Page 45 - BusinessWest January 6, 2021

Women’s Leadership
Training Program
Starting Jan. 6: Building on the success of its popular Women’s Leadership Luncheon Series, Holyoke Com- munity College (HCC) is launching an eight-week training program for women who want to develop and enhance their leadership skills.
For convenience, the program, “Women Leaning Into Leadership 2021: Empowering Your Voice,” is being offered over Zoom in two separate, eight-week ses- sions. One meets on Wednesdays, Jan. 6 through
Feb. 24, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., while the other meets on Thursdays, Jan. 7 through Feb. 25, from noon to 1:30 p.m. The interactive workshops will be facilitated by Annie Shibata, owner of Growth Mindset Leadership and Communication Coaching. Enrollment is limited by design. In addition to weekly 90-minute group seminars, each participant can schedule a private, 30-minute session of personalized coaching with the instructor. During the program sessions, participants will learn to evaluate their communication skills and apply new communication techniques, practice the power of mindfulness, distinguish forms of influence and persuasion to create powerful messages, assess their leadership strengths, and create short- and long- term plans for career development. To register for the Wednesday program, visit hcc.edu/women-2021-1.
To register for the Thursday program, visit hcc.edu/ women-2021-2.
Asnuntuck Super Saturday
Jan. 9: Asnuntuck Community College (ACC) will
hold a virtual Super Saturday event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., aimed at helping new and continuing students who have questions about how to apply, would like
to speak to an advisor, or have questions regard-
ing financial aid and registering. The college’s spring semester begins on Friday, Jan. 22. New and con- tinuing students are invited to attend the event. Participants will also be able to virtually meet with Asnuntuck’s Manufacturing department, as well as speak with staff from ACC’s Continuing Education and Workforce Development Office to learn about our non-credit certificate options. Anyone who is inter- ested in attending the online event, but has not yet applied, should complete the application ahead of time to maximize their time during the event. Partici- pants may pre-register at asnuntuck.edu/virtualsu- persaturday if there is a specific department they plan
to meet with. If seeking to meet with an advisor dur- ing the event, it is strongly encouraged to pre-register ahead of time at asnuntuck.edu/student-resources/ casa to request an appointment.
Virtual Event Series on Vaccination
Jan. 13, 20, 27: The Springfield Regional Chamber
will host three virtual events dedicated to helping business leaders understand the COVID-19 vac-
cine. “What to Expect with the COVID-19 Vaccine” is slated for Wednesday, Jan. 13 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, will lead a conversation about what businesses can expect, how and when the vaccine may be distrib- uted, and more. “Navigating the Legal Complexities of the COVID-19 Vaccine in the Workplace” will fol- low on Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 9 to 10 a.m. Employ- ment attorney Meghan Sullivan of Sullivan Hayes & Quinn will offer insights about the HR complexities of the vaccine and the issues surrounding deployment to the business community. “Effectively Communi- cating the COVID-19 Vaccine” will be presented on Wednesday, Jan. 27 from 9 to 10 a.m. Justine Griffin from Rasky Partners will discuss developing cross- cultural communications strategies, messaging, and more to gain buy-in on the importance of the vaccine for employees, business, and the entire community. To learn more or register, visit springfieldregional- chamber.com. Chamber members receive exclusive discounts.
Healthcare Heroes
Jan. 14: BusinessWest and the Healthcare News will celebrate this year’s Healthcare Heroes with a free vir- tual event. This year’s heroes include Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health; Christopher Savino, Emeline Bean, and Lydia Brisson, clinical liaisons for Berkshire Healthcare Systems; Friends of the Homeless; the Nutrition Department at Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc.; the staff at Holyoke Medical Center; the Institute for Applied Life Sciences at UMass Amherst; Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, director of Spiritual Life at JGS Lifecare; Maggie Eboso, Infec- tion Control and Prevention coordinator at Mercy Medical Center; Jennifer Graham, home health aide at O’Connell Care at Home; and Helen Gobeil, staff- ing supervisor at Visiting Angels West Springfield. The Healthcare Heroes program is sponsored by Elms Col- lege (presenting sponsor), Baystate Health and Health
New England (presenting sponsor), and partner sponsors Bulkley Richardson, Comcast Business, and Trinity Health Of New England/Mercy Medical Cen- ter. A link to access this free event will be available at businesswest.com and healthcarenews.com, or you can RSVP by calling (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.
