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Court Dockets

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Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
Michael Elbery v. Frazier Auto Service Inc.
Allegation: Multiple incidents of damage to truck: $1,600
Filed: 2/8/18

Dianna Eaglen v. Cedar Auto Sales, LLC
Allegation: Breach of warranty, misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment: $10,000
Filed: 3/8/18

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT
Michael Bessey v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP and Alan Siok d/b/a Siok & Son Excavation
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $3,846
Filed: 3/9/18

Tayvion Harris by his mother and next friend, Christy Cussion, and Chrissy Cussion individually v. John Doe and R.C. Jackson Transportation Co., LLC
Allegation: Negligence; while being transported from daycare, plaintiff came out of his booster seat and fell out passenger door of moving vehicle, causing injury: $2,590.24
Filed: 3/14/18

Hop River Concrete Inc. v. CFI Design Management Inc. and 295 Burnett Road, LLC
Allegation: Money owed for services provided: $21,102.06
Filed: 3/16/18

Perkins Paper, LLC v. Gigi’s Pizzeria, LLC and Jacob A. Decesare
Allegation: Money owed for goods sold and delivered: $4,338.32
Filed: 3/16/18

Jessica Aitken v. 342 Inc., Thomas P. Murphy, and Daniel v. Dineen
Allegation: Failure to pay wages owed, failure to pay minimum wage, and unlawful withholding of tips: $25,000
Filed: 3/19/18

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Donna McAdam v. Pyramid Management Group, LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $43,517.94
Filed: 3/5/18

Christopher Richard v. G4S Secure Integration, LLC; Adesta, LLC; and John Doe as agent/manager
Allegation: Failure to pay prevailing wages, failure to pay overtime wages, fraud and misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment: $100,000
Filed: 3/6/18

Shamar Goldsberry and Patricia Goldsberry v. Northern Heights, LP
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $59,358.61
Filed: 3/8/18

Rebecca Garcia v. Neighborhood Homes, LP
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $8,803.15
Filed: 3/8/18

Donna Bourget v. Tri-State CDL Training Center Inc.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $52,418
Filed: 3/8/18

Elizabeth Pezzote-McMahon v. Stop and Shop
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $5,350.07
Filed: 3/9/18

Richard Thompson and Donna Thompson v. Sturdy Home Improvement Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract, negligent infliction of emotional distress: $125,000
Filed: 3/13/18

HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COURT
Broadcast Music Inc. v. Cutting Edge Broadcasting Inc. d/b/a WEIB-FM
Allegation: Money owed for services provided: $7,682.66
Filed: 3/9/18

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Kimberly Cobb and Brian Cobb v. Valley Stump Grinding, LLC
Allegation: Negligence, slip and fall causing injury: $592,935.83
Filed: 3/21/18

Lisa Jacobs v. Sunrise Senior Living Services Inc., Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc., Felipe Miestre, Larry Steinhauser, Sarah Laidlaw, Tiffany Gullette, and Ginger Arsenault
Allegation: Defamation: $10,000,000
Filed: 3/23/18

PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Arbella Insurance Group a/s/o Benito Rocca v. Hydro-Pro Irrigation Inc.
Allegation: Defendant caused water damage to plaintiff’s property by negligently servicing sprinkler system: $11,487.46
Filed: 3/12/18

Briefcase

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Briefcase Departments

Employer Confidence Falls Slightly in March

BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index (BCI) declined a point to 63.5 in March, retreating from a 17-year high in February. The BCI has gained 1.1 points during the past 12 months and remains comfortably within the optimistic range. But virtually every element of the March confidence survey lost ground, led by a 1.7-point drop in the U.S. Index of national business conditions. Several employers blamed the Trump administration’s decision to level tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other products for their uncertain outlook.

Pioneer Valley Receives Grant to Pursue Healthcare Access Solutions

SPRINGFIELD — The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) announced that it, in partnership with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), has been selected as one of seven regions in the country by the National Center for Mobility Management to develop and test ways to increase community members’ access to healthcare services. Through this grant, the project team will be looking at barriers that patients face when trying to access healthcare for chronic conditions or sudden, non-emergency health needs. With missed appointment rates of up to 25% at some healthcare facilities, this project seeks to improve patient health outcomes, improve cost efficiency for healthcare providers, and optimize transportation systems for non-emergency healthcare. The project team, which includes representatives from PVTA, PVPC, Baystate Medical Center, Health New England, Stavros, Greater Springfield Senior Services, and the New North Citizens Council, represents a variety of stakeholders and perspectives to address this issue. The ultimate goal of this project, slated to conclude in October 2018, is to come up with a ‘pitch’ for a solution to the problem of missed appointments. In order to develop its pitch, the project team is going to host a series of focus groups, conduct surveys, and do on-site observations with the people involved in the medical scheduling and transportation process.

Single-family Home Sales in Valley Soar in February

SPRINGFIELD — Single-family home sales rose by 27.4% in the Pioneer Valley in February compared to the same time last year, posting big gains in all three counties, while the median price rose 8.3% to $194,900, according to the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. In Franklin County, sales were up 36.4%, while the median price shot up by 45.8% from a year earlier. In Hampden County, sales were up 23.6%, while the median price was up 7.9%. In Hampshire County, sales rose by 27.7% from February 2017, while the median price was up 16.8%.

Chamber Board Votes to Endorse Pledge Against Human Trafficking

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Regional Chamber board of directors voted unanimously to publicly endorse the Western Massachusetts Businesses Against Human Trafficking Pledge and encourage members of the chamber to take the pledge. Convened by MGM Springfield, the chamber joined a coalition of businesses and organizations in 2017 to support the work already being conducted by law enforcement, community organizations, and faith-based groups across the region and to lend its assistance to help eliminate the scourge of human trafficking. Since then, the chamber has formalized its support by endorsing a pledge to increase awareness of and protect against human trafficking in its places of business, and to collaborate broadly across the community and region to address the issue. Coalition members include MGM Springfield, Peter Pan Bus Lines, the Springfield Regional Chamber, East of the River Five Town Chamber, the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (owner of Union Station), Sheraton Springfield, and Springfield/Worcester Hilton Garden Inns.

Amherst Chamber Moves to Volunteer Management

AMHERST — The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce will transition to an all-volunteer team structure for several months in order to better serve its members and leverage its robust network of volunteers. Peter Vickery, president of the chamber’s board of directors, said the change will also help the membership-based organization dedicate more resources to member-to-member services, networking, and advocacy. As part of the transition, interim Executive Director Jerry Guidera will step down from his organizational support role. The chamber will maintain a presence at the Visitor Information Center in downtown Amherst, co-located with the Amherst Business Improvement District.

$5 Million in Climate-vulnerability-preparedness Funding Available

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Daily News

REVERE – Continuing its commitment to working with communities and local partners to prevent and prepare for climate change, the Baker-Polito Administration today announced $5 million in supplemental funding for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.

The grant and designation program, which was created last year as part of Gov. Baker’s Executive Order 569, provides communities with funding, technical support, climate change data and planning tools to identify hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change.

Baker recently filed legislation that would put the MVP Program into law, as well as authorize more than $1.4 billion in capital allocations for investments in safeguarding residents, municipalities and businesses from the impacts of climate change, protecting environmental resources, and investing in communities.

To further assist communities in planning for climate change impacts, the Baker-Polito Administration has also launched a new website, resilient MA Climate Clearinghouse,which will provide communities access to the best science and data on expected climate change impacts, information on planning and actions communities can deploy to build resiliency and avoid loss, and links to important grant programs and technical assistance.

The site, which was built with data developed through a partnership between EEA, the Northeast Climate Center at UMass-Amherst and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, provides access to statewide climate change projections showing how temperature, precipitation and sea level rise will change through the end of the century, which any user can overlay with other data of interest, including information on emergency facilities, infrastructure and natural resources.

“The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program and our new Climate Clearinghouse website are a vital part of our administration’s efforts to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard residents, municipalities and businesses from the impacts of climate change,” said Gov. Baker. “These resources will ensure all Massachusetts communities have access to the best data and planning tools to make scientifically-sound and cost-effective decisions as they work to prepare for the challenges ahead.”

Through the MVP Program, municipalities work through a community-based workshop process to identify key climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities and strengths, develop adaptation actions, and prioritize next steps. Results of the workshops and planning efforts are then used to inform existing local plans, grant applications, budgets, and policies. Upon successful completion of the program, municipalities are designated as a “Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program Community,” and are eligible for follow-up grant funding and other opportunities. There are currently 74 MVP communities across the state, representing over 20% of the state’s municipalities.

“The changing climate will have significant impacts from the hills of the Berkshires to the Cape and Islands, so we encourage all communities in every corner of the state to apply for the MVP program,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “The Climate Clearinghouse website will also provide an incrediblyimportant tool to help our state and local officials understand how the climate is projected to change over the next century and what risks different part of the state will be dealing with, and allow us to better work with cities and towns, local agencies, organizations, and institutions across the state to plan and adapt for the future.”

Chamber Board Votes to Endorse Pledge Against Human Trafficking

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Regional Chamber board of directors voted unanimously to publicly endorse the Western Massachusetts Businesses Against Human Trafficking Pledge and encourage members of the chamber to take the pledge.

Convened by MGM Springfield, the chamber joined the coalition of businesses and organizations in 2017 to support the work already being conducted by law enforcement, community organizations, and faith-based groups across the region and to lend its assistance to help eliminate the scourge of human trafficking. Since then, the chamber has formalized its support by endorsing a pledge to increase awareness of and protect against human trafficking in its places of business, and to collaborate broadly across the community and region to address the issue.

“The chamber understands the critical importance of the prevention of human trafficking in the local business community, and we are committed to communicating and collaborating with our members to increase awareness and to protect against this violation of basic human rights,” said Nancy Creed, chamber president. “As an employer, we have already taken steps internally to educate our staff on this issue and engage them in this work, and I am pleased that we now have the broad support for the coalition’s efforts on behalf of our membership.”

The pledge encourages businesses and organizations to take a leadership role in the community and to take a strong, united stand against the trafficking of human beings. It also encourages collaboration, awareness raising, and sharing of best practices. It is the first coordinated effort by the business community in Massachusetts to combat human trafficking.

“By taking this pledge, we are committing our chamber and its members to participating in the efforts to eliminate this egregious violation of basic human rights affecting our most vulnerable community members,” Creed said.

Coalition members include MGM Springfield, Peter Pan Bus Lines, the Springfield Regional Chamber, East of the River Five Town Chamber, the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (owner of Union Station), Sheraton Springfield, and Springfield/Worcester Hilton Garden Inns.

Jen Falcone, a licensed clinical social worker, is coordinating the group’s efforts. In that role, she will guide the member organization’s efforts and align them with law enforcement, service providers, community and faith groups, and government entities addressing the issue of human trafficking in the region.

For more information on how member businesses can individually take the pledge, e-mail Falcone at [email protected].

Opioids: A Study in Lifelong Learning

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Opinion

Opinion

By Dr. Henry L. Dorkin

It was only a few short years ago that the opioid crisis emerged across the country, with particular ferocity here in the Commonwealth. In retrospect, we realize the signs were clearly there. Unfortunately, many of them were missed.

Looking back, the role of the physician in this was clear. While our goals were laudable in trying to assuage our patients’ pain, some wrote too many prescriptions and, in those prescriptions, authorized too many pills.

This is not to cast blame. This is to focus on the problem and appreciate just how far we have come since the epidemic was first noted. The medical community quickly recognized that we had a more important role to play moving forward — as part of the solution. The Massachusetts Medical Society led the charge.

We have improved our prescribing practices. Data from the state show a 23% reduction in opioid prescriptions since 2015 and a nearly 50% reduction in prescribing to patients who had not previously received an opioid script.

We are working to improve patient access to life-saving care, from naloxone to medication-assisted treatment. Of course, we are looking to ensure that those in need of pain management are able to get the help they require.

Now, while law enforcement tackles the larger issue of non-prescription illicit narcotics, we physicians must continue to address the numerically smaller, yet no less critical, issue of overprescribing opioids for pain, and the diversion of medications. Progress has been made; more needs to be accomplished.

We all know the value of lifelong learning as physicians. This crisis, and our response to it, shows how quickly we can learn and how much we can change. May we continue to do so until this epidemic is over.

Henry L. Dorkin, MD, FAAP is president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. This article first appeared in the MMS publication Vital Signs.

Sick-leave Law Continues to Present Challenges for Employers

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Law Sections

Taking the Pulse

By Kimberly A. Klimczuk, Esq.

Kimberly A. Klimczuk, Esq.

Kimberly A. Klimczuk, Esq.

It’s been almost three years since Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time Law went into effect (how time flies), but employment-law attorneys still frequently receive questions about the law and the administration of earned sick leave.

Like any leave law, the sick-leave law presents unique challenges to employers. Here are some of the questions encountered most often:

Does the sick leave law apply to my organization?

This is an easy one. Unless your organization is a federal or municipal employer, it must provide earned sick leave to all employees (including part-time, temporary, per diem, and seasonal employees), regardless of the size of your organization. If the employer has 11 or more employees, the sick leave must be paid at the employee’s regular hourly rate (with the exception of tipped employees, who must receive at least minimum wage).

As a reminder, the law entitles employees to earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, and employees may use the earned sick leave to attend routine medical appointments (for themselves or for a child, spouse, parent, or parent-in-law); to care for their own illness, injury, or medical condition or that of a child, spouse, parent, or parent-in law; or to address the effects of domestic violence.

Can I discipline employees for excessive absences?

It depends on what you mean by ‘excessive.’ The sick-leave law prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who use earned sick leave, so if an employee has earned sick leave available that applies to an absence, an employer cannot discipline the employee for taking the time off, nor can it consider the use of sick time as a factor in the discipline for non-sick-leave-related absences. Therefore, employers must be very careful when issuing attendance-related discipline.

Employers may discipline for absences exceeding the amount of sick leave to which the employee is entitled or for absences that occur before the employee has accrued sufficient sick leave to cover the absence. However, employers must make sure the employee’s use of sick leave is not a factor in the discipline. Although it seems obvious, this can be tricky.

Consider two employees. The first employee has one unplanned absence in a two-week period. The second employee has one unplanned absence in a two-week period and five sick-leave-related absences in that same two-week period. Which employee is a supervisor more likely to want to discipline?

While employers generally can discipline employees for unplanned absences unrelated to earned sick leave, they cannot take the use of sick leave into consideration when determining appropriate discipline. Thus, in the above example, it would be unlawful to discipline the employee who took sick leave if the employer did not also discipline the employee who had just the one unplanned absence.

Relatedly, employers should be sure to document any attendance-related discipline and make clear in that documentation that the discipline is not related to sick-leave-related absences. The best way of doing this is to note the specific dates for which the discipline is being issued. If an employer simply writes that the discipline is for “poor attendance,” and the employee had sick-leave-related absences, it will be difficult for an employer to demonstrate that the discipline for poor attendance did not take into account the absences due to sick leave. If the employer specifies the absences at issue, it can show that it considered only the non-sick-leave absences.

What if an employee is out sick but wants to save paid sick leave for later use?

We often hear of employees with accrued paid sick leave who call out sick but then ask the employer to count the absence as an unpaid day off so that the employee can save the paid sick for use later in the year. Employers should not grant these kinds of requests. First, because the sick-leave law requires employers to pay employees who are absent due to illness (assuming the employee has earned sick leave available), an employer who fails to pay an employee for a sick-leave-related absence violates the law, even if the failure to pay was at the request of the employee.

Second, if the employee saves the paid sick leave for use at a later time, the employer may lose the ability to discipline for excessive absences. The employer can discipline for excessive absences only after an employee has exhausted any available paid sick leave. If the employer allows the employee to save paid sick leave, it will take longer for the employee to exhaust the leave, and the employer will, in effect, be required to accept more absences than it otherwise would have.

The best practice for employers is to require the use of paid sick leave for all sick-leave related absences and then later decide whether it wants to allow unpaid leave once the paid leave is exhausted.

Kimberly A. Klimczuk, Esq. is an employment law attorney with Springfield-based Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.; (413) 737-4753.

Briefcase

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Briefcase Departments

Local River Advocates Join
National Trend with EPA Lawsuit
GREENFIELD — Last fall, the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) joined the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and eight other watershed groups from across Massachusetts to file suit against the EPA and Administrator Scott Pruitt in Boston’s federal district court. Their request of the court is simple: reject EPA’s one-year delay in implementing Massachusetts’ new stormwater permit because stormwater is one of the greatest threats to clean water in Massachusetts. This lawsuit is part of a growing national trend in suing the EPA in order to protect the environment. The CRC argues that Pruitt and the EPA have been hastily rolling back environmental regulations, but mistakes have been made in their haste and disregard for legal process, such as failing to hold required public comment periods or provide rationale for a repeal or delay. Now, environmental groups across the nation are going to court and using these mistakes to successfully halt environmental rollbacks. For example, the courts have prevented the suspension of rules to curb methane emissions and the delay of tougher standards on air pollutants and lead in paint. River advocates fear the updated stormwater permit could be delayed much longer than one year. “We think the EPA’s legal case is fundamentally flawed,” said Andrew Fisk, executive director of the Connecticut River Conservancy. “Pruitt and the EPA have asked for this delay while permit appeals are being decided, but then in the same breath also asked the court to delay judicial review of the appeals. It is clear that EPA is looking at every maneuver they can find to stop doing the right thing for the public’s water.” The river groups are represented by Kevin Cassidy of Earthrise Law Center and Access to Justice Fellow Irene Freidel. Of particular concern is the public-health issue of harmful bacteria flowing to rivers when it rains. About one in five water samples collected by CRC and partners in 2017 from the Connecticut River and tributaries in Massachusetts showed bacteria levels too high for recreation (swimming and/or boating). “Delaying the implementation of this updated permit puts our rivers and our water at risk, which also put our citizens and local economies that use and rely on our rivers at risk,” Fisk continued. “The EPA is charged with implementing the Clean Water Act for the benefit of the public, yet it did not weigh the public’s interest when it slammed the brakes on the MS4 Permit.” That permit regulates stormwater pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. The current MS4 permit was issued in 2003 and was set to expire on May 1, 2008. Instead, it has been administratively continued and remains in effect. A multi-year, multi-stakeholder process for updating the expired permit began in 2008. In April 2016, the EPA issued the updated MS4 permit after many rounds of public comment. The updated permit was set to go into effect on July 1, 2017 but was abruptly delayed by Pruitt and the EPA just two days before that date. The delay will cause existing stormwater projects to move forward with outdated stormwater controls, forcing costly upgrades in the future rather than the lower-cost option of adding updated controls at the time of construction, river advocates say. The delay also ignores the time and money invested by cities and towns that have already implemented new stormwater protection measures in preparation for the new permit to take effect last July. Stormwater is generated from rain and snowmelt that does not soak into the ground. Instead, it flows over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets and driveways, parking lots, and building rooftops into storm drains. During heavy rains, stormwater can flow directly into rivers. Common pollutants in stormwater runoff include antifreeze, detergents, fertilizers, gasoline, household chemicals, oil and grease, paints, pesticides, harmful bacteria, road salt, trash such as plastics and cigarette butts, ammonia, solvents, and fecal matter from pets, farm animals, and wildlife.

Creative Community Fellows
Accepting New England Applications
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — National Arts Strategies (NAS) announced that applications for the Creative Community Fellows program are now open to those living and working in the New England region. NAS is looking for artists, community organizers, administrators, and entrepreneurs who are driving positive change through arts and culture in their communities. Applications are due Sunday, April 22. Creative Community Fellows brings together a group of 25 creative change makers across New England. Fellows will jump-start the program by living and learning together in Vermont for one week in an incubator-like environment, building their skills in strategy, leadership, and design thinking. Over the course of five months, they will take monthly online courses in topic areas such as community development, finding capital and support, budgeting, and more. Together, they will share updates on their projects and meet with leaders in the field who will serve as mentors. Fellows are curious, open, collaborative, and interested in learning new skills and sharing their expertise. They are already doing this work and looking to create and even greater impact. The Barr Foundation has brought this program to New England in order to support creative leaders in the region. Thanks to its support, participation in this program is completely underwritten. “Arts and creativity can play a vital role in engaging communities to spark positive change. It’s our privilege to partner with National Arts Strategies to network and support the development of New England change agents who are artists and leaders across sectors,” said San San Wong, director of Arts & Creativity at the Barr Foundation.

Massachusetts Adds
13,700 Jobs in February
BOSTON — The state’s total unemployment rate remained at 3.5% in February, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts added 13,700 jobs in February. Over the month, the private sector added 13,100 jobs as gains occurred in education and health services; construction; trade, transportation, and utilities; professional, scientific, and business services; other services; and financial activities. The jobs level remained unchanged in leisure and hospitality. From February 2017 to February 2018, BLS estimates Massachusetts has added 39,100 jobs. The February unemployment rate was six-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 4.1% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta noted that “2017 was the first time since 2000 in which the monthly unemployment rate remained below 4% for the entire year in the Commonwealth. Our low unemployment rate, coupled with over-the-year job and labor-force gains, all point towards the continued strength of the Massachusetts economy.” The labor force increased by 10,000 from 3,659,600 in January, as 9,500 more residents were employed and 500 more residents were unemployed over the month. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased four-tenths of a percentage point from 3.9% in February 2017. The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — is up one-tenth of a percentage point at 65.4%. The labor-force participation rate over the year has decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point compared to February 2017. The largest private-sector percentage job gains over the year were in construction; leisure and hospitality; professional, scientific, and business services; and other services. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development also announced that, compared to February 2017, unemployment rates dropped in 22 labor-market areas, increased in one, and remained the same in one labor-market area. Twelve of the 15 areas for which job estimates are published added jobs from February 2017 to February 2018, with the largest percentage gains in the Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Leominster-Gardner, and Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead areas.

People on the Move

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Departments People on the Move
Erin Couture

Erin Couture

Florence Bank named Erin Couture its Community Support Award winner for 2018. The award was established by the bank in 1997 to recognize employees who are active participants in community events and donate their personal and professional time to local not-for-profit organizations. Each year, the award recipient has the opportunity to select a not-for-profit organization of his or her choice, and the bank makes a donation to that organization. At Couture’s recommendation, Florence Bank will make a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, for which Couture serves as president on its advisory board. Couture, vice president of commercial loans and a commercial lender, joined Florence Bank in November 2011. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from UMass Amherst and an MBA from Western New England University. Couture is actively involved with the Northampton Chamber of Commerce as a finance committee member and is also the committee chair at the W.E. Norris School in Southampton. Couture is an award recipient of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty. “Erin is the ideal choice for the Community Support Award,” said John Heaps Jr., president and CEO of Florence Bank. “Her positive energy, commitment to numerous local nonprofit organizations, and dedication to helping those in need within our community is exemplary.”

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Samuel Headley

Samuel Headley

Springfield College has selected Professor Samuel Headley of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in the department of Exercise Science as its inaugural recipient of the Karpovich Chair for Wellness at Springfield College. This award honors and supports Headley’s record of scholarship and innovation in exercise science. It is a competitive, three-year, honorary appointment that promotes interdisciplinary research across health-science fields through the testing of ideas and the creation of new initiatives and practices that have the potential to be brought to scale and lead to a sustainable avenue of scholarship that would be competitive for future external funding. The new chair will pursue collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship in the area of wellness. Graduates from the class of 1954 established an endowment in honor of their 50th reunion to recognize Peter Karpovich, a member of the Springfield College faculty from 1927 until 1969. He was a founder the American College of Sports Medicine and is widely considered the father of exercise physiology in the U.S., having published more than 130 journal articles in the field. A professor of exercise physiology, Headley joined Springfield College in 1992 as an assistant professor, receiving promotion to associate professor in 1997 and to professor in 2003. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a registered clinical exercise physiologist. He has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous grants and contracts, including a major award from the National Institutes of Health and, most recently, a contract with Relypsa Inc. to examine nutritional, behavioral, pharmaceutical, and counseling interventions with patients suffering from chronic kidney disease. As the first Karpovich Chair awardee, Headley will lead a nationwide team of 12 scholars and researchers to delve into the potential interactions of prebiotic supplementation and moderate aerobic exercise training on critical health concerns of chronic kidney-disease patients, ranging from inflammatory responses that predispose kidney patients to premature death due to cardiovascular disease to psychological markers of health and well-being. “Our group is excited for this opportunity to test our hypotheses because we believe our work has the potential to positively impact upon the lives of patients who have chronic kidney disease,” Headley explained. “The study that we have proposed is the result of the collaborative efforts of members of our research team.” The Karpovich chair comes with a commitment of $40,000 annually over three years to support the project.

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Ariel Rothstein Clemmer

Ariel Rothstein Clemmer

The Hampden County Bar Assoc. (HCBA) announced the hiring of attorney Ariel Rothstein Clemmer as pro bono director. In this newly created role, funded by a grant from MassMutual, Clemmer will help elevate the HCBA Legal Clinic’s operations to better serve the increasing unrepresented population in Hampden County. Clemmer will manage existing pro bono programs, develop new pro bono opportunities, increase volunteer activity, partner with local businesses and organizations on new initiatives, and ensure that pro bono activity under the auspices of the Legal Clinic meets the highest standards of excellence and professionalism. A 2010 graduate of Harvard Law School, Clemmer recently relocated from New York City to the Pioneer Valley. She started her career as a public defender at Bronx Defenders, where she represented indigent clients charged with misdemeanor and felony crimes. She then worked for the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, defending clients against security class actions and other complex financial matters, while continuing to develop her pro bono practice litigating matrimonial, civil, and criminal cases. In 2014, Clemmer was selected by the partners at Weil to participate in a pro bono externship at Legal Services of New York City (LSNYC). She excelled there, which led to her being named one of the “Top 30 Pro Bono Attorneys of 2014” by LSNYC. Immediately prior to accepting her role as pro bono director at HCBA, she worked as a matrimonial and family-law associate with a boutique Manhattan firm, Donohoe Talbert, LLP. She also served as an active member of LSNYC’s Pro Bono Associate Advisory Board. “Ariel had a distinguished career that demonstrates her commitment to public-interest initiatives,” said HCBA President Wm. Travaun Bailey. “In a nutshell, she is just the perfect person for the job, and we are excited to have her.”

