Page 47 - BusinessWest January 6, 2021

Princeton Review Recognizes
UMass Amherst for Graduate
Entrepreneurship Studies
AMHERST — For the first time, UMass Amherst has earned recognition in Princeton Review’s annual selection of Best Graduate Entrepreneurship Pro- grams. In the publication’s 2021 list, the university ranks 40th among 50 colleges and universities. Based on survey data from more than 300 schools, the rank- ings encompass a broad range of entrepreneurial activities inside and outside the classroom. The cata- lyst for student entrepreneurship at UMass Amherst is the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship. The center serves the entire campus through a wealth of activities and resources. Gregory Thomas, executive director of the Berthiaume Center, noted that entre- preneurship courses and scholarships, faculty who focus on entrepreneurship, student competitions, student mentorship by entrepreneurs, and ventures by alumni and non-alumni all fall within the center’s purview. Its annual Innovation Challenge propels stu- dent startups through pitch contests and a final com- petition judged by entrepreneurs and venture capi- talists. Last year, the finals awarded $65,000 in seed money to student startups. The center brings student innovators together from different disciplines for entrepreneurial collaborations and offers networking and mentorship with entrepreneurs, venture capital- ists, and academics, as well as an incubator space for student startups.
Furnari Jewelers Opens at Holyoke Mall
HOLYOKE — In time for holiday shopping, Furnari Jewelers recently opened its doors at Holyoke Mall at Ingleside. Furnari carries fine gold and silver jewelry, wedding sets, gemstones, pearls, watches, and more, and has a gold and silversmith on premises who can do repairs while customers wait. Furnari also offers customers the ability to design their own ring for
a special touch. Known in the region for decades, Anthony Furnari opened his first store 40 years ago and says it was built on the foundation of customer service. Anthony’s son, Joey Furnari, decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Starting with an undergradu- ate degree from Kenyon College in Ohio, Joey went on to become a certified bench jeweler at the American School of Jewelry, and opened his first store in May 2012 in Enfield, Conn. The 1,400-square-foot Furnari Jewelers is located on the upper level of the mall, near Apple. The store was formerly occupied by Kay Jewel- ers until Kay relocated its store earlier this year to the lower level, next to Round1 Bowling & Amusement. Furnari has hired seven employees for this location. Furnari joins a list of new tenants at Holyoke Mall over the last five months, including Cinnabon, which opened in June; EA Teriyaki, which opened in Octo- ber; and Wings Express, which opened in November.
Tighe & Bond Receives ACEC/CT Engineering Excellence Award
WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond was recently recognized by the American Council of Engineering Compa-
nies of Connecticut (ACEC/CT) with an Engineer-
ing Excellence Award. The project team received
the award for the design of phosphorous-removal upgrades at the Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) in Plainville, Conn. The Connecticut Depart- ment of Energy and Environmental Protection set new phosphorous limits after it was determined the nutrient was negatively affecting water quality in the state’s freshwater rivers and streams. While phos- phorus is a naturally occurring element that is an essential nutrient to support plant growth, excessive
amounts contribute to dense growth of algae and suffocation of marine life. This meant the Plainville WPCF needed to reduce the amount of phosphorous leaving the facility by 88%. In anticipation of these changes, Tighe & Bond prepared a phosphorus- removal plan to determine how best to meet the new phosphorus limits. The plan recommended the addi- tion of a filter building that would house new, multi- point chemical-addition and disc-filtration processes to reduce the amount of phosphorous from the facil- ity’s water. The design also included cost-effective improvements to the existing WPCF, including a larger sludge-processing system, raising the facility’s existing UV disinfection system for improved flood resiliency; new flow-equalization tanks to stabilize the effluent from the facility’s sequencing batch reac- tors (SBRs); and filter influent pumps to lift the flow up to the disc filters. The project was complet-
ed four months ahead of schedule and $1 mil-
lion under budget. The upgrades have enabled
the town of Plainville to meet its phosphorous
limits. The new system continues to remove phosphorus from the treated water the facil-
ity discharges daily into the Pequabuck River, which joins the Quinnipiac River and Long Island Sound. The renovations to the WPCF also meets all state and federal environmental regulations and ensures the protection of surrounding bodies of water. Tighe & Bond and its project partners will be honored at the ACEC/CT Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in June.
