Report Assesses Financial Impact from Loss of Fossil-fuel Assets

By Contributor
Wealth Management

Who Bears the Brunt?

 

One common rationale against climate action is that the resulting fossil-fuel investment losses could affect the retirement or long-term savings of a vast number of people. However, research co-authored by an economist at the UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) finds that the loss of fossil-fuel assets would have a minimal impact on the general populace.

In high-income countries, most losses would be borne by the most affluent individuals, for whom the loss makes up a small percentage of their total wealth. In contrast, the financial loss of lower-income individuals would be small in dollar terms and feasible for governments to compensate.

The paper, published in the journal Joule and co-authored by Gregor Semieniuk, research assistant professor at UMass Amherst; Lucas Chancel, associate professor of economics at Sciences Po in Paris; and four other co-authors, builds on Semieniuk’s earlier research, which estimated the total amount of assets that would be lost, or ‘stranded,’ if ambitious climate policies caused fossil-fuel production to quickly decline.

Semieniuk and Chancel find that, in the U.S., two-thirds of the financial losses from fossil-fuel assets would affect the top 10% of wealth holders, with half of that affecting the top 1%. Because the top 1% tend to have a diverse portfolio of investments, any losses from fossil-fuel assets would make up less than 1% of this group’s net wealth. When the researchers repeated this analysis for the U.K. and continental European countries, they found similar results.

In contrast, 3.5% of financial losses would affect the poorest half of Americans. Asset losses make up a larger proportion of wealth for this group. However, because their overall net wealth (assets minus liabilities) is significantly lower, researchers estimate that the entirety of these losses could be compensated for as little as $9 billion in Europe and $12 billion in the U.S.

“There’s this idea that it’s the general populace that should be opposed to climate policy that creates stranded assets because their pensions are at risk or their retirement savings or just their savings,” Semieniuk said. “It’s not untrue that some wealth is at risk, but in affluent countries, it’s not a reason for government inaction because it would be so cheap for governments to compensate that.”

Semieniuk and Chancel detail three different potential ways governments could raise this amount of money. For example, policymakers could impose a very modest carbon-emissions tax. In addition, they could renegotiate their current liabilities to energy companies and use the amount that they save. A modest tax on the wealthiest individuals could also raise enough money to compensate for the least affluent groups’ losses.

“Even though our results are simple, they were not present in research or public debates before,” Chancel said. “This work is one step forward in understanding the winners and losers from the point of view of the assets that might be at risk in this transition.”

The research was supported by the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council, the United Nations Development Programme, an EU Horizon grant, the Leverhulme Research Centre, and the Leverhulme Trust.

Fitzgerald Law Names Andrea O’Connor Shareholder, Welcomes Christina Turgeon

By
Daily News

EAST LONGMEADOW — Fitzgerald Law named attorney Andrea O’Connor a shareholder and announced that attorney Christina Turgeon has joined the firm.

“Andrea’s depth of experience and teamwork has really helped our firm grow, so she was very deserving of appointment,” noted Seth Stratton, also a shareholder with the firm. “We are also delighted to announce that Christina is now part of our firm, as she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge with her. Through their volunteer activities in the profession, these two attorneys not only elevate their representation of clients, but are improving the practice of law in their specialty as well.”

O’Connor counsels corporate and consumer clients in all aspects of insolvency law, primarily including bankruptcy, asset protection, taxation, real estate, and commercial matters. Her experience representing debtors and creditors in all types of matters, from complex Chapter 11 cases to adversary proceeding litigation, as well as serving as a Chapter 7 trustee for the District of Connecticut, allows her to analyze problems from all angles and develop creative solutions.

She has 13 years of legal experience, including a clerkship for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of Connecticut, and graduated magna cum laude from Western New England University School of Law. She is an active member of several bar associations, where she has served in various leadership roles, and serves on the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court’s Pro Bono Committee and Diversity Task Force. Her admissions include the state of Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the Districts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

O’Connor is routinely called upon by professional organizations to author materials and present on insolvency-related topics. She recently presented on the intersection of real estate and bankruptcy law, the new Subchapter V of Chapter 11, and complex bankruptcy sales for various Massachusetts and Connecticut bar associations. She will be presenting this summer at the ABI Northeast Conference & Consumer Forum. Additionally, she currently co-chairs two annual bankruptcy conferences, one targeting Western and Central Mass. and one serving New England.

Turgeon has more than 21 years of practice experience and is primarily engaged in business litigation and counseling services, including reviewing and preparing discovery and trial strategies in Fitzgerald Law’s Litigation Department. In addition, her concentrations include bankruptcy law representing debtors and trustees before the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in Massachusetts and Connecticut; commercial evictions; real-estate law representing buyers, sellers, and financial institutions in real-estate transactions; and general civil litigation representing plaintiffs and defendants in district and Superior courts.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in English literature from Western New England University and is also a graduate of Western New England University School of Law. She is appointed to Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Local Rules Committee and Pro Bono Advisory Committee.

Turgeon is a board member of the Hampden County Bar Foundation, where she serves as treasurer; a board member and past president of the Hampden County Bar Assoc.; and a member of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, where she serves as treasurer and was elected at-large director. She also is co-chair of the Western Massachusetts Annual Bankruptcy Symposium.

Her admissions include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She frequently participates as a panelist in professional legal seminars and continuing-education programs locally and statewide.

bankESB Promotes Tim Czerniejewski to Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lending

By
Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — bankESB recently promoted Tim Czerniejewski to assistant vice president, commercial lending.

Czerniejewski has 16 years of experience in banking. He joined bankESB in 2016 as a credit analyst and was promoted in 2018 to assistant vice president, portfolio manager. In his new role, he will be responsible for developing, structuring, and closing commercial loans, as well as maintaining and servicing existing accounts. Before joining bankESB, he was a risk analyst and credit analyst at TD Bank.

Czerniejewski earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Western New England University and an associate degree in accounting from Springfield Technical Community College, and is a graduate of the Springfield Leadership Institute.

Dhaval Patel Selected to 30 Under 30 of National Assoc. of Realtors

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Dhaval Patel has been selected for the 2023 class of 30 Under 30, highlighting his remarkable accomplishments and the impact he has made throughout his career.

Dhaval, 27, of Rovi Homes, was selected by REALTOR Magazine, which recognizes members of the National Assoc. of Realtors (NAR) under age 30 who have demonstrated exceptional skills in areas such as sales, marketing, entrepreneurship, technology, association leadership, and community involvement.

Lori Beth Chase, 2023 president of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley (RAPV), noted that “Dhaval Patel is an exceptional Realtor. He represents the NAR 30 under 30 as part of our local association in the Pioneer Valley, embodying the true essence of real-estate professionalism. The RAPV congratulates Dhaval on this tremendous achievement.”

Smith Brothers Insurance Acquires Rawson & Sons Insurance Group

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Smith Brothers Insurance, with an office on Main Street in Northampton, has acquired Rawson & Sons Insurance Group, an independent insurance agency located in Worcester. The acquisition expands the Smith Brothers Insurance footprint in Massachusetts, with Rawson & Sons maintaining a local presence while leveraging the resources of Smith Brothers Insurance, one of the nation’s top 100 independent brokers.

Rich Rawson, founder of Rawson & Sons, will stay fully engaged in business development, sales, and client service, alongside the same team of insurance professionals. All Rawson & Sons team members will be joining Smith Brothers.

“Rawson & Sons brings us continued expansion in Massachusetts and allows clients of Rawson & Sons to gain access to additional carriers, coverages, and risk-management services,” said Joe Smith, president and CEO of Smith Brothers Insurance. “Rawson & Sons team members and their Worcester location are great additions. Our combined company will best serve our clients and community. We look forward to working together and also expanding on what Rich Rawson has built in servicing the mortgage-broker and real-estate community, to provide responsive services to help them do their business easier and faster.”

Smith Brothers Insurance has more than 200 team members in locations across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

“As I have come to know Joe and members of the Smith Brothers team, it is clear we share the same values,” Rawson said. “Their commitment to exceptional client service, continued growth, and being a great place to work is exciting to our team and aligns with our commitment to be the best we can be for our clients, partners, and the community. I look forward to working with the Smith Brothers team to continue to build what we have here at Rawson & Sons and do what we do even better.”

The Markens Group Takes the Lead in a Business No One Knows About

By
TMG
Cover Story

Support Network

TMG

From left, founders Ben and Jennie Markens and Emily Leonczyk, TMG’s vice president and chief operating officer.

 

When Lauren Zuber started with the Markens Group just over two years ago, she understood that she would be working for “an association-management company.”

But she noted that it took her quite some time to fully understand just what that meant, what this now 35-year-old venture does, and, just as importantly, how it does it.

“I was inherently confused by the concept until probably three months into my job here,” she told BusinessWest, adding that, despite this confusion, she was drawn to the company and took the role of director of Marketing & Development because of its track record of success and strong set of values.

Emily Leonczyk, the company’s executive vice president, can relate, and said that, for many employees, it takes closer to a year before they have a firm handle on all that goes into the equation when it comes to association management — and how this company stands out in a crowded field of competitors.

Indeed, there is a lot that goes into that equation, she said, including everything from organizing and staging events to strategic leadership; from marketing and communications to membership services; from website design to social media. And the Markens Group, or TMG, provides all this and more to a wide variety of trade associations, membership societies, and not-for-profits, including the Springfield Regional Chamber, providing a team of specialists in place of one generalist.

For the chamber, TMG handles a number of assignments, from its newsletter to assistance with events such as its Outlook lunch in March, one of the region’s largest annual gatherings, to the recent annual meeting.

Diana Szynal, president of the chamber, summed up what the firm does with two highly effective words.

“They’re our support team,” she said, emphasizing both terms and noting that, while she still leads the various efforts at the chamber, TMG provides support from many different individuals with experience and expertise in several different areas. “You don’t get a person … you get a team.”

“There’s a whole story out there about how I invented the concept of association management, but … that’s another story.”

The company’s growing portfolio of clients manifests itself in an alphabet soup of acronyms for the organizations it serves — letters that appear in emails, on a large board tracking a lengthy list of events that TMG is working on, and on the binder covers on a shelf in one of the conference rooms.

There’s SRC — that’s the Springfield Regional Chamber; MLF, the Mary Lyons Foundation; NEFMA, the New England Financial Marketing Assoc.; IMFA, the International Molded Fiber Assoc.; AAHP, the American Assoc. of Homeopathic Pharmacists; FPPA, Flexographic Pre-Press Platemakers Assoc.; and many others.

portraits of staff members

Jennie Markens’ portraits of staff members hang in TMG’s conference rooms.

Behind those letters are associations comprised of businesses and organizations that are committed to their missions and moving them forward, said Ben Markens, but need help with the many day-to-day aspects of managing their organizations.

The desire to meet this need was the goal behind a broad transformation of TMG from a consulting business focused on the folding-carton industry into an accredited association-management company, or AMC (yes, another acronym), a metamorphosis that began in 2008, when the company took on management of the PPC, the Paperboard Packaging Council.

Over the past 15 years, the company has expanded its reach and its portfolio of clients and accompanying acronyms, giving the associations it manages a Springfield mailing address and phone number. In the meantime, it has become a great place to work — figuratively, but also quite literally.

Indeed, TMG has been named a ‘Great Place to Work’ by Forbes magazine, but beyond that designation, it has become a company with a culture grounded in the concept of teamwork and simply having fun, as we’ll see.

The firm has been in a serious growth mode in recent years, adding employees, taking on more space at 1350 Main St. — it now occupies a large chunk of the 11th floor — and bringing on a number of new clients.

There have been costs and risks associated with this rapid and profound expansion, said Ben Markens, but he prefers to look upon them as investments in the future of a venture that he and his wife, Jennie, built from the ground up with the intention of it remaining a force in Springfield, and in the AMC galaxy, for decades to come.

“We have a very strong bench of cross-trained individuals.”

With that in mind, the pair have spent considerable time and energy on the matter of succession, and have put in place a plan whereby Leonczyk will become the majority shareholder over the next several years.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the senior leadership team at TMG about the first 35 years of growth, change, and maturation, and how there is more on tap for a company that has become a leader in what Ben Markens likes to call “the huge business that no one knows about.”

 

Portraits of the Artists

Among her many talents, Jennie Markens is a talented artist. And some of her work is on the walls at TMG.

Indeed, visitors to the office are greeted by a painting of the reflection of Springfield’s famous campanile clock tower in the glass façade of the Springfield Sheraton — an image that many TMG workers can see out the windows of their offices.

The leadership team at TMG

The leadership team at TMG, from left: Emily Leonczyk, Irene Costello, Jennie Markens, Lauren Zuber, Brian Westerlind, and Ben Markens.

Meanwhile, in one of the small conference rooms just off the front entrance are two rows of pencil sketches of TMG’s employees, a collection that has grown larger as the company has over the past several years.

The sketches, which make great conversation pieces for guests, speak to the concept of ‘team’ and how it is valued at TMG, which, as noted earlier, started as a consulting firm in 1988 that was niched to the folding-carton industry, a business that is well-represented in one of the conference rooms with a number of packaging products, including a Lucky Charms box.

TMG provided assistance to that industry on everything from pricing to strategy, said Ben Markens, adding that the leaders of the industry eventually asked him to become president of their association.

“I told them ‘no,’ because I already had a job,” he recalled. “They said, ‘figure it out,’ and we became what’s known as an association-management company. There’s a whole story out there about how I invented the concept of association management, but … that’s another story.”

While he may or may not have invented the business, Markens and the team that has been assembled has certainly come to be a leader in an industry he described as simply the outsourced management of associations — in TMG’s case, manufacturing groups and medical entities, representing everyone from podiatrists to neonatal intensive-care nurses.

“We’re able to take our experiences from one association or industry group and apply them and add value to others.”

Early on, Ben and Jennie made the decision to do this from Springfield. The PPC wanted them to move to the Washington, D.C. area — the association is based in Alexandria, Va. — and they considered basing it in or near their home in Westfield, but they ultimately decided the venture needed to be in Springfield and its downtown.

That move represented a risk in and of itself, said Jennie Markens, noting that 2008 was the height of the Great Recession, and taking on substantial debt and essentially launching a new business was a scary proposition.

But they moved ahead with confidence, a vision, and an operating philosophy grounded in what they call ‘fundamentals’ — and they’ve never looked back.

As they talked about association management, members of TMG’s leadership group said there are many components to this work.

Events are an important and highly visible part of it, said Ben Markens, adding that the firm will assist with everything from finding speakers to choosing the hotel; from ordering awards to handling the banquet order. But there is much more to this than events, he said, adding that TMG essentially becomes the back office for the association it serves, managing assignments ranging from membership to marketing to social-media content.

Jennie and Ben Markens

Jennie and Ben Markens have the firm on a serious growth trajectory in recent years.

As it does so, it brings to those assignments several specialists, as opposed to one generalist that a nonprofit or trade association might hire to handle those tasks listed above, said Irene Costello, director of Operations for TMG.

“If they do hire that one full-time staff person, they have one person managing the books, doing the marketing, trying to plan an event … and that person can’t be a master of everything,” she told BusinessWest. By hiring us for a similar price as a full-time employee, you wind up with a full staff of experts in each individual area that can bring their expertise and pull the association forward and make it successful.”

Ben Markens agreed. “Instead of having one person with two arms and two legs, you have the arm of a social-media person, the leg of an event planner … it’s full-time staffing at part-time rates.”

But while they’re specialists, the team’s members are cross-trained and can step in and fill any of a number of roles, said Leonczyk, citing, as one example, the Springfield Regional Chamber’s recent Outlook lunch. The team member managing the chamber’s account came down with COVID the week of the event, she recalled, adding that others within the firm were able to effectively backfill.

“We have a very strong bench of cross-trained individuals,” she said, adding that this is one of the key ingredients in the firm’s formula for success.

 

Firm Resolve

This deep bench, and the ability to provide specialists in the place of one or a few generalists, help explain the emergence of AMCs, and especially TMG, said Brian Westerlind, vice president of Industry Affairs and Strategic Communication for TMG. He noted that there is an association for association-management companies (the Association Management Company Institute), which has conducted studies yielding statistical evidence showing that groups that use such a firm fare better than those who try to handle such matters themselves.

“AMC-run associations had three times more net growth in assets and 31% higher growth in net revenue,” he noted. “And I think most of that comes from the fact that we know associations, we run associations every day, and I think our special sauce comes from the fact that Ben started out in this business discipline helping individual companies, and now we’re doing that for nonprofit associations and professional societies.

Leonczyk agreed, noting that one of the firm’s strengths is its ability to take lessons from work it does for one client, or group of clients, and apply it to others.

“We’re able to take our experiences from one association or industry group and apply them and add value to others,” she explained, adding that this ability helps explain the company’s strong growth trajectory in recent years.

And while the Springfield Regional Chamber doesn’t represent TMG’s niche within the AMC realm — its bread and butter is trade associations in the manufacturing and medical fields — its work with the agency exemplifies its role as a support network and its ability to handle the work of one or several full time equivalents.

Its work with that group also exemplifies the mindset with which it enters each assignment.

“Our job is to make them look really good and be all things behind the scenes,” said Leonczyk, adding that, for many associations, TMG takes the place of an executive director or administrator.

Zuber agreed, noting that the relationships with clients are partnerships in every sense of that term.

“We’re on the journey together, as opposed to a situation where we’re just managing them,” she explained. “It’s a real partnership.”

And while what TMG does for its clients is a big part of this story, an even more important piece, Leonczyk said, is how it goes about this work. By this, she meant a supportive culture created by the Markenses, one grounded in a strong value system and a desire to make theirs an enjoyable workplace, but also built on a foundation of excellence.

“It came down to the fact that Jennie and I wanted to found a company that we would like to work at — one that didn’t have a lot of arbitrary rules or a lot of backbiting, a place founded on those things we started with back in 1988,” Ben Markens explained. “We’ll do whatever’s fair, we want to have fun, and personal relationships are important.

“That’s easy when there’s just three or four of us, but as we become eight, nine, 10, or more, it becomes more difficult,” he went on, adding that, to maintain that culture he and Jennie covet, TMG stresses what are known as ‘fundamental behaviors,’ ranging from ‘we are friendly’ and ‘we do our best’ to ‘we are fair’ and ‘we have fun.’

Ben Markens puts a special emphasis on that last one — what he calls the ‘fun factor,’ and to say there has been a trickle-down effect would be an understatement.

“You can be quirky, you can be yourself here, and I really enjoy that — that’s who we are here,” Zuber said, adding that another fundamental is what she calls ‘support and defend.’

