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MassHire Merger Streamlines Services for Employers, Job Seekers

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Executive Directors Sarah Wilson (left) and Maura Geary
Features Special Coverage

Making It Work

Executive Directors Sarah Wilson (left) and Maura Geary

Executive Directors Sarah Wilson (left) and Maura Geary

 

To explain why the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center and the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board merged their operations in July, Maura Geary first explained how the MassHire network is set up.

“There are 16 workforce areas in the state of Massachusetts, and every area has one workforce board and at least one career center,” she noted. “And the career center has two customer bases. One is job seekers; one is employers. We work with employers to find out what jobs they have, how we can help them find the talent they need, and we work with job seekers to find out what barriers they may have to employment in the jobs that exist in our region, and how can we help them overcome the barriers so that they’re prepared with the skills they need to enter the workforce.”

Meanwhile, the Workforce Board is more of a “30,000-foot view,” Sarah Wilson said. “We’re looking at regional trends, labor market information for the region. We’re convening employers. We’re bringing all this information to the Career Center, which does more on-the-ground work.”

Until July 1, Geary headed up the Career Center, while Wilson helmed the Workforce Board. But today, they’re co-executive directors of the first MassHire operation in the state to merge their operations into one, simply called MassHire Franklin Hampshire.

“Having the labor market information and understanding what trends are happening, we ask, ‘what are the challenges that exist in our region? Where are there opportunities? How can we bring in more resources to support the workforce that we have or the economy that we have?’” Geary told BusinessWest. “This merger really helps us align even more closely with the big picture of the region and the strategies that exist.”

When the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center and the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board announced the merger, they characterized it as a strategic unification and a significant milestone in the region’s efforts to deliver more coordinated, efficient, and impactful workforce development services across Franklin County, Hampshire County, and the North Quabbin region.

“They basically have paid internships at local businesses, where the grant pays for the wages of the participants. Employers get that labor, and they also have the opportunity to expose their businesses and their career pathways to the next generation of the workforce.”

The newly merged organization aims to streamline operations and enhance services for job seekers, employers, training providers, and community partners by combining the strategic oversight and policy leadership of the Workforce Board with the direct services and employer engagement expertise of the Career Center.

The merged organization will continue to operate offices in Greenfield and Northampton; its headquarters are still in the Greenfield Corporate Center, where the two halves formerly had separate space on the same hallway but now operate out of shared space.

“We were sort of set up for this in some ways because we were already co-located; the Workforce Board used to be just across the hall,” Wilson said. “And we shared resources — besides the space, we also shared HR and IT. And we’d been working hand in hand for many years.

“But this really solidifies it, and it brings together disparate teams and disparate strategies,” she went on. “I had my own thing on the Workforce Board, and Maura had her own thing in the Career Center. We would collaborate, but it wasn’t as structured as it is now. The communication between teams is now streamlined, so we can really streamline the work. This makes it much more efficient.”

The two MassHire Franklin Hampshire divisions were both located in separate offices at Greenfield Corporate Center, and now share space — and operations — as a single entity there.

The two MassHire Franklin Hampshire divisions were both located in separate offices at Greenfield Corporate Center, and now share space — and operations — as a single entity there.

Allison van der Velden, chair of the MassHire Franklin Hampshire board of directors, agreed.

“The merger is a natural next step in the evolution of our work,” she said when the merger was announced in June. “It strengthens our ability to deliver results and ensures that public workforce dollars are used efficiently, effectively, and equitably.”

 

Early Exposure

Another example of how the merger makes sense has to do with its young adult programs, Geary said.

“There’s separate funding for three different young adult programs, major funding that we oversee. Some of that funding was directed to the Workforce Board, and some of it was available to the Career Center. But now that we’re under one roof, we have completely merged all three of those programs into one unified program.

“When they existed between the Workforce Board and other providers and the Career Center, we were not maximizing those funds,” she went on. “So there’s a lot of opportunity to integrate programs on the ground, and we weren’t able to do that before because of the artificial silos that were in place.”

Mass Hire Franklin Hampshire’s state-funded YouthWorks programs are, in fact, among its most robust offerings; the organization receives about $530,000 in funding over both a summer cycle and a year-round cycle, and serves youth from ages 14 to 25.

“For the youngest participants, we’re going into the schools during the year and setting up after-school programs or different ways to engage them so they are learning about what career pathways are available. So the earliest contact is really about career awareness,” Geary explained. Meanwhile, the second tier serves 16- to 18-year-olds with paid work experiences.

“It’s the future of workforce development — it makes us more streamlined, more efficient. I think it’s better for the customer as well, whether that’s an employer or a job seeker.”

“They basically have paid internships at local businesses, where the grant pays for the wages of the participants. Employers get that labor, and they also have the opportunity to expose their businesses and their career pathways to the next generation of the workforce.”

Young people can also access a curriculum that delivers work readiness skills, financial literacy, and other competencies needed to enter the workforce.

“And with our oldest participants in YouthWorks, we actually are paying for them to enter into training programs and get their first job,” Geary went on, giving as one example a partnership with Greenfield Community College (GCC) to help young people earn clean energy HVAC certifications.

Meanwhile, from a Workforce Board perspective, MassHire convenes employers to learn about the different needs of the region, Wilson said. “But we can also think of training opportunities, grant opportunities, how we can bring funding into the region to help support some of those needs. It’s not just connecting to the workforce, but determining how we can go about that.”

One strategy is through on-the-job (OTJ) training and registered apprenticeships.

“Both of those get money to the employer, and they are also paid training opportunities. With OJTs, we can reimburse the employer up to 50%. And we’ve been doing that for manufacturing over the past year.

“We’re starting to get into registered apprenticeships, but there’s a tax credit that could be applied to that,” Wilson added. “It really helps with retention for the employer because they’re investing in that employee. There’s a structured training program and wage boosts that are built into that. There’s mentorship. So we see a lot of positives other than just the tax incentive.”

Much of MassHire Franklin Hampshire’s funding targets workforce training in its priority industries of education, healthcare, and manufacturing, Geary explained, while helping job and career seekers find a path that works for them.

“One of the models that we’re moving toward is recognizing that most people, when they’re looking for a job, can’t afford to go to training. It’s a paid training, and that’s amazing, but most people can’t take 12 or 16 or more weeks in a free training without having an income. So we’ve been promoting, with our employers, models where people are getting paid while they’re in the training. That’s something we’re excited about.”

 

Ready to Learn

Geary noted that, when MassHire surveys employers about what they’re looking for, they often say they can give people the technical training needed to do this job, but too often, prospective employees are coming in without professional skills or soft skills — what she and her team more commonly call ‘work readiness skills.’

“So we have a workshop team here developing content that is specific to different trainings. We’ll go into a training program and deliver the work readiness workshops and make sure that we’re preparing people across multiple industries to just be ready to be good employees.”

Speaking of training, MassHire Franklin Hampshire also has a strong relationship with GCC.

“We’re really lucky that GCC is a community college that is really interested in being innovative and responsive to the employers in our region,” Geary said, adding that the college has expanded and invested in its workforce training programs on campus over the past few years.

