is designed to allow people of any walk of life with an interest in jazz to come to the jazz festival and not worry about buying a ticket. Northampton is all about inclusion. That is the mission of the Jazz Festival, too.” To help close the gap, organizers held a private fund-raising party on June 4 in Northampton, raising more than $3,500 and bringing the total needed down to $11,500. “Supporting the festival is supporting the vitality of the region. I am committed to do what I can to continue to keep free and open jazz alive in this Valley,” said Allen Davis, founder of the Davis Financial Group, LLC, in Hadley and a patron of the festival. Willie Hill, director of the Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst, added that “we must dig as deep as we possibly can to support jazz and pass it on to our children and the next generation, or it will die as an American art form.” Events begin Tuesday, Sept. 2 with a performance by vocalist Giacomo Gates at the Northampton Jazz Workshop at the Loft at the Clarion Hotel at 7:30 p.m. Next, Wednesday, Sept. 3 and Thursday, Sept. 4 are Jazz and Food Nights at Popcorn Noir in Easthampton and Sierra Grill in Northampton, starting at 6 p.m., and on Friday, Sept. 5, the ‘Northampton Jazz Strut’ will give music lovers a chance to explore different venues across downtown Northampton and hear a number of local and regional jazz performers. At Saturday’s signature Northampton Jazz Festival event, featured performers will include Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, the Steve Davis Quintet and the Champian Fulton Quartet, the Seamus Blake Band, FlavaEvolution, the Miro Sprague/Marty Jaffe Group, and Hendrik Meurkens/Scott Mullet with the Green Street Trio. The festival will also feature the 12-Mile Meal event (12milemeal.com), a battle between three local chefs who are given locally raised ingredients and must cook a dish on the spot with those ingredients. Participating in this year’s challenge will be Xavier Jones of Viva Fresh Pasta of Northampton, Brian Graham of Johnny’s Tavern in Amherst, and Chef Casey Douglass of Galaxy Restaurant/Lounge in Easthampton. For more information, visit northamptonjazzfestival.org or contact Gifford at (413) 582-7925. Contributions can be sent to Northampton Jazz Festival, P.O. Box 641, Northampton, MA 01060.

Massachusetts Adds 9,100 Jobs in May
BOSTON — The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary estimates show that Massachusetts added 9,100 jobs in May and the total unemployment rate dropped 0.4% from the April rate to 5.6%. Over the month, jobs were up 9,100, with private-sector jobs up 8,800. Since May 2013, Massachusetts has added a net of 49,700 jobs, with 51,300 jobs added in the private sector and 300 added in the public sector. The total unemployment rate was down 1.4% from the May 2013 rate of 7%. Not only are Massachusetts jobs above the April 2008 high point before the latest recession, they also exceed the February 2001 pre-recession job level. BLS also revised its April estimates downward to a 2,000-job loss from the 1,600-job loss previously reported for the month. Meanwhile, nationally, employers added 217,000 jobs in May, pushing total employment to 138.4 million, or slightly above the previous peak reached in January 2008 as the recession got underway, the Labor Department reported. The six-plus years it took to fully recover the jobs represent the longest unemployment slump since World War II. The unemployment rate, which held steady at 6.3% in May, remains well above the 4% to 5% levels that preceded the recession, a sign that the economy has not generated jobs quickly enough to keep up with population growth.

Advertising Club Seeks Pynchon Nominations
SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts is seeking nominations for the 99th annual William Pynchon Award, the area’s oldest community-service recognition program. Established in 1915, the award honors individuals from all walks of life who go beyond the call of duty to enhance quality of life in Western Mass. communities. Social activists, philanthropists, educators, clergy, physicians, journalists, and business leaders have received the award in years past. To nominate an individual, submit a one-page letter explaining why the nominee should be considered. Please include brief biographical information, outstanding accomplishments, examples of service to the community, organizations he or she is or has been active in, and the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least three people who can further attest to the nominee’s eligibility for induction into the Order of William Pynchon. All nominees will be considered and researched by the Pynchon trustees, comprised of past and present presidents of the Advertising Club. Nominations must be submitted by end of business on Friday, July 11 to: William Pynchon Trustees, Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts, P.O. Box 1022, West Springfield, MA 01090, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The 2014 Pynchon medalists will be announced on Friday, Sept. 12. The Pynchon awards dinner and ceremony will be held on Thursday, Nov. 20 at Chez Josef in Agawam.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Graduates Class of 2014
NORTHAMPTON — The 2014 class of Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) graduated on June 5 in ceremonies at the Smith College Conference Center. Prior to getting their certificates, the 35 participants in the 10-month program presented their accomplishments from working in six teams on issues facing the region. Each project was submitted by a local nonprofit or past LPV team. Three of the projects were continuations from prior years, and the nonprofit partners included Peace Jam of New England, STCC’s Latino Success Project, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Project topics included increasing access to higher education, attracting and retaining young professionals, publicizing regional history, engaging young people in leadership, and connecting local colleges and universities to the regional food bank. Each team offered expertise and energy to make a difference on community challenges from throughout the region. Each team project afforded experiential-learning opportunities and the chance to furthercommunity trusteeship while making a real impact in the region. Teams also had to collaborate with their partners to reach their own goals and meet the expectations of the nonprofit partners. Each participant participated in day-long monthly sessions from October until May, featuring seminar-style leadership-development sessions and hands-on field experiences in communities throughout the Pioneer Valley. Through the program, they refined their leadership skills, gained connections, and developed a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The culturally diverse class of 35 men and women represent nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations throughout Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. The 2014 graduates are: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gaudreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home; Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College; Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College; Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank; Richard Griffin, City of Springfield’s Economic Development Department; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY; Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield’s Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority; Nicole Skelly, United Bank; Kyle Sullivan, John M. Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

State Requires Utilities to Modernize Electric Grid
BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration announced that the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has issued two groundbreaking orders requiring Massachusetts electric-distribution companies to modernize the electric grid, building on the Commonwealth’s national leadership on energy efficiency and renewable energy. With these orders, Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to require electric-distribution companies to take affirmative and far-reaching steps to modernize the electric grid. “The grid-modernization order builds on Gov. Patrick’s commitment to strategic investments in innovation and infrastructure, and creates jobs,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett. “By implementing grid modernization, Massachusetts will once again be leading the nation in the clean-energy revolution and enabling customers to participate in how and when they consume energy.” The DPU’s order requires each utility to develop and implement a 10-year grid-modernization plan, to be updated regularly. The DPU determined grid modernization will provide several benefits, including empowering customers to better manage and reduce electricity costs; enhancing the reliability and resiliency of electricity service in the face of increasingly extreme weather; encouraging innovation and investment in new technology and infrastructure, strengthening the competitive electricity market; and addressing climate change and meeting clean-energy requirements by integrating more clean and renewable power, demand response, electricity storage, microgrids, and electric vehicles, and providing for increased amounts of energy efficiency. The companion order on time-varying rates recognizes that the cost of electricity changes dramatically over the course of a day and year. Currently, most customers pay a flat rate.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Company Notebook Departments

Meredith Corp. to Acquire WGGB
SPRINGFIELD — John Gormally, president of Gormally Broadcasting, LLC, as well as BusinessWest magazine, yesterday announced that he has signed an agreement to sell Springfield-based ABC 40/FOX 6 to Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith Corp. The sale is subject to approval from the Federal Communications Commission and is expected to close later this summer or early fall. Gormally acquired ABC 40 in the fall of 2007 and soon began a series of significant investments in new facilities and equipment. Shortly thereafter, he launched Fox 6 Springfield, bringing a fourth TV station to the market. The sale is a reflection of a trend toward ongoing consolidation within the media industry, particularly in television. Meredith currently operates 14 local broadcast stations, including WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford and its low-power sister station, WSHM, in Springfield. Other Meredith stations are located in Georgia, Oregon, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada. Under Gormally’s ownership, ABC 40 earned numerous awards for news excellence, including News Station of the Year honors from the Associated Press in 2013 and 2014, competing against all Springfield and Providence, R.I. stations. WGGB continues to be the only commercial TV station broadcasting news in HD.

Baystate Health Announces Naming of Tolosky Center
SPRINGFIELD — To honor the leadership and achievements of President and CEO Mark Tolosky over his 22-year career, the Baystate Health board of trustees announced the naming of the Tolosky Center at 3300 Main St. in Springfield. The Tolosky Center, a regional destination for outpatient healthcare services, opened in 1998 and ignited the redevelopment of an underused former industrial area in Springfield’s North End. The area today comprises more than $200 million of Baystate Health investment and more than 455,000 square feet of space, including the Tolosky Center, the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care, the Baystate Children’s Specialty Center, the Baystate Breast and Wellness Center, and the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center, among other Baystate-owned and -occupied properties. Tolosky is transitioning out of his position as president and CEO on July 1, moving into a president emeritus role. He served Baystate Health and the community for 22 years, beginning in 1992 as executive vice president of Baystate Health and CEO of Baystate Medical Center. In 2004, while retaining leadership of Baystate Medical Center, he assumed the titles of president and CEO of Baystate Health. The naming of the Tolosky Center culminates a series of recognitions of Tolosky’s long tenure and contributions to Baystate Health and the community. In May, a program that has provided nearly $1 million in forgivable loans to help Baystate Health employees purchase homes was renamed the Mark R. Tolosky Baystate Neighbors Program. Also last month, the nurses of Baystate Medical Center recognized Tolosky with their Nursing Collaborative Award, a testament to his commitment to nurses, patients, and families. “During his tenure, Mark’s commitment has extended beyond the traditional definition of health,” said Victor Woolridge, chair of the Baystate Health board of trustees. “He made it a priority to forge community partnerships that improve lives, and as a result he has helped to strengthen the Western Mass. economy. He has been committed to the well-being of communities and the individuals and families within them.” Presiding over the naming ceremony for the Tolosky Center were James Sadowsky, vice chair of the Baystate Health board of trustees, and John Maybury, chair of the Baystate Health Foundation board of trustees. “My family and I consider ourselves very fortunate to be part of this amazing community,” said Tolosky. “We’ll look with tremendous pride and gratitude upon on our family name on this building, where so many patients receive the skilled and compassionate care that changes their lives for the better.” Under Tolosky, Baystate Health has developed a national reputation as a leader in healthcare quality, being named among America’s top 15 health systems and seeing its hospitals regularly included on prestigious lists of the top-performing medical facilities in the country. In the same period, Baystate Health has scaled up its charitable commitment to the communities it serves, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in community-benefit funding, and collaborating with a diverse range of partners to devise and implement new ways to improve community health each year. It also has substantially increased its economic impact, now employing 10,000 people and producing more than $2.6 billion in economic output annually, according to one recent study. Tolosky recently led Baystate Health through the largest building project in the history of the health system and region, the planning, design, and construction of the $300 million expansion of Baystate Medical Center. During tenuous economic times, he championed the need for these projects for patients, families, and the community. He also fostered unprecedented support from generous donors in the community, raising more than $23 million to make it possible. On July 1, Dr. Mark Keroack assumes duties as Baystate Health’s president and CEO.

Jewish Geriatric Launches Rebranding Campaign with New Name, Logo
LONGMEADOW — Jewish Geriatric Services Inc. (JGS) announced recently that it is launching a rebranding campaign featuring the new name Jewish Lifecare (JL), a redesigned logo and brand identity. “Two years ago, JGS celebrated its centennial. It was a time to look back at this organization’s venerable history of caring for our elders, but also an opportunity to envision the future,” said Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JL. “We challenged ourselves to develop a brand that would provide greater clarity of who we are and what we do.” In 2012, the JGS board of directors voted to move forward with the rebranding process, and a rebranding committee was formed, chaired by Susan Goldsmith, president of Marcus Printing in Holyoke. “We needed to shed limiting parts of our present brand, while differentiating ourselves from competitors,” said Goldsmith. “The name Jewish Lifecare was chosen because it encompasses so much more than just geriatrics. It provides the image of life in its entirety and the phases in which we live.” Retaining the word ‘Jewish’ in the name was important because it embodies the mission of the organization, which is rooted in the Jewish faith. The tagline, “Excellence for generations. Serving all faiths” highlights a 102-year history of excellence in the community and the broader audience of people of all faiths, she added. The icon combines the symbolism of an eternal flame and tree of life into one cohesive image. The dot on the top of the icon allows the symbol of a person to emerge, and ties in the human connection to the organization. Jewish Lifecare will phase in the new branding across all platforms and services over the next several months. “We’re introducing the world to the next evolution of an organization founded as the Daughters of Zion Home for the Aged,” said Baicker. “We have a long tradition of embracing culture change to better serve our residents, patients, and families, and we are excited to introduce the community to the next stage of this venerable organization.”

Country Bank Awards $80,000 in Scholarships
WARE — Country Bank recently awarded $80,000 in scholarships to 16 area high-school students at its annual Scholarship Dinner. The recipients, selected from the scholarship committees established at each location where a scholarship is awarded, each received $5,000 to help get them started in their college career and assist with the many expenses that go along with a higher education. At the event, staged this year at Teresa’s Restaurant & Alfonso Banquet Room in Ware, Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, had the opportunity to meet each of the recipients, their guests, and a representative from their high school. “It means so much to have the opportunity to meet the students and their parents when the scholarships are presented,” he said. “They have all worked very hard to get to this point, and I have no doubt that each of them will succeed in the next chapter of their lives.”

Country Bank Awards $12,000 to Carson Center
WARE — Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, and Shelly Regin, first vice president and director of marketing at the bank, recently paid a surprise visit to the Baystate Mary Lane Community Benefits Advisory Committee (CBAC). Scully personally acknowledged the work of the CBAC and awarded the Carson Center two checks. The first, for $2,000, was a portion of the proceeds from Country Bank’s Community Series performances at the Center at Eagle Hill. The second check, for $10,000, was a direct gift from Country Bank to further the Carson Center’s provision of services for community members who are struggling with addiction. These funds were given to compliment the Yes to Life structured outpatient addiction program at the Carson Center, which was funded by Baystate Mary Lane Hospital’s determination-of-need (DON) funds last year. DON funding was made available for community health initiatives as part of the state Department of Public Health’s DON process related to capital expenditures for Baystate Medical Center’s new Emergency Department in Springfield. “We are so proud to support this important and worthwhile program, which will help so many of our community members” Regin said. “Country Bank recognizes this as an opportunity to assist the Carson Center and their Yes to Life Program, and in turn bring support to those who need it in our surrounding towns.”

MassMutual Donates $155,000 on Behalf of Financial Professionals
SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual has awarded $155,000 to eligible nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Service Awards (CSA) program. The awards are given on behalf of MassMutual financial professionals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to nonprofit organizations in their local community. New this year, MassMutual has increased its giving to include six $5,000 Silver awards in addition to its usual 10 $10,000 Gold awards and a top $25,000 Platinum award. “At MassMutual, we are proud of the significant impact our financial professionals have on their communities. What better way to encourage more of them to volunteer than to recognize those that are highly dedicated to helping others?” said Nick Fyntrilakis, vice president of Community Responsibility at MassMutual. “We are delighted to expand our program this year to honor more individuals who are making a positive difference in their communities across the country.” This year’s $25,000 Platinum Award winner is Darren Scrimpshire, a financial professional with MassMutual South Texas in San Antonio. Scrimpshire is being recognized for his work with San Antonio Fitness, Independent, & Recreational Environment (SAFIRE), a day activity center for young adults with intellectual disabilities that focuses on healthy lifestyles, continuing education, and pre-vocational skills. This year is MassMutual’s 18th year presenting Community Service Awards. Each award recognizes the many selfless hours of volunteer time and talent that MassMutual’s financial professionals put in during the year to improve their communities. MassMutual has contributed more than $1.4 million to charitable organizations across the country through its CSA program since its inception in 1996. The CSA program is just one of a variety of philanthropic programs sponsored by MassMutual in support of nonprofit organizations where its financial professionals live and work. Last year, in total, MassMutual provided nearly $8 million in philanthropic investments throughout the U.S., of which more than $900,000 supported organizations in honor of its financial professionals.

Steward Health Care, Doctors Express Announce Affiliation
SPRINGFIELD — Doctors Express has announced support for a growing trend of healthcare system partnerships with urgent-care facilities. Steward Health Care, the largest fully integrated community-care organization and community-hospital network in New England, recently announced a new clinical affiliation with AFC Doctors Express Urgent Care, the largest urgent-care provider in New England. This partnership is the first of its kind in Massachusetts and makes urgent-care centers available to Steward patients and others within the next year. Master franchisors Richard Crews and James Brennan of the local Doctors Express facilities — located in Springfield and West Springfield — commend the efforts to increase the quality and efficiency of patient care. Doctors Express has 11 locations in Massachusetts and plans to open 15 more locations in the next two years. Steward now has the largest integrated network of urgent-care providers in Massachusetts with 24 affiliated locations to be opened within the next year. Through this affiliation with Doctors Express, 45 family-practice, emergency-medicine, and internal-medicine physicians employed by Doctors Express will join the Steward Health Care Network. As part of this clinical affiliation, Doctors Express physicians will now have access to Steward’s patient portal to evaluate a patient’s clinical history prior to commencing treatment. Clinical notes from a Doctors Express visit will be communicated back to a patient’s primary-care physician or specialist for necessary follow-up. Steward patients will remain in-network while visiting a Doctors Express location. Urgent care includes some services offered by primary-care physicians, including treatment for acute illness, trauma (including minor surgical procedures), vaccinations, X-rays, medication dispensing, and more. Many patients might not take advantage of these services through primary-care practices because of inconvenient hours. “Our Doctors Express urgent-care practices are an advocate for better healthcare throughout our Western Mass. community,” said Brennan. “Not only do our physicians treat symptoms, but they also provide preventative care. We have moved urgent care far beyond the boundaries of traditional clinic care, and we look forward to more growth opportunities, from franchise development to partnerships with major healthcare systems.” Added Crews, “emergency rooms continue to be overcrowded with patients seeking non-emergency health-care. Partnerships with major healthcare providers alleviate the burden of crowded emergency rooms, and more importantly, these partnerships increase the quality of care by providing fast and efficient care during non-business hours.”

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin Receives United Way’s Gold Award
SPRINGFIELD — Local law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., serving Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, was recognized as a Gold award recipient from the United Way of Pioneer Valley during its 2014 annual celebration. Local businesses were recognized with Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards for extraordinary support during the 2013-14 campaign. Each year, the United Way of Pioneer Valley runs an annual campaign that provides funding for local nonprofit organizations and community initiatives. Donations finance health and human-service programs throughout the region. Awards were presented at the annual celebration, which was hosted recently at Chez Josef in Agawam. “We are proud to have the good fortune to be able to give back to a community that supports our success,” said partner Steve Schwartz, who has been with the firm since its inception 45 years ago. “We are equally proud of the other contributing businesses recognized at the United Way of Pioneer Valley annual event. We accomplish more working together.” The United Way of Pioneer Valley is the regional affiliate of United Way Worldwide, a leadership and support organization and network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their full potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. For 90 years, the United Way of Pioneer Valley has been working in partnership with individuals, businesses, and organizations that advance the common good throughout the Greater Springfield community, including the 25 cities in Hampden County, South Hadley, and Granby.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Departments People on the Move

Kristina Drzal Houghton

At its recent annual meeting, the Springfield Boys & Girls Club board of directors elected Kristina Drzal Houghton as its new Chairman. Houghton has been an active member of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club’s board of directors since 2003, serving on the club’s finance, Festival of Trees, and resource-development committees. Houghton is a partner and director of taxation services for the Holyoke-based public accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. She has extensive experience in tax-exempt organizations and unrelated business-income tax issues, as well as tax compliance and planning for closely held businesses. Her clients include those in the service, retail, transportation, medical, construction, manufacturing, education, insurance, and not-for-profit industries. Houghton received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from American International College and her master’s in taxation from Bentley College, and she has more than 30 years of experience in the area of taxation. She was a former tax manager with Coopers & Lybrand. Her professional affiliations include the AICPA and the MSCPA. She is the immediate past president of the board of the Springfield Symphony, served as the former treasurer of Spirit of Springfield, and was a troop leader for more than 12 years for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Mass. Houghton is licensed as a certified public accountant in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Jared Bednar Head Coach of the Springfield Falcons, the club’s American Hockey League affiliate. Bednar has served as an assistant coach of the Falcons since 2012, helping the club capture consecutive division titles since his arrival. “Jared has been instrumental in the development of several of our prospects in Springfield while serving as an assistant coach, and was a big part of the team’s recent success,” said Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland. “He’s very well-respected throughout the hockey community, and we’re confident he will excel in his new role within our organization.” Bednar served as the head coach of the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen from 2010 to 2012, amassing a record of 81-63-12 over the course of two seasons. He joined the Rivermen after serving as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat during that club’s inaugural 2009-10 season.
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Susan Seaver

Florence Savings Bank, a mutually owned savings bank serving the Pioneer Valley through nine branch locations, announced that Susan Seaver has joined the bank as Vice President and Mortgage Originator, responsible for mortgage originations in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. Seaver comes to FSB with a strong résumé of service in the banking industry. Most recently, she was vice president and mortgage officer with People’s United Bank. Her experience includes training and supporting a staff of in-house originators, and she has been a multi-year recipient of the top producer award for success in closing residential loans. Her professional activities include serving as a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley, the Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Mass., and the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. In the community, she has volunteered with a number of organizations, including the Michael J. Dias Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Western Mass. Eldercare. In announcing the appointment, FSB President and CEO John Heaps Jr., said that “we are very pleased to have Susan join our team here at Florence Savings Bank. She comes to us with extensive banking experience. I am confident our customers will be well-served by her contributions.”
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Loomis Communities announced that Gabrielle Thomes has been appointed Director of Social Services at the nursing center at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing. In this role, she will plan and implement social services and help individuals and their families find the correct level they need for care and recovery or, when necessary, hospice. Thomes is a licensed social worker who previously worked at Wingate in East Longmeadow.
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Joseph Malmborg

FSB Financial Group, the investment division of Florence Savings Bank, announced that Joseph Malmborg of Springfield has joined its team as a Financial Services Representative. In this capacity, he will work with individuals and business owners to develop strategic, long-term financial plans to help customers achieve their financial goals and objectives. Malmborg comes to FSB Financial Group with a résumé of 25 years of banking and investment-management experience. Most recently, he was an investment advisor with United Bank, where he managed and developed a $30 million investment portfolio. He is additionally a former investment advisor at Banknorth, registered investment advisor with MassMutual, and business development manager at Fleet Financial. Malmborg began his career as a branch sales manager at SIS Bank. The Westfield State College graduate is a licensed investment advisor representative with Commonwealth Financial Network, holding the Series 7 (General Securities) and Series 65 (Uniform Investment Adviser Law) licenses. He is also licensed to sell both life and health insurance. Malmborg is a past director of the East Longmeadow Chamber of Commerce. His other community activities include teaching Junior Achievement and being involved with Cursillo of Western Mass. “We are pleased to welcome Joe to our investment team. He will work closely with Jean Kelley and Nicole Domnarski to ensure that every FSB Financial Services client receives the highest degree of service and best possible investment advice in the Pioneer Valley,” said John Heaps Jr., president and CEO of Florence Savings Bank. “Joe’s extensive background and strong community involvement will make him an invaluable part of our team.”

