Page 45 - BusinessWest May 30, 2022

Annual Golf Tournament
June 3: The Hospice of the Fisher Home will present its sixth annual par 3 event at Amherst Golf Club’s nine-hole course at 1 p.m. Beer tastings and seafood slider samples will be available on the course as well as a chance to win a pair of Putnam Club seats on the 45-yard-line to a New England Patriots game. This prize has been donated by Manny’s Appliance of Hadley. Participants can get a free swing analy- sis, a chance at winning a new Ford Bronco, and other raffle items. They will also be invited to stop by and drop off unwanted, lightly used housewares and clothing to donate to the Fisher Home’s thrift shop. All proceeds from the tournament will ben- efit Hospice of the Fisher Home. Hospice staff are grateful to the contributors of this event, including donors, sponsors, and friends at the Amherst Golf Club. They make it possible to provide compassion- ate, comprehensive, and supportive end-of-life care to patients and their loved ones in their own homes or in the hospice residence. Visit https://www.fisher- home.org/2022-golf-tournament learn more, donate, sponsor, and register. For more information, con- tact Ashleigh Towse: [email protected], (413) 992-2544.
Benefit Bike Ride
June 11: Area residents are invited to pedal for a great cause and help raise donations for Cancer House of Hope. A ride is scheduled on the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail (rain date is June 12). In addi- tion to a small registration fee, ride participants are asked to raise donations from family, friends, and colleagues, with an individual fundraising goal of $100, and a family fundraising goal of $150. The ride encourages and welcomes riders of all ages and skill levels. Participants can bike five, 10, or 20 miles. Support stations will be available at all turn-around points and the start/finish location — the Stop & Shop at 57 Main St. in Westfield. To register, visit chd. org/chainofhope. For more information, call Marga- ret Toomey, (413) 733-1858.
Donahue
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how employers and individuals work together to cre- ate wealth.
He explained that the engagement process might begin with going into neighborhoods and ask-
ing, ‘what are your aspirations?’ This is important because, according to Uvin, “we are moving headlong into a labor shortage with the babyboomers retiring,” making it critical to have intentional conversations around economic development across many different populations.
While this may be a current focus for UMDI, these issues are not new to the Pioneer Valley, where economists and policymakers have been wrestling with similar challenges for decades. Uvin says that while high-tech industry sectors have grown across the state, it has not been an equitable geographic
or demographic spread, with Gateway cities such
as Springfield and Holyoke — where nearly half of the region’s minority population lives — being left behind.
Part of Uvin’s vision for the future is to explore work in sectors such as life sciences, which play a key role in the success of Central Massachusetts’ biotech
40 Under Forty:
June 16: BusinessWest will host the annual 40 Under Forty Gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. One of the most anticipated events of the year, the gala will celebrate the Class of 2022, which was announced in the May 2 issue of BusinessWest. The gala will feature a VIP hour for the honorees
and sponsors, networking, the presentation of the Alumni Achievement Award, and introduction of members of the Class of 2022. Event tickets are sold out. Please join us for the livestream. Visit Business- West.com for more information. Forty Under 40 is sponsored this year by: Presenting Sponsor Peoples- Bank; Alumni Achievement Award Presenting Spon- sor Health New England; and supporting sponsors Comcast Business, Live Nation, Mercedes Benz of Springfield, The Mill District, Stand Out Truck, and the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Business. The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) is an event partner.
MOSSO Concerts
June 23/July 21: MOSSO, the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, have announced details of their upcoming summer concerts at Sym- phony Hall. MOSSO will celebrate the music of Ste- phen Sondheim and John Williams. These concerts mark the first time in almost 20 years that the musi- cians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra have performed summer concerts in Springfield. On June 23, MOSSO celebrates the music of the late, legend- ary Broadway composer and lyricist, Stephen Sond- heim, who penned the words and music to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Com- pany, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. Conductor Tim Stella will lead the program, joined by Broadway stars Hugh Panaro and Lisa Vroman. Also appearing are Ray Hardman and Kathleen Callahan-Hardman. Stella conducted The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and before that, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing Hap- pened On the Way to the Forum, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Hello Dolly!, and Legs Dia- mond. He served as vocal coach to Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, who portrayed Christine and
the Phantom respectively, in the movie version of Phantom. Stella is former resident music director of Goodspeed Musicals, and a conductor at Radio City
manufacturing and Greater Boston’s R&D and lab- based growth.