“If you look at their website, you’ll see they have really comprehensive career pathway programs that match our priority industries and engage employers and students. So we partner with them all the time. When they have a new grant-funded training program, we help them recruit students. We help provide the work readiness.”

MassHire is also expanding its business services team that works directly with employers, she added. “We want to make sure that, when GCC has any training program ending, we have employers who are in that industry lined up to receive them. So we’re doing more events early on, helping people prepare for the employers that are going to come to a job fair that are specific to that training cohort.”

Besides key sectors like education, healthcare, and manufacturing, MassHire Franklin Hampshire also keys in on industries that are particularly relevant to its region, including clean energy, outdoor recreation, and agriculture.

“We are seeing, nationwide, a decrease in the agricultural industry. But in Massachusetts, we’re seeing a slight increase. And Franklin Hampshire holds about 20% of the state’s agricultural industry right here,” Geary said. “So we’re really looking at what we can be doing with small and mid-sized farms. It’s a lot of small businesses, so we want to have an industry sector partnership where we do some of the legwork and say, ‘what do you need? Let us help you design some strategies that will meet your workforce needs.’

In the realm of clean industry, she noted that GCC has partnered with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which funds clean energy grants and workforce training, among other things.

“They’re really developing a comprehensive career pathway and training program, and we’re working on engaging young adults, but also the adult population, to get trained in that industry as we’re seeing more and more employers start to pop up in our region.”

It’s a region that has unique challenges in that it has the largest geography of any of the 16 workforce areas, but with relatively few residents.

“We’re serving 50 cities and towns in Franklin, Hampshire, and the North Quabbin, and a lot of it is rural. So we have fewer funds than other workforce areas that have larger populations. And some of the challenges of the rural communities that impact the workforce are the same challenges as everywhere else, like transportation and childcare, but they have a little different flavor up here,” Geary explained.

“So those are really difficult barriers to overcome when we have people trying to get to jobs over this 1,400-square-mile region, and there’s not really any transportation infrastructure to speak of.”

 

One-stop Shop

The majority of MassHire’s funding comes through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which brings up another current challenge: the general uncertainty organizations of all kinds are feeling about federal funding.

“That’s very much up in the air. We don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Wilson said. “So coming together gives us a little more stability to be able to weather that. But it’s also setting us up for the future, no matter what. It’s the future of workforce development — it makes us more streamlined, more efficient. I think it’s better for the customer as well, whether that’s an employer or a job seeker.”

Geary said that speaks to something she hears all the time from clients on both sides.

“Once they’re engaged with our services, they all inevitably say, ‘oh my gosh, I had no idea I could get so much help by working with you. I didn’t know you existed.’ We hear that all the time, so streamlining our messaging helps with that, too. We don’t have to get into that confusing conversation — ‘you’re going to work with them over here for that, and then you’re going to come to us for this over here.’”

Instead, she said, “we can eliminate that point of confusion and just say, ‘come to MassHire Franklin Hampshire, and we’re going to help you solve your workforce needs.’”

Arrha Credit Union, BrightBridge Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Arrha Credit Union and BrightBridge Credit Union announced their intent to merge. BrightBridge will be the continuing credit union following the merger.

This strategic partnership is based on a mutual commitment to people-first values, competitive financial offerings, and community engagement, credit unions stated. With this merger, BrightBridge will expand its field of membership to include Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties in Massachusetts, and Hartford and Tolland counties in Connecticut.

Pending regulatory and member approvals, the combined credit union will operate 23 branches across Southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Eastern Connecticut, and provide access to shared branching nationwide. Together, they will serve approximately 125,000 members and manage nearly $2.4 billion in assets.

“We believe this partnership is exceptionally beneficial to our members, our team, and our community,” said Michael Ostrowski, president and CEO of Arrha Credit Union. “Together, we’ll be stronger and better equipped to serve our members’ evolving financial needs. We look forward to working with the BrightBridge team to ensure a smooth transition for all.”

BrightBridge Credit Union President and CEO John Howard added That “we’re honored to be joining forces with a credit union like Arrha that has such a strong legacy of caring for its members. We believe this partnership will bring even more value and opportunity for all our members and team members.”

Throughout the merger process, both organizations have committed to transparency and open communication, with members receiving regular updates and information regarding the proposed merger.

Berkshire Bank, Brookline Bank to Form Combined Company

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Banking and Financial Services

Merger of Equals

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Berkshire Bank, and Brookline Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Brookline Bank, Bank Rhode Island, and PCSB Bank, recently announced they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Brookline will merge with and into Berkshire in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, or $12.68 per share of Brookline common stock, based on the $30.20 closing price of Berkshire common stock on Dec. 13, 2024.

In conjunction with the planned merger, Berkshire also entered into subscription agreements with investors to raise capital to support the merger. In aggregate, $100 million of Berkshire common stock were issued at $29 per share. The proceeds of the capital raise are expected to support the pro forma bank’s balance sheet and regulatory capital ratios.

Nitin Mhatre, president and CEO of Berkshire Bank, said the merger announcement “marks a transformational milestone in the history of two storied institutions with a strong commitment to serving their clients and communities. The combined organization will be in an even stronger position to deliver exceptional client experience and create greater value for shareholders.”

“Scale and efficiency combined with our shared culture of true community banking is a powerful driver of value for all of our stakeholders.”

Paul Perrault, chairman and CEO of Brookline Bank, noted that “this transaction presents an opportunity to bring together two historic franchises in the Northeast market. By bringing together two complementary cultures and geographic footprints with shared values and client focus, we will be better-positioned to serve our customers, employees, communities and shareholders.”

Berkshire Bank Chairperson David Brunelle added that “this highly compelling combination is a true merger of equals that will create a pre-eminent Northeast financial institution. Scale and efficiency combined with our shared culture of true community banking is a powerful driver of value for all of our stakeholders.”

The creation of a $24 billion franchise with 148 branch offices positions the combined company to benefit from significant economies of scale and capitalize on meaningful growth opportunities through business diversification and improved competitive positioning. Together, the companies will have the scale to enhance investments in clients, employees, and markets, and increase lending capacity.

The combined company promise to preserve and build on the cultures of both Berkshire and Brookline, which include core values centered on respect, teamwork, accountability, and client focus, the press announcement noted, adding that the combined bank will maintain its strong ties with its communities and be better-positioned to elevate its impact through its community banking business model.

The combined company’s board of directors will consist of eight directors from Berkshire and eight directors from Brookline. Brunelle will serve as chairperson of the board of the combined company and the combined bank. Perrault will serve as president and CEO.

The combined bank will be divided into six regions, each led by an experienced local leader who will be responsible for the overall business performance in their market. Three will be from Berkshire and three will be from Brookline. This model will allow the combined company to achieve the efficiencies of operating one bank while maintaining a regional banking structure that enables local market leaders to make autonomous decisions with the support and balance sheet of a larger institution.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second half of 2025, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approvals from Berkshire and Brookline shareholders.

PeoplesBank, Cornerstone Merge Holding Companies

By
Brian Canina
Banking and Financial Services

Coming Together

 

Brian Canina

Brian Canina says the merger with Cornerstone Bank’s holding company will provide both institutions with opportunities to become more efficient — and more competitive.