BMC Breast Program Accredited, Earns ‘Best Practice’ Designation

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Daily News

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Medical Center’s Breast Program has been granted a full, three-year accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. The BMC program was also cited by the NAPBC in four areas for ‘best practice’ designation.

Accreditation by the NAPBC is given only to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. The standards include proficiency in center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement.

“A breast program that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease,” according to the NAPBC, which also cited BMC’s Breast Program in four areas for providing ‘best practice’ services, including breast conservation, breast-cancer staging, pathology reports, and nursing. BMC’s work in those areas will be included in NAPBC’s national database of information that can be used by other programs to help meet NAPBC standards of care.

“This remarkable achievement is a testament to the dedication of our entire Breast Program team at BMC to provide our patients with the highest quality of care,” said Diane Kelly, the hospital’s chief operating officer. “It’s critically important that we provide these comprehensive breast care services, giving our community access to multi-disciplinary, state-of-the-art care, close to home.”

The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast. This mission is pursued through standard setting, scientific validation, and patient and professional education. Its board membership includes professionals from 20 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care. For more information, visit www.accreditedbreastcenters.org.

40 Under Forty 2014 Gala

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Events Features

The Class of 2014 Has Its Day in the Sun

The population of 40 Under Forty winners in Western Mass. officially reached 320 on June 19, as BusinessWest’s Class of 2014 received their plaques — and the applause of more than 600 people — at ceremonies at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Perfect weather greeted guests on the penultimate day of spring, and they enjoyed one of the best networking events of the year. The gala featured fine food, music — each winner was introduced to a song of their choosing — and a chance to meet this program’s eighth class of rising stars, as well as many previous winners. On the pages that follow, we offer a fun look back at a memorable evening. Meanwhile, we’ll remind you that the nomination process for the Class of 2015 begins in roughly six months. So it’s time to start thinking about who could be the next members of this prestigious club. This year’s gala was sponsored by Baystate Medical Center, Fathers & Sons, Hampden Bank, Health New England, the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, Moriarty & Primack, P.C., Paragus Strategic IT, St. Germain Investment Management, and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield.

Program Sponsors:

For reprints contact: Denise Smith Photography / www.denisesmithphotography.com / [email protected]

From left, Jennifer Stratton, assistant professor of Education at Springfield College; Seth Stratton, class of 2014, attorney with Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law; Kathleen Schneider, senior director of Budget and Award Management for Save the Children; Michael Schneider, class of 2014, associate attorney at Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C.; Kevin Maltby, class of 2014, attorney at Bacon Wilson, P.C.; and his wife, Eliza Maltby.

Mike Matty, president of St. Germain Investment Management, one of this year’s 40 Under Forty sponsors, congratulates Patricia Faginski, vice president and financial advisor for the company and member of the class of 2014.

Below, from left, Melinda Moreno, adjunct professor at Bay Path College, networks with Tamara Blake, class of 2014, director of Psychology at Bay Path College and president and founder of Angels Take Flight; Lee Hagon, class of 2014, vocal music director at Minnechaug Regional High School; York Mayo, CEO of Community Volunteers; Angela Lussier, class of 2014, CEO of Anglea Lussier Enterprises; and Nick Rattner, editor at the Ugly Duckling Presse.

Jeremy Casey, class of 2013, assistant vice president and Commercial Services officer at Westfield Bank, networks with Garett DiStefano, class of 2014, director of residential dining at UMass Amherst.

From left, Terra Missildine, co-owner and operations manager at Beloved Earth Environmentally Friendly Custodial Services; Kyle Sullivan, class of 2014, business insurance broker at the John M. Glover Agency; Ashley Clark, assistant store manager, officer at TD Bank; Alfonso Santaniello, class of 2014, president and CEO of the Creative Strategy Agency; Juli Thibault, Manager of Talent Acquistion at Baystate Health; and Jesse Tolan, digital media coordinator at the Creative Strategy Agency.

Jill Monson, left, class of 2010, chief inspiration officer at Inspired Marketing, networks with Rich Griffin, project manager for the City of Springfield, and his wife, Nicole Griffin, class of 2014, president and CEO of Griffin Staffing Network.

Representing Health New England, one of the program’s sponsors, are, from left, Robert Azeez, Medicaid behavioral health manager; Taylor Moore, credit and collections analyst; Kerri Kane, process improvement facilitator; and Yvonne Diaz, account executive for existing business.

Anthony Surrette, class of 2014, principal at Corbin & Tapases, P.C., stops for a picture with his proud mother, Theresa Surrette.

From left, Sandy Cassanelli, class of 2014, CEO of Greenough Packaging, and her husband, Craig Cassanelli, president of Greenough Packaging, stop for a picture with Michael Schneider, class of 2014, associate attorney at Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C., and his wife, Kathleen Schneider, senior director of budget and award management for Save the Children.

Representing Hampden Bank, an event sponsor, are, from left, Amy Scribner, vice president and director of marketing; Kristy Batchelor, branch manager at the Tower Square location; and Peg Daoust, branch manager at the Boston Road location.

Representing the UMass Isenberg School of Management, an event sponsor, are Kyle Bate, left, academic advisor and director of regional program development, and Katherine Piedra, director of the full-time MBA program.

Steve Oparowski, art director at Darby O’Brien Advertising, represents event sponsor Paragus Strategic IT near the main hallway, handing out martini glasses to the guests.

From left, Mark Wisnewski, Greenfield town councilor, and his wife, Francia Wisnewski, class of 2014, regional program manager at Raising a Reader Massachusetts, network with Denise Hurst, class of 2014, quality improvement manager and human rights coordinator at the Department of Mental Health, and her husband, Justin Hurst, also a member of the class of 2014, owner of Hurst & Crane Investments, and a Springfield city councilor.

Rich Griffin, left, project manager for the city of Springfield, stops for a photo with Jose Delgado, class of 2014, mayoral aide for the city of Springfield, and Danielle Emery, a second-grade teacher at Kensington Elementary School.

Representing Monson Savings Bank are, from left, Jaimye Hebert, class of 2011, vice president of Commercial Lending; Melanie Garcia, teller; Robert Chateauneuf, class of 2014, assistant vice president of Commercial Lending; his wife, Shauna Chateauneuf, case manager at MassMutual Financial Group; and Sara Rodrigues, teller.

From left, Seth Stratton, class of 2014, attorney at Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law; Jennifer Stratton, assistant professor of Education at Springfield College; and Seth’s mother, Mary Stratton, talk with Patrick Leary, class of 2007, shareholder and vice president of Moriarty and Primack, P.C., an event sponsor.

Jason Randall, class of 2014, director of Human Resources for Peter Pan Bus Lines, networks with Pam Thornton, center, business development manager for United Personnel, and Cindy Landry, human resources generalist at Health New England.

From left, Waleska Lugo-DeJesus, class of 2012, director of Multicultural Affairs at Westfield State University, networks with Ed Nunéz, senior business development officer at Freedom Credit Union and treasurer of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, an event sponsor; Michelle Crosby, branch manager at PeoplesBank; Jason Tsitso, class of 2012, project manager at R&R Windows; and Sarah Tsitso, class of 2007, executive director of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club.

Representing Fathers & Sons, an event sponsor, are, from left, Tony Quiterio, manager; Shera Smith, sales; Steve Langieri, sales manager; Bill Visneau, product specialist; Damon Cartelli, class of 2010, general manager; and Stephen Parent, sales director.

Representing event sponsor Baystate Medical Center are, from left, Sean Gouvin, class of 2014, director of Facilities Planning and Engineering; Ryan Thomas, performance improvement coordinator; and Kevin Kirrane, process improvement coordinator.

Ryan McCollum, left, owner of RMC Strategies, shares a moment with Erin Brunelle, class of 2013, realtor at Century 21 Hometown Associates, and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, class of 2014.

Jim Barrett, managing partner of Meyers Brother Kalicka, P.C., one of five judges chosen to review this year’s 40 Under Forty nominations, receives a gift basket on stage. Each of the judges was given a basket in gratitude for their hard work.

Alfonso Santaniello, class of 2014, president and CEO of the Creative Strategy Agency, surprises George O’Brien, BusinessWest editor, with a quick selfie as he accepts his award on stage at the Log Cabin.

[Show slideshow]

Opinion

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Opinion

Early-childhood Education Is Important

By Steve Grande

There’s a perception that manufacturing is a dying industry in Western Mass., but the reality is quite different. In fact, a fundamental challenge faced by manufacturing companies in the region is finding enough qualified employees who can apply math, science, and critical thinking to do the technical jobs that are the backbone of manufacturing operations today.

The challenge is increased because the industrial workforce is aging, and there are not enough qualified younger workers to replace the older ones who will be retiring soon. Companies planning their long-term survival need new generations of skilled workers. My company, Meridian Industrial Group, is one of those companies.

Meridian has deep roots in Holyoke, where it was established in 1890 as The J&W Jolly Co. We manufacture large parts used in aerospace, defense, commercial, and medical applications for customers across the country as well as overseas. Our workers make this business possible, and from a practical standpoint, I know we need a pool of qualified candidates to perform skilled manufacturing jobs.

There are existing regional efforts that help supply the pool of workers to fill manufacturing jobs, but I have concluded that preparation must start sooner. Building the necessary skills — how to think clearly, focus attentively, and apply concepts of math and science to solve problems — has to begin early in life. When I say early, I mean years before a child enters kindergarten.

Companies like Meridian Industrial need people who are ready to learn, know how to learn, excel at learning, and enjoy learning, now more than ever. That’s why I decided last year that I would make a concerted effort to support the success of Square One. It intrigued me when I learned that Square One, which provides early education and care for mostly poor, inner-city children, was founded back in 1883 specifically to provide child care for young mothers so they could go to work and support themselves. Now, as then, the children see their parents going to their job each day, so work and self-reliance are considered the norm.

Children at Square One spend their day learning in a quality early-education and care environment that prepares them to enter school and be successful. Their lessons transfer directly to their experience in school and helps make children who went to preschool at Square One much more likely to graduate from high school, continue their education past that, and contribute productively to the community. Any business person can appreciate the long-term value of such an investment.

It also intrigued me that Square One was smart enough to figure out that you can’t just educate and inform a child; you have to educate and inform their family so the culture of personal responsibility for one’s own success is reinforced on a daily basis. It’s a ‘hand-up’ philosophy that makes sense on many levels.

So I decided to support Square One. Speaking practically, I understand that what I’m doing now to support the organization will impact my ability to be successful as a business owner over the long term. That’s why I call on my colleagues, customers, and community to get on board with Square One and the whole concept of early education and care. Take time to educate yourself about the impact of early education and care. Go visit a Square One preschool and meet the children. Stay for the morning and read them a story. Meet the teachers and the staff.

I don’t run a large foundation that can afford to give away millions of dollars. I run a manufacturing business that I want to be profitable for a long time. That’s why I am proud to be an ambassador who talks to others about the important work that Square One is doing. Look into what Square One is doing because it matters, and support early-childhood education. v

Steve Grande is president of the Meridian Industrial Group, LLC.

Moving Forward

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Education Sections

Westfield State Works to Put the Dobelle Controversy Behind It

WSU Interim President Elizabeth Preston

Elizabeth Preston acknowledged that, in the vast majority of cases, when someone in academia has the title ‘interim president’ in front of their name, they are usually in a caretaking role, holding down the fort until the institution chooses its next leader.

But at Westfield State University, that hasn’t always been the case. In fact, it’s been more of the exception than the rule, she said, noting that individuals have been called upon to restore order and change the tenor of front-page headlines in the wakes of scandals in the ’80s that led to the resignations of Frank Pilecki and Irving Buchen.

And that is the situation that Preston, formerly the school’s vice president of Academic Affairs, finds herself in as she serves as interim leader following the tumultuous end to what could only be called the Evan Dobelle era at WSU.

It’s been roughly eight months since Dobelle, who by then had the adjective ‘embattled’ seemingly attached to his name and title, abruptly retired amid a searing controversy over his lavish spending of university resources. Dobelle, who had been suspended from his $240,000-a-year job with pay while a law firm hired by the university’s board of trustees investigated his spending habits, had vowed to fight for that job, filing a federal lawsuit against the trustees and accusing the chairman of conspiring to destroy his reputation.

But he eventually stepped down for what he said was the good of the university — although state and federal lawsuits he’s filed against various parties are still pending — and Preston, who has also served as dean of faculty and chair of the school’s Communications Department, stepped into the breach, first as acting president, then as interim, which means she’ll serve until a new president is selected — a year from now, by most estimates. She will not be a candidate for the permanent position.

Today, most of the headlines concerning the university — and the Dobelle controversy — concern the size of the legal bills the school has amassed in this mess (roughly $1.3 million to date), and there is still the rather large matter of a state inspector general’s report on the school’s noncompliance with the state’s Public Records Law, which was due to arrive several weeks ago, but is still being awaited.

But Preston believes that, to a large degree, the university is succeeding with the ongoing work of putting the Dobelle scandal behind it and moving on with the present, and especially the future.

Elizabeth Preston says the WSU community has recovered quickly from last fall’s controversy.

It is being helped in this regard by the school’s 175th-anniversary celebration — which has come in parts and is still in progress (more on that later) — because there have been a number of events that have helped the campus community focus on the positive, said Preston, and also change the tone of news coverage and begin the discussion about what the school could, and should, look like when it turns 200.

The sentiment can be summed up with the phrase ‘moving forward,’ which is more than the name given to a website (www.westfield.ma.edu/movingforward) created to serve as the university’s official resource for information on the inspector general’s investigation and related legal action.

Indeed, it is also a mindset.

Looking back on the academic year that began last September and ended in May, Preston said that, while there were some bright spots, this was what amounted to a timeout for the college, as the Dobelle controversy played itself out in the media, he eventually retired, and the school dealt with the aftereffects.

“And you can’t have a two-year timeout. You can’t sit in the break-down lane for two years. That’s simply not an option in higher education today,” she went on, adding that evidence that this won’t happen comes in a number of forms. They range from enrollment numbers for this fall, which are slightly higher than last year, and on target with the administration’s goals, to fund-raising efforts, including a successful initiative that was part of the recent 175th Anniversary Gala, to comments she’s received from faculty, students, and parents.

Meanwhile, there are other positive developments, such as the planned construction of a new science center, the matriculation of the school’s first class of nursing students last spring, and a collaborative initiative with Holyoke Community College to improve access to, and the affordability of, a bachelor’s degree.

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked at length with Preston about what being interim president means in this situation, and about what’s next for this school as it marks a milestone.

Altered State

Preston was vacationing in Yosemite National Park last July when the controversy surrounding Dobelle and his spending habits started to reach a boiling point.

She had only limited Internet access where she was staying, but enough to learn that a special meeting of the board of trustees had been called. “That’s when it first occurred to me that this was serious.”

That wasn’t the first time she allowed herself to think about having to assume the role of acting president — the vice president of Academic Affairs is next in line in such situations, according to the school’s well-entrenched succession plan — but it was the first time she thought it was a real possibility.

And four controversy-filled months later, it was reality.

A few weeks after that, her title changed to interim president, which is not an automatic progression, but a role she wanted and one the board of trustees asked her to accept.

It’s been a learning experience on many levels, one that has taken her out of what she called her “comfort zone” within academic affairs, but she’s found it rewarding in a number of ways.

“I was a little bit unprepared for the feeling of responsibility that I have — I’ve always been in a position where there was someone else who was ultimately responsible for things,” she explained. “There’s something very challenging about knowing that you’re responsible for the institution. That would be challenging under any circumstances, but under these circumstances, it’s been more difficult.”

Preston told BusinessWest that, from the beginning, she’s considered her job description as interim president to be fairly simple, even if carrying out that assignment isn’t.

“I thought I clearly had the responsibility for boosting morale and restoring confidence,” she explained, adding that she has gone about this in a number of ways, from effectively communicating not only with the campus but the outside community as well, especially with the ‘moving forward’ website, to putting in place spending safeguards to prevent another controversy like the one authored by Dobelle, to revamping the school’s financial-management team by creating two new positions that focus on internal auditing and risk management.

The website is a key part of the process of putting information in the hands of those who want and need it, and being completely transparent, she said, stressing the importance of communication — at all times, but especially in situations like these. The site answers often-asked questions about the inspector general’s investigation, which began last August, other investigations, ongoing litigation and the accompanying costs to the school, the impact of the scandal on enrollment and fund-raising, and even the search for a new president.

As she talked about the past academic year, using that term ‘timeout’ on more than one occasion, Preston said it’s obviously been a challenging time for the school — and for her.

But in some ways, she said she’s been pleasantly surprised by how quickly the school has seemingly recovered, while also acknowledging that maybe she shouldn’t be surprised.

Indeed, Preston told BusinessWest that, in many ways, the Dobelle scandal, while it received national and international coverage, did not leave what she would consider a deep mark on the school. Few on the campus were really affected by the spending controversies, she noted, and many at the school have been able to focus on the many positive developments from Dobelle’s tenure, and not on how or why it ended so badly.

“The controversy really hasn’t affected much of the work of the university,” she explained. “In terms of morale, Evan Dobelle did a lot of good things for this university, and he greatly elevated its profile.”

School of Thought

Backing up a bit, she noted that, prior to Dobelle’s arrival, WSU endured two caretaker interim presidencies following the departure of Vickie Carwein and then a failed presidential search. This led to what she called “pent-up energy” when Dobelle arrived that translated into a number of initiatives.

She used one — a greater focus on international programs — to show how this pent-up energy manifested itself.

“There was a lot of interest in international study-abroad programs and travel-abroad trips; the faculty had been proposing those kinds of programs for years on campus and hadn’t been able to get any traction,” she explained. “He [Dobelle] opened the doors to all kinds of international programs, and that was typical of a number of things.

“There was a lot of interest in movement on campus in a number of directions,” she went on, “and he elevated the profile of the institution and also empowered faculty and staff to do a number of things they wanted to do; there were a lot of people on campus who were very partial to his presidency.”

So when the controversy broke and Dobelle was eventually compelled to resign, some felt a sense of loss, while others experienced a sense of betrayal, she went on, adding that the extensive, global media coverage and commentary that slammed not only Dobelle, but the trustees — first for hiring him and then for an apparent lack of oversight — made matters much worse.

It all added up to a challenging period, but one that she doesn’t believe has lingered.

A new science building, seen here in an architect’s rendering, is one of many positive developments taking place on the Westfield State campus.

“This really is a tight campus community, and people are really focused on the education and experience that our students receive,” she said. “So it was surprising to me how quickly things returned to a degree of normalcy on campus.”

She can’t pinpoint exactly when that happened, but a social event late last fall may have been a factor in accelerating the healing process.

“There were no speeches, and there was no program,” she said of the gathering. “There was just a chance for everyone to reconnect. I think that was the beginning of the process of rebuilding morale on campus.”

Meanwhile, the 175th anniversary and various celebrations to mark that occasion provided not necessarily a distraction, she went on, but a chance to focus on the institution’s history, future, and core values.

“When you celebrate something like a 175th anniversary, what gives that occasion such power is what it allows you to recognize and talk about where the institution has been, and also about the timeless values that have been the foundation of everything you’ve been doing, and how much they’re still present.

“It gave us a chance to celebrate being a public institution, our history of inclusion, and the centrality of service to our academic programs and the campus culture,” she went on, “because those have been part of the institution for 175 years, and it gave people a chance to be proud of who we are and where we’ve come from; it was very helpful in moving the institution forward.”