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Jessica Wheeler

Jessica Wheeler

Jessica Wheeler recently joined Bulkley Richardson as a litigation associate. Wheeler’s prior experience as a senior associate at a New York firm equipped her with hands-on experience, including assistance with oral arguments, motions to dismiss and for summary judgement, class actions, SEC investigations, testimony preparation, discovery, and trial preparation. She was also part of a team that successfully represented a wrongfully convicted former inmate, leading to a $7.5 million settlement. Wheeler received a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Yale University in 2004 and a juris doctor from New York University School of Law in 2011, where she served as articles editor of the New York University Law Review. She was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow and earned scholarships, including the Dean’s Scholarship, based on academic achievement. While attending law school, Wheeler demonstrated her commitment to the legal community by taking on advocacy roles as an intern at several organizations, including the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech Privacy and Technology Project, and the Urban Justice Center’s Peter Cicchino Youth Project. Prior to law school, she was a paralegal for child-advocacy organization Children’s Rights.

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John Glenn

John Glenn

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that attorney John Glenn, senior counsel, retired on March 1 after a long and industrious legal career. “Over the years, John’s wisdom, dedication, and friendship have made a lasting impact on every one of us here at Skoler Abbott,” said attorney Timothy Murphy, a partner at the firm. “His work has been invaluable in labor relations with his common sense and problem-solving approach. I speak for our clients as well as our team when I say we deeply appreciate and will miss John and his contributions.” Over a career that spanned nearly 40 years, Glenn specialized in representing management in labor-relations matters. His practice focused on assisting clients in developing positive relationships with their workforces to decrease the likelihood of unionization. He has extensive experience working with employers during union campaigns, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and representing employers at arbitration hearings before the National Labor Relations Board and at state and federal agencies. Prior to joining Skoler, Abbott & Presser, Glenn was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Cincinnati. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Labor Law at Western New England College School of Law. For many years, he has been included in Best Lawyers in America and has been named a Super Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, which recognizes the top 5% of the lawyers in specific practice areas in the Commonwealth. Outside of his legal practice, Glenn often worked with young men recently released from prison to assist them with acquiring life and academic skills to enhance their employment opportunities. He now looks forward to spending more time playing tennis, watching college basketball, and continuing to take challenging biking and hiking trips throughout the country and around the world.

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Nicole Bambury

Nicole Bambury

Tru by Hilton Chicopee Springfield named Nicole Bambury general manager. She will be in charge of directing all aspects of hotel operations, including guest services and satisfaction, hotel administration, and overseeing marketing efforts. Bambury has 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry and was most recently general manager at Days Inn Chicopee, where she oversaw all responsibilities of a 100-room hotel and 30 employees. Her work experience also includes management positions at Hampton Inn by Hilton Chicopee as well as guest service at Hampton Inn by Hilton Bangor in Maine. Tru by Hilton Chicopee Springfield is expected to open this spring. The hotel is owned by Chicopee Hospitality, LLC and managed by BK Investments.

Berkshire Bank announced that Scott Pasquale has returned to Berkshire Bank as first vice president, senior commercial relationship manager. In his new position, Pasquale will be responsible for originating and managing commercial and industrial loans and building client deposit relationships in the Pioneer Valley and Western Mass. region, continuing Berkshire’s momentum. Pasquale brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role, including his previous work with Berkshire in 2013 as part of its commercial-lending team. Most recently, he held the role of first vice president, Commercial Loans at Country Bank, where he held a leadership role managing the Worcester commercial-lending team and portfolio totaling over $250 million, while creating and executing its small-business underwriting policy. “We’re excited to have Scott rejoin the commercial team in the Pioneer Valley. He brings a wealth of lending experience to a very talented group as we continue our momentum and expand our business,” said Jim Hickson, senior vice president, commercial regional president. “Scott will draw upon his industry experience developing and servicing middle-market commercial-lending opportunities and expanding relationships with private banking, wealth management, and insurance products.” Pasquale earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of Wooster. Active in the community, he serves as a board member of the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc., a board member of Springfield Technical Community College Foundation, and co-chair of the annual goods-and-services auction for the Western Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

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Maria Teal

Maria Teal

Tony Volpe

Tony Volpe

HUB International New England, LLC, a division of HUB International Limited, recently announced that Maria Teal has joined the agency as an account manager for Personal Lines in the South Hadley office, and Tony Volpe has also come on board as an account executive in the Commercial Lines department. Teal holds her certified insurance service representatives (CISR) and vertified professional in personal lines (CPPL) designations and has been in the insurance industry for 18 years. She will specialize in personal coverages including home, auto, renters, and umbrella insurance. Volpe has more than 17 years of experience and has been recognized as an award-winning account executive. He is an eight-time Presidential Club winner “for distinguished performance in achieving overall production and profitability goals.” He has succeeded in meeting and exceeding company goals and sales profitability, and previously worked at Zurich Insurance, Allstate Insurance, Connecticut Casualty Company, and Insure.net. Volpe holds his property, casualty, life, and accident/health licenses in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. At HUB, he will specialize in all types of auto-dealership and garage insurance liability products and more, and will focus in the Connecticut area.

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The Insurance Center of New England (ICNE) announced the continued expansion of its Group Benefits team with the addition of Valerie Francis, a 15-year insurance-industry veteran and group-benefits specialist. As account executive at ICNE, Francis will have multiple responsibilities, including helping business clients strategize employee-benefits programs at annual renewal time and throughout the year. “One of my most important roles will be supporting business owners and human-resource managers as they try to manage the costs of their benefits solutions, whether it be for their health, vision, dental, voluntary benefits, group life, or any other benefits solutions,” she said. Additionally, she will be responsible for helping ICNE bring in new business clients, particularly those who are looking for an insurance partner that takes a customized and strategic team approach to benefits planning and renewal negotiations with carriers. In 2003, Francis began her career in insurance at Aetna in Springfield, where she served as a customer-service representative (CSR) trainer in the benefits group and focused on educating her CSRs on how to explain benefits to employees. After seven years as a trainer, she transitioned to the group benefits team at Health New England in Springfield, where she was promoted to a supervisory role and eventually moved into the sales department. By the time she left Health New England to start her career at ICNE, she was supporting more than 600 accounts and employers of all sizes and from a wide variety of industries. “Through my other insurance jobs, I had had the pleasure of working with members of ICNE’s group benefits team, and I was always highly impressed with how they responded to requests and how they demonstrated true care and concern for every single person they came in contact with. I could not be more thrilled about having the opportunity to now work with these talented professionals to help our clients with all of their group-benefits needs.”

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Christine Roukey joined the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley as Marketing and Communications director. She is responsible for member and public communications, including the digital and print brand. Roukey joins the association from the Massachusetts Mutual Financial Group, where she was a sales support consultant for nine years, working closely with the assistant vice president of Recognition & Conferences. She was responsible for the communication and promotion of company annual sales campaigns, including creative, communications, electronic, and printed materials, and distribution of awards and rewards. Previously, she served as director of Communications and Marketing for the Satellite Agency Network Group. Roukey holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and business administration from Granite State College and an associate degree in mass communications from the University of Hartford. She earned the professional certified marketer (PCM) digital marketing designation from the American Marketing Assoc.

Agenda

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Agenda Departments

Women’s Leadership Conference

April 6: Lena Waithe, the actor, producer, and writer who, in 2017, became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy Award for comedy writing, will be interviewed during Bay Path University’s 23rd annual Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC). The one-day event has become the region’s prime women’s leadership event for professional networking and enrichment. Waithe first made headlines in front of the camera as Denise in the critically acclaimed Netflix series Master of None. She co-wrote the “Thanksgiving” episode, for which she won the Emmy for Best Writing in a Comedy Series. As a writer, she is the creator and executive producer of The Chi, a coming-of-age story that follows six interrelated characters in Chicago’s South Side. As a producer, her credits include the upcoming film Step Sisters. She was also a producer on the Sundance darling Dear White People and Tiffany Johnson’s short film Ladylike, which can be found on YouTube. Delivering the WLC’s morning keynote address will be noted social psychologist Amy Cuddy, who teaches at Harvard Business School and is a New York Times bestselling author. Focusing on the power of nonverbal behavior, prejudice, and stereotyping and how people can affect their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, Cuddy teaches thousands of people how to become more present, influential, and satisfied in their professional and personal lives. Keynote speakers will share their perspectives on this year’s conference theme, “Be Curious,” motivating and inspiring attendees to engage curiosity in their daily lives. Nancy Shendell-Falik, Lisa Tanzer, and Kirk Arnold, regional leaders in the fields of healthcare, retail, and technology, will discuss the obstacles they’ve overcome during a lunchtime panel with a moderator and an opportunity for audience questions. Additionally, breakout sessions will be led by Stephen Brand, executive director of Global Learning & Development, Strategic Alliances at Bay Path; Cy Wakeman, president and founder of Reality-Based Leadership; Dr. Tasha Eurich, organizational psychologist, blogger, and New York Times bestselling author; and Linda Galindo, renowned speaker, author, and educator on organizational and individual accountability. Bay Path University’s Women’s Leadership Conference has garnered more than 22,000 attendees and featured more than 150 prominent speakers throughout its history. For further information on the conference and to register, visit www.baypathconference.com.

Alzheimer’s Benefit Gala

April 7: The Pioneer Valley Friends of Alzheimer’s Assoc. will hold its fourth annual Alzheimer’s Benefit Gala at the Log Cabin in Holyoke starting at 5:30 p.m. The festivities will include live entertainment, food, and raffles. Entertainment will include the Blend, Richie Mitnick and Friends, and Now’s the Time Jazz Sextet. Ashley Kohl will serve as the evening’s host. The event will feature the sale of artwork created by residents of assisted-living and skilled-nursing communities located throughout Western Mass. This part of the program — “Painting the Face on Alzheimer’s” — will include art that was created using the ‘memories method,’ which focuses on the process of creating by encouraging self-expression through art among those facing dementia. This year, Seymour Frankel will receive the Distinguished Fundraiser Award for his fundraising efforts for the last 23 years in support of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. For many years, he has been the largest donor to support the walk. The evening’s proceeds will fund various educational programs for the local Alzheimer’s Assoc. chapter, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and referral services for families who have loved ones with the disease. Tickets are $50 per person or $475 for a table of 10. For online ticket orders, visit www. eventbrite.com. Tickets may also be purchased by contacting Claudette Smart at (413) 636-5462 or [email protected]. Make checks payable to PVFAA (Pioneer Valley Friends of Alzheimer’s Assoc.) at P.O. Box 164, Agawam, MA 01001.

Valley Community Development Celebrates 30 Years

April 12: In honor of its 30-year anniversary, Valley Community Development will hold a celebration at Hadley Farms Meeting House, and Executive Director Joanne Campbell announced that the organization’s $400,000 anniversary fundraising goal has been met, including $32,000 raised from first-time donors to the nonprofit. Campbell said the celebration is one new way to educate community members about the nonprofit’s mission to empower people with low and moderate incomes to manage and improve the quality of their lives through the development of affordable housing, economic opportunity, and small-business development. The event is open to the public and will kick off with a cocktail reception from 6 to 7 p.m. Dinner and the keynote speaker, Charles Blow, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, will follow from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets cost $125 and are available online by visiting valleycdc.com. Blow writes about politics, public opinion, and social justice. He is a CNN commentator and was a Presidential Visiting Professor at Yale University last year. He is also the author of the best-selling memoir Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which tells his story of growing up in the Deep South with a fiercely driven mother and four brothers, and his escape after a trauma. At the celebratory event, Blow will speak on the general theme of social justice. “It will be very timely and appropriate for the work we’re doing right now,” said Campbell. “Valley Community Development is involved in navigating the crisis in housing and serving people with very low incomes. We collaborate with regional and local organizations to work on these local issues.”

‘Protecting Your Assets’

April 18: Springfield Partners for Community Action Inc. will host “Protecting Your Assets Part III” starting at 6 p.m. at Springfield Central Library, 220 State St. The event is in recognition of National Financial Literacy Month and is free and open to the public. Call (413) 263-6500 to reserve a seat. This year’s panelists include Julius Lewis of the Metrocom Group and the Lewis and Marrow Financial Hour, which airs Wednesdays on STCC radio; and attorney Sara Miller, who specializes in elder law and estate planning. New this year is attorney Martin O’Connor, an authority on tax issues and who helps low-income, non-English-speaking taxpayers understand their rights and responsibilities as taxpayers. “I am sure there will be something for everyone, along with great information sharing,” said Paul Bailey, executive director at Springfield Partners.

Caritas Gala

April 21: Plans are underway for Mercy Medical Center’s second annual Caritas Gala at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The gala, with its Motown-inspired theme “Reach Out,” will raise funds to support Mercy Behavioral Health Care and the Mercy Emergency Department’s Opioid Community Outreach for education, intervention, and treatment. Dr. Mohamed and Kimberly Hamdani, along with Paul and Anna Mancinone, are honorary chairpersons for the Caritas Gala. Longtime supporters of Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Hamdani has served as chairman of Surgery, chairman of Credentials, and president of the medical staff at Mercy, and Paul Mancinone serves on the board for Trinity Health Of New England. The Caritas Gala will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception, live entertainment from the band Motor City Magic, and a silent auction. Dinner will be served at 8 p.m., following by a live auction and dancing until midnight with music from the band Radiance. Preregistration is required by Friday, March 23. For more information or to purchase tickets to the Caritas Gala, visit www.mercycares.com/caritas-gala.

Mayors’ Economic Forum

April 26: “Mayors Meet Millennials” is the title of the 2018 New England Knowledge Corridor Mayors’ Economic Forum at Goodwin College in East Hartford, Conn. The program begins with coffee and conversation from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., followed by the conference program from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Participating mayors include Domenic Sarno (Springfield), Richard Kos (Chicopee), Marcia Leclerc (East Hartford), Erin Stewart (New Britain), and Luke Bronin (Hartford). Registration options and more information will be available soon.

Excel Skill Training

May 14-18: Tech Foundry will offer a four-day Excel skill training the week of May 14-18 (every day but May 16) from 9 a.m. to noon at 1391 Main St., ninth floor, Springfield. Because its first Excel class offered to area companies and their employees was such a success, Tech Foundry is eager to meet the Excel needs of more area employers and their employees. Hundreds of workers in the Pioneer Valley alone use Excel on a daily basis, yet only a small fraction have the training and skill needed to maximize job success and productivity. The class will cover advanced formulas; tables and formatting; conditional formatting; advanced charting; pivot tables and pivot reporting; VBA and macros; using Excel productively; data tables, simulations, and Solver; Excel integration; and optimizing Excel. The cost per student is $750. To register, e-mail [email protected]. Employers with fewer than 100 employees are eligible for a 50% tuition reimbursement from Commonwealth Corp.

40 Under Forty Gala

June 21: BusinessWest’s 12th annual 40 Under Forty Gala is a celebration of 40 young business and civic leaders in Western Mass. The lavish cocktail party, to be held starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, will feature butlered hors d’oeuvres, food stations, and entertainment — and, of course, the presentation of the class of 2018, which will be unveiled in the April 30 issue of BusinessWest. Also, the fourth Continued Excellence Award honoree will be announced. The 40 Under Forty sponsors include PeoplesBank (presenting sponsor), Northwestern Mutual (presenting sponsor), Isenberg School of Management, Health New England, the MP Group, Mercedes-Benz of Springfield, Renew.Calm, and partner YPS of Greater Springfield. Tickets will go on sale soon at $75 per person (tables of 10 available), and the event always sells out quickly. For more information, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or e-mail [email protected].

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

Joanne Gahrmann v. Magic Wings Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury

Filed: 1/29/18

Margaret Q. Babbitt v. the J.N. Phillips Co., LLC d/b/a JN Phillips Auto Glass, et al

Allegation: Negligence; plaintiff was exposed to and inhaled glass dust and fragments left in car after windshield replacement, causing injury: $2,781.22

Filed: 2/15/18

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT

Miguel Lopez v. Seniority Social Adult Day Care Inc. and Susan A. Shapiro

Allegation: Negligent maintenance of property; slip and fall causing injury: $5,523

Filed: 2/12/18

Breckwood Realty, LLC v. One Rate Wireless, LLC, DIGICOMMA Inc., and DIGICOMCT Inc.

Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $11,123.81

Filed: 3/2/18

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Pride Convenience Inc. v. Fletcher Donuts, LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract: $25,000+

Filed: 2/20/18

Julianne Dandy v. The Skin & Body Boudoir, LLC

Allegation: Negligence causing injury; breach of implied and express warranties: $154,489.80

Filed: 2/21/18

John P. Rydzak Sr. v. B.E. Donuts d/b/a Dunkin’ Donuts

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $60,520

Filed: 2/22/18

Ronald Jackson v. Way Finders Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $11,500

Filed: 2/23/18

Elena Ocasio v. Marino Realty Corp. and E and J’s Landscaping Service, LLC

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $100,000

Filed: 2/26/18

Lisandra Virella, personal representative of the estate of Emmanuel Virella v. Kimberly Rutherford, M.D. and Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeons of Western New England, LLC

Allegation: Medical malpractice: $25,000+

Filed: 2/26/18

Matthew Brennan v. Pioneer Valley Condominium Assoc.

Allegation: Negligence, breach of implied warranty of habitability; slip and fall causing injury: $51,920.11

Filed: 2/27/18

Donna Bourget v. Tri State CDL Training

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $34,325.18

Filed: 3/6/18

HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COURT

Interland Real Estate, LLC v. Urban Power USA Inc. and Mark Maynard

Allegation: Unpaid rent, use, and occupancy; damages to property: $22,471.04

Filed: 2/21/18

Charles Hopkins v. Jones Group Realtors; Gerald Jones, broker; and Micki Anderson, agent

Allegation: Breach of fiduciary duty of confidentiality; defendents negligently maintained personal and confidential information, allowing unknown others to defraud plaintiff: $15,000

Filed: 3/2/18

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Brenda Liimatainen v. Nancy A. Balin, M.D.

Allegation: Medical malpractice: $75,000

Filed: 2/22/18

Denise Wickland v. Kristen Kelly, M.D.

Allegation: Medical malpractice: $30,000

Filed: 2/27/18

MGM Springfield Adds More Than 1,000 Jobs to Employment Website

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Springfield announced it has added 75 new postings representing more than 1,000 jobs to the resort’s website. There are about 2,400 open positions for hire today at MGM Springfield. This is the largest employment posting by the new resort, and one of the single largest hiring efforts in Springfield history. MGM Springfield will employ 3,000 employees when the $960 million luxury resort opens later this year in downtown Springfield.

The expanded list includes job descriptions for new career opportunities not previously posted by the resort. Most of the new opportunities are in the food and beverage area, including cooks and servers. The entire list now includes a diverse array of jobs, including locksmiths, electronics technicians, carpenters, and painters. Many postings represent positions not traditionally associated with the casino industry, ranging from human resources and retail management to conference services. A full list of jobs and detailed descriptions is available at www.mgmspringfield.com/careers.

“Opportunities at an MGM resort are endless,” MGM Springfield President and COO Michael Mathis said. “We know Western Massachusetts has been waiting patiently for the chance to pursue these careers. The time is now. We look forward to meeting many passionate, enthusiastic people interested in bringing MGM Springfield to life.”

Since it announced its desire to develop in Springfield in 2012, MGM has partnered with more than 25 local community organizations to offer workforce training and educational opportunities to prepare the workforce. These efforts included sponsoring the Holyoke Community College Culinary Arts Center, training table-games dealers at the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute, developing a hospitality pre-apprenticeship program with Cambridge College, and holding information sessions and career readiness workshops throughout the region.

While all MGM Springfield employees will undergo some level of background check, recent regulation updates allow greater eligibility for applicants interested in many of these newly posted positions.

Massachusetts Gaming Law requires that employees working in certain casino job categories be registered or licensed by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) before they can begin work. Once hired, employees who must register will be directed to MGM Springfield’s Career Center, where MGC staff will be available to assist with the employee-licensing process.

In February, the MGC updated regulations to eliminate the registration requirement for certain service positions. This update removed the automatic hiring disqualification for past indiscretions, thus allowing more individuals opportunity to apply for careers such as front-desk representative, cook, kitchen steward, sous chef, and banquet manager.

The resort will invest, directly and indirectly, approximately $100 million in annual payroll and offer a comprehensive package of pay and benefits with average salaries of more than $40,000. The majority of jobs will be full-time positions with benefits. MGM Springfield established a goal to hire 35% of its workforce from the city of Springfield and 90% from a combination of Springfield and the region.

For additional information about the available career opportunities at MGM Springfield, go online or visit MGM Springfield’s Career Center located at 1259 East Columbus Ave., third floor. The Career Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 1 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During those hours, an MGM representative may be reached at (413) 273-5052.

Fierst, Kane & Bloomberg Announces Changes to Team

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Nicholas Grimaldi has become a partner at Fierst, Kane & Bloomberg, LLP, while Peter Lane has been named of counsel in the law firm.

Grimaldi joined the firm in 2014 and has more than 18 years of experience as a lawyer. His practice will continue to focus on representing individuals, businesses, and financial institutions in corporate transactions, real estate and secured lending, entertainment and interactive media law, creditor’s rights, and commercial matters. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the Boston University School of Law.

Lane has 10 years of experience representing individuals and businesses in civil and criminal litigation, including commercial litigation, landlord-tenant law, criminal defense, and civil rights. He is a graduate of Fordham University and Brooklyn Law School.

HCBA Welcomes Ariel Rothstein Clemmer as Pro Bono Director

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Hampden County Bar Assoc. (HCBA) announced the hiring of attorney Ariel Rothstein Clemmer as pro bono director.

In this newly created role, funded by a grant from MassMutual, Clemmer will help elevate the HCBA Legal Clinic’s operations to better serve the increasing unrepresented population in Hampden County. Clemmer will manage existing pro bono programs, develop new pro bono opportunities, increase volunteer activity, partner with local businesses and organizations on new initiatives, and ensure that pro bono activity under the auspices of the Legal Clinic meets the highest standards of excellence and professionalism.

A 2010 graduate of Harvard Law School, Clemmer recently relocated from New York City to the Pioneer Valley. She started her career as a public defender at Bronx Defenders, where she represented indigent clients charged with misdemeanor and felony crimes. She then worked for the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, defending clients against security class actions and other complex financial matters, while continuing to develop her pro bono practice litigating matrimonial, civil, and criminal cases.

In 2014, Clemmer was selected by the partners at Weil to participate in a pro bono externship at Legal Services of New York City (LSNYC). She excelled there, which led to her being named one of the “Top 30 Pro Bono Attorneys of 2014” by LSNYC. Immediately prior to accepting her role as pro bono director at HCBA, she worked as a matrimonial and family-law associate with a boutique Manhattan firm, Donohoe Talbert, LLP. She also served as an active member of LSNYC’s Pro Bono Associate Advisory Board.

“Ariel had a distinguished career that demonstrates her commitment to public-interest initiatives,” said HCBA President Wm. Travaun Bailey. “In a nutshell, she is just the perfect person for the job, and we are excited to have her.”

Attorney John Glenn, Partner at Skoler, Abbott & Presser, Retires

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that attorney John Glenn, senior counsel, retired on March 1 after a long and industrious legal career.

“Over the years, John’s wisdom, dedication, and friendship have made a lasting impact on every one of us here at Skoler Abbott,” said attorney Timothy Murphy, a partner at the firm. “His work has been invaluable in labor relations with his common sense and problem-solving approach. I speak for our clients as well as our team when I say we deeply appreciate and will miss John and his contributions.”

Over a career that spanned nearly 40 years, Glenn specialized in representing management in labor-relations matters. His practice focused on assisting clients in developing positive relationships with their workforces to decrease the likelihood of unionization. He has extensive experience working with employers during union campaigns, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and representing employers at arbitration hearings before the National Labor Relations Board and at state and federal agencies.

Prior to joining Skoler, Abbott & Presser, Glenn was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Cincinnati. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Labor Law at Western New England College School of Law. For many years, he has been included in Best Lawyers in America and has been named a Super Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, which recognizes the top 5% of the lawyers in specific practice areas in the Commonwealth.

Outside of his legal practice, Glenn often worked with young men recently released from prison to assist them with acquiring life and academic skills to enhance their employment opportunities. He now looks forward to spending more time playing tennis, watching college basketball, and continuing to take challenging biking and hiking trips throughout the country and around the world.

Bulkley Richardson Welcomes Jessica Wheeler to Litigation Group

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Jessica Wheeler recently joined Bulkley Richardson as a litigation associate.

Wheeler’s prior experience as a senior associate at a New York firm equipped her with hands-on experience, including assistance with oral arguments, motions to dismiss and for summary judgement, class actions, SEC investigations, testimony preparation, discovery, and trial preparation. She was also part of a team that successfully represented a wrongfully convicted former inmate, leading to a $7.5 million settlement.

Wheeler received a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Yale University in 2004 and a juris doctor from New York University School of Law in 2011, where she served as articles editor of the New York University Law Review. She was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow and earned scholarships, including the Dean’s Scholarship, based on academic achievement.

While attending law school, Wheeler demonstrated her commitment to the legal community by taking on advocacy roles as an intern at several organizations, including the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech Privacy and Technology Project, and the Urban Justice Center’s Peter Cicchino Youth Project. Prior to law school, she was a paralegal for child-advocacy organization Children’s Rights.