Brian Canina says that, while it’s being called a merger, in reality, it’s more of a partnership.

He was referring to the recent announcement that Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, which he serves as president, and Worcester-based Cornerstone Bank will combine their holding companies — PeoplesBancorp, MHC and SSB Community Bancorp, MHC, respectively — into one entity, which will take the former’s name.

This transaction, the latest to merge multi-bank holding companies, will create an entity with approximately $6 billion in assets, said Canina, a number that brings with it certain competitive advantages and a stronger ability to withstand increasingly thin margins in this sector.

“What we’re trying to do is create some scalability,” he explained. “Through the holding company, we can look for ways we can work together and share the back-office services to become more efficient through size.”

Overall, and outwardly at least, not much will change with this partnership, said Canina, noting that both banks will continue to operate under separate names and brands for the foreseeable future. All account information, branch banking, and digital access will remain the same for both banks throughout the transaction.

It will be, as he put it succinctly, “business as usual.”

Behind the scenes, though, the merger will provide both institutions with opportunities to become more efficient and, in many ways, leverage each other’s markets.

“The banking industry is pretty transparent in terms of being able to see the cost of goods sold,” he explained. “If you look at what the current market interest rates are for deposits, and what people are looking to get for a savings account or CD, and then you compare that to what the market prices are for a 30-year mortgage or a commercial loan … you can see the spread between the two and also see how thin that is.

“As a mutual bank, we can’t raise capital from stock issuances; we earn our capital through hard work and bottom-line earnings. As a result, it can be more challenging for a mutual bank to stay up to speed with inflation, the cost of wages, and competing with stock banks that have more access to capital.”

“The only way to continue to manage like any other business that has shrinking profit margins is to become more efficient in your operations,” he went on. “And that’s where this opportunity is important; you need size in order to become more efficient, and that’s the same in any business.”

 

Strength in Scale

Canina said this transaction reflects a trend in the industry: a growing number of mergers, or partnerships, among mutual banks and their holding companies, something that wasn’t seen as much years ago, when more mergers involved publicly traded institutions.

And they’re coming about out of necessity, he went on, adding that the size and scale they generate amount to better opportunities to compete with those larger stock banks.

“As a mutual bank, we can’t raise capital from stock issuances; we earn our capital through hard work and bottom-line earnings,” he explained. “As a result, it can be more challenging for a mutual bank to stay up to speed with inflation, the cost of wages, and competing with stock banks that have more access to capital. But we do it because we want a mission that’s focused on our communities, our customers, our employees, and giving back — and not about shareholders.

“So I think you’re going to see more of these mutual-to-mutual mergers,” he went on. “We’re starting to see them already, but I’ll think you’ll see more of them because they need to partner with each other to maintain that mutual status — and to remain relevant.”

Elaborating, he said that, when it comes to such transactions, with no stock to acquire, it’s not as much about dollars as it is about culture. And these two institutions are very similar in that regard.

“We provide the same services and technology as the larger regional and national banks, but we’re also giving back to the community, which a lot of those banks don’t do,” he went on. “That’s what we do, and when we partner with other like-minded mutual banks, we can start really competing — and giving back more to the community.”

Indeed, as noted earlier, bringing these holding companies together creates a $6 billion entity — PeoplesBank has roughly $4.4 billion in assets, and Cornerstone is a $1.6 billion institution — which creates more economies of scale and, thus, opportunities to increase overall profits, Canina explained.

And while it will be business as usual for the time being, the two banks will, over time, seek out ways to share best-in-class technologies as well as resources to become more efficient.

“Over time, we’ll look for opportunities to share employees and to share technologies to be more efficient, as a larger organization would,” he told BusinessWest, emphasizing, again, the importance of scale in banking today.

 

Promising Partnership

This quest for size helps explain other mergers of holding companies, Canina said, adding that there have been several over the past few years, including a few involving bankESB and its holding company, Hometown Financial Group Inc.

Such mergers enable institutions, often on the other end of this state or in other states, to build on each other’s success in their respective markets. It’s the same with PeoplesBank and Cornerstone.

“We can’t build 11 banking centers in the Worcester County area, and Cornerstone can’t build 21 banking centers in the Western Mass. and Northern Connecticut markets,” he explained. “But by partnering, we’re able to leverage each other’s markets and find ways to enhance each other’s franchise values in those markets by partnering together.

“We don’t necessarily need to merge with Cornerstone — we’re financially strong, and we’re doing great,” he added. “It’s more of the opportunity and what we can do better with a partner.”

 

PeoplesBank, Cornerstone Bank Announce Merger of Holding Companies

By
Banking & Finance Daily News News

HOLYOKE — Following a unanimous vote from their boards, PeoplesBank and Cornerstone Bank have announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine their holding companies in a merger transaction.

While the merger agreement between PeoplesBancorp, MHC and SSB Community Bancorp, MHC will unify holding companies, both banks will continue operating under separate names and brands for the foreseeable future. After the completion of the merger, the new, consolidated holding company for both banks will be named PeoplesBancorp, MHC and have approximately $6 billion in assets.

Thomas Senecal will remain as CEO and chairman, and Todd Tallman will become president of the combined mutual holding company. Brian Canina will be the chief operating officer of the holding company and will remain president of PeoplesBank.

Both institutions will benefit from the combined financial strength of two strong community banks coming together to create one of the largest mutual, multi-bank holding companies in the Northeast. PeoplesBank, serving Western Mass. and Northern Conn., and Cornerstone Bank, serving Central Mass., will each continue their normal operations with no disruption to customers. All account information, branch banking, and digital access will remain the same for both banks throughout the transaction.

“This merger of our holding companies will create more financial support for each of our banks, ensuring the kind of sustained strength that our customers have relied on since our founding in 1885,” said Senecal, CEO and chairman of the board of PeoplesBank.

This partnership opens up both banks to future opportunities and market growth. The merger was unanimously approved by the boards of trustees for both holding companies. Completion of the transition remains subject to approval by the corporators of PeoplesBancorp, MHC and SSB Community Bancorp, MHC as well as regulatory approval. Closing is anticipated in the first quarter of 2025.

“We’re excited to be joining forces with another mutual bank serving their communities with the same kind of commitment as us,” said Tallman, CEO of Cornerstone Bank. “While customers won’t see any difference in their day-to-day banking experiences, this merger offers us more scalability and strength, which we can build on in the future.”

The Polish National Credit Union, Premier Source Credit Union to Merge

By
Daily News

 

CHICOPEE — The Polish National Credit Union (PNCU) headquartered in Chicopee, and Premier Source Federal Credit Union (PSFCU), headquartered in East Longmeadow, have signed a definitive merger agreement. PNCU will be the continuing credit union and acquire PSFCU’s 4,526 members and nearly $70 million in assets.

Under the terms of agreement, PSFCU will merge “with and into” PNCU, under the charter, bylaws, and name of The Polish National Credit Union. The PSFCU headquarters will become the East Longmeadow branch of PNCU.