The festivities culminated with a gala on campus on March 29. The event raised more than $125,000 for scholarships, the highest total for a single event in the school’s history.

And the 175th celebration will continue, she said, adding that there is some “fuzziness” about the dates surrounding the school; the Legislature approved the charter for Framingham State and what became Westfield State in 1838, but the schools didn’t open until the fall of 1839.

Moving forward (there’s that phrase again), the school is looking at new enrollment of more than 1,500 students this fall, which will exceed the target set by administrators. Meanwhile, work is expected to commence this fall on the new, $48 million science building, the first new academic building on campus in nearly 40 years.

There are other initiatives, such as an RN-to-BSN initiative that will be part of a growing Allied Health program, as well as the articulation agreement with Holyoke Community College, which will enable students at HCC to transfer from that school’s online associate’s degree program to WSU’s complete online bachelor’s degree program.

“We have a lot going on here,” said Preston, adding quickly that such initiatives may not be generating big headlines, at least when compared to those stories about the school’s legal bills, but they do provide evidence that the timeout is clearly over.

Steady Course

Preston wanted to make it clear — and did — that the Dobelle controversy and its aftereffects are not entirely in the rear-view mirror.

The inspector general’s report still hangs over the campus, as do the lawsuits filed by Dobelle and the resulting legal fees. Meanwhile, there are several vacancies on the board of trustees resulting from resignations and expiring terms.

“We’re not on the other side of this completely,” she told BusinessWest, adding quickly that, with the issues that matter most — those of morale, momentum, and positive energy with regard to what comes next — the school has in almost every sense turned the corner.

Which means that Westfield State University is moving forward — in a great many ways.

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

Talking Points

By BusinessWest Staff July 1, 2014

Education Sections

Bay Path Launches Program in Negotiation, Leadership

Joshua Weiss says negotiation isn’t a lost art, but simply one that too many people haven’t taken the time and trouble to master.

Joshua Weiss was talking about the difference between being assertive and being aggressive.

And while doing so, he made it clear that, in the worlds of leadership and negotiation, these terms that appear to be synonymous are anything but.

“When you’re assertive, you’re standing on your own two feet, and when you’re aggressive, you’re standing on the other person’s toes, and people often don’t make that distinction,” said Weiss, co-founder of something called the Global Negotiation Initiative at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. He’s also an acclaimed author and consultant in the field who now has a new title on his business card, although they haven’t actually arrived from the printer yet.

Indeed, he is the director of Bay Path College’s newest program, the Master of Science in Leadership and Negotiation, or MSLN.

This fully online initiative is the first of its kind — in this country and probably on a global basis as well, said Weiss, adding quickly that understanding the difference between assertive and aggressive is just one of many things students will learn in this program, which will begin this fall.

They’ll also learn how to deal with the concept of power and how to wield it, understand how men and women approach leadership and negotiation differently, learn about the many psychological dimensions of leadership and negotiation, understand the role of emotions in these realms and how to control them, and grasp the importance of relationships and how they go on after the negotiations are over.

“Aggressive … that means I steamroll you to get to where I want to go,” Weiss explained, returning to his lesson in both vocabulary and effective management. “Being assertive means I explain clearly that ‘this is what I need, and I want to work with you, but I’m not going to accept anything that doesn’t fit into that.’

“You have to understand what you want to achieve, and assert for that,” he went on, “but also understand that the relationship is going to exist after this negotiation, and that there’s a way to go through negotiations so you don’t burn bridges — you don’t have to.”

As he talked about these concepts and others, Weiss said that negotiation certainly isn’t a lost art. But it is one that many people don’t make an effort to master. Elaborating, he said it’s a skill that many people will say they lack, for one reason or another, but don’t try to acquire, because they don’t believe they can or don’t believe they need it.

“A lot of people see negotiation as what the select few — the diplomat or the contract negotiator — would do,” he said. “There’s a sense that certain people negotiate and others don’t.”

These are flawed assumptions, he went on, adding that both leadership and negotiation can be taught and have been taught over the years, but not in a very comprehensive way — usually with a course or perhaps two, not with a degree program.

Such a higher level of instruction is necessary, he said, because advancing telecommunications technology and the emergence of flatter organizational structures in companies of all sizes means that more people will — or should be — called upon to provide leadership and negotiate, and they will have to do both in different ways and with a wider array of issues.

Indeed, while most think of negotiation in terms of mergers, acquisitions, and salary numbers — and those are still important parts of the equation — it now also involves such matters as flex time, working environments, and generational differences when it comes to the evolving world of work.

For example, while the conference-room table has long been the unofficial symbol of negotiation, people are now doing it with e-mail, text messages, and a host of other media, he said, adding that successfully leading, and dealing, through these platforms requires specific skills.

All these factors and others led Bay Path, with some strong encouragement from Weiss, to create the new program, which he believes will become attractive to both graduating seniors and those already in the workplace looking to advance, and who are seeking an alternative to the traditional MBA.

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked at length with Weiss about negotiation, leadership, the new program, and why that acronym MSLN might soon become an important part of the regional business lexicon.

Courses of Action

It’s called the Abraham Path, or Abraham’s Path.

This is, as the name suggests, a walking trail across the Middle East that essentially follows the epic journey of Abraham, considered the world’s first pilgrim. It starts at his birthplace in Urfa in Turkey and ends at his burial cave in the Palestinian city of Hebron. Other stops include Nablus, Jericho, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.

Weiss was part of the team that worked to create the path starting in 2003, and he called it a learning experience on a number of levels, and especially when it comes to negotiation.

“Right now, despite all the things that are going on in that region, there’s about 500 kilometers of path that have been mapped and are in use,” he explained. “Some people walk considerable distances, and others go for a day; there are many students and others who do community-service projects along the path, everything from helping with the olive harvest to painting a school — ways in which people can come to understand, and interact with, the region differently.

“Early on, my job was to go and negotiate with the governments and get their approval for this,” he went on. “There were negotiations all over the place, from the national governments down to the governors, mayors, to sitting in villages with families drinking goat’s yogurt and trying to persuade them that this was an interesting idea and that they should get involved.”

Weiss will take lessons from the Middle East, as well as others from countless businesses he’s consulted for, and try to impart them upon students who enroll in the MSLN.

This is an initiative that meets his desire to return to the classroom (he’s taught at Harvard and other schools) and direct a program, but that also meets what he considers a critical need — for employees who possess more and better leadership and negotiation skills.

“A lot of people tend to see negotiation as a skill that leaders need,” he explained. “I see it much differently; I believe negotiation is very much a mindset and how you approach issues and challenges that come up. Yes, leaders need to learn how to negotiate, but leadership today, from my perspective, requires a lot of different skills.

“You certainly still at times have the ability to coerce others, but leadership seems to rely more on persuasion and empowerment and on modeling the kind of behavior you’re looking for from your employees,” he continued. “So I see this degree as being good for both the student in terms of their own growth and ability and being able to move on from where they are to the next level, but also very valuable for an employer, because if I know I have someone who is very skilled in leadership and negotiation, I can hand that individual a project knowing that it requires the ability to lead, and when problems come up, he or she can negotiate their way through them; they’ve become a very valuable employee, and one that I don’t have to worry about.

“Leaders often micromanage because they worry and lack trust in people and their skill sets,” he went on. “With these skills, people will ultimately become real assets.”

Even better, he told BusinessWest, he believes these skills have a way of rubbing off on other people, meaning that effective leadership and negotiation can permeate a team or a company.

Talking the Talk

Returning to the subject of negotiation, Weiss said it has always been part of doing business — and life in general — but it is in some ways changing and evolving, and those who wish to advance their careers need to appreciate both its importance and many nuances.

“I tend to view negotiation in a very broad sense,” he explained. “To me, negotiation is ubiquitous; it’s something we deal with every day. So, in the workplace, it may be more formal negotiations where you’re talking about mergers and acquisitions or a job salary. Or it may be more informal things when you’re working on projects with employees and there’s a disagreement and you need to go back and forth and figure out how you’re going to work together in a different capacity.”

Elaborating, he said there isn’t necessarily more negotiating going on today, although one might be able to make that case. Instead, people are increasingly recognizing that negotiation is what they’re doing, and that they need to become better at it.

There have been some seminal moments that have helped manifest this mindset, he went on, citing, in particular, the publishing of Getting to Yes, authored by Roger Fischer and William Ury, in 1981.

“It’s been on the bestseller list ever since,” said Weiss, adding that the book and others that followed helped foster an understanding of the importance of negotiation. “If the average person had experience with negotiation, they thought about it in terms of buying a car or a home or something like that. This book changed all that and got people to realize that, first of all, a lot more of us are negotiating, and there’s a different way to negotiate, one that for a lot of people feels more comfortable.

“Part of the reason people don’t like to negotiate for things like cars is that they feel like the process itself centered around manipulation,” he said. “That’s one way of approaching negotiation, but there’s another way; for most of us, our negotiations are with people that we have to work with over time, and so that model of manipulating and distrust is a self-defeating way of negotiating.”

The model that was presented in Getting to Yes and has been built upon ever since is called ‘interest-based negotiation,” said Weiss, adding that, in simple terms, it involves creating scenarios where there is not a winner and a loser, but where both sides’ interests are respected and, by and large, met.

“When people started to realize that they were negotiating with someone they needed to work with over the long term, they understood that it would be better to build a relationship so that they meet the needs they have rather than trying to one-up each other,” he said, adding that, over the past several years, and especially since the recession broke out in 2008, businesses are embracing this concept.

While books like Getting to Yes have opened some eyes about the importance of negotiation, there have historically been only limited opportunities to learn about it in the classroom, said Weiss.

He noted that many law schools and business schools offer a course or two in the subjects of negotiation and leadership, and that in many instances, such offerings are required. But such courses provide only what Weiss called the basics. Bay Path’s new program amounts to what he called a “deep dive.”

The 36-credit program will be taught in eight-week blocks. Courses include “Leading and Negotiating in a Virtual and Multicultural World,” “Psychological Dimensions of Leadership and Negotiation,” “Gender, Leadership, and Negotiation,” and “Case Studies of Leadership and Negotiation.”

Weiss said there has been strong early interest in the program, and he expects to start with eight to 10 students in the fall and see that number rise as individuals, businesses, and nonprofit agencies realize the importance of leadership and negotiation to their success moving forward.

Bottom Line

As he talked about his program and its target audience, Weiss relayed the comments of a biotech engineer who has been kicking the tires on Bay Path’s new offering and leaning toward enrolling.

“She said, ‘I’ve been looking at MBA programs, but keep getting pulled back to yours because I don’t want budgets and finance and that kind of stuff,’” he noted. “She said, ‘where I am, technically I’m very good at what I do, but I’m in a mid-level position, and I know I’m capable of more than that. What’s holding me back is this ability to assert for myself and lead other people; I don’t know how to do that.’”

There are countless others who can say the same thing, and because they can, Bay Path’s program would appear to be the right offering at the right time.

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

Springfield College Celebrates Institute for Learning in Later Life

By BusinessWest Staff June 27, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College’s Institute for Learning in Later Life recently held an instructor and member appreciation wrap-up reception and 25-year celebration. More than 60 people enjoyed an afternoon with activities and refreshments. The past spring semester topics included politics, opera, book groups, world religions, use of iPads and tablets, a Pete Seeger sing-along, a film series and discussion on Paul Newman, a nature walk at Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, and more. Courses were held at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing and Springfield College. The Learning in Later Life program was established 25 years ago and reflects Springfield College’s guiding philosophy of humanics education of the whole person in spirit, mind, and body. Each semester, between 150 and 200 people register for classes. For more information or to be put on the mailing list for the fall semester, contact Suzette Wood at (413) 748-5287.

SJC Clears the Way for November Referendum on Casinos

By BusinessWest Staff June 25, 2014

Daily News

BOSTON — On June 24, the state Supreme Judicial Court cleared the way for a repeal of the state casino law in November’s election. In a unanimous vote, the SJC ruled that Attorney General Martha Coakley was wrong to reject the anti-casino ballot question last year. “We conclude that the attorney general erred in declining to certify and grant the requested relief so that the initiative may be decided by the voters at the November election,” the court said in a lengthy decision written by Justice Ralph Gants. The ruling paves the way the way for what experts predict will be a protracted — and expensive — campaign that will certainly draw significant national interest. Commenting on the court’s decision, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno stated, “I appreciate the due diligence and consideration the SJC has given to this case. Going forward, we will proceed like we did last year before our local referendum and present the facts on what this means to not only Springfield but to Western Mass. and the entire Commonwealth.” He argued that the two main keys to knocking down poverty and public-safety issues in urban America are education and jobs. “People are hungry to work. MGM Springfield is a massive jobs-generation project. It also means $50 million dollars in local vendor procurement opportunities and the redevelopment of the downtown area heavily affected by the June 1, 2011 tornado.” He added, “The entertainment attractions that MGM Springfield will offer to all of New England will not only bring new life and vibrancy to Western Mass., but help to repatriate over a billion dollars currently leaving Massachusetts to other resort destinations. We are prepared and optimistic that, once the voters of the Commonwealth see and hear all the facts, we will prevail.” Michael Mathis, president of MGM Springfield, also weighed in on the decision in a prepared statement. “MGM Resorts has spent three years collaborating and talking with the people of Western Mass. on the value of a casino resort as a unique economic-development catalyst,” he said. “We are confident that our urban revitalization project in Springfield, one of the Commonwealth’s most prominent gateway cities, is something to which all Massachusetts voters can relate. It is a comeback story in progress with hardworking people eager to grow jobs and get back to work. We are fully prepared to extend this message to a larger audience through a statewide campaign to educate the voters on the enormous economic benefits that would be lost to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth in a repeal.”

Melanoma Foundation Ad Campaign Honored with Bronze Telly Award

By BusinessWest Staff June 24, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Telly Awards has named the Melanoma Foundation of New England (MFNE) a two-time Bronze winner in the 35th annual Telly Awards for its piece titled “The Annoying Mole.” The MFNE launched the public-awareness campaign in May 2014, Melanoma Awareness Month. Produced locally, it features an unsightly and “annoying” mole that is trying to get someone’s attention. The campaign’s simple message: “don’t ignore your moles; get them checked.” The project was a collaboration involving numerous parties. Meghan Rothschild — a melanoma survivor and staff member with the MFNE, and owner of the Northampton-based marketing firm chikmedia — crafted the concept, developed the script and storyboard, and oversaw the project. David Long, owner of Epic Filmmakers of Amherst and West Hartford, Conn., produced, filmed, and edited the spot. Alfonso Santaniello, president of the Creative Strategy Agency in Springfield, had his acting debut as the Annoying Mole in all three formats: radio, print, and TV. MFNE is the largest nonprofit in the region dedicated to melanoma awareness and prevention, offering many free education programs through the year targeted to the prevention of skin cancer in children, teens, and adults. The “Annoying Mole” campaign hopes to reach all segments of the population with the message that melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer but is nearly 100% curable if caught early. “This is a great honor, and we’re very excited,” said Deb Girard, MFNE’s executive director. “We’re happy our work in this field is being recognized.” The Telly Awards were founded in 1979 and honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video, and films. A judging panel of more than 500 industry professionals judged the competition. Fewer than 10% of entries are chosen as winners of the Silver Telly, the program’s highest honor. Approximately 25% are chosen as winners of the Bronze Telly. Nearly 12,000 entries were considered this year.

Kathy Bowler Honored for Outstanding Service to Older Adults

By BusinessWest Staff June 23, 2014

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Kathy Bowler, executive director of the Holyoke Council on Aging, was recently honored with the Loomis Communities Elvira Whiting Ball award for outstanding service to older adults. More than 150 people celebrated with Bowler, and the reception raised $49,390 in support of the nursing centers at Loomis House in Holyoke and Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield, which provide award-winning person-centered care to long-term residents, as well as physical-, speech-, and occupational-therapy programs that help people recover from illness or surgery and return to their homes more quickly. A lifelong resident of Holyoke, Bowler has been executive director of the Holyoke Council on Aging for 26 years. Currently 2,400 individuals are registered with the Senior Center and participate in programs that include transportation, social services, daily meals, tax preparation, tax work-off, fitness classes, health education, art and computer literacy, cultural events, and Learning in Later Life, all supported by an extensive volunteer program. Loomis Communities provides continuing care, specialized care, and health and wellness resources on four campuses: Applewood in Amherst, Loomis House in Holyoke, Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield, and Loomis Village in South Hadley.

Dr. Lewis Cohen Wins Eleanor and Thomas P. Hackett Memorial Award

By BusinessWest Staff June 23, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Lewis Cohen of the Psychiatric Consultation Service at Baystate Medical Center has been chosen from among a highly competitive roster of nominations to receive the prestigious 2014 Eleanor and Thomas P. Hackett Memorial Award. The highest honor bestowed annually by the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM), the award recognizes outstanding achievement across an entire career in psychosomatic medicine in training, research, clinical practice, and leadership. “The competition was quite fierce this year; however, the committee heavily endorsed your candidacy and felt that you far outshone your competition,” wrote Dr. Elisabeth Kunkel, chair of the APM’s fellowship and awards committee, in a letter to Cohen. Added Dr. Benjamin Liptztin, chair of the Department of Psychiatry for Baystate Health, “this is a great honor for Dr. Cohen, as well as for Baystate. It is especially fitting since he trained and worked with Dr. Hackett.” Cohen, who also serves as a professor of Psychiatry for Tufts University School of Medicine — for which Baystate Medical Center serves as the Western Campus — is director of Baystate’s Renal Palliative Care Initiative. He has written numerous journal articles on dialysis, palliative care, and end-of-life issues, and is also the author of the book No Good Deed: A Story of Medicine, Murder Accusations and the Debate Over How We Die. He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rockefeller Scholars Bellagio Residency Award, a Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, and the Tufts University School of Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award. The Eleanor and Thomas P. Hackett Memorial Award was established in 1988 to honor Dr. Thomas Hackett Jr., professor and chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and president of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He was a long-time leader in the field of consultation-liaison psychiatry. He died of a heart attack at age 59, two months after he took office as president of APM. The first Hackett award was presented in 1989, and in 2009, the award was renamed to include his wife, Eleanor, who passed away of leukemia in April 2009. She had presented the award at the annual meeting almost every year since its inception. The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine represents psychiatrists dedicated to the advancement of medical science, education, and healthcare for people with simultaneous psychiatric and general medical conditions, and provides national and international leadership in furthering those goals.

Country Bank Awards $80,000 in Scholarships

By BusinessWest Staff June 18, 2014

Daily News

WARE — Country Bank recently awarded $80,000 in scholarships to 16 area high-school students at its annual Scholarship Dinner. The recipients, selected from the scholarship committees established at each location where a scholarship is awarded, each received $5,000 to help get them started in their college career and assist with the many expenses that go along with a higher education. At the event, staged this year at Teresa’s Restaurant & Alfonso Banquet Room in Ware, Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, had the opportunity to meet each of the recipients, their guests, and a representative from their high school. “It means so much to have the opportunity to meet the students and their parents when the scholarships are presented,” he said. “They have all worked very hard to get to this point, and I have no doubt that each of them will succeed in the next chapter of their lives.” The following seniors were honored:
• Jacqueline Lagasse, Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School;
• Claire Nauman, Belchertown High School;
• Ashley White, David Prouty High School;
• Austin Brouillard, Leicester High School;
• Brandon Nowakowski, Ludlow High School;
• Alla Popa, Minnechaug Regional High School;
• Katherine Sweeney, Monson Innovation High School;
• Valerie Avery, North Brookfield High School;
• Matthew Mahan, Palmer High School;
• Jamie DeLand, Pathfinder Regional Vocational-Technical High School;
• Rebekah Heath, Quabbin Regional High School;
• Paige Guzik, Quaboag Regional High School;
• Erin Murphy, Shepherd Hill Regional High School;
• Brandon Rothweiler, Tantasqua Regional High School;
• William Veith, Wachusett Regional High School; and
• Michaella Balicki, Ware High School.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Company Notebook Departments

ECS Acquires Assets of Pangean-CMD
AGAWAM — Environmental Compliance Services Inc. (ECS) announced the completion of the acquisition of the corporate assets and human talent of Pangean-CMD Associates Inc. (PCMD) of Woodstock, Ga. This acquisition, the largest in ECS’s 32-year history, will drive its evolution by expanding the market areas the company serves into Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, and Utah. In addition, it will also expand the existing company capabilities in the Carolinas, Florida, and Ohio. “This acquisition now means that ECS has a national presence that combines senior think-tank engineering with self-performed field services throughout the petroleum, building-sciences, and due-diligence market sectors,” said Mark Hellstein, ECS founder and CEO. “With the addition of the passionate team from Pangean-CMD, we are better-positioned to service the upstream petroleum market.” Kevin Sheehan, ECS COO, added that “this acquisition will also provide professional growth and opportunity to employees as well as an effective tool to recruit new, talented staff.” ECS is now one of the only firms in the petroleum market that offers environmental services, compliance services, remediation, and cost recovery with in-house staff on a national basis. This strategic acquisition enables ECS to simplify the compliance and remediation process for petroleum customers while reducing their costs, essentially becoming a one-stop shop for clients. The expanded staff will also allow for boots-on-the-ground support for ECS’s existing web-based compliance-management programs. “The success of Pangean-CMD has evolved solely from our passion, our commitment to our customers, and our reputation for good, solid work,” said Darren Moore, president of Pangean-CMD. “Combining our assets will allow us to build relationships, share knowledge, and draw on the collective expertise of our co-workers to do what we have always done best: provide the best customer service and work environment possible.” Established in 1982 and headquartered in Agawam, ECS has grown to more than 20 office locations nationwide.