“Within three months of working here, I knew people had my back,” she explained. “I’ve worked in many different industries, and never have I enjoyed the level of support I have here.”

Moving forward, Leonczyk, a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2023 who came to the company four years ago and eventually assumed the role of executive vice president, said she is committed to keeping the firm in Springfield, continuing to build on the culture that has made this a great place to work, and maintaining the strong pattern of growth it has seen the past several years.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity, and want to build on everything that Ben and Jennie have done here,” she said.

 

Bottom Line

Ben Markens may or may not have invented the concept of association management. As he said, “that’s another story.”

This one is about the company he and Jennie started and how it has grown and evolved over the years to become a leader in this business that so few know about.

This work is a science, but it’s also an art, and mastering it has become a function of teamwork, as represented in those portraits on the conference-room wall.

Those portraits speak of a canvas that is still being filled in, with new elements — and, yes, new acronyms — being added regularly.

That’s what this story is all about, and there are many intriguing chapters still to come.

Fitzgerald Law Continues Course of Expansion, Diversification

By
Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.
Law Special Coverage

Working in Concert

Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.

Managing Partner Seth Stratton with recently named Shareholder Andrea O’Connor.

 

“Non-traditional.’

That’s not a term you hear often in reference to a law firm. That’s because … well, the vast majority of them would still be considered the opposite — traditional, operating pretty much the way law firms have operated for decades now.

But Seth Stratton uses the word quite liberally as he talks about the firm he serves as managing partner, Fitzgerald Law, P.C., which is based in East Longmeadow but also has an office in downtown Springfield.

He says it applies to the firm’s founder and still very active partner, Frank Fitzgerald — “he’s always marched to a different beat when it comes to the practice of law; he’s a businessperson first and lawyer second” — and also how the firm’s members go about team building. Most recently, it was at a Bruno Mars concert at MGM Springfield (Stratton formerly served as vice president and legal counsel of MGM Resorts’ Northeast Group, and still had the requisite connections to buy 40 seats to the show), preceded by some bowling in the casino’s alleys.

That term also applies, to one degree or another, to how the firm is expanding, adding lawyers, and even making them partners.

Indeed, Andrea O’Connor, a bankruptcy and insolvency specialist who joined the firm in 2020 (not long before Stratton left MGM and rejoined Fitzgerald), was recently made a shareholder, continuing a pattern of growth and what Stratton called “re-invention.”

“More people have gotten involved as shareholders in the firm,” he explained. “And we’ve also been bringing in mid-career lawyers who have considerable experience and a lot that they can bring to the firm. We’re bringing people in non-traditionally to grow our firm, and as we grow, we’ll talk out ownership opportunities in the firm.”

The addition of O’Connor, as well as Christina Turgeon, another bankruptcy specialist formerly in solo practice, and Daryl Johnson, who specializes in everything from commercial lending to zoning, further diversify a firm focused mostly on business advisory work, said Stratton, noting that it handles a wide array of legal issues, including commercial real-estate development, acquisition, and sale; zoning, permitting, and licensing; and business succession and estate planning.

Bankruptcy and restructuring are now part of that mix, and an important part, he said, because, while the economy remains strong and bankruptcies have generally been on the decline in recent years, businesses do fail, and such work is part of providing the full range of services that businesses might need.

“We’re trying to figure out a model that allows us to capitalize on talent but not be wed to a traditional law-firm model. We are a little different, and we think this is what many of our clients like about us.”

Meanwhile, there are few firms in this region that have such expertise, he went on, adding that this is a key component of the firm’s overall growth strategy.

As he talked about that strategy, Stratton said the broad plan is to continue to grow and diversify the firm — it has added several new lawyers over the past few years and now boasts 10 attorneys and five partners — and take its expertise to different markets.

The Fitzgerald firm has opened a satellite office in Worcester, he noted, enabling it to better serve clients and potential clients in that part of state, and O’Connor and other attorneys in the firm are serving a growing number of clients in Boston and other metropolitan areas, as clients take advantage of the firm’s deep portfolio of services — and at Springfield-area rates.

Overall, Stratton said the firm is still trying to determine the “sweet spot” when it comes to the desired size of the firm, and hinted strongly that it will essentially know what that size is when it gets there.

In the meantime, it will continue to look for opportunities to add some rock stars to the roster and continue to grow and diversify in a way that could, indeed, be called ‘non-traditional.’

 

Additions of Note

O’Connor told BusinessWest that she would consider her own career path non-traditional.

She started with the Springfield-based firm Hendel & Collins, which specializes in bankruptcy and related work, after graduating from law school. After six years there, she left to serve as a clerk for the bankruptcy court.

She then returned to the firm, which became Hendel, Collins & O’Connor, P.C. While her partners eventually started winding down their practices, she was looking to take hers to the next level. The question was … where?

She said she had a number of options, but eventually decided to join the Fitzgerald firm in August 2020, the height of the pandemic.

“I started my last firm when I was eight months pregnant, so I make bold choices sometimes,” she said with a laugh. “But when the opportunity comes, you have to seize it; it was a huge opportunity for me to come here and work with this team.”

Fitzgerald has been creating such opportunities for other mid-career lawyers, said Stratton, adding that the traditional path that lawyers took for years — one where they would join a firm as an associate; make partner after six, seven, or eight years; get a bigger office; and stay with that firm for the next several decades — is increasingly not the norm.

Especially at Fitzgerald, a firm that was founded in 1992.

“There is a sweet spot in terms of size, and we’re all trying to figure out what it is.”

“We’re trying to figure out a model that allows us to capitalize on talent but not be wed to a traditional law-firm model,” said Stratton, who was on the partnership track at a large regional law firm but ultimately rejected that path and left for Fitzgerald and ultimately returned to it after a six-year stint with MGM that eventually saw him become the face of the casino. “We are a little different, and we think this is what many of our clients like about us.”

And when he returned, as managing partner, he continued and accelerated that process of reinvention, adding that it involves expansion and diversification of the firm, while focusing on what it does well.

Elaborating, he said the firm moved on from the work it was doing in such areas as family law and personal injury, and focused all its talent and energies on serving businesses and their families in all the ways they need to be served, including areas such as bankruptcy and insolvency.

Work in that realm has been relatively slow in recent years, said O’Connor, adding that an expected surge — or wave, or tsunami — of personal and business bankruptcies, one that would accompany an end of COVID-related relief efforts, has yet to materialize, and now there are doubts that it will.

“We’ve had a really good economy for a very long time,” she told BusinessWest, adding that the high-water mark for bankruptcy work came at the height of the Great Recession, some 15 years ago, and has been fairly tepid ever since, to the point where she believes fewer people are entering this specific specialty.

But there is always work in this realm, she said, adding that most of hers involve businesses in distress. Recently, she was appointed a Chapter 7 panel trustee in Connecticut, administering bankruptcy cases, primarily in New Haven, but also in Bridgeport and Hartford.

This additional focus on bankruptcy and insolvency enables the firm to better navigate the cyclical nature of the economy, said Stratton, adding that it also helps separate it from many competitors.

“This allows us to be more diversified and recession-proof in our own business,” he explained. “When the economy is good, the bread and butter of our business — transactional work, real-estate development work, loans and financing — is busy. When the economy goes in the other direction, some of that work dries up, but then, bankruptcy and insolvency work picks up, so it allows us to diversify.”

The recent staff additions to the firm have enabled it to get both younger and more gender-diverse, said Stratton, adding that he anticipates this growth pattern to continue in the years to come.

“I expect that the approach we’ve taken over the past two years will continue over the next several years,” he said. “But there is a sweet spot in terms of size, and we’re all trying to figure out what it is. We want to have enough lawyers to service the business, without growing too big to where we take on additional overhead, which pushes rate structures higher and you feel less competitive with clients.

“We don’t know what that sweet spot is yet,” he went on, “but we will find it.”

 

Bottom Line

Getting back to the Bruno Mars concert, Stratton said he still has a few MGM employees on speed dial who were able to make it happen.

The concert, bowling, and dinner in the sports bar before the show was a decidedly different course for the firm’s annual summer outing, and one that provided another example of how Fitzgerald is different and — here comes that word again — non-traditional.

Thus far, that character trait is serving it well, and Stratton and his growing team are committed to staying on this course moving forward.

Where it will take them is a question to be answered later — when they find that aforementioned sweet spot. For now, it’s a path toward continued growth and diversity, in every sense of that word.

 

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital to Open in Holyoke This Summer

By
The new hospital
Healthcare News Special Coverage

Specialized Approach

 

The new hospital

The new hospital, seen here in the late stages of construction, will open in August.

 

As Dr. Barry Sarvet surveys Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital a couple months before its opening, he’s excited about what he sees.

“We are extremely excited to be providing a brand new, state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital facility for our communities in the Pioneer Valley,” said Sarvet, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Baystate Health. “Hospital care for behavioral-health patients requires a specialized environment of care to ensure safety, comfort, and privacy for patients and a setting for a full range of therapeutic services to support their recovery.”

The Holyoke-based hospital does just that, he noted. “Our new facility is spacious and will have an abundance of natural light. It includes ample spaces for psychotherapy, rooms for art and occupational therapy, a gymnasium for physical activity and recreation, and access to outdoor spaces for fresh air. Psychiatric patients deserve to be treated in an environment of care that supports their dignity, and we’re so pleased to be able to offer this.”

But he’s just as excited, if not moreso, about what the hospital, a joint venture between Baystate Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, means for access to behavioral healthcare in the region, which still faces a shortage of inpatient psychiatric services and increasing mental-health needs.

“We care deeply about people who need psychiatric services and are committed to the success of this new project,” he said, adding that the partnership with Lifepoint is smart considering that organization’s expertise in the development of new specialty hospitals and its commitment to quality care. “In developing this new hospital with our Lifepoint partners, we are continuing and enhancing our commitment to fulfilling the mental-health needs of people in our region.”

Dr. Barry Sarvet

Dr. Barry Sarvet

“Hospital care for behavioral-health patients requires a specialized environment of care to ensure safety, comfort, and privacy for patients and a setting for a full range of therapeutic services to support their recovery.”

Baystate actually announced a partnership on this project with Kindred Healthcare LLC during the summer of 2000, before Kindred was purchased by Lifepoint Health about a year and a half ago. Lifepoint boasts more than 100 specialty hospitals across the U.S. focused on four divisions: skilled nursing, rehabilitation, acute care, and behavioral health, said Roy Sasenaraine, CEO of Valley Springs.

“There’s a significant need in Western Mass. for this specialized hospital. The behavioral-health needs in the population are so great, and the differentiation between this service line and every other service line is so different, you need something like this; just like having a specialty hospital for children, you need a special team to come together to care for behavioral-health patients.”

The new facility, set to open in mid-August, will increase capacity for inpatient behavioral healthcare for adults, children, and adolescents in the area by 50%. Built with the unique needs of behavioral-health patients in mind, the $72 million hospital is designed so patients receive their care and treatment in an environment that supports their recovery, Sasenaraine said.

The 150-bed hospital at 45 Lower Westfield Road in Holyoke, including 30 beds dedicated to longer-term care through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, has been planned with patient safety in mind, he added.

“A benefit of new construction is that patient safety and privacy has been factored into every aspect of the building, from patient rooms to the gymnasium. We have fine-tuned every detail and thought of everything in terms of safety: toilets, window blinds, even door jambs. The new building allows us to make use of modern technology to elevate patient safety in a way retrofitting an existing unit could not.”

 

Access Points

A new service offered by Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will be on-site evaluations following a provider referral, allowing some patients to be admitted without an Emergency Department visit at a different hospital.

Currently, around one-third of the behavioral-health patients evaluated in Baystate Health’s four emergency departments are transferred to facilities outside of Western Mass. due to a shortage of psychiatric beds in the region. With the opening of Valley Springs, more patients will have the opportunity to receive treatment close to home, Sasenaraine explained. The hospital’s location is intended to provide accessibility, being close to Routes 90 and 91, while also providing a facility focused solely on specialized care for mental health.

Roy Sasenaraine

Roy Sasenaraine

“The new building allows us to make use of modern technology to elevate patient safety in a way retrofitting an existing unit could not.”

He explained that patients will be admitted in three ways: people in crisis can be taken directly to the hospital by ambulance, other care providers will refer patients in need of behavioral-health treatment, and people can also walk in off the street.

“They might say, ‘I think I need help. I’m suicidal.’ That’s what my intake-assessment team is here for, to assess them for clinical issues, suicidal ideations, whatever it may be.”

Sasenaraine also noted that the new facility will provide employment opportunities with the opportunity to positively impact the lives of patients and families in the community. Employees currently working in Baystate facilities whose services will be transferred to Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will have the opportunity to apply for positions there, in addition to opportunities for new employees to be a part of the joint venture.

“We’ll employ a lot of people, even some departments that didn’t exist before,” he said, such as a 24/7 intake department that will provide 18 full-time equivalent jobs. “For many people, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of building a new organization from the ground up.”

Behavioral-health services from Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Noble Hospital, as well as pediatric behavioral-health services from Baystate Medical Center, will begin to transition to the Valley Springs site in August. Spaces in those facilities will then be converted to primary and specialty care or will be used to accommodate the increasing demand for inpatient medical services.

Baystate Health is working closely with the Department of Public Health (DPH) during this transition. The affected inpatient facilities are expected to be fully transitioned by the end of the year, with most completing the move in the fall, and partial hospitalization programs transitioning by January 2024.

As Baystate Health works with DPH to facilitate the transition, a series of formal notices will be made, public hearings will be held, and DPH will work with Baystate Health to assure patient-access needs are met. This process has already begun, about four months before the intended full transition for each affected unit, starting in late May for Baystate Wing, mid-June for Baystate Medical Center, and late June for Baystate Noble Hospital; it will continue in July for the partial-hospitalization program at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will be affiliated with the psychiatric services operated directly by Baystate Health, including a 28-bed Adult Psychiatric Treatment Unit at Baystate Medical Center, which serves as a primary site of training for medical students and psychiatric residents within UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate educational programs. This unit has a unique role in the care of patients with co-occurring and complex medical issues, requiring the resources of a general hospital.

Baystate’s Department of Psychiatry will also continue to operate its array of ambulatory behavioral-health services, psychiatric consultation services, emergency psychiatric services, and programs supporting mental-health treatment in the primary-care setting.

In addition, Baystate Health will continue to operate its 22-bed Mental Health Unit at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, which provides inpatient behavioral healthcare for patients in Greenfield and the surrounding communities. According to Ronald Bryant, president of Baystate Regional Hospitals, the decision to keep this unit open was made based on geography and Baystate Franklin’s history of integration of behavioral-health services, such as the 24/7 presence of recovery coaches in the Emergency Department.

“Baystate Franklin has spent many years building strength in behavioral-health practices that really connects with a lot of the other types of care provided,” Bryant said. “We didn’t want to lose the continuity of that integration.”

 

Fulfilling a Mission

Before coming to Valley Springs, Sasenaraine served as vice president of Operations for the central region of Spire Orthopedic Partners, where he led new construction, patient-access initiatives, and acquisition and integration work for Spire’s nine locations in Connecticut.

Prior to that, he served as vice president of Operations for Hartford Healthcare System’s East Region behavioral-health network, where he oversaw 18 locations, including six school-based programs, two emergency departments, one inpatient psychiatric hospital, eight ambulatory locations, and one inpatient juvenile program. His leadership led to the implementation of a new care model for adolescent, pediatric, and adult patients in inpatient care, along with the implementation of a new electronic medical record across all sites of care.

“Roy’s breadth of operational experience and his deep understanding of the behavioral-health setting make him the right leader for this new, state-of-the art facility that we are excited to open in the coming months,” Dr. Andrew Artenstein, Baystate Health’s chief physician executive and chief academic officer, said when the appointment was announced in the spring.

For his part, Sasenaraine said he embraces the opportunity to oversee a new specialty hospital that will increase employment in the region and generate $1.6 million in taxes annually — but, most importantly, provide more access to behavioral healthcare at a time when it’s needed.

“I know that we have an exciting road ahead of us,” he said. “I look forward to serving patients in Western Massachusetts with safe, high-quality behavioral-healthcare services.”

Auto Dealers Gain Some Momentum, but Challenges Persist

By
Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models
Autos Special Coverage

Driving Forces

Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models

Mike Marcotte shows off one of the Bronco Sport models on the Marcotte lot, one of the small SUVs that are seeing a surge in popularity.

 

Prior to the pandemic, Mike Marcotte recalls, there would be between 300 and 350 new cars on the lot at Marcotte Ford, the Holyoke mainstay started by his grandfather more than a half-century ago.

At the height of COVID, when there were supply-chain issues and a massive microchip shortage, there were maybe 30 or 40 cars on that same lot.

“Employees could park wherever they wanted at that time,” Marcotte, the company’s president, said with a laugh, noting that today, there are close to 200 cars on the lot on Main Street, partly out of necessity — there are still fewer cars available from the manufacturer — but also out of choice.

“You don’t need to have everything on the lot because you can factory-order vehicles,” he explained. “It’s nice to have all the options, but you have carrying costs, and you want the freshest product.”

This commitment to keeping smaller inventory levels has provided the business with another opportunity to expand what has become a complex of sorts on Main Street, one that includes everything from the dealership to a commercial truck center to a car wash. Indeed, Marcotte showed BusinessWest a row in the parking lot that is now the site of a construction project — one that will create a bank of charging stations to handle the growing volume of electric-car sales.

“You don’t need to have everything on the lot because you can factory-order vehicles.”

Rising electric and hybrid car sales and smaller inventories, by choice, are among the trends and ongoing developments in an auto-sales industry that is still in many ways adjusting to life post-COVID. It’s a time of challenge — higher interest rates, talk of recession, and some lingering availability issues when it comes to many makes and models, for example — but also opportunity, in the form of new and intriguing products (mostly those electric models), some improved incentives from the manufacturers, and some lingering, pent-up demand.

Other trends include a still-challenging used-car market — meaning challenging for dealers who struggle to find cars and challenging for consumers, who continue to face limited options and high prices — as well as steadily rising SUV sales and a growing willingness among consumers to order a vehicle rather than pick one off the lot.

Carla Cosenzi, president of the Tommy Car Auto Group, which includes Hyundai, Genesis, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Volvo dealerships, said she and her team, like most in this business, entered the year with conservative expectations, because of those challenges listed above, and two quarters into 2023, they are meeting them.

“It’s been such a volatile market, with inventory constraints, interest rates, and what’s happening with the economy, so we just made a conservative projection and figured we could always adjust if we needed to,” Cosenzi said. “We projected to increase sales over last year, which we always do, but not by a lot.”