“This is a win-win situation for both PNCU and PSFCU,” said Jim Kelly, CEO of PNCU. “The joining of these two organizations makes sense for several reasons. First, we are able to grow our geographic presence and access for both members. Second, we are able to preserve the credit union culture by combining with a congenial partner, like PSFCU. And third, we are able to take advantage of the enhanced scale to focus on selecting the best systems and processes to benefit the credit union and our members going forward.

“When choosing a merger partner, PSFCU turned to PNCU due to its strong financials, expanded line of products, digital and technological advancements, but most importantly, its commitment to members,” Kelly went on.

This year, PNCU celebrates 100 years of service and has approximately $700 million in assets. Upon completion of the merger, PSFCU members will enjoy full use of PNCU’s seven full-service branches and access to business banking services, investment services, and insurance products.

“Since 1941, Premier Source Federal Credit Union has taken great pride in serving our community and our membership,” said PSFCU CEO Bonnie Raymond. “It is not often you find organizations that support a member-first philosophy and for that reason, it was in PSFCU’s best interest to merge with PNCU. We are confident this will be a seamless transition and look forward to the many opportunities this merger will provide to our community and our members,”

Having negotiated a definitive merger agreement, both credit unions will now seek regulatory approval from the Mass. Division of Banks, National Credit Union Administration, the Mass. Credit Union Share Insurance Corp., and approval from their memberships. The merger is expected to be completed in the spring of 2022. For further developments, visit www.pncu.com.

Cooley Shrair Joins Hartford-based Halloran Sage

By
Peter Shrair
Law Special Coverage

Firm Commitment

Peter Shrair

Peter Shrair says the two firms saw “some real synergies” when they started talking.

Springfield-based Cooley Shrair and Hartford-based Halloran Sage have a lot in common, including histories that span more than 75 years and a focus on the broad needs of business clients. But their philosophies and cultures also have a lot in common, as their leaders discovered during discussions that led to Cooley Shrair joining the Halloran Sage family last month. The result, they hope, will be more inclusive service to clients, as well as a more attractive landing spot for the young talent all law firms need to grow.

When asked what Halloran Sage and Cooley Shrair bring to each other’s table, David Shrair had to think back only 15 minutes.

“We’ve got a new, West Hartford-based client who called me and said, ‘I tried to trademark a logo myself, and I got lost. Can you help us?’” said Shrair, a partner at his namesake Springfield firm, which recently joined the much larger, Hartford-based Halloran Sage law group.

“We normally would have referred him to a firm we did business with in Hartford, who did all our intellectual-property work,” Shrair continued. “But I got on the computer and sent out a blast e-mail to partners and counsel at Halloran Sage. Within three minutes, I got one name from five different partners. I’ve connected that partner, he’s got the logo, and we’re working on it.”

In other words, by joining forces with 86-year-old Halloran Sage, an 80-attorney practice whose law expertise in the realm known as transactional business runs deeper in some areas than Cooley Shrair’s, the firm can keep its clients in house for a much wider range of matters, instead of farming them out, he noted.

“We can keep an eye on the case and make sure it’s being handled properly, which is very difficult to do when you’re sending it out to somebody else, and you have no idea whether your client is being taken care of,” said Peter Shrair, another partner with the firm. “If we’re looking at the client’s interest first, then the client gets a much better product.”

That’s one of the ideas behind what both firms aren’t calling a merger or an acquisition, but a joining together of the two entities under the Halloran Sage umbrella.

“We started talking, and we saw some synergies between what we do and what they do. And I had a thought that one plus one could equal three, with a really good group of smart people working together.”

Peter said he started talking informally to Bill McGrath, a partner at Halloran Sage, about such a relationship last year.

“Another lawyer in their office, Sue Scibilia, and I were talking about something else. She said to me, ‘you really should meet Bill McGrath. He’s a good business person and one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever known.’ And I consider Sue to be one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever known. So, we started talking, and we saw some synergies between what we do and what they do. And I had a thought that one plus one could equal three, with a really good group of smart people working together.”

Casey O’Connell, another partner at Halloran Sage, agreed.

“This has always been a Connecticut-based firm with a regional focus,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re always looking to find ways to better serve our clients and to provide the best possible legal services that we as a legal firm can provide. So we’re always on the lookout to have talented attorneys with complementary practices and similar philosophies to join our firm.”

David Shrair says the combined firm will be able to keep more clients completely in-house.

David Shrair says the combined firm will be able to keep more clients completely in-house.

After informal discussions turned more specific over several months, he went on, “there were some meetings among people with the firms, and it was determined it would really be a great fit and a way for us to collectively be bigger than we both were separately and, most importantly, to provide additional resources to our client base and Cooley Shrair’s client base to better serve our clients.”

For this issue’s focus on law, BusinessWest sat down with O’Connell and the two Shrairs to talk about why this relationship makes sense, and why both firms feel they — and their business clients — are better off because of it.

 

One-stop Shop

Business clients, after all, are at the heart of both firms’ work. Besides a shared focus on transactional law, which incorporates activities like contracts, finance, construction and real estate, risk management, restructuring and bankruptcies, board governance, intellectual property, and a host of others, Halloran Sage also boasts broad expertise in business litigation.

“That’s a service that we had not been offering for a number of years,” Peter Shrair said. “Even when we offered it, it clearly wasn’t with that depth of people. We had one or two, maybe at one point three people doing litigation, but they might have 30. And depending on the size and complexity of the matter, they have the skill, knowledge base, and depth of people to handle it.”

The firms are similar in other ways — for instance, both have a large banking practice, representing different banks, “so there’s a synergy right there,” David added.

“We collaborate very well across practices,” O’Connell said, “and that is one way where the firms can mutually help each other, with the Cooley Shrair folks bringing a wealth of transactional and business banking knowledge that really strengthens our practice areas. But we also have a very robust litigation practice.

“I would say Halloran is a full-service firm, and our litigation portion of the firm is very large and robust — we’re one of the biggest firms that focuses on litigation in Connecticut,” he went on. “And one of the reasons we have such a long history in Connecticut is our ability to provide clients with essentially one-stop shopping.”

Joining a Connecticut-based firm — Halloran Sage has five offices in the Nutmeg State — also makes sense in that three of Cooley Shrair’s attorneys were already admitted to the Connecticut bar, and the firm has worked with many clients from across the border.

This isn’t the first time Halloran Sage has taken on an established group of attorneys all at once, but most of its growth over the years has been organic, O’Connell said. For instance, it launched a New Haven office with two attorneys in 2012, and has since grown that site to 12 attorneys.

“It was a big success story to build and maintain a presence in that part of the state,” he noted. “We have an office Washington, D.C., but [Springfield] is our first office outside Connecticut with a large presence. This really broadens our reach to become not just a Connecticut firm, but a Southern New England firm.”

Client relationships won’t be disrupted, Peter Shrair said, but may shift over time.

Casey O’Connell

Casey O’Connell

“We collaborate very well across practices, and that is one way where the firms can mutually help each other, with the Cooley Shrair folks bringing a wealth of transactional and business banking knowledge that really strengthens our practice areas.”