Lioness Magazine Aims to Raise $10K in 60 Days
SPRINGFIELD — Lioness magazine is looking to raise $10,000 in seed funding on indiegogo.com, a popular crowd-funding website. “Mainstream entrepreneur magazines are geared toward men, from their style to their content. Their publishers admit that more than 60% of their readers are males. Even though female entrepreneurship is rapidly on the rise and even though in 2013 female-owned companies generated more than $1.3 trillion, there was still no mainstream magazine for these women, until now,” explained Lioness founder Natasha Clark. Lioness launched in August 2011 and since then has been read by more than 3,000 people worldwide. Seventy-nine percent of the readers are women between the ages of 25 and 45. With the launch of the new lionessmagazine.com, the news site is able to provide daily content in addition their regular monthly magazine. “Western Mass. is a great place to live and do business, and my hope is to grow Lioness and keep it headquartered right here,” Clark said. From June 2 to Aug. 1, she is shooting to raise $10,000 in seed money to keep the magazine afloat through 2014. She has primarily been funding the company herself. Working as a program manager at the nonprofit Springfield School Volunteers, Clark — one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty honorees in 2010 — works on the all-female staff to bring volunteers into the school district as mentors, academic tutors, and participants in the popular Read Aloud program. When the campaign closes, Clark will transition to running the startup full-time. She thought crowd funding would be an ideal way to raise funds and educate the public about Lioness’ mission at the same time. “I love that platforms such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter give entrepreneurs like me a fighting chance to raise some capital to get our startups to the next level,” she said. “I just want to do something really awesome for women entrepreneurs around the globe, and I want to be able to do it in my hometown.” To learn more about Lioness and its Indiegogo campaign, visit igg.me/at/lionessmagazine.

Kathleen Doe Launches Creative Design Venture
NORTHAMPTON — Kathleen Doe has announced the launch of Kathleen Doe Creative Design, putting more than a decade of industry experience to work in founding her own business. The Northampton-based venture specializes in print and package design, marketing communication, and brand development, providing a complete range of creative services from concept to execution. Previously, Doe was the senior graphic designer and studio director at Stevens 470 in Westfield. She graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in the school’s renowned Electronic Media, Arts and Communication program. She is a member of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, the Northampton Area Young Professionals, and is on the Board of Directors of the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Graduates Class of 2014
NORTHAMPTON — The 2014 class of Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) graduated on June 5 in ceremonies at the Smith College Conference Center. Prior to getting their certificates, the 35 participants in the 10-month program presented their accomplishments from working in six teams on issues facing the region. Each project was submitted by a local nonprofit or past LPV team. Three of the projects were continuations from prior years, and the nonprofit partners included Peace Jam of New England, STCC’s Latino Success Project, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Project topics included increasing access to higher education, attracting and retaining young professionals, publicizing regional history, engaging young people in leadership, and connecting local colleges and universities to the regional food bank. Each team offered expertise and energy to make a difference on community challenges from throughout the region. Each team project afforded experiential-learning opportunities and the chance to further community trusteeship while making a real impact in the region. Teams also had to collaborate with their partners to reach their own goals and meet the expectations of the nonprofit partners. Each participant participated in day-long monthly sessions from October until May, featuring seminar-style leadership-development sessions and hands-on field experiences in communities throughout the Pioneer Valley. Through the program, they refined their leadership skills, gained connections, and developed a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The culturally diverse class of 35 men and women represent nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations throughout Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. The 2014 graduates are: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gaudreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home; Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College; Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College; Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank; Richard Griffin, City of Springfield’s Economic Development Department; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY; Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield’s Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority; Nicole Skelly, United Bank; Kyle Sullivan, John M. Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

ESB Teams Up with Pioneer Valley Habitat for Easthampton Build
EASTHAMPTON — Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of Easthampton Savings Bank, announced that the bank has become a keystone sponsor for the first Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity home in Easthampton. The bank contributed $10,000 to the East Street Habitat home. The money will go toward the costs of planning, construction, volunteer recruitment, and training. A 15-volunteer committee is already in place to plan the building of the East Street Home. “This particular build is significant because we are building two homes at once, and it is our first Women Build Initiative, which is a project designed to proactively welcome women leadership and women volunteers,” said Peter Jessop, interim executive director of the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity. “Three of our steering committee members are from Easthampton Savings Bank, so ESB is providing more than just financial support — they are also providing leadership and volunteer capacity. This is the true spirit of the Habitat model, and we hope ESB’s commitment will inspire others to get involved.” Added Sosik, “the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is about building communities. Being a sponsor gives us the unique opportunity to become involved in a family’s journey towards home ownership in our community. Plus, the Women Build Initiative is a great way to empower women to get involved in the construction of a home and help a family who wouldn’t be able to build a home otherwise.” Easthampton Savings Bank has supported Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity since 2004 with contributions totaling over $31,000, while ESB employees sit on the organization’s board of directors, finance committee, and the Women Build steering committee.

Wellness Center Becomes Accredited Program for Diabetes Education
SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center was recently named an accredited diabetes-education program by the American Assoc. of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This accomplishment represents yet another step in the implementation of the ‘pharmacist as educator’ philosophy that is central to the vision of the university’s College of Pharmacy. Diabetes education is a collaborative process through which people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions. These are provided by diabetes educators. “Trends show that diabetes education is moving out of the hospital and into the community, so AADE’s accreditation program was created, in part, to encourage diabetes education where the patient is seeking care,” said Leslie Kolb, program director for the AADE’s Diabetes Education Accreditation Program. “The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center is exactly the type of program we envisioned when we set up our accreditation program in 2009.” Kam Capoccia, associate professor and director of the Consultation and Wellness Center at 300 Cooley St. in Springfield, noted that it is one of 13 AADE-accredited programs in the Commonwealth. “This is a pharmacist-run diabetes center, and we are proud and honored to serve the community.” Added Nicole D’Amour Schneider, senior manager of Pharmacy Operations for Big Y, “the Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center has been providing our community with excellent, patient-centered care and disease-state-management education for nearly four years. Our congratulations go out to our partners at the Western New England University College of Pharmacy for achieving this impressive accomplishment.”

Q Restaurant Opens on State Street in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Dominic Sarno joined other public officials and neighborhood business leaders on June 2 for a ribbon cutting to mark the grand opening of the Q Restaurant, the latest example of renewed reinvestment and revitalization along the State Street corridor. Advertised as serving “real southern barbecue,” the restaurant opened for lunch on May 19 and started serving lunch and dinner on May 26. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. “This is another example of the city’s continuing ability to attract new investment that revitalizes neighborhoods,” said Sarno. “Not too long ago, this building was seized by the city. Now, it is back on the tax rolls, it is looking better than ever, and I’m hoping it will be an asset to the neighborhood for years to come.” Located at 890 State St., the property was purchased from the city in 2013 by Craig and Chris Spagnoli, a father-and-son team that had previously worked with the city on revitalizing foreclosed properties in the Forest Park neighborhood. The Spagnolis have invested more than $500,000 in starting the restaurant and are also planning to rehabilitate the upper floors into 15 units of rental housing. “My son Chris’s wife, Sarah, is from the South, and since we’ve been working in Springfield, we’ve always talked about how we thought a good southern barbecue restaurant would go over well,” said Craig Spagnoli. “We’re hoping Q will be a popular place for the neighborhood, for the colleges nearby, and for commuters wanting to pick up takeout on their way home.” The restaurant is located in Mason Square on the edge of the campus of American International College and a few blocks from Springfield College. It is across the street from the former Indian Motorcycle factory, and the restaurant boasts several Indian models as a tribute to the neighborhood’s manufacturing legacy.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Departments People on the Move

Dena Hall

Michael Moriarty

United Financial Bancorp Inc. announced that J. Jeffrey Sullivan, president and member of the board of directors, is leaving the company to pursue other professional interests. In addition, it was announced that Dena Hall has been promoted to Western Mass. Regional President for United Bank, and Michael Moriarty will be Executive Vice President, Western Mass. Commercial Banking Executive. “I want to thank Jeff for his commitment to United Bank over the past 12 years and his effort in helping us achieve a successful legal close of our merger,” said William Crawford IV, CEO of United Bank and United Financial Bancorp Inc. “Jeff has enjoyed a long career in banking and demonstrated a strong personal and professional commitment to Springfield and Western Mass. All of us who have had the opportunity to work with Jeff wish him well in his future endeavors.” In addition to her leading role as Western Mass. Regional President for United Bank, Hall will continue to serve as Chief Marketing Officer for the bank and President of the United Bank Foundation. She has nearly 20 years of experience in bank marketing and charitable giving. She came to United Bank in 2005 after serving as Assistant Vice President of Marketing for Woronoco Savings Bank (now Berkshire Bank) and Executive Director of the Woronoco Savings Charitable Foundation in Westfield. Hall worked previously for the Community Foundation of Western Mass. Hall was named one of the Springfield region’s top young business and community leaders by BusinessWest magazine in its inaugural 40 Under Forty compilation in 2007, and was also named the Business Woman of the Year by the Westfield Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the board of trustees for the Baystate Health Systems Foundation as well as a member of the Westfield Re-Development Authority and the Western Mass. Corporate Funder’s Forum. She is also the chairwoman of the Capital Campaign Scheduling Committee of Greater Springfield. Hall is a graduate of UMass Amherst, the Massachusetts School for Financial Studies, and the National School of Banking and Finance at Fairfield (Conn.) University. Moriarty, who previously held the title of Senior Vice President and Regional Team Leader for United Bank for more than seven years, will take on a key role as Executive Vice President, Western Mass. Commercial Banking Executive. Prior to joining United Bank, Moriarty was Vice President of Commercial Lending for the Bank of Western Massachusetts. He also was Vice Pesident of Commercial Lending for the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. Earlier in his banking career, Moriarty was a Bank Examiner with the Office of the Commissioner of Banks in Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College and an MBA from Western New England University. He is also a graduate of the Stonier National Graduate School of Banking, American Bankers Assoc. Hall’s and Moriarty’s new roles with the company became effective earlier this month.
•••••

Douglas Bowen

Banker & Tradesman has named Douglas Bowen, President and CEO of PeoplesBank, a Community Bank Hero. In awarding that honor, the publication said it goes to individuals who show “an exceptional dedication to service and investment in their community.” Bowen and the others were recognized at a special reception to honor those in the industry who have gone above and beyond to better their organization and their community. Since becoming President and CEO of PeoplesBank in 2007, Bowen and his leadership team have led a culture change at the bank. That shift defined a triple bottom line for the bank: going forward, enhanced financial performance would be linked to community and employee engagement as well as environmental sustainability. The team focused on developing new and higher levels of employee engagement and involvement by creating life-work balance initiatives, a management-development program, employee-led think tanks, and employee-recognition events. PeoplesBank associates have volunteered an average of 6,000 hours each year for charitable causes, and 48 of the bank’s officers serve on the boards and committees of 115 nonprofit organizations. The bank has also donated more than $5 million to local charitable and civic organizations and financed more than $70 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy projects. PeoplesBank, having built three LEED-registered offices, is also a leader in green construction. “I am proud to say that, when I look around at work, I see heroes — PeoplesBank associates doing remarkable things for our customers, the community, and our organization every day,” Bowen said in accepting the award.
•••••

Linda Ellen Jones

Linda Ellen Jones, currently the Vice President of Statutory Affairs at Alfred University in New York and a national expert in structural ceramic materials, has been appointed Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western New England University. Jones will be the university’s chief academic officer and oversee the academic integrity of all colleges, schools, and institutes on campus. The provost is responsible for working with the deans and faculty to develop new programs, and oversees the academic-appointment process. “I am thrilled to be joining Western New England University as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs,” said Jones. “As we all know, higher education is at a remarkable crossroads. The work in front of us is to help our students answer the questions, who do I want to be, and how do I best prepare for a future rich in possibilities? I look forward to championing a faculty and staff who understand the potential and who are willing to embrace our collective future.” Jones currently heads the New York State College of Ceramics, which is comprised of the School of Art and Design, the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, the Scholes Library, and the Schein-Joseph Museum. The College of Ceramics is a unit of the public SUNY system, but administered and housed by the private Alfred University. A materials scientist, Jones is recognized as a national expert in high-temperature corrosion and degradation of structural ceramic materials, and serves as a professor of materials engineering. Prior to her post at Alfred University, Jones served as Director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College in Northampton. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree in fuel science, materials science, and engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Mary Washington College. Jones succeeds Dr. Jerry Hirsch, who is retiring after 16 years of service as the Provost of Western New England University.
•••••
Monson Savings Bank (MSB) has announced the promotion of Terry Poloski to Mortgage Originator. Poloski joined the bank in December 2011, has more than 30 years of experience in consumer and mortgage lending, and has worked with every aspect of the lending process, including underwriting. She is not only adept at helping her borrowers obtain the right financing package, but also at assisting them with every detail along the way, said Steve Lowell, MSB president, adding, “we are extremely fortunate to have Terry on our team. She embodies the Monson Savings commitment to customer service and is highly qualified to help people find the right financing package for new homes, construction, and refinancing.” Poloski is a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley.
•••••

Steven Mitus

PeoplesBank announced that Steven Mitus, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Balise Motor Sales Co., has been named to the PeoplesBank board of directors. Mitus formerly served as a Corporator for the bank. He is a cum laude graduate of UMass Amherst, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is also a graduate of Holyoke Community College. Mitus currently serves as a trustee of Baystate Health, where he is vice chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee; as a trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, where he chairs the Audit and Finance Committee; and as a director of Health New England, where he is a member of the Compensation and Audit committees. The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield presented him with the Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year Award for his current and past community service. Mitus is also a past recipient of the Holyoke Community College Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a member of Financial Executives International, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the the Mass. State Society of CPAs.
•••••

Ryan Leap

Easthampton Savings Bank announced that Ryan Leap has joined the bank as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending. Leap brings to the bank more than 14 years of commercial-lending experience, most recently as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for Union Bank in Morrisville, Vt. He has worked as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for Hoosac Bank, a division of Mountain One Financial Partners, MHC, in North Adams. Prior to that, Leap was a Vice President of Commercial Lending with the Bank of Western Massachusetts in Northampton, which later became People’s United Bank. Leap earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pa.
•••••
FieldEddy Insurance announced the following:

Gina Clark

Sara Goodreau

• Gina Clark has been appointed Finance Manager. She will be responsible for training and supporting the finance-team members on all aspects of accounts payable and accounts receivable. Previously, she worked for several years in the finance and human-resources departments at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.;
• Sara Goodreau has been appointed Personal Lines Account Manager. She holds her CISR and CIC designations. Her knowledge of various computer operating systems will benefit Goodreau as a staff trainer, and she will assist with operational tasks.

Carla Dawley

• Carla Dawley has been appointed Personal Lines Account Manager. In that role, she will apply her knowledge in both the insurance and banking industries to provide customer service to her existing and new clients. Dawley has her P&C license and is currently working on obtaining her CISR designation.
•••••
TD Bank has named Denise Fleming Assistant Vice President and Store Manager of the branch located at 693 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. She is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the store. Fleming has more than eight years of banking experience. Prior to joining TD Bank, she served as a Branch Sales Officer at Rockville Bank in Enfield, Conn. Fleming is a member of the Chicopee Rotary Club and the Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management.

Denise Fleming

She serves as community chairperson for the Independent Transportation Network’s annual Walk for Rides and also is a volunteer driver for the nonprofit organization, which provides transportation to senior citizens and the visually impaired.
•••••
The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced the following appointments to its board of directors:
• Fran Smith, a veteran of the newspaper advertising and circulation business for 34 years, and currently Advertising Manager at the Republican and masslive.com;
• Mark Smith, Vice President of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management for Smith & Wesson, and previously Director with the Chicag0-based consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal;
• Dan Flynn, Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager at People’s United Bank; and
• Stacey Church, Assistant General Manager of the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield.

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Agenda Departments

40 Under Forty
June 19: The eighth annual 40 Under Forty award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, honoring 40 of the region’s rising stars under 40 years old. An independent panel of judges chose this year’s class from more than 150 nominations, a record. Their stories were presented in the April 21 issue, and may also be read here. Tickets cost $65. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600.

Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival
June 21-22: Experience old England in New England with the fourth annual Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival, which returns to 210 Turners Falls Road in Montague on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. A benefit for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and the Montague Common Hall, the festival transports fairgoers to the adventurous days of Robin Hood with two full days of fun for all ages, featuring 65 artisans and 40 hours of entertainment including knights jousting on horseback, whimsical stage shows, dancers, jesters, fairies, and unique musical acts not seen anywhere else. The festival also features a children’s area with activities for kids throughout the day as well as puppeteers and medieval characters. The event brings the medieval world to life with re-enactors demonstrating skills such as cooking, textile arts, blacksmithing, and swordplay. Attendees will also have a chance to feast on delicacies including turkey legs, roasted lamb, mead, beer, and ale. Cost is $15 for adults, $10 children and seniors. Children under 6 are free. Parking is $5.

Western Massachusetts Developers Conference
June 26: The Western Massachusetts Developers Conference — a regional event aimed at connecting regional leaders and economic-development specialists with brokers, site selectors, investors, and others interested in learning about the exciting development opportunities of the region — will begin at 8 a.m. at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. The conference will highlight Western Mass. as an exceptional place to invest, start, and grow businesses and will feature Roger Crandall, chairman, president, and CEO of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., as the keynote luncheon speaker. Crandall will share why this Springfield-based company calls Western Mass. home. In addition, the day will include information on shove-ready development opportunities, a review of the Western Mass. Value Proposition, a CEO panel sharing how the region supports business growth, and a review of recent major infrastructure investments and exciting projects on the horizon, such as the proposed MGM resort casino in Springfield. The day-long event includes a light breakfast, lunch, tours, and reception. This event is being coordinated by organizations including the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Western Mass., Economic Development Partners, MassDevelopment, and MassEcon. Gold sponsors for the conference include Baystate Health, Health New England, and Mass Mutual. The silver sponsor is Hampden Bank, and supporting sponsors include Hampden Bank, TRC Solutions, and United Bank. The event is free, but space is limited, and registration is required. For more information and to register, visit www.westernmassedc.com.

ACCGS Annual Meeting
June 27: ‘Social entrepreneurism’ will be the focus of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s (ACCGS) annual meeting, presented by MGM Springfield, on June 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Springfield. The event will feature Sam Intrator, professor and chair of the Education and Child Study Program, a member of the Urban Studies Program, founding director of the Smith College Urban Educational Initiative, and the co-founder of Project Coach, a program that uses sports as a means to engage, connect, and empower adolescents and youth. The annual meeting will also include the annual election of officers and directors, a recap of the ACCGS successes in the past fiscal year, and the presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year Award, presented annually to honor the memory of Richard Moriarty, a long-time participant in the ACCGS. Reservations are $40 for members, $60 for general admission, and may be made at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

Leadership Skills for Supervisors, Managers
July 24: Ensure the future of your organization by providing leadership skills for your supervisors and managers. The Principles of Leadership II series, sponsored by the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, emphasizes team-building skills. Participants will learn how to develop high-performance teams, lead change, and take their time-management and interpersonal skills to the next level. The series follows on the heels of Principles of Leadership I, which focused on the one-to-one relationship between the supervisor or manager and each of his or her direct reports. Participants in Principles of Leadership II, which begins on July 24, must complete five core programs — on topics ranging from team dysfunction to problem-solving skills; from time management to emotional intelligence — to receive the certificate of completion. To register, contact Sue Miller, director of Learning and Development at the Employers Assoc., at [email protected] or (877) 662-6444, ext. 3013.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Oct. 29: BusinessWest will present its fourth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The business-to-business show, which last year drew more than 2,000 visitors, will feature more than 100 booths, seminars, and Show Floor Theater presentations; breakfast and lunch programs; and a day-capping Expo Social. Comcast Business will again be Presenting Sponsor, while the social will be sponsored by Northwestern Mutual. Current Silver Sponsors are Health New England and DIF Design, and additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600.

MassMutual Donates $155,000 on Behalf of Financial Professionals

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual has awarded $155,000 to eligible nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Service Awards (CSA) program. The awards are given on behalf of MassMutual financial professionals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to nonprofit organizations in their local community. New this year, MassMutual has increased its giving to include six $5,000 Silver awards in addition to its usual 10 $10,000 Gold awards and a top $25,000 Platinum award. “At MassMutual, we are proud of the significant impact our financial professionals have on their communities. What better way to encourage more of them to volunteer than to recognize those that are highly dedicated to helping others?” said Nick Fyntrilakis, vice president of Community Responsibility at MassMutual. “We are delighted to expand our program this year to honor more individuals who are making a positive difference in their communities across the country.” This year’s $25,000 Platinum Award winner is Darren Scrimpshire, a financial professional with MassMutual South Texas in San Antonio. Scrimpshire is being recognized for his work with San Antonio Fitness, Independent, & Recreational Environment (SAFIRE), a day activity center for young adults with intellectual disabilities that focuses on healthy lifestyles, continuing education, and pre-vocational skills. This year is MassMutual’s 18th year presenting Community Service Awards. Each award recognizes the many selfless hours of volunteer time and talent that MassMutual’s financial professionals put in during the year to improve their communities. MassMutual has contributed more than $1.4 million to charitable organizations across the country through its CSA program since its inception in 1996. The CSA program is just one of a variety of philanthropic programs sponsored by MassMutual in support of nonprofit organizations where its financial professionals live and work. Last year, in total, MassMutual provided nearly $8 million in philanthropic investments throughout the U.S., of which more than $900,000 supported organizations in honor of its financial professionals.