Ben Sullivan, chief operating officer at Balise Motor Sales, concurred. He told BusinessWest that, after three years of decline, to one degree or another, and a 2022 that was essentially flat, 2023 was seen within the industry as a year when, despite higher interest rates and inflation, dealers would do some catching up.

Ben Sullivan, seen here with a Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid

Ben Sullivan, seen here with a Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid, said electric cars and plug-ins comprise a growing percentage of sales at the company’s many dealerships.

And they have, he said, although limited supplies have impacted the degree that they can do so, with some brands impacted more than others. He noted that, while there are still some supply-chain issues, the bigger challenge now is getting the cars to the lots.

“There’s still some fragility in the supply chain,” Sullivan said. “On top of chips and COVID lockdowns, which, for most part, have passed in the global supply chain, now what you’re dealing with are labor shortages at ports and shortages of rail cars — there’s a particular type of rail car that carries vehicles. And on top of that, at the end of this year, the domestic manufacturers will be renegotiating their AUW contracts.”

For this issue and its focus on auto sales, BusinessWest talked with several dealers about what’s happening with this market at the halfway point in the year, and what we can expect in quarters three and four — and beyond.

 

To a Higher Gear

Before addressing 2023, Sullivan first set the tone by recapping 2022, which was, by most measures, and especially the new-car-sales yardstick, a down, or flat, year. And the availability of cars, or the lack thereof, was the biggest factor.

“Every time we thought that someone was going to build enough cars to grow sales, they weren’t able to, or they weren’t able to ship them,” he explained, listing issues ranging from plant lockdowns due to COVID to a computer-chip shortage and backups at the ports. “So the industry was really under some pressure.”

“People like to feel and touch and experience what they’re going to be driving, so there’s definitely an opportunity to lose market when you don’t have the right inventory and your competitor does.”

The consensus within this sector was that things would rebound somewhat in 2023, but the bounce would be limited by everything from lingering shipping challenges to higher interest rates to inflation limiting consumers’ buying power.

And all that has come to pass, said those we spoke with, noting that one of the biggest issues still facing dealers is inventory. Indeed, while most all of them would carry fewer vehicles than they did before the pandemic, for those reasons mentioned above, they would prefer more than they have at present — at least with most models.

Cosenzi, like Sullivan, said inventory levels vary with the brand, with some manufacturers faring better at bringing cars to the lot than others.

“Hyundai has inventory, and inventory is becoming more available every month,” she said. “Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s inventory isn’t nearly as robust as Hyundai’s, and with Nissan, we’re slowly seeing it grow, but it’s not faring as well as Hyundai.

“Obviously, we’ve learned to be more disciplined through COVID and not having as much inventory, and I think that has trained the consumer to some respect,” she went on. “However, people like to feel and touch and experience what they’re going to be driving, so there’s definitely an opportunity to lose market when you don’t have the right inventory and your competitor does.”

Carla Cozensi

Carla Cozensi says inventory issues are among the many challenges facing dealers today.

Sullivan said inventories are generally improving across the spectrum of brands in the Balise stable, which now includes a second Subaru store (the other is in Rhode Island), with the quiet acquisition of the Steve Lewis dealership on Route 9 in Hadley early this spring. Overall, 60% of cars are now pre-sold, or factory-ordered, compared with 80% to 90% at the height of COVID.

Overall, he said, there is now more of a willingness on the part of consumers to factory-order vehicles and get exactly what they want — and wait several weeks for it — while rising inventory levels improve the odds of getting exactly what they want (or at least close) and driving it off the lot the same day.

Marcotte said levels of inventory are rising at his Ford store, but a good number of vehicles — maybe 33% of all sales, by his estimate — are still factory-ordered, with wait times of roughly six to 12 weeks, compared with four to six months at the height of COVID.

“It’s back to normal in many respects, but you’re still dealing with some supply issues; it may not be microchips, but other parts — one widget can hold up a whole vehicle,” he said, adding that it can still be challenging to secure adequate inventories of some product, especially, in his case, trucks and cargo vans.

 

Current Events

But while challenges persist, those we spoke with have seen several encouraging trends and developments.

At the top of that list is electric vehicles and hybrids, sales of which have been climbing steadily, if unspectacularly, over the past several years.

Within the Balise stable, Sullivan said, there are now 15 electric models, with more on the way, when a few years ago, there were just three.

“It’s back to normal in many respects, but you’re still dealing with some supply issues; it may not be microchips, but other parts — one widget can hold up a whole vehicle.”

“Soon, there are going to be 54 entries into just the electric-vehicle market,” he said. “And it’s going to be a very interesting landscape to watch as people decide, ‘can I go all the way in electric, and which one do I get, based on range and price and tax credits?’

“It is certainly a growing part of the business, but what’s interesting to watch as well is the number of people who go out with an electric and decide they’ll take one step away from that and go plug-in hybrid,” he went on. “We’re seeing a real demand push going on for plug-in hydrids; the hybrids have been around for a while, but the plug-in hybrid is really starting to come into its own. We’re seeing a huge increase in demand for those vehicles.”

Meanwhile, sales of SUVs, especially the smaller, crossover models, continue to dominate the market.

Some makers have all but stopped selling sedans — Ford has only the Mustang left in its portfolio, for example — amid growing popularity of SUVs, which appeal to consumers of all ages.

Cosenzi said sales of models such as the Hyundai Tuscon, Nissan Rogue, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Volvo XT60 continue to trend higher. There is still a market for sedans, she went on, noting that VW’s Jetta and Hyundai’s Elantra, both smaller models with comparatively smaller price tags, are still a strong seller. But that market is smaller and continuing to trend in that direction.

Marcotte concurred, pointing to soaring demand for the Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport, a smaller SUV that is capturing an audience.

“We’re getting a lot of new buyers because of the style of the Bronco Sport — we’ve had some Escape customers, people who have bought two or three Escapes, moving to the Bronco Sport,” he said, adding that another popular addition to the portfolio is the Maverick, a small truck that gets 40 miles to the gallon and lists for under $30,000.

As for the used-car market, 2023 has looked a whole lot like … well, 2022, said those we spoke with, much to the chagrin of consumers and dealers alike.

The problem, now and then, is inventory, or lack thereof, said Cosenzi, adding that supplies remain low, for many reasons. These include fewer new-car sales (compared to pre-pandemic levels) and, therefore, fewer trade-ins, as well as the fact that seemingly all constituencies, from consumers to car-rental companies, are hanging onto their cars longer.

That means there are fewer pre-owned cars on the lots, which equates to higher prices, a simple byproduct of the laws of supply and demand that is not likely to change any time soon, Sullivan said.

Cosenzi agreed, noting that dealers can’t get as many cars, and they have to work much harder to secure what they can.

“We’ve done a really good job sourcing them from our own customers, like marketing to people in our market that we’re interested in buying their car, and that’s how we’ve been able to maintain our levels,” she said. “But it’s been difficult. It’s been more work than it’s been in the past, that’s for sure.”

 

The Road Ahead

Summing up the mindset at Balise, Sullivan said the company is “bullish,” and in a growth mode.

And, increasingly, it is securing the fuel it needs for such growth — fuel in the form of inventory, demand for products (especially the new electric vehicles and SUVs now dominating the lots), and economic conditions that will prompt consumers to buy.

Time will tell what happens over the final two quarters of this year, but it seems likely that dealers will do more of that catching up that was projected for 2023.

 

Second Chance Animal Services Improves Lives of Pets — and People

By
Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.
Special Coverage Women in Businesss

No Place Like Home

 

Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.

Founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato.

 

It’s called Homebound to the Rescue.

The idea behind this initiative, one of many launched over the years by Second Chance Animal Services, is that many senior citizens can’t afford to provide basic medical care for their pets or don’t have transportation to bring them to a vet.

What Second Chance does is bring care to the pet owner’s doorstep by visiting low-income senior-housing areas to offer low-cost vaccinations, testing, and other care, so the animals stay healthy and, just as important, don’t have to be surrendered because they can’t be properly cared for.

Then there’s Project Keep Me, which provides temporary housing for the pets of domestic-violence survivors, enabling their owners to seek safe housing arrangements while ensuring the well-being of their animal companions, and later returning them to a more stable environment. Without such a program, people in crisis often have to choose between staying in a dangerous situation and losing their beloved pets.

“Our main focus is what we call surrender prevention. If they have a loving home, we want to keep them there, if at all possible.”

“Maybe your sister can temporarily house you, but she’s got dogs, and you have cats, and the dogs don’t like cats, so you have to find a place for your cats,” said Sheryl Blancato, founder and CEO of Second Chance. “So we’ll take the cats, up to 90 days. It’s a wonderful experience to be able to get those people out. We hope that shelters take the animals as well, but not all shelters do. They just need that transition time, and we need to get them out of that dangerous situation.”

“Keeping families and pets together” is a slogan found on many of Second Chance’s brochures, and for good reason: it’s at the heart of what Blancato and her team do.

Simply put, she founded the organization in 1999 primarily to find homes for homeless animals, but later began providing low-cost medical care and vaccinations, realizing that healthy animals are less likely to be surrendered. And many of the programs that have followed have been with the same goal in mind: not only to help animals find homes, but keep as many as possible from being surrendered at all.

“Our main focus is what we call surrender prevention. If they have a loving home, we want to keep them there, if at all possible,” Blancato said in describing why programs like Homebound are so important. “For those that are on Social Security, retired, on a fixed income, those pets are often their sole daily companion. They’re vital to the health of the senior as well. They provide companionship, they keep your blood pressure down, they stave off loneliness, and with dogs, they walk them, so they get outside and meet people.”

This focus on not only making sure animals have good homes, but also improving quality of life for their owners has seen Second Chance expand its reach dramatically over the past 24 years. From its beginning with $400 in cash and donated land, it now encompasses four hospitals (in North Brookfield, Springfield, Worcester, and Southbridge) and serves about 44,000 animals a year.

Second Chance’s Springfield location

Second Chance’s Springfield location is one of its four community veterinary hospitals.

“There are times I’m like, ‘wow, this is amazing,’” Blancato said. “I’ll sometimes go in a hospital to meet with a manager or something, and I just watch what goes on in the lobby, and I listen. And I think, if I had helped 44,000 animals in my whole career, that would have been great. But to have that be a yearly thing is wonderful.”

For this issue’s focus on women in business, we visited one of those hospitals to sit down with Blancato to talk about the broad work of this nonprofit, why it’s so important, and why more people — and donors — need to know about it.

 

Bringing Home Buster

At least some of the credit for her long career in animal welfare goes to an escape artist named Buster.

That’s the puppy Blancato — then a single mother of three — adopted during her 20s, following a tough stretch in which her husband left and she battled cancer. And Buster was “ridiculous” at getting out of the yard. So Blancato got to know East Brookfield’s animal-control officer, and they became friends — and he eventually offered her a job as an animal-control assistant. He retired not long after, and she took over his role.

“ I think, if I had helped 44,000 animals in my whole career, that would have been great. But to have that be a yearly thing is wonderful.”

“Once I became an animal-control officer, I picked up a lot of strays that were never claimed. And the struggle I had was getting them homes, getting them medical care, all that stuff,” she recalled. “I worked with no-kill shelters, which were many in Massachusetts, and I would have to hold on to the dog for a few weeks. And I thought, ‘we need a resource here in this community.’”

As it turned out, a neighbor had a plot of land he wasn’t using, and when Blancato approached him, saying she’d like to start a shelter, and asking if he would donate the land, he agreed. By that time, she had adopted another dog, Dusty, who had been abused.

Lindsay Doray says Second Chance not only rescues animals

Lindsay Doray says Second Chance not only rescues animals, many from other parts of the country, but also provides services that allow owners to keep their pets and not have to surrender them in the first place.

“He was the reason this became really important to me, because if I didn’t take him in, what would have happened to this dog? So that was the real kickoff for Second Chance.”

So, while raising three children — and, by that time, two stepchildren — she took that $400, raised whatever else she could, and built the adoption center that still sits on the property today.

“The original intention, when I founded the organization, was that it was for helping homeless pets, but we quickly realized that a lot of animals were being surrendered simply because the people did not have the means to afford veterinary care — something catastrophic happened in their life or to the pet.”

The shelter was offering spay/neuter services and vaccines in the early years, but Blancato realized she could do more to keep pets and families together through expanded veterinary care. The first hospital was built in neighboring North Brookfield in 2010 and expanded to full-service care in 2013, and the other three hospitals followed, giving Second Chance a broad footprint across Central and Western Mass.

“We had to strategically place hospitals because not everybody could get to North Brookfield,” she explained. “We do about 1,500 to 1,700 adoptions a year, but the rest is veterinary — spay/neuter, vaccine clinics, all of our other programs and services.”

Those services also include:

• The Helping Hands outreach, which assisted 76 rescue sites, shelters, and municipal facilities in 2022, providing low-cost spay/neuter and vet care, while accepting homeless pets from other facilities;

• Project Good Dog, which matches behaviorally needy dogs with inmates in pre-release programs at local correctional institutions, providing 24/7 care and training for the dogs while teaching handlers patience, compassion, and responsibility;

• A pet-food pantry that served more than 7,600 pets in 2022, distributing dog and cat food to 25 local human food pantries — again, helping financially struggling families keep their pets;

• Mobile adoption, education, and vet-care events; and much more.

The low-cost veterinary care provided at the hospitals makes a huge difference, longtime Development Manager Lindsay Doray said.

Rescue program brings mobile vet services

Second Chance’s Homebound to the Rescue program brings mobile vet services to seniors where they live.

“Prior to the services that we offer, people weren’t taking their pets to the vets yearly because they couldn’t afford to,” she noted. “Maybe they did the bare minimum and got the rabies vaccine, and that’s it. But when the animal became sick, either they would end up having to surrender the animal, or the animal would go without care.”

Blancato agreed that preventive care is critical.

“If you don’t get regular maintenance on your car, at some point, it breaks down, and then it’s very expensive. The same thing happens with animals,” she said. “A lot of people never go to the vet because of fear of the cost and everything involved. And once we get people in and they see that, ‘oh, this isn’t so bad,’ they understand that bringing them in yearly makes it a lot easier, and they can maintain the health of their pet for a lot less money.”

Second Chance’s services cost more than what clients can pay, so the nonprofit relies heavily on grants, donations, corporate sponsorships, and a few fundraising events each year to make up the difference and keep growing.

Even for adoptions, Doray said, “what we receive in adoption fees only covers about 50% of what we’ve put into the animal medically.”

At the same time, Second Chance is not short-changing its medical team, Blancato said.

“We have the highest quality of staff, and we pay at or above market standards because we want to attract veterinarians to us,” she said, noting that the U.S. is currently dealing with a shortage of between 7,000 and 10,000 veterinarians. Second Chance currently employs nine vets, but needs at least four more to keep up with demand.

“There’s a misnomer out there that, if you work for a nonprofit, we pay far less. And that hasn’t been true for many, many years,” she added. “We have to attract the same talent as any veterinary hospital; I’m competing for the same talent they are. I want the top talent here because I want the best of the care for the animals.”

 

Lending a Paw

Doray has worked with these animals — and families — long enough to understand the importance of what Second Chance does.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘if people can’t afford an animal, they shouldn’t have one.’ And I say, ‘well, what about your 80-year-old grandmother who loses her husband, and she’s obviously not in the workforce anymore. You think she should have to give up her 15-year-old cat because now that she doesn’t have a spouse, there’s less money in the household?’ They say, ‘well, no, you can help those people.’

“Then I’m like, ‘OK, what about the woman who lost her husband at 45, and they’ve got three kids? Should they also have to give up the family dog because the husband’s gone and the mom now has to go back to work and she’s got three kids to support?’ ‘Well, no, you can help them.’

“‘So, what about a wheelchair-bound person whose dog or cat is their sole daily companion, and they’re not able to get anywhere? Should they have to give one up because they can’t physically work because of whatever injury or disability they have?’ And then they’re like, ‘oh, now I get it.’

“These are real-world situations that happen to people,” Doray continued. “Nobody expects to lose your spouse, but it happens, and you shouldn’t have to lose something else that you care about. Sometimes it’s a very temporary situation where you lose your job, and a year later, you’re back on your feet, and you’re able to pay the full veterinary cost.”

And many Second Chance clients do, indeed, pay full cost.

“Even for them, our rates are still very competitive,” Doray said. “But they also love our vets, and they support our mission, and they know that, by coming to us, they’re helping to subsidize the cost for somebody else, for the 80-year-old woman who just lost her husband and doesn’t want to lose her cat.”

Second Chance operates mobile vaccine clinics across the region.

Second Chance operates mobile vaccine clinics across the region.

Second Chance pushed through the pandemic like all nonprofits did, but those years set back the cause of animal homelessness nationwide by bringing adoption and spay/neuter programs to a temporary standstill.

“In 2019, we were so excited because euthanasia in this country had dropped to a point that I figured, within two years, we would be at zero. Then COVID hit, and it basically flatlined everything for two years,” Blancato said. “Now, we’ve got two to five years to get to zero, when we were so close.

“It’s heartbreaking for all of us in animal welfare, and I know it’s been devastating in the South, because they got used to not having to euthanize for space, and now they’ve had to go back to it. That’s why we want to get as many animals up here as we can and get them homes, and be able to take more.”

Blancato doesn’t envision working more than 10 more years, and said the organization has been structured — with a strong, dedicated team in place — to continue thriving long after that.

And it should — “because the need isn’t going to ever go away,” she said. “There’s always going to be a need to take care of animals, there are always going to be animals that find themselves homeless, there are always going to be people who need veterinary care. So this is very gratifying. But I didn’t do it alone.”

Paying Off Your Mortgage Early

By Contributor
Special Coverage Wealth Management

Whether to Do So Depends on Several Factors

By Barbara Trombley, MBA, CPA

Should you pay off your mortgage early? This is a common question that financial planners get, and the answer is not always what you may be thinking.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, historic mortgage rates peaked in 1981 at a 30-year fixed rate of 18.63%. Throughout the 1980s, the 30-year fixed rate steadily declined to a lofty 10%+ in 1990.

According to historical data provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average price of a house sold in 1980 was $76,400. Using these numbers and an online mortgage calculator, a $60,000 mortgage payment in 1980 would be $935 per month. This would have been an extraordinary burden for the average family. Paying off a mortgage as soon as financially possible would have been an excellent financial move at that time.