“If it’s a more natural fit for someone from Hartford to handle something, they’ll handle it,” he explained, noting, as an example, a litigation case that came in just that morning and was referred to attorneys in Hartford. “We’re looking for whatever is best for the client — if a client can be handled better out of New Haven, we want to handle that out of New Haven. If it can be handled better in Springfield, presumably we’ll handle it in Springfield. “Really, it deals with whose practice area it fits best in.”

 

Business as Usual, Sort Of

For two firms that deal heavily with business clients — at a time when the business world has been rocked by COVID-19 — the past 18 months have gone surprisingly well, Peter noted.

“At least as far as my practice goes, there was very little change,” he said. “In fact, with the advent of Zoom and Microsoft Teams and everything else, it was probably easier because you could get different people online together quickly and have a discussion.”

David Shrair was stranded in Florida in March 2020 when the economy first began to shut down — so his firm shipped him a computer and double-screen monitor.

“I closed one of my largest transactions in years from Florida; I did Planning Board meetings from Florida, just like I was sitting in Springfield or wherever; it mattered not,” he recalled. “It’s interesting — with the shutdown and all the issues that went with it, most of our business clients continued very much along the same vein. They had their own internal problems, but the sales and acquisitions and all that still continued to go on. We have been extremely busy.”

After an initial slowing of work in the pipeline last spring, Halloran Sage’s team adjusted quickly to the pandemic as well, O’Connell said, and business has been strong from the second half of 2020 to the present. The transactional work has been more robust than litigation because court activity slowed to a crawl last year, but overall, business has been brisk, and the firm is on a growth trajectory.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities and ways to serve our clients. That includes having new attorneys come in with different specialties or outlooks or just to grow our bench and have more resources to grow our client base,” he went on. “We’re always looking to figure out how we can modify our firm or business to better serve our clients. That’s what the current combination of Cooley Shrair and Halloran Sage is all about, and certainly where Halloran wants to continue to go, to make sure we’re staying ahead of the curve and in the best position to serve our clients.”

The broader geographic reach will also benefit the combined firm in attracting talent, as attorneys will be able to access opportunities across Connecticut as well as into Massachusetts, and move around as their life circumstances change, Peter Shrair said. And David noted that being part of a much larger organization broadens the partnership track, which can also be a draw for young attorneys to settle in this region.

But in the end, O’Connell said, what the discussions really came down to was a perceived alignment in the firms’ client-first philosophies.

“We went through some internal discussions, not really to create a new philosophy, but to figure out a way to better articulate our firm’s philosophy, and we have determined that our firm’s philosophy is ‘client, firm, self,’ in that order,” he said. “In talking to the Cooley Shrair folks, we found there was a great alignment with how they deliver service, and our philosophies really align, so seemed like a natural fit when we pursued it.”

Peter Shrair agreed. “For 75-plus years, that has always been our mantra — our response time and our response to clients’ needs.”

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

 

 

The Dowd Agencies Merges with J. Raymond Lussier Insurance

By Contributor
Lussier-Dowd’s new office
Insurance

Expanding the Footprint

Lussier-Dowd’s new office

Lussier-Dowd’s new office at 181 Park Ave. in West Springfield expands the merged company’s footprint to six locations.

The Dowd Agencies and the J. Raymond Lussier Insurance Agency announced last week they have merged their operations and will be known as Lussier-Dowd Insurance.

The merger and addition of a branch in West Springfield expands Dowd’s footprint to six offices located throughout the Pioneer Valley. The new office, located at 181 Park Ave., is minutes from Routes 5 and 20, and Interstates 91, 291 and 391. An open house will be planned at a later date.

“We’re excited for the Lussier Agency to be part of our team. I have known the Lussier family for many years, and they have always been a highly professional, customer-driven insurance agency,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO of the Dowd Agencies. “We are also excited to have a location in the fine town of West Springfield.”

The West Springfield office will be a full-service insurance agency providing personal, commercial, wealth-management, and employee-benefits products and services.

A native of West Springfield, David Griffin Jr., vice president of the Dowd Agencies, said he is excited about his company planting roots in his hometown. “I was born and raised in West Side, so it is particularly exciting for me. More importantly, West Side is a great and vibrant town here in Western Mass.”

The Lussier-Dowd Insurance Agency is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and can be reached by calling (413) 737-5359.

A full-service agency, the Dowd Agencies has been helping individuals and businesses in Western Mass. with their personal insurance, commercial insurance, employee benefits, and financial needs for more than 120 years. Established in Holyoke in 1898, the Dowd Agencies is the oldest insurance agency in Massachusetts with operations and management under continuous family ownership.

 

Merger of Aerospace Giants Creates Uncertainty, but Perhaps Opportunity  

By
Manufacturing

Taking Flight

Since the announcement last month that defense and aerospace giants Raytheon and United Technologies will merge into one firm based in Eastern Mass., few other details have emerged, and questions remain about the impact on the companies’ workforce, particularly those currently based at UTC’s Connecticut plant. But some see potential growth in the merger, which may bode well for the many Western Mass. machine shops — and their 5,000 employees — that make components for those companies.

Rick Sullivan calls it the “invisible backbone of the economy” in Western Mass.

He refers to precision manufacturing, and he chooses each of those words for a reason. Machine shops — virtually all of them in the small (make that very small) to medium-sized range — exist in almost every community in the four counties of Western Mass.

“Those companies, if we could put them together under one room, it would be a giant company that gets everyone’s attention all the time — national attention. It’s that significant,” said Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council.

As for invisible? “These shops each have a real niche and do high-quality work, and you don’t see that impact every single day,” he went on. “But it’s a true center of excellence. It’s important.”

Among the work many of these shops do is supplying components for major companies — like Raytheon and United Technologies Corp. (UTC). And when two companies of that size announce plans to merge, as they did last month, it sends ripples of concern through that often-invisible but critical industry, simply because of the uncertainty it produces.

“Obviously, when anything changes out there, we have to evaluate that change in terms of what it’s going to mean locally,” Sullivan told BusinessWest. “No question, the relationship of Massachusetts manufacturers with both companies is significant.”

The merger — which will create one of the world’s largest defense companies, with combined sales of $74 billion — will close in the first half of 2020 after United Technologies completes the previously planned separation of its Otis and Carrier businesses.

The combined company, to be named Raytheon Technologies Corp., will be a major player in defense research and technology — not that the two companies weren’t already. In announcing the merger, the two giants said they will be able to develop new technologies more quickly, with combined research and development spending of $8 billion annually and more than 60,000 engineers.

In many ways, that’s good news, but there are workforce-related questions, state Sen. Eric Lesser noted the day the merger was announced.

Rick Sullivan says the economic impact of the region’s precision manufacturers is significant, even as it often flies under the public radar.

“The UTC-Raytheon deal means another major corporate HQ is relocating to Massachusetts, which overall for Massachusetts is positive news and will be celebrated in Boston,” he said, while quickly noting that a sizable portion of UTC’s current workforce lives in Greater Springfield.

“A quick drive past the huge parking at UTC’s facility across from Bradley Airport, for example, shows a lot of Massachusetts license plates,” he went on. “I personally know many constituents that work at the UTC facilities in both Windsor Locks and Farmington — engineers, electricians, accountants, salespeople, etc. — almost all very good and well-paying careers with great career paths at a variety of education levels.