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin Receives United Way’s Gold Award

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Local law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., serving Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, was recognized as a Gold award recipient from the United Way of Pioneer Valley during its 2014 annual celebration. Local businesses were recognized with Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards for extraordinary support during the 2013-14 campaign. Each year, the United Way of Pioneer Valley runs an annual campaign that provides funding for local nonprofit organizations and community initiatives. Donations finance health and human-service programs throughout the region. Awards were presented at the annual celebration, which was hosted recently at Chez Josef in Agawam. “We are proud to have the good fortune to be able to give back to a community that supports our success,” said partner Steve Schwartz, who has been with the firm since its inception 45 years ago. “We are equally proud of the other contributing businesses recognized at the United Way of Pioneer Valley annual event. We accomplish more working together.” The United Way of Pioneer Valley is the regional affiliate of United Way Worldwide, a leadership and support organization and network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their full potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. For 90 years, the United Way of Pioneer Valley has been working in partnership with individuals, businesses, and organizations that advance the common good throughout the Greater Springfield community, including the 25 cities in Hampden County, South Hadley, and Granby.

Kristina Drzal Houghton Elected Chair of Springfield Boys & Girls Club

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — At its recent annual meeting, the Springfield Boys & Girls Club board of directors elected Kristina Drzal Houghton, CPA, as its new chairman. Houghton has been an active member of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club’s board of directors since 2003, serving on the club’s finance, Festival of Trees, and resource-development committees. Houghton is a partner and director of taxation services for the Holyoke-based public accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. She has extensive experience in tax-exempt organizations and unrelated business-income tax issues, as well as tax compliance and planning for closely held businesses. Her clients include those in the service, retail, transportation, medical, construction, manufacturing, education, insurance, and not-for-profit industries. Houghton received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from American International College and her master’s in taxation from Bentley College, and she has more than 30 years of experience in the area of taxation. She was a former tax manager with Coopers & Lybrand. Her professional affiliations include the AICPA and the MSCPA. She is the immediate past president of the board of the Springfield Symphony, served as the former treasurer of Spirit of Springfield, and was a troop leader for more than 12 years for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Mass. Houghton is licensed as a certified public accountant in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

What’s in a Name?

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Law Sections

Holland & Bonzagni Helps Clients Protect Their Intellectual Property

Partner Donald Holland

Don Holland says most people don’t realize that a patent application in the U.S. can be a long, tedious process, taking on average three to five years. It’s more believable when one considers the sheer volume of existing and potential patents.

For example, back in the 1970s, Holland — who has an aerospace engineering degree in addition to his law degree — was employed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, working on rotary pumps and turbines for jet engines.

“It’s amazing to think there are 230,000 patents in that area alone,” he told BusinessWest — representing a tiny sample of all the patents issued by the U.S., across all industries.

It doesn’t help, he added, that patent examiners almost always reject an application on first submittal, because they want to build a record of diligence and avoid the impression that they’re not doing their job. “So it’s not a smooth road.”

But it’s a fascinating one for Holland, who left the Patent Office in 1981 to launch his own intellectual-property law firm. He was joined in 1989 by a partner, Mary Bonzagni — a former student from his teaching days at Western New England College School of Law — to form Longmeadow-based Holland & Bonzagni.

Although they’re registered as ‘patent attorneys’ (the only term technically allowed by the American Bar Assoc.), their work runs much deeper than that, encompassing patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, product licensing, litigation, and general counseling — in other words, just about anything a client needs to bring new products to market and then zealously safeguard those products.

“In this field,” Holland said, “I like to say that nobody dies, and nobody goes to jail. Instead, you do everything you can to help clients succeed with their products and services without impediments from copycats.”

He detailed one memorable case involving a manufacturer of household items who took action against Christmas Tree Shops. The discount chain had bought seconds from the client one year, then wanted firsts at seconds prices the following year. When the client refused, the chain commissioned Asian manufacturers to create cheaper knock-offs of his products.

Holland & Bonzagni did some investigating, then assembled a team of sheriffs to seize 117,000 items from the stores to assess the level of damage to the plaintiff. Within six weeks, Christmas Tree Shops ceased its knockoff sales, wrote the plaintiff a six-figure check — and then became its best customer.

Another high-profile case involved Yankee Candle, which successfully sued New England Candle Co. for copying the look of the Yankee Candle storefronts at its Enfield store.

Those types of cases might make news, Holland said, but they only scratch the surface of a broad palette of services — and a rich education in intellectual-property law — that the firm brings to its clients. For this issue’s focus on law, BusinessWest sat down with Holland to learn more about a field that continues to challenge and gratify him today, 33 years after taking on his first client.

Stock in Trade

The firm has expanded its client base significantly since then, he noted, working with between 100 and 200 companies every year and dealing with patent and trademark issues in between 50 and 75 countries.

“We’re no different than any other intellectual-property firm,” he said. “Most patent attorneys are either engineers or have strong science backgrounds. Recently, there are patent attorneys who are computer programmers, too. I’m an aerospace engineer, and Mary is a chemist.” In fact, she was working with a solid-waste management firm on a sludge-recycling project in Detroit when she started to consider other career paths for her organic-chemistry background, and pursued her law degree at WNEC.

The firm’s clients are generally industrial corporations, both foreign and domestic, and include manufacturers of aircraft, food, paper products, biomedical equipment, computer software, chemicals, electronic components, and other high-tech items. It also services chains of restaurants, hospitals, and other businesses. Bonzagni does a good deal of work for paper companies, including one area firm that makes security threads for currency.

“My work is 50% trademark work, which is a lot of fun,” Holland said, adding that the firm has a long-standing policy of representing only companies it admires, from regional names like Yankee Candle and Friendly’s to much smaller firms. “We’ve said we don’t do work for anyone we don’t like, and we stand by that. Early in our practice, we wanted to work for people we respect and enjoy, and that’s what we still try to do.”

The first step in trademark work, he explained, is determining which brands are the most sacred to a company — “the brands a company would be ticked if someone else copied.” Why not protect all of them? It comes down to budget, as each action costs money and time.

“If you say, ‘you have 40 trademarks, and you need to register all of them,’ you’re not going to get the work,” he said. “They don’t want to spend that kind of money. Typically, you take a look at the top three to five trademarks, and analyze which can be protected and to what extent. We suggest to them which marks should be registered.” Trademarks, he added, are applied to products, and service marks to services.

This work to protect trademarks becomes critical when another company copies a product name or look.

“If a client has registered its name and the registration has become incontestable, that’s one half of the lawsuit; you don’t have to prove who owns your name,” Holland said. “So when you go to court, you’ve already proven one of two things. The second is whether someone has infringed that trademark, or has used a mark confusingly similar.” Generally, consumers are surveyed as part of the legal action, and if 35% of them are confused by the similar names or logos, the plaintiff has proven his case.

Litigating a trademark violation can take one to three years and cost upwards of $200,000, but patent litigation — a claim that a company has copied a patented product design — can be much more involved, lasting four to eight years and costing between $500,000 and $2 million, depending on the type of case and the parties involved.

Knowledge Is Power

Beyond litigation and consulting with clients on how to bring their products to market and grow their business, education is a large part of Holland & Bonzagni’s mission.

After teaching intellectual-property law for 23 years at WNEC, Holland now teaches in the Paralegal Studies program at Bay Path College. “I have a lot of fun teaching,” he said. “My patent professor was able to get a patent job for anyone in class who wanted to go into the patent profession, so it has been my pleasure to teach students about the fun and rewards of being intellectual-property attorneys.”

The firm also presents seminars on a number of subjects in the broad realm of trademarks, trade secrets, counterfeit goods, licensing technology, Internet piracy, and more.

“We have 10 different seminars tailored for different clients, which we give at no charge after we establish a relationship with the client,” he said, before adding, “I typically will tell the owner or president of the company that there will be no charge for the seminar — if somebody will give me a tour.”

Holland has also authored a booklet titled Corporate Guide to Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets, and the firm posts industry news on its website, www.hblaw.org. Currently, visitors can read about the America Invents Act passed by Congress last year that shifts the U.S. from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system, meaning only the first person to file a patent application can receive a patent, unless the first inventor publicly disclosed the invention beforehand and filed a patent application within 12 months after that disclosure.

In other words, there is no longer a one-year grace period for an inventor to keep an invention totally secret before deciding to file a U.S. patent application. Someone with knowledge of the invention could conceivably beat the earlier inventor to Patent Office and prevail.

“A lot of companies don’t know this until they’ve been burned,” Holland said. “Under the old system, you had a grace period. Now, if you’ve invested $2 million, $3 million, $5 million in a product, competitors could copy the product and don’t have to spend the millions you did in research and development.”

Other challenges exist for inventors, he added. For instance, there’s no such thing as a worldwide patent, meaning if someone wants to market a product in, say, Europe, Canada, and Australia, they need to pay separate fees and go through individual processes in each country. Fortunately, 2015 will see the emergence of a single European patent, covering most European Union members and reducing filing costs by more than 75%.

Meanwhile, the Internet age has produced its own raft of trademark issues, including the practice known as ‘typosquatting,’ where someone will create a website almost named after a real company — www.smythandwesson.com, for instance, with the ‘i’ replaced with a ‘y’ — to draw in users who misspell a URL.

Back to the Drawing Board

Holland continuously came back to how impressed he is with the clients he works with, and how much he learns from them.

“People are brilliant at what they do, but sometimes too humble to recognize it,” he said, citing as one example the man who created the x-ray arm that moves around a patient. “Previously, the table moved. His invention is now in 5,600 hospitals.”

Then there’s another favorite client, a company that claims roughly 10% of the U.S. market share for beef. “It was fun going out to visit them and represent them in all sorts of trademark matters and patent matters.”

When it comes to fascinating clients, however, “everyone has them,” he told BusinessWest. “I’m not alone. Go to any intellectual-property firm, and they have clients as good as ours or better.”

And, as a general rule, those clients are not in the mood for lengthy legal battles. They just want to get on with their business.

“Some law firms are all about wins and losses,” Holland said. “But I’ve learned that our clients just want to solve a problem and move on to the next matter. They just want to sell their product or service and not get involved in a lawsuit.”

He laughed when he recalled his fastest-ever litigation, a copycat case where the documentation was clear and the case was settled in two weeks — and the defendant ended up purchasing work from the client. Most cases are much more complex, keeping the staff at Holland & Bonzagni — which also includes two paralegals and four support staff — busy.

Holland said the firm wants to grow, but it’s difficult to get lawyers to commit to Springfield. “We’ve been looking for three or four years. If you graduate law school, do you want to go to Boston or New York, or Springfield? Unless you grew up here and know how great the area is, it’s tough to see it.”

So hiring, like patent law, isn’t a smooth road, either. But it’s all part of the challenge for an engineer and a scientist who found, in the broad realm of intellectual-property law, a far more satisfying path. n

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

2014 Mid-year Tax Planning

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Accounting and Tax Planning Sections

Take Steps Now to Reduce Your Tax Burden Later

By JAMES BARRETT
The first half of 2014 has produced little in the way of major tax legislation, but tax-planning opportunities still exist.

This mid-year tax-planning article focuses on plans that may take a little more time to implement rather than on strategies that must be executed in the limited time remaining at year-end.

Tax Planning for Individuals

Managing Your Income

Income-tax planning typically involves some combination of three strategies:

• Earn income taxed at favorable tax rates, such as long-term capital gains or qualified dividends;
• Avoid income bubbles, which can cause you to be subjected to a higher marginal tax rate in the ‘bubble year’ than your normal, or average, marginal tax rate; and
• Delay the payment of tax by deferring the receipt of income to a later year or accelerating the payment of deductible expenditures into the current year.

James Barrett

Managing your income to minimize your tax has become more challenging with the advent of complex tax provisions such as the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and the 3.8% surtax on net investment income. The former causes you to lose any tax benefit from otherwise tax-deductible expenditures, such as state income taxes and real-estate taxes on your home. The latter subjects your investment income to a premium tax rate if your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds a stated threshold.

When you are estimating your income for 2014, you may want to consider several target figures:

Paying Your Income Taxes

If you do not pay enough tax throughout the year, penalties may apply. But with proper planning, the penalties are avoidable.

If it appears that you will be subject to an underpayment penalty, you may be able to reduce or eliminate the penalty by initiating or increasing your quarterly estimated tax payments. If you’re employed, instructing your employer to withhold more from your pay can even eliminate penalties that accrued earlier in the year. A quirk in the penalty rules treats withheld taxes — even withholding that occurs late in the year — as if they had been taken evenly throughout the year.

While most people want to avoid unnecessary penalties, it is seldom a good idea to pay more than the law requires or to pay your taxes earlier than necessary. Why let the government hold your money only to return it to you next year as a tax refund — with no interest?

Your goal should be to pay just enough to avoid an underpayment penalty but not so much as to create a large refund. If it looks as if you have been paying too much tax, cut back on your withholding or lower your remaining quarterly estimated tax payments.

Funding Your Retirement Plans

Contributing to a tax-qualified retirement plan can reduce your current tax obligations and help you save for your retirement in a tax-efficient manner. Contributions and the earnings on them provide tax deferral on earnings until you receive distributions.

In the case of Roth IRAs, the tax deferral may be permanent. So the sooner you make the contribution, the sooner your tax-deferred earnings begin. If you already have a plan in place, consider making a contribution now rather than waiting until the last minute.

The following limits apply for the 2014 tax year:

• Participants in a 401(k) plan can defer up to $17,500 ($23,000 for ages 50 or older);
• The IRA contribution limit is $5,500 ($6,500 for ages 50 and older);
• Simple IRA participants can defer up to $12,000 ($14,500 for age 50 and older);
• Self-employed individuals can contribute 20% of their self-employment income up to $52,000.

IRAs and Roth Accounts

Anyone with earned income, including alimony, is generally eligible to contribute to an IRA. That means that a child who has a job can set up an IRA and begin saving for retirement.

Claiming a deduction for your contribution to a traditional IRA is another matter. It depends on your income and whether you (or your spouse if you are married) are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Contributions to a Roth IRA are never deductible.

• If neither you nor your spouse is covered by an employer’s plan, you may choose to deduct your contribution to your traditional IRA.
• At higher income levels — modified adjusted gross income above $70,000 for singles and $116,000 for joint filers — no deduction is allowed if you (and your spouse if you are married) are covered by an employer’s plan.
• If you are married and only one of you is covered by an employer’s plan, the spouse who is not covered may claim the deduction, unless your joint modified adjusted gross income exceeds $191,000.

Many people find the long-term benefits of contributing to a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) outweigh the short-term financial benefits of tax-deductible contributions. While Roth contributions are not tax-deductible, none of the income earned in the Roth account will ever be subject to income tax unless there are early distributions.

In addition, the Roth account is not subject to the lifetime required minimum distribution rules that apply when you reach age 70½.

Eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA depends on the amount of your income. No contribution is allowed if your modified adjusted gross income for 2014 exceeds $129,000 for singles or $191,000 for joint filers.

You can make a direct rollover from your traditional IRA or other qualified retirement plan into a Roth IRA. However, you must pay tax on the rollover amount. There is no income limit associated with Roth rollovers.

‘Magic-age’ Years

Is 2014 a magic-age year for you? There are two ages that affect retirement plans, and both involve a ‘half birthday.’ Once you reach age 59½, the extra 10% penalty no longer applies to distributions from your qualified retirement plans, including IRAs.

But if you reach age 70½ during 2014, you must begin to receive minimum distributions from your traditional IRAs. Although the first annual distribution need not be taken until April 15, 2015, you may want to take the first distribution during 2014, to avoid the need for two distributions in 2015.

Changes to the 60-day Rollover Rule

This year (2014) will be the last year that you can obtain multiple short-term tax-free loans from your IRAs. A withdrawal from your IRA is treated as a tax-free transaction if you redeposit the amount into the same or another IRA no later than 60 days after the date you made the withdrawal. Note that the IRS may waive the 60-day requirement under some circumstances, for example, such as an error by your financial institution.

You are allowed only one tax-free rollover per year. The one-year waiting period begins on the date you receive the IRA distribution, not on the date you roll it back into another IRA.

For years, the IRS had said that the one-year waiting period applied separately to each of your IRAs. After the Tax Court interpreted the rule differently in its Bobrow decision (TC Memo 2014-21), the IRS decided to treat all of your IRAs as one IRA for the purposes of the one-year waiting period. However, the IRS says it will not apply this more restrictive interpretation to any rollover that involves a distribution from an IRA before Jan. 1, 2015.

Rollovers between Roth IRAs are subject to the same 60-day rule and one-year waiting period that apply to rollovers between traditional IRAs. After 2014, all of your Roth IRAs will be treated as one Roth IRA for purposes of the one-year waiting period between rollovers.

Rollovers from employer retirement plans to IRAs do not count for purposes of the one-year waiting period. Similarly, conversions of regular IRAs to Roth IRAs are not considered. The one-year waiting period also does not apply to trustee-to-trustee transfers between traditional IRAs or between Roth IRAs.

Making Your Home Energy-efficient

While most of the residential energy tax credits expired at the end of 2013, one remains in effect — the credit for qualified expenditures made for residential energy-efficient property placed in service before Jan. 1, 2017. The IRS defines qualified expenditures for residential energy-efficient property to include:

• Qualified solar electric property expenditures for use in a qualifying dwelling unit;
• Qualified solar water-heating property expenditures for property that heats water for use in a qualifying dwelling unit, if at least half of the energy used by the property for such purpose is derived from the sun;
• Certain qualified fuel-cell property expenditures;
• Qualified small wind-energy property expenditures for property that uses a wind turbine to generate electricity for use in connection with a qualifying dwelling unit; and
• Certain qualified geothermal heat-pump property used to heat a dwelling unit or as a thermal energy sink to cool the dwelling unit, which meets the requirements of the Energy Star program.

The residential alternative energy credit is equal to 30% of the cost of eligible solar water heaters, solar-electricity equipment, fuel-cell plants, small wind-energy property, and geothermal heat-pump property.

You may rely on a manufacturer’s certification that property is eligible for the credit, so long as the IRS has not withdrawn the manufacturer’s right to make the certification.

Complying with the ACA

Starting in 2014, lower-income individuals may be eligible for a tax credit to help pay for health-insurance coverage purchased through an affordable insurance exchange established by the Affordable Care Act. The credit is refundable, so those with little or no income-tax liability can still benefit. The credit also can be paid in advance to the insurance company to help cover the cost of premiums.

Starting in 2014, the individual shared-responsibility provision calls for each person to have minimum essential coverage for each month, qualify for an exemption, or make a payment when filing his or her federal income-tax return. The open-enrollment period to purchase health insurance coverage for 2014 through the Affordable Insurance Exchange ran from Oct. 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014.

Keeping Good Records

Every April, most people resolve that they are going to keep better tax records … next year. While it is obvious that, if you do not keep good records, you are likely to overlook legitimate tax deductions, the result could be even harsher.

In the Durden decision (TC Memo 2012-140), the Tax Court disallowed a couple’s charitable-contribution deduction to their church even though they could prove the payments with canceled checks. The tax law requires a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity for gifts of $250 or more.

In this case, the couple obtained the required letter after their tax return was being examined by the IRS. The court denied the deduction because the letter was not issued prior to the due date of the tax return as required by the tax law.

Business Activities

Whether you own your business or work for someone else, a number of tax-saving opportunities could be available to you if you stay alert and keep good records.

Changing Jobs

Costs you incur in seeking new employment may be deductible if you itemize. And if you have to relocate, the cost of moving yourself and your family may be deductible — even if you don’t itemize.

As with most provisions of the tax law, a review of the technical rules is necessary to determine whether you qualify. Be sure to contact your tax adviser.

Hiring Your Children

If you own a business and have children, consider putting them to work during summer vacation or after school. You will be able to deduct their wages, as long as you make their pay commensurate with what you would pay non-family employees for the same services.

For 2014, each child can earn as much as $6,200 and pay zero income tax. A child who earns $11,700 and contributes $5,500 to a traditional IRA will also pay zero income tax.

Honing Your Job Skills

Parents of college-age students are generally aware of education tax credits like the American Opportunity Credit. If you undertake training to maintain or enhance your job skills or if you pursue an additional degree, you may qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit or be able to deduct the cost of your education or training as an itemized deduction.

Talk with your tax adviser. Not only are you never too old to learn, but you’re also never too old to claim a tax benefit.

Working from Home

If you operate a business from your home and use a distinct room or area solely for business activities, you may qualify for a home-office deduction. The IRS has simplified the record-keeping requirements but not the qualification requirements. In rare cases, employees who are required by their employer to work from home may also qualify for this deduction.

Caring for Dependents

Working couples with young children and those caring for aged relatives often incur costs associated with hiring outside caregivers so that they can work or go to school. Some of these costs may qualify for the dependent-care tax credit. Qualifying costs may include day camp and similar activities during the summer months.