Briefcase

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Briefcase Departments

Employer Confidence
Strengthens in February

BOSTON — Massachusetts employer confidence strengthened during February as optimism about long-term economic growth outweighed a volatile month in the financial markets. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index rose 0.4 points to 64.5, setting another 17-year high. The Index has gained 2.4 points during the past 12 months as confidence levels have remained comfortably within the optimistic range. Enthusiasm about the U.S. and Massachusetts economies, along with a bullish outlook on the part of manufacturers, fueled the February increase. At the same time, hiring remained a red flag as the BCI Employment Index fell 4 points between February 2017 and February 2018. Almost 90% of employers who responded to the February confidence survey indicated that the inability to find skilled employees is either a modest, large, or huge problem. “Fourteen percent of respondents said finding employees represents a huge problem that is hampering their company’s growth. One-third of employers see employee recruitment as a big problem, while 29% see it as a modest issue,” said Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design. “For the short-term, however, the state and national economies remain strong, and the recent announcement by Amazon of a major expansion in Boston indicates that the trend should continue.” The survey was taken before President Donald Trump roiled the financial markets by pledging to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The AIM Index, based on a survey of Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative. The Index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997-98, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009. It has remained above 50 since October 2013. The constituent indicators that make up the overall Business Confidence Index were mixed during February. The most significant gains came in the Manufacturing Index, which surged 3.9 points to 66.2, and the U.S. Index, which rose 2.1 points for the month to 66.9 and 8.0 points for the year. The Massachusetts Index fell 0.4 points to 68.5, but was up 5.3 points for the year and still higher than the national outlook for the 96th consecutive month. The Current Index, which assesses overall business conditions at the time of the survey, rose 2.4 points to 64.1. The Future Index, measuring expectations for six months out, declined 1.6 points to 65. The Current Index has risen 4.2 points and the Future Index 0.6 points during the past 12 months. The Company Index, reflecting employer views of their own operations and prospects, was essentially flat, gaining 0.1 points to 62.4. The Employment Index also rose 0.1 points, to 56.4, versus 60.4 in February 2017. Manufacturing companies (66.2) were more optimistic than non-manufacturers (61.9). Large employers (69.8) were more bullish than medium-sized (62.0) or small businesses (62.7).

Single-family Home Sales
in Pioneer Valley Up in January

SPRINGFIELD — Single-family home sales rose by 17.2% in the Pioneer Valley in January compared to the same time last year, while the median price rose 1.0% to $197,000, according to the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. In Franklin County, sales were up 27.0%, while the median price fell 2.1% from a year earlier. In Hampden County, sales were up 26.2%, while the median price was up 8.8%. In Hampshire County, sales fell by 5.6% from January 2017, while the median price was up 1.2%.

Advertising Club Seeks
Nominations for Pynchon Award

SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts is seeking nominations from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties for the Pynchon Award, which recognizes citizens of the region who have rendered distinguished service to the community. The Order of William Pynchon was established by the Advertising Club in 1915 to recognize and encourage individuals whose lives and achievements typified the ideals of promoting citizenship and the building of a better community in Western Mass. Past recipients include war heroes, social activists, teachers, volunteers, philanthropists, historians, clergy, physicians, journalists, public servants, and business leaders — a diverse group, each with a passion for the region and a selfless streak. A complete list of recipients since 1915 can be found at www.adclubwm.org/events/pynchonaward. To nominate an individual, submit a one-page letter explaining why the nominee should be considered. Include 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 the current and five past presidents of the Advertising Club. Nominations must be submitted by Friday, March 30 to: William Pynchon Trustees, Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts, P.O. Box 1022, West Springfield, MA 01090 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Pynchon medalists are chosen by unanimous decision of the Pynchon Trustees. 2018 recipients will be announced in June 2018, with an awards ceremony scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

Unemployment Rate Holds
at 3.5% in Massachusetts

BOSTON — The state’s total unemployment rate remained at 3.5% in January, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts lost 6,100 jobs in January. Over the month, the private sector lost 4,200 jobs; although gains occurred in professional, scientific, and business services; information; and other services. From January 2017 to January 2018, BLS estimates Massachusetts has added 29,000 jobs. The January unemployment rate was six-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 4.1% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Massachusetts continues to experience a low unemployment rate and labor force expansions,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta said. “While the overall health of our economy remains strong, and 2017 marked the eighth consecutive year of job growth, persistent skills gaps remain. That is why our workforce-development partners remain committed to ensuring that those who are still unemployed or underemployed have access to the training resources they need to access high-demand jobs.” The labor force increased by 2,200 from 3,657,300 in December, as 3,900 more residents were employed and 1,700 fewer residents were unemployed over the month. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased four-tenths of a percentage point from 3.9% in January 2017. The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — remained at 65.3%. The labor force participation rate over the year has decreased by 0.2% compared to January 2017. The largest private-sector percentage job gains over the year were in construction; leisure and hospitality; professional, scientific, and business services; and other services.

Hampden County Bar Assoc.
Offers Two Law-school Scholarships

SPRINGFIELD — The Hampden County Bar Assoc. is now accepting applications for the John F. Moriarty Scholarship and the Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship. The John F. Moriarty Scholarship is available to any Hampden County resident who has been admitted to or is attending a certified law school for the 2018-19 academic year. Applicants must have been residents of Hampden County for at least five years. The application deadline is May 25. The Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship is available to any veteran with an honorable discharge or a current member of the U.S. military who has been admitted to or is attending a certified law school in New England for the 2018-19 year. The application deadline is May 15, 2018. Both scholarships are based on merit and financial need. Both applications and additional information are available by contacting the Caitlin Glenn at the Hampden County Bar Assoc. at (413) 732-4660 or [email protected], or by visiting www.hcbar.org/news/scholarships.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

1BERKSHIRE
www.1berkshire.com
(413) 499-1600

• March 21: Chamber Nite, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Lee Bank, 75 North St., Pittsfield. Bring your business card to enter to win our door prize. Register online at www.1berkshire.com.

• March 28: Career Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., hosted by Berkshire Community College, Paterson Field House, 1350 West St., Pittsfield. Get in front of Berkshire-based businesses at this annual event. Connect with employers looking to hire. You may also choose to exhibit, and recruit new employees, grow your business, and get in front of hundreds of job seekers. The event is free and open to the public. If you are interested in exhibiting or attending, visit www.1berkshire.com.

• April 18: Good News Business Salute, 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Berkshire Hills Country Club, 500 Benedict Road, Pittsfield. Join us for our morning breakfast, where we will honor members and announce the winner of this year’s Esther Quinn Award. Cost: $35-$45. Register online at www.1berkshire.com.

• April 26: Creative Resources Conference, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by Stationery Factory, 63 Flansburg Ave., Dalton. The format has three tracts, with a total of nine workshops for creatives, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. More information to come. Register online at www.1berkshire.com.

AMHERST AREA
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• April 26: Margarita Madness, 5:30-7:30 p.m., hosted by Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. Come taste margaritas and vote for your favorite. There will also be delicious dishes from participating restaurants and dozens of great raffle prizes. Cost: $30 pre-registered, $40 at the door. Register online at www.amherstarea.com.

FRANKLIN COUNTY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• April 20: Monthly Breakfast Series, 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Greenfield High School, 21 Barr Ave., Greenfield. Full breakfast will be served during the program, which will feature an Entrepreneur of the Year panel. Sponsored by Franklin County Community Development Corp. and the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board. Cost: $13 for members; $16 for non-members. Register at franklincc.org or by e-mailing [email protected].

• April 26: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main St., Greenfield. Networking event with special guest Sue Dahling Sullivan from Massachusetts ArtWeek. Come kick off the debut of ArtWeek in Western Mass. Refreshments and cash bar will be available. Cost: $10. Register at franklincc.org or by e-mailing [email protected].

GREATER CHICOPEE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• March 21: St. Patrick’s Day Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., hosted by the Delaney House, 1 Country Club Road, Holyoke. Chief greeter: John Beaulieu, city of Chicopee and St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. Keynote speaker: Sean Cahillane, Irish Cultural Center. Sarah the Fiddler will perform. Sponsored by United Personnel, Westfield Bank, Holyoke Medical Center, Polish National Credit Union, Gaudreau Group, Sunshine Village, Spherion Staffing Services, and PeoplesBank. Cost: $23 for members, $28 for non-members. Sign up online at chicopeechamber.org/events.

• April 3: Chamber Seminar: “Pay Equity,” presented by Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, 9-11 a.m, hosted by La Quinta Inn & Suites. Sponsored by Westfield Bank. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members. Sign up online at chicopeechamber.org/events.

• April 11: Multi-chamber Table Top Expo: “A Taste of Commerce,” 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by Bartley Center at Holyoke Community College. Table fee of $150 includes table, two entrance passes, a light supper, and parking. Admission: free with pre-registration only, $15 at the door. Sign up at chicopeechamber.org/events.

• April 19: Business After Hours: A Salute to the ’70s Disco Party, 4:30-6:30 p.m., hosted by Ohana School of Performing Arts. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Sign up online at chicopeechamber.org/events.

• April 24: B2B Speed Networking, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Chicopee Boys and Girls Club. For more information, visit chicopeechamber.org/events.

• April 25: Salute Breakfast at the Moose Family Center: “Easy, Cost-neutral Sustainability for Businesses,” 7:15-9 a.m. Chief Greeter: Phil Norman, CISA. Keynote: Center for EcoTechnology. Sponsored by United Personnel, Westfield Bank, Holyoke Medical Center, Polish National Credit Union, Gaudreau Group, Sunshine Village, Spherion Staffing Services, and PeoplesBank. Cost: $23 for members, $28 for non-members. Sign up online at chicopeechamber.org/events.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• March 27: “Strength-based Leadership” featuring Colleen DelVecchio, certified Clifton Strengths Coach. The second of a two-part series (see Feb. 27 listing above). For more information, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org or call the chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

• April 4: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Suite3 in the Mill 180 Building, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Suite3. Take your connection building to the next level when we partner with the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce on this Networking by Night event. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for future members. For more information, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org or call the chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

• April 11: Multi-chamber Table Top Expo: “A Taste of Commerce,” 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by Bartley Center at Holyoke Community College. Friends and colleagues can come together for new networking opportunities and new features such as Made in Mass., Minute Clinic, and Food for Thought. Admission: free with online registration, $15 at the door. Table space is still available. For more information, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org or call the chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

GREATER HOLYOKE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holyokechamber.com
(413) 534-3376

• March 21: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Slainte Restaurant, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. Sponsored by Expert Staffing. Meet up with your business associates for networking and food. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 if you would like to bring a door prize or if you’re interested in a marketing table for $25.

• April 4: Women in Leadership Series, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., hosted by HCC Culinary Arts Institute, 164 Race St., Holyoke. Join us April through July to learn from area CEOs while networking with your peers from the region. An elegant lunch prepared by students from the Holyoke Community College Culinary Arts program will provide the setting, which will create the opportunity for a meaningful dialogue on some key leadership issues for those building their careers. Each month your table will join one of the region’s leading CEOs.

• April 11: Multi-chamber Table Top Expo: “A Taste of Commerce,” 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by Bartley Center at Holyoke Community College. Presented by the Greater Holyoke, Greater Chicopee, Greater Easthampton, Greater Northampton, South Hadley/Granby, and Quaboag Hills chambers of commerce. Vendor tables cost $150. Admission: no charge with advance registration, $15 at the door. This event sells out. Call (413) 534-3376 or your local chamber to reserve a table.

• April 18: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., sponsored and hosted by Fairfield Inn & Suites, 229 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke. Meet up with your friends and business associates for a little networking. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Feel free to bring a door prize. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com.

• April 20: Economic Development Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Center, PeoplesBank Conference Room. Learn from EMPATH about how to break the cycle of poverty and utilize the bridge to self-sufficiency theory to approach economic mobility. EMPATH helps low-income people achieve long-term economic mobility, and has developed a holistic approach to mentoring backed by the latest brain science that busts through silos and combats chronic stress. Event emcees are Mary Coleman, EMPATH; Dr. Christina Royal, Holyoke Community College; and Kathleen Anderson, Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members and walk-in guests.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• April 4: April Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Suite3 in the Mill 180 Building, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Applied Mortgage, H&R Block, and MassDevelopment. A networking event. Cost: $10 for members.

• April 11: Protecting Your Data from Security Risks, 9-11 a.m., hosted by Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by Pioneer Training. CyberSafe is a two-hour workshop for non-technical users that focuses on using technology without compromising personal or organizational security. Students will learn the skills they need to protect digital data on computers, networks, mobile devices, and the Internet. They will learn how to identify many of the common risks involved in using technology, such as phishing, spoofing, malware, and social engineering, and then learn how to protect themselves and their organizations from those risks. Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members. To register, visit goo.gl/forms/pX8YUuC25YdMsLjD2.

• April 11: Multi-chamber Table Top Expo: “A Taste of Commerce,” 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by Bartley Center at Holyoke Community College. A networking event. Cost: $150 for a table for members, $225 for a table for non-members, $10 walk-in fee for members.

GREATER WESTFIELD
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• April 2: April Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., hosted by the Arbors, 40 Court St., Westfield. Join us for our monthly Mayor’s Coffee Hour with Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan. Event is free and open to the public. Register online at www.westfieldbiz.org so we may give our host a proper count. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• April 11: WE2BA High School Career Fair, 7:45-11:30 a.m., hosted by Westfield State University at the Woodward Center, 395 Western Ave., Westfield. Don’t miss the chance to help shape our future through workforce development in our community. Join us to help inspire Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy students with career exploration. More than 400 students will be in attendance. We are looking for 75 vendors to participate. The vendor tables are free. Register online at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• April 11: April After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Betts Plumbing & Heating Supply Inc., 14 Coleman Ave., Westfield. Refreshments will be served. A 50/50 raffle will benefit the chamber scholarship fund. Bring your business cards and make connections. Cost: free for members, $10 for non-members (cash or credit paid at the door). Register online at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• April 24: Home & Business Community Marketplace & Tabletop Event, 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. An opportunity to market and sell your products and services to area residents and businesses. Sip and shop your way through the marketplace with a beer and wine tasting, live music, and a chance to vote for your favorite nosh at the food court. Cost: $50 for vendor rental space (table not included; bring your own, six feet or less with tablecloth), $75 for vendor table (includes six-foot table; bring your own tablecloth). Attendance is free to the public. For more information, contact Southwick Economic Development at (413) 304-6100.

SOUTH HADLEY & GRANBY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.shgchamber.com
(413) 532-6451

• March 28: Educational Breakfast: “Tax Law Changes for Businesses,” 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by South Hadley Public Library, 2 Canal St., South Hadley. This presentation by Thomas Foley, a experienced CPA who specializes in business taxes, will present the new tax-law changes that will impact businesses of every size beginning this year. There will be a light breakfast. This event is free of charge and open to the community. For further information and to register, visit www.shgchamber.com or call the chamber office at (413) 532-6451.

• April 11: Multi-chamber Table Top Expo: “A Taste of Commerce,” 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by Bartley Center at Holyoke Community College. This business networking and marketing event, now in its 24th year, will provide business professionals and entrepreneurs an opportunity to promote their businesses — to “strut their stuff.” Tables are available for $150. Admission is free if you pre-register with the chamber or $15 at the door. Whether you plan to be a participating vendor or want to simply attend, go to www.shgchamber.com for more information or to register, or call (413) 532-6451.

• April 19: Business After 5, 4:30-6:30 p.m., hosted by Ohana School of Performing Arts, 470 Newton St., South Hadley. Sponsored by Berkshire Hills Music Academy. This Everything 70’s Disco Party is a networking event for members and friends of the chamber. We are joining with the Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce on this event, so there will be many new business colleagues to meet and greet over the three floors of studio space. The event will feature music, food, beverages, and dancing. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. For further information and to register, visit www.shgchamber.com or call the chamber office at (413) 532-6451.

• April 22: Mohegan Sun bus trip, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Proceeds support the chamber’s scholarship fund and its two community Councils on Aging. There are bonuses on food and other pluses included in the cost. Bus departs from and returns to the former Big Y parking lot at 501 Newton St. Cost: $35. For further information and to register, visit www.shgchamber.com or call the chamber office at (413) 532-6451.

• April 24: An Educational Breakfast: “Cybersecurity: What We All Need to Know,” 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by PeoplesBank and Loomis Village, 20 Bayon St., South Hadley. We will learn how cybersecurity impacts our own lives, both personally and professionally. The presentation will be led by Joseph Zazzaro, senior vice president, Information Technology, and David Thibault, first vice president, Commercial Banking at PeoplesBank. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. For further information and to register, visit www.shgchamber.com or call the chamber office at (413) 532-6451.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER
www.springfieldregionalchamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• March 20: C-Suite Conversations & Cocktails, 5-7 p.m., hosted by CityStage, One Columbus Center, Springfield. Members-only event featuring MGM President Mike Mathis. Cost: $25. For reservations, visit www.springfieldregionalchamber.com, e-mail [email protected], or call (413) 755-1310.

• March 29: Speed Networking, 3:30-5 p.m., location to be determined. Cost: $20 for members in advance ($25 at the door), $30 general admission in advance ($35 at the door). For reservations, visit www.springfieldregionalchamber.com, e-mail [email protected], or call (413) 755-1310.

WEST OF THE RIVER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• April 4: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., hosted by CHD Cancer House of Hope, West Springfield. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events, hosted by various businesses and restaurants, that bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information about this event, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

• April 12: Networking Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m., hosted by Lattitude, West Springfield. Must be a member or guest of a member to attend. Enjoy a sit-down lunch while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief sales pitch. The only cost to attend is the cost of lunch. Attendees will order off the menu and pay separately that day. We cannot invoice you for these events. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

• April 26: Coffee with Agawam Mayor Sapelli, 8:30-10 a.m., hosted by Agawam Senior Center Coffee Shop, 954 Main St., Agawam. Join us for a cup of coffee and a town update from Mayor Bill Sapelli. Questions and answers will immediately follow. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
springfieldyps.com

• April 19: YPS Third Thursday: “Career Development & Networking,” 5-7 p.m., hosted by Lattitude Restaurant, 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Cost: free for YPS members, $10 for non-members.

There’s Certainly Growing Interest in Holyoke

By
Community Spotlight Features

Community Spotlight

Green Thumb Industries will soon begin operating a marijuana-cultivation operation in this mill building at 28 Appleton St. And it will likely be the first of several such operations in Holyoke.

Green Thumb Industries will soon begin operating a marijuana-cultivation operation in this mill building at 28 Appleton St. And it will likely be the first of several such operations in Holyoke.

Marcos Marrero says that if one were to have a machine running an optimization algorithm that would weigh a host of quantitative and qualitative factors to ultimately determine the very best spot in the region — and maybe the country — to locate a marijuana cultivation and distribution facility, it would, when done with its analysis, likely spit out two words: Holyoke and Massachusetts.

And that second word is necessary, he went on, because there is, in fact, a Holyoke in Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, and he’s already been asked more than a few times if he works for that small town of 5,000 people near the center of the Centennial State.

He doesn’t. He’s director of Planning and Economic Development for the other Holyoke, the one on the Connecticut River. The one heralded as one of the first planned industrial cities in the country. The one where Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (TGI) is set to open an estimated $10 million marijuana-cultivation facility in former mill space on Appleton Street this spring.

And Marrero is fielding a lot of phone calls and e-mails these days from other people wanting to know more about that Holyoke, and marijuana cultivation is usually the reason (more on those inquiries later).

First, back to that algorithm. As noted, it would weigh a host of quantitative factors, said Marrero, and they all project strongly in Holyoke’s favor. These range from the roughly 1.5 million square feet of available, attractively priced mill space within the city, much of it ideal for marijuana cultivation because of the mills’ open spaces and high ceilings, to the lowest electricity rates in the state (this is a power-intensive business), to Holyoke’s location along I-91 and just off the Turnpike.

“You can ship it east, and you can ship it north,” said Marrero, adding quickly that there also qualitative factors to consider.

Or at least one big one, anyway. That would be the city’s welcoming attitude toward an industry that most communities in the Bay State are throwing stop signs and speed bumps in front of.

“Many cities and towns are taking out the pitchforks to prevent the cannabis industry from coming in,” said Holyoke’s mayor, Alex Morse. “Given my outspoken support for the industry, we’re seeing companies from across the country come into Holyoke to meet with us and my team about locations and learn more about our special-permit process. It’s been company after company that’s been looking to invest.”

But this cannabis phenomenon, if you will, is just part of the story. And it’s only one of the ways in which the city is succeeding with filling some its legendary and mostly idle or underused mills.

There are many others, starting with the Holyoke Community College MGM Culinary Arts Institute, which opened in the Cubit building (anther of those old mills) in January. There are also the market-rate apartments in the floors above that facility, and a host of other housing initiatives as well.

There are also arts-related facilities, such as Gateway City Arts on Race Street. And then, there are a growing number of startups, mentored by groups like SPARK, that are also moving into those mills.

All this, or most all of it (the marijuana law was passed in 2016), was part of Morse’s vision when he became mayor in 2012, and also why he’s still mayor today, having been re-elected to a four-year term (the city’s first) last fall. Back when he first ran for office, he explained, he saw enormous potential for the city to become home to a wide array of businesses and to become an attractive residential address as well after decades when it clearly wasn’t.

The formula called for a host of public investments — they’ve come in many forms, from a new canal walk to a new train depot to a slew of road projects — that would in turn encourage private investments (such as the Cubit building and GTI, for example). There would also be a focus on building the cultural economy, encouraging entrepreneurship, and maximizing Holyoke’s many geographic and historical assets.

In short, it’s all coming together nicely, as we’ll see in this, the latest installment of BusinessWest’s Community Spotlight series.

Joint Ventures

When asked to put all that aforementioned interest in Holyoke on the part of cannabis enterprises, or would-be cannabis enterprises, into perspective, Marrero let out a deep breath.

“The last couple of weeks have been … crazy,” he told BusinessWest. “There’s been lots of meetings and phone calls. Some of them are companies that are just shopping around and don’t necessarily know everything about Holyoke, but they may be looking in the Western Mass. corridor. But they’ve heard about us and want to know more.”

And it’s been crazy for a reason, actually several of them, as noted at the top.

“We believe we have the best competitive advantages for the industry at this time,” Marrero explained, “from the real estate to the low-cost electricity — those lights are on a lot — to the water. Holyoke has a lot of offer these businesses.

“And in Mayor Morse, you have the first mayor to come out and quite vocally support legalizing marijuana, recreationally and medically, and that certainly makes a difference,” he went on, adding that the city had one of the first ordinances in the state regulating, but also, and in many ways, welcoming the industry.

“So there’s some political stability — there’s a willingness and a desire to have this industry here,” Marrero continued, adding that all this caught the attention of GTI, which is now permitted to operate a facility on 42,000 square feet of former mill space at 28 Appleton St.

The company plans to hire about 100 people within the next year, said Morse, adding that, while not all of these are skilled positions, per se, these will be attractive positions with wages averaging $15 or more.

“When GTI held its first job fair last fall, there were more than 700 people in the room,” he recalled. “And that sends a strong message to other elected leaders in this city and also the community that people are looking for jobs, they’re willing to get trained, and they want to work.”

The Cubit building, home to apartments and the Holyoke Community College MGM Culinary Arts Institute, is just one example of how Holyoke’s historic mills are being put to new and productive uses.

The Cubit building, home to apartments and the Holyoke Community College MGM Culinary Arts Institute, is just one example of how Holyoke’s historic mills are being put to new and productive uses.

Meanwhile, there are many other entities looking to join GTI, said Marrero, adding that there are at least six businesses expressing what he called “serious” interest and moving toward the permitting stage, and perhaps a dozen more that are kicking the tires and filling Marrero’s voice mailbox.

How many will eventually land in Holyoke obviously remains to be seen, but Marrero and Morse both believe the cannabis sector could soon employ hundreds in the Paper City and bring additional benefits as well in the form of supporting businesses that will also pay taxes and employ area residents.

“Once you have a clustering effect of any industry, you have a subsequent clustering effect of any industry that supports that sector, and that could benefit not only Holyoke but surrounding communities,” Marrero explained. “If we had 10 cannabis-growing companies, not only would that translate into a large amount of jobs, tax revenue, and more, but then those 10 companies are going to be demanding services from pipe fitters, electricians, those who maintain HVAC systems, transportation and logistics companies, security companies, etc.; you have a second tier of expertise that is developed in the economy to support them.”

This is what has happened in Colorado (he’s not sure about the community of Holyoke) and other states where marijuana has been legalized, he went on, adding that the Holyoke in Massachusetts has the opportunity to learn from the mistakes made by others before it, and there have been some.

Run of the Mills

While the cannabis industry starts to fill in that section of the canvas that is a changing Holyoke, other businesses are finding the city as well, and the vision that Morse put in place at the start of this decade is coming into focus.

That vision involved embracing the city’s industrial past as a paper and textile hub, but also recognizing that this was in the past and that the community had to develop new sources of jobs and tax revenue while also revitalizing a downtown that had seen much better days.

The strategy for doing all that, as noted earlier, is multi-faceted.

“We’ve been pursuing an innovation-based economic-development strategy and coupling that with a public-investment strategy,” the mayor explained. “We’ve made a number of investments that have made the city a more attractive place for private investment and incentivising developers to come in; they’ve recognized that the city is making investments in itself to make it a more liveable, walkable community, especially in the downtown, and they’re responded to that.”

There’s been a housing strategy as part of that broader plan, he went on, adding that housing is obviously key to attracting businesses and the people who would work for them.

The goal is to create a dense, diverse inventory of housing, Morse went on, adding that the city is making strides in this regard with market-rate projects such as the Cubit building, mixed-use projects such such as a Wynn Development initiative at the former Farr Alpaca Mills on Appleton Street, and public housing efforts such as the ongoing, 167-unit Lyman Terrace project.

As for those public investments, they have come in many forms, including the canal walk and train station, but also a number of parks and neighborhoods. The effect has been to make the city a more attractive option for businesses, but also families, said the mayor.

“We’re not of the philosophy that one big corporate giant is going to arrive in Holyoke and solve all our problems — we have a much more long-term view of sustainable economic development,” he explained. “We’re focused on the innovation economy, but also entrepreneurship and small-business development, through initiatives such as SPARK.”

There have been more than 80 ‘graduates’ of that program of mentoring and education, run by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, he went on, adding that some of them are either incubating in Holyoke or have already moved into their own space within the city.

Holyoke at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1786
Population: 40.280
Area: 22.8 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $19.17
Commercial Tax Rate: $39.72
Median Household Income: $36,608
Median Family Income: $41,194
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke Community College, ISO New England Inc., PeoplesBank, Universal Plastics, Marox Corp.
* Latest information available

Meanwhile, there are other forms of progress to note across the city, said Morse, listing everything from a rising high-school graduation rate — it was under 50% when he took office, and now it’s closer to 70% — to falling unemployment; from planned revitalization of the former Lynch School just off I-91 (an RFP was recently issued) to needed evolution at the Holyoke Mall.