“Long term, what will happen to those Western Mass. UTC jobs as a result of this merger?” Lesser asked. “If facilities are relocated to Metro Boston, what will losing those jobs mean for Western Mass.? It won’t be positive. We need good jobs at both ends of Massachusetts, and everywhere in between.”

The fact that Raytheon Technologies will be based near Boston drew a complaint from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who said he is concerned about the potential workforce impact on his state. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Blumenthal also urged the Defense Department, the Justice Department, and other agencies to examine the potential impact on costs and competition in the defense industry.

Maintaining the Flow

Then there’s the matter of protecting the flow of work to the region’s small machine shops and their 5,000-plus employees. It’s an area of concern for Kristin Carlson in both her roles — as president of Peerless Precision in Westfield and also of the Western Mass. chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc.

She recently told BusinessWest that business is booming for Peerless and most other local precision manufacturers, and that the region has a reputation across the country and around the world as a precision-machining hub. The industries the sector serves — aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and some commercial sectors — are surging, and a report issued last year by the Precision Manufacturing Regional Alliance Projects suggests that the manufacturing sector statewide will need to fill up to 1,500 jobs this year, due to growth and retirement.

“Obviously, when anything changes out there, we have to evaluate that change in terms of what it’s going to mean locally. No question, the relationship of Massachusetts manufacturers with both companies is significant.”

So there’s a lot at stake when a move of this scale happens — and Carlson hopes the impact is a net positive.

“A lot of the machine shops are already suppliers to Raytheon or UTC,” she said. “From what I can see, this merger presents the opportunity for existing suppliers to those two separate companies to become suppliers to the new company, which can increase opportunities for local machine shops and other manufacturers — which means growth and more jobs.”

As for the move of UTC to Eastern Mass., where Raytheon is already based, Carlson doesn’t expect the company to move its entire workforce, although it hasn’t made those plans clear yet.

“I don’t know what the grand plan is,” she said. “My perspective is, I don’t think they’re going to be moving everyone to Eastern Mass. I anticipate some jobs might get transferred over to the new location, but I don’t think they’ll be shutting down or moving everyone over.”

Kristin Carlson says the Raytheon-UTC merger may present opportunities to increase an already-robust pipeline of work.

Raytheon Technologies intends to focus on hypersonics — vehicles and weapons that can fly faster than the speed of sound — as well as intelligence and surveillance systems, artificial intelligence for commercial aviation, and cybersecurity for connected planes.

Raytheon was founded in 1922 and makes missiles, including the Patriot system, and cybersecurity tools. United Technologies was founded in 1934 and makes products for the aerospace and building sectors, including airplane engines and spacesuits.

“Our two companies have iconic brands that share a long history of innovation, customer focus, and proven execution,” United Technologies Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes noted in a statement last month.

Hayes will become the CEO of Raytheon Technologies. Two years after the merger closes, he will add the title of chairman. Raytheon Chairman and CEO Tom Kennedy will be appointed executive chairman. The company’s board will include eight directors from UTC and seven from Raytheon.

Defense mergers are nothing new in recently years. In 2018 alone, there were eight mergers exceeding $1 billion in value, including an all-stock deal between L3 Technologies and Harris and General Dynamics’ acquisition of CSRA Inc., according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Building on Relationships

Still, in Western Mass., much of the focus has come down to jobs, and preserving the working relationships that exist between small machine shops and large players like Raytheon and UTC.

“Those relationships as subcontractors are vital to us,” Sullivan told BusinessWest. “I do think, moving forward, those connections can even be strengthened. In Western Mass., we recognize that we have an economy that goes east-west, but as importantly, and maybe even more importantly, it goes north-south also. We obviously will be watching closely.

“Raytheon is obviously a big player regionally in Western Mass.,” he added. “We need to grow those relationships, and I do think there are opportunities for growth.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

 

EforAll Helps a Challenged Constituency Share the Wealth

By
India Russell and Lamont Stuckey, makers of Everything Sauce
Cover Story

Pivotal Support

India Russell and Lamont Stuckey, makers of Everything Sauce

India Russell and Lamont Stuckey, makers of Everything Sauce

The agency is called SPARK EforAll Holyoke. It represents a merger of SPARK Holyoke, an entity created to inspire and mentor entrepreneurs, and EforAll, the Lowell-based organization that has created an effective model that does essentially the same thing. By whatever name it goes, the agency is helping to spur business ownership among minorities, women, and other constituencies, and it is already changing the landscape in the Paper City.

They call it ‘Everything Sauce.’

That’s the name India Russell and Lamont Stuckey gave to a product that is now the main focus of a business they call Veganish Foodies.

This is a company, but also a mindset and what the partners call a “lifestyle brand for anyone making the change to ‘healthy living.’” Elaborating, they told BusinessWest that veganish foodies are individuals who love food and are ready to explore the more-healthy vegan lifestyle one meal at a time by substituting their favorite foods with healthier alternatives or ingredients.

The Everything Sauce? That’s part of it. It’s something they concocted themselves as a spicy alternative to other things people put on their food and something that may make the healthier foods in a vegetarian or vegan diet more, well, palatable.

“It has an alternative to soy … it has different spices to give you flavor … it has an alternative to sugar in there,” said Stuckey, trying hard not to identify any secret ingredients. “It’s all blended together to give you a sweet heat that makes all kinds of foods taste better.”

As noted, this sauce has become the main focus of this business venture since the partners became involved with a program called SPARK EforAll Holyoke, the latest branch office (if that’s the proper term) of an agency that started in the Lowell-Lawrence area of the state in 2011 and has expanded to a number of small and mid-sized cities, including Holyoke, that share common challenges and demographic profiles (more on that in a bit).

Overall, EforAll, short for Entrepreneurship for All, is an agency that essentially promotes its chosen name, specifically in cities that have large ethnic populations but few resources for individuals with entrepreneurial energy and drive.

Holyoke certainly fits that description, and EforAll became part of the landscape in the city when those managing the agency known as SPARK decided last year to merge with EforAll and fully embrace its model, said David Parker, CEO of the organization.

Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, executive director EforAll, Alex Morse, was encouraged by the progress being made in her hometown, and wanted to play a bigger role in those efforts.

Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, executive director EforAll, Alex Morse, was encouraged by the progress being made in her hometown, and wanted to play a bigger role in those efforts.

Like the better-known Valley Venture Mentors, SPARK EforAll Holyoke features mentoring, accelerator programs, pitch contests, and other forms of programming to help participants take an idea and eventually transform it into a business — while also helping them avoid many of the mistakes that turn businesses into casualties, said Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, the agency’s executive director. But its work generally involves a different constituency.

“The people we’re working with … they’re not necessarily making the next big mobile app or finding a cure for cancer — although they might be,” she explained. “They may just be running a cleaning business, but that’s feeding their families. Being able to work with people who may have never considered themselves entrepreneurs, and being able to show them that they’re able to do that, I think that’s what makes us unique.”