Establishing a Retirement Plan

If you own a business, you may be able to avail yourself of a defined-benefit type of retirement plan. These plans often allow higher retirement contributions than other types of plans. The higher retirement benefit must be weighed against the additional cost of providing comparable retirement benefits for your employees.

To qualify for a tax deduction in 2014, your retirement plan generally must be in place before the end of the year. Exceptions are IRA and SEP (simplified employee pension) plans, which can be set up through April 15, 2015.

Small employers — generally those with 100 or fewer employees — that set up a qualified retirement plan may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $500 per year for three years. The credit is limited to 50% of the qualified startup costs.

Writing Off Capital Expenditures

Generous business-tax write-off rules, like bonus depreciation, expired at the end of 2013. And the expensing election limit under Section 179 has been reduced to $25,000 for 2014, but only if the total amount of qualified asset purchases does not exceed $200,000.

Depreciating Vehicles

For passenger automobiles first placed in service during 2014, the deduction limitations for the first three tax years are $3,160, $5,100, and $3,050, respectively, and $1,875 for each succeeding year. For trucks and vans first placed in service in 2014, the depreciation limitations for the first three years are $3,460, $5,500, and $3,350, respectively, and $1,975 for each succeeding year.

In past years, bonus depreciation made the first-year limitation much higher. However, since bonus depreciation expired on Dec. 31, 2013, the new limits will apply for 2014 unless Congress acts to reinstate bonus depreciation retroactively to Jan. 1, 2014.

Repairing Older Assets

For tax years beginning in 2014, new rules are in effect for determining when expenditures can be deducted as a repair expense and when they must be treated as the cost of a new asset subject to depreciation. All businesses should review their repair/capitalization policies to assure that they are in compliance with the new rules.

Monitoring Passive Activities

Complex rules govern the tax treatment of business activities in which the owner does not materially participate. If these so-called passive activities produce a loss, that loss may not be currently deductible. If the passive activity is profitable, the income could be subject to the 3.8% surtax on net investment income.

If you are the owner of a business, it’s a good idea to keep detailed records of the hours you spend working in the business. This record keeping is especially important if you have another full-time job or if the potentially passive activity is not your primary business endeavor.

Estate Planning

For 2014, the unified credit for estate and gift taxes has been raised so that the tax applies only to estates greater than $5.34 million. And the estate-tax exclusion is portable, so if you and your spouse have combined estates that do not exceed $10.68 million, you can avoid the estate tax without the necessity of including language in your will creating a bypass trust.

The annual gift-tax exclusion for 2014 remains at $14,000 per person. Therefore, if you are married, you can gift up to $28,000 per donee, or recipient, this year without any federal gift-tax ramifications by using the gift-splitting rules. Gifting is a good way to reduce your taxable estate and may be an important element of your estate plan.

You may have executed your current will and estate plan without consideration of the increased unified credit amount and the portability feature of the new estate-tax law. If so, a review is in order to make sure your assets will be handled in the most tax-efficient manner.

Offshore Account Disclosures

If, during 2013, you had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, at least one financial account located outside the U.S., and the aggregate value of all your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, you must file electronically with the Treasury Department a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

The new Form 114 replaces TD F 90-22.1 and is due to the Treasury Department by June 30, 2014. The form must be filed electronically and is available only online through the BSA E-Filing System website (bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html).

In Conclusion

Tax planning is an ongoing process. Your tax picture can change — sometimes dramatically — during the course of a year, and you need to react accordingly. Implementing thoughtful mid-year strategies now may help you lessen the taxes you face in April 2015.

One final thought: saving taxes is generally a good strategy. But making a bad business, investment, or personal decision just to save some tax dollars is never a good strategy.

James Barrett is managing partner of Meyers Brothers Kalicka in Holyoke; (413) 536-8510; [email protected]

Be Prepared for Expiring Tax Provisions

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Accounting and Tax Planning Sections

Many of These Changes Will Impact Individuals and Businesses

By MARK J. COREY, CPA

Several well-known tax breaks have expired in 2014, and absent Congressional action to renew them, they will not be available for taxpayers in 2014.

There has been discussion by the Senate and the House to renew some or all of the expired provisions, but no laws have been passed. While indications are that at least some of these provisions may eventually be extended, if the expiration of these commonly used tax provisions has a significant impact on you or your business, you may want to prepare by adjusting withholdings and estimated tax payments just in case.

Expired Provisions Affecting Individuals

Mortgage-insurance Premium Deductions

Homeowners were allowed to deduct qualified mortgage-insurance premiums by treating them as home-mortgage interest.

Mortgage Debt Relief

Generally, cancelled or forgiven debt is considered taxable income. However, up to $2 million of cancelled principal-residence mortgage debt could be excluded from taxable income if the debt was discharged on or after Jan. 1, 2007, and before Jan. 1, 2014, as a result of foreclosure, short sale, or mortgage restructuring.

State and Local General Sales-tax Deduction

Taxpayers had the option to deduct sales tax instead of state income tax in years before 2014. This provision was especially beneficial for individuals who lived in states with no income tax.

Educator Out-of-pocket Expenses Deduction

For many years, elementary and secondary school teachers enjoyed an above-the-line deduction of up to $250 for out-of-pocket expenses for school and classroom-related expenses.

Tuition and Fees Deduction

Taxpayers were able to deduct above-the-line qualified higher education expenses. Taxpayers will no longer get this deduction for 2014, but the Lifetime Learning Credit and American Opportunity Credit will still be available for college students.

Non-business Energy Credit

This credit for the installation of qualified energy-efficiency improvements, such as insulation, windows, doors, and roofs, as well as certain water heaters and qualified heating and air-conditioning systems, expired Dec. 31, 2013.

Expired Provisions Affecting Businesses

Expanded IRC Section 179 Expensing

For tax years beginning in 2010 and through 2014, taxpayers were allowed to expense up to $500,000 for eligible property additions that they would have otherwise capitalized and depreciated over their useful lives, provided the eligible additions did not exceed $2 million. The Section 179 deduction dropped to $25,000 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014.

Bonus Depreciation

A bonus depreciation deduction was allowed for qualifying fixed assets acquired and placed in service from 2007 through 2013. The rate was generally 50%; however, for qualifying assets placed in service from Sept. 9, 2010 through Dec. 31, 2011, the rate was 100%. For 2014 and future years, there is no current bonus depreciation allowed except on long-production property and certain non-commercial aircraft, for which the expiration was extended by one year to Dec. 31, 2014.

Retail and Restaurant Improvements

Certain qualified business assets were allowed a shorter life for depreciation purposes. Qualified leasehold improvements and restaurant improvements, placed in service from Oct. 23, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2013, were depreciated over 15 years. Qualified retail-store improvements, placed in service from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2013,were also depreciated using a 15-year life. For these types of additions placed in service in 2014, the depreciable life generally reverts back to 39 years but depends upon the individual type of expenditure.

R & D Tax Credit

Taxpayers were allowed a tax credit equal to 20% of the excess of qualified research expenses for the current year over the prior year, basic research payments made to qualified organizations, and specific energy-research-consortium expenditures paid or incurred through Dec. 31, 2013.

Conclusion

There are many well-known and popular tax breaks that expired prior to 2014. On April 28, 2014, the Senate introduced the EXPIRE (Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency) Act of 2014 to extend more than 50 expired tax breaks and benefits. That same day, the bill was approved by the Senate Finance Committee but has advanced no further due to disagreements on procedural issues. The House has taken a different approach, and the House Ways and Means Committee has passed 12 separate tax bills, including seven for business-tax extenders and five related to charitable deductions.

One of the business-extender bills, a simplified research-credit bill which would make the extension permanent, was passed by the House, and it is expected that the remaining 11 bills will be considered prior to the August recess. Given the different approaches by the House and Senate, reaching agreement may be a challenge. n

Mark J. Corey is a senior tax manager in the Springfield office of Wolf & Co., P.C. Wolf is a leading regional certified public accounting firm with offices in Springfield, Boston, and Albany, N.Y., which provides accounting, tax, and consulting services to individual and business clients.

Summer in the Valley

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Sections Travel and Tourism

Mark Your Calendar with These 20 Happenings

In the mood for some music or theater? Enjoy art or antiques? Feel like trying out some different kinds of food?
The Pioneer Valley offers myriad opportunities to enjoy the summer, so if you’re feeling stir-crazy — or the kids say they’re bored — check out these 20 summer destinations, which only scratch the surface of what’s available in Western Mass. Whether you’re into baseball or fireworks, concerts or dogs, you’re sure to find plenty to do.

Taste of Amherst
Town Common, Amherst
www.facebook.com/tasteofamherst
Admission: Free
June 19-22: Kick off the summer by eating your fill during the four days of the 2014 Taste of Amherst. In addition to food offerings from about 20 town restaurants — most for $5 or under — the event will feature live entertainment by the River, 93.9 FM, as well as fun family events. The Taste runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and is presented by Atkins Farms Country Market, with sponsorship by the Amherst Business Improvement District, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and UMass Amherst.

Stearns Square Concert Series
Worthington and Bridge streets, Springfield
(413) 781-1591; www.facebook.com/stearnssquare
Admission: Free
Starting June 26: Thursday evenings heat up in downtown Springfield for another season of concerts in Stearns Square, starting with a visit from Black 47 on June 26, this summer’s kickoff concert. And the bands — from notable local lights to internationally acclaimed acts — just keep coming, including FAT (July 3), the Spin Doctors (July 10), Roomful of Blues (July 17), Diamondback (July 24), Truckstop Troubadors (July 31), Maggie Rose (Aug. 7), John Eddie (Aug. 14), Doug Demings and the Jewel Tones (Aug. 21), and the Smithereens (Aug. 28). All concerts begin at 8 p.m., and there are no opening acts this year. What began 14 years ago as a way to liven up downtown Springfield — it was originally held in the Court Square area — has become a weekly destination for music lovers, people watchers, and scores of motorcyclists. The series is sponsored by the Springfield Business Improvement District.

Williamstown Theatre Festival
1000 Main St., Williamstown
(413) 597-3400; www.wtfestival.org
Admission: $15 and up
July 2 to Aug. 17: Sixty years ago, the leaders of the Williams College drama department and news office conceived of an idea: using the school’s theater for a summer performance program with a resident company. Since then, the festival has attracted such performers as E.G. Marshall, Blythe Danner, Colleen Dewhurst, and Christopher Reeve. This summer, the program will present a range of both classical and original productions, plus other programs like the interactive workshops, post-show Tuesday Talkbacks with company members, and ‘A Festival 4th,’ when actors will celebrate the Fourth of July by gathering at the Williams College Museum of Art to read the Declaration of Independence and the British reply before viewing the college’s noted Founding Documents collection. Williamstown’s classic small-town parade then kicks off on Spring Street at 11 a.m. and ends at the Clark Art Institute for the grand opening of its newly expanded campus.

Clark Art Institute
225 South St., Williamstown
(413) 458-2303; www.clarkart.edu
Admission: Free on July 4; otherwise $20 for adults, free for under 18 and students
Starting July 4: Immediately following the Williamstown parade, enjoy hot dogs, live music, balloons, and other family fun on the museum’s East Lawn before the Clark — which has been closed for an extensive renovation — officially reopens at 1 p.m. Admission is free on grand-opening day. Galleries will be open until 9 p.m., and the Eagles Band will perform at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks at 9. Founded in 1936, the Eagles Band is the oldest continuing performance ensemble in the Berkshires, performing music from the late ’30s through the early ’50s, in styles ranging from traditional brass to contemporary and pop arrangements. Guests are welcome to return throughout the summer (admission $20, students and under 18 free), with new exhibitions including “Make It New: Abstract Paintings from the National Gallery of Art,” which will include Jackson Pollock’s “Lavender Mist,” opening Aug. 2. Perhaps the most impressive work of all is the Clark’s new, 42,650-square-foot Visitor Center — designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ando, who is known for incorporating landscape into his design. The center boasts new dining facilities, a museum shop, outdoor terraces, and 11,070 square feet of additional special exhibition space. And if you can’t make it to Williamstown on July 4, there’s always…

Monson Summerfest
Main Street, Monson
(413) 267-3649; www.monsonsummerfestinc.com
Admission: Free
July 4: In 1979, a group of parishioners from the town’s Methodist church wanted to start an Independence Day celebration focused on family and community, The first Summerfest was held at the church, featuring food, games, and fun activities. With the overwhelming interest of nonprofit organizations in town, the event immediately grew, and relocated onto Main Street the following year. With the addition of a parade, along with booths, bands, rides, and activities, the event has evolved into an attraction drawing more than 10,000 people every year. The festivities will be preceded this year by a town fireworks display on June 28.

Star Spangled Springfield
Downtown Springfield
(413) 733-3800
Admission: Free
July 4: Speaking of fireworks, what’s a better end to an Independence Day filled with food, family, and outdoor fun than taking in a spectacle of the skies? Springfield’s annual show, starting at 9:30 p.m., is a welcome tradition, but it’s hardly the only one. For example, South Hadley and East Longmeadow have slated their displays for July 3, Old Sturbridge Village will light up the night on July 4, and Westfield and Greenfield have events scheduled for July 5. Many other cities and towns are planning fireworks as well; check with municipal offices for times.

Berkshires Arts Festival
Ski Butternut, 380 State Road, Great Barrington
(845) 355-2400; www.berkshiresartsfestival.com
Admission: $5-$13
July 4-6: Now in its 13th year, the Berkshires Arts Festival has become a regional tradition. Thousands of art lovers and collectors are expected to descend on the Ski Butternut grounds to check out and purchase the creations of more than 175 artists and designers, as well as experiencing theater, music, and dance from local, national, and international acts. Founded by Richard and Joanna Rothbard, owners of An American Craftsman Galleries, the festival attracts top artists from across the U.S. and Canada. Visitors can also participate in interactive events like puppetry and storytelling, all the time enjoying a respite from the sun under tents and in the ski resort’s air-conditioned lodge.

Tanglewood
297 West St., Lenox
(617) 266-1200; www.bso.org
Admission: $21 and up
Starting July 5: Tanglewood has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937, and like previous years, it has a well-stocked slate of concerts in store for the 2014 season, including an All-American Opening Night Gala Concert on July 5 and a special gala concert on July 12, a dance-inspired program featuring both the Boston Symphony and fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO’s prestigious summer music academy. This season, Tanglewood will offer a special focus on American music with orchestral, opera, and film presentations in the Koussevitzky Music Shed, and opera, chamber music, and recital programs in Ozawa Hall, which marks its 20th anniversary season in 2014. Check out the website for the extensive roster of shows and events, including a number of non-classical shows, such as Tanglewood regular James Taylor, who perform in the Koussevitzky Music Shed on July 3 and 4, with both performances followed by fireworks displays.

Brimfield Antique Show
Route 20, Brimfield, MA
(413) 283-6149; www.quaboaghills.com
Admission: Free
July 8-13: What began humbly — when a local auctioneer decided to hold open-air auctions on his property, and grew into a successful flea market — eventually began including neighboring properties as it grew. It expanded in the ’80s and ’90s to a one-mile stretch of Route 20 on both sides, and these days, the Brimfield Antique Show is a six-mile stretch of heaven for people to value antiques, collectibles, and flea-market finds. Some 6,000 dealers and close to 1 million total visitors show up at the three annual, week-long events; the first was in May, and the third runs Sept. 2-7. The Brimfield Antique Show labels itself the “Antiques and Collectibles Capital of the United States,” and — judging by its scope and number of visitors — it’s hard to disagree.

Green River Festival
Greenfield Community College, One College Dr., Greenfield
(413) 773-5463; www.greenriverfestival.com
Admission: Weekend, $75; Saturday, $49.99; Sunday, $34.99
July 12-13: For one weekend every July, Greenfield Community College hosts a high-energy celebration of music; local food, beer, and wine; handmade crafts; and family games and activities — all topped off with four hot-air-balloon launches (rides are available) and a spectacular Saturday-night ‘balloon glow.’ The music is continuous on three stages, and this year features Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Lucius, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Trampled by Turtles, Grant Lee Phillips, and more than two dozen other artists. Children under 10 can get in for free, as the family-friendly festival features children’s music performers, a kid’s activity tent, games, circus acts, a Mardi Gras parade, and other surprises. New for 2014 is the Maker’s Market, a collective of fine artisans from across Western Mass., offering an impressive array of handmade crafts and jewelry. The festival began in 1986 as purely a hot-air-balloon affair, but quickly integrated musical entertainment into the event. Now, its one of the most eclectic events in the Valley.

Yidstock
Hampshire College, 893 West St., Amherst
(413) 256-4900; www.yiddishbookcenter.org/yidstock
Admission: Festival pass, $145 for members or $185 general admission; tickets may be purchased for individual events
July 17-20: Boasting an array of films, concerts, lectures, and workshops, Yidstock 2014: The Festival of New Yiddish Music lands in Amherst in mid-July. The third annual Yidstock festival will bring the best in klezmer and new Yiddish music to the stage at the Yiddish Book Center. The festival pass includes admission to all concerts, lectures, and workshops. The weekend will offer an intriguing glimpse into Jewish roots and jazzy soul music through popular Yiddish bands like the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Klezmatics, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, and more. Friday and Saturday feature dance workshops as well.

New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game
MacKenzie Stadium, 500 Beech St., Holyoke
(413) 533-1100; www.valleybluesox.com
Admission: $5-$8
July 20: The Valley Blue Sox (formerly the Holyoke Blue Sox) continue to bring plenty of baseball excitement to Holyoke and its surroundings, playing in a league that attracts some of the top collegiate talent each summer. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for these guys to really showcase their talent in a professional setting,” General Manager Hunter Golden said. “Major League Baseball is a big believer in our product and the caliber of players we bring. Watch the College World Series, and chances are you’ll see half our roster.” This year MacKenzie will host the league All-Star Game, starting at 12 noon on July 20, but the club will play plenty of other home games into early August — usually featuring giveaways and other promotions — to provide families with a fun, affordable evening out.

Bang on a Can Plays Art
1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams
(413) 662-2111; www.massmoca.org
Admission: Festival pass, $75; individual concerts, $15-$24
July 26 to Aug 2: The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, a residency program for composers and performers, will take place from July 15 through Aug. 4 at MASS MoCA. The heart of this three-week workshop is a week-long series of 14 concerts running from July 26 to Aug. 2, highlighted by two major Saturday events in the museum’s Hunter Auditorium. The first is David Lang’s “death speaks” on July 26 at 8 p.m., featuring the Bang on a Can All-Stars with special guest Shara Worden. Lang combed through every song by Franz Schubert and pulled out just the moments when Death is a character, speaking directly to us, and then set those texts to new music. On Aug. 2 at 4 p.m., the museum will present the six-hour Bang on a Can Marathon with special guests Steve Reich and Glenn Kotche of Wilco. The festival finale will include more than 50 musicians and composers from around the world, and will feature Steve Reich’s newest composition “Radio Rewrite,” a remix of two songs by Radiohead. Another highlight will be a rare performance of Edgar Varese’s riotous masterpiece “Ionisation,” the first piece ever written for percussion ensemble.

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival
Court Square, Springfield
(413) 303-0101
Admission: Free
Aug 9: Following in the footsteps of the Hoop City Jazz and Arts Festival, which drew more than 20,000 people to downtown Springfield, is the inaugural Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, intended to celebrate the emergence of Springfield’s Cultural District and promote an arts-driven, community-oriented, and sustainable revitalization of the city. The event will offer a festive atmosphere featuring locally and internationally acclaimed musical artists, a variety of ethnic cuisines and local food producers, and more. This inclusive event aims to bring people from Springfield and the surrounding region together to foster connection, stimulate the local economy, and highlight positive initiatives contributing to the betterment of Springfield’s residents, and uniting the city with the rest of the Pioneer Valley. The festival is being produced by Blues to Green, a nonprofit organization led by Kristin Neville, wife of legendary jazz musician Charles Neville. The organization’s mission is to use music and art to celebrate community and culture, build shared purpose, and catalyze social and environmental change.

Dog Shows at the Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield
(413) 737-2443; www.thebige.com
Admission: Free
Aug. 20-24: The Big E fairgrounds certainly haven’t gone to the dogs, but it will seem that way for five days in August, when dog shows take over the Better Living Center. The Elm City Kennel Club Dog Show will be in town on Aug. 20 and 24, the Newtown Kennel Club Dog Show will take over on Aug. 21 and 23, while the Northwestern Connecticut Kennel Club Dog Show will make an appearance on Aug. 22. Come see dogs in all breeds compete for best in class and best in show.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road, Becket
(413) 243-0745; www.jacobspillow.org
Admission: $50-$150
Aug. 23: In its 82nd season, Jacob’s Pillow has become one of the premier venues for dance in the U.S. Dance enthusiasts will surely marvel at the dozens of free and ticketed recitals performed by celebrated companies from around the world, not to mention Jacob’s Pillow’s other offerings of photography and art exhibits, seminars, discussions, and film screenings. The season concludes on Aug. 23 with the Festival Finale, featuring a performance by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet or LeeSaar. The ticket also includes entry to a festive after-party, with drinks, desserts, photo-booth fun, and DJ BFG spinning live at the ultimate dance celebration. Proceeds benefit the community programs of Jacob’s Pillow.