The mall is one of the city’s important assets, he noted, adding that it brings thousands of people into the city every day. With the retail sector struggling in the wake of emerging forces like Amazon, and malls fighting to keep their spaces filled, the facility in Holyoke is responding with family-oriented tenants that are keeping the parking lots crowded, said the mayor.

“We’ve seen the mall make a number of investments in recent years and add more entertainment options,” he explained. “These include new restaurants, an escape-room place, and a new Cinemark theater that will be coming in.”

As for the graduation rate and improvement at the public schools overall, this is an important ingredient in the overall strategy for Holyoke’s revitalization, said the mayor.

And with continued progress in mind, the city will launch a new high-school model this fall, one based on four different academies focused on career readiness to create more pathways for students.

Planting Seeds

As he talked about cannabis — and everything else going on in Holyoke — Morse joked that Holyoke might soon run out of mill space to offer developers.

When told about that line, Marrero laughed, paused for a second, and said simply, “I hope so — that would be great.”

That’s not likely to happen any time soon, if ever. But that number of available square feet in the mills that gave Holyoke its nickname and its heritage keeps going down.

And cannabis is just one of the reasons. Many of the same character traits that are attracting marijuana growers — from the mills to the highways to a business-friendly City Hall — are attracting other types of businesses as well.

As noted, Morse couldn’t exactly have foreseen the cannabis industry being one of his city’s leading employers when he took office. But he could foresee a time when his staff and the office of Planning and Economic Development would be flooded with calls from people interested in maybe setting up shop in Holyoke.

And not the one in Colorado.

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

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Andrew Starkweather and Catherine Westcott v. Circle B Inc. d/b/a Circle B Barn Co.
Allegation: Construction dispute: $25,000+
Filed: 1/8/18

Clifford W. Oakes v. Town of Monroe
Allegation: Violation of overtime statute, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing: $40,000+
Filed: 1/24/18

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT
Gail Sanders v. DC Property Management, LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $24,000
Filed: 2/8/18

Best Tile Distributors of New England Inc. v. Allen & Burke Construction, LLC and John Burke
Allegation: Money owed for goods sold and delivered: $10,339.96
Filed: 2/12/18

Kenneth Malone v. Dunkin’ Donuts
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $8,500
Filed: 2/13/18

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Susan O’Connor v. David Ott, PA; Antone B. Cruz III, MD; and Riverbend Medical Group Inc.
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $82,500
Filed: 2/5/18

Kathleen Schussler v. Home Depot USA Inc.
Allegation: Slip and fall causing injury: $10,868.71
Filed: 2/5/18

Kenneth Hoff v. EP Floors Corp. and Robert Long
Allegation: Misclassification as independent contractor, non-payment of wages, non-payment of overtime wages, failure to maintain proper payroll records, and breach of contract: $25,000
Filed: 2/5/18

Emiddio Botta v. T.J. Welch Inc.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: 106,388.17
Filed: 2/6/18

Jennifer Mauro v. Pride Stores, LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $118,104.46
Filed: 2/13/18

Teresa Cruz v. Baystate Health Inc.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $18,936.88
Filed: 2/14/18

J-K-M Construction Corp. v. Saltmarsh Industries Inc. and JAAN Development Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract and unjust enrichment: $38,385.60
Filed: 2/15/18

HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COURT
Sera Davidow v. the Transformation Center Inc.
Allegation: Misclassification as independent contractor, non-payment of overtime, violation of payment of wages law, and unjust enrichment: $8,000
Filed: 2/13/18

Marilyn Patton v. Bertucci’s Restaurant Corp.
Allegation: Negligence, breach of warranty, unfair and deceptive acts; injury caused by biting into dinner roll: $7,869
Filed: 2/15/18

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Mary Ingram v. Grill N Chill
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $463,500.26
Filed: 2/12/18

The Benefits and Pitfalls of the Employee Handbook

By
Modern Office Sections

Playing by the Rules

John Gannon

John Gannon says putting a policy in writing isn’t enough — an employer then needs to follow it — but it’s a first step in showing a company takes workplace law and ethics seriously.

Most companies, especially larger ones, have employee handbooks that detail everything from vacation time to reasons for termination. Yet, too many are content to draft a handbook and shelve it for years, never reviewing it for changes in the regulatory landscape or confusing or contradictory language. In the ever-changing world of employment law, those are mistakes that can prove costly in more ways than one.

An employee handbook isn’t a contract, nor is it a legally binding document. But in a legal proceeding, it helps to have one.

Take, for instance, the case of an employee suing a company for allowing a culture of sexual harassment — a particularly timely example.

“In court, the first thing the judge will ask is to see the company’s policy,” said John Gannon, partner with Skoler, Abbott & Presser. “If your response is ‘we don’t have one,’ that suggests the employer doesn’t care about harassment and discrimination in the workplace. And that’s really getting off on the wrong foot in the event you’re sued for harassment or discrimination.”

The #MeToo revolution has certainly sent HR departments scrambling to make sure their policies on that issue are up-to-date, clear, and enforced. But if they’re smart, said the attorneys BusinessWest spoke with, they’re also regularly reviewing all sorts of policies that govern workplace rules and expectations — from disciplinary procedures to time off — and, hopefully, including them in an employee handbook.

“Every company that has employees should have a handbook,” said Daniel Carr, an associate with Royal, P.C. in Northampton. “But we use the term ‘handbook’ loosely; there’s no requirement that they have to be bound in a single document. It could mean whatever collection of policies you have, as long as it’s applied to all employees.”

Even if the employee signs a statement that he has read and understands the handbook, that doesn’t create contractual rights, Carr explained, noting that Massachusetts is, after all, an at-will state when it comes to hiring and firing, and an employee can be terminated for any reason that is not explicitly illegal, such as discrimination.

“I can’t tell you how many cases we’ve seen where the employee claims his termination was a violation of his contract. When asked, ‘what contract?’ they argue the employee handbook is a contract. It’s not.”

Gannon agreed. “One of the nice thigns about a handbook is that you can reaffirm the principle that everyone is an at-will employee,” he explained. “That’s why it’s really important, if you’re going to have a handbook, it should make it clear this is not a binding contract, your employment is at-will, and we can change the terms of the handbook and your employment relationship at any time with or without notice.”

So, if it’s not a contract, what is a handbook, and why should employers have one — and take it seriously?

“A handbook is a collection of policies, an ever-living document that can be changed at any time by an employer with or without notice,” said Mary Kennedy, partner with Bulkley Richardson in Springfield. “The purpose of a handbook is to give information to employees about expectations at work.”

Employers use the policies in an employee handbook as a sort of roadmap to both the treatment of employees and, conversely, expectations for their behavior. They protect themselves from lawsuits, such as harassment claims, wrongful termination claims, and discrimination claims. Employee handbooks generally contain a code of conduct for employees that sets guidelines around appropriate behavior for the individual workplace.

Mary Kennedy says the first goal of a handbook is to lay out clear expectations for workplace behavior.

Mary Kennedy says the first goal of a handbook is to lay out clear expectations for workplace behavior.

Under Massachusetts law, for companies with at least six employees, part of that collection of expectations must be policies reflecting the state’s own guidelines governing sexual harassment, accommodations for pregnant workers, sick leave, and other issues — many of which have changed recently.

Other contents should typically include policies governing discipline, rules of behavior, when and how to take time off, sick-time guidelines, how much vacation and personal time employees get, when they are paid, and what health benefits are available and how to access them.

The contents of any handbook vary from industry to industry, Gannon noted. For instance, the time an employee clocks in may be more important on the manufacturing floor than in an office setting, while safety guidelines for construction workers will be different than those for accountants.

“It’s an inexact science, and obviously no handbook is foolproof, and you can’t account for every possible contingency,” Carr said. “There may be at times you have to deviate from it. Certainly, you don’t want to be hemming yourself in to something you can live up to. As an employer in an at-will state, you have the right to set the policies. The handbook is more about setting expectations than setting hard and fast rules.”

Law and Order

The benefits of having a handbook fall into two buckets, Gannon said: The legal obligations governed by state and federal employment law, and basic HR practices that aren’t necessarily required by the law.

For the latter, written policies must make it clear to the employee what the employer’s expectations are.

“If you do need to discipline an employee, if you need to write them up or suspend them, you never want an employee to turn around and say, ‘wait a minute, I didn’t know I was going to get written up if I was absent more than three times in a month.’ Or, ‘I didn’t know it was a violation of your company policy to raise my voice at a meeting’ — whatever the case may be. A handbook sets expectations.”

It also provides guidelines to managers so they can treat employees fairly and consistently, he added. If the policy is clear, it can be applied to everyone across the board. If not, one supervisor may write someone up for a violation, while another supervisor doesn’t. That leads to inconsistency and, sometimes, hot water in court.

“Inconsistent application of your rules can lead to a lot of legal problems if the employee challenges the reason for his or her reason for separation from employment,” Gannon said, adding that the actual enforcement of the rules is more important than what a handbook says, “but if you don’t have, at minimum, a written policy, you have a big risk of inconsistent enforcement of your work rules.”

Kennedy said having clear policies in the handbook is the first step when defending a claim of wrongful termination in court.

“If you have a no-show policy where, after three violations, the employee is terminated, and it’s in writing and the employee was told it applies to all employees, and the employer can show it was uniformly applied to all employees, then the employer has a better shot at defending itself.

“For example, if a bank teller continually makes mistakes on the line and keeps coming up short, that’s certainly not beneficial for the employer,” she explained, so a written policy outlining the consequences of coming up short multiple times would be reasonable. “Whereas, if the bank said, ‘we don’t like people with red hair,’ well, that’s different.”

Supervisors and managers, Gannon said, typically appreciate a hard-and-fast policy because it’s something they can fall back on. He recalls one client whose employee showed up to work intoxicated, and at first, his supervisor didn’t know what to do. “Fortunately, they had a policy that made it clear, if you detect someone is under the influence, this is what you should do. It helped the supervisor navigate what his options were. Without that, they’re left wondering what to do.”

Communicating the policy to employees is just as important, Kennedy said, whether it’s a physical document passed out, with the employee signing an acknowledgement of receipt, or an electronic document distributed through the company intranet, or, for a larger business, explaining new policies in a meeting and making a list of who attended. “You certainly want to give it out when onboarding people, and then when there are any changes in policy.”

Even progressive discipline can be altered if the employer can prove the action is reasonable, Carr said — again, going back to the at-will concept. “If the handbook says a first violation is a verbal warning, the second is a written warning, third is probation, and fourth is termination, you have the right to revise that if someone commits a terminable offense the first time out.”

Trouble Spots

With all the protections a handbook may provide, Gannon said, some pitfalls do exist. One is trying to put everything in a handbook.

“The more words you have in the handbook, the less likely an employee is going to read it all,” he noted. “Sometimes I’ll see one that’s 120 pages long. I’m not sure any handbook needs to be that long.”

A smarter option, he said, is to include a short, two-paragraph summary of each policy, directing the employers to ask a particular person, maybe someone in human resources, if they need a more detailed explanation.

“Another mistake is not getting it reviewed enough,” he added. “It’s great to have a handbook — most employers do — but sometimes they get stale. You don’t want to have a policy that’s outdated, or you don’t want a handbook that misstates the law, because there are often changes in the law.”

For example, on April 1, Massachusetts employers will be required to have a policy that adheres to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. “You need to review your handbook — it doesn’t necessarily have to be annually, but I would say every two or three years — just to make sure you’re not missing anything and there haven’t been changes in the law that would require rewording a policy.”

In a union shop, Kennedy said, employers want to make sure the handbook gels with the collective bargaining agreement, but even in a non-union shop, certain written policies may run into conflict with rulings from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A few years ago, several companies made news by terminating workers for complaining about their job on social media — and took their cases to court, where they won.

“Social media has become the equivalent of the so-called water cooler,” Carr said, noting that the NLRB has long protected the rights of employees to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment, even in a public forum. However, the composition of the board has changed under President Trump and may be less willing to side with employees in all such matters.

“A few years ago, handbook provisions that restricted employees’ right to discuss terms and conditions of employment were considered overbroad — that was all the rage for awhile,” Gannon said. “New administration has scaled some of that back. With all the ebbs and flows in the world of employment law, you need to make sure the handbook stays up to date with those changes.”

Kennedy agreed. “Employment law changes on a regular basis, so handbook policies should be reviewed on a regular basis, to make sure they contain up-to-date language.”

Still, amid all the talk of violations and firings, Gannon said, the greatest value of a handbook is in its power to prevent some of those incidents in the first place.

“If an employee knows what can potentially lead to discipline, I think the employee is less likely to engage in that behavior,” he told BusinessWest. “That’s one of the really nice things about a handbook — it sets out what your expectations are. The goal of discipline is not to create a path that justifies termination. The goal of discipline is to correct behavior so that somebody can stay with the company for a long time and be a valued contributor to the group.”

To that end, he continued, “if you do need to discipline, it’s easier to explain why when you can point to handbook and say, ‘look, this is company policy, and you violated it. Sorry, but I have to write you up.’”

Turn the Page

That said, a handbook also helps with a company’s defense is they are sued, Gannon noted.

“If an employee claims they were fired because of a protected characteristic, it’s the employer’s burden to demonstrate to a judge or jury that, no, this is the real reason this person was fired. It’s nice to be able to point to a policy in a handbook that makes it clear this is why the employer took a particular action, that it wasn’t an arbitrary decision one supervisor just came up with. The company considered this particular issue, went to the extent of drafting a handbook putting this policy in place and having the employee sign off on it, and there’s an expectation the policy is going to be followed.”

Carr, who told BusinessWest he has drafted or reviewed “many, many handbooks,” emphasized, however, that a good policy holds up in court only if the employer actually enforces that policy uniformly and consistently.

“Otherwise, it’s just empty rhetoric. Sexual harassment is a perfect example, and a timely one,” he said.

Elaborating, he said virtually every company has an anti-sexual-harassment policy, and one of the tenets of sexual-harassment law is the question of whether an employer knew about, or should have known about, the alleged violations. “If the employee can show the employer was not diligent about enforcing their own policies, it creates the impression they dropped the ball and should have known.”

It’s a lesson many companies continue to learn the hard way.

Simply put, Kennedy said, “what’s bad about having a handbook is if you don’t follow it.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Panel on ‘Protecting Your Assets’ Slated for April 18

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Partners for Community Action Inc. will host “Protecting Your Assets Part III” on Wednesday, April 18 starting at 6 p.m. at Springfield Central Library, 220 State St. The event is in recognition of National Financial Literacy Month and is free and open to the public. Call (413) 263-6500 to reserve a seat.

This year’s panelists include Julius Lewis of the Metrocom Group and the Lewis and Marrow Financial Hour, which airs Wednesdays on STCC radio; and attorney Sara Miller, who specializes in elder law and estate planning. New this year is attorney Martin O’Connor, an authority on tax issues and who helps low-income, non-English-speaking taxpayers understand their rights and responsibilities as taxpayers.

“We have another great panel this year with Julius returning for the third year along with attorneys Miller and O’Connor,” said Paul Bailey, executive director at Springfield Partners. “I am sure there will be something for everyone, along with great information sharing. I encourage the community to come out.”

Added Synthia Scott-Mitchell, director of Community Services, “those of us that are in the Baby Boomer generation and looking toward retirement if not already retired, this is for you. Also, as many of us become caregivers for our parents, this is for you.”

Local River Advocates Join Growing National Trend with EPA Lawsuit

By
Daily News

GREENFIELD — Last fall, the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) joined the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and eight other watershed groups from across Massachusetts to file suit against the EPA and Administrator Scott Pruitt in Boston’s federal district court. Their request of the court is simple: reject EPA’s one-year delay in implementing Massachusetts’ new stormwater permit because stormwater is one of the greatest threats to clean water in Massachusetts.

This lawsuit is part of a growing national trend in suing the EPA in order to protect the environment. The CRC argues that Pruitt and the EPA have been hastily rolling back environmental regulations, but mistakes have been made in their haste and disregard for legal process, such as failing to hold required public comment periods or provide rationale for a repeal or delay. Now, environmental groups across the nation are going to court and using these mistakes to successfully halt environmental rollbacks. For example, the courts have prevented the suspension of rules to curb methane emissions and the delay of tougher standards on air pollutants and lead in paint.

River advocates fear the updated stormwater permit could be delayed much longer than one year. “We think the EPA’s legal case is fundamentally flawed,” said Andrew Fisk, executive director of the Connecticut River Conservancy. “Pruitt and the EPA have asked for this delay while permit appeals are being decided, but then in the same breath also asked the court to delay judicial review of the appeals. It is clear that EPA is looking at every maneuver they can find to stop doing the right thing for the public’s water.”

The river groups are represented by Kevin Cassidy of Earthrise Law Center and Access to Justice Fellow Irene Freidel.

Of particular concern is the public-health issue of harmful bacteria flowing to rivers when it rains. About one in five water samples collected by CRC and partners in 2017 from the Connecticut River and tributaries in Massachusetts showed bacteria levels too high for recreation (swimming and/or boating).

“Delaying the implementation of this updated permit puts our rivers and our water at risk, which also put our citizens and local economies that use and rely on our rivers at risk,” Fisk continued. “The EPA is charged with implementing the Clean Water Act for the benefit of the public, yet it did not weigh the public’s interest when it slammed the brakes on the MS4 Permit.”

That permit regulates stormwater pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. The current MS4 permit was issued in 2003 and was set to expire on May 1, 2008. Instead, it has been administratively continued and remains in effect. A multi-year, multi-stakeholder process for updating the expired permit began in 2008. In April 2016, the EPA issued the updated MS4 permit after many rounds of public comment. The updated permit was set to go into effect on July 1, 2017 but was abruptly delayed by Pruitt and the EPA just two days before that date.

The delay will cause existing stormwater projects to move forward with outdated stormwater controls, forcing costly upgrades in the future rather than the lower-cost option of adding updated controls at the time of construction, river advocates say. The delay also ignores the time and money invested by cities and towns that have already implemented new stormwater protection measures in preparation for the new permit to take effect last July.

Stormwater is generated from rain and snowmelt that does not soak into the ground. Instead, it flows over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets and driveways, parking lots, and building rooftops into storm drains. During heavy rains, stormwater can flow directly into rivers. Common pollutants in stormwater runoff include antifreeze, detergents, fertilizers, gasoline, household chemicals, oil and grease, paints, pesticides, harmful bacteria, road salt, trash such as plastics and cigarette butts, ammonia, solvents, and fecal matter from pets, farm animals, and wildlife.

There Are Some New Rules — and Situations — to Be Avoided

By
Banking and Financial Services Sections

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

By Sean Wandrei

Sean Wandrei

Sean Wandrei

In December 2017, Congress passed H.R.1, better known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The act is the largest overhaul of the tax code since 1986. As with any new legislation, there are opportunities and pitfalls that one needs to be aware of when trying to take advantage of the new rules and avoid unwanted situations.

There are still many questions related to the act that the IRS will need to issue guidance on. There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s take a look at some items that businesses and individuals should be aware of.

The act reduces the corporate tax rate to a flat tax rate of 21%. This means the first dollar of taxable income is taxed at a 21% rate. This reduction could cause many owners of non-taxpaying entities (e.g. partnerships, limited liability companies, and S-corporations, also known as pass-through entities) to consider switching to a taxpaying entity (i.e. C-corporation). The maximum tax rate that the income of a pass-through entity could be taxed at is 37%.

Business owners could decide that their business should convert from a pass-through entity to a C-corporation based on this. While the reduction of the tax rate sounds great, there could be some issues that could increase the overall tax due if the entity is a C-corporation. If the owner(s) want to take money out of the C-corporation in the form of dividends, it will have to pay taxes on the dividends from the C-corporation at a maximum rate of 23.8% (20% tax on the dividend plus 3.8% net investment-income tax).

This is known as double taxation, which impacts only C-corporations and not pass-through entities. This could reduce or eliminate the overall tax savings of converting the entity to a C-corporation.

While taxes paid are usually a major factor on entity selection, there are some non-tax items to consider. Owners of C-corporations can receive tax-free employee benefits that pass-through entities are not entitled to. Another tax-savings option that was available prior to the act is the exclusions of the gain on the sale of qualified small-business stock (QSBS) under Code Section 1202. This provision was amended in 2010, allowing QSBS acquired after Sept. 27, 2010 to be eligible to exclude the total gain on the sale.  There are a few rules that have to be met to allow for the 100% exclusion. Section 1202 is available only for C-corporations. This means that, when the owner decides to sell his or her stock, the gain from the sale of that stock would be tax-free. The reduced tax rate and non-tax benefits could make C-corporations more attractive to some.

C-corporations are not the only business entities that received a tax break from the act. Pass-through entities are able to take a deduction of 20% on the qualified business income (QBI) earned from the business. Individuals who are sole proprietor and file a Schedule C and individuals with rental activity reported on Schedule E also qualify for this deduction.

On the surface, this deduction seems to be straightforward, but there is a lot to this deduction. Not all businesses qualify, and the deduction could be limited. QBI can be thought of as ordinary income from the business. The catch is that the deduction is limited to the lesser of 20% of QBI or 50% of the total W-2 wages paid by the business. So wages need to be paid to be able to take this deduction.

The 50% of W-2 wages does not apply if the owner’s taxable income is below $315,000 for married filing jointly (MFJ) and $157,500 for other taxpayers. This deduction may not be available to a specified service trade or business (SSTB). A SSTB is a business involving service in many fields, including law, accounting, consulting, and financial services. Engineers and architects were excluded from the definition of SSTB in a last-minute change. If the owner’s taxable income is below $315,000 for MFJ and $157,500 for other taxpayers, the SSTB limitation does not apply.  

The planning that comes into play for this deduction is based on the entity type. QBI does not include reasonable compensation paid by an S-corporation to the owner(s). Similarly, QBI does not include amounts paid as guaranteed payments by a partnership to the owner(s).

Based on this, if the pass-through entity is an S-corporation, reasonable wages are going to be deducted from the QBI, which will reduce QBI and the deduction. A partnership and sole proprietor are not required to take guaranteed payments, so the QBI could be larger for a partnership than an S-corporation based on this. If the taxable income is below the limits mentioned above, the 50% of W-2 wages option does not come into play, and the larger deduction will be had by the partnership and sole proprietor.

If the 50% of W-2 wages comes into play, then the S-corporation will have to pay W-2 wages, and the partnership will have to pay guaranteed payments to owners or wages to non-owners to be able to take this deduction. With this in mind, the owner’s taxable income will need to be monitored.

For individuals, the elimination of exemptions and the doubling of the standard deduction will cause more taxpayers to take the standard deduction instead of itemizing. It is said that only 10% of the population will itemize in 2018 compared to 30% in 2017. If you fall into the 10% of people who itemize, you may have heard that one of the biggest deductions, state and local taxes, is limited to $10,000 per return.

This is the case if you are single or filing as MFJ; the deduction is limited to $10,000. The marriage penalty is back. If the MFJ couple was not married and filed as single taxpayers, then they each would be able to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes.

In the past, the interest from a home-equity loan was deductible. The proceeds from the home-equity loan could have been used for anything. Now the interest from a home-equity loan is no longer deductible unless it is used to buy, build, or substantially improve the taxpayer’s home that secures the loan. Prior to the act, employees were able to deduct unreimbursed business expenses related to their job. This is no longer the case.

As you can see, the act has provided many new things to consider when it comes to taxes. Now, more than ever, your CPA will be counted on to help with tax planning.

Sean Wandrei is a lecturer in Taxation at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. He also practices at a local CPA firm; [email protected]

Business Owners Should Be Aware of Key Changes in This Realm

By
Banking and Financial Services Sections

Entertaining Thoughts

By Carolyn Bourgoin, CPA

Carolyn Bourgoin

Carolyn Bourgoin

For many businesses, corporate entertainment has long been a means of building relationships with referral sources, vendors, and strategic partners as well as providing networking opportunities for physicians and practice managers to meet new referral sources and industry influencers and to build a presence in the marketplace.

The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has eliminated most deductions for business-entertainment expenses paid or incurred after Dec. 31, 2017. Drawing the line between the portion of an entertainment activity that is business-related versus for pleasure has long been an area of contention between the IRS and taxpayers. Though the TCJA did eliminate most business-entertainment expenses, certain expenditures, mainly those benefiting employees, did survive the tax cut.

Taxpayers need to understand what expenses survived the repeal so that they can properly segregate the deductible costs.

Expenditures Paid or Incurred Prior to 12/31/17

Prior to the TCJA, entertainment expenses and the use of entertainment facilities were deductible only if the taxpayer could establish that the costs were either directly related to a taxpayer’s trade or business or associated with the active conduct of a trade or business for which a substantial and bona fide business discussion occurred either directly before or after the event. In addition to meeting the ‘directly related to or associated with’ test, entertainment-expense deductions had to satisfy strict substantiation requirements, including details on the amount of the expense, the time and place of the entertainment, the business purpose, and the business relationship with the persons entertained. The term ‘entertainment’ includes activities at country clubs, nightclubs, sporting events, cocktail lounges, and theaters. Though not defined by regulations, business-entertainment expenses are to be further reduced by amounts considered “lavish or extravagant.”

Additional cost limitations apply to skybox rentals, sports tickets purchased for more than face value, and attendance at foreign conventions. Country-club dues were (and still are) nondeductible.

Business entertainment expenses that had escaped limitation at this point were then generally limited to 50% of the expense, unless they fell under one of several exceptions, including certain entertainment expenses included as compensation to the recipient and social or recreational entertainment provided primarily for the benefit of employees who were not highly compensated. These business-entertainment expenditures were fully deductible and survived the TCJA repeal and will be addressed later in this article.