Women of Impact
Jan. 28: BusinessWest will celebrate this year’s Women of Impact with a virtual event. This year’s honorees include Tania Barber, president and CEO of Caring Health Center; Carol Campbell, president of Chicopee Industrial Contractors; Helen Caulton-Harris, Health and Human Services commissioner for the city of Springfield; Pattie Hallberg, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts; Andrea Harrington,
Agenda
Berkshire County district attorney; Toni Hendrix, director of Human Services at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing; Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College; and Sue Stubbs, president and CEO of ServiceNet. The event is sponsored by Coun- try Bank, Health New England, and TommyCar Auto Group (presenting sponsors), Comcast Business (sup- porting sponsor), and WWLP 22 News/CW Springfield (media sponsor). More details about the event will be announced soon.
‘Establishing Resilience: Building Happiness’
Feb. 6: Past year got you down? Need a brighter out- look for 2021? Holyoke Community College has a class for you. HCC is partnering with Pam Victor, president and founder of Happier Valley Comedy, to offer a Zoom workshop titled “Establishing Resilience: Building Hap- piness” from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Victor, a comedian and improv facilitator who prefers the title ‘head of happiness,’ will lead participants on an experiential exploration of happiness and resilience building to enhance their joy and ease at work and home. She will share stress-relieving exercises and techniques to help people bring more well-being, laughter, gratitude, and play into their daily lives. The cost of the class is $99. To register, visit hcc.edu/happiness.
Contest
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gether. These challenges are not often successful, so long as the creator of the will or trust complied with all statu- tory requirements, was not subject to undue influence or duress, and had the appropriate mental capacity to execute the document.
Occasionally, though, when an interested person is able to present evidence of duress or incapacity, a suc- cessful challenge to a will could result in the entire document being invalidat- ed, which would naturally include the no-contest provision. If the no-contest provision is eliminated as a result of the challenge, the contesting party may then be eligible to receive a share of the estate or trust, depending upon the other circumstances at hand.
When administering any will or trust, whether a no-contest provision is included or not, the fiduciary in
charge (that is, the trustee of a trust,
or the personal representative under
a will) must still comply with all the other terms of the document, and the fiduciary is still responsible to benefi- ciaries. They are required to account to
will or trust. Occasionally, a beneficiary may ask the court for an interpretation of the provisions of a will or trust, to make sure the fiduciary is complying with its terms. Provided they are not trying to challenge or change the pro-
comes forward, the court is likely to uphold the no-contest clause, which could result in the forfeiture of an inheritance. One must carefully weigh the options and potential outcomes before asserting a challenge.
On the other hand, if you are pre- paring your own estate plan and are concerned that disagreements may erupt among beneficiaries, you may wish to consider including a no-contest provision in your documents. Keeping the family peace in the future is cer- tainly worth spending some time and effort today. u
Benjamin Coyle is a shareholder with Bacon Wilson, P.C. He specializes
in matters of estate planning and administration and also has extensive experience with real estate, business, corporate, and municipal law; (413) 781-0560; [email protected]
“Keeping the family peace in the future is certainly
BusinessWest
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JANUARY 6, 2021 45
worth spending some time and effort today.
”
the beneficiaries for the assets under their control, as this is a matter of pub- lic policy that the courts have deter- mined cannot be avoided with a no- contest provision.
Typically, we might see no-contest provisions enforced within the discre- tion of the fiduciary, for frivolous mat- ters involving the administration of the
visions in the document, the court is unlikely to invoke the no-contest provi- sion when a request for interpretation is made by an interested person.
If you are a beneficiary of a last will and testament or a trust, it is extremely important to review the document to see if it contains a no-contest provi- sion. If it does, and if a challenger