Page 64 - BusinessWest February 17, 2025

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Northfield Mount Hermon
Receives $50 Million Bequest
GILL — Northfield Mount Hermon has received its largest-ever gift and one of the largest donations ever to an independent school. The $50 million bequest from the late John Mitchell, who gradu- ated in 1956, will endow need-based scholarships and expand support for faculty, key objectives of the school’s $275 million fundraising campaign. Mitchell arrived at the Mount Hermon School for Boys in 1952 as a scholarship student from an unheated home in a small town in Eastern Mass. Recognized early as academically gifted, he par- ticipated in several sports and thrived in his NMH courses, graduating as class valedictorian. Follow- ing NMH, he earned degrees from Yale and NYU and went on to a long and distinguished career as president of Global Manufacturing at Pfizer. Mitchell later served on the NMH board of trustees, where he brought a particular focus on finances and cam- pus planning. With characteristic pragmatism and modesty, he made numerous gifts to top off the budget for faculty housing projects, athletics facili- ties, the early-childhood center, and related campus improvements.
Gagne Wealth Management Group Recognized by Forbes
GREENFIELD — Gagne Wealth Management Group has been named to the Forbes 2025 Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams list, a prestigious rec- ognition that highlights the top financial-advisory teams across the country. Since founding the firm 15 years ago, Merrill Gagne has built Gagne Wealth Management Group from the ground up, develop- ing a client-centric approach that emphasizes goal- oriented financial planning, personalized invest- ment strategies, and risk management. The firm is dedicated to creating customized portfolios tailored to each client’s aspirations, ethical values, and risk tolerance, ensuring a financial strategy that is both empowering and educational. Merrill, who now leads a team of financial advisors, has a history of industry accolades, including being named a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor last year, along with being featured on Forbes’ Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors list. Earlier in his career, he was rec- ognized as a top producer at Northwestern Mutual, achieving #1 in the Platinum category for the East- ern Region.
MSB Unveils Recipients of Community Giving Initiative
MONSON — Late last year, Monson Savings Bank asked local community members to cast votes
for their local nonprofit of choice. Now, the bank
is announcing its 2025 Community Giving Initia- tive recipients. This was the 15th year Monson Savings Bank ran its Community Giving Initiative poll. The public’s excitement to cast their vote has grown throughout the years. This year, more than 4,100 people submitted a vote, a record-breaking response. Now that the votes have been counted, the bank is planning to donate a total of $25,000 among the top 10 vote recipients. They are: I Found Light Against All Odds (Springfield), Scantic Valley YMCA (Wilbraham), Friends of Hampden Seniors (Hampden), South End Community Center (Spring- field), Women’s Empowerment Scholarship (Greater Springfield), Monson Free Library (Monson), Whip City Animal Sanctuary (Westfield), Miracle League of
Western Massachusetts (Springfield), the Graceful Swan (Ware), and Springfield Ballers (Springfield).
UMass Amherst Ranks in Top 20 for Online Programs
AMHERST — UMass Amherst’s online education programs are recognized among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s just-released 2025 rankings. For the fourth consec- utive year, the university continues to place in the top 20 public and private colleges and universities for its undergraduate and graduate online degree programs. Three UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management bachelor’s and master’s online busi- ness programs placed in the top five in their respec- tive categories, including master’s business pro- grams supporting military veterans and active-duty service members that do not award an MBA. UMass Amherst online bachelor’s degree programs moved up one spot to 19th out of 350 public and private colleges and universities, and the university remains the only New England institution in the top 20. Among UMass Amherst’s online bachelor’s degree programs represented are degree completion through the University Without Walls interdisciplin- ary studies program, as well as business administra- tion, nursing, sociology, and sustainable food and farming. The Isenberg School of Management bach- elor’s degree in business program ranks No. 5 out
of 218 institutions and was the only New England university— public or private— to place in the Top 20. In online master’s business programs, UMass Amherst also placed at No. 5 out of 206 institutions. In other graduate degree programs, Isenberg’s MBA program ranks at No. 16, and the university placed No. 13 in MBA general management, a new cat- egory this year. UMass Amherst online programs also ranked in the top 15 for their support of veter- ans and active-duty service members. The non-MBA master’s program improved to second in the nation, and its bachelor’s program climbed two spots to 11th, while the online MBA ranks 14th. Finally, the Elaine Marieb School of Nursing placed 30th, and the master’s education program climbed 12 spots from last year.
PeoplesBank Reports on Donations, Volunteer Hours
HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank announced that its community investments have totaled $1.6 million annually for the past three years, and $16,364,028 over the past 12 years. The bank made 557 non- profit grants in 2024, 14 exceeding $15,000, with the average being $3,500. Further, 208 associates or board members participated in matching gift donations or workplace giving pledges for a total of $55,750. Meanwhile, bank associates volunteered 8,500 hours in the community, and sit on boards of directors and committees for nonprofits. The bank is also committed to three longer-term capital cam- paigns for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Square One, and Behavioral Health Network, for a total of $550,000.
Hot Plate Brewing Co. Recognized by USA Today
PITTSFIELD — Hot Plate Brewing Co., the only Lati- na-owned brewery in Massachusetts, was recently named a finalist for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best New Brewery.
Since opening its doors in downtown Pittsfield in February 2023, this mission-driven organization has been garnering attention on a local, regional, and national level, for both its beers and the impact it is making in the community. Sarah Real, owner and head brewer, was also recently elected to the Mas- sachusetts Brewers Guild board of directors as well as the Pink Boots Society board of directors, largely because of the work she has been doing to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in an overwhelmingly male industry. While Hot Plate is garnering attention in the world of craft beer, it has also been awarded for its work by organizations as varied as Mass Econ, National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire Coun- ty, and Berkshire Pride. In 2024, it raised more than $10,000 for a variety of mission-aligned nonprofit organizations, including the Pittsfield Area Council of Congregations, which collectively raised more than $27,000 for this year’s Fuel Fund, which the brewery supported in several ways.
Florence Bank Supports Cooley Dickinson Campaign
FLORENCE — Florence Bank has pledged $75,000 to Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s $26 million Trans- forming Emergency Care Campaign to renovate, expand, and enhance the Emergency Department (ED) and improve the standard of care. Cooley Dickinson broke ground on the extensive project to transform the ED in 2023. Project goals include reducing wait times, increasing patients’ comfort and privacy, enhancing staff communications, and improving the standard of care. The undertak-
ing is one of the largest capital investments in the hospital’s history, and this is the final year of the campaign. Florence Bank is a loyal supporter of Cooley Dickinson and, over the years, has donated to many campaigns, most recently the new Child- birth Center, North Building, and Cancer Center, and has supported many programmatic needs, such as nursing development. Construction in the ED is ongoing, with a new addition in the works and pods being constructed and renovated in phases. Dukette said ED staff have adeptly worked around the con- struction, reassessing and realigning workflows as necessary.
STCC to Replace 164 Windows in Garvey Hall
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) has launched an extensive window- replacement project at Garvey Hall, an historic building on campus, thanks to $792,000 in Fair Share funding from the Healey-Driscoll administra- tion. The window-replacement effort, managed by STCC’s Facilities Department, combines the need for historic preservation with modern energy- efficiency improvements. Facilities and Kuhn Riddle Architects of Amherst worked with the National Park Service to specify a window that met the his- toric and energy-efficient requirements. The project involves replacing 164 windows on the west side of the building, facing the campus green. Funding for the project comes from the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance through the state’s Fair Share Amendment funds. The allocation of these funds specifically supports projects aimed
28 FEBRUARY 17, 2025
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