This, he says, would involve lifting up underserved communities, which is critical because, on the busi- ness side, there are simply not enough workers to grow unless we find ways to include all populations. Representation of people of color in the best-paying jobs of the higher-tech sectors lags severely. In terms of where UMDI is at this point in contributing to solv- ing inequities that plague underserved populations, he says they are in the discovery phase, talking to oth- ers on the grassroots level.
As for the future, the institute is positioned to make great strides. With an executive director from the outside, a new perspective brought on by the COVID pandemic, and an impressive 50 years of suc- cess to build from, the institute is at a nexus for bring- ing widespread change to the communities it serves.
“It’s an exciting time for reflection and renewal — to articulate what has happened, organically anyway, through the COVID crisis, which is the discourse around social equity and social mobility,” said Mel- nik. “This has been part of our work for a while now and has bubbled up even more.”
Music Hall. Panaro is best known for having played the role of the Phantom in Broadway’s The Phan- tom of the Opera more than 2,000 times. On July
21, Maestro Kevin Rhodes returns to Springfield to conduct a MOSSO benefit concert, with a program of light classics and music of renowned composer John Williams, whose works include Star Wars, Raid- ers of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List. Rhodes will be joined by guest soloist, violinist Yevgeny Kutik, whose two prior solo appearances in Springfield were met with great acclaim. Rhodes served as music director and conductor of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for 20 seasons, until the SSO paused per- formances in 2020. He continues to serve as music director and conductor of the Traverse Symphony in
Agenda
Michigan, and as principal conductor of Boston’s Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. In March 2021, Maestro Rhodes made his debut with the Orchestra of the Rome Opera in Italy, recording a live radio broad- cast of Maurice Jarre’s score to Roland Petit’s ballet, Notre Dame de Paris. He will conduct productions of Giselle and La Bayadère for their 2022-23 season. Kutik, a native of Minsk, Belarus, immigrated to
the United States with his family at the age of five, with the help of the Jewish Federations of North America. His 2014 album, Music from the Suitcase: A Collection of Russian Miniatures (Marquis Clas- sics), features music he found in his family’s suit- case after immigrating to the United States from
the Soviet Union in 1990. In 2021, Kutik launched Finding Home: Music from the Suitcase in Concert. Kutik’s additional releases on Marquis include his most recent album, The Death of Juliet and Other Tales. Tickets for both concerts, priced $60, $45, $25, and $10, will go on sale on May 9. For details, visit: SpringfieldSymphonyMusicians.com. MOSSO spon- sors (to date) include: The Republican/MassLive, BusinessWest and Healthcare News, WWLP-22News & The CW Springfield, the Sheraton Springfield at Monarch Place, New England Public Media, the Musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Bolduc Schuster Foundation.
In reflecting upon how the institute has evolved over the past fifty years, Uvin and others said it is also important to highlight what hasn’t changed, especial- ly the institute’s model and entrepreneurial approach to its work.
Dominguez adds that what was once called pub- lic service has evolved into economic mobility and social equity.
“Although we are further defining what we do, our core values will always be the same,” she said. “How can our work impact communities in need? That’s the core — and that won’t change.”
Uvin concludes, “we’re not done evolving. COVID revealed what didn’t make sense, and business
must respond.” Offering employee support, child- care, mental-health services, and other perks will be integral.
Perhaps what will carry the Donahue Institute for- ward another 50 years will be that which has stayed the same — a solid culture, a public service-focused mission, and the keen ability to find opportuni-
ties that align with core values while also having the potential to open doors. u
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