Entertainment Expenditures Paid or Incurred After Dec. 31, 2017

Pursuant to the TCJA, expenses related to entertainment, amusement, or recreation that are directly related to or associated with the active conduct of the taxpayers’ trade or business are no longer deductible. As a result, a tax deduction will not be allowed for the following items incurred after Dec. 31, 2017:

• Expenses incurred for the use of entertainment facilities, such as the lease of skyboxes, are no longer deductible. However, businesses should review their lease agreements to see if there may be a component included in the rental price for advertising. This portion of the rental cost would be fully deductible as advertising if properly documented and reclassified;

• Expenses related to the entertainment of a client or prospect at a sporting event, theater, concert, or similar type venue (unless included in a 1099 as a prize) are not deductible under the new rules;

• Expenses for attending charitable sporting events, such as a golf tournament, where the entire net proceeds go to charity, will not be deductible to the extent of the cost of the golf or other goods or services provided. Until further guidance is issued, it is unclear whether the meals offered at an entertainment event are still 50% deductible. To the extent the ticket price exceeds the goods and services received, the taxpayer will be entitled to a charitable deduction; and

• As was the case prior to the tax-reform act, dues paid to any social, athletic, or sporting club or organization are non-deductible expenses.

Business-entertainment Expenses Still Allowed

As discussed previously, there are nine categories of entertainment-related expenditures that were not eliminated by the TCJA, as follows:

• Expenses for recreational, social, or similar activities (including related facilities) offered primarily for the benefit of employees other than highly compensated employees are fully deductible. A holiday party or annual picnic are examples;

• Expenses directly related to bona fide business meetings of stockholders, employees, agents, or directors are allowed. Examples of such expenditures would be refreshments offered to employees at a meeting where they are being instructed in a new business procedure. Food and beverages served at these meetings would be subject to the 50% limitation;

• Expenses directly related and necessary to attendance at a business meeting or convention held by a business league, chamber of commerce, real-estate board, or board of trade are deductible. Meals at these meetings would be subject to the 50% limitation;

• Expenses for services, goods, and facilities made available by the taxpayer to the general public, such as during a promotional campaign, are deductible;

• Expenses for food and beverages furnished on the taxpayer’s business premises primarily for the taxpayer’s employees (i.e. more than half), are deductible. The cost of meals provided for the convenience of the employer, such as when employees must be available throughout a mealtime, are only 50% deductible as of Jan. 1, 2018. Prior to the TCJA, these meals were 100% deductible. In addition, meals provided at an employer’s on-site dining facility are subject to the 50% limitation until Jan. 1, 2026, when meals for the convenience of the employer as well as the meals and cost of operating an on-site dining facility are no longer deductible;

• Entertainment expenses that are treated as compensation to employees, by including the costs in employee wages for income-tax-withholding purposes, are deductible;

• Expenses for entertainment-related goods or services, to the extent they are includible in the gross income of the recipient as compensation for services rendered or as a prize or award, are allowed. The recipient in this case would not be an employee of the taxpayer and must be issued a 1099 to the extent the goods or services received exceed $600;

• Expenses for goods or services (including the use of facilities) which are sold by the taxpayer in a bona fide transaction for adequate and full consideration in money or money’s worth are deductible. An example of this would be the cost of meals sold by a restaurant, and

• Expenses incurred by a professional firm for actual meal expenses that are charged back and reimbursed by a client, where the meals are separately stated in the invoice, are deductible.

De minimis fringe benefits, which are benefits that are so small as to make accounting for them unreasonable, such as coffee, soft drinks, and donuts offered to employees, remain fully deductible through the tax year 2025. In addition, meals associated with the active conduct of the taxpayer’s trade or business are still allowed, subject to the 50% limitation. Until further guidance is issued, it is unclear whether meals purchased at a business-entertainment event, such as after a round of golf or attending a ballgame, are a non-deductible entertainment expense or if they meet the business-related tests and are still deductible subject to the 50% meals limitation.

Classifying sporting tickets provided to clients as business gifts does not provide much relief, as the tax deduction is limited to $25 per item.

Bottom Line

Due to the recent changes in the tax law, it is important for taxpayers to consult with their tax advisors and develop an understanding of the business meals and entertainment expenses that remain deductible and develop a strategy to track them. It would be wise to set up separate accounts based on whether they are 100%, 50% or nondeductible.

Amounts paid to attend entertainment events should be analyzed to see if there are advertising or charitable components to the cost that can be reclassified as fully deductible. Consideration could be given to issuing 1099s to clients or prospects being provided with free tickets to events to make the cost deductible as prizes. Though the TCJA was not favorable to taxpayers that incur business-entertainment expenses, there are still some expenses in this area that remain deductible.

Carolyn Bourgoin, CPA is a senior tax manager with the Holyoke-based public accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; (413) 322-3483; [email protected]

Real Estate Transactions

By
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

ASHFIELD

70 Buckland Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Sandra McArthur RET
Seller: Priscilla L. Phelps
Date: 02/01/18

515 Main St.
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Helen I. Hall LT
Seller: Walter D. Zalenski
Date: 01/31/18

Steady Lane
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Joshua H. Porter
Seller: Norbert J. Salz
Date: 01/31/18

BERNARDSTON

51 Bald Mountain Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Thomas A. Anderson
Seller: David W. Hastings
Date: 01/31/18

126 Northfield Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Gavin R. Cairl
Seller: Wilmer O. Johnson
Date: 02/07/18

BUCKLAND

59-1/2 Prospect St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $235,800
Buyer: Mia I. Radysh
Seller: Apple RT 3
Date: 02/06/18

CONWAY

South Part Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Franklin Land Trust Inc.
Seller: Janet D. Ryan
Date: 02/05/18

DEERFIELD

6 Lee Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Champion Mortgage Co.
Date: 01/29/18

14 Sawmill Plain Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Orion Becker
Seller: Elizabeth M. Purnell TR
Date: 01/29/18

ERVING

6 Moore St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Thomas N Duffy
Seller: Nicholis F. Lapan
Date: 02/07/18

GREENFIELD

21 Garfield St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Michael A. Hebert
Seller: Jennifer C. Swartz
Date: 01/31/18

83 James St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $124,400
Buyer: Archelon Properties LLC
Seller: Kathleen G. Ainsworth
Date: 02/09/18

31 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Heidi Fortin
Seller: Cameron T. Gray
Date: 01/30/18

87 Thayer Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Meredith C. Lively
Seller: Thayer Road RT
Date: 02/02/18
1 Wheeler Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Parmar Properties North
Seller: Helga L. Schmidt
Date: 01/29/18

18 Wheeler Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Parmar Properties North
Seller: Helga L. Schmidt
Date: 01/29/18

103 Wildwood Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Thomas W. Klansek
Seller: Vladimir Agapov
Date: 02/07/18

MONTAGUE

177-179 Avenue A
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $168,333
Buyer: 177 LLC
Seller: Equity TR Inc.
Date: 02/07/18

14 Letourneau Way
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Luis Moreno
Seller: Mario Moreno
Date: 01/30/18

1 Linda Lane
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Blanche T. Koblinski
Date: 02/02/18

95 South Prospect St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Joshua K. Lacosse
Seller: Peter P. Chmyzinski
Date: 02/02/18

NORTHFIELD

692 Pine Meadow Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Anna M. Reid
Seller: Amy S. Biddle
Date: 02/01/18

ORANGE

220 Dana Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Angelo G. Poulos
Seller: North Quabbin Brook RT
Date: 01/31/18

277 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $189,900
Buyer: Yarelyn Martinez-Haddock
Seller: Maureen S. Desautels
Date: 01/31/18

SHELBURNE

10 Wilson Graves Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Mark C. Carlisle
Seller: Michele M. Beaudoin
Date: 02/07/18

SHUTESBURY

15 Hawks View Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $598,875
Buyer: Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin
Seller: Kathleen R. Lugosch
Date: 01/30/18

38 Laurel Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Christopher W. Cummings
Seller: Philip A. Lemere
Date: 01/29/18

SUNDERLAND

82 Hadley Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $263,900
Buyer: Colleen A. Campbell
Seller: Dzenis, Blanche J., (Estate)
Date: 02/09/18

WHATELY

83 North St.
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Paul H. Bordua
Seller: Donald M. Scott
Date: 02/09/18

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

9 Ridgeview Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Gary W. Peiffer
Seller: Kenneth A. Lindeland
Date: 02/08/18

24 Yarmouth Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: William A. Garvin
Seller: Bobby L. Colvin
Date: 01/31/18

AMHERST

41 East Hadley Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Gregory R. Haughton
Seller: Lourdes Morales
Date: 01/31/18

133 Flat Hills Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $293,000
Buyer: Albert Y. Kim
Seller: Jones FT
Date: 01/31/18

48 Morgan Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $412,500
Buyer: Steven B. Kurtz
Seller: Arrelle R. Cook RET
Date: 02/01/18

161 Pomeroy Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $284,830
Buyer: Lawrence A. Peltz
Seller: Peter S. Choi
Date: 01/31/18

BELCHERTOWN

35 Clark St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Caitlin P. Cobb
Seller: Aaron Guimond
Date: 01/31/18

BLANDFORD

6 Blandford Dr.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $615,000
Buyer: James W. Marlor
Seller: Ralph J. Damato
Date: 01/31/18

BRIMFIELD

Blandford Dr.
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $615,000
Buyer: James W. Marlor
Seller: Ralph J. Damato
Date: 01/31/18

42 Champeaux Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $467,841
Buyer: Bank Of America
Seller: Douglas Kirkpatrick
Date: 02/01/18

285 Webber Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: A&B Automotive Properties LLC
Seller: Gregory Reilly
Date: 02/02/18

CHICOPEE

461 Broadway St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Mahdi Mousali
Seller: East Green Street Properties
Date: 01/30/18

524 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Amat Victoria Curam LLC
Seller: Maddox Realty LLC
Date: 01/31/18

23 Dallaire Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Chun J. Chen
Seller: Alfred J. Labrie
Date: 02/09/18

128 Davenport St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $168,300
Buyer: Pamela B. Davis
Seller: John J. O’Neill
Date: 02/09/18

138 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $183,900
Buyer: Daniel E. Perez
Seller: Timothy E. Elliott
Date: 01/31/18

27 Edmund St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Alyssa Stoakley
Seller: Melissa A. Quinn
Date: 02/02/18

78 Lukasik St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Basilio Perez
Seller: Jeffrey S. Sattler
Date: 02/02/18

28 Maple St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Yekaterina A. Alekseyeva
Seller: Tammy L. Audet
Date: 01/29/18

39 Maryland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $192,500
Buyer: Don Pops-Marks
Seller: Edward J. Polchlopek
Date: 02/01/18

76 Oakwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $136,300
Buyer: Laura T. Boone
Seller: Brian M. Geraghty
Date: 01/31/18

51 Shaw Park Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $163,800
Buyer: Anthony Vega-Vargas
Seller: Sead Bajrami
Date: 02/05/18

EASTHAMPTON

282 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Jared T. Larkin
Seller: Alexandra L. Dodge
Date: 01/31/18

EAST LONGMEADOW

15 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $209,900
Buyer: Shirley Montovani
Seller: William H. Craft
Date: 01/31/18

27 Maryland St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Juan M. Garcia-Ramos
Seller: C&M Builders LLC
Date: 02/08/18

68 North Circle Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jason M. Noga-McDonald
Seller: Leo M. Lortie
Date: 02/01/18

180 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Bednarz
Seller: Pearl F. Keinath
Date: 01/30/18

329 Pease Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Donald M. Stevens
Seller: Krista Santaniello
Date: 01/30/18

583 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Bailey Property Mgmt. LLC
Seller: Virginia S. Blake
Date: 02/07/18

22 Susan St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Daniel S. Burack 2018 IRT
Seller: James M. Evitts
Date: 02/01/18

56 Waterman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Michael Carabetta
Seller: Aiello, Rosangela, (Estate)
Date: 02/02/18

GRANVILLE

541 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Robert M. Stephan
Seller: Stanley, Kathleen F., (Estate)
Date: 01/31/18

HAMPDEN

25 Evergreen Terrace
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $121,000
Buyer: Fred Ginsberg
Seller: Robert F. Wells
Date: 01/31/18

722 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: George Courtemanche
Seller: Fisher, Arlene L., (Estate)
Date: 01/29/18

138 Mountain Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Andrew S. Haynes
Seller: Anne W. Collins
Date: 02/08/18

HATFIELD

3 The Jog
Hatfield, MA 01039
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Richard C. Jones
Seller: Craig Latham
Date: 01/30/18

HOLLAND

21 Dug Hill Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Justin R. Frenier
Seller: Maple Ledge Associates
Date: 02/01/18

HOLYOKE

1 Bassett Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Luis E. Sumba-Morocho
Seller: Noelle M. Bonnevie
Date: 01/30/18

16 Brightwood Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Josue Lopez
Seller: Dulude, Lena E., (Estate)
Date: 01/29/18

60 Cherry Hill
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Michael J. Lynch
Seller: Ellen M. Sullivan
Date: 01/31/18

30 Cleveland St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Joshua S. Beauregard
Seller: Jeffrey A. Trask
Date: 02/05/18

291 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Sic Infit LLC
Seller: Nickerson Properties LLC
Date: 02/01/18

47-49 Hitchcock St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Chevonne Machuca
Seller: Deborah J. Brunelle
Date: 02/02/18

25 Longfellow Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Charles W. Aurnhammer
Seller: Edmund G. Woods
Date: 01/31/18

10 Merkel Terrace
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Michael C. O’Connell
Seller: Kevin A. Bodley
Date: 02/09/18

388 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $199,500
Buyer: Juan C. Burgos
Seller: John P. Lecca
Date: 02/09/18

37 Princeton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: Joseph Rosinski
Seller: MTGLQ Investors LP
Date: 02/01/18

LONGMEADOW

67 Burbank Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $324,000
Buyer: Amanda C. Berry
Seller: Richard S. Baker
Date: 02/01/18

951 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $749,000
Buyer: Obioma A. Princewill
Seller: Sodi Inc.
Date: 02/02/18

172 Greenacre Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Joseph J. Cervasio
Seller: Patrick D. Gleason
Date: 01/31/18

68 Hopkins Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Emily R. Shotland
Seller: Ann M. Jagodowski
Date: 02/01/18

1214 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $345,200
Buyer: Dwayne N Joyce
Seller: Melissa R. Sheerin-Bshara
Date: 02/07/18

189 Magnolia Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Michael P. Landry
Seller: Theodore J. Maresh
Date: 01/31/18

89 Morningside Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $340,600
Buyer: Gabriel A. Radu
Seller: Linda A. Spataro
Date: 02/02/18

16 Shady Knoll Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Fijal
Seller: Mary Ricco
Date: 02/08/18

59 Tedford Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Arif Malik
Seller: Michael Izenstein
Date: 02/06/18

LUDLOW

57 Barre Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Scott A. Theriault
Seller: Wilson, Edna I., (Estate)
Date: 02/05/18

80-82 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Anna S. Rodrigo
Seller: Center Street Funding TR
Date: 01/29/18

106 Church St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Michael J. Tenerowicz
Seller: Gloria J. Vaughan-Dawson
Date: 01/31/18

16 Duke St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Kevin Brown
Seller: Brandon B. Henry
Date: 01/29/18

80 Hunter Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Amber L. Goodreau
Seller: Valda B. Perham
Date: 02/08/18

242 James St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: David Lengieza
Seller: Sandra M. Lengieza
Date: 01/29/18

155 Parker Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $446,400
Buyer: Daniel Coelho
Seller: Armand Deslauriers
Date: 01/31/18

9 Pleasantview St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Evelyn Core
Seller: Amy C. Paquette
Date: 01/30/18

63 Ray St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $128,000
Buyer: Amanda L. Caloon
Seller: Nicholas T. Lopata
Date: 01/29/18

178 Reynolds St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Marsha L. Burek
Seller: Lee Roque
Date: 01/30/18

32-34 Sewall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Manuel R. Coelho
Seller: Michelle Santos-Nunes
Date: 01/30/18

59 Windwood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $387,000
Buyer: Miriam N Santiago
Seller: Isidoro P. Fernandes
Date: 02/02/18

MONSON

181 Stafford Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $233,000
Buyer: Chelsea L. Socha
Seller: Beverly M. Harnois
Date: 01/30/18

MONTGOMERY

134 New State Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Timothy D. Wolcott
Seller: David S. Wolcott
Date: 02/08/18

NORTHAMPTON

98 Morningside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $374,900
Buyer: Hadassah Gurfein
Seller: Kathleen M. Lemay
Date: 02/01/18

73 Redford Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $142,885
Buyer: USA VA
Seller: Edward R. Blanchard
Date: 01/31/18

PALMER

Baptist Hill Road #15
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Pedro D. Fernandes
Seller: Thomas K. Topor
Date: 01/29/18

3 Fieldstone Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Matthew E. Blanchard
Seller: Stephen C. Connors
Date: 02/07/18

1317 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: FSG Realty LLC
Seller: Peter V. Scagliarini
Date: 02/09/18

1535 North Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $124,740
Buyer: Malgorzata B. Pasieka
Seller: Justin R. Beaulieu
Date: 01/31/18

91 State St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Brian Rollet
Seller: Olive Kapinos
Date: 02/02/18

RUSSELL

51 Highland Ave.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Robert Escalante
Seller: Corey R. Sampson
Date: 02/09/18

SOUTH HADLEY

5 Burnett Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Timothy Cote
Seller: Emilio Frattaruolo
Date: 01/30/18

48 Charon Terrace
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Bryan Pelchat
Seller: Heather L. Putnam
Date: 01/31/18

15 Pershing Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Alberts House LLC
Seller: VanBelle FT
Date: 01/31/18

70 Woodbridge St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Karen S. Donnelly
Seller: Matthew S. Bertuzzi
Date: 01/31/18

SOUTHAMPTON

36 Gilbert Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Timothy M. Smith
Seller: Chicoine, Ruth E., (Estate)
Date: 01/31/18

3 Mountain View Circle
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Vanessa J. Rice
Seller: Lisa M. Murdock
Date: 01/29/18

SOUTHWICK

5 Evergreen St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Tyler Burnham
Seller: Michelle Seelig
Date: 02/05/18

28 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: James E. Jannene
Seller: Norman R. Betournay
Date: 02/02/18

138 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Miroslav Tkach
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 01/31/18

20 Gillette Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jesse M. Veprauskas
Seller: James A. Chaffee
Date: 01/31/18

62 Lakeview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Maureen F. Manfredi
Seller: Donald McCullers
Date: 02/02/18

11 Overlook Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Brenda Loguidice
Seller: Pinnacle Estates At the Ranch
Date: 01/30/18

45 Pineywood Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: John Wackerbarth
Date: 02/08/18

SPRINGFIELD

200 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Joseph H. Sasen
Seller: Leo E. Florence
Date: 01/30/18

1554 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $217,900
Buyer: Jyovani Joubert
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 01/30/18

691 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Luis Cuevas
Seller: C&K Blue Sky Properties
Date: 01/29/18

148 Bolton St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Diplomat Property Manager
Seller: Sharon A. Jones
Date: 01/31/18

95 Breckwood Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Simon J. Garcia-Aparicio
Seller: Eagle Home Buyers LLC
Date: 01/31/18

20 Briarcliff St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Galang Nguyen
Seller: Kha V. Lam
Date: 02/09/18

14 Campechi St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Jim A. Rivera-Delrio
Seller: Modica TR
Date: 01/31/18

11 Deepfield Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Kenneth J. Wilson
Seller: Carmen E. Arroyo
Date: 01/31/18

193 Corona St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Juan C. Rodriguez
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 02/07/18

32-34 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $205,683
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Hallam Scantlebury
Date: 01/30/18

204 East Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. Petty
Seller: Brahman Holdings LLC
Date: 02/01/18

60 East Bay Path Terrace
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $162,839
Buyer: Avet RT
Seller: Hampden Homebuyers LLC
Date: 02/07/18

95 Fargo St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Kianna J. Pressley
Seller: Brahman Holdings LLC
Date: 02/05/18

40 Gardens Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Nicholas E. Duncan
Seller: Angela R. Barnett
Date: 01/31/18

94 Glenoak Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $181,000
Buyer: Tyler P. Ottaviani
Seller: Mary Beard
Date: 02/08/18

65 Glenvale St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Michael J. McLaughlin
Seller: Danette L. Krushel
Date: 02/08/18

74 Gresham St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Jazziah Serrano
Seller: Oussama Awkal
Date: 01/31/18

35-37 Hall St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: 35 Hall Street LLC
Seller: WB Real Estate Holdings
Date: 02/01/18

137 Hanson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: North Harlow 5 LLC
Seller: Champagne, Olive G. T., (Estate)
Date: 01/31/18

60 Harrow Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $161,800
Buyer: Eugene Fisher TR
Seller: Marc Allen
Date: 02/06/18

43 Holly Hill Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jonathan Vanegas
Seller: Paul W. Suchecki
Date: 01/31/18

66-68 Holly St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Samuel S. Fernandes
Seller: Silver P. Serra
Date: 01/30/18

31 Laurence St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jared Johnson
Seller: Nu Way Homes Inc.
Date: 02/09/18

17-19 Leete St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Patricia E. Meshack
Seller: JJJ 17 LLC
Date: 01/31/18

26 Lenn Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $189,900
Buyer: Robert F. Martin
Seller: David F. O’Brien
Date: 01/31/18

18-20 Lombard St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Valley Castle Holdings
Seller: Silverio Tavarez
Date: 01/31/18

70 Martel Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Maria E. Leger
Seller: Evelee Acevedo
Date: 02/09/18

163-165 Maynard St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Nicholas Adams
Seller: Salgo LLC
Date: 02/06/18

190 Middlesex St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $128,000
Buyer: Ferris F. Shelton
Seller: Gerri Fitch
Date: 02/09/18

57 Mohawk Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Morris Reid
Seller: Julie G. Foster
Date: 02/08/18

114 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Lynne M. Malone
Seller: Wayne F. Trahan
Date: 01/30/18

809 North Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Westvue NPL T. 2
Seller: Cheryl D. Figueroa
Date: 01/31/18

42 North Brook Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Donna J. Scibelli
Seller: Rita M. Smith
Date: 01/30/18

33 Oak Hollow Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Carol A. Ouellette
Seller: Michael P. Meunier
Date: 01/29/18

41 Olive St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Jose Olique-Ortiz
Seller: Brothers In Law Realty
Date: 01/29/18

31-33 Parkside St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Walkis Figueroa
Seller: William Raleigh
Date: 02/05/18

91 Pineywoods Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Jennifer E. Vose
Seller: Galen B. Young
Date: 01/31/18

1294 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $140,667
Buyer: Andrew W. Vivenzio
Seller: Mary F. Vivenzio
Date: 01/30/18

75 Pocantico Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Western Mass. Property Development
Seller: Ryan Lombardini
Date: 02/09/18

148 Spikenard Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $176,900
Buyer: Coralynn M. Burr
Seller: Mark D. Rowe
Date: 02/02/18

17-19 Standish St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Jose M. Lopez
Seller: Joseph M. Santaniello
Date: 02/09/18

235 State St. #C15
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Fermin Reyes
Seller: Mark A. Pessolano
Date: 01/31/18

45 Steuben St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Mai Vo
Seller: Bernard A. Fish
Date: 01/31/18

1032 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jacob J. McBride
Seller: Filomena Dibenedetto
Date: 01/31/18

111 Talmadge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Maria S. Ramos
Seller: Joseph Bednarz
Date: 01/30/18

48 Thorndyke St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Home Equity Assets Realty
Seller: Home Equity Assets Realty
Date: 02/05/18

60 Tinkham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Kelly S. Macneil
Seller: Christopher Robinson
Date: 02/01/18

62-64 Watling St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Hosea O. Holder
Seller: Roberto H. Valverde
Date: 01/29/18

22 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jose M. Lopez
Seller: David A. Faita
Date: 02/08/18

250 Winton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Margorie Perez
Seller: David C. Bush
Date: 01/31/18

WALES

13 Lake Shore Dr.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Michael J. Graveline
Date: 01/30/18

WESTFIELD

10 Laurel Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Jennifer Kielbasa
Seller: Jean C. Girardin
Date: 02/09/18

26 Livingstone Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Anne V. Fisk
Seller: Nancy A. Fehling
Date: 02/06/18

94 Main St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Polish National Credit Union
Seller: Thomas F. Cusack
Date: 01/30/18

79 Notre Dame St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: JS Sampson Development
Seller: Charlene M. Sampson
Date: 01/30/18

15 Reed St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $225,900
Buyer: Vincent P. Nitri
Seller: Gina Berte
Date: 02/02/18

38 Ridgeway St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Ernest C. Puza
Seller: Janosik Realty LLC
Date: 02/05/18

82 Ridgeview Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Scott F. Schumann
Seller: Donna M. Edwards
Date: 01/30/18

3 Sibley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $117,670
Buyer: Bank Of America
Seller: Marretta O. Dyer
Date: 02/05/18

5 Sibley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $117,670
Buyer: Bank Of America
Seller: Marretta O. Dyer
Date: 02/05/18

29 Sunrise Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $224,100
Buyer: MTGLQ Investors LP
Seller: William S. Belfar
Date: 01/30/18

5 Sycamore St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Sofiya Panasyuk
Seller: Ivan Mokan
Date: 02/09/18

WILBRAHAM

23 Brooklawn Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Brian A. Jalonen
Seller: Stratton Renovation LLC
Date: 01/31/18

8 Brookmont Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Amy C. Paquette
Seller: James R. Algie
Date: 01/30/18

8 Bruuer Ave.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Daniel T. Corthell
Seller: Matthew E. Blanchard
Date: 02/07/18

15 Old Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Justin A. Melbourne
Seller: Kyung W. Kim
Date: 01/31/18

3 Sherwin Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $411,500
Buyer: Finlay Oguku
Seller: AC Homebuilding LLC
Date: 01/30/18

3 Russell Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Michelle Patrick
Date: 02/05/18

237 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Epifanio Sanchez-Vega
Seller: Andrew J. Harrington
Date: 02/02/18

WEST SPRINGFIELD

22 Calvin Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Heather M. Sliwa
Seller: Kathleen M. Sliwa
Date: 02/06/18

15 Cataumet Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $356,654
Buyer: Ansar Mamedov
Seller: HSBC Bank
Date: 02/08/18

20 Churchill Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $261,000
Buyer: Virginia Dechristopher
Seller: MAA Property LLC
Date: 01/31/18

11 Dale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $184,900
Buyer: Amber L. Rogers
Seller: Lisa A. Hraba
Date: 01/29/18

19 Heritage Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: William D. Berte
Seller: Thomas J. McNamara
Date: 02/02/18

44 Hummingbird Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Richard Wentzel
Seller: Michael D. Waldron
Date: 02/05/18

104 Kings Hwy.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Santonya Jackson
Seller: US Bank
Date: 01/30/18

161 Robinson Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Michael J. Hearn
Seller: Gentile, Mary J., (Estate)
Date: 02/02/18

177 West Autumn Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Essam AlRubaei
Seller: Francoise M. Godbout
Date: 01/30/18

1520 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $163,236
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Bernard St.Martin
Date: 01/29/18

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

11 Ladyslipper Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $638,821
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Felicity Mbanefo
Date: 02/07/18

BELCHERTOWN

144 North Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Chanya Sae-Eaw
Seller: Sherry E. Bellavance
Date: 02/07/18

35 Summit St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $264,900
Buyer: Deborah O’Neil
Seller: John H. Roberts
Date: 02/09/18

CUMMINGTON

10 Main St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Nicole C. Fellows
Seller: Taylor, John R., (Estate)
Date: 02/06/18

EASTHAMPTON

69 Clark St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: David A. Nadroski
Seller: Alfred J. Albano
Date: 02/09/18

GRANBY

407 Batchelor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Steven M. Wick
Seller: Raymond J. Giroux
Date: 02/06/18

76-R Harris St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Anthony Kowal
Seller: Yoeuy Chhung
Date: 02/05/18

HADLEY

2 Comins Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $341,000
Buyer: Philip C. Ciccarelli
Seller: William E. O’Neil
Date: 02/09/18

152 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Valerie K. Hood
Seller: Vadas, Edward R., (Estate)
Date: 02/05/18

HUNTINGTON

18 Laurel Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Peter Noga
Date: 02/05/18

163 Worthington Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Horton FT
Seller: James H. Moore
Date: 02/09/18

NORTHAMPTON

9 Crosby St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Christopher Karney
Seller: Frank E. Sadlowski
Date: 02/09/18

43 Finn St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $500,500
Buyer: Jaya R. Agrawal
Seller: McCutcheon Development
Date: 02/08/18

16 Winslow Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Flippin Good Home Buyers
Seller: Arthur W. Pontbriant
Date: 02/09/18

SOUTH HADLEY

515 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $449,900
Buyer: Brett A. Remillard
Seller: Polish American Citizens
Date: 02/09/18

35 Highland Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Normand R. Girardin
Seller: Luis Builders Inc.
Date: 02/09/18

53 Searle Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $212,500
Buyer: Jessica Egan
Seller: Thomas E. Kelly
Date: 02/09/18

70 Washington Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Valley Building Co. Inc.
Seller: Mark R. Plante
Date: 02/06/18

SOUTHAMPTON

4 Fomer Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Jacob E. Gold
Seller: Marc T. Jillson
Date: 02/09/18

4 Nicole Circle
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Marc T. Jillson
Seller: Mark R. Bonczek
Date: 02/09/18

WILLIAMSBURG

15 North Farms Road
Williamsburg, MA 01062
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Joanna G. Vaughn
Seller: Julie E. Berube
Date: 01/31/18

Incorporations

By
Departments Incorporations

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

Holyoke

Peoplesbank Charitable Foundation, Inc., 330 Whitney Ave., Suite 740, Holyoke, MA 01040. Thomas Senecal, same. Grants funding programs that benefit low and moderate income and under-served populations focused on the areas of academic excellence, community vibrancy and environmental sustainability.