As for Russell and Stuckey, they became part of the accelerator class at SPARK EforAll Holyoke that graduated late last month during ceremonies at Wistariahust Museum, a fitting location because it was the home of William Skinner, one of Holyoke’s most noted and inspirational entrepreneurs.

“The people we’re working with … they’re not necessarily making the next big mobile app or finding a cure for cancer — although they might be. They may just be running a cleaning business, but that’s feeding their families. Being able to work with people who may have never considered themselves entrepreneurs, and being able to show them that they’re able to do that, I think that’s what makes us unique.”

Their mentors helped persuade them that making Everything Sauce shouldn’t be one small aspect of their venture — it should be the main focus. And they followed that advice, securing space in a commercial kitchen (Cornucopia Foods in Northampton) to scale up production, a process that is ongoing; you can now buy a bottle (price tag: $12) at Cornucopia or Crispy’s Wings-N-Fish in Springfield.

“When we came to SPARK EforAll, they really helped us organize ourselves and focus more on our sauce,” Russell explained, adding that the partners had several products and services, ranging from a 40-day cleanse to a seven-day challenge, but their mentors narrowed the company’s focus to something scalable and something it could sell.

In entrepreneurship circles, they call this a pivot, said Murphy-Romboletti, adding that such moves are usually vital to shaping a developing concept into a growing business.

And there was a lot of pivoting going on with the latest accelerator class, she noted, adding that it included eight companies, four of which split $5,000 in prize money to help take their ventures to the next step.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the entrepreneurs behind those prize-winning ventures to gain some perspective on SPARK Efor All and its growing impact within the region’s entrepreneurial infrastructure. Those companies came away from the ceremonies with one of those large ceremonial checks, but the reality is that they won much more than that — specifically a better road map for taking their business on the path to success.

Positive Steps

Alex Sandana told BusinessWest that he had aspirations to be a professional dancer while growing up. But his family was sternly tested by the expensive classes and training it would take to make that dream reality.

So he can certainly relate to the young people he’s now giving lessons to in a studio on High Street in Holyoke he calls Star Dancers Unity.

He opened it in 2013, and, like most people in business for any length of time, said his experience has been a roller-coaster ride — meaning both ups and downs.

Alex Sandana with some of his students at Star Dancers Unity.

Alex Sandana with some of his students at Star Dancers Unity.

Things have become somewhat less turbulent since he became involved with SPARK EforAll Holyoke, a step he wishes he had taken much sooner.

“I got into this knowing … zero,” he recalled. “I had an idea of what I was getting myself into, and I knew that Holyoke needed a place where kids could be themselves and not be burdened by the high tuition that other dance studios charge. But I never had any experience in business; I was learning as I was going.

EforAll has helped him expand the portfolio, if you will, serving not just young people, but also providing lessons, and choreography, for weddings and quinceañeras, the fiestas staged for girls turning 15 — that Latin equivalent of the sweet-16 party.

“I was able, with the help of my mentors, to identify other ways to generate revenue,” said Saldana, adding that this more-diversified business has much greater growth potential.

Helping business owners execute such changes and key pivots is essentially the mission statement at SPARK EforAll Holyoke, said Murphy-Romboletti, 29, who worked for several years as the executive assistant, scheduler, and press secretary for Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who coaxed her into returning to her hometown after she relocated to Brooklyn, feeling, as many young people did and still do, that she had to leave this area to find what she was looking for.

As she explained how she took the reins at the small agency, she said she watched as many of Morse’s initiatives in the broad realm of economic development — from promotion of the arts to development of an innovation district to programs to inspire and support entrepreneurship — began to change the landscape.

And she decided she wanted to be part of it.

“A position opened up in planning and economic development,” she recalled. “I loved working with the business owners in our community, and there were so many cool projects happening, especially in the downtown, so it seemed like a natural next step.”

One that led to another step when the directorship of SPARK came open. That provided an opportunity to work on a project she helped get off the ground while working in the mayor’s office.

“I loved working with the business owners in our community, and there were so many cool projects happening, especially in the downtown, so it seemed like a natural next step.”

“I was able, through my job at City Hall, to be there for the early planning stages for SPARK,” she recalled, noting that the initiative was funded through a Working Cities Challenge grant. “I loved it; I thought, ‘what an awesome opportunity to create an entrepreneurship program that’s inclusive and empowering and not your typical accelerator.’”

Those sentiments help explain why and how SPARK came to merge with EforAll. Holyoke’s demographics are similar to those in other cities it serves — 51% of its residents are Hispanic, and 9% of its businesses are owned by Latinos — and there is a need for services to help that latter number rise. Meanwhile, EforAll had an established model generating measurable results in other communities.

Getting Down to Business

Thus, she now leads what amounts to the latest in a series of expansion efforts for EforAll, which, after being launched in Lowell-Lawrence, has subsequently added offices in New Bedford, Fall River, Lynn, and Hyannis (an office that serves the entire Cape), as well as Holyoke.

The business model for the agency — launched under UMass Lowell with initial funding from the Deshpande Foundation and known originally as the Merrimack Valley Sandbox — involves working in communities, and with individuals, who are generally underserved, at least when it comes to initiatives within the broad realm of entrepreneurship.

“Generally speaking, this means immigrants, people of color, women, those who are unemployed, veterans, people returning from incarceration … those are the kinds of communities we look for,” Parker explained. “And we want to encourage people with ideas for businesses — we don’t give them ideas — to come to our programs, share their ideas, and see if we can help them get those businesses started.”

There are a number of measures for success, he said, including the number of businesses launched (both for-profit and nonprofit in nature), jobs, sales, and the capital raised for those ventures, he went on, adding that there have been a number of success stories as well.

The one cited most often is that of Danaris Mazara, who came to this country from the Dominican Republic at age 22.

Parker, who has told the story often, said that, after her husband was laid off from his job and the family began to struggle, Mazara took food stamps her mother gave her to buy groceries and instead bought ingredients for flan, a popular Dominican dessert. She made enough to sell to her co-workers and friends and made $500 in a few weeks.

Fast-forwarding a little, Parker said EforAll helped her move the flan operation out of her home and into a commercial bakery that she now owns by helping her secure a loan. It also assisted with product lines, pricing, and other aspects of the business. Today, she has 13 employees and is already looking for a larger bakery.

The EforAll model itself is scalable, said Parker, adding that the agency is certainly in an expansion mode. Indeed, now that it has shown that its formula for bolstering a community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem works in several Bay State cities, EforAll is ready to embark on expansion into other areas of the country.

“We hope to announce new EforAll programs in other states within this year,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the goal is to have another four sites by the end of this year, another six by the end of 2020, and perhaps as many as 50 in the years to come.

Julie Molianny and Rashad Ali, who launched Cantina Curbside Grill, a food truck featuring Latin fusion items, aspire to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the future.

Julie Molianny and Rashad Ali, who launched Cantina Curbside Grill, a food truck featuring Latin fusion items, aspire to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the future.

Meanwhile, in Holyoke, SPARK EforAll is getting set to open co-working space in a building on High Street — the doors will likely open in May — and thus take its mission to a still-higher level. Funded by a MassDevelopment Collaborative Workspace grant, the 1,500-square-foot facility has a large room that can accommodate perhaps 20 desks and several smaller cubicle-like areas, said Murphy-Romboletti, adding that there is obvious need for such space in Holyoke, and she expects that it will be well-received.