Fast-forward to our reality in the last few years. Those who were lucky enough to buy before the Federal Reserve started increasing interest rates after the pandemic were able to lock in historically low mortgage rates. It was not unheard of to get a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage under 3%.

Barbara Trombley

Barbara Trombley

“You may need more money than you think in the future due to healthcare costs, inflation, family needs, etc., and if it is tied up as equity in your house, it may be difficult to access.”

Even if you didn’t purchase your house in the last few years, if your credit was good, you would have been able to refinance to get these terms. The same $60,000 mortgage in 1980, calculated at 3% interest, would result in a monthly payment of $253 versus $935 at 18.63% — a huge financial difference.

Low-rate mortgages should be considered good debt. Why is it called good debt, and what is bad debt? I would consider good debt to be a mortgage, car loan, and some student loans. These types of loans may increase your future net worth or help you achieve your goals. Most people do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank to purchase a house, so a mortgage is a great tool to achieve home ownership. Purchasing a car can be imperative to get to a job for many people. A small loan, when necessary, would be considered good debt.

The same argument would hold for student loans. Of course, we do not want students to be burdened by debt. But for many conscientious students, loans are the only way to achieve their academic dreams and set them up for a financially stable future.

Bad debt can derail your financial goals with high-interest rates. The main source of bad debt that comes to mind would be credit cards, especially when used for discretionary purchases. Credit cards have notoriously high interest rates, and many people are not good at managing the debt. If you are paying off your charges in full each month, then the interest rate does not come in to play. Other sources of bad debt would be many personal loans and payday loans. Payday loans can be extraordinarily damaging, with interest rates as high as 30%. These types of loans prey on economically disadvantaged people who need cash before their actual payday.

 

Assessing Your Needs

So, should you pay off your mortgage early? My personal point of view is that, if mortgage debt increases your net worth over time, and you are investing your funds elsewhere, it is good debt to have.

Paying off a mortgage early, for many people, would result in becoming ‘asset rich’ and ‘cash poor.’ I like to use the phrase ‘living in a piggy bank’ to describe having your money tied up in a primary home. You may need more money than you think in the future due to healthcare costs, inflation, family needs, etc., and if it is tied up as equity in your house, it may be difficult to access.

Also, many homeowners mistakenly think it is best to leave a debt-free house to their kids. In my experience, most ‘kids’ do not want their parents’ home or cannot afford the upkeep. Upon their parents’ death, they will sell the house quickly and pay off any mortgage on the property and keep the remaining proceeds.

If you have spent the last 30 years diligently paying your monthly mortgage and it is fully paid, that is something to be proud of. If you have purchased a property in the last 15 or 20 years, think carefully and weigh the pros and cons with a financial advisor before making a hasty decision.

 

Barbara Trombley is a financial planner with Wilbraham-based Trombley Associates Investment and Retirement Planning. Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Trombley Associates, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own, separate from this educational material.

Five Nonprofits Awarded $5,000 in Celebration of Liberty Bank’s 198th Birthday

By
Daily News

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — David Glidden, president and CEO of Liberty Bank and president of the Liberty Bank Foundation, announced that the foundation recently awarded five nonprofits with $5,000 each in recognition of the bank’s 198th birthday.

As part of Liberty’s birthday celebration on May 4, the team came up with a creative idea to provide ‘birthday gifts’ in the aggregate amount of $25,000 to five community organizations on behalf of the Liberty Bank Foundation.

Liberty teammates had the opportunity to vote on their favorite charity from a list of three nonprofits in each of the regions the bank serves: Central North, Central South, Eastern, Western, and Massachusetts.

Based on the final vote count, the following five nonprofits received a $5,000 donation from the Liberty Bank Foundation: House of Heroes (Hamden, Conn.), the Boys and Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley, Middlesex Habitat for Humanity, New London Community Meal Center, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

“At 198 years old, Liberty is the largest and oldest independent mutual bank in the country. So when we have a birthday celebration like we did on May 4, we always want to include our customers and communities to celebrate with us,” Glidden said. “What better rewarding and engaging way than asking our teammates to vote on the five deserving nonprofits? It made our 198th birthday a special one inside the bank and out in our communities.”

Basketball Hall of Fame Announces New Board Members

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced four new board members. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, executive director of the National Basketball Players Assoc. Foundation, was named to the board of governors. Delano Media Group Executive Chairman Todd Delano, former NBA head coach and player Vinny Del Negro, and Thomas Tull, chairman of both USIT Fund and Tulco Holdings, were named to the board of trustees.

“We are very pleased to be adding Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Todd Delano, Vinny Del Negro, and Thomas Tull as board members,” said Jerry Colangelo, board chair of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “Each new member brings unique perspectives which will be invaluable in supporting the Hall of Fame’s mission to promote and preserve the game.”

Board members serve as ambassadors of the Basketball Hall of Fame while also being responsible for preserving the fundamental mission and financial well-being of the Hall. The board is made up of individuals that work in or have worked in the game, as well as business leaders that have supported the game in Springfield or on a national or global level.

“I look forward to working closely with our new board members,” said John Doleva, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame. “We have a significant amount of investment coming to the Hall over the next few years, and the board’s input and guidance is critical to the success of our organizational goals.”

HCC Foundation Awards $304,000 in Student Scholarships for 2023-24

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Community College Foundation awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships to students for the 2023-24 academic year.

This year, the HCC Foundation awarded 259 scholarships worth $304,125 to 249 incoming, current, and transferring HCC students. Many students received multiple scholarship awards.

The HCC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that works to advance the college’s mission, vision, and values. Founded in 1968 as the Friends of Holyoke Community College in response to a devastating fire that forced the college to rebuild a new campus, the foundation now manages assets of more than $20 million, the largest community-college foundation endowment in Massachusetts.

An alphabetical list of all scholarship recipients and their awards can be viewed at hcc.edu/scholarships-2023.

Whittlesey Promotes Greg LaCasse to Partner

By
Daily News

HARTFORD, Conn. — Whittlesey, a leading tax and advisory services provider, announced the promotion of Greg LaCasse, CPA to partner.

“Greg’s promotion to partner recognizes the dedication, drive for excellence, and professional integrity he brings to the firm and his engagements,” Managing Partner and CEO Drew Andrews said. “We welcome our new partner to our leadership team and are confident that Greg’s insights and technical expertise will further propel our firm forward and enrich our capacity to provide our clients with outstanding value and service.”

LaCasse joined the firm in 2017 and has 30 years of experience in public and private accounting, including roles with the Big 4, as well as serving as chief financial officer for an international IT consulting firm. He is an active member of Whittlesey’s real-estate, construction, and manufacturing niche and specializes in providing tax and advisory services to both businesses and individuals, with a focus on working with clients in the professional service, medical, real-estate, retail, wholesale, and manufacturing and distribution industries.

LaCasse holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Central Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Hartford. He also pursues continuing professional education in taxation and business-advisory services. He is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Courting Opportunity Downtown

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

Late last month, Gov. Maura Healey announced that that the state will commit an initial $106 million toward the replacement of the Roderick Ireland Courthouse in Springfield, known to many as the ‘sick courthouse,’ and for obvious reasons.

The funding, represented in the next four years of capital-improvement plans, embodies the state’s first real commitment to replacing the tired, unhealthy structure, and is the next big step in a project that might ultimately cost a half-billion dollars.

The announcement came a few weeks after the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) issued a report identifying 11 properties in Springfield, one in West Springfield, and one in East Longmeadow, as potential sites for a new courthouse.

One of those sites is 50 State St., the location of the 47-year-old courthouse, where many illnesses, including Lou Gehrig’s disease, have stricken an inordinate number of courthouse employees.

It’s unclear whether the inclusion of 50 State St. on the list means the state is leaning toward rehabilitating the current structure — a massive and expensive undertaking, to be sure — or simply tearing it down and building a new courthouse on that site.

Either way, we hope the state will ultimately look in a different direction for a solution, but not too far.

Indeed, the courthouse project, while defined by, and instigated by, tragedy in the form of the number of people who have become sick while working in it, represents a huge opportunity for the city of Springfield.

Actually, two of them.

The first would be building a new courthouse and thereby revitalizing some vacant or underutilized property, preferably in the city’s downtown (more on why in a minute), while the second would be to redevelop the site of the current courthouse, a property across State Street from MGM Springfield in the heart of downtown.

The huge site, just a few hundred feet from I-91, holds enormous promise, with potential uses ranging from housing, which the city still desperately needs, to office to retail and hospitality. The development community would have no trouble finding some creative and impactful uses for the property.

As for a new courthouse, while the proposed sites in West Springfield (Riverdale Street) and East Longmeadow (Shaker Road) and some of those in Springfield (Allen and Cooley streets and Hendee Street, for example) hold promise, this courthouse really needs to be in downtown Springfield, and for several reasons.

For starters, downtown would directly benefit from the still-considerable foot traffic to the courthouse every day, far more than those other locations. Also, where courthouses go, lawyers follow — it’s a simple matter of logistics; lawyers and law firms need to be close (as in walking distance, preferably) to the place where they still conduct large amounts of business.

Each of the large office buildings in downtown Springfield (and many of the smaller ones) are home to law firms and individual lawyers. If the courthouse were to move to West Springfield or East Longmeadow or even Allen and Cooley streets, some of these lawyers would go with it. We say some, because the need to be in close proximity to the courthouse is not as crucial as it once was.

But moving the courthouse more than a few blocks from downtown would be a blow to the central business district at a time when it has already been negatively impacted by the pandemic and the trend toward remote work and hybrid schedules.

A new courthouse is still several years away, and much has to happen before it becomes reality, including further commitments from the state. As the process unfolds, we hope the state realizes not only the need to replace the ‘sick courthouse,’ but the need for Springfield to make the very most of its opportunity — or opportunities.

 

Colleges Can Still Seek Diversity

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

 

On June 29, while raising the bar on universities’ ability to consider race in admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected calls to overrule its affirmative-action precedents. Most importantly, the court left the door open for admissions offices to consider how race may have shaped an applicant’s life, affirming that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” 

In finding that Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions processes lacked “sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race,” the court’s ruling will undoubtedly require schools to reconfigure their policies. But the decision cannot be construed as an outright bar on race-conscious admissions. Key elements of the holistic admissions process for higher-education institutions remain in place. 

Throughout this challenge to Harvard’s policies, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) has represented Harvard alumni and students of color as friends of the court (amici), emphasizing how Harvard’s holistic admissions process has led to a diverse campus that benefits all students. 

LCR is unequivocally committed to eliminating systemic barriers that harm communities of color. Far too many colleges and universities offer preferential treatment in the admissions process to the family members of alumni (so-called ‘legacies’) and donors, which typically results in an unearned and unfair advantage for white applicants and takes away admissions slots that could otherwise go to highly qualified and deserving students of color. 

As institutions assess how the college admissions process will work moving forward, it is important to continue to invest in pipeline projects designed to dramatically expand access to higher education for students of color.

The Supreme Court’s ruling leaves open the door for colleges to use race-neutral alternatives to achieve diversity on campus, including recruiting based on income and socioeconomic background, utilizing criteria such as home and school zip codes, investing heavily in efforts to admit first-generation college students and to make them feel at home on campus, and guaranteeing admission to graduates with the best grade-point averages from each high school within the state where the college or university is located, as schools such as the University of Texas have already successfully implemented.

These programs provide a concrete and lawful path forward.

 

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal is executive director of Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights.

Picture This

By
Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]

 

Hooplandia Scores Big

The inaugural edition of Hooplandia saw thousands of basketball enthusiasts of all ages tip off on dozens of courts at the Eastern States Exposition — with featured games at the Basketball Hall of Fame — on June 23-25. The Northeast’s premier 3-on-3 tournament featured a visit from local legend Rebecca Lobo (top right); plenty of food, entertainment, and fun activities; and, of course, the tournament games, after which the champions in each division (like the girls team from Enfield pictured above) celebrated their victory. Pictured at right: Gene Cassidy (left), president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition, shares a moment during the festivities with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

 

local legend Rebecca Lobo

The Northeast’s premier 3-on-3 tournament featured a visit from local legend Rebecca Lobo

 

The girls team from Enfield

 

Gene Cassidy (left), president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

Gene Cassidy (left), president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition, shares a moment during the festivities with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

 

 

Executive Leadership Breakfast

 

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was the keynote speaker at the college’s sixth annual Executive Leadership Breakfast on June 27. More than 150 people attended the event and heard Driscoll speak about the administration’s vision for the Commonwealth and for Western Mass. “Governor Healey and I are committed to making Massachusetts more affordable, competitive, and equitable,” Driscoll said. “Together, we will move Massachusetts forward and deliver results for every region of our state, including Western Mass.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll pictured with Elms College President Harry Dumay

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll pictured with Elms College President Harry Dumay

 

Running with a Purpose

Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts held its annual spring 5K on June 3 at Western New England University. More than 1,000 girls participated in the event, along with their families, coaches, running buddies, and community members. Girls on the Run is a positive, physical-activity-based, youth-development program that uses running games and dynamic discussions to teach life skills to girls grades 3-8. During two 10-week programs each year, girls participate in lessons that foster confidence, build peer connections, and encourage community service while they prepare for an end-of-season, celebratory 5K event.

Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts

Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts

 

Commemorating Juneteenth

Juneteenth was recognized in numerous ways around Western Mass. this year.  (Photos by Old Sturbridge Village and Silver Photography)

Old Sturbridge Village presented activities

Old Sturbridge Village presented activities geared toward helping visitors better understand the day’s significance, including musical and poetry performances, an “Uncomfortable Truths” walking tour, storytelling, soul food, and more.

 

Juneteenth Concert Celebrating Freedom

The Springfield community came together for a flag raising at Court Square and then filled Symphony Hall to enjoy the first annual Juneteenth Concert Celebrating Freedom, featuring guest conductor Kevin Scott, Avery Sharpe and his quartet, the Extended Family Choir, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the orchestra’s musicians

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Brianna Pohler individually and p/p/a Layla Cruz v. Robert Willis, MD; Rachel Mick, CPNP; and Ludlow Pediatrics
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $150,000+
Filed: 6/5/23

Donald Dion v. North Star Pulp & Paper Co. Inc., Casella Waste Systems, and Sharon LeBlanc
Allegation: Defamation, interference with contractual or advantageous relations: $50,000+
Filed: 6/5/23

Kaitlyn Peters v. Olympia Beacon Square LLC
Allegation: Fraud: $500,000
Filed: 6/6/23

Giovanni Gonzalez, Charise Gonzalez, Xain Gonzalez, p/p/a Charise v. Eversource Energy, Eversource Energe Service Co., Eversource Gas Co. of Massachusetts, and Eversource LLC
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $3,078,000+
Filed: 6/7/23

Rose Entertainment LLC v. Dominic Kirchner, Damascus Holding LLC, and SR Commercial Realty Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of implied good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation and fraud in the inducement, negligence: $400,000
Filed: 6/7/23

Brian Cancel Torres v. Bob’s Discount Furniture LLC d/b/a Bob’s Discount Furniture
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $7,921.05
Filed: 6/8/23

Agenda

By
Agenda

Motor Maids Convention

July 11-13: Motor Maids Inc. will host its annual convention in Springfield. The Motor Maids were formed in 1940 when founders Linda Dugeau and Dot Robinson composed a list of 51 female motorcyclists who would become the charter members of an all-female club. In 1941, the American Motorcycle Assoc. issued the Motor Maids a charter. Membership has grown to a diverse group of 1,300 members across Canada and the U.S. The common threads that bind them are a passion for riding, promoting safe riding habits, and presenting the world with a positive image of women on motorcycles. Highlights of the convention include a Red Ribbon event, at which the club recognizes first-time conventioneers; the signature Dot Robinson Road Run, a timed road race with secret checkpoints; a parade in full uniform; and a closing banquet on Thursday, July 13. The parade will take place on Tuesday, July 11 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. It will start at Springfield Technical Community College Student Lot #1 at the corner of Pearl and Federal streets. It will proceed left on Federal Street out of the parking lot, going through the city and into Chicopee briefly, then back into Springfield. The route will wind through Forest Park and come out on Longhill Street. From there, it turns left on Main Street, right on East Columbus Avenue, right on State Street, and left on Federal Street, back to STCC Student Lot #1.

 

MOSSO Summer Concerts

July 23, Aug. 3: MOSSO (Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra) will present two chamber-music concerts this summer, one at the prestigious Sevenars Music Festival in Worthington on Sunday, July 23, and the second at the Longmeadow Adult Center on Thursday, Aug. 3. At Sevenars, the MOSSO Horn Trio (Beth Welty, violin; Sarah Sutherland, horn; and Elizabeth Skavish, piano) will perform the world premiere of “Triptych” for Piano, Violin, and Horn, a commissioned work by Max Mueller, in a program that also includes: Frédéric Duvernoy’s Trio No. 1 for Violin, Horn, and Piano; Trygve Madsen’s Trio, Op. 110 for Violin, Horn, and Piano; and Johannes Brahms’ Trio in Eb Major for Violin, Horn, and Piano. The Sevenars concert begins at 4 p.m. and is free, with donations requested at the door. For details, visit www.sevenars.org. The Keep It Fresh Quartet, an ensemble including MOSSO musicians Beth Welty, violin; Dani Rimoni, viola; Joel Wolfe, cello; and Jill Dreeben, flute, will perform on the lawn at the Longmeadow Adult Center, 211 Maple Road, Longmeadow, on Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. The program includes Gordon Jacob’s Four Fancies for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello; Mozart’s Duo for Violin and Viola in G, K. 423; Reger’s Serenade for Flute, Violin, and Viola, Op 141a; selected movements from Mozart’s Divertimento for Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 563; Mozart’s Quartet in D for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello; and additional pieces to be announced from the stage. The concert will be performed rain or shine, and will be moved indoors at the Adult Center if there is inclement weather. Tickets are free, but advance reservations are required. For details, call (413) 565-4150 (option 1), or visit www.longmeadowma.gov/149/adult-center.

 

Brew at the Zoo

Aug. 5: The Zoo in Forest Park will host its fifth annual Brew at The Zoo fundraising event from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event is ideal for both beer fanatics and animal lovers, combining craft-beer samples from local breweries with animal interactions. Attendees can also vote for their favorite home brews in a home-brew competition, listen to live music, play games, and enjoy food from various food trucks. VIP tickets are available for guests wanting an extra hour of sampling and more interactive encounters with animal ambassadors. The VIP hour runs from noon to 1 p.m. The zoo is focused on education, conservation, and rehabilitation and provides homes to animals that may not otherwise survive in the wild. All money raised goes toward the daily care of the 225-plus animals that call the Zoo their home. The zoo will be closed to the public on Aug. 5. Advanced tickets are required, and IDs will be checked at the door. Limited tickets are available. For a list of participating breweries and to purchase tickets, visit www.forestparkzoo.org/brew.

