Page 45 - BusinessWest July 7, 2025

AGENDA>> For more events, or to submit your upcoming events,
visit BusinessWest’s event calendar online: https://businesswest.com/eventcalendar
Healthcare Heroes Nominations
Through July 17: In the spring of 2017, Business-
West and its sister publication, the Healthcare News,
created a new recognition program called Health-
care Heroes. It was launched with the theory that
there are heroes working across this region’s wide,
deep, and all-important healthcare sector, and that
there was no shortage of fascinating stories to tell
and individuals and groups to honor. That theory
has certainly been validated. But there are hun-
dreds, perhaps thousands of heroes whose stories
we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in.
Nominations for the class of 2024 are due Thursday,
July 17, and we encourage you to get involved and
help recognize someone you consider to be a hero
in the Western Mass. region in one (or more) of
these eight categories: Patient/Resident/Client Care
Provider; Health/Wellness Administrator; Emerg-
ing Leader; Community Health; Health Educator;
Innovation in Health/Wellness; Collaboration in
Health/Wellness; and Lifetime Achievement. Nomi-
nations can be submitted at businesswest.com/
healthcareheroes/nominations.
Free Friday Concert Series
Through Aug. 15: Hot Plate Brewing Co., in
partnership with Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and a
collection of other Pittsfield-based businesses,
announced the Pitt, a brand-new, 10-week, free
concert series set to energize Dunham Mall. Run-
ning weekly on Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m., the Pitt will
showcase a dynamic lineup of musical acts hailing
from Montreal, Boston, the Pioneer Valley, and the
Berkshires. From indie rock and soul to emerg-
ing electronic artists, this series will celebrate both
regional talent and international artistry, right in
the heart of downtown Pittsfield. In addition to the
music, concertgoers can enjoy local food and drink
offerings. Hot Plate Brewing Co. will host a beer
garden, and Handcrafted, a new, Pittsfield-based
restaurant, will serve up a variety of food. For more
information and weekly lineup announcements, visit
hotplatebeer.com/the-pitt.
Second Chance Animal
Services Golf Tournament
July 14: Second Chance Animal Services is tee-
ing up for its 13th annual Charity Golf Tournament
at Cold Spring Country Club in Belchertown. This
event combines a day of golf with the mission of
helping pets receive the veterinary care they need.
Proceeds from the tournament will benefit Second
Chance’s community veterinary hospitals in Spring-
field, Worcester, Southbridge, and North Brookfield
— life-saving programs that provide affordable care
to pets in underserved communities and help keep
them with the families who love them. Golfers will
enjoy a full day of fun, including a box lunch, a ban-
quet dinner, a commemorative gift, and a bucket of
range balls. The tournament will feature on-course
tastings and contests such as longest drive, closest
to the pin, closest to the line, a yellow ball competi-
tion, and more. A hole-in-one challenge offers a
$4,000 pool or spa prize sponsored by Teddy Bear
Pools. Guests can also take part in raffles and a
silent auction, which opens online one week prior
to the event. The tournament will follow a scramble
format. Check-in begins at 9 a.m., with a shotgun
start at 10 a.m. Individual golfers and foursomes are
welcome, and early registration is encouraged as
spots fill quickly. To register, inquire about sponsor-
ship opportunities, or donate items to the silent
auction and raffle, visit www.secondchanceanimals.
org/events/golf.
Feed the Kids Charity
Golf Tournament
July 14: Feed the Kids, a local nonprofit focused on
fighting childhood hunger, is seeking sponsors and
donated auction items for its eighth annual Feed the
Kids Charity Golf Tournament at Springfield Country
Club. The event, which will include an online auc-
tion open to all, benefits local organizations that
work to ensure children do not go hungry, includ-
ing Square One, the Holyoke Weekend Backpack
Program, Pioneer Valley Powerpacks, and Team No
Kid Hungry. Local individuals and businesses can
also support the cause by donating items or ser-
vices for the silent auction portion of the event. The
online auction will be open to the community for
bids beginning on July 1 and will end on July 14, the
day of the golf tournament. For more information
or to sponsor the event, visit feedthekidsgolf.com
and click ‘Register Now.’ To donation auction items,
email Kadushin at [email protected].
Pickleball Tournament
July 20: Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity
announced a pickleball tournament open to players
of all skill levels at the Picklr, 415 East Main St., in
the Westfield Shops. From noon to 4 p.m., seasoned
players and rookies alike will play ‘king of the court’
three-person-style. Tickets cost $40 each, which
includes prizes, snacks and refreshments, and swag
bags. All are welcome to participate or spectate. To
purchase tickets, visit habitatspringfield.org.
Lombardi >>Continued from page 36
good bedside nurses.”
As for her own career, she said would like to even-
tually move into education, rather than a manage-
ment role at a facility like Mercy.
“That’s one of my favorite jobs — I like giving stu-
dents good habits and teach them the way things
should be,” she explained. “And I don’t hide what real
life is like because I feel that nursing school, some-
times, doesn’t really give the full picture of what it’s
really like at the bedside. So I make sure that they
see real-life situations.
“Everything isn’t going to be sunshine and rain-
bows,” Lombardi went on. “Things are going to go
wrong, and you’re going to make mistakes, and it’s
important that, if you do make a mistake, you own up
to it so that something really bad doesn’t happen. And
you need to learn from your mistakes; you have to get
through it and learn from your experiences.”
That’s just one lesson she tries to impart on young
people as they move forward in the same profession
she chose. She’s not at the bedside as much as she
once was, but she’s still deeply committed to provid-
ing care and helping patients through the worst of
times, just like those nurses did with her father. BW
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