At the same time, the agency’s mentoring and accelerator programs are helping a number of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs move their concepts forward.

The 12 weeks of classes — two classes a week — are “intense,” Murphy-Romboletti, adding that each company is assigned a team of three mentors that act as an advisory panel.

“These entrepreneurs are deeply immersed in this process,” she explained. “We’re helping people navigate the challenges in front of them and do their business right.”

Spicing Things Up

People like Julie Molianny and Rashad Ali, who launched Cantina Curbside Grill, a food truck featuring Latin fusion items such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and more.

They started slowly in 2017, said Molianny, focusing on events on area college campuses and farmers’ markets. But the truck will soon shift into a higher gear, figuratively, she noted, adding that later this month it will be parked Monday through Friday at a still-to-be-determined location near Springfield’s riverfront.

Down the road, and probably not far down, the partners want to add a trailer to the lineup so they can handle bigger events, she said, adding that the ultimate goal is to have a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

EforAll has helped the two with the accounting and pricing sides of the ledger, said Ali, and also with focusing on not only the big picture — what’s in the business plan — but also myriad day-to-day issues involved with running a business.

“The hardest part is keeping tabs on everything, crossing all the T’s and doting all the I’s, staying on top of taxes and everything else,” he said, adding that the accelerator classes have helped the partners stay focused and organized.

Specifically, that means focused on the best options for stability and growth moving forward, which brings us back to Russell, Stuckey, and Everything Sauce, which is just one bullet point in their ever-changing business plan.

Indeed, the partners also have plans to put a food truck on the road, one that would offer what they called “plant-based alternatives,” and operate what might be considered non-typical hours.

“We want to specifically focus on food after 9 p.m., because after that hour, most eateries in this area are closed,” said Stuckey. “And what is open … let’s just say there aren’t many alternatives for healthy eating; we intend to change that.”

In the meantime, they intend to scale up their sauce. They’ve moved from a few gallons at a time in their home to four or five gallons at Cornucopia, which they found with the help of SPARK EforAll, and aspire to production runs of perhaps 200 gallons or more, perhaps at the Western Mass. Food Processing Center in Greenfield, which they also found with help from their mentors.

These mentors are entrepreneurs themselves, said Murphy-Romboletti, meaning they’ve been on the roller coaster themselves and have real-world experiences that translate into sage advice about if and how to take an idea from scratchings on a table napkin to Main Street, or High Street, as the case may be.

From left, Marcos Mateo, his mother, Madeline, and Abiel Alvarado, look to open their auto-service business in June.

From left, Marcos Mateo, his mother, Madeline, and Abiel Alvarado, look to open their auto-service business in June.

That was the case with Abiel Alvarado, his girlfriend, Madeline Mateo, and her son, Marcos Mateo. The three are going into business together, in a venture called Mateo Auto Sales, which has an interesting backstory.

Indeed, Alvarado was in the auto sales and service business in Puerto Rico, and essentially saw that business, and his life, turned upside down by Hurricane Maria. He relocated to Holyoke, where he met Madeline and expressed his desire to soon get back into business for himself. Looking for some help and direction, Madeline went to City Hall, and was soon redirected to the Chamber of Commerce and eventually SPARK EforAll Holyoke.

The three partners applied to, and eventually became part of, the latest accelerator class. Marcos Mateo told BusinessWest they’ve received many different kinds of support for their mentors.

“They provided a lot of guidance,” he said. “They lined everything up, they showed us exactly what we should be focusing on; our mentors helped us with identifying where to go and how to find information.

“We’re not just guessing and having to waste our time doing research,” he went on. “Every class was full of information we needed.”

In Good Company

Alvarado and the Mateos are currently in lease negotiations on a building, and hope to be open for business in June.

After that, they’ll begin what will likely be a roller-coaster ride, something all entrepreneurs endure. With the accelerator behind them and quarterly meetings with their mentors to continue for at least the next year, maybe the ride won’t be particularly wild or feature many significant dips.

Helping create a smoother ride is what SPARK EforAll Holyoke is all about. Its accelerator programs and other initiatives are unique when it comes to the constituency being served, but similar to others in that its mission is to open doors to business ownership and the opportunities it creates.

And that’s why these services are pivotal, in every sense of that word.

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

Warning Signs from Hampshire College

By
Opinion

Editorial

For years now, there have been rumblings from the world of higher education. Rumblings that times were changing and times were not particularly good. Rumblings that in some cases led to mergers among colleges, even a closing or two, and predictions that more were likely to come.

But the rumblings seemed far away, involving small institutions most of us had never heard of — Mount Ida College, Newbury College, the College of St. Joseph.

All of that changed last week, when Hampshire College President Miriam Nelson dropped what seemed like a bombshell, but what was in reality news that many saw coming. She announced that, amid falling enrollment and declining revenues, the nearly half-century-old college has commenced a search for a partner to help secure its future. The situation is so dire that school officials are not even sure if they’re going to admit a freshman class for this coming fall.

That decision will come in the near future, and in the meantime, the school will search hard for a merger partner, preferably one that will not only help it get back on solid financial footing, but enable it to maintain its non-traditional approach — there are no grades here, for example — and decidedly different ways of doing things.

Nelson is confident that such a partner can be found — other schools, such as Wheelock College, have forged such partnerships, in its case with Boston University — but time will tell.

Meanwhile, the announcement from Hampshire College should serve as a wake-up call, not that anyone in higher education really needed one, that times are, indeed, changing, and that imaginative, proactive steps are needed to secure the future of such institutions.

Numbers lie at the heart of this problem — all kinds of numbers, but especially those pertaining to the size of high-school graduating classes. They’ve been falling steadily over the past several years, and at an alarming rate.

With fewer students going to college, a survival-of-the-fittest scenario is emerging, and there are high stakes, not only for the colleges involved but the communities in which they reside.

Indeed, it’s no secret that, in addition to healthcare, education is the other pillar of the region’s economy — hence the phrase ‘eds and meds.’

Fortunately, for the most part, the ‘eds’ sector locally remains quite strong, and many institutions are faring well, primarily because they are fitter than some others.

And by fit, we mean aggressive in efforts to develop new programs and new revenue streams, and also tell their story. In short, they are not sitting on their hands, hoping and believing that times will get better and that what has worked in the past will work in the future.

At the risk of greatly oversimplifying things, this is exactly what has happened at Hampshire, and also Mount Ida and other schools.

Several schools in this area have been very proactive in finding new ways to attract students and remain vibrant. Bay Path University and the emergence of its cybersecurity programs is a good example (and there are many others there), and American International College’s ambitious expansion of its graduate programs (a strong sources of revenue) is another example.

The demographic patterns we’re seeing today are not projected to change anytime soon. High-school graduating classes are going to continue to get smaller, and colleges of all sizes — even this region’s community colleges — must be creative and entrepreneurial in their planning if they intend to not only survive but thrive.

If they’re not, there may well be more press conferences like the one at Hampshire College last week.