 

Jack Rome Memorial 5K

Oct. 7: Local canine celebrity Jack Rome, official greeter of Gary Rome Auto Group, who peacefully passed away last year, will now be memorialized with an annual 5K run/walk to benefit the Foundation for Thomas J. O’Connor (TJO) Animals. Sponsored by Gary Rome Hyundai and Western Mass News, the first annual Jack Rome Memorial 5K will take place at 10 a.m. at Forest Park in Springfield, and will be a family- and dog-friendly event. Visit runsignup.com/race/ma/springfield/jackromememorial5k to register. All funds raised will be donated directly to the Foundation for TJO Animals and will be used specifically for medical and veterinary care, emergency surgery, and rehabilitation services to help the animals find new, loving homes. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities or for more information, contact Dara Davignon, executive assistant to Gary Rome, at [email protected] or (413) 420-8049.

People on the Move

By
People on the Move
Michael Fox

Michael Fox

Michael Fox has been appointed dean of the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) at UMass Amherst, effective Aug. 15. Fox has been a member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2012, where he currently serves as director of the Virginia Tech School of Neuroscience, the endowed I.D. Wilson Chair in the Virginia Tech College of Science, and professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, a research-intensive institute on the health-sciences and technology campus of Virginia Tech. After beginning his undergraduate studies at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), Fox earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. in anatomy from Virginia Commonwealth University. He completed his post-doctoral training in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. Throughout his career, Fox has received numerous awards and honors, including both the Jordi Folch Pi Award and the Marian Kies Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry, and has served as a counselor for the American Society for Neurochemistry, on several leadership committees for the Society for Neuroscience, and as a reviewer and chair for National Institutes of Health review panels.

•••••

Kuhn Riddle Architects (KRA) announced the promotion of four key team members to leadership positions. Andrew Bagge has been promoted to associate/senior architect. He has a proven track record of delivering successful projects and will play a vital role in driving the firm’s design vision and fostering creative excellence. Thom Barry has been promoted to associate/senior architect. He displays outstanding leadership abilities and commitment to delivering exceptional results, and will optimize project-delivery processes and ensure the highest standards of quality and client satisfaction. Brad Hutchison has been promoted to senior architect. He shows deep attention to detail, remarkable dedication to his clients, and outstanding project-management skills. He will expand his technical proficiency and mentor staff in the latest building-science technologies and energy-efficient design practices. Karen Michalowski has been promoted to associate/senior interior designer. Her tremendous expertise in interior design, and her sensitivity and understanding of client needs and the ever-changing interiors market, will help to expand the firm’s market presence in interior design.

•••••

Elizabeth Dougal joined Bulkley Richardson as counsel in the Trusts & Estates department, where her practice incudes preparation and administration of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, personal-effects memorandum, durable powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, real-estate deeds, homestead exemptions, and small-business succession plans. For the past 19 years, Dougal ran a boutique legal practice providing clients with estate planning and related transactional work. She was also a consultant to estate, trust, and elder-care clients in several states through the Attorney Resource Center. She earned both a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, and a juris doctorate from Boston College.

•••••

Aimee Goddard

Aimee Goddard

Kristina Laplante

Kristina Laplante

Sara Dieters

Sara Dieters

Terry McConkey

Fifteen months after introducing its Client Advisory Team, HUB International New England announced the appointment of the personal lines directors: Aimee Goddard, director of Personal Lines – Operations; Kristina Laplante, director of Personal Lines – Sales; Sara Dieters, director of Personal Lines – Service; and Terry McConkey, director of Personal Lines – Specialty. Goddard has been in the insurance industry for over 32 years, starting her career in commercial lines before switching to personal lines in 1997. She spent 10 years of her career at Eastern Insurance, contributing to the company’s personal-lines growth and success. Having been with HUB since 2016, she has been promoted numerous times, to manager, director, regional director/senior vice president, and now to Operations director/senior vice president. With more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, Laplante has held various roles, providing her with extensive experience. She is committed to growing a sales team that is both customer-focused and driven to achieve results. A natural leader, her energy and enthusiasm inspires her team to strive for excellence, making them an asset to the organization. Having first started in banking, Dieters was introduced to insurance by a family friend, which proved to be an ideal fit, as she has now spent more than 16 years in the industry, including 10 years at HUB. She has been promoted numerous times over the years and is excited for this new opportunity. McConkey has worked for HUB for more than 35 years. She has held various roles in personal-lines service and leadership, including account manager, team leader, PL manager, PL specialty manager, and now Personal Lines director. She has a wealth of insurance knowledge and leadership experience and is excited to continue her positive impact in her new role. In addition, HUB congratulates the following employees who have been promoted to senior regional managers: Lisa Koehler, Partnership and Processing Teams; Patty Angell, Service and Remarket Teams; and Shirlee Capponcelli, Sales Team. Becky McLaughlin is moving into a new role as East Region director of Learning & Organizational Development.

•••••

1Berkshire announced the promotions of staff members Benjamin Lamb and Kristen Harrington in recognition of their achievements, contributions, and dedication to the organization and its initiatives throughout Berkshire County. Lamb has been promoted to vice president of Economic Development. This promotion follows five years of work helping to build the economic-development team and expand the 1Berkshire footprint of activities and overall work. Hired in 2018 as the Economic Development projects manager, he was promoted to director of Economic Development a short time later. In his new position, Lamb will continue to lead and expand the outreach of 1Berkshire through its economic development in Berkshire County. Harrington has been promoted to Finance & Administration coordinator, a title that reflects her new responsibilities in accounting and internal operations and as property liaison. Previously, she functioned as the accounting specialist for 1Berkshire, a position she had held since 2019. She joined the Berkshire Visitors Bureau as a finance associate in 2015, and a year later, in a merger resulting in the creation of 1Berkshire, Harrington was named accounting associate.

•••••

Country Bank announced four recent promotions. Jessica McGarry has been promoted to senior vice president, East Region Commercial Lending team lead, while Shantie Prashad, Cindy Saucier, and Blair Robidoux have been promoted to assistant vice presidents, Retail Banking. McGarry has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry and has been a commercial lender in the Worcester market for the past 10 years, with the entirety of her career spent in a community-bank setting. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Nichols College, received the Forty Under 40 designation in 2014 from the Worcester Business Journal, and was a member of the Leadership Worcester class of 2015-16. She also gives back to the community, currently serving on the board of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Worcester Business Development Corp. She remains active in volunteer opportunities through various organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Be Like Brit, and the Community Harvest Project. Prashad has more than 26 years of sales and leadership experience, most recently serving as the Retail Banking officer of Country Bank’s Park Avenue, Worcester location. She graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies in 2022 and is highly active in the Worcester community, serving on the board for the Learning First Foundation and the YWCA and as an ambassador for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Saucier has more than 20 years of banking and leadership experience, serving as the Retail Banking officer of the Charlton Banking Center. She graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies in 2021, is a board member and vice chair for the Central Mass South Chamber of Commerce, and serves with various nonprofits and committees within the Charlton community. Robidoux currently leads the West Street Banking Center and has more than 17 years of experience in the retail division. She has held various roles throughout her tenure at Country Bank and graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies in 2019. Throughout her career, she has been an integral part of the community within her market. She serves on the board of the Ware Business and Civic Assoc. Country Bank also congratulates Dianna Lussier, vice president of Risk, on her recent graduation from the American Bankers Assoc., Stonier Graduate School of Banking, which is the industry’s preeminent graduate banking program. Graduates receive both a Stonier diploma and a Wharton leadership certificate.

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Karen Rousseau

Karen Rousseau

Karen Rousseau, dean of the School of Health Sciences at American International College (AIC), has been recognized as a member of the Commonwealth Heroines class of 2023 by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW). This state-established body is responsible for assessing the status of women in Massachusetts and making recommendations to enhance access to opportunities and promote equality. Each year, in collaboration with state legislators, the commission acknowledges and celebrates remarkable women who have made significant contributions to their organizations and communities. Rousseau was nominated by state Sen. Jacob Oliveira as the honoree in his Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester district. She was among 126 women across the state honored during the MCSW’s 20th-anniversary celebration at the Massachusetts State House on June 23. With a career spanning four decades, Rousseau excelled as a practicing registered nurse and has dedicated more than 30 years to nursing education. Her areas of expertise include maternal/newborn and pediatric nursing, as well as nursing management. Before holding the position of dean of the School of Health Sciences at AIC, she served as director of the Division of Nursing and contributed as a professor in both the undergraduate and RN-to-BSN programs.

•••••

Anna Bognolo will serve as the Greenfield Public Library’s new library director beginning July 10. She is taking over for Ellen Boyer, who is retiring after leading the library since February 2012. Bognolo earned her bachelor’s degree, three master’s degrees, and a post-graduate diploma while attending the University of Rochester, the University of Toronto, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, the Scuola Vaticana di Biblioteconomia in Rome, and Simmons University in Boston. Prior to entering the field of librarianship, she worked for Christie’s Auctioneers in London and Rome. She then spent much of her career in library services, working for nearly a decade at Springfield Technical Community College as the reference outreach and technical services librarian. In that role, she developed a sound knowledge of the Central and Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing consortium’s inner workings and the services it provides to member libraries. In September 2017, Bognolo was named library and archive director at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield. She oversaw the day-to-day operation of the library, provided instructional support to students and teachers, and led the expansion of the school’s archive. She has also worked as a substitute librarian at the Jones Library in Amherst and the Greenfield Public Library, as well as in a part-time capacity at the Boyden Library of Deerfield Academy.

•••••

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a leading labor and employment law firm, recently welcomed Kelley Mantz as a summer associate. Mantz attends Western New England University School of Law and will enter her third year this fall. After graduating from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2019, she assisted employers of all sizes as a technical recruiter. While doing so, she worked closely with human-resources professionals to identify hiring goals and implement strategies for meeting those goals. Since entering law school, Mantz has worked for a law firm in Connecticut and participated in the Small Business Clinic, where she assisted local small to mid-sized entrepreneurs in the Springfield area with legal matters, including employment matters.

•••••

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) board of directors approved a long-planned leadership transition under which President and CEO John Regan will step down at the end of 2023 and be succeeded by Chief Government Affairs Executive Brooke Thomson. To support a smooth transition, Regan will remain in the CEO role through the end of the year, and Thomson will begin as president effective immediately. During his tenure, in tandem with the leadership team and board, Regan, 62, has guided AIM’s public-policy work, served as a voice for the employer community, expanded the award-winning AIM HR Solutions business, built a comprehensive team with the skills necessary to support AIM’s 3,400 member organizations, made AIM a leader on diversity, and assured that members had access to timely support during the pandemic. He plans to pursue new opportunities as a consultant, advisor, and board member. Before joining AIM’s leadership team more than four years ago, Thomson, 44, was a member of the AIM board. In her current role, she has been responsible for designing and advancing AIM’s policy agenda and strengthening relationships with elected officials and business leaders on Beacon Hill and throughout the Commonwealth, while ensuring that employer needs are represented at every level of the public-policy-making process. Thomson is committed to expanding the progress AIM has made in diversifying its membership, reflecting statewide business-community needs, and advancing policies that support both economic competitiveness and economic opportunity for the people of Massachusetts. She previously served as vice president of Government Affairs for AT&T and is a former senior official with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook

Tighe & Bond Named Employer of the Year

WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond, a Northeast leader in engineering, design, and environmental consulting, received the 2023 Employer of the Year Award from the Boston chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS Boston). The award honors an organization within the field of architecture, engineering, and construction for creating a supportive and engaging company culture and prioritizing the well-being of its employees. The award specifically recognizes commitment to inclusion and diversity in the workplace; initiatives and programs supporting the organization’s culture and community; outreach efforts to support the local communities, such as volunteering or fundraising activities; and support of marketing, business development, and communications staff. Prioritizing mental and physical wellness led to the creation of Tighe & Bond’s wellness incentive program, which offers staff the chance to participate in firm-organized activities. The company encourages employees to further their education through incentives like student-loan repayment and tuition reimbursement. The firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion plan outlines goals, strategies to achieve those goals, and a plan for action through its DE&I committee. The Make a Difference program encourages employees to volunteer their time and talents for the benefit of local communities. Since its inception in 2017, Tighe & Bond employees have logged more than 15,000 volunteer hours.

 

UMass Amherst Takes Silver in Collegiate Culinary Competition

AMHERST — A team of chefs from UMass Amherst brought home silver at the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) collegiate competition on June 16 during the 29th annual Chef Culinary Conference held on the UMass Amherst campus. The UMass Dining team featured chefs Anthony Jung, Jeff MacDonald, Max Melendez, and Kyle Bigelow. The chefs tested their skills against 12 other four-person college and university culinary teams from across the U.S., including Cornell University, the University of North Texas, Rice University, and Penn State University. Each team was required to prepare a four-course meal including a buffet-style item to be served to the judges and competing teams. Teams had two hours to prepare and serve the first three courses and one hour for the buffet item.

 

Florence Bank Pledges $50,000 to Grow Food Northampton

FLORENCE — Florence Bank announced it has made a $50,000 sponsorship pledge to Grow Food Northampton to help provide healthy, local food to area residents who are food-insecure at a time when federal food benefits are scaling back to pre-pandemic levels. Helen Kahn, manager of the Grow Food Northampton Tuesday and winter farmers markets, said the sponsorship will help residents who receive federally sponsored food support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) double their purchases of local food through Grow Food’s SNAP Match program year-round. The summer and winter farmers markets are an important source of locally grown, healthy food for low-income families. When SNAP customers purchase tokens at the market, Grow Food Northampton provides an extra $10 of tokens free through SNAP Match. Because these tokens can be spent only at the markets, the program directly benefits the farmers as well. The outdoor Tuesday markets are held every Tuesday behind Thornes Marketplace from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. from April 18 to Nov. 7. From November through March, the market moves inside to the Northampton Senior Center and is held biweekly.

 

Smith Brothers Insurance Selected for the Hanover’s President’s Club

NORTHAMPTON — Smith Brothers Insurance, which has an office on Main Street in Northampton, was named to the Hanover Insurance Group’s President’s Club, an elite group of independent insurance agencies from across the country. Smith Brothers also has offices in Milford and Oxford. The Hanover partners with a select group of 2,100 independent agents nationwide, and only 5% are recognized with this distinction. This is the ninth consecutive year Smith Brothers Insurance has been selected as a participant of the Hanover’s President Club. The Hanover’s President’s Club agencies are recognized for delivering meaningful value to their customers with enhanced service and deep industry knowledge.

 

MCLA Receives $1 Million to Fund New BSN Program

NORTH ADAMS — The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) awarded Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) $1 million to fund the college’s new bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program. The grant will support the first two years of the program by supplementing its curriculum development and funding the cost of a simulation lab coordinator; nursing journals, textbooks, and testing software; and Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing fees. MCLA’s BSN program received approval from the Board of Registration in Nursing in January and approval from the Board of Higher Education in March. The program will launch in the fall of 2024 and graduate its first class in 2027. It is the first BSN program in Berkshire County and the only four-year nursing program in the rural tri-state area of Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. The curriculum will integrate MCLA’s liberal-arts foundation with required courses in the humanities and natural and social sciences to complement theoretical and clinical courses in professional nursing. Nursing faculty will utilize a simulation lab to provide hands-on learning experiences for students in a controlled environment.

 

Country Bank Pledges $30,000 to Junior Achievement

WARE — As part of its support for Junior Achievement (JA) of Western Massachusetts, Country Bank has pledged $30,000 to the organization. For more than 100 years, JA of Western Massachusetts has provided economic education and financial-literacy programs to the youth of Western Mass. and Vermont, impacting thousands of young people each year, opening their minds to their potential, and preparing them for life after graduation. Beginning in fall 2021, JA will offer a 21st-century environment for young people to engage with JA programs, including career exploration, helping students identify fulfilling career options and make wise decisions pertaining to post-secondary education; innovation and leadership, helping students expand their thinking and skill development and preparing future leaders, entrepreneurial thinkers, and innovators; and financial education, providing students with the skills and knowledge that will allow them to make informed and effective decisions with all their financial resources.

 

Polish National Credit Union Opens in East Longmeadow

CHICOPEE — Polish National Credit Union (PNCU) hosted a grand reopening celebration for its East Longmeadow Office, 232 North Main St., on June 16. In December 2021, PNCU acquired Premier Source Federal Credit Union (PSFCU) and expanded into the East Longmeadow market. Founded in 1921, Polish National Credit Union provides a full range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. The organization operates eight Western Mass. branches, plus a satellite office at Chicopee Comprehensive High School; PNCU Insurance Services; PNCU Financial Services; and a Commercial Loan Office located at 94 Main St., Westfield.

 

Whittlesey Employees Volunteer During Annual Community Day

HARTFORD, Conn. — Whittlesey continued its long-standing tradition of community service through a range of projects across Western Mass. and Connecticut during its annual Community Day. For more than a decade, Whittlesey volunteers have stepped away from their desks to participate in various projects that directly affect the communities where they live and work. This year, more than 100 Whittlesey team members collaborated with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, the Bushnell Park Foundation, and the Diaper Bank of Connecticut in a day dedicated to creating positive and tangible impacts within local communities. At the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, teams engaged in general park clean-up efforts, including spreading mulch, planting new flower beds, and repairing and painting fences. Whittlesey’s Community Day is part of a series of initiatives the firm undertakes throughout the year, emphasizing its core belief in the power of community engagement. The firm takes pride in its enduring partnerships with diverse nonprofit organizations and the real-world impacts they create together.

 

Market Mentors Celebrates 20 Years, Opens Florida Location

SPRINGFIELD — Market Mentors, LLC, the region’s largest marketing, advertising, and public-relations agency, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary with refreshed branding, a streamlined website (marketmentors.com), and a second location in Jupiter, Fla. A woman-owned business, the agency was established in 2003 by Longmeadow resident Michelle Abdow, who initially focused on media buying for clients throughout New England. After two decades of growth and expansion, Market Mentors is now a fully integrated marketing agency serving clients with global reach. It represents regional, national, and international brands and offers all the services its clients need in-house, thanks to a team of generalists and specialists who possess a depth and breadth of experience across the marketing spectrum, providing communications solutions via strategic marketing and public-relations plans, integrated advertising campaigns, content creation, data-based media buys, creative execution, and website design and development.

