Page 43 - BusinessWest June 17, 2024

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Greenfield Savings Bank Donates $50,000 to Iron Horse Music Hall
NORTHAMPTON — Greenfield Savings Bank announced it is making a donation of $50,000
to the Parlor Room Collective in support of its $750,000 capital campaign to revive the Iron Horse Music Hall in downtown Northampton. The Parlor Room Collective, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the health and vitality of the community through the power of music, purchased the Iron Horse last fall and launched a capital cam- paign to raise funds for renovations and updates to the historic music venue. Updates included expand- ing to the neighboring storefront at 18 Center St. and putting in 10 bathrooms on the first floor. The Iron Horse reopened its doors to the public for the first time on May 15 to a sold-out crowd with Taylor Ashton and Rachael & Vilray playing to an audience eager to celebrate the return of this beloved venue. Chris Freeman, executive director of the Parlor Room Collective, said the gift from Greenfield Sav- ings Bank will help cover the costs of the extensive renovations that have made the Iron Horse a more accessible space, as well as the startup costs for
the restaurant and the staff more than doubling in size to account for the new venue and restaurant. Along with the bar space and bathrooms, Iron Horse updates include flooring, lighting, HVAC, and a new sound system. These updates prioritize the cus- tomer and artist experience, making the space more comfortable and accessible than ever before.
Kuhn Riddle Rolls Out New Name, Logo
AMHERST — Kuhn Riddle Architects, an Amherst firm established in 1988 by John Kuhn and Chris Riddle, has rolled out its new name and new look. The firm is now Kuhn Riddle Architects & Designers and is headed by its second generation of leader- ship, President Aelan Tierney and Principals Jona- than Salvon and Charles Roberts. The firm worked with a Northampton-based creative studio, Transit Authority Figures, to develop a logo, signature col- ors, fonts, and a name that reflects the firm’s foun- dation, as well as its transitions, growth, and views toward the future. The new Kuhn Riddle logo is built on a simple grid using elemental shapes to create a symmetrical, abstract ‘KR’ monogram. These forms, each consisting of a quarter-circle and a triangle, face each other and together form a square. The new logo reflects Kuhn Riddle’s dedication to smart and creative problem solving rooted in timeless foundational principles. The font used in the new logo recalls the Goudy Old Style used in the origi- nal firm logo, yet has its own history, weight, and meaning. The new font, called Martina Plantijn, was developed by the Klim Type Foundry and named after the strong and formidable Dutch business- women who ran the Plantin-Moretus publishing house — then the world’s largest — in the early 17th century. As a woman-owned business, Kuhn Riddle takes inspiration from Plantjin’s entrepreneurial spirit and the family-owned company’s legacy of empow- ering women, which inspired a series of women descendants who went on to manage the business for much of the next three centuries. To comple- ment the new logo, the firm chose deep blue and radiant yellow, color hues that are unique, bright, and friendly.
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Eversource Named Among Climate Leaders by USA TODAY
BOSTON — For a second consecutive year, Ever- source Energy has been recognized by USA TODAY and Statista Inc. as one of America’s Climate Lead- ers for 2024. Ranked among the top utilities on
the list, this distinction highlights the energy com- pany’s efforts to reduce its greenhouse-gas emis- sions intensity, which is rooted in a commitment to sustainability throughout its operations. The USA TODAY list of America’s Climate Leaders recognizes the top 450 companies across the U.S. that have achieved the greatest reduction in their operational emissions intensity between 2020 and 2022, a mea- sure of the amount of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gases a company produces relative to its revenue. Following Eversource’s recognition in last year’s list, the company is ranked fourth in the Energy & Utili- ties category and 173rd overall for 2024.