Longmeadow

Patez Commercial Cleaning Contractors Inc., 187 Westmoreland Ave., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Andreia Patez, same. Cleaning, powerwashing, painting.

North Adams

Save Fort Massachusetts Memorial Inc., 1143 State Road, North Adams, MA 01247. Wendy M. Champney, same. To promote the preservation of the memorial located on Route 2 in North Adams marking the former site of Fort, Massachusetts.

Pittsfield

Scapin Builders Inc., 7 Lebanon Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Jon Scapin, same. Service: remodel existing residential properties.

Springfield

Onecall Medstaff Corp., 736 Belmont Ave., Apt. 1R, Springfield, MA 01108. Steven B. Kee, same. Staffing services.

Sabella Hogan, P.C., 1350 Main St., Suite 214, Springfield, MA 01103. Edward V. Sabella, same. Law practice.

Puerto Rico Food Industries Inc., 61 Mansfield St., Springfield, MA 01108. Luis Feliciano, same. Wholesale of specialty food products.

Ware

Pablo D. Santiago Ministries, 35 West St., Ware, MA 01082. Pablo De Jesus Santiago, 8 Cherry St., Ware, MA 01082. The purpose of this corporation is to expand the Kingdom of God in humble service to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ through ministry, education, charitable service, contribution, outreach, fellowship and ordination.

West Springfield

Road Star Express Inc., 34 Tatham Hill Road, West Springfield, MA 01089. IlkhomAgayev, same. Long haul trucking company.

Westfield

Om Mobil Mart Inc., 162 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Mehar Hamza, same. Gas station.

Wilbraham

Rice’s Fruit Farm Corporation, 757 Main St., Wilbraham, MA 01095. Anthony D. Maloni, same. Preparation and sale for consumption of food products, beverages and other goods to the general public.

People on the Move

By
Departments People on the Move
Christine Devin

Christine Devin

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. announced the promotion of Christine Devin, CPA, to manager in its Audit and Accounting department. In her new position, Devin will be responsible for the management of audit and review engagements for the firm’s not-for-profit, commercial, and pension clients. In addition, she will assist with the management of the not-for-profit niche, which encompasses the supervision and training of staff, client relations, firm protocol, and regulatory updates. She rejoined MBK in 2015 as a senior associate. With nine years of experience as a controller of a closely held business and more than eight years of public accounting experience, Devin combines a deep understanding of the operations, financial reporting, and regulatory requirements of the private sector with the technical expertise of a CPA. Devin received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Elms College. She is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

•••••

Katie Longley

Katie Longley

Elms College appointed accomplished higher-education finance executive Katie Longley the college’s new vice president of Finance and Administration. Reporting to the president, Longley, who will join Elms on March 26, will be responsible for the strategic oversight and management of the college’s financial resources and operations. She comes to Elms from Abilene Christian University in Texas, where she currently serves as associate vice president of Finance. She held successive positions as controller, tax director, payroll manager, and senior accountant during her tenure with ACU. Prior to her work in higher education, Longley was in public accounting, working as an associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and then becoming a senior auditor for Davis, Kinard & Co. She holds a master’s degree in accountancy and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, both from Abilene Christian University. Longley fills the position vacated by Brian Doherty, who retired from the college earlier this year.

•••••

Marcie Zimmerman

Marcie Zimmerman

Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) promoted Marcie Zimmerman to Human Resources officer. In this role, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR, including benefits administration, employee relations, payroll, affirmative-action plan, recruiting, orientation, performance management, policy implementation, and employment-law compliance. Zimmerman joined GSB in 2009 and has worked in the field of human resources for more than 12 years. She holds a number of HR certifications, including Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), and Certified Compensation Analyst (CCA).

•••••

Jeanne Kosakowski

Jeanne Kosakowski

The Dowd Insurance Agencies announced that Jeanne Kosakowski has been hired as claims director. In this role, she handles some of the personal-lines claims, all of the commercial-lines claims, and oversees all claims. “Jeanne joins us with over three decades of insurance experience and demonstrated customer relations that will benefit our customers,” said John E. Dowd Jr., president and CEO. Kosakowski came to the Dowd Agencies from Hanover Insurance, where she was a commercial-lines product analyst. She received her bachelor’s degree from Russell Sage College in New York, where she was a Kellas Scholar. She is an Associate in Claims (AIC), a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR), and a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), and is currently working on her Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation. Kosakowski, who was named an “outstanding instructor” for the Worcester County Insurance Institute, will be based in the Dowd Agencies’ home office in Holyoke.

•••••

Elizabeth Dineen

Elizabeth Dineen

The board of trustees at Elms College appointed Elizabeth Dineen, executive director of the YWCA of Western Mass. in Springfield, as a new board member. Dineen has had a long career of community service, first serving as an assistant district attorney for 25 years prosecuting child sexual abuse and rape cases, then entering an academic career as the director of the Criminal Justice program at Bay Path University, and now at the YWCA, whose mission — “eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all” — is consistent with that of Elms College. Her legal career focused on helping the most vulnerable in the community, especially women and children who were the victims of sexually based and personal violence, and that focus has carried over into her work at the YWCA, which serves women and families at critical times in their lives. Dineen has served on the board of directors of Square One of Springfield, which provides early-education programs for children, since 2013. She previously served on the board of Mont Marie Child Care Center in Holyoke, and on the appropriations committee in East Longmeadow. Honors Dineen has earned throughout her career include the Governor’s Award for Service to the Commonwealth, the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award, Top Women of Law from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the first Justice Kent B. Smith Award from the Hampden County Bar Assoc., the City of Holyoke Mayor’s Certificate of Recognition, the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Access to Justice Award as Prosecutor of the Year, and the Elms College Alumni Assoc. Distinguished Alumni Award.

•••••

Nicholas D’Agostino

Nicholas D’Agostino

Holyoke Community College recently welcomed Nicholas D’Agostino as its new Affirmative Action officer and Title IX coordinator. D’Agostino comes to HCC after working for nearly 12 years as an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action professional in Connecticut, most recently as the associate in Diversity and Equity at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and before that as an EEO specialist with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. He started at HCC on Jan. 29. A longtime advocate for equity and social justice with a focus on LGBTQ issues, D’Agostino has been an Anti-Defamation League anti-bullying trainer for more than 10 years and has a long association with True Colors, a support and advocacy group in Hartford for LGBTQ youth, which he has served as board president. He has either led or participated in hundreds of affirmative-action and discrimination investigations during his career. At CCSU, D’Agostino conducted awareness and advocacy programs, promoted social-justice initiatives, engaged the college community in sexual-harassment and assault prevention, and led training sessions on diversity, Title IX compliance, anti-racism, and LGBTQ awareness. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in federally funded education programs. D’Agostino holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Quinnipiac University and a master’s degree in counselor education with a specialization in student development in higher education from CCSU.

•••••

Elizabeth Oleksak-Sposito

Elizabeth Oleksak-Sposito

Jeffrey Sattler

Jeffrey Sattler

The Springfield Technical Community College board of trustees recently welcomed two new members. Gov. Charlie Baker appointed Elizabeth Oleksak-Sposito and Jeffrey Sattler to serve on the board, an 11-member body that governs STCC. Oleksak-Sposito worked as a clinical care manager at Boston Medical Center Health Plan from 2012 until her retirement in 2016. She provided holistic medical-care-management services for plan members with chronic conditions and complex care needs. Prior to joining Boston Medical Center Health Plan, she worked as a medical case manager for Broadspire, a division of Crawford & Co. and provider of claims-management solutions to the risk-management and insurance industry. She previously worked as a sales specialist and account manager at Hill-Rom Home Care in Charleston, S.C. A certified case manager prior to her retirement, Oleksak-Sposito holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from American International College in Springfield and a diploma in nursing from the Cooley Dickinson Hospital School of Nursing in Northampton. Her term ends March 1, 2022. Sattler is senior vice president, Commercial Lending, at Savings Institute Bank & Trust. He is responsible for managing and growing the bank’s commercial-banking business, including lending, leasing, and deposit accounts throughout the Greater Springfield and Enfield, Conn. areas. He has more than 35 years of experience in commercial banking at various institutions in the region. Prior to joining Savings Institute Bank & Trust, Sattler served as president of NUVO Bank & Trust Co. (now known as Community Bank N.A.) He serves on the board of directors of Mason Wright Senior Living Community, Rotary Club of Chicopee, and the Western Massachusetts Boy Scouts of America. He is an associate member of the National Tool & Die Assoc. Sattler graduated from Springfield College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and history, with a minor in business administration. He also graduated from the ABA Commercial Lending Banking School at the University of New Hampshire. His term ends March 1, 2021.

•••••

William Sharp

William Sharp

Freedom Credit Union (FCU), headquartered on Main Street in Springfield and serving members throughout Western Mass. through nine additional branches, announced the recent appointment of William Sharp as the new branch officer in Chicopee. Sharp has worked with financial institutions for 40 years, having held management positions within the banking industry prior to joining Freedom Credit Union in 2013. He is active within his community and has received several recognitions. He currently serves as board chair for the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, which awarded him the Dr. Edward Ryan Award for board service in 2016. That same year, the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, which he had served as treasurer, named him Ambassador of the Year. He also has served as board chair for the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board and, in 2003, was named Volunteer of the Year by the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce.

•••••

Mary Russell

Mary Russell

The Dowd Agencies, LLC announced that Mary Russell has been hired as commercial lines account manager. “With nearly a decade of insurance experience, Mary’s expertise and commitment to customer service will benefit our customers,” said John E. Dowd Jr., president and CEO. As commercial lines account manager, Russell manages a roster of insurance clients and supports producers with a variety of initiatives. She came to the Dowd Agencies from a local agency, where she was a personal lines account manager. She received her associate degree in psychology from Holyoke Community College.

•••••

Margaret (Meg) Beturne

Margaret (Meg) Beturne

Ruben Arroyo

Ruben Arroyo

The Gray House recently inducted two new board members to a three-year term. They were welcomed at the January board meeting by the president and officers of the board. The new board members are Margaret (Meg) Beturne and Ruben Arroyo. Remaining board officers are Kathleen Lingenberg, president; Susan Mastroianni, vice president; Janet Rodriguez Denney, clerk; and Candace Pereira, treasurer. Beturne is a professional nurse with extensive experience in perianesthesia, surgical, ambulatory and critical-care nursing and is the assistant nurse manager at the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center in Springfield. Previous positions include Nursing Clinical Operations manager of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit and staff nurse in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. She has served on several boards of directors, including the Children’s Study Home, the Ronald McDonald House of Springfield, the Elms College board of trustees, and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses. Arroyo is the Code Enforcement inspector for the Holyoke Board of Health and president of Arroyo Inc., an HVAC and home-improvement business. He is a deacon at his church, Iglesia Casa de Misericordia, and also involved with Iglesia Apostolica Cristiana Betzaida and the Christian radio broadcast station La Hora Zero 1490 AM.

•••••

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

LUSO Federal Credit Union announced the appointment of Jennifer Lopez as its new Marketing manager. She will oversee the credit union’s Marketing Department staff and daily operations, including brand and product promotions, advertising, online activity, and other marketing efforts. Lopez is a seasoned marketing professional with more than 10 years of experience in media and marketing management in Western Mass. Most recently, she spearheaded the marketing and communications initiatives at Pope Francis High School in Chicopee. Prior to that, she was a reporter and editor for Turley Publications in Palmer, and worked as a content writer for Market Mentors in West Springfield. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Western New England University.

•••••

Country Bank President and CEO Paul Scully announced the promotions of Mark Phillips, Andrew Sullivan, Sarah Yurkunas, and Christine Witz. Phillips has been appointed to first vice president of Internal Audit. He has been with the bank for 23 years and is a certified internal auditor and certified bank auditor. He has more than 40 years in the financial-services industry in various positions, most recently director of Internal Audit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA from Nichols College, and is also a graduate of the National School of Banking. He and his wife, Lisa, actively support the Epilepsy Foundation and the Worcester County Food Bank. Sullivan has been promoted to small-business lending officer and has been with the bank for four years. He began his career as a staff auditor at Wolf & Co. in Springfield, where he worked for two years before joining Country Bank as a credit analyst. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management along with an MBA with a concentration in accounting from Elms College. In 2015, he started a charity golf tournament, Andrew Sullivan’s Swing for a Cure, to bring awareness to cystic fibrosis. Over the past three years, this event has raised more than $30,000. Sullivan is also a member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield and was recently selected to receive the Best in Bank award from Country Bank. Yurkunas has been promoted to commercial portfolio manager and has been with the bank for 11 years. She began her career at Country Bank in the loan-servicing area and then moved to a loan coordinator position, which inspired her to pursue her career in the commercial-lending area. Yurkunas has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Bay Path University. She has also taken classes from the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. and received a certification in Fundamentals of Credit Analysis: Intro to Commercial Lending. She volunteers many hours of her personal time to support the bank’s community programs and enjoys giving back to her community. Witz has been promoted to retail lending officer. She has been with the bank for seven years, most recently as the assistant branch manager in the Charlton office. She serves on the Buy Ware Committee.

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Gissel Santiago v. Picknelly Family LP
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $4,828
Filed: 1/31/18

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT

Guillermo Rivera v. Chicopee Property, LLC
Allegation: Window blinds in apartment maintained by defendant fell on plaintiff, causing injury: $5,204.34
Filed: 1/25/18

Reinhart Foodservice, LLC v. AJB Ventures Inc. d/b/a Corner Grill & Pizzeria and Ibrahin Abed
Allegation: Money owed for goods sold and delivered: $6,618.37
Filed: 1/26/18

Nicole Ward v. Yellowbrick Property, LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $12,080
Filed: 2/2/18

Gordon Hunting v. Eastern States Exposition and Outdoor Sports Expo Group
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $7,469.17
Filed: 2/7/18

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Kathy L. Wheatley v. Eastfield Associates, LLC a/k/a Eastfield Mall Associates, LLC and Macy’s Retail Holdings Inc.
Allegation: Slip and fall in Eastfield Mall parking lot causing injury: $91,500
Filed: 1/23/18

Catherine Byrd Clear v. Salema Management Corp.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall at Dunkin’ Donuts causing injury: $21,587.41
Filed: 1/24/18

Mark Pisarczyk, personal representative of the estate of Phyllis Pisarczyk v. Dr. John Romanelli; Baystate Surgical Associates; Jamie Wicks, M.D.; and Baystate Medical Center
Allegation: Wrongful death: $2,524,000
Filed: 1/25/18

The Collins Companies Inc. d/b/a Collins Pipe & Supply Co. Inc. v. the William Powell Co. d/b/a Powell Valves
Allegation: Breach of contract: $428,949
Filed: 1/26/18

Rosemary B. Herberger v. Baystate Medical Center
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $4,144.63
Filed: 1/29/18

Michael Forni v. Kmart Corp.
Allegation: Negligence causing injury: $25,000
Filed: 1/31/18

Christina Mancini v. Haven Plaze East Associates LP and the Stop & Shop Companies Inc.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $43,845.75
Filed: 2/2/18

NGM Insurance Co. as subrogee of Katelyn M. Ford v. Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
Allegation: Negligence; driver of PVTA bus backed into plaintiff’s vehicle, causing injury and property damage: $14,381.83
Filed: 2/2/18

Henry Favreau v. Craig Schacher, M.D.; Kalpana Mani, M.D.; Timothy Herbst, M.D.; and Jefferson Radiology, P.C.
Allegation: Medical malpractice, wrongful death: $25,000
Filed: 2/5/18

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

Lisa N. Grimaldi v. Tannery Crossing Condominium Assoc.
Allegation: Slip and fall causing injury: $1,975
Filed: 1/19/18

John McCluskey v. Pyramid Management Group
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury at Holyoke Mall: $5,000
Filed: 1/31/18

Hampden County Bar Assoc. Offers Two Law-school Scholarships

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Hampden County Bar Assoc. is now accepting applications for the John F. Moriarty Scholarship and the Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship.

The John F. Moriarty Scholarship is available to any Hampden County resident who has been admitted to or is attending a certified law school for the 2018-19 academic year. Applicants must have been residents of Hampden County for at least five years. The application deadline is May 25.

The Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship is available to any veteran with an honorable discharge or a current member of the U.S. military who has been admitted to or is attending a certified law school in New England for the 2018-19 year. The application deadline is May 15, 2018.

Both scholarships are based on merit and financial need. Both applications and additional information are available by contacting the Caitlin Glenn at the Hampden County Bar Assoc. at (413) 732-4660 or [email protected], or by visiting www.hcbar.org/news/scholarships.

Springfield College School of Social Work to Hold Open House

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield College School of Social Work (SSW) will hold an open house for prospective students on Thursday, March 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Brennan Center, 45 Island Pond Road, Springfield, and at Saint Vincent Hospital, 123 Summer St., Worcester.

The SSW offers multiple programs for students, including a full-time, two-year, weekday master of social work program in Springfield, and a part-time, three-year, weekend master of social work program in Springfield and Worcester. There are also options for graduates of Council on Social Work Education-accredited bachelor of social work programs to choose either a four-semester weekend or three-semester weekday advanced standing program. The combined master of social work/juris doctorate is a four-year, full-time program in conjunction with Western New England University School of Law. Students may also work toward a post-master’s certificate in trauma-informed practice with children and adolescents.

“The number of active social workers has been growing steadily. Between 2004-05 and 2014-15, the number of practicing social workers grew by 15.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that social-work jobs will grow by 11.5% between 2014 and 2024,” said Springfield College SSW Dean Francine Vecchiolla. “Our master of social work program offers a single, advanced, generalist concentration, which is ideal preparation for direct practice, group work, community development and organization, and administration in a wide variety of settings, including child and family agencies, schools, hospitals, veterans’ services, senior centers, prisons, mental-health clinics, military-support programs, public social agencies, hospice care, and corporations. The school is student-centered, community-focused, and committed to diversity and cultural competence and to promoting continuous learning.”

At the open house, prospective graduate students will hear from a panel of faculty members, current students, field education faculty, and admissions staff. Refreshments will be served. Advance registration for the open house is available by calling the admissions coordinator at (413) 748-3060, or prospective students may RSVP online.

GSB Promotes Marcie Zimmerman to Human Resources Officer

By
Daily News

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) promoted Marcie Zimmerman to Human Resources officer. In this role, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR, including benefits administration, employee relations, payroll, affirmative-action plan, recruiting, orientation, performance management, policy implementation, and employment-law compliance.

Zimmerman joined GSB in 2009 and has worked in the field of human resources for more than 12 years. She holds a number of HR certifications, including Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), and Certified Compensation Analyst (CCA).

Elms Names YWCA Director Elizabeth Dineen New Trustee

By
Daily News

CHICOPEE — The board of trustees at College of Our Lady of the Elms has appointed Elizabeth Dineen ’77, J.D., executive director of the YWCA of Western Mass. in Springfield, MA, to be a new member of the board.

Dineen has had a long career of community service, first serving as an assistant district attorney for 25 years prosecuting child sexual abuse and rape cases, then entering an academic career as the director of the criminal justice program at Bay Path University, and now at the YWCA, whose mission — “eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all” — is consistent with that of Elms College.

Her legal career focused on helping the most vulnerable in our community, especially women and children who were the victims of sexually based and personal violence, and that focus has carried over into her work at the YWCA, which serves women and families at critical times in their lives.

“I am fortunate to have had a life and career of public service, all of which springs from the values of integrity, compassion and social justice that were fostered in me throughout my education at Elms College,” Dineen said. “The engaging classes challenged me intellectually and gave me a superb foundation for the study and practice of law.”

Dineen has served on the board of directors of Square One of Springfield, MA, which provides education programs for children, since 2013; she previously served on the board of Mont Marie Child Care Center in Holyoke, and on the appropriations committee in East Longmeadow.

Honors Dineen has earned throughout her career include: the Governor’s Award for Service to the Commonwealth; the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award; Top Women of Law from Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly; the first Justice Kent B. Smith Award (2010) from the Hampden County Bar Association; the City of Holyoke: Mayor’s Certificate of Recognition (2004); the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Access to Justice Award — Prosecutor of the Year (2003); and the Elms College Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

With July 1 Just Around the Corner, Employers Must Be Ready

By
Employment Sections

The New Pay-equity Law

By John S. Gannon, Esq. and Amelia J. Holstrom, Esq.

John S. Gannon, Esq

John S. Gannon, Esq

Amelia J. Holstrom, Esq

Amelia J. Holstrom, Esq

This summer, Massachusetts will enact what many believe to be the most stringent pay-equity legislation in the country.

Back in August 2016, Gov. Charlie Baker signed “An Act to Establish Pay Equity,” which amends the state’s existing equal-pay law and goes into effect on July 1, 2018. The intent of the legislation is laudable; it is aimed at strengthening pay equity between men and women in the Commonwealth.

Studies show that, despite more than 50 years of pay-equity laws being on the books, a significant wage gap between men and women still exists. In order to try and narrow that gap, the new Massachusetts pay-equity law imposes rigorous equal-pay obligations on employers. The new law also prohibits certain pay-related conduct by employers, including asking applicants about past compensation.

With July 1 just around the corner, employers need to take a careful look at the law, its requirements, and what they should be doing right now to limit their legal liability.

What Is Comparable Work?

Employers have been prohibited from discriminating in the payment of wages between men and women who perform comparable work for decades. The current version of the law, however, does not define what ‘comparable’ means. As a result, the Massachusetts courts defined ‘comparable’ in a way that made it very difficult for employees to succeed on a pay-discrimination claim.

Specifically, the employee had to establish that the jobs “did not differ in content” and entailed “comparable skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.” Many employers were successful defending pay-equity claims by showing that jobs “did not differ in content.”

The new pay-equity law defines ‘comparable work’ in a way that eliminates this “differ in content” requirement. This means that jobs may now be comparable for pay-equity purposes even though the job duties are different. The new law defines comparable jobs as those that involve “substantially similar skill, effort, and responsibility” and are performed under “similar working conditions.”

This language is broader than the test previously set forth by the courts, so it will likely lead to more favorable results for employees who file lawsuits under the amended act.

What If Employees in Comparable Jobs Are Paid Different Wages?

Some pay differences are permitted under the amended act, but they are very limited. Pay differences between persons performing comparable work are only acceptable if based upon: (1) a seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a per-unit or sales-compensation scheme; (4) geographic location of the job; (5) education, training, and experience, or; (6) the amount of travel required.

However, because the statute does not define these terms, employers have little guidance on how they might be interpreted and applied.

Employers who need to correct pay disparities may not reduce the salary of an employee in order to comply with the new law. Employers who have unexcused pay differentials will need to ‘level up’ and bring the pay of the lower earners up to the pay of the highest earner doing ‘comparable work.’