 

Cedar Chest Partners with Grow Food Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — For the second year in a row, Cedar Chest, the anchor store in Thornes Marketplace on Main Street in downtown Northampton, will partner with food-justice organization Grow Food Northampton to ensure that community members grappling with food insecurity and hunger are able to access healthy, local farm foods all year long at Grow Food Northampton’s farmers markets, Tuesday Market, and Winter market. The Grow Food Northampton SNAP Match program allows community members who use SNAP (formerly called food stamps) to more than double their purchase of nutritious local produce and other farm products at the weekly Tuesday Market farmers market behind Thornes Marketplace, and in the winter at the Winter Market at the Northampton Senior Center. The ‘give $10, get $10’ promotion allows Cedar Chest customers to donate $10 to Grow Food Northampton’s SNAP Match program and, in turn, receive a $10 gift card to spend at Cedar Chest.

 

 

STCC, Western New England Strengthen Partnerships

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and Western New England University (WNE) continue to work together to offer access from a two-year degree to baccalaureate and graduate education. According to a renewed joint admissions agreement signed by leadership of the two institutions on June 13, students enrolled at STCC will continue to have an opportunity to transfer to Western New England upon completion of their two-year associate-degree program. The joint admissions program is open to students who are enrolled in an STCC program that meets requirements for transfer to WNE. The programs listed on the Western New England website include biology, business, chemistry, computer science, criminal justice, cybersecurity, engineering, mathematics, and programmer.

Incorporations

By
Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Alina Express Inc., 23 Capua Lane, Agawam, MA 01001. Ilhom Mamedov, same. Transportation services.

CHICOPEE

Elecon Inc., 40 Asinof Ave., Chicopee, MA 01013. Michael Benoit, same. Electrical contractor.

Exclusive Livery Inc., 680 Meadow St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Robert Mackay, 81 Farmington St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Transportation services.

EASTHAMPTON

Friends of Nashawannuck Pond Inc., 21 Taft Ave., Easthampton, MA 01027. Hillary Ballantine, same. The Nashawannuck Pond steering committee is an all-volunteer group of city residents whose mission is to provide guidance on ways to preserve the pond, maintain its health, and educate the public about the pond.

GREENFIELD

Sevenfoursixseven,Inc., 17 Arbor Dr., Greenfield, MA 01301. John Doleva, same. Car wash.

LEE
Family’s Contracting & HVAC Inc., 156 West Park St., Unit 5, Lee, MA 01238. Steven Piazzo, same. HVAC, construction, and telecommunications services.

LUDLOW

Xpress Services Inc., 192 East St., Ludlow, MA 01056. Kadam Desai, 112 Ducharme Ave., Chicopee, MA 01013. UPS store.

PITTSFIELD

Akimbo Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Kimberly Bohart, 18728 Bernardo Trails Dr., San Diego, CA 92128. Real-estate investments.

Billy J’s Elm Street Java Inc., 216 Elm St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. William Jones, 595 Tyler St., Plainfield, MA 01201. Coffee shop.

Damasca Landscaping Corp., 20 Barker Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Eric Damasca, same. Landscaping business.

SOUTHWICK

Pinnacle Excursions Inc., 1 Partridge Lane, Southwick, MA 01077. George Zantouliadis, same. Travel consulting services.

SPRINGFIELD

CH Specialty Services MA, P.C., 819 Worcester St., Suite 1, Springfield, MA 01151. Dr. Adnan Dahdul, same. Professional medical services.

Marte Tax and Services Co., 53 Stebbins St., Springfield, MA, 01109. Doricel Marte, same. Tax-preparation services.

WESTFIELD

Friends of Barnes Airport Inc., 112 Airport Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Alexander Colby, 42 Willow Brook Lane, Westfield, MA 01085. Corporation established to promote and carry out the goodwill and spirit of business and general aviation within the community through civic, charitable, educational, and benevolent support.

WILBRAHAM

Morrison Media Corp., 792 Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Sean Morrison, same. Media-management services.

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2023.

BELCHERTOWN

Berkshire Henna & Handicrafts
107 Pondview Circle
Vanessa Concordia Dang

Chubby’s Belchertown Inc.
165 South St.
Anthony Damato

Consulting for the Journey
191 East St.
Robert Zucker

Creative Dance
1 Stadler St.
Kathryn Scherr

Homecare for Independent Living Inc.
82 West St.
Kathleen Sullivan

Mill Valley Vet
224 Mill Valley Road
Jesse Sugrue

Rustic Fusion
746 Bay Road
Christopher Snow

School Sprouts Educational Garden
185 Summit St.
Hope Guardenier

Utley Exteriors
631 Warren Wright St.
Stephen Utley

 

HOLYOKE

FTF
475 Beech St.
Ronny Authier

GoldNDiamonds
50 Holyoke St.
Lavinia Oprea

In Three Consulting
203 Ontario Ave.
Michael Dodge

Jan Transport
36 Hampden St.
Juan Morales

Lane Bryant Brands OPCO LLC
50 Holyoke St.
Lane Bryant Brands OPCO LLC

Maranatha Cleaning
183 Sargeant St.
Marcos Colon, Felicita Colon

Premium Brands OPCO LLC
50 Holyoke St., #E262
Premium Brands Services

QA Maintenance
98 Lower Westfield Road
Frances Russell

Unity Financial & Insurance
330 Whitney Ave., Suite 300
Robert Houle

Rejuven8 Painting and Powerwash
116 Waldo St.
Anel J. Serrano

Springfield Grocery
845 Main St.
Muhammad Khawaja

Western Mass Appliances LLC
2291 Northampton St.
Jason Brazee, Donald Dumais

LEE

Berkshire Gifts
970 Cape St.
Sandeep Verma

Claire’s #6634
290 Premium Outlets Blvd.
Suzanne Stoddard

Edwin Landscaping
460 East St.
Edwin Mizgquiri

Kiddleton Inc.
17 Premium Outlets Blvd.
Atsushi Iyoda

Northeast Paving
60 Willow Hill Road
Eurovia Atlantic Coast LLC

R.E. Leigh
245 East Center St.
Rubielle Nejaime

PALMER

Alfred’s Properties
1013 Maple St.
Alfred Tucker

Alpha Home Improvement
132 River St.
James Peterson

Dean P. Browne Home Improvement
203 State St.
Dean Browne

Hayden Marshall Equipment
13 Homestead St.
Robert Fowler

Once Upon a Memory Treasures
1444 North Main St.
John Havens Jr., John Havens Sr.

RJN Handyman
10 Elizabeth St.
Ryan Novia

Salon Trendz
1005 Church St.
Teresa Thompson

Sean’s Xscape Property Maintenance
150 Boston Road
Sean Duhamel

VCA Palmer Animal Hospital
1028 Thorndike St.
VCA Animal Hospital Inc.

PITTSFIELD

Alexis’s Landscaping
165 King St.
Cesar Lagunas

All Stars Barber Shop
308 Tyler St.
184 Dalton Ave.

Anthony’s Auto Sales
1420 East St.
Joseph Renzi

Bonnie Brae Campground
108 Broadway St.
Decoweaver Enterprises LLC

Bostonfun
184 Doreen St.
Shuang Liu

By Design Landscaping
58 Garland Ave.
Anthony Quinto

Center Staged
14 Caratina Ave.
Christine Traversa

General Computing Solutions
132 Lincoln St.
Kouakou Koffi

Grumpy Gardener
78 Howard St.
Kamaar Taliaferro

K&A Cleaning
328 Benedict Road
Kimberly Strattman, Amanda Strattman

Pixley’s Cleaning Service
61 Alden Ave.
Lisa Anne Pixley

Plant Food NJ
82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100
Plant Food Co. Inc.

Psychic Studio
152½ South St.
Elizabeth Stevens

Seddon Business Services
27 Dewey Ave.
Barbara Seddon

Simpler Home Loans
82 Wendell Ave.
DTJS Financial Services Inc.

Smoke and Soul Blvd.
45 South Merriam St.
Tommy and Teta LLC

Tully Services
58 Oak Hill Road
Mark Tully

Vazquez Auto Detailing
25 West Housatonic St.
Herman Vazquez

WESTFIELD

Alexis Rose Photography
144 Susan Dr.
Alexis Puza

B&D Pallet Building & Industrial Supply
997 Western Ave.
Joseph Musco

Dunkin’ Donuts
475 Southampton Road
Emanuel Sardinha

Ild Construction
3 Lozier Ave., Unit 2
Ildar Khuzhakhmetov

KG Pickup Manufacturing
9 Michael Dr.
Kenneth Gustafan

MK Galaxy Gutters
111 Roosevelt Ave.
Mark Krasnowski

NextGen Construction Inc.
301 North Elm St., Suite 2
NextGen Construction Inc.

RSG Specialty LLC
94 North Elm St., Unit 311
Ryan Specialty LLC

Silverfoxx Photography
23 Sherwood Ave.
Wendy McCann

A Typical Curio
425 West Road
Jennifer Christensen

Woodfeather Flutes
104 Park River Dr.
David Olszewski

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Atlantis Fresh Market #518
884 Westfield St.
Jimmy Kochisari

Babylon
716 Union St.
Asaad Al Juboori

BK Builders
59 Norman St.
Brian Kolodziej

Card Conservatory
350 Dewey St.
Alan Kazimov

Ezee Mart
662 Kings Highway
Mohamed Afraz

Fine Fettle Dispensary
175 Memorial Ave.
Benjamin Zachs

GameStop #789
935 Riverdale St.
Diana Jajeh

Hidden Gem 2
10 Elizabeth St.
Joseph Switzler

Infinity Auto Rental Inc.
74 Baldwin St.
Joseph Gallo

Long Radio
1102 Riverdale St.
Matthew Imbriglio

Lynn Property Services
848 East Elm St.
Samuel Lynn

MCI Dion Hair
33 Westfield St.
Melanie Dion

Nescor
148 Doty Circle
Sharon Tariff

Online Fabric Store
333 Park St.
Mayer Kahan

Print Design
150 Front St.
Miguel Rivera

Violinist’s Footsteps Studio
47 Hill St.
Liudmila Emciuc

Wedding Dreams
311 Elm St.
Ievgenii Gusiev

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Arcouette, Jessika J.
a/k/a Pecoy, Jessika Jean
61 East Longmeadow Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/26/2023

Bobbi L. Perkins, LMHC
Perkins, Bobbi L.
198 State St., Unit 1
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Burnor, Robert A.
Burnor, Michell S.
a/k/a Smith-Burnor, Michelle
180 Main St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Date: 05/23/2023

Catterton, Larry Roland
Catterton, Virginia
296 Beacon St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/02/2023

Ciuro Resto, Angel
23 Beauregard St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/17/2023

Consentino, Jimmy
112 Barber St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/01/2023

Darin, Diane
15 Higgins Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/01/2023

Delgado, Sally
15 Trafton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/19/2023

Dennis, Stephen M.
Dennis, Jennifer A.
58 Amherst Ave.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Domaingue, Mark S.
188 Ashley St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Goodhue, Melinda Michelle
5 Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/22/2023

Hastings, Spencer R.
34 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/24/2023

Herene, Denise M.
75 Atwood Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Janik, Stephen M.
40 Clark St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/24/2023

Kennedy, Edward P.
26 Queen Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/18/2023

Kenyon, Debrah L.
128 Wales Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Korbut, Joe-Ann K.
a/k/a Karbut, Joeann K.
65 Beauchamp Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/30/2023

Lapite, Raymond Joseph
13 Ferry Hill Road
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/02/2023

LaRochelle, David J.
27 Hancock St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/30/2023

Lopez, Liz Roxana
a/k/a Lopez Mendez, Liz Roxana
120 Wilber St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/26/2023

Merrett, John G.
130 Eastern Ave., #306
Lynn, MA 01902
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/19/2023

Merrill, Steven D.
24 Maple Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/23/2023
Nikitchuk, Aleksandr
Nikitchuk, Olena
PO Box 461
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Nye, Eric P.
78 Main St.
Blandford, MA 01008
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/23/2023

Ozyurt, Baris
37 Howard St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/18/2023

Pike Jr., Christopher A.
545 Old Dana Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/25/2023

Presho, Robert A.
Presho, Sarah .
14 Pinney St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/20/2023

Preston, Charles J.
98 Wellington St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023
Rasmussen, Migdalia
131 Maple St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/22/2023

Reyes, Marianna
29 Llewellyn Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/25/2023

Rosa, Kyle
84 Whitmun Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/01/2023

Sarrazin, Michele A.
37 Lincoln Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Date: 5/25/2023

Schmidt, Judith A.
72 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/31/2023

Shapiro, Heather M.
a/k/a OBriskie, Heather Marie
25 Hazen St.
Sprigfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/26/2023

Stebbins, Timothy
5 Jewett Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/17/2023

The Vintage Barn
Allen, Lisa Ann
365 Bardwell St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/29/2023

Williams, Allyson
52 Governor Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Date: 05/31/2023

Zalucki, Jamie Heather
1151B Elm St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 05/30/2023

Real Estate Transactions

By
Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BERNARDSTON

453 Brattleboro Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Steven Beckwith
Seller: Clyde E. Beckwith
Date: 06/08/23

77 West Mountain Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $268,200
Buyer: Jeffrey S. Deck Int.
Seller: Joanne E. Rose
Date: 05/31/23

CONWAY

102 Delabarre Ave.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Erica K. Goleman
Seller: Donald L. Walker
Date: 05/31/23

186 Hoosac Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Emma Golonka
Seller: Herbert L. Sanderson
Date: 06/08/23

95 Main St.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $274,900
Buyer: Maggie Russell-Ciardi
Seller: Karen A. Ferrandino
Date: 06/01/23

DEERFIELD

Stillwater Road (off)
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: John G. Savage Realty Corp.
Seller: Megg Churchill
Date: 05/31/23

16 West St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Mary F. Barber
Seller: Ronald Gnatek
Date: 05/31/23

GILL

131 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $361,000
Buyer: Aaron Winston
Seller: Debra K. Bailey
Date: 06/05/23

GREENFIELD

49 Arnold Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Shanti Douglas
Seller: Monique Frigon
Date: 06/09/23

17 Beech St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Jeremy T. Ebersole
Seller: Mazor, June R. (Estate)
Date: 06/06/23

658 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Colin Diesh
Seller: Todd Beckham
Date: 05/31/23

292 Deerfield St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Michael P. Sirois
Seller: Eds Enterprises LLC
Date: 06/01/23

24 East Cleveland St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Laura J. Jackson
Seller: Linda J. Woodall
Date: 06/01/23

193 Elm St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Deirdre A. Gleason
Seller: Adil F. Albehadili-Alboade
Date: 05/31/23

18 Ester Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Miles Warneau
Seller: Carrie H. Dubino
Date: 05/31/23

106 Franklin St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Emma J. Baker
Seller: T. B. Hyde
Date: 05/31/23

200 Green River Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jacob Leff
Seller: Debra A. Nicolai
Date: 06/05/23

71-73 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: LCS Realty LLC
Seller: Laurence H. Klein
Date: 06/07/23

463 Main St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Community Young Men’s Christian
Seller: Zion Korean Church Greenfield
Date: 06/02/23

20 Prentice Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Evlyn Ashong-Katai
Seller: Ruby Realty LLC
Date: 06/02/23

HAWLEY

17 Ashfield Road
Hawley, MA 01339
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Andrew Deady
Seller: Donna Sumner
Date: 06/02/23

LEVERETT

292 Shutesbury Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Tyler D. Shute
Seller: Kris A. Wanczyk
Date: 06/02/23

LEYDEN

731 Greenfield Road
Leyden, MA 01301
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Tyler J. Helbig
Seller: Thomas E. Glabach
Date: 06/07/23

79 South Schoolhouse Road
Leyden, MA 01301
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Janell Howard
Seller: Linda M. Fregeau
Date: 05/30/23

MONTAGUE

6 8th St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $162,750
Buyer: Louisa R. Khettab
Seller: Newrez LLC
Date: 06/01/23

6 Carlisle Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $371,275
Buyer: Neil A. Rones
Seller: D. G. Sr. & N. B. Selover IRT
Date: 05/31/23

3 Dell St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Michael C. Berg
Seller: Ryan M. Doton
Date: 06/09/23

425 Federal St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $441,000
Buyer: Hannah L. Rachootin
Seller: 425 Federal Street LLC
Date: 06/01/23

23 G St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Ryon W. Bourdon
Seller: Amanda L. Nash
Date: 06/01/23

Millers Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Z & K Inc.
Seller: Arlene V. Johnis RET
Date: 06/07/23

32 Turnpike Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Walter Kleeberg
Seller: Rodney J. Demers Int.
Date: 06/08/23

28 Vladish Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Daniel T. Ryan
Seller: Daniel T. Ryan
Date: 06/05/23

19 West Main St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Keyedrya Jacobs
Seller: Honor Arnold
Date: 06/02/23

ORANGE

245 Brookside Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sean Coffin
Seller: Dodge Contracting LLC
Date: 05/30/23

54 Hamilton Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: George P. Forte
Seller: V&J Real Estate Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

143 Hayden St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Emily L. Melvin
Seller: Go America LLC
Date: 06/09/23

81 Intervale Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Mei L. Pratt
Seller: Lomassonwulkan Funding TR
Date: 05/31/23

64 Whitney St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Inherited Property Solutions LLC
Seller: Fournier, Clifford J. (Estate)
Date: 06/05/23

64 Whitney St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Bethany N. Vincent
Seller: Inherited Property Solutions LLC
Date: 06/05/23

WARWICK

11 Revere Hill Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $324,500
Buyer: Matthew S. Baldelli
Seller: Mark A. Vieira
Date: 05/30/23

55 South Holden Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Abhijit V. Kamerkar
Seller: Nan R. Hunt
Date: 06/07/23

737 Wendell Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Disa Pratt
Seller: Justine Buckley
Date: 06/09/23

WHATELY

2 Grey Oak Lane
Whately, MA 01373
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Stephen J. Hart
Seller: Lauren K. Hnath
Date: 06/01/23

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

47 Clifton Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Mario C. Sotolotto
Seller: Thomas J. Doody
Date: 05/30/23

84 Elizabeth St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: George D. Ward
Seller: Clifford J. Prestia RET
Date: 06/09/23

121 Elm St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Dumitru Moroianu
Seller: Maria L. Breault
Date: 06/06/23

23 Halladay Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Joseph Hannon
Seller: Steven J. Wetmore
Date: 06/01/23

1031 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Behavioral Health Network
Seller: Reubben Fontanez
Date: 06/06/23

7 Morningside Circle
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Chantal M. McGill
Seller: Laura H. Ewing
Date: 06/05/23