Big Y Announces Additional Bonus Pay for Employees
SPRINGFIELD — Big Y announced it will pay addi- tional holiday bonuses to its front-line and distribu- tion-center associates, including full-time, part-time, and casual employees. This holiday bonus is part of the company’s ongoing recognition and appreciation for the efforts and sacrifices of employees, which was instituted last March. Thank-you bonuses are expect- ed to continue during the first part of 2021. “We continue to be grateful to all of our employees for their valiant efforts throughout this pandemic,” said Charles D’Amour, president and CEO. “They have all taken their role as essential workers both nobly and carefully in order to continue to provide for and sup- port our friends and neighbors in our communities.
I am so very proud of their resilience and dedication to serving our customers during this past year. This bonus pay is just one way that we show our apprecia- tion to our team of 12,000 who work so hard and tire- lessly every day.”
Bay Path University Community Donates to Christina’s House
LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University’s annual holiday party and employee-recognition event has been a long-standing tradition for faculty and staff. The pandemic prevented the normal gathering, but technology came to the rescue and provided a plat- form to connect remotely. Highlights of the event include naming a charity to be the recipient of Bay Path’s generosity, as well as employee recognition for years of service at the university. For 2020, the desig- nated charity is Christina’s House, a Springfield-based nonprofit and Christ-centered ministry that provides transitional housing to meet the needs of mothers and their children who are homeless or near-home- less. More important, Christina’s House provides emotional, spiritual, physical, and education support as families transition from homelessness to perma- nent, stable living environments.
Grants Will Provide 100,000 Meals for People Across Western Mass.
HATFIELD — Wheeler & Taylor Insurance of Great Barrington and Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency of Agawam are providing major support to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Two rounds of fund- ing, one now and a second round in the spring, will pay for about 100,000 meals. The Food Bank provides food to 165 food pantries, shelters, and meal sites in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire coun- ties. Wheeler & Taylor and Canary Blomstrom are members of GoodWorks Financial Group, a network of common-ownership insurance, real-estate, and financial firms. With the pandemic, demand for food has grown exponentially. The Food Bank is serving 109,500 people a month in 2020, up 16% from 2019.
Company Notebook
The organization distributed 11.1 million pounds of food from March through October, a 30% increase. It estimates that about one in six residents in the region, including 40,000 children, or one in four, are food-insecure.
Springfield Museums Distributing 495 Literacy Activity Kits to Children
SPRINGFIELD — Thanks to funding from MEFA
and the U.Fund College Investing Plan, Springfield Museums are distributing 495 literacy activity kits
to children throughout Springfield and beyond. Ten programs — including the Gray House, Home City Families, Raising a Reader, and Head Start — will benefit. The literacy activity kits contain a consum- able activity, a reusable building toy, colored pencils, a Dr. Seuss clipboard, and an early-reader book: Dr. Seuss’s ABC. Springfield Museums are committed
to helping children and their caregivers explore lit- eracy in its many forms — literary, science, historical, art — while also having fun. The museums have also tripled their hands-on learning spaces over the past few years. The Art Discovery Center, the Cat’s Corner, and Spark!Lab are all spaces for people to engage in hands-on learning to gain skills and build compe- tency in a variety of subjects. Since the onset of the pandemic, the museums also worked to share activity kits so that those unable to visit in person could still have access to learning.
Bradley International Airport Earns COVID-19 Health Accreditation
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) announced that Bradley Internation- al Airport has received the Airport Health Accredita- tion from Airports Council International (ACI) World. The organization’s Airport Health Accreditation program evaluates new health and safety measures and procedures introduced at airports worldwide
in response to COVID-19. During the comprehen- sive accreditation process, ACI assesses the airport’s response and safety measures in the context of the entire passenger journey, including terminal access, check-in areas, security screening, boarding gates, lounges, retail, food and beverages, gate equipment such as boarding bridges, escalators and elevators, border-control areas and facilities, the baggage-claim area and the arrivals exit. Among other things, ACI recognizes Bradley for cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing (where feasible and practical),
Notebook
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