From Pay Equity to Pay Transparency

The amended act also prohibits employers from engaging in a common pay-related practice. Starting July 1, employers may not ask job applicants about their salary or wage history. Employers similarly cannot seek an applicant’s pay-history information from a current or prior employer.

As a result, employers must remove all questions regarding previous salary and wage-history information from their applications and train hiring managers not to ask prohibited questions.

Defense for Those Who Evaluate Pay Practices

There is one silver lining for employers. The new law provides an affirmative defense to employers who complete a “good-faith” self-evaluation of their pay practices and demonstrate “reasonable progress” toward eliminating any wage differentials.

This means employers who adequately audit their pay practices may avoid liability under the new law, but only if the employer’s self-evaluation is “reasonable in detail and scope in light of the size of the employer.”

Businesses should take advantage of this defense by formally auditing their pay practices before July 1, 2018, to ensure compliance with the new law. Employers who conduct an audit with an attorney can assert the attorney-client privilege with regard to all or some of the audit, which would protect it from disclosure during a lawsuit if the employer so desires.

With July 1 roughly four months away, employers need to begin making necessary changes to comply with the statute and strongly consider performing an audit to identify and address any already existing pay disparities. Attorneys may be eager to assert these claims due to the relaxed definition of comparable work and the potential for liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. So businesses need to be ready.

John S. Gannon is an attorney with Skoler, Abbott & Presser, LLC, one of the largest law firms in New England exclusively practicing labor and employment law. He specializes in employment litigation and personnel policies and practices, wage-and-hour compliance, and non-compete and trade-secrets litigation; (413) 737-4753; [email protected]. Amelia J. Holstrom joined Skoler, Abbott & Presser in 2012 after serving as a judicial law clerk to the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court, where she assisted with complex matters at all stages of litigation. Her practice is focused in labor law and employment litigation; (413) 737-4753; [email protected]

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Brenda Guiel v. Hollister Jewelers, LLC and Archibald D. Moe Jr.

Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, conversion: $24,999

Filed: 1/22/18

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT

Mayela M. Pizarro v. Pride Convenience Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $3,566.89

Filed: 1/9/18

Capital Candy Co. Inc. v. Nafees M. Niazi f/d/b/a Shaw’s Mart

Allegation: Money owed for goods sold and delivered: $5,002.63

Filed: 1/9/18

Frank DeLuca d/b/a Porter Royal Sales v. Sterling Architectural Millwork Inc.

Allegation: Breach of contract: $10,000

Filed: 1/11/18

Anthony Kulukulualani v. Best Value Movers, LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract, negligence: $24,000

Filed: 1/12/18

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Terry M. Chenaille v. Cinemark USA Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $41,834.53

Filed: 1/2/18

Judith A. Welch v. Big Y Foods Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $34,839.70

Filed: 1/2/18

Jane McClure v. St. John’s Lutheran Church, Chairman of Trustees Mark Baldyga, and Church Council President Bill Schneeloch

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $69,712.82

Filed: 1/3/18

Michelle Moser v. DB Properties, LLC

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $20,000

Filed: 1/8/18

Denise Pepe-Walker v. NP Home Improvement Inc.

Allegation: Negligent entrustment; plaintiff’s vehicle struck by vehicle operated by employee of defendant, causing injury: $50,000

Filed: 1/9/18

Cherie Quirici v. Home-Like Apartments Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $114,651.80

Filed: 1/10/18

Glenn Hauer and Rebecca Hauer v. Baystate Medical Center Inc., Baystate Health Inc., and Colebrook Realty Services Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing injury: $2,799,350.11

Filed: 1/16/18

Brian Lindley, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Max’s Grill, LLC and Richard B. Rosenthal

Allegation: Non-payment of minimum fair wage, non-payment of earned wages: $25,000+

Filed: 1/22/18

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

James St. Pierre v. Quik Foods III, LLC d/b/a Burger King

Allegation: False, misleading, and deceptive business practices; slander, defamation, and libel: $1,200

Filed: 1/12/18

Evan Baez, a minor, by and through his mother and next friend, Amanda Bermudez v. SCB, LLC

Allegation: Fall causing injury when stair broke on back steps of apartment: $2,258.68

Filed: 1/18/18

PALMER DISTRICT COURT

John Czuber v. Olde Hadleigh Hearth & Home Center Inc.

Allegation: Breach of contract and breach of express warranty in sale of high-end patio furniture: $4,038

Filed: 2/1/18

A Region Comes Together to Support Evacuees from Puerto Rico

By
RefugeesFeature0218b
Features

Storm Surge

Rosa Espinosa

Rosa Espinosa, director of Family Services at the New North Citizens Council

What happens when a family arrives in the Springfield area from far away, with no job, transportation, or living arrangements? What happens when hundreds come? That was the challenge — and certainly still is — wrought by Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico last fall and sent a flood of evacuees to the Western Mass. region. Efforts to help them find relief have been inspiring, but the needs remain great, and the path ahead far from clear.

When Holyoke High School opened its Newcomer Academy in August — a program that helps non-English speakers access classes taught in Spanish while getting up to speed on English — administrators had no idea just how timely the launch would be.

“Holyoke, for many years, has looked for alternative types of bilingual-education models, and even before the hurricane, we were seeing a lot of newcomers who needed time to build up their English-language skills,” said Ileana Cintrón, chief of Family and Community Engagement for Holyoke Public Schools.

‘The hurricane,’ of course, is Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico in September, prompting a mass exodus of displaced families seeking relief on the U.S. mainland. Western Mass. was a natural landing spot, with Puerto Rican cultural roots running deep in Greater Springfield; Holyoke, is, in fact, home to the largest percentage of Puerto Rican residents of any city outside the island itself.

That’s why 226 students whose families evacuated Puerto Rico in the wake of the hurricane enrolled in Holyoke schools shortly afterward; nearly 200 are still attending, with many families contemplating a permanent relocation to the Pioneer Valley. In Springfield, the number is close to 600.

“It was difficult at the height of it, but in the last few weeks it’s really dwindled down,” Cintrón said, noting that the school district was fortunate that HHS saw the most enrollees of the city’s 11 schools.

Ileana Cintrón


Iileana CintrÓn

“It was beneficial to us that Holyoke High School had opened the Newcomer Academy in late August and is able to provide students coming to the high school with Spanish-speaking support and access to content in Spanish,” she said. “It gives them hope they won’t lose a year. That’s what happened before — try to learn English and see where you’re at by the end of the year. Now they can keep up with math and science while still learning English, where before, it meant lost time and a lot of frustration.”

‘Frustration’ is an understatement when it comes to the needs of hundreds of families that have flocked to Greater Springfield since October, seeking housing, jobs, education, and, in many cases, the basic necessities of life that they suddenly could not access when Maria knocked out power, infrastructure, and key services throughout Puerto Rico.

“Many came with the bare minimum,” said Wilfredo Rivera, a volunteer with Springfield-based New North Citizens Council, one of the regional organizations busy receiving evacuees and connecting them with resources to find temporary relief in Western Mass. or, in some cases, start a new life.

He noted one family with a newborn who had medical records and discharge papers from the hospital, but were unable to procure a birth certificate — which is typically needed to access benefits here — before fleeing. “That’s just one example of what happens when people leave the island but don’t have time to gather their documents, or they don’t know what they’ll need here.”

New North Citizens Council meets advocacy and human-services needs on a daily basis, said Rosa Espinosa, director of Family Services, but its role — along with Enlaces de Familia in Holyoke — as one of two major ‘welcome centers’ for people displaced by the hurricane has been a challenge, albeit a gratifying one.

Wilfredo Rivera says each displaced family has its own story and unique set of needs.

Wilfredo Rivera says each displaced family has its own story and unique set of needs.

“We have our regular clients who come in every day,” she told BusinessWest, “but when the hurricane happened, that was an outrageous number of people coming in. But we were pretty resourceful, and some of the evacuees themselves were pretty resourceful; we learned from them as they learned from us.”

Rivera ticked off some of the more challenging cases, such as children and adults who fled with oxygen supplies, dialysis machines, or chemotherapy needs, and others who landed in an area hotel or motel — paid for by FEMA, but only for a limited time — without much money and no transportation, family in the area, or job prospects.

“The majority of services they needed were services we already provided — SNAP, MassHousing, employment resources, access to computers — so those things were in place,” he said, “but we were suddenly doing it on a much larger scale.”

The way they and others have done so — aided by a flood of donations to area organizations providing some of those resources and attention from local businesses looking to hire evacuees — has been a regional success story of sorts, but the work is far from over.

A Call Goes Out

Jim Ayres, president and CEO of the United Way of Pioneer Valley, said his organization was meeting very early on an evacuee-assistance strategy. Early on, Springfield and Holyoke designated the welcome centers as places to go to find out how to enroll a child in school, meet nutrititional needs, and get immediate health services. “Then there’s the underlying trauma piece and mental-health needs people may have. It takes a lot of coordination, a lot of logistical management.”

Rivera noted that every individual or family that comes to New North is handled on a case-by-case basis. “We don’t group people into categories. Every individual is assessed individually based on what their needs are.”

For example, “there’s a large group of people here for medical reasons — dialysis, cancer treatments, the types of things that require electricity,” he explained. “A lot of families did not want their kids to lose out on education, and that’s why they chose to come. Others lost their jobs. The majority who came have family here or know someone in the area; others were born here but grew up on the island, so they had some connection.”

Many are looking to stay for the long term, if not permanently, he added. That’s especially true of the families with children enrolled in school or those who needed critical medical services and prefer the treatment they’re getting in Western Mass. over what’s available right now on the island. “Those are the two biggest factors keeping people here. And a lot of them are employed already; they’re working and want to keep their jobs.”

Recognizing that critical needs exist both in Western Mass. and back in Puerto Rico, the Western Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico coalition, which came together shortly after the hurricane struck, has collected $180,000, with $80,000 going to the Springfield and Holyoke welcome centers, and $100,000 being divided equally between 10 organizations that do relief work directly on the island.

“My sense is a lot of them want to go back to their own homes,” Ayres said of the displaced families. “Whether that means six months, one year, five years, no one really knows at this point.

“This is in some ways more of a Western Mass. challenge than statewide. The state has been receptive as a whole, but it’s hitting Hampden County more than anywhere else,” he added, noting that the situation poses some unexpected budgetary dilemmas, particularly in the school systems. “The state compensation method is driven by your enrollment in October 1, which was just a few days before people started coming, so they’ve asked the state to look at the formula in a different way.”

Indeed, the Holyoke school system has hired more teachers and paraprofessionals to handle the surge, including five from Puerto Rico.

Jason Randall says many evacuees already have the skill sets MGM Springfield is looking for.

Jason Randall says many evacuees already have the skill sets MGM Springfield is looking for.

One challenge has been the arrival of families without school records in hand — a particular challenge for students with special-education needs, Cintrón said. Another is the requirement that seniors must have passed the MCAS exam to graduate, when the 10 seniors at HHS who transferred in because of the hurricane might been studying a much different curriculum on the island.

“The district is waiting for guidelines from the state about that,” she said, noting that one of those students was already accepted to Harvard while living in Puerto Rico — but will now need to pass the MCAS before enrolling there.

Another challenge is the emotional stress the new students are dealing with — Cintrón said it can take two years, in some cases, for such trauma to manifest outwardly — yet, she suggested school may actually be a bright spot in their lives.

“The major sources of stress deal with the lack of housing and the feeling of impermanence — stay at a hotel for a week, then stay with a grandmother for two weeks in public housing, but then find you can’t stay longer than that, and not always eating three meals a day. School may provide some sense of stability and normalcy — or, at least, we try.”

She was quick to note that the district took in 75 students from Puerto Rico last summer because of non-hurricane factors like economic hardship on the island, “so we’re used to getting those students. It was just more in the fall.”

Some students are also eligible for a dual-language program at the elementary level, said Judy Taylor, director of Communications for Holyoke Public Schools. “When students arrive at school, they’re given a language assessment test, and based on the results of that test, they’re given the supports they need.”

Living Wage

For most families, however, no support is more important than job-finding resources.

With that in mind, New North Citizens Council arranged a meeting in January with human-resources leaders at MGM Springfield, which is in the unique position, among area companies, of currently staffing up a 3,000-employee operation. Attendees were given an introductory presentation (in Spanish) detailing the company’s needs, followed by skills assessments and meetings with HR staff.

“We want to share our message about career opportunities, because 3,000 positions is a lot of roles to fill,” said Jason Randall, director of Talent Acquisition and Development. “So when New North came to us about these displaced families from Puerto Rico due to the hurricane, we wanted to share the opportunities that we have. Puerto Rico has a large hospitality industry, with casinos and resort properties, and a lot of individuals from the area who were displaced have the skill set and the commitment to service that we’re looking to provide here.”

The company is hiring for roles ranging from culinary services to hotel operations to gaming operations, and many evacuees have those skills, or the ability to learn them quickly, Randall added.

“Basic English is a requirement for all our positions — you have to be able to communicate in the event of an emergency — but certainly, through our partners, English as a second language courses are offered to prepare people for that.”

It can be tough to find a job without a car, and nigh impossible to afford a car with no income, but some evacuees are arriving with neither — and often no place to stay. Espinosa said getting them set up with housing and job prospects can be a challenging, step-by-step process, one beset with roadblocks that have the welcome-center staff thinking on their feet.

One client, for example, walked from the South End to the New North Citizens Council — more than two miles — with her children to access resources. But she needed to come back the following day, so the staff dipped in their pockets to buy her bus fare in both directions. The next day, Espinosa reached out to the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority for more passes to give to other families, and the PVTA was happy to donate them.

Employers have heard of the needs, too. Pride Stores had four openings at its West Street location in Springfield. “We were told, ‘I don’t need them to speak English; I just need them to bake,’” Rivera recalled. Other companies, from J. Polep Distribution Services and CNS Wholesale Grocers to businesses needing barbers, mechanics, and caregivers, have reached out with information about openings.

Companies have contributed to the relief cause in other ways as well, such as the 7-Eleven that recently opened at Wilbraham and Parker streets, far from the North End of Springfield, but decided nonetheless to donate raffle proceeds from its grand-opening event to the welcome center. Meanwhile, organizations like the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute are providing free legal services.

In addition, “there’s a huge group of volunteers helping to feed these families dinners,” Cintrón said. “Some are staying in hotels with no access to a fridge or microwave, so there’s a whole network of volunteers, restaurants, and soup kitchens delivering meals to the hotels.”

Espinosa is grateful for all of it. “Throughout this journey, we have met a lot of caring individuals, and it’s refreshing to hear from someone, ‘hey, I heard about the welcome center, and I want to do this for you.’ It’s a good feeling.”

And the clients who need help are grateful in return, she added. “They’re not a number to us; they’re a family in need, with medical needs, or with children with medical needs. And we’ll go the extra step; if we have to pick up furniture and bring it to a family over the weekend, we’ll do that.”

Looking Up

Rivera is clearly passionate about making a difference, in whatever way he and the other volunteers and staff can. “It’s good to know you were one tiny part of getting somebody stable.”

Espinosa takes it all in stride, understanding that New North’s work didn’t dramatically change with the influx of hurricane evacuees — it just got a little (OK, a lot) more hectic. But she knows her team is making a real impact on the lives of Puerto Rico’s evacuees.

“One told me, ‘there is God, and there are angels, and then there are you guys,’” she recalled.

Rivera simply smiled. “I’m good with that,” he said.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Bulkley Richardson Announces Partner Hire, Promotions

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Bulkley Richardson announced that Seunghee Cha and Jodi Miller have been promoted to partner, and Mary Bonzagni has joined the firm as partner as well.

In her comprehensive estate-planning practice, Cha assists individuals and families from all walks of life, with a particular focus on special-needs planning for individuals living with intellectual, developmental, and age-related disabilities; conservatorship and alternatives; estate settlement; and trust administration.

Miller focuses her practice on commercial and other civil litigation, including class actions, as well as regulatory matters. She has a particular expertise in the area of health law and also represents public and privately held corporations, financial institutions, schools and universities, nonprofits, and individuals in a range of litigation matters.

Bonzagni has an established reputation in the field of intellectual property. Her work involves prosecuting, defending, and licensing patents for a wide variety of inventions, as well as challenging the patentability of both pre-grant and post-grant patents in a number of countries and regions. In-depth experience as a chemist has equipped her with a unique perspective and allows her to provide clients with both legal and scientific strategies. She also advises businesses on strategic aspects of trademark, copyright, and trade-secret protection.

HCC Welcomes New Affirmative Action Officer/Title IX Coordinator

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College recently welcomed Nicholas D’Agostino as its new Affirmative Action officer and Title IX coordinator.



D’Agostino comes to HCC after working for nearly 12 years as an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action professional in Connecticut, most recently as the associate in Diversity and Equity at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and before that as an EEO specialist with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. He started at HCC on Jan. 29.



“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the HCC team,” said D’Agostino. “Taking the leap to leave one institution to join another is never easy, but I believe HCC was the right choice for me. I look forward to building upon HCC’s strong foundation and hope to contribute in a meaningful way to the future of the college and our community.”



A longtime advocate for equity and social justice with a focus on LGBTQ issues, D’Agostino has been an Anti-Defamation League anti-bullying trainer for more than 10 years and has a long association with True Colors, a support and advocacy group in Hartford for LGBTQ youth, which he has served as board president. He has either led or participated in hundreds of affirmative-action and discrimination investigations during his career.



At CCSU, D’Agostino conducted awareness and advocacy programs, promoted social-justice initiatives, engaged the college community in sexual-harassment and assault prevention, and led training sessions on diversity, Title IX compliance, anti-racism, and LGBTQ awareness. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in federally funded education programs.



D’Agostino holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Quinnipiac University and a master’s degree in counselor education with a specialization in student development in higher education from CCSU.


Bob ‘the Bike Man’ Charland: Founder of Pedal Thru Youth

By
Class of 2018 Difference Makers

The Bike Man’s Story Has Been a Truly Inspirational Ride

032_charlandbobmain-diff2017Bob Charland was already having enough trouble fitting everything on his plate into a 24-hour day.

He had his full-time job, as an auto mechanic at the Lyndale Garage in Springfield, and he was also teaching what he calls “deaf automotive” for students attending Willie Ross School for the Deaf. There were also his many endeavors within the community — primarily his work repairing bicycles and putting them in the hands of underprivileged children across the region, but also his latest venture, what he calls “safety bags” for the homeless and other people in need.

And then, there were also a growing number of medical appointments and tests as he grappled with a brain disorder that remains officially undiagnosed but is considered terminal.

With all that, he admits he was only getting maybe three hours of sleep each day, something he’s learned to live with. But then, the schedule got even more crowded.

He had to start making room for the media. Lots of room.

The local television stations were calling regularly as his donations of bicycles and other endeavors escalated; community newspapers wanted his time to talk about his work in their cities and towns. He’s been on Ludlow public television and a radio station in Boston. Then, the national news networks, including CNN and Fox News, picked up the story. Ellen DeGeneres’ people called. And, yes, BusinessWest wanted a few hours to discuss his selection as a Difference Maker for 2018.

Most time-consuming, however, was a documentary, titled My Last Days, on his life and deeds undertaken by the CW Network and due to be aired this month. The company had already demanded several hours from Charland for the project, and then it came asking for more.

But the ‘Bike Man,’ or ‘Bicycle Bob,’ as he’s called by different constituencies, told them they couldn’t have it. They repeated the request, and he again told them ‘no.’

So they went around Charland to his employer at the garage, told him they would compensate the company for his time lost, and finally locked him in.

And it was certainly worth it to get him out for that additional taping session, as as we’ll see in a minute.

Meanwhile, there’s a reason why Charland now has to make so such time for the media. As they say in the business, this isn’t just a story; it’s a great story.

The individual pieces are themselves compelling — the bicycle program and how it’s grown; his new work within the community, his terminal illness, and his decision to not only go on living but ramp up his work across the region; the press; and the response from that same community to all of the above. But the package … it’s captivating, and, far more importantly, inspiring, which is what really drives Charland in everything he does.

Indeed, he said people have responded to his story in ways he might have hoped, but probably couldn’t have imagined. It has left people compelled to find their own ways to help, to live life to the fullest, and, in many cases, to simply meet the Bike Man.

“I got an e-mail from a guy who wants me to come out and meet his mom,” Charland said as he reached for his phone so he could quote it directly rather than paraphrase, which he did.

“He says ‘Rob, thanks for being such an inspiration with all you’re doing. I have followed your bike story for about a year now. My stepmom, who is basically my real mom when my mother backed out and left us, is terminally ill with stage-4 bone cancer. You give a different, great, positive outlook on things. My stepmom appreciates all you do; you’re an inspiration to all. Thank you.’

“So I told him I’d come out and meet her,” he went on, adding that this was another thing he would gladly make time to do.

Maybe the most compelling part of this story is that his illness hasn’t slowed him down one bit. In fact, it has made him more determined — if that’s actually possible — to cram even more into each day.

“I’m not going to let it slow me down,” he told BusinessWest with tangible conviction in his voice. “Every day that I get up, I can make a difference in someone’s life, and that’s what I’m going to do; that’s what drives me.”

Those few words, more than any that would follow or that came before, make it abundantly clear why the Bike Man will be at the podium at the Log Cabin on March 22 to accept a Difference Maker plaque.

Chain of Events

As noted earlier, those documentary makers had a very good reason for being so persistent in wanting Charland back for another round of filming, or still photos, as they told him. But as things turned out, he didn’t really spend too much time in front of the camera.

For an explanation, well, as they do in a good documentary, we’ll let him do the talking.

“They told me to bring a couple of changes of clothes with me because they wanted to get some photos in a few different places,” he recalled. “We took my truck and ended up in Bernardston, a beautiful little town.

Bob Charland says his terminal illness has inspired him to try to pack even more into each day and find new ways to give back.

Bob Charland says his terminal illness has inspired him to try to pack even more into each day and find new ways to give back.

“Going back to when we first started with this, they asked me a lot of questions, and one of them was, ‘what’s one thing from your childhood that you regret not doing?’ And I said, ‘me and my dad, who’s really my stepdad, but he raised me, always said we were going to go camping together — just him and I — and it never happened,’” he went on. “So we’re there in Bernardston, and I have no idea where we’re going. The next thing you know, we go across a wooden bridge out in the woods to a cabin right on a lake. I didn’t think anything of it.

“The guy told me the camera crew would be there in a while, and that I should just get out, walk around, and check out the place,” Charland continued. “I look around … there’s a nice dock that went out on the water; I saw a guy sitting on the end of the dock. It turned out to be my father. I was shocked that he was there, and I didn’t know why. He just turned to me and said, ‘are you going to give me a hug, boy, or not?’”

The two would spend the next week having that camping trip they never went on decades ago, expressing as much emotion — and talking to each other more — in that short time than they probably had in all those years leading up to that moment.

The documentary producer left the two there with a camera operator, who would shoot a little footage and then leave them alone for the week. More importantly, though, he left them with some thoughts about why they were there.

Put simply, the two had done so much for others throughout their lives; now it was time for someone to do something for them.

And with that, it might be best to tell more of the story of how that documentary — and that bonding between father and son — came to be. We begin, again, like a good documentary, at the place where the story starts to come into focus.

For Charland, that was when his daughter, now 23, was raped by her mother’s boyfriend when she was 9.

“At that point, I was given full custody,” he explained. “The courts and the counselors had told me to get her involved in as many things as possible because of what happened to her. So she got involved — and I got involved.”

Indeed, when the leader of the Girl Scout troop his daughter joined decided she couldn’t continue in that role, Charland took over. Not for a little while, but 10 or 11 years, by his count.

“I was cookie coach — I have all the T-shirts from all the years I did it,” he said, adding that, as you might have guessed, he was one of the first male leaders of a Girl Scout troop in this region.

He also started coaching girls softball at Holy Cross Parish School in Springfield — another assignment that lasted a decade or so — among other work in the community, usually alongside his daughter.

“I was afraid to leave her anywhere as a result of what happened to her,” he went on, adding quickly that, because he had no child support, he was also working several jobs — the one at the shop, as a bouncer at an area club a few nights a week, and as a chef at A Touch of Garlic restaurant.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno says Bob Charland has become an inspiration and a role model at a time when the world — and Springfield — need more of such individuals.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno says Bob Charland has become an inspiration and a role model at a time when the world — and Springfield — need more of such individuals.

Eventually, his daughter grew out of Girl Scouts, softball, and other activities, and this development left a void of sorts and something Charland’s seemingly never had much of — spare time.

He filled the void and the hours in the day in various ways. Teaching automotive skills to deaf children — after learning sign language — become one outlet (students are bused to the Lyndale Garage). And eventually there was what he came to call simply “the bike thing.”

Into a Higher Gear

It started, sort of, when his daughter was in middle school. One of her guidance counselors was a nun who would bring Charland a few bikes to fix up for some of her students. And it grew from there.

As most everyone in the region knows by now, thanks to all that press he’s been getting, the bike thing has become not only a Springfield phenomenon, but a regional one as well. Charland has given away bikes in several area communities, including Hartford, and to nearly a dozen schools. To organize it all, he created a nonprofit called Pedal Thru Youth.

In the beginning, Charland would pay for bikes out of his own pocket, but as the news spread, the donations started to flow in, even from some of the neurologists who have treated him. So did other forms of support; AAA donates a helmet for every bike donated, local police departments and the Sheriff’s Department are heavily involved (with bike-safety instruction and other initiatives), and the city of Springfield and Columbia Gas have both donated space to warehouse bicycles while they’re being fixed up and readied for beneficiaries.

“We target the most poverty-stricken areas throughout Western Mass., and they see the worst of the police departments,” Charland said while explaining that there’s much more to this than a child getting a bike. “If these kids see a cop down on their level fitting them with a helmet and helping them adjust their seat or the handlebars, they’re going to look at these officers in a more positive light.”

It’s a great story, but what makes it more remarkable is that it doesn’t take place in a vacuum. It plays out amid — and largely because of — a worsening medical condition that has left Charland quite unsure of how much time he has left and what his quality of life will be.