Three County Fair
41 Fair St., Northampton
(413) 584-2237; www.threecountyfair.com
Admission: $8-$10
Aug. 29 to Sept. 1: In 1818, the Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Agricultural Society was formed, with the purpose of promoting agriculture, agricultural education, and agricultural science in the Commonwealth. The society relied on exhibitions, displays, competitions, and demonstrations to fulfill its purposes, awarding prizes in agricultural and domestic categories. Almost 200 years later, the society’s original purpose still provides the umbrella under which the Three County Fair is presented to the public. Over time, however, various entertainment events became part of the annual fair, from carnival rides and games to thoroughbred horse racing, horse demonstrations, crafts, and, of course, plenty of food. “Taste the past, enjoy the present,” fair organizers say, and visitors will certainly experience a good deal of both.

Blandford Fair
10 North St., Blandford
(413) 848-0995; www.theblandfordfair.com
Admission: $5-$10
Aug. 29 to Sept. 1: Not much has changed in the 145 years of the Blandford Fair, but that’s what makes it so charming. This Labor Day weekend, at the 147th edition of the event, fairgoers can witness the classic rituals of the giant pumpkin display, the pony draw, and the horseshoe tournament, plus more modern additions, like the fantastically loud chainsaw-carving demonstration and the windshield-smashing demolition derby. With many more exhibits and attractions to offer, a weekend at the Blandford Fair is an ideal way for families to close out the summer.

Old Sturbridge Village Family Fun Days
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA
(800) 733-1830; www.osv.org
Admission: Adults, $24; children, free
Aug. 31 to Sept. 2: Bring the whole family to Old Sturbridge Village on Labor Day weekend, when the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast opens its doors to children for free (normally, youth admission is $8). Guests are invited to play baseball the way early New Englanders did, make a craft, join a game of French & English (tug of war), meet the oxen in training, try their hand at marbling paper, see a puppet show, watch a toy fire-balloon flight, visit the Freeman Farm, stop and see craftsmen at work, and much more. In addition, the weekend will feature appearances by Bob Olson, performing 19th-century magic, as well as the Old Sturbridge Village Singers and the Old Sturbridge Village Dancers. Let your kids step back into the 1830s and enjoy the last summer weekend before school.

Glendi
St. George Cathedral, 22 St. George Road, Springfield
(413) 737-1496; stgeorgecath.org
Admission: Free
Sept. 5-7: Every year, St. George Cathedral offers thousands of visitors the best in traditional Greek foods, pastries, music, dancing, and old-fashioned Greek hospitality. In addition, the festival offers activities for children, tours of the historic St. George Cathedral and Byzantine Chapel, various vendors from across the East Coast, icon workshops, movies in the Glendi Theatre, cooking demonstrations, and a joyful atmosphere that the whole family will enjoy.

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Departments Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BUCKLAND

7 Martin Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Horace D. Taft-Ferguson
Seller: Peter Chadwick
Date: 05/12/14

CONWAY

98 River St.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $149,500
Buyer: Danielle L. Thompson
Seller: Anthony T. Rice
Date: 05/15/14

DEERFIELD

20 Crestview Dr.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Joseph J. Butz
Seller: Willard E. Plumley
Date: 05/13/14

382 Lower Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Jaime D. Reloj
Seller: Steve & Kathy Melnik FT
Date: 05/09/14

GILL

14 South Cross Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jonathan Holmes
Seller: US Bank
Date: 05/14/14

GREENFIELD

42 Congress St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Valencia LLC
Seller: Freehigh LLC
Date: 05/09/14

108 Crescent St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Monahan INT
Seller: Krystyna Colburn
Date: 05/15/14

111 Elm St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $144,500
Buyer: Jeremy S. Stone
Seller: Troy Santerre
Date: 05/15/14

39 Gold St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $243,750
Buyer: David H. Tasgal
Seller: James R. Scace
Date: 05/05/14

16 Michelman Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Robert J. Escott
Seller: Warren D. Sampson
Date: 05/16/14

347 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Dmitry D. Darmanchev
Seller: Mackin Construction Co.
Date: 05/09/14

89 West St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Johnathan R. Griffen
Date: 05/13/14

MONTAGUE

116 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jonathan E. Billings
Seller: Macintire INT
Date: 05/14/14

49 Old Stage Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Scott P. Schenk
Seller: Duane W. Greene
Date: 05/12/14

32 Park St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Hall
Seller: Sarah J. Reid
Date: 05/08/14

14 Randall Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $156,500
Buyer: William Codington
Seller: Rita T. Plaza
Date: 05/14/14

66 Sunderland Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Windy Hollow Acres LLC
Seller: Amy Plavin
Date: 05/14/14

NORTHFIELD

299 Birnam Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Clifford S. Phillips
Seller: Nurten Foster
Date: 05/16/14

ORANGE

12 North Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust
Seller: Scott Grenquist
Date: 05/15/14

70 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Marc H. Moss
Date: 05/07/14

540 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Brian A. Heath
Seller: Karol L. Brodeur
Date: 05/09/14

SHUTESBURY

20 Great Pines Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Jaime C. Morton
Seller: James M. McNaughton
Date: 05/16/14

828 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jennifer Smetzer
Seller: David A. Bellemore
Date: 05/15/14

284 West Pelham Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: David J. Larue
Seller: Salvatore Dinardi
Date: 05/12/14

SUNDERLAND

104 North Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Gregory M. Bell
Seller: Mark D. Clark
Date: 05/15/14

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

73 Bessbrook St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Armando Arroyo
Seller: Antoinetta Moylan
Date: 05/16/14

157 Cambridge St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: David W. Piette
Seller: Joseph M. Santaniello
Date: 05/15/14

341 Cooper St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Marlene N. Johnson
Seller: Sullivan, Catherine M., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

2 Corey St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $152,110
Seller: Dmitriy M. Shapovalov
Date: 05/09/14

5 Cottonwood Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $346,500
Buyer: Thomas M. Gordon
Seller: Robert C. Roy
Date: 05/09/14

45 Liswell Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Kara Krupa
Seller: Jeffrey R. Jochim
Date: 05/07/14

437 Southwick St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Donna M. Bys
Seller: Katherine E. Petschke
Date: 05/08/14

28 Virginia St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Sergey Tokarev
Seller: Matthew C. Hunter
Date: 05/08/14

BRIMFIELD

85 Cubles Dr.
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Laura M. Kuszarski
Seller: Samsel, Una, (Estate)
Date: 05/15/14

131 Tower Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Genise Jackson
Seller: Nancy Orr
Date: 05/15/14

CHICOPEE

64 5th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: David A. Fredette
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 05/15/14

15 Boutin Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Michael W. Robbins
Seller: Michael J. Robbins
Date: 05/14/14

17 Graham Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Brandon R. Houle
Seller: Czupryna, Frederick J., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

716 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Stephen R. Doel
Seller: Marta Alvarez
Date: 05/05/14

86 Orchard St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Danielle M. Cormier
Seller: Suzanne F. Bruno
Date: 05/15/14

20 Pendleton Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Resolute RT
Seller: Richard A. Burns
Date: 05/07/14

3 Pleasantview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $119,900
Buyer: Tisha D. Libbey
Seller: Oak Ridge Custom Home Builders
Date: 05/14/14

24 Sandtrap Way
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $377,900
Buyer: Jesse A. Wells
Seller: Francis W. Soucie
Date: 05/14/14

School St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Yarland Properties LLC
Seller: John B. Murray
Date: 05/09/14

21 Sitnik Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Olga Kvashenko
Seller: Sophie Czekanski
Date: 05/09/14

EAST LONGMEADOW

15 Converse Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. McCluster
Seller: Sean P. Shimansky
Date: 05/16/14

241 Hampden Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: David Ayers
Seller: Matthew A. Bean
Date: 05/09/14

N/A
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Shannon L. Ecker
Seller: Wilbraham Builders Inc.
Date: 05/05/14

55 Pineywoods Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Vladimir Strelnitski
Seller: Anthony E. Gentile
Date: 05/16/14

278 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $219,500
Buyer: Steven A. Carando
Seller: Linda S. Orcutt
Date: 05/14/14

14 Redstone Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Julianne M. Lessard
Seller: Anthony Cianflone
Date: 05/16/14

887 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Shelby P. Marrin
Seller: Robert R. Driscoll
Date: 05/15/14

40 Spruce St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: T&K Realty LLC
Seller: Kirkpatrick, Mark D., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

5 Tamarack Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $487,500
Buyer: Laura L. Grant
Seller: Joseph R. Kennedy
Date: 05/05/14

178 Tanglewood Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Stephen J. Beek
Seller: Richard F. McKeever
Date: 05/05/14

80 Waterman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Scott R. Caron
Seller: Michael Torcia
Date: 05/15/14

338 Westwood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Ortiz
Seller: Thomas F. Drumm
Date: 05/16/14

HAMPDEN

43 Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $167,200
Buyer: Richard B. Francis
Seller: Ryan S. Hemingway
Date: 05/09/14

40 Oak Knoll Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $289,555
Buyer: Bruce J. Strange
Seller: Robert P. Kaboray
Date: 05/05/14

HOLLAND

1 Hamilton Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Diane Cady
Seller: Jason P. Curving
Date: 05/07/14

5 Inlet Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Daniel Burns
Seller: Gary Biesadecki
Date: 05/09/14

23 Island Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Timothy Hill
Seller: David R. McGuill
Date: 05/15/14

2 North Leisure Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $244,900
Buyer: Robert J. Kamay
Date: 05/09/14

40 Old County Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Eric B. Piskorski
Seller: Leslie Germaine
Date: 05/09/14

30 Over The Top Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Todd Oberheim
Seller: Mark D. Schultz
Date: 05/07/14

HOLYOKE

293 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Javier Soto
Seller: Pyles, Allie E., (Estate)
Date: 05/15/14

540 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Daniel A. Warner
Seller: John Gajowy
Date: 05/16/14

35 Ridgeway St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $152,900
Buyer: Donald R. Packard
Seller: Richard G. Rondeau
Date: 05/09/14

237 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Richard G. Rondeau
Seller: Barbara J. Crosson
Date: 05/09/14

24 Vassar Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: HSBC Bank
Seller: Neil N. Feldman
Date: 05/06/14

LONGMEADOW

28 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Seth Tenenbaum
Seller: Richard G. Duncan
Date: 05/09/14

33 Brittany Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $461,500
Buyer: Jack W. Bailey
Seller: W. S. Keeley
Date: 05/16/14

106 Longfellow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $233,000
Buyer: Daniel R. Huse
Seller: Jeffrey E. Roche
Date: 05/16/14

309 Merriweather Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Brent L. Ulrey
Seller: Elizabeth A. Barton
Date: 05/12/14

205 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $211,300
Buyer: Michael J. Templeton
Seller: Carole A. Veratti
Date: 05/13/14

162 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Kal A. Dulaimy
Seller: Kay A. Rhee
Date: 05/05/14

76 Woodland Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Joshua Warren
Seller: Robert F. Cheritano
Date: 05/06/14

LUDLOW

810 Moore St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $319,900
Buyer: John J. Diggins
Seller: Marc A. Toton
Date: 05/12/14

52 Norwich Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Matthew D. Mol
Seller: Patrick D. Meffen
Date: 05/16/14

PALMER

255 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Stanley J. Zych
Seller: Glen A. Hitchcock
Date: 05/16/14

3007 Palmer St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Barbara A. Corbett
Seller: Shorey E. Dow
Date: 05/16/14

52 Smith St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Timothy S. Benton
Seller: Wallace J. Roberts
Date: 05/16/14

Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $129,500
Buyer: Stephanie L. Bearce
Seller: June M. Slozak
Date: 05/13/14

RUSSELL

122 Huntington Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Jessica M. Beaudry
Seller: Rosanna Seymour
Date: 05/15/14

SPRINGFIELD

34 Audubon St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $149,000
Buyer: Ruben Borrero
Seller: Julianne M. Lessard
Date: 05/16/14

40 Bangor St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Laurie A. Gilbert
Seller: James M. Daly
Date: 05/16/14

705 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Mohammad Sarker
Seller: JJSA 17 Acquisition Co. LLC
Date: 05/16/14

604 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Grez Automotive LLC
Seller: Walter J. Grzebien
Date: 05/07/14

901 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $1,073,865
Buyer: GP Springfield MA
Seller: US Bank
Date: 05/14/14

145 Chalmers St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Cote
Seller: James M. Wingard
Date: 05/15/14

15 Delaware Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Wanda Lockett
Seller: Sticks & Stones Inc.
Date: 05/13/14

195 Durant St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Sherleen Alequin
Seller: Blueline Management LLC
Date: 05/08/14

196 East St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Juan Vazquez
Date: 05/16/14

19 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Carlito Gonzalez
Seller: Kenneth M. Mills
Date: 05/16/14

50 Ellery St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $122,817
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Toum Sea
Date: 05/05/14

44 Fallston St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Brianna M. Dieni
Seller: Jorge Herrera
Date: 05/09/14

63 Freeman Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Robert Hines
Seller: MBC Properties LLC
Date: 05/16/14

58 Gillette Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Sara D. Burrington
Seller: Heather M. Woods
Date: 05/16/14

103 Glenoak Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $135,500
Buyer: Geoffrey R. Farrington
Seller: Carl J. Paquette
Date: 05/16/14

43 Hazen St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Howard C. Hill
Seller: John F. Carberry
Date: 05/15/14

Hickory St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

56 Louis Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Ryan B. McGuire
Seller: Gregg P. Desmarais
Date: 05/15/14

78 Manchester Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Christine Dettman
Seller: John E. Cole
Date: 05/13/14

216 Mazarin St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Quetszy A. Melendez
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 05/07/14

122 Newton Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Rimondi
Seller: Amanda L. Spear-Purchase
Date: 05/05/14

84 North Brook Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Anthony Santos
Seller: Jose A. Rivera
Date: 05/14/14

Naismith St. #41
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

198 Park Dr.
Springfield, MA 01106
Amount: $142,500
Buyer: Michael A. Torcia
Seller: Dorene A. Archambault
Date: 05/14/14

Paridon St. #10
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Grand Paridon LLC
Seller: Camelback LLC
Date: 05/06/14

1956 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Dominic A. Falzone
Date: 05/12/14

202 Pasco Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Simone S. Carvalho
Seller: Lawrence Picard
Date: 05/08/14

108 Pidgeon Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $138,900
Buyer: Jose L. Rodriguez
Seller: Barbara J. Klocker
Date: 05/14/14

215 Rosemary Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Nitza Ramos-Cruz
Seller: Charlotte A. Carrington
Date: 05/16/14

Silver St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

1493 South Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Leonard A. Lindsay
Seller: Curtis F. Terrell
Date: 05/08/14

82 Treetop Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Robert Ackerman
Seller: Meilleur, Aline D., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

23 Varney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Patricia M. Shibles
Seller: Ronald Rovelli
Date: 05/16/14

45 Welland Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Jorge L. Baiz
Seller: Regina F. Walker
Date: 05/12/14

Wells St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

1425 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: RHL Properties LLC
Seller: Simmons Ventures LLC
Date: 05/07/14

SOUTHWICK

3 Field St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Michael F. Ferraraccio
Seller: Marc A. Wenners
Date: 05/07/14

4 Iroquois Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $283,000
Buyer: Michael Diotalevi
Seller: Robert V. Sala
Date: 05/14/14

35 Miller Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Dayle Stowell
Seller: Robert G. Valentine
Date: 05/12/14

10 Tammy Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jacqueline N. Ditrocchio
Seller: Gregory F. Garstka
Date: 05/08/14

WALES

49 Mount Hitchcock Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Amy Roode
Seller: Wendy E. Baker
Date: 05/05/14

WESTFIELD

41 Canal Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Gregg P. Desmarais
Seller: Tirone Development Corp.
Date: 05/15/14

32 Carriage Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $223,500
Buyer: Scott P. Battles
Seller: David C. Carkhuff
Date: 05/12/14

13 Clinton Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Marta V. Martinez
Seller: Oleg Iurtue
Date: 05/16/14

26 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Rustam Orozaliev
Seller: Stanislav Morozov
Date: 05/09/14

56 Overlook Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $217,500
Buyer: Laura Reinholz
Seller: Elizabeth B. Goyette
Date: 05/09/14

45 Parker Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Ion Malancea
Seller: Ivan Mokan
Date: 05/15/14

321 Pochassic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Pavel Matovich
Seller: Frank A. Langone
Date: 05/09/14

187 Tannery Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Matthew P. Wzorek
Seller: Cesar Ramirez
Date: 05/09/14

42 Willow Brook Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Robert T. Clayton
Seller: Marc T. Bergeron
Date: 05/12/14

WILBRAHAM

9 East Colonial Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Samuel B. Everett
Seller: Hale, Doris M., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

4 Oldwood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Keith A. Person
Seller: Samuel B. Everett
Date: 05/16/14

WEST SPRINGFIELD

103 Forest Glen
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Jessica F. Caron
Seller: Joan B. Smith
Date: 05/15/14

50 Harney St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: David M. Siegel
Seller: Una Z. Reiser
Date: 05/16/14

43 Kerry Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: John J. Yates
Seller: Donald W. Duquette
Date: 05/09/14

698 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Kevin R. Lalonde
Seller: Mary P. Lagodich
Date: 05/05/14

161 New Bridge St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Shannon L. Tanski
Seller: John D. Clarke
Date: 05/16/14

78 Pease Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Robert C. Roy
Seller: Laura A. Kaplan
Date: 05/09/14

64 Sean Louis Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $612,000
Buyer: Rajshree Patel
Seller: Stephen R. Hoey
Date: 05/09/14

32 South Blvd.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: TM Properties Inc.
Seller: Ralph Draper
Date: 05/12/14

18 Wilbert Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Kyle M. Douglas
Seller: Bohn, Gustave F., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

28 Kettle Pond Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $389,900
Buyer: Molly J. Goren-Watts
Seller: Djaferis FT
Date: 05/05/14

136 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Ludmila Tyler
Seller: Joslad & Associates PC
Date: 05/14/14

150 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $350,430
Buyer: David T. Eisenhauer
Seller: Jeremy Ober
Date: 05/07/14

Lindenridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Buyer: M. C. Dufour
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 05/16/14

38 Maplewood Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Dean Brown
Seller: Barbara B. Yaukey
Date: 05/15/14

20 McClure St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Nathaniel A. Whitmal
Seller: Marta Ostapiuk
Date: 05/15/14

Sunset Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Worcester City Campus
Seller: August M. Woicekoski RET
Date: 05/15/14

BELCHERTOWN

211 Allen Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jonathan J. Crosby
Seller: Michael Beresky
Date: 05/16/14

45 Depot St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $925,000
Buyer: NE Fibers LLC
Seller: Whitney National Realty
Date: 05/12/14

29 Ledgewood Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $258,500
Buyer: Scott M. Blanchard
Seller: Dennis M. Dube
Date: 05/15/14

59 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Thomas N. Synan
Seller: Deborah Becerra
Date: 05/16/14

62 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Pogoda
Seller: Robert T. Marsh
Date: 05/15/14

130 Springfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Nathan A. Marean
Seller: Clarence E. Robinson
Date: 05/07/14

76 Sheffield Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Dustin J. Carey
Seller: Christopher T. Faber
Date: 05/15/14

EASTHAMPTON

17 Bayberry Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Michael J. Horan
Seller: John F. Horan
Date: 05/09/14

110 Lovefield St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Albert C. Park
Seller: Robert A. Varey
Date: 05/13/14

412 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $1,460,000
Buyer: Argotec Stevens LLC
Seller: JPS Elastomerics Corp.
Date: 05/09/14

19 Matthew Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $297,500
Buyer: Sandra L. Graves
Seller: George R. Paquette
Date: 05/16/14

99 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Jenna K. Schmidt
Seller: Tyler J. Novotny
Date: 05/06/14

5 Susan Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Jeremy A. Jungbluth
Seller: Kristi Neathawk
Date: 05/16/14

38 Treehouse Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $274,900
Buyer: Kathleen I. Dyer
Seller: EH Homeownership LLC
Date: 05/09/14

19 Wemelco Way
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Miri Realty LLC
Seller: FDR LLC
Date: 05/15/14

GOSHEN

1 Lake Dr.
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Charlie Lotspeich
Seller: David Weiland
Date: 05/09/14

GRANBY

92 School St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Ryan T. Williams
Seller: Francis W. Gallagher
Date: 05/08/14

151 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Willard A. McKinstry
Seller: Alfred W. McKinstry
Date: 05/15/14

HADLEY

2 Hawks Meadow
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $137,200
Buyer: Countryside Home Builders
Seller: Alan Sthilaire
Date: 05/09/14

150 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: George F. Moriarty
Seller: Shauneen A. Valliere
Date: 05/12/14

153 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Vertical Assets LLC
Seller: Jeffrey C. Mish
Date: 05/09/14

20 Sylvia Heights
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $516,000
Buyer: John F. Pappenheimer
Seller: Sortino, Elaine J., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

123 West St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $602,400
Buyer: James B. Mead RET
Seller: Frederick H. Pratt
Date: 05/07/14

HUNTINGTON

3 East Main St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Hamel Arenius-Kinloch
Seller: Nance J. Bendus
Date: 05/15/14

NORTHAMPTON

29 Adare Place
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Nada M. Kawar
Seller: Matthew D. Thomas
Date: 05/16/14

102 Bancroft Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $797,000
Buyer: Ravindra M. Nadkarni
Seller: David J. Starr
Date: 05/15/14

24 Bayberry Lane
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Melanie J. Currie
Seller: Gary R. Campbell
Date: 05/13/14

57 Chestnut St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $479,000
Buyer: Killian O’Connell
Seller: Gertrude E. Hooks
Date: 05/14/14

241 Crescent St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Suleiman A. Mourad
Seller: Peter N. Gregory
Date: 05/05/14

34 Forbes Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: David B. Erickson
Seller: Suzanne J. Williams
Date: 05/15/14

30 Hatfield St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Peter W. Kelley
Seller: Longtin, Kyle, (Estate)
Date: 05/09/14

9 Kingsley Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $266,500
Buyer: TN Real Estate Group LLC
Seller: Koch Holding Co. Inc.
Date: 05/08/14

60 Masonic St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $965,000
Buyer: Traddles LLC
Seller: Media Education Foundation
Date: 05/15/14

SOUTH HADLEY

51 McKinley Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: James M. Purchase
Seller: Annemarie Sias
Date: 05/09/14

15 Normandy Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Jermey S. Milligan
Seller: Dustin Carey
Date: 05/15/14

19 North St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Jonathan E. Fedus
Seller: Leonard F. Pope
Date: 05/09/14

99 River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Bryan Barsalou
Date: 05/16/14

3 San Souci Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Raymond L. Brousseau
Seller: Robert A. Baker
Date: 05/05/14

SOUTHAMPTON

7 Parsons Way
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Robert D. Hutchison
Seller: Laura A. Reinholz
Date: 05/09/14

227 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ronald H. Laurin
Seller: Rita M. Kosior
Date: 05/14/14

WARE

80 Shoreline Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $316,000
Buyer: Margaret D. Soucie
Seller: Theresa M. Girard
Date: 05/14/14

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff June 17, 2014

Departments Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

CHICOPEE

Titos Auto Sales Inc., 357 Chicopee St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Jeffrey L. Jose, 80 Fisher Road, Chicopee, MA 01013. Used auto sales.