71 Norman Ter.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Justin Clayfield
Seller: Andri Zhyhaniuk
Date: 06/07/23

269 North St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Aaron C. George
Seller: Frances A. Benoit
Date: 06/09/23

127 Silver St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Corey Winiarski
Seller: Diane Guazzaloca
Date: 06/08/23

42 South St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: William Lund
Seller: Heather Whitney
Date: 06/09/23

CHICOPEE

12 Arlmont St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Dmitriy Petlyakov
Seller: Tsunami RT
Date: 05/31/23

116 Bostwick Lane
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Steven Mailloux
Date: 06/06/23

57 Bourbeau St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Michael Anderson
Seller: Michele L. Niec
Date: 05/31/23

313 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Sandeep Singh
Seller: Luis S. Sousa
Date: 06/01/23

71 Church St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ardsley Realty LLC
Seller: Paul J. Shea RET
Date: 05/31/23

52 Clarendon Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $246,500
Buyer: Talal M. Hamad
Seller: Albert A. Lafleur
Date: 06/09/23

110 Cyman Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Our Lady Angels Province
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop Springfield
Date: 05/31/23

79 Dayton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Tara K. Tessier
Seller: Henry F. Tessier
Date: 06/01/23

109 Dayton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Catherine E. Galster
Seller: Patricia M. Wingate
Date: 06/07/23

574 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Armindo P. Machado
Seller: John Garcia
Date: 06/01/23

193 Fairview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Fnvcs LLC
Seller: Aarya Krishna Two LLC
Date: 06/08/23

521 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Iglesia Pentecostal
Seller: Denise Nowak
Date: 06/02/23

1201 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Vaycheslav Foksha
Seller: Andrey Foksha
Date: 06/08/23

20 Harding St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Maribel Rivas
Seller: Rene J. Iglesias
Date: 06/09/23

21 Harrington Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Baljit Sharma
Seller: Bernice M. Skorka
Date: 05/31/23

103 Huntington Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Janice F. Legnard TR
Seller: Ethier, Penny A. (Estate)
Date: 06/06/23

25 Hyde Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Nawar S. Tifour
Seller: Joanne M. Marshall
Date: 05/31/23

36 Jackson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Anastasia Stigers
Seller: Michael A. Ciecko
Date: 06/09/23

22 Lord Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Seller: John A. Winiarski
Date: 06/06/23

97 Nash St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Moises Rodriguez
Seller: Daniel Letendre
Date: 06/08/23

79 Olko Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Thomas Gruszkos
Seller: Jeffrey M. Carter
Date: 05/30/23

72 Paradise St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $192,821
Buyer: Edward Cianci
Seller: Lakeview Loan Servicing
Date: 05/30/23

70 Pine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Van Ly
Seller: Kardon Enterprises LLC
Date: 06/09/23

31 Riverpark Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Jose L. Lopez
Seller: Heriberto Flores
Date: 05/30/23

157 Ruskin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Yanar Albakaa
Seller: Ali S. Younes
Date: 06/01/23

224 School St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $133,755
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Warren J. Smith
Date: 06/05/23

57 Willwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Roberto Rivera-Negron
Seller: Mass Pike LLC
Date: 06/09/23

EAST LONGMEADOW

13 Acorn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Jordan L. Cohen
Seller: Dominic Kirchner
Date: 05/31/23

247 Allen St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Nancy M. Wheeler
Seller: Elizabeth Bond
Date: 06/06/23

6 Bayne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Cara A. Dunn
Seller: Sarah Roos
Date: 06/02/23

18 Bayne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Karen Amato
Seller: Sandra Wainwright
Date: 06/09/23

119 Colony Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $491,000
Buyer: Robert M. Mack
Seller: Nicholas R. King
Date: 05/31/23

12 Forbes Hill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Jeffrey A. Dalessio
Seller: Feeney Ft
Date: 05/31/23

32 Greenwich Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $451,000
Buyer: Marta A. O’Shea
Seller: Keith K. Noble
Date: 05/30/23

90 Hampden Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Knox Trail RT
Seller: Phillips, Judith A. (Estate)
Date: 06/09/23

40 Kingman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Lauren B. King
Seller: Laro Albert P. (Estate)
Date: 06/01/23

166 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Christopher Sheehan
Seller: Joseph B. Hutchison
Date: 05/30/23

432 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Olivia Migacz
Seller: Christine Vogel
Date: 06/02/23

19 Powder Hill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Ebrahim N. Ghazali
Seller: Robert T. Roy
Date: 05/30/23

188 Westwood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Nico Santaniello
Seller: Custom Home Development Group LLC
Date: 06/09/23

HAMPDEN

89 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Michael V. Barba
Seller: Jesse Theophilopoulos
Date: 05/31/23

9 Oak Knoll Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Rebecca Leclair
Seller: Linda R. Chabot
Date: 06/07/23

HOLYOKE

4 Dunn Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $252,500
Buyer: Karalaur Properties LLC
Seller: 4 Dunn RT
Date: 06/06/23

753-761 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $888,563
Buyer: Holyoke SF 2 I LLC
Seller: International Immobiliare LLC
Date: 06/09/23

765 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $888,563
Buyer: Holyoke SF 2 I. LLC
Seller: International Immobiliare LLC
Date: 06/09/23

771-773 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $888,563
Buyer: Holyoke SF 2 I. LLC
Seller: International Immobiliare LLC
Date: 06/09/23

232 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $247,345
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: John R. Treworgy
Date: 06/05/23

44 Hampton Knolls Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Western Mass. Training Consortium
Seller: Abel FT
Date: 05/31/23

3 Hawthorne Lane
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $575,413
Buyer: SM & WMB -Terwillliger
Seller: Elizabeth L. Atkins
Date: 06/08/23

364-366 Hillside Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Rebecca Thomas
Seller: Todd M. McDermott
Date: 06/09/23

34 Knollwood Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Karen L. Blanchard
Seller: Rachid Sidki
Date: 06/09/23

68 Lawler St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Arielle A. Booker
Seller: Wayne Versace
Date: 06/05/23

920 Main St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: SJS Colon Enterprises LLC
Seller: Holyoke River Inc.
Date: 06/09/23

155 Mountain View Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $365,500
Buyer: Bridgette O. Sullivan
Seller: Michael A. Grabowski
Date: 06/06/23

1780 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Nolan
Seller: 1780 Northampton St RET
Date: 05/31/23

167 Oak St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Angel G. Franco
Seller: John Gutowski
Date: 06/06/23

15 Rhode Island St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Mark A. Nejame
Seller: Charlotte A. Strong
Date: 06/09/23

LONGMEADOW

51 Belleclaire Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Custom Home Development Group LLC
Seller: David G. Clarke
Date: 05/31/23

88 Briarcliff Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $680,000
Buyer: David Watkins
Seller: Neil B. Epstein
Date: 06/01/23

16 Elmwood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $379,000
Buyer: Daniel K. Killen
Seller: Marylynn Ireland
Date: 06/01/23

9 Green Willow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: CT Family Homes LLC
Seller: John M. Friedson
Date: 05/31/23

76 Greenacre Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Erik Provost
Seller: Michael A. Drish
Date: 06/06/23

252 Kenmore Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Joel K. Beck
Seller: Jeffrey Magee
Date: 06/02/23

812 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Angelo P. Dejesus-Dimaano
Seller: Michael Chen
Date: 06/02/23

71 Massachusetts Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $325,500
Buyer: Lisa Garrity
Seller: Mary A. MacDonnell
Date: 06/08/23

180 Meadowbrook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $296,000
Buyer: Alicia Hanifin
Seller: Steven R. Cartney
Date: 06/06/23

27 Rosemore St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Cecilia Tran
Seller: Jared D. Young
Date: 05/30/23

77 South Park Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Seller: Stephanie Wardrop
Date: 06/01/23

77 South Park Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $352,250
Buyer: Naylor Nation Real Estate LLC
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 06/09/23

94 South Park Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Sydney Denault
Seller: Elaine Meara
Date: 06/09/23

47 Willow Brook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $739,900
Buyer: John T. Doherty
Seller: Carlo A. Sarno
Date: 06/01/23

28 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: John F. Dalsey
Seller: Dennis E. Coffey
Date: 06/01/23

LUDLOW

12 Autumn Ridge Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $608,000
Buyer: Kristie A. Ford
Seller: Arthur Ralph G. TR
Date: 06/05/23

10 Birch St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Marie Pecor
Seller: William A. Leblanc
Date: 06/07/23

29-31 Brimfield St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: 29-31 Brimfield St. Ludlow
Seller: Ashley K. Van Eeghen TR
Date: 06/09/23

175 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Dacruz
Seller: Marguerite R. Surprenant
Date: 06/01/23

885 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Gregory Mcneal
Seller: Daniel E. Haluch
Date: 06/02/23

23 Daisy Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: David Martin
Seller: Kristie Burdick
Date: 06/02/23

1068 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Michael Fraga
Seller: Raul G. Fraga
Date: 06/02/23

43 Edgewood Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Edward J. Cauley
Seller: Dianna Douches FT
Date: 05/31/23

4 Fontaine St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Taylor N. Brown
Seller: Mary A. Forni
Date: 06/01/23

171 Kendall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $317,500
Buyer: Brandon C. Oliveira
Seller: Dnepro Properties LLC
Date: 05/31/23

197 Miller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $389,900
Buyer: James Thompson
Seller: Jill McCarthy-Hill
Date: 05/31/23

46 Reynolds St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $286,500
Buyer: Maranda M. Richardson
Seller: Matthew A. Hill
Date: 05/31/23

285 State St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: TKJM LLC
Seller: 2014 Cachucho FT
Date: 06/05/23

291 State St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: TKJM LLC
Seller: 2014 Cachucho FT
Date: 06/05/23

293 State St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: TKJM LLC
Seller: 2014 Cachucho FT
Date: 06/05/23

83 Stivens Ter.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $314,500
Buyer: Luis A. Rodriguez
Seller: Donald J. Fonner
Date: 06/02/23

8-10 Wedgewood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Kevin M. Lavigne
Seller: Lawrence F. Army
Date: 06/09/23

191 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Hajer S. Brak
Seller: Partyka Partners LP
Date: 06/01/23

MONSON

48 Brimfield Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Georgianna D. Melendez
Seller: Franco Bruno
Date: 06/05/23

21 Wilbraham Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Jennifer Yekel
Seller: TM Properties Inc.
Date: 06/06/23

MONTGOMERY

75 New State Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $556,000
Buyer: Dallas S. Deogburn
Seller: Joyce E. Lutat
Date: 06/01/23

PALMER

1036 Central St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $324,000
Buyer: Alvaro F. Castillo Dolmo
Seller: BD Construction LLC
Date: 06/01/23

4195 High St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Pablo De La Rosa
Seller: Karina C. Levesque
Date: 05/30/23

39 Knox St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Jinxiang Ren
Seller: CNC Management LLC
Date: 06/09/23

2006 Oak St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Terri Bigda
Seller: Tyler Bigda
Date: 06/01/23

2018 Pleasant St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Paul Jones
Seller: Robert W. Linehan
Date: 05/31/23

1024 School St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: James V. Coronity
Seller: Coronity, Frances R. (Estate)
Date: 06/06/23

4 Walters Way
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Robert W. Linehan
Seller: Kelly Slate
Date: 05/31/23

SPRINGFIELD

68 Abbott St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jesus S. Rivera
Seller: Sheila Coon
Date: 06/02/23

1201 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Roberto Cruz
Seller: Joseph C. Hannon
Date: 06/01/23

16 Amity Court
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Aleah L. Haygood
Seller: Bedrosian, Samuel (Estate)
Date: 06/08/23

41 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Chris M. Rodriguez-Otero
Seller: Waiwai RT
Date: 06/06/23

518-520 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Carlytom Veillard
Seller: Chhath Keo
Date: 06/07/23

22 Audley Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Zachary D. Douville
Seller: Andrea J. Steflano
Date: 05/30/23

97 Avery St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Mayowa A. Samuel
Seller: Torres, Franklyn (Estate)
Date: 06/07/23

323 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Sebastien Alberi
Seller: Laceyann R. Nelson
Date: 05/30/23

855 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Panther Development LLC
Seller: Angelina M. Cava
Date: 05/31/23

1130 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $1,384,769
Buyer: Car Properties LLC
Seller: Gerald W. Nannen
Date: 06/02/23

32 Bridle Path Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $343,000
Buyer: Kayla Collins
Seller: Patrick Darby
Date: 06/02/23

15 Bronson Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Paul H. Schmelz
Seller: Mahan, Helen Z. (Estate)
Date: 06/02/23

34 Brunswick St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: De Leon Holdings LLC
Seller: Joseph Berenkrantz
Date: 06/09/23

20 Burlington St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Wilton P. Veras
Seller: Antonio Calvanese
Date: 06/09/23

160 Canterbury Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $442,000
Buyer: Shawna Motley
Seller: David H. Johnson
Date: 06/01/23

744-746 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Kelnate Realty LLC
Seller: Ajn Rentals LLC
Date: 06/06/23

144 Cherry St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Carlos E. Benitez
Seller: Vaycheslav Foksha
Date: 05/31/23

138 Colton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Roosevelt Amanfo
Seller: Springfield Ventures RT
Date: 05/31/23

14-16 Commonwealth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Vu Nguyen
Seller: Binh Nguyen
Date: 05/31/23

70 Connecticut Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Yamilette Lopez-Perez
Seller: Thomas J. Gruszkos
Date: 05/30/23

41 Daytona St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Kishana U. Alexander
Seller: Alice Baiyee
Date: 05/31/23

138 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $136,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Carolyn Y. Jackson
Date: 06/05/23

83 Derryfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Kevin O’Neil
Seller: Molly M. Burke
Date: 06/08/23

Drake St. (ES)
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $1,384,769
Buyer: Car Properties LLC
Seller: Gerald W. Nannen
Date: 06/02/23

18 Druid Hill Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Karidys Cabrera
Seller: Andrew P. Johnson
Date: 06/06/23

23 Eldert St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Ahearn
Seller: Federal National Mortgage Association
Date: 06/06/23

175 Fiberloid St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Joseph L. Torres
Seller: Brianna L. Bretta
Date: 05/31/23

76 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Elvis Presinal
Seller: Jose D. Juarez
Date: 06/08/23

158 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Edwan Alzuhairi
Seller: Henri J. Desplaines
Date: 06/09/23

55 Gralia Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $290,200
Buyer: Devon Wilkerson
Seller: Jake T. Belanger
Date: 05/31/23

21 Hampden St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Flowers Real Estate LLC
Seller: 21-23 Hampden Street Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

23 Hampden St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Flowers Real Estate LLC
Seller: 21-23 Hampden Street Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

53 Homestead Ave.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Northeast Asset Mgmt. LLC
Seller: Donald S. Young
Date: 06/06/23

18 Hunter Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Chenevert Properties LLC
Seller: Lester C. McDonald
Date: 06/05/23

65-67 Joseph St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Lemuel J. Suriel
Seller: Christine H. Lazarus
Date: 05/30/23

137 Kimberly Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Anthony J. Hernandez
Seller: Antonio Hernandez
Date: 06/02/23

34 Kopernick St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Campagnari Construction LLC
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop Springfield
Date: 06/02/23

102 Larkspur St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Matthew Ward
Seller: Patrick M. McCarthy
Date: 06/05/23

34-36 Leete St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Justo Pagan
Seller: Luis Galarza
Date: 06/02/23

25 Lively Lane
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Erin Orourke
Seller: Jamar J. Croxen
Date: 05/30/23

236-240 Locust St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,371,433
Buyer: Holyoke SF 2 I LLC
Seller: IMS Realty Corp.
Date: 06/09/23

45 Loring St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $293,000
Buyer: Williana Fede
Seller: AAD LLC
Date: 06/08/23

30 Louis Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Eric S. Story
Seller: Audrey H. Piubeni
Date: 06/08/23

45 Lyman St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: 45 Lyman St. Investor LLC
Seller: 45 Lyman Street LLC
Date: 06/07/23

46-48 Malden St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $366,000
Buyer: Marcos Urena
Seller: Fad Investment Group Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

76 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Umigel R. Sanchez
Seller: Vito C. Resto
Date: 05/31/23

78 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Samuel B. Sharpe
Seller: Vito C. Resto
Date: 05/30/23

82 Marengo Park
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Magalie Guerrier
Seller: 82 Marengo Park LLC
Date: 06/07/23

23 Mary St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Richton & Wynne LLC
Seller: John M. Friedson
Date: 06/01/23

18-20 Medford St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Daniel Defoe
Seller: Home LLC
Date: 06/02/23

79 Newhouse St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Thao Phan
Seller: Joseph E. Luna-Torres
Date: 05/31/23

372-374 Orange St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Dora Y. Morales
Seller: Van Ly
Date: 06/08/23

38 Oxford St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Nicholas P. Sears
Seller: Joan M. Seelig RET
Date: 05/30/23

42-44 Palmer Ave.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jakeen Preston
Seller: Irma Calvillo
Date: 05/31/23

605 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Charlette E. Gentry
Seller: Foy, James H. (Estate)
Date: 06/08/23

34 Pearl St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Faith United Corp.
Seller: S. K. RT
Date: 05/31/23

37 Pembroke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Teresa M. Vacca
Seller: Ibrahim Aljashaam
Date: 06/02/23

116 Piedmont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Edilio R. Rodriguez Lopez
Seller: Carranza, Marian Leona (Estate)
Date: 05/31/23

278 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Foley Capital LLC
Seller: Segel, Ina Sara (Estate)
Date: 06/02/23

35 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Darlenys L. Gonzalez
Seller: Yamilex Vega
Date: 06/01/23

145 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $297,000
Buyer: Wakeish Bryan
Seller: Northeast Asset Mgmt. LLC
Date: 06/09/23

288 Quincy St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Flora Hernandez
Seller: KMAK LLC
Date: 05/31/23

33-35 Rittenhouse Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Ana Hernandez
Seller: Viettrung Dang
Date: 06/07/23

5 Rose Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Edgewood Beach LLC
Seller: Edward F. Corcoran RET
Date: 05/31/23

145 Samuel St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Angelica Rivera
Seller: Gilbert Rodriguez
Date: 06/06/23

222 Spikenard Cir.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Troy Remillard
Seller: Jeremiah A. Begley
Date: 06/09/23

11-15 Standish St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Reubben Fontanez
Seller: Aida Garcia
Date: 06/06/23

1219 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $1,100,000
Buyer: LSH Investment LLC
Seller: Maria Vanegas
Date: 06/09/23

80 Steuben St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Richton & Wynne LLC
Seller: Guadalupz M. Friedson
Date: 05/30/23

