Page 40 - BusinessWest July 21, 2021

Brewster
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becoming comfortable behind the mic.
“I’m still kind of shaking off the jitters and the
‘how am I going to craft my voice,’” she told Business- West. “And I’m still figuring out what I can ask and how deep I can go, all those things. I’m still learning, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Meanwhile, she was already quite comfortable with getting involved in the community, but has only become more so in recent years, donating her time and talents to agencies and causes ranging from the Hampshire Regional YMCA to the Down- town Northampton Assoc. (DNA) to the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. But more on that, and how the sum of her work has made her a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award, later.
First, we flash back to when Brewster sold Jack- son & Connor — a difficult time, as she described it, because she really didn’t know what to do with herself and fill the void created by selling the business that had been her passion — or one of them, anyway.
“I was like, ‘this was my whole identity; what am I going to do now?’” she said, adding that she worked as a consultant for the Vann Group (which helped
her sell the business), and later did some work for the Springfield Business Improvement District and Cit- yStage. Through those assignments, she reconnected with her former loan officer from Greenfield Savings Bank, who took her to lunch, at which Brewster did a lot of ‘complaining’ (her word) about being a consul- tant and how different it was from the retail world she was in.
Deerfield
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from a 50- to 100-mile radius, reaching New Jersey and New York as well as the New England states.
One challenge Nivison faces this summer involves staffing. Historic Deerfield is currently open Thursday through Sunday; during a normal summer, it would operate seven days a week. While the village plans to fea- ture plenty of activities geared to visit- ing families, it is conducting a phased opening because of staffing short- ages. The plan for the fall is to have all the buildings accessible. Nivison also understands that some people are not yet comfortable spending time inside buildings.
“We have a lot of outdoor attrac- tions, such as walking tours,” she said. “Even if they are not on a tour, visi- tors can enjoy the street itself; it’s just beautiful.”
Recent visitors to Yankee Candle Vil- lage have told Bassett they were happy to visit because the pandemic has kept them away for the last year and a half.
“Whether families are passing through or making Yankee Candle Vil- lage a destination for the entire day, we’re seeing more day trippers visit us from all over New England,” he said.
Yankee Candle Village has kept
extra cleaning protocols in place and provides masks to those who request them. Bassett wants to make sure his guests have a safe and enjoyable expe- rience, as well as to just feel good about going places again. “We’re feeling a level of normalcy which we haven’t felt for a while, and that’s really exciting.”
She remembers saying, “‘after a decade of being entrepreneurial and making my own economy, I think I’m ready to go back to being an employee — but no two days can be the same; it has to be entre- preneurial, I’ve got to have freedom, and I have to be out and about in the community and making an impact.’”
All of which is serendipity, because that loan offi- cer was essentially there to encourage her to apply for a position in business development at GSB, a job that offered essentially everything she just said she needed.
Overall, her job at the bank, which began in late 2016, has allowed her to take her work within the community to an even higher plane, one that recently earned her the Kay Sheehan Spirit of the Community Award, presented by the Community United Way of Hampshire County.
That involvement, which includes work with the YMCA, DNA, MassHire, Double Edge Theatre, Path- light, Safe Passage, the chamber, and many other groups, was put into its proper perspective by Bryck, who not only gave Brewster the keys to the radio show he handled for more than a decade, but nomi- nated her for the Alumni Achievement Award.
“Tara exemplifies for many what commitment and giving back looks like,” he wrote. “Western Mass. is fortunate to have Tara continuing to improve our backyard. She is a person for whom each day is a blessing, and she shows her appreciation, and uses her position, in ways that help fellow humans.
“I know a lot of people who see Tara as an inspir- ing leader,” he went on. “They are lit by her fire, and
they become better people by seeing her compassion and action. She embodies sincerity and is brilliant at luring others into the river that she flows with.”
Brewster, a member of the 40 Under Forty class
of 2009, summed it up this way: “To work for a com- munity bank in Western Massachusetts is just a gift, especially for someone who is a true philanthropist at heart, someone who really sees the jeweled web of a region and understands that everything happens because of connections, everything happens because you make asks, everything happens because you see others before you see yourself.”
As for the radio show, she sees it as an extension of her work in business — and in the community — and she has committed herself to using the show to give a platform to those who need to tell their story.
“I try to focus on people in the community who need to be highlighted and aren’t necessarily high- lighted,” she explained. “I have a real bent in my heart toward nonprofits, so I try to bring them on so they can talk about themselves. Also, people of color. COVID really took off my rose-colored glasses and put on some pretty intense eyeglasses from which I now view a lot of the work that I do, how we are in the community, how we treat each other, and who has the mic.”
Her work sharing the airwaves is just the latest installment of ‘what comes next’ for this recovering entrepreneur, a list that now also includes being a finalist for the 40 Under Forty Alumni Achievement Award. u
—George O’Brien
to see economic develop- ment that takes into con- sideration what makes Deerfield a special place.
“For example, Tree House moving in to Chan- ning Bete won’t radi-
cally change how the town looks,” she said. “I think people were pleased about that.”
This kind of thought-
ful approach to economic development also applies to new industries about
to open in Deerfield, she added. “We have host-com- munity agreements with two cannabis dispensaries and a possible third on the horizon. We’ll be working closely with them over the next several months.”
Sense of History
As Deerfield approaches its historic anniversary, Warren emphasized the importance of also preparing for new opportunities.
“Now that Tree House has opened a location in Deerfield, we believe it will encourage other types of economic development,” she added.
And, as the town explores those new economic opportunities, she, like so many others who live and work here, wants to make sure the special charac- ter of Deerfield always remains part of the plans. u
Yankee Candle Village reports an uptick in visitors, many of whom say they are happy to have places to go after pandemic-induced isolation.
Normalcy sounds good to Warren, who has worked in various administra- tive positions in Deerfield since 1999. She served as interim town administra- tor before accepting the town admin- istrator job in Ashfield in 2016, then returned to Deerfield as the permanent town administrator in 2020, just one month before COVID-19 hit.
“Some of the important efforts, like the wastewater project and the green- infrastructure policy, had begun before I arrived,” she said. “These projects kept moving, which I think helped us get through the pandemic.”
Another project that began before Warren’s return is the planning for Deerfield’s 350 anniversary in 2023. The committee to plan the recognition has been in place since 2019. Its mis- sion is to deliver a variety of activities and events to celebrate the 350th anni- versary of the founding of Deerfield through a year-long celebration.
Warren noted that a 350th-anniver- sary celebration in the town where Old Deerfield Village remains an important site is consistent with the strong sense of history Deerfield residents appreci- ate. As town administrator, she wants
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