Page 44 - BusinessWest November 11, 2024

AGENDA>> For more events, or to submit your upcoming events,
visit BusinessWest’s event calendar online: https://businesswest.com/eventcalendar
Difference Makers Nominations
Through Dec. 16: Do you know someone who
is truly making a difference in the Western Mass. region? BusinessWest invites you to nominate an individual or group for its 17th annual Difference Makers program. Nominations for the class of 2025 must be received by Monday, Dec. 16. Difference Makers was launched in 2009 as a way to recognize the contributions of agencies and individuals who are contributing to quality of life in this region. Past honorees have come from dozens of business and nonprofit sectors, proving there’s no limit to the ways people can impact their communities. So, let us know who you think deserves to be recognized as a Difference Maker in our upcoming class by vis- iting businesswest.com/difference-makers-nomina- tion-form to complete the nomination form. Hon- orees will be profiled in the Feb. 17 issue of Busi- nessWest and celebrated at a gala in the spring.
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Food Drive for
Margaret’s Pantry
Nov. 11-15: The Wealth Transition Collective, a financial-planning firm out of Holyoke, will host
its fourth annual weeklong food drive to benefit Margaret’s Pantry in Holyoke in honor of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Since the start of this event, it has raised more than 4,000 pounds of food and more than $7,500 in monetary donations. Individuals can drop off non-perishable and canned foods during business hours (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the Wealth Transition Collective office at 1632 Northampton St., Holyoke. Weather permitting, there will be a drop-off table outside the front door for easy accessibility. Some of the most-needed items at the pantry during
this time of year are stuffing mixes; canned goods like gravy, soups, and stews; baking mixes; frost- ing; syrup; salad dressing; condiments; Jell-O; and kids’ snack items. Margaret’s Pantry, a division of Providence Ministries for the Needy, is a full-service food pantry that has provided food to residents of Greater Holyoke for more than 30 years. Presently, the pantry provides food to more than 180 families each month, and approximately 72,000 meals a year are distributed to the needy in the community.
“Stability is something we need to
be focused on, with both existing businesses and the businesses that are coming in.”
beyond First Fridays and other event days.
Another challenge is sustainability, she went on, adding that DPI has created educational opportuni-
ties for business owners with the goal of helping them work on, though not necessarily in, their busi- nesses to help ensure continued success.
“Stability is something we need to be focused on,
Women of Impact Gala
Dec. 5: BusinessWest will celebrate its seventh annual Women of Impact cohort at Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel. The 2024 Women of Impact, profiled in the Oct. 28 issue of Business- West and at businesswest.com, are: Alison Ber- man, council director of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts; Dianne Fuller Doherty, co-founder of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and former director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center’s Regional Office; JoAnne Finck, president of Friends of Cooley Dick- inson; Kimberley Lee, chief of Creative Strategy and Development at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center; Megan McDonough, executive director of Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity; LaTonia Monroe Naylor, chief business educator at Monroe Naylor Consult- ing, LLC and president and CEO of Parent Villages; Kristi Reale, partner at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; and Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker, nephrologist, art- ist, and filmmaker. Tickets cost $95 per person, and tables of 10 are available. To purchase tickets, visit www.businesswest.com/women-of-impact-tickets. The presenting sponsors are Country Bank and TommyCar Auto Group, and Cooley Dickinson Hos- pital is a partner sponsor.
with both existing businesses and the businesses that are coming in,” she explained. “We had a grant opportunity for some of our existing businesses this past summer that enabled them to work with a con- sultant on such things as marketing and workflow and accounting systems. And next year, we’ll be offer- ing some co-op marketing dollars. We’re great at tell- ing people downtown that we’re here, but we need to make that sure that word is getting out beyond us.
“And in January, we’ll be offering seminars on things like how to read a P&L sheet and how to use Facebook,” she went on, adding that DPI is commit- ted to providing members with educational opportuni- ties to help ensure that they thrive.
That’s just one of many examples of how leader- ship in this community, on many different levels, is indeed focused on the future and not on the past. BW
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Pittsfield
anchors (the Colonial Theater and Barrington Stage Co.), long-time businesses such as Carr Hardware and Museum Outlets, and new or relatively new addi- tions, such as Hot Plate; Thistle and Thorn, a gift shop; Witch Slapped, a “haven for all things meta- physical and mystical”; and the Plant Connector, which has a mission “to connect people to the joy of plants and foster a thriving green community.”
Meanwhile, the roster of restaurants continues
to grow and evolve, she went on, listing a new steak- house in Hotel on North; BB’s Hot Spot at the Lan- tern Bar, a Jamaican restaurant on North Street; and Marie’s North Street Eatery and Gallery, a contempo- rary deli located in the historic Shipton Building.
This mix is succeeding in making downtown more of a destination for locals and tourists alike, Brien said, adding that one challenge moving forward is to grow a steady pace of foot traffic that extends well
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