Back in 2011, around when the bike thing started picking up some speed, Charland suffered what he called a minor stroke. An MRI discovered an arachnoid cyst in his left cerebellum, which specialists would attribute to a concussion he suffered when he was struck in the back of the head by someone wielding a baseball bat after leaving the club following his bouncing shift.

“The cyst grew to protect my brain, and they noticed a lot of dead spots,” Charland explained. “Over the years, things got progressively worse. There were times I would get extremely dizzy, I would stutter, other times my hands would shake. I was having tremors … and the right side of my body was shaking a lot.”

Doctors have never given him an official diagnosis, but they suspect Charland has CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), the condition that has affected dozens, if not hundreds, of pro football players and other athletes.

“They say they think that’s what it is,” he told BusinessWest. “But they can’t give me 100% diagnosis until post-mortem. So I jokingly said to them, ‘call me when I’m dead and let me know.’”

After that diagnosis, or non-diagnosis, as the case may be, Charland went to Vermont, one of three states in the country to enact a death-with-dignity law, and quickly put his affairs in order, deciding, among other things, what to do with his five trucks.

What brought him back to Springfield early last year was a request from a Springfield school administrator for bicycles he might be able to donate, one that he fulfilled.

And that donation became a news story, one that fueled others and also took the bike thing to new heights.

026_charlandbob-diff2017

By Easter morning, Charland had 25 to 30 bikes repaired and ready for distribution. He called a friend who was also a Chicopee police officer and suggested the two go to one of the city’s poorer neighborhoods and donate the bikes.

“We started knocking on doors and handing bikes out,” he said, adding that the local TV crews were tipped off and came to report the developing story.

More press led to more requests for bicycles, which led to more donations, which led to more press, which led to … you get the idea. Soon, the story had traveled literally around the world.

Braking News

And then, remarkably — or not, considering the individual in question — the story got even better. Indeed, Charland kept looking for new ways to give back and pack more into his typical day.

Which brings us to those safety bags mentioned earlier. They’re also called ‘necessity bags,’ and that might be a more accurate description, because that’s what they contain — hats, gloves, scarves, toothpaste, a toothbrush, some toiletries, protein shakes, granola bars, and more.

He started with the Massachusetts State Police, who would give them to homeless individuals and others deemed in need of such a package. And it spread from there. The Springfield Police even have a name for it — Operation Basic Necessities — and Charland has outfitted each cruiser with two bags, each gender-specific; once a bag is given out, he replenishes it. He’s also donated bags to the Connecticut State Police and the Hampden County’s Sheriff’s Department. Last fall, he attended the National Police Chiefs Assoc. convention, and fielded requests from more departments for the bags.

The bags were intended to meet a recognized need, to fill a void, he explained, adding that he has always been driven to step in and address such deficiencies.

With all the press he’s been getting, Charland started keeping a scrapbook of sorts. Actually, it’s just a manila folder with some press clippings, letters and notes from elected leaders (U.S. Rep. Richard Neal sent him one, state Rep. John Velis did as well, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has corresponded on something approaching a regular basis), a proclamation or two, and some certificates from groups ranging from the Springfield Thunderbirds to the Center for Human Development.

There’s also a handwritten note, source unknown, that says, in large capital letters, “THANKS BOB FOR ALL YOU DO.”

Collectively, the contents of that manila folder speak to probably the best part of this remarkable story — the manner in which Charland is connecting with people, inspiring them, and, in some cases, getting them involved as well.

Sarno spoke about it as he talked with BusinessWest about one of his now-best-known constituents. Specifically, he discussed how the Bike Man replied to one of his correspondences wishing him good luck and good health.

“He called me and said, ‘mayor I need a little help … I just wanted to help some kids with bikes, but this is really blossoming,’” Sarno recalled, adding that he helped arrange some storage space.

Overall, Sarno said Charland’s work with children and the police is a positive development, but more important is his emergence as a role model at a time when society sorely needs some.

“At this time of reality TV, when negativity sells, and ‘if it bleeds, it leads,’ this story resonates with people,” he told BusinessWest. “He’s like the Energizer bunny; he keeps going and going and going, and he never says, ‘woe is me.’ His attitude is so positive — it’s not about himself, it’s about making a better opportunity for these kids and showing that people do care. He’s a one-man wrecking crew.”

Charland’s ability to inspire others and enrich their lives with more than a two-wheeler is perhaps best summed up in the words on the latest addition to that scrapbook, a plaque declaring him the winner of the Citizen Award in conjunction with the Safe Neighborhood Initiative. It reads, in part:

“You have taken a learned skill and turned it into an everlasting blessing for children. They will carry the value of giving back to the community into adulthood and will in turn help nurture the development of our community, making your work immortal.”

The Ride Stuff

Sarno is known for being prompt and prolific with correspondences of thanks and support to individuals and groups over the years, and Charland is no exception.

The mayor has written him several times, as noted, usually after another press report of his work. The typical missive is part thank-you letter, part note of encouragement. Here’s the one sent last June, prompted by little more, it seems, than a desire to stay in touch:

“Thinking of you and just wanted to drop you a note of good health, encouragement, and thanks. So heartwarming what you are doing for our kids. You’re making their dreams/miracles come true. You’re in my thoughts and prayers … that a miracle can and will happen for you.”

With those words, he essentially spoke for an entire region about someone who truly defines that phrase Difference Maker.

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

WillPower Foundation

By
Class of 2018 Difference Makers

A Unique Nonprofit Meets Some Very Special Needs

Craig, Will, and Maria Burke.

Craig, Will, and Maria Burke.

Kim Schildbach says she and her husband bought the trampoline on Craigslist back in 2013.

The price tag was only $60, and that number spoke volumes about its condition. “It was in decent shape, but … we knew it had a little life left in it, but not a lot,” she told BusinessWest, adding that, not long after they brought Anelia, the young girl they adopted, to their home in Leverett from her native Bulgaria a year later, that trampoline’s life had pretty much run its course.

And giving it some new life became important, because Anelia is blind and has other developmental challenges, and bouncing on a trampoline is one of many forms of therapy for her.

Replacing the unit was simply not in the Schildbachs’ considerably tight budget, so they turned to a unique but somewhat obscure nonprofit they had heard about called the WillPower Foundation for some help.

They were told that families of special-needs children, or ‘children with different abilities,’ as this nonprofit prefers to call them, could apply for small grants — $500 is the limit — for items like, well, trampolines, that are needed but not covered by insurance, and certainly not in the category of ‘necessity.’ So they often fall through the cracks.

To make a long story a little shorter, the Schildbachs were somewhat dubious about applying for another grant — they had filled out the forms for several as part of the exhausting process of adoption — but did anyway, found it took just a few minutes online, and wound up getting a grant to resuscitate their trampoline, among other things.

“They paid to replace the bouncy floor part and the thing that goes around the outside,” said Schildbach, who didn’t know the technical terms for what WillPower paid for, but certainly does know how important that grant was and is to the quality of life for her daughter.

Just listen to this.

“I put a milk crate by the side of the trampoline,” she explained. “Anelia has learned to get up on the milk crate, put one leg up over the side of the trampoline, and push herself up. Anie is very globally delayed, but she has some superpowers, as we call them, and one of them is navigation; she uses her cane, and amazingly she has an awareness of the space around her in a way that … I can’t do when I’m walking around the house at night and the lights are off.

“She gets on that trampoline and bounces away,” Schildbach went on. “It’s so good for them to move their bodies, the endorphin release is good, and then there are these things called vestibular stimulation, which is any kind of movement that is soothing to kids who come from traumatic places.”

The Schildbachs have two blind children from traumatic, or ‘hard’ places, as Kim calls them — they adopted Mabel from China in 2016. And they have now received two grants from the WillPower Foundation to pay for everything from that trampoline to what are known as sensory toys.

And this is just one of dozens of families across the region to benefit from that nonprofit, which was inspired by and named for another young person with at least one super power, Will Burke. His is the ability to inspire others to live life to the fullest, to move above and beyond the many obstacles life can throw at someone, and to give back.

Born with a rare brain malformation and adopted by Maria and Craig Burke, Will underwent a number of surgeries and procedures early in life at the Shriners Hospital for Children.

His parents, desiring to find a way give back to the Shriners, started with a three-on-three basketball tournament, with the proceeds going to that institution. While the tournament thrived, the Burkes and a growing corps of supporters wanted to do more and also do something quite different.

Four of the Schildbach children: from left, Anelia, Mabel, Jericho, and Olive.

Four of the Schildbach children: from left, Anelia, Mabel, Jericho, and Olive.

After considerable thought, they created a foundation that would put money directly in the hands of families that needed it.

The foundation is approaching two important milestones — its 10th year of operation and the $200,000 mark when it comes to grants awarded to families across the region. Actually, it will mark three milestones in 2018, with the last one coming in March when Will Burke will make his way to the stage at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House to accept the Difference Maker plaque from BusinessWest.

That plaque is in the shape of a butterfly, which, as most of you know by now, was chosen as a nod to the so-called ‘butterfly effect,’ whereby small and seemingly innocuous events like a butterfly flapping its wings can have a huge impact.

Perhaps no award winner in the program’s 10-year history better exemplifies the butterfly effect than the WillPower Foundation. The grants it issues are for only a few hundred dollars, but no one who receives one would ever use that word ‘only,’ because they are literally life-changing in nature.

Just ask Kim Schildbach.

Allowing Spirits to Soar

As she talked about WillPower and its importance within the community, Kim said the families of special-needs children, or, again, ‘those with different abilities,’ have lists of things they have to pay for.

Long lists, usually.

A $60 pair of cordless headphones for music-loving Anie (that’s another form of therapy for her)? Well, that would usually have to wait for “another week,” said Kim, adding that it might be many of those before the family, living on one income, could fit them in, if it ever did.

But through those two grants received from the Willpower Foundation, the family was able to get those headphones, as well as a rocking horse for Mabel, something called a “sensory backpack,” and some fidget toys, as they’re called — all things that insurance would not pay for and that would have had to wait for ‘another week.’

Missy Roy tells a similar story. Her daughter, now 7, has Down syndrome and needs a host of services and special equipment. But she also needs (and her family also needs) someone to advocate for her when it comes to school and other matters.

And insurance won’t cover the services of such a professional, which is unfortunate, said Roy, because some of these matters are technical in nature.

“When you’re just a parent, you don’t know all the ins and outs of school and what the law says,” she told BusinessWest. “You need an advocate, but insurance won’t pay for it.”

Such advocates charge $50 an hour for their services, and the $500 grant from the Willpower Foundation covered roughly two-thirds of her total bill. Likewise, another grant helped pay for a device to help’s Roy’s daughter communicate. Insurance covered 80% of the cost of a device known as an Accent 1000 (sticker price: $7,000), but Roy had to cover the rest. Her load was lightened appreciably by a second $500 grant.

Life-easing episodes like these are the kind the Burkes and the board they would assemble had in mind when they took the Willpower Foundation off what amounts to the drawing board and made it the truly unique nonprofit that it is.

And as they did so, they drew on their own experiences early and often. Will was born prematurely and was adopted by the Burkes when he was just seven weeks old. The couple had what they described as a huge support system of family and friends, and they relied on it.

Jeff Palm says the WillPower Foundation strives to be as “unbureaucratic” as possible as it helps parents pay for equipment and services that fall between the cracks.

Jeff Palm says the WillPower Foundation strives to be as “unbureaucratic” as possible as it helps parents pay for equipment and services that fall between the cracks.

“We had a lot of support from our families, but as we went along, we knew we had to get some help,” said Craig Burke. “And while Marie is so awesome at making things work, a lot of things were not accessible to us financially or just available at all.

“So we vowed that, someday, once we got through all this, we would try to do something to do give back,” he went. “We received a lot of support early on, but there were a lot of out-of-pocket expenses, and we knew others were facing the same challenge.”

So, in essence, the Burkes created a different kind of support system in the form of a nonprofit that would help with those expenses. In the beginning, Craig recalled, one of the early concepts discussed was to create something approaching a ‘make a wish’ format involving parents, whereby, through $1,000 grants, they could take some time off for themselves, something that is often very difficult to do, and their children would be cared for by a professional.

What they found, said Maria Burke — and they already knew this from experience — is that the parents of special-needs children don’t ever want to leave them. So the model for the nonprofit evolved into providing grants for items families need but that insurance won’t cover.

And when it came time for affix a name to this nonprofit, well, that was probably the easiest part.

Indeed, Will has been inspirational in many ways as he confronts, and overcomes, the many challenges he faces, said Maria, adding that his spirit and tenacity actually empowers others to reach their full capabilities.

A huge fan of video games and Rob Gronkowski, and an even bigger fan of blue cheese — the first thing the Burkes do when they arrive at a restaurant is ask if it’s on the menu — Will is involved with the nonprofit on many levels and enjoys being part of efforts to give back.

“I like to help people,” he said in a somewhat slow voice that is difficult to understand at first. But he gets his points across. “I like to help them by getting them what they need.”

Getting a Lift

Jeff Palm, chairman of the foundation’s board and a long-time supporter of the Burkes’ efforts, said the goal at the beginning — and it has persisted to this day — is to make the awarding of grants as “unbureaucratic” as possible. That’s not a word, and he acknowledged as much, but you certainly get the point.

If ‘unbureaucratic’ was a word, it would be synonymous with simple, which is what the foundation works very hard to make the application process. Just ask Kim Schildbach. She’s filled out hundreds of forms in the process of adopting their first two and now a third child.

“We make sure that we’re crossing our ‘T’s and dotting our ‘I’s and that we’re not just throwing people’s trusted money out the door,” Palm explained. “But we try to make it simple; we put money in the hands of families, and we fund really interesting and unusual things that make a child’s life easier and, as a result, make a family’s life easier.”

Elaborating, he said WillPower enables families to acquire equipment and services that essentially fall through the cracks.

And, perhaps not surprisingly, this is a big list. It includes everything from therapeutic horseback riding to the services of a speech-language pathologist; from electrical outlets with the proper voltage needed for a ventilator to the percentage of an Accent 1000 not covered by insurance.

To explain the importance of such grants, Palm used the example of that electrical outlet.

“The child had a ventilator that would plug only into a 220 plug, like a dryer plug,” he explained. “Every time that respirator needed to be on for the child, they had to wheel him over to that corner of the house and plug it in.

“They applied to us for a grant, and we found an electrician to put that plug in a place that was much more convenient for the family, and the child could be part of the family unit when the ventilator was needed,” he went on. “You just wouldn’t find an insurance company that would pay for something like that, and there are a lot of stories like that.”

Sarah Aasheim, interim executive director of the foundation, agreed, and noted that the nonprofit fills gaps that most people not in the situations these families find themselves in couldn’t appreciate.

Sarah Aasheim says the WillPower Foundation helps to close gaps that those on the outside looking in might have a hard time understanding.

Sarah Aasheim says the WillPower Foundation helps to close gaps that those on the outside looking in might have a hard time understanding.

“These are things that you often don’t think about,” she told BusinessWest. “The ventilator was covered by insurance, of course, so from the outside looking in, it looks like that family would be all set. But when you understand the nuances of these situations, you realize that there are a lot of unmet needs.”

As another example, she noted the kind of assistive technology that Will uses to help him communicate, called a ‘talker.’ One child who relied on such technology faced another of those funding gaps that might be hard for others to grasp.

“This child used a wheelchair, and while the insurance company paid for the device, it didn’t pay for the mount that goes on the child’s wheelchair, which costs an additional $300, which is a financial hardship for this family,” she explained. “The child had a talker, but he couldn’t access the talker because he didn’t have the motor skills to hold it and it didn’t work with his wheelchair, so we supplied the funding for that. Sometimes it’s just a bridge or a connection to meet a larger need.”

By filling these gaps, the foundation is empowering not only individuals, but their families as well, said Emily Albelice, former executive director and now a board member.

“That child’s ability to communicate better serves the entire family unit,” she said referring to the device mounted to a wheelchair. “And that’s something that’s important to us; it’s not just about the individual, but their family, their friends, their community.”

Fortuitous Bounce

Stories such as these make it easy to understand why the WillPower Foundation is far less obscure than it was years ago. Indeed, word of mouth has served as a very powerful marketing vehicle for the organization, because the word being spread — and it has spread quickly and effectively — is just how unique and game-changing the foundation’s work is.

“When families that are experiencing financial hardship find out there’s a resource that gives them cash — albeit a small amount — for something they determine they need, the word spreads very quickly,” said Aasheim, adding that, as word spreads and the volume of grant applications grows, the challenge then becomes raising more money to fund more of those requests.

Fortunately, just as this nonprofit resonates with those it helps through grants, it also resonates with those who recognize the uniqueness of the mission, the level of need, and the fact that many of these families don’t have many other options, if any at all.

Thus, support is growing, and the foundation’s board is looking to increase annual grant awards to $30,000, an ambitious goal made possible by the help of individuals and businesses that, as noted, and in very simple terms, can relate.

“The more we spread the word, the more information about what we’re doing gets out, the more the local community as a whole wants to support families like ours,” said Maria Burke. “Honestly, almost everyone you meet knows someone with a disability, and every business has an employee with a family member with a disability. Everybody can say they know someone who is facing these challenges every day, and that’s why they embrace our mission.”

The foundation stages fund-raisers, solicits donations, and benefits from the support of several primary sponsors — the law firm Alekman DiTusa, Orthotics and Prosthetics Labs, and LePage Financial Group.

Ryan Alekman and Robert DiTusa, partners at the law firm, said it is active in the community in a number of ways, and that the work of the WillPower Foundation dovetails nicely with its overall philosophy when it comes to giving back.

“We can see our money doing a lot of good with a smaller organization, as opposed to putting the same amount into a giant nonprofit,” said Alekman, adding that the firm prefers to support nonprofits and initiatives where the results are visible and tangible, and the WillPower Foundation certainly fits that description.

DiTusa agreed, and said the foundation produces these kinds of visible results with families that are truly in need and often have no other recourse.

“There are so many gaps in insurance, and most people really don’t understand that,” he explained. “They figure ‘that family has health insurance, those kids must be fine, they’re taken care of.’

“But if you have a disabled child, there’s a ton of things that they’re going to need that are not covered by insurance,” he went on. “The gaps are enormous, and if have a nonprofit like the WillPower Foundation that steps in and fills those gaps, that can make an enormous difference in a child’s life.”

Just ask Kim Schildbach. Or Missy Kim. Or Will Burke.

Reaching New Heights

Maria Burke remembers talking with the young mother of a child with special needs at a recent gathering of such parents. The conversation came around to how insurance often doesn’t cover the cost of many seemingly small but nonetheless significant services, leaving families scrambling.

And the woman mentioned that she heard about this unique nonprofit called the WillPower Foundation that actually awards small grants to the families of such individuals so that these gaps could be closed, and that it was certainly worth checking it out.

Burke quietly took those comments under advisement — without letting on that this was her baby, as they say.

That’s because her real baby is the inquisitive guy in the wheelchair with those superpowers mentioned earlier, especially the ability to inspire and empower others to do what they might have thought was beyond their reach.

Will’s been setting the bar higher and then clearing it his whole life, and the foundation created in his name is enabling individuals of different abilities and their families to do the same.

And thus, it’s truly worthy of that plaque shaped like a butterfly and the designation ‘Difference Maker.’

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

Careers in Health Law Are Diverse and Often Surprising

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Law Sections

Positive Prognosis

healthlaw-184399153The field of law that focuses specifically on healthcare is diverse, challenging, and constantly changing, and that presents growth opportunities at a time when some fields of law are seeing job stagnation. But many law students aren’t aware of these possibilities, which run the gamut from malpractice litigation to end-of-life planning; from medical-records compliance to helping people navigate the complexities of the mental-health system. And those opportunities are only expected to keep expanding.

Barbara Noah says she took a winding path to her career as a law professor, one who specializes in the rapidly changing world of health law.

“When I graduated from law school, I was thinking more of the style of practice and the sort of things I’d like to do,” said Noah, professor of Health Law at Western New England University (WNEU) School of Law, during a recent panel discussion about health-law careers.

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1990, she wasn’t interested in litigation, and instead went to work for a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a strong focus on regulatory compliance.

“Our role was to counsel clients, which were mostly pharmaceutical and medical-device companies, on how to keep in compliance with the regulations issued by the Food and Drug Administration,” she explained. “It wasn’t about getting new drugs approved; these were already-approved products, and we were making sure clients were following appropriate safety rules.”

She found the field so interesting that she eventually transitioned into a long career, first at the University of Florida and since 2005 at WNEU, teaching the many facets of health law.

To name just a few of those, healthcare lawyers interpret the complex healthcare regulations and statutes that govern the administration of health services, advising hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and other providers on issues ranging from licensing, reimbursement, and risk management to malpractice litigation and general corporate management.

One panelist at the WNEU event, Judith Feinberg Albright, who works for Devine, Millimet & Branch in Manchester, N.H., started her career as a paramedic before enrolling in law school and taking a particular interest in health law. She developed a secondary interest in litigation through moot-court experiences during those years, and now defends healthcare providers against malpractice claims in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

“I see many people in health law with non-traditional pathways, people with some previous career in healthcare — like you see engineers and architects in intellectual-property law,” she noted. “It’s a pretty diverse group of folks.”

Some jobs are more unique than others. Deb Grossman, another panelist, serves as general counsel with Physician Health Services, an arm of the Massachusetts Medical Society that helps physicians deal with personal and behavioral-health issues and navigate their way back to work.

“Doctors don’t really like lawyers much; they see them as a threat of some kind,” Grossman said. “But I want to be supportive. I’ve been in different roles that were not always supportive, but now I’m in a very conciliatory position.”

After working for a large law firm earlier in her career, she explaned, she went looking for a lifestyle change, and took a job with the state handling the licensure of medical professionals, before taking on her current role.

“I became a much better lawyer,” she said, telling students gathered at the panel discussion that, yes, she made less money working for the state, “but what I gained in experience and autonomy as an attorney, I think was really invaluable.”

It’s just one example, Noah told BusinessWest afterward, of how a shifting healthcare field is cultivating many opportunities for lawyers that students might not hear about on a regular basis during their law-school years — which is why the panel was assembled.

“What’s included in the sweep of healthcare law is broader than people initially think; they think of medical malpractice or something to do with health insurance, but it’s a much broader field than people typically understand,” she said. “And a number of these aspects of health law are in flux right now, and they might be areas of growing demand for the purposes of careers.”

A Different World

One of those changing areas of the law is healthcare compliance — for example, how hospitals are complying with the privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.

“Although HIPAA has been around for quite a while, every hospital of any size has a compliance office that makes sure medical privacy requirements are being met,” Noah said. “And now with the switch to electronic medical records, it’s created a whole new set of questions for HIPAA in information sharing, and I’m hearing that data security is a big issue which impacts compliance.”

The second growth area concerns the overlap between elder law and health law, driven mostly by the aging of the Baby Boomer population. Not only are older Americans making plans for their estates, Noah said, but they’re becoming more keenly aware of their own mortality, and considering issues like advance care directives, healthcare proxies, and end-of-life preferences, such as do-not-resuscitate orders and decisions on nutrition and breathing assistance.

recent panel discussion at WNEU School of Law

From left, Barbara Noah, Judith Fineberg Albright, Deb Grossman, and Dylan Mawdsley talk about their very different health-law careers at a recent panel discussion at WNEU School of Law.

“There are all sorts of questions, and more attention is being focused on them,” Noah said. “But there’s still a real reluctance to do much advance care planning until faced with a bad diagnosis. That’s an issue that’s going to need more well-trained attorneys in the future to reach this large and aging Baby Boomer population.”

The third big shift that could affect health law is, of course, the ever-changing Affordable Care Act, which has been threatened by the recent federal tax law that repeals its individual mandate.

“We’re keeping on top of how the Affordable Care Act is being changed, amended, and manipulated, and how that impacts the system of healthcare delivery. It’s a moving target,” Noah explained. “Without the individual mandate, if healthy people aren’t buying in anymore, the pool is sicker, and that drives up prices.”

According to Nick Sumski, an LSAT teacher for Kaplan Test Prep, health law is a compelling area of law because everyone has to touch the healthcare system at some point in their lives.

“Health law is such a big growth field with an incredible amount of opportunity, especially in the coming years,” he noted last month on the Kaplan website. “No one knows how it’s all going to work moving forward, and there is going to be a big demand for lawyers to help figure it out.”

Dylan Mawdsley, another panelist at the WNEU event, is assistant general counsel for the state Department of Mental Health, advising DMH staff in their decision making and compliance with laws, and representing the agency before probate and family courts.

He originally went to college as a political science major, but pivoted to law school afterward, starting his career in estate planning — right when the Great Recession hit, which was a bad time for that area of law. The work he does now, often serving as a liaison between doctors, patients, and the court system, is gratifying and presents a great deal of autonomy.

“I really feel like the work we do is good work,” he said, “helping people get treatment and services they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.”

Meaningful Work

When Grossman was in law school, she recalled, she learned a lot about corporate law and litigation, but not much else, and certainly not what she’s doing today.

“This niche of work is very, very satisfying, it’s important work, and the schedule allows me to raise my kids,” she said. “Law students should know there’s a whole world of jobs out there, that aren’t typical law-firm, corporate types of jobs.”

Sumski said students shouldn’t feel like they have to pick any kind of specialization right away.

“Keep an open mind in those first-year classes; you might be surprised by the area of law that ultimately interests you,” he noted. “If you are interested in health law, however, you should take some introductory classes in the subject matter and see if a particular aspect of the field interests you. Health law is an incredibly broad field that touches on many different aspects of law. There’s a lot of opportunity in the area. The job market for lawyers is getting better, but it’s not great, so it makes sense to go into an area that is in demand.”

That demand, Noah said, is driven partly by the fact that health law is so interconnected, with so many moving parts.

“Any student who goes into health law is going to need a deep knowledge of the particular area they’re focusing on,” she noted, “but also a broad, contextual understanding of how the whole healthcare finance and delivery system works in this country — and it’s a very messy, complex, and inefficient system.”

And one that’s constantly changing, presenting plentiful opportunities for law students and career changers willing to think outside the jury box.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]