Enlite Cannabis Dispensary Opens in Indian Orchard
INDIAN ORCHARD — Enlite Cannabis Dispensary celebrated the grand opening of its newest loca- tion at 479 Main St., Indian Orchard on June 4. The grand-opening event commenced with a ribbon- cutting ceremony featuring special guests, including state Sen. Adam Gomez, Mayor Domenic Sarno, and Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Govan. As a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and social-equity dispen- sary, Enlite is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within the cannabis industry. The Indian Orchard location marks Enlite’s second opening in Western Mass., reinforcing the company’s dedica- tion to expanding access to high-quality cannabis products in the region. In conjunction with the grand opening, Enlite hosted a food drive to support the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
UMass Amherst to Join NSF SafeInsights Project
AMHERST — The Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst has joined the newly announced U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SafeInsights, a five-year, $90 million research and development infrastructure for inclusive education research. Led by OpenStax at Rice University, SafeInsights is a large-scale educa- tion research hub that will safely connect digital learning platforms and educational institutions to learn about learning. This initiative represents the NSF’s largest single investment in R&D infrastruc- ture for education at a national scale and will be the first national infrastructure of its kind. SafeInsights includes a multi-disciplinary network of 80 col- laborating institutions and partners, including major digital learning platforms that currently serve tens of millions of students. Lan and UMass Amherst will join together with researchers and large-scale, digi- tal learning platforms to enable privacy-preserving research studies to better understand student learn- ing. According to national polls conducted by the Data Quality Campaign, 86% of teachers recognize the importance of research in effective teaching. However, the majority of teachers must individu- ally piece together research-informed teaching and learning strategies, often with limited resources. SafeInsights will enable research studies that help researchers understand how students learn best,
no matter who they are, what they are learning, or how they are learning. The insights gained can lead
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to the development of better, research-informed teaching tools and practices, promoting educational equity. SafeInsights stringently protects learner pri- vacy. It uses a unique technique called ‘secure data enclaves,’ which unlocks valuable insights without revealing any student information to researchers or moving student information from the learning tools that it safely lives in today.
PeoplesBank Partner NYMBUS Wins FinTech Futures Award
HOLYOKE — FinTech Futures, the global market intelligence platform for financial-services technol- ogy, has named NYMBUS the Excellence in Tech winner for Core Banking System at the recent Banking Tech Awards USA ceremony held in New York City. The awards, recognizing the outstand- ing achievements and successes in the banking and FinTech industry across the U.S., included many of the most well-known and well-respected brands within the industry. Nymbus is a leading technology partner for PeoplesBank. “We are incredibly excited for this recognition for the NYMBUS team and their staff partners here at PeoplesBank,” said Aleda De Maria, executive vice president for Consumer Bank- ing and Operations at PeoplesBank. “We believe that banks need to be able to offer the best technol- ogy for their customers, to create a simple banking experience. We are proud to align ourselves with an award-winning tech partner, which has allowed us distinguish ourselves in a competitive category.”
Westover Metropolitan Airport Launches New Website
CHICOPEE — Westover Metropolitan Airport announced the launch of its new website, westo- verairport.com, designed to streamline the user experience and provide valuable information for travelers, pilots, and aircraft tenants. For close to five decades, Westover Metropolitan Airport has been committed to ensuring safe, convenient, and cost-effective travel. Situated in Chicopee, Westo- ver Municipal Airport’s strategic location offers easy access to major highways. The newly launched website aims to further enhance the airport’s com- mitment and reputation to exceptional service by providing a user-friendly platform to access essen- tial travel and destination information. Westover Metropolitan Airport benefits from the worldwide reputation of Westover Air Force Reserve Base, but it is important to provide the distinction between the military facility and high-profile operations and the civilian operations. The new website’s focus will help achieve that.
Summerlin Floors Makes Donation to Greenfield Community College
AMHERST — Summerlin Floors, woman-owned flooring business based in Amherst, made its annual donation of $2,500 to Greenfield Community Col- lege (GCC) in memory of Erin Summerlin, daughter of owner Ann Bronner, who hopes the gift makes a lasting impact and positive contribution toward the educational community. Bronner, a GCC alumna, aims to support the future generation of scholars and give back to the GCC community.
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