SOUTH HADLEY

Rock Voices Inc., 33 Carlton St., South Hadley, MA 01075. Anthony Lechner, same. Musical instruction, education, and performance.

Silverthorne Theater Company Inc., 41 River Road, South Hadley, MA 01075. J. Lucinda Kidder, same. To prepare and present theatrical productions and engage in educational activities in theater skills and appreciation.

SPRINGFIELD

Vargas Cleaning Services Inc., 14 Draper St., Springfield, MA 01108. Carlos Enrique Vargas Gabriel, same. General cleaning services.

WESTFIELD

Zhong Rong Inc., 68 King St., Westfield, MA 01085. Shou Qi Liang, same. Restaurant.

WESTHAMPTON

J & D Sales & Repairs Inc., 19 Perry Hill Road, Westhampton, MA 01027. James Meehan, same. Automotive sales and repairs.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Go Pro Appliances Repair Inc., 149 Wayside Ave., West Springfield, MA 01089. Priscilla J. Kowal, 91 Blue Ridge Dr., Somers, CT 06071. Appliance repair.

S.A. I.T Inc., 12 Royce Court A#1, West Springfield, MA 01089. Surya Sharma, same. IT enabled services.

WILLIAMSBURG

MRJW Enterprises Inc., 39 Petticoat Hill Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096. Louis Montgomery, same. Construction.

WILLIAMSTOWN

New England Lawn & Garden Care Inc., 371 Hopper Road, Williamstown, MA 01267. Valerie Caryl Ross, same. Landscape and garden services.

Higher-ed Leaders Mobilize for Common Core Standards

By BusinessWest Staff June 12, 2014

Daily News

BOSTON — Mass. Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland and a dozen public college and university presidents have joined more than 200 college and university leaders from 30 states in a new coalition, Higher Ed for Higher Standards, to mobilize in support of the Common Core State Standards. Although Common Core has proven extremely controversial nationwide, with several states moving to opt out, many Massachusetts post-secondary leaders view Common Core, with its focus on college and career readiness, as critical for improving student success. In 2010, Massachusetts became the 27th state to adopt the internationally benchmarked standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. “I see this as an important opportunity to reaffirm our established support for Common Core,” said Freeland. “Here in the Commonwealth, the standards are providing a strong foundation for new assessments and improved collaboration between our high schools and colleges.” Massachusetts public higher education leaders joining the coalition include Robert Antonucci, president, Fitchburg State University; Gail Carberry, president, Quinsigamond Community College; Robert Caret, president, UMass Amherst; Carol Cowan, president, Middlesex Community College; John Cox, president, Cape Cod Community College; Pam Eddinger, president, Bunker Hill Community College; Lane Glenn, president, Northern Essex Community College; Ellen Kennedy, president, Berkshire Community College; Robert Martin, interim president, Framingham State University; Patricia Maguire Meservey, president, Salem State University; J. Keith Motley, chancellor, UMass Boston; and Elizabeth Preston, interim president, Westfield State University. “A strong K-12 Common Core enables a true alignment of college entry standards,” said Eddinger. “Our students need an elegant and well-defined curricular path from kindergarten to college graduation. We owe our students that clear guidance.” Among other policy positions, Higher Ed for Higher Standards believes the Common Core standards can help colleges and universities in their efforts to reduce remediation rates and help more students succeed in college. A major initiative led by the department and campuses is now underway to overhaul remedial (developmental) education and make expectations for college success much clearer for students. In Massachusetts, 65% of community college students place into remedial math coursework, which can impact their long-term success in higher education.

Leadership Pioneer Valley’s 2014 Class Graduates

By BusinessWest Staff June 9, 2014

Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — The 2014 class of Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) graduated on June 5 in ceremonies at the Smith College Conference Center. Prior to getting their certificates, the 35 participants in the 10-month program presented their accomplishments from working in six teams on issues facing the region. Each project was submitted by a local nonprofit or past LPV team. Three of the projects were continuations from prior years, and the nonprofit partners included Peace Jam of New England, STCC’s Latino Success Project, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Project topics included increasing access to higher education, attracting and retaining young professionals, publicizing regional history, engaging young people in leadership, and connecting local colleges and universities to the regional food bank. Each team offered expertise and energy to make a difference on community challenges from throughout the region. Each team project afforded experiential-learning opportunities and the chance to further community trusteeship while making a real impact in the region. Teams also had to collaborate with their partners to reach their own goals and meet the expectations of the nonprofit partners. Each participant participated in day-long monthly sessions from October until May, featuring seminar-style leadership-development sessions and hands-on field experiences in communities throughout the Pioneer Valley. Through the program, they refined their leadership skills, gained connections, and developed a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The culturally diverse class of 35 men and women represent nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations throughout Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. The 2014 graduates are: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gaudreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home; Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College; Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College; Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank; Richard Griffin, City of Springfield’s Economic Development Department; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY; Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield’s Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority; Nicole Skelly, United Bank; Kyle Sullivan, John M. Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

Wellness Center Becomes Accredited Diabetes-education Program

By BusinessWest Staff June 6, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center was recently named an accredited diabetes-education program by the American Assoc. of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This accomplishment represents yet another step in the implementation of the ‘pharmacist as educator’ philosophy that is central to the vision of the university’s College of Pharmacy. Diabetes education is a collaborative process through which people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions. These are provided by diabetes educators. “Trends show that diabetes education is moving out of the hospital and into the community, so AADE’s accreditation program was created, in part, to encourage diabetes education where the patient is seeking care,” said Leslie Kolb, program director for the AADE’s Diabetes Education Accreditation Program. “The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center is exactly the type of program we envisioned when we set up our accreditation program in 2009.” Kam Capoccia, associate professor and director of the Consultation and Wellness Center at 300 Cooley St. in Springfield, noted that it is one of 13 AADE-accredited programs in the Commonwealth. “This is a pharmacist-run diabetes center, and we are proud and honored to serve the community.” Added Nicole D’Amour Schneider, senior manager of Pharmacy Operations for Big Y, “the Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center has been providing our community with excellent, patient-centered care and disease-state-management education for nearly four years. Our congratulations go out to our partners at the Western New England University College of Pharmacy for achieving this impressive accomplishment.”

Physicians’ Economic Impact on State Totals $39.5 Billion

By BusinessWest Staff June 5, 2014

Daily News

WALTHAM — A study recently released by the American Medical Assoc. (AMA) shows that the economic impact of physicians to the Massachusetts economy in 2012 totaled $39.5 billion, reflecting contributions in the areas of jobs, wages and benefits, and tax revenues. The study, conducted by IMS Health for the AMA, reported on the impact of more than 23,800 Massachusetts physicians who are primarily engaged in patient care, as opposed to research or teaching. It measured four key economic barometers: total output, jobs, wages and benefits, and state and local tax revenue. “Besides our role as caregivers, healers, and patient advocates, this study clearly shows another vital aspect of physicians,” said Dr. Ronald Dunlap, president of the Mass. Medical Society. “The collective impact of our profession to the state’s economy is significant. Healthcare is the state’s leading economic engine, and physicians are providing much of the fuel to keep that engine going.” In addition to the $39.5 billion in total economic output, the research found that physicians in Massachusetts in 2012 contributed by supporting 241,129 jobs, $22.8 billion in direct and indirect wages and benefits for all supported jobs, and $1.8 billion in local and state tax revenues. The study also found that the total economic impact of physicians of $39.5 billion far exceeded the economic contributions of four other industries in the state: higher education at $23.1 billion, nursing-home and residential care at $11.9 billion, legal services at $12.1 billion, and home health at $4.3 billion. Physician impact on jobs, wages, and benefits were also greater than those industries. Nationally, the total economic impact of more than 720,400 patient-care physicians was calculated at $1.6 trillion, or 10.2% of gross domestic product. The study revealed that physicians support nearly 10 million jobs, with $775.5 billion in wages and benefits. Reports on the Massachusetts and national studies are available at www.massmed.org/economic-impact.

Linda Ellen Jones Named Provost at Western New England University

By BusinessWest Staff June 5, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Linda Ellen Jones, currently the vice president of Statutory Affairs at Alfred University in New York and a national expert in structural ceramic materials, has been appointed provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Western New England University. President Anthony Caprio announced the appointment, citing Jones’ academic accomplishments and strong record of institutional leadership. “I am delighted to welcome Dr. Jones as our new provost, and I’m looking forward to working closely with her as we continue to develop new academic programs to meet 21st-century needs.” The appointment is effective July 1. As provost, Jones will be the university’s chief academic officer and oversee the academic integrity of all colleges, schools, and institutes on campus. The provost is responsible for working with the deans and faculty to develop new programs, and oversees the academic-appointment process. “I am thrilled to be joining Western New England University as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs,” said Jones. “As we all know, higher education is at a remarkable cross-road. The work in front of us is to help our students answer the questions, who do I want to be, and how do I best prepare for a future rich in possibilities? I look forward to championing a faculty and staff who understand the potential and who are willing to embrace our collective future.” Jones currently heads the New York State College of Ceramics, which is comprised of the School of Art and Design, the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, the Scholes Library, and the Schein-Joseph Museum. The College of Ceramics is a unit of the public SUNY system, but administered and housed by the private Alfred University. A materials scientist, Jones is recognized as a national expert in high-temperature corrosion and degradation of structural ceramic materials, and serves as a professor of materials engineering. Prior to her post at Alfred University, Jones served as the director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College in Northampton. Jones received her Ph.D. and master’s degree in fuel science, materials science, and engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Mary Washington College. Jones succeeds Dr. Jerry Hirsch, who is retiring after 16 years of service as the provost of Western New England University.

Social Entrepreneurism Is Focus of ACCGS Annual Meeting

By BusinessWest Staff June 5, 2014

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — ‘Social entrepreneurism’ will be the focus of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s (ACCGS) annual meeting, presented by MGM Springfield, on June 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Springfield. The event will feature Sam Intrator, professor and chair of the Education and Child Study Program, a member of the Urban Studies Program, founding director of the Smith College Urban Educational Initiative, and the co-founder of Project Coach, an innovative, Smith-staffed, out-of-school program that serves children and teenagers in Springfield and uses sports as a means to engage, connect, and empower adolescents and youth living in the city. Teenagers are trained and employed as coaches for elementary-aged children living in their communities. The major objective of the program is youth development and helping college students learn to teach and run these types of programs. Intrator came to Smith in 1999 after more than a decade of teaching and administrative service in public schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., Vermont, and California. Intrator believes that carefully designed programs (both in and out of school) that are led by engaged and committed adults working alongside youth can provide powerful opportunities for young people to acquire and develop personal, educational, and social assets. To this end, his research and practice explores the question: under what conditions do educational programs — both in the classroom and during out-of-school programs — genuinely matter to youth? Since youth most often describe the importance of a caring, committed, and devoted adult as the essential variable in meaningful learning, Intrator also pursues questions around what can be done to recruit, prepare, and sustain high-quality teachers and out-of-school staff within education. Intrator was awarded a W. K. Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship and, while teaching high-school English, was named a Distinguished Teacher by the White Commission on Presidential Scholars. He has authored and edited six books, including Tuned in and Fired Up: How Teaching Can Inspire Real Learning in the Classroom, which was a finalist for the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in education, and Leading from Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead, which received the 2009 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medalist for Poetry. The June 27 meeting will also include the annual election of officers and directors, a recap of the ACCGS successes in the past fiscal year, and the presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year Award, presented annually to honor the memory of Richard Moriarty, a long-time participant in the ACCGS who gave of his time, talent, and personal and professional resources to the local community. Reservations for the event are $40 for members, $60 for general admission, and may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

Responsive Classroom Wins Two Independent Publisher Book Awards

By BusinessWest Staff June 4, 2014

Daily News

TURNERS FALLS — Two new books from Northeast Foundation for Children Inc. (NEFC), developer of Responsive Classroom, a research-based approach to integrating high-level academics with social-emotional learning, have been awarded gold and silver medals in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (also known as the IPPY awards). The Language of Learning: Teaching Students Core Thinking, Listening & Speaking Skills took the gold medal for first place in the Education I (Workbook/Resource) category, while Doing Science in Morning Meeting: 150 Quick Activities That Connect to Your Curriculum took silver in the same category. Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The IPPY awards program is open to all members of the independent publishing industry and to authors and publishers worldwide who produce books written in English and intended for the North American market. Roughly 2,000 publishers participate annually, and this year there were almost 6,000 individual book entries. Mary Beth Forton, Responsive Classroom’s director of Publications and Communications, and Associate Director Alice Yang accepted the medals at the awards ceremony in New York City on May 28. “All of us at Responsive Classroom are thrilled to receive not only one but two IPPY awards in a single year,” said Forton. “Recognition of the high quality of our resources benefits children by spreading the word about the Responsive Classroom approach and getting practical resources into the hands of even more educators.” Each of the award-winning titles, Forton went on, offers teachers valuable strategies for achieving key learning goals. “The Language of Learning is especially relevant today. Strong communication skills are so key to school success in the 21st century and age of the Common Core. This book shows how to weave the teaching of these skills into lessons throughout the day. And Doing Science in Morning Meeting helps teachers get students excited about science. Starting the day with lively and engaging group activities focused on science not only primes students for science learning later in the day, but fosters a lifelong sense of wonder and inquisitiveness about the world.”

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff June 3, 2014

Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
• June 4: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by Springfield College at the Richard Flynn Campus Union. Topic: “Inspiring a Creative Corporate Culture.” Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 12: ERC5 Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Blake Dining Commons, Bay Path College, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. Reservations are $20 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 26: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. The year in retrospect, and presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year award. Reservations are $40 for members, $60 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700
• June 19-22: Taste of Amherst 2014. Come enjoy four days of fun at the 2014 Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Town Common. Live entertainment will be provided by 93.9 the River, fun family events, and more than 20 local restaurants. Eat, play, dance, and celebrate all of what Amherst has to offer. Hours: Thursday, June 19, 5-9 p.m.; Friday, June 20, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, June 21, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, June 22, noon-4 p.m.
• June 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. New Member Reception. Don’t miss this annual event, hosted by all the businesses at 25-35 University Dr.: Cheryl Nina Salon, Encharter Insurance LLC, J. F. Conlon & Associates, Sawicki Real Estate, and  Ziomek & Ziomek, Attorneys at Law. The Pub will provide food and drink. Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank. Tickets: Free for new members (if you joined between June 2013 and June 2014), $10 for members, and $15 for non-members.
• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
• June 25: June Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• June 4: Member workshop, “Grow Your Business with E-mail Marketing and Social Media,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. Free for members, this workshop is designed to give small businesses and nonprofit organizations some simple ideas for growing their customer, prospect, or member network by using e-mail and social-media marketing. We will discuss what type of content to use in your campaigns; how to get more people to stop and read your messages; how to get more action, or reaction, to your messages and offers; why using images on social-media channels creates higher engagement; and why your content should be mobile-friendly. You’ll learn what it means to run effective e-mail and/or social-media marketing campaigns and what tools you can use to measure the success of your efforts without spending lots of time or money. Participants will leave with a workbook full of ideas for timing their messages, how to write a winning subject line, what kinds of offers or content they want to try, and how best to approach their next outreach project. This is a great workshop for beginners in online marketing looking to accomplish more in less time with a small budget.
• June 26: Member workshop, “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. At the heart of small-business marketing are the campaigns that drive action — collections of marketing activities that help a small business or organization achieve its goals and objectives. Newsletters and announcements have become a core component of those campaign choices. E-mail is more important than ever to the communication efforts of businesses and nonprofits everywhere, and to customers, donors, clients, and supporters of those organizations. This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small-business or nonprofit seeking to make their e-mail newsletters more effective. Attendees of this presentation will learn the different types of newsletters; what to write about in your newsletter or announcement and how to consider using images; subject-line best practices and when to send your newsletter; the importance of understanding how connected e-mail and social media are, and how they have to be done together; and what types of additional tools might be useful. Join us and learn some great new strategies to help your e-mail and social-media efforts be more effective components of one of the core campaign types, newsletters and announcements.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463
• June 6: First Friday in Greenfield, 5-8 p.m. “Gotta Bee Downtown!” — a bee celebration. Live music, discounts, refreshments, art. All are welcome for free. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464; www.franklincc.org
• June 27: Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at Terrazza Ristorante, Country Club Road, Greenfield. Elected state officials and chamber election of officers. Tickets: $13 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464 or www.franklincc.org

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• June 12: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., North Country Landscapes and Garden Center, One Main Road (Route 66), Westhampton. Sponsored by Innovative Business Systems. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• June 16: Move the Mountain Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at Holyoke Country Club, Country Club Road (off Route 5), Holyoke. Join with Greater Easthampton and Greater Holyoke chamber members as we ‘move the mountain’ to network together. Presented by the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. Door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, and cash bar. Cost: $10 for Greater Easthampton and Holyoke chamber members, $15 for non-members.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 4: Arrive@ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard. Sponsored by Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, the Creative, and viz-bang! Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register at [email protected].
• June 19: “The Art of Small Business: Pricing,” 9-10:30 a.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Special guest: Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Lesser has been a consultant and business owner for more than 30 years. His companies have grown and shrunk and grown again, and the nature of his business has changed over the years. “The Art of Small Business” contains the insights and techniques that have contributed to his success. Highlights: Apple never discounts. Clothing stores build in a series of discounts to the initial price. Consulting companies use various techniques to avoid quoting an hourly rate. Law firms typically quote an hourly rate and stick to it. How do you determine what rate you should charge for your time? Too high, and you scare clients away; too low, and your clients undervalue your work. There is an art to setting a price for your work. What is a livable rate for your work? What is the range of rates for your work in your market? How do you price a job, and how do you cover add-ons and other changes? Do you have separate rates for different types of clients? What about donating services? How do you negotiate rates with a potential client? This workshop covers the process of determining your rate and sticking to it. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 12: Nonprofit Board Fair, 5 p.m. at the Smith College Conference Center, 51 College Lane, Northampton. Learn about, connect with, and help lead local nonprofits. Nonprofits count on volunteers like you to lead them to success. The United Way of Hampshire County and NAYP have once again partnered to host the Nonprofit Board Fair, a signature event featuring nonprofits throughout the Pioneer Valley whose leadership will be on hand to talk to interested candidates about serving on their organizations’ boards of directors. There will be a variety of organizations from large to small, representing a mix of essential services, including economic security, community building, children and education, the environment, health and disabilities, elder care, the arts, and advocacy and access. This event is ideal for younger professionals seeking this type of engagement for the first time, as well as seasoned professionals with prior board experience.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• June 11: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Westfield Bank, 462 College Highway, Southwick. Sponsored by Pro Tours & Cruises of Southwick. Great connection opportunities. Complimentary refreshments provided. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members (cash at the door). To register. call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 12: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 2, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements.” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 20: June Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Sponsors: platinum, First Niagara; gold, United Bank; silver, United Way of Pioneer Valley. Speaker: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Consider donating a raffle prize. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 25: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 3, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: Free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 27: Local Legislative Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. The luncheon is for the chamber communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, and Woronoco. The state legislators for each community have been invited to speak. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: TBA. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
• June 3: PWC Woman of the Year, 5:30 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Honoring Carol Campbell, president, CEO, and founder of Chicopee Industrial Contractors. Reservations cost $55. Register online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 10: PWC Ladies Night Member Reception, 5-7 p.m., at Fathers & Sons, 989 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Enjoy complimentary wine and refreshments. Reservations are free. To register, e-mail Dawn Creighton at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880
• June 11: Wicked Wednesday, 3-6 p.m., at Six Flags New England. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• June 19: Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. Sponsored by OMG and Development Associates. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new chairman John Weiss and the incoming WRC board of directors. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].