31 Thompson St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Sathina Brooks
Seller: Good Living Property LLC
Date: 06/06/23

393 Tiffany St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Rolando Melendez
Seller: Obrien, Claire A. (Estate)
Date: 06/09/23

110 Treetop Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Christine H. Lazarus
Seller: Nelson Santos
Date: 05/30/23

28 Van Buren Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Dylan Wade
Seller: Strategic Homes Inc.
Date: 06/09/23

15 Warriner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Visionary Homes LLC
Seller: Eric T. Hillman
Date: 06/08/23

303-305 Water St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Jennyfer Torres
Seller: Targaryen RT
Date: 06/05/23

68 Whittier St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Christopher L. Rodriguez
Seller: Holly L. Williams
Date: 05/31/23

30 Winnipeg St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Dreamwake Homes Inc.
Seller: B9 Industries Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

205 Winton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Lissette Grimaldi
Seller: Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Date: 06/06/23

24-26 Wolcott St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Juan C. Crespo
Seller: Trentan S. Williams
Date: 06/02/23

SOUTHWICK

17 Gargon Ter.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Justin M. Herbert
Date: 06/05/23

13 Great Brook Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Daniel T. Meggison
Seller: Elizabeth J. Fiore
Date: 05/31/23

46 North Longyard Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Preston F. Haynes-Bruno
Seller: Joseph F. Baltronis
Date: 06/07/23

WALES

42 Main St.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $419,150
Buyer: Marlisa R. Miller
Seller: Susan K. Gagne
Date: 06/07/23

87 Main St.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Phyllis Guerrier
Seller: William Deforge
Date: 06/05/23

31 Stafford Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $328,000
Buyer: Paul Skvirsky
Seller: Lawrence F. Army
Date: 06/07/23

WEST SPRINGFIELD

34 Belle Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Skyspec LLC
Seller: No Limit Assets LLC
Date: 06/06/23

454 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Danielle A. Brown
Seller: Chad W. Chapman
Date: 06/01/23

117 Bridle Path Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Tiberiu Poshtaru
Seller: James Labranche
Date: 05/30/23

97 Buckingham Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Megan Barcomb
Seller: Jane Chapman
Date: 06/02/23

42 George St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Lawrence R. Phillips
Seller: Laurie M. Phillips
Date: 05/31/23

29-31 Merrick St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Ahmed Aswad
Seller: RCD 2 Acquisition TR
Date: 06/07/23

54 Norman St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Palpum Raw LLC
Seller: CWABS Inc.
Date: 06/06/23

65 Ohio Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Christy Szafranski
Seller: Pedro L. Ruiz-Montes
Date: 06/02/23

64 Upper Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Corey Belcher
Seller: Deborah A. Kelmel
Date: 06/09/23

WESTFIELD

36 Bailey Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Sergey Nikitchuk
Seller: Ilya Khotsin
Date: 05/31/23

36 Belleview Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Rebecca Waite
Seller: Neylon, Elizabeth A. (Estate)
Date: 06/02/23

63 Beverly Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Evan Fontaine
Seller: Daya Darjee
Date: 05/30/23

39 Birchwood Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Lidia Rodriguez
Seller: Sue A. Chojnowski
Date: 06/09/23

36 Bowdoin St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $372,600
Buyer: Emily Crowe
Seller: Cara A. Merriam
Date: 06/02/23

244 City View Blvd.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Laurent Dufault
Seller: Dolinski, David M. (Estate)
Date: 05/31/23

11 Harrison Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Jesenia E. Marquez
Seller: Sherry L. Gallese
Date: 06/05/23

3 Hillcrest Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $378,000
Buyer: Michelle L. Colina
Seller: Marc Franceschet
Date: 06/09/23

8 Joyce Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $124,000
Buyer: Susan M. Hoskin
Seller: Hoskin, William R. (Estate)
Date: 06/02/23

227 Old County Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Kyle Callender
Seller: City Of Westfield
Date: 06/07/23

11 Sunbriar Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $391,000
Buyer: Amer Jasem
Seller: Ptaszek, Bette A. (Estate)
Date: 06/07/23

64 Westwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: William E. Terry
Seller: Stephen H. Irving
Date: 06/09/23

WILBRAHAM

1 Conifer Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Michael Tetreault
Seller: Claudia E. Considine
Date: 05/31/23

3 Danforth Farm Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: David L. Joyce
Seller: Dan Roulier & Assocs. Inc.
Date: 06/07/23

408 Dipping Hole Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Nicole A. Lapointe
Seller: Walter C. Dansereau
Date: 05/30/23

20 Joan St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Jovanie Ortiz
Seller: Setnes, Ann A. (Estate)
Date: 06/09/23

122 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: HRD Holdings LLC
Seller: Gary R. Desrosiers
Date: 06/09/23

11 Southwood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Megan Kuszewski
Seller: David J. O’Brien
Date: 06/05/23

1220 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: John Montoya
Seller: Broderick Jr., John M. (Estate)
Date: 06/06/23

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

2 Campbell Court
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Jiaqing Wu
Seller: Harriet Pollatsek
Date: 06/09/23

 

167 Glendale Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $465,500
Buyer: Raymond G. Hamel 2020 TR
Seller: Daniel Cook
Date: 05/30/23

202 Harkness Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: New Directions
Seller: Hawkness Road TR
Date: 05/31/23

19 Harlow Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Wiley Dole
Seller: Justin Ching
Date: 06/05/23

44 Jeffrey Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: 44 Jeffrey Lane LLC
Seller: Robert A. Snope
Date: 06/07/23

41 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: SNJ Properties LLC
Seller: Wright, Elizabeth M. (Estate)
Date: 05/31/23

694 Main St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $825,000
Buyer: Bch Realty LLC
Seller: Virginia B. Jackson
Date: 06/01/23

374 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $591,964
Buyer: West Range Amherst LLC
Seller: Theta Mu Housing Corp.
Date: 06/06/23

17 Orchard St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Trustees Of Amherst College
Seller: American Structured TR
Date: 06/09/23

16 Stagecoach Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Mia E. Martin
Seller: Janice D. Ratner
Date: 06/09/23

BELCHERTOWN

46 Azalea Way
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Eric Reda
Seller: David J. Popowich
Date: 05/31/23

8 Diane Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Robert H. Adair
Seller: Diane M. Lemire
Date: 06/01/23

121 Franklin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Nicholas North
Seller: Expedio Group LLC
Date: 06/09/23

31 Fuller St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Shannon Fields
Seller: Danielle M. Dushane
Date: 06/02/23

8 Howe St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $409,000
Buyer: Robin Tutt
Seller: George R. Synan
Date: 05/30/23

223 North Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Mudather Y. Abdelrahman
Seller: George N. Ngugi
Date: 06/01/23

174 Old Enfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Julianne Jablonski
Seller: Pamela R. Korzeniewski
Date: 06/02/23

116 Pine St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $501,900
Buyer: Timothy P. Hitchens
Seller: Thomas A. Slonka
Date: 06/05/23

56 Sabin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Edward A. Fuller
Seller: Phyllis Ferriter
Date: 05/31/23

297 Stebbins St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Stephen Gaughan
Seller: Ryan M. Partridge
Date: 06/05/23

31 Sycamore Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $564,900
Buyer: Danielle Gianino
Seller: JN Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 06/09/23

EASTHAMPTON

5 Dragon Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $526,500
Buyer: Andrea D. Jontos
Seller: Elizabeth McEneaney
Date: 06/09/23

18 Knight Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $476,000
Buyer: Marcela M. Papariley
Seller: Michael H. Wayne
Date: 06/02/23

39 Pine Hill Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $467,500
Buyer: Melahat S. Ipekci
Seller: Kam C. Boon
Date: 05/31/23

GRANBY

119 Morgan St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Christie A. Grabherr
Seller: Kimberley J. Kibbie
Date: 06/07/23

Philip Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Michelle N. Walkowiak
Seller: Danny Cropanese
Date: 06/09/23

HADLEY

7 Lawrence Plain Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Erik Drumgool
Seller: Edward J. Kosakowski
Date: 06/09/23

Middle St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $153,500
Buyer: Simak Properties Inc.
Seller: Lynne K. Edwards
Date: 05/31/23

234 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $2,520,000
Buyer: M-M2 Holdings LLC
Seller: Vidoc Corp.
Date: 05/31/23

347 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $2,196,867
Buyer: Car Properties LLC
Seller: Real Estate Oil Change LLC
Date: 06/02/23

8 West St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $813,000
Buyer: Richard H. Rudolph
Seller: Peter R. Root
Date: 05/31/23

HATFIELD

3 Primrose Path
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Josef Barszcz
Seller: Stephen P. Gaughan
Date: 06/05/23

HUNTINGTON

3 Pleasant St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $282,500
Buyer: Sara Carrier
Seller: Robin D. Hendrix
Date: 06/08/23

NORTHAMPTON

15 Dickinson St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $567,000
Buyer: Brooke Adams
Seller: Adb-2 Properties LLC
Date: 06/02/23

77 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Tomroc Holdings LLC
Seller: Susan M. Hathaway
Date: 06/01/23

237 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $569,000
Buyer: Kelly R. Baxter
Seller: MS Homes LLC
Date: 06/09/23

64 Greenleaf Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $1,175,000
Buyer: Jamaa Family Realty NT
Seller: Jennifer W. Eremeeva
Date: 06/07/23

26 Northern Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Sovereign Builders Inc.
Seller: Living City Properties Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

56 Northern Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Sovereign Builders Inc.
Seller: Northern Avenue Homes Inc.
Date: 06/01/23

297 Riverside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $780,000
Buyer: James G. Wilson
Seller: Nu-Way Homes Inc.
Date: 06/09/23

8 View Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Sovereign Builders Inc.
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 06/01/23

42 Walnut St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Aaron Knapp
Seller: Karl E. Knapp
Date: 06/01/23

PELHAM

10 Bray Ctourt
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Sharon L. Schuster
Seller: Karen E. Ribeiro
Date: 06/01/23

11 Bray Court
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $459,500
Buyer: John Johansen
Seller: Alan S. Task
Date: 05/31/23

28 Butterhill Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $612,000
Buyer: Pookles NT
Seller: Thomas P. Moliterno
Date: 06/08/23

PLAINFIELD

106 Pleasant St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jedediah Smith
Seller: Richard G. Smith
Date: 06/01/23

SOUTH HADLEY

70 Amherst Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Lisa F. Iglesias
Seller: Kristen E. Georgia
Date: 06/08/23

22 Ashton Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Amanda Neikirk
Seller: M. C. Schwartzer TR
Date: 06/09/23

57 High St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Paul L. Legare
Seller: Donald T. Legare
Date: 06/05/23

2 Hillcrest Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: William E. Noland
Seller: Bernice J. McNiff
Date: 06/07/23

203 Lathrop St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Christine A. Piekarski
Seller: Rebecca J. Leclair
Date: 06/07/23

29 Searle Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Benjamin Carlson-Sypek
Seller: Kathryn Peverley
Date: 06/09/23

44 Spring St., Ext.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Patrick M. Greaney
Seller: Marek Strojvus
Date: 06/09/23

SOUTHAMPTON

26 Montgomery Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Pamela Gois
Seller: David L. Law
Date: 06/02/23

144 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $377,500
Buyer: Benjamin A. Graham
Seller: Kathleen M. McBride
Date: 06/07/23

227 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Hunter R. Laurin
Seller: Ronald H. Laurin
Date: 05/31/23

WARE

9 Castle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Jeff Lovely
Seller: Adilson Lima
Date: 06/05/23

16 Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ramon Olan
Seller: Patricia A. Wilmot
Date: 06/01/23

16 Clifford Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Destiny L. Alvarado
Seller: Martin H. Greany
Date: 05/31/23

2 High Meadow Lane
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $436,500
Buyer: Michael Aiesi
Seller: Jody Stankiewicz
Date: 05/31/23

180 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Michael Cleveland
Seller: Scott Finne
Date: 06/09/23

152 North St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Jonathan Mahoney
Seller: Michael P. Aiesi
Date: 05/31/23

9 Richfield Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Ronald Cooney
Seller: Darryl A. Goudreau
Date: 05/31/23

Webster Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Topwits Inc.
Seller: Cynthia Turek
Date: 06/09/23

WORTHINGTON

91 Radiker Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $359,000
Buyer: Cold Creek Farm LLC
Seller: Melissa A. Celli
Date: 06/01/23

213 Williamsburg Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Dana Greene
Seller: Joseph Horning
Date: 06/02/23

Building Permits

By
Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2023.

CHICOPEE

Chicopee Falls Polish Home
27 Grove St.
$6,000 — Roofing

Chicopee Provision Co. Inc.
19 Sitarz Ave.
$162,656.04 — Repair exterior wall, repair roof to new exterior wall

SRF LLC
1345 Burnett Road
$9,000 — Reside exterior of building

 

HADLEY

Walter Czajkowski
135 Mt. Warner Road
N/A — Install rooftop solar array

Research Park LP
100 Venture Way
N/A — Demolish five walls, install new office doors and entrance doors

LENOX

Randall Grimmett
169 Undermountain Road
$35,880 — Reside back portion of barn

NORTHAMPTON

6 Crafts Avenue LLC
202 Main St.
$1,500 — Reface sign for Animal Instincts

ALD Noho LLC
271 Main St.
$2,000 — Non-illuminated sign for Mexicalito Taco Bar

Christ United Methodist Church
271 Rocky Hill Road
$10,000 — Illuminated ground sign

City of Northampton
20 Florence St.
$20,341 — Insulation and weatherization

City of Northampton
42 Gothic St.
$7,288 — Insulation and weatherization

City of Northampton
274 Main St.
$5,711 — Insulation and weatherization

City of Northampton
265 Prospect St.
$9,000 — Powerwash, repair, and apply GacoFlex

City of Northampton
20 West St.
$44,746 — Insulation and weatherization

Herrick Mill LLC
1 Short St.
$48,900 — Convert office space to apartment

NIS Building LLC
109 Main St.
$6,500 — Repair front steps

Smith College
20 Elm St.
$3,943,039 — Roofing on Smith College Museum of Art and Hillyer Hall

Smith College
186 Elm Street
$337,415 — Rebuild existing masonry, exterior staircase

PITTSFIELD

The Clock Tower Associates Inc.
75 South Church St.
$35,500 — New walls, doors, finishes, and kitchen sink

The Clock Tower Associates Inc.
75 South Church St.
$21,000 — Install partition walls and new doors for tenant renovation

Tian Fang
119 Elm St.
$13,986 — Roofing

Four Forty Nord Strasse LLC
436 North St.
$2,000 — Passageway between two units

Pittsfield Community Music School Inc.
30 Wendell Ave.
$20,000 — Roofing

SPRINGFIELD

City of Springfield
1395 Allen St.
$1,734,000 — Install replacement windows and doors with adjacent finishes at Arthur T. Talmadge Elementary School

City of Springfield
120 Ashland Ave.
$2,053,000 — Install replacement windows and doors, adjacent stone panels, and alter two bathrooms into one at Alfred M. Glickman Elementary School

City of Springfield
52 Rosewell Blvd.
$1,567,000 — Install replacement exterior windows and doors at Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School

City of Springfield
91 School St.
$1,423,000 — Install replacement windows and doors at Parent and Community Engagement Center

J&N Salema Family LP
350 Cottage St.
$280,000 — Alter interior space and exterior façade at Dunkin’ Donuts

Miles Morgan LLC
106 Lincoln St.
$7,000 — Repair two support columns and header on rear fire escape

Penelope LLC
785 Page Blvd.
$48,350 — Alter interior space for use change from business to mercantile

Springfield Investors LLC
1105 Boston Road
$6,500 — Erect new storage area partition to sale area and DBI doors

Springfield Museums Corp.
95 Chestnut St.
$16,319 — Install fire alarm

UMass Amherst, Town of Hadley Sign New Cooperation Agreement

By
Daily News

AMHERST — The town of Hadley and UMass Amherst have signed a new strategic partnership agreement emphasizing open communication and joint efforts to deal with mutual challenges and opportunities.

The agreement, effective July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027, includes an annual $85,000 payment to Hadley to support community needs identified as community concerns through its planning processes, town meeting, or other areas.

The agreement calls for annual meetings between the UMass Amherst chancellor and town officials, and regular meetings between the University Relations staff and the town administrator and other town officials, to communicate information of mutual concern.

“The university deeply values its relationship with the town of Hadley, and I am pleased that, with this agreement, we will continue to work together on issues of mutual interest,” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said.

Hadley Select Board member Molly Keegan added that “the university is an important partner to the town of Hadley, and we value that relationship. We will continue to look for opportunities to collaborate in everyone’s best interests.”

This agreement extends and affirms the commitment by the university and the town to pursue economic-development opportunities, particularly around student needs and university research. The university will continue to offer the town partnership opportunities with faculty and projects that help assess economic impact.

The parties also agreed to work together to mitigate the effects of Route 9 traffic, share information on long-range planning, and explore issues of available and affordable housing for students, staff, and families relocating to the area.

Western New England University Small Business Legal Clinic Accepting Applications

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University Small Business Legal Clinic is accepting applications from entrepreneurs and small-business owners seeking legal assistance for the fall 2023 semester.

Under faculty supervision, law students assist clients with legal issues, including choice of entity, employment policies, contract drafting, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property issues relating to trademark applications and copyright.

This is a free service available to local businesses that might not have the resources to obtain such services otherwise. The clinic has assisted more than 500 small businesses since it opened.

“The clinic is a great resource for entrepreneurs who lack the finances to retain an attorney,” Associate Clinical Professor of Law Robert Statchen said. “By using the clinic’s services, businesses can avoid problems by getting legal issues addressed early and correctly. It also provides students with a great opportunity to get real-world experience.”

Click here for more information or to complete an online application. The clinic requests that small-business owners submit their applications by Tuesday, Aug. 15. Applications received after that date will be considered if additional resources are available.

Students will begin providing services in mid-September. For more information, call the Legal Clinic at (413) 782-1469 or email Marie Fletcher, Clinical Programs administrator, at [email protected].

Mandati Jewelers Opens at Holyoke Mall

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Family-owned Mandati Jewelers celebrated its grand opening at Holyoke Mall on June 28 on the shopping center’s lower level near Center Court. The 2,423-square-foot space is the custom jeweler’s first Massachusetts location.

“We are so grateful to have Mandati Jewelers investing in Holyoke, investing in the Holyoke Mall, and providing luxury jewelry to the Greater Holyoke community,” said Jordan Hart, executive director of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce.

Mandati specializes in certified diamonds, watch and timepiece brands, necklaces, charms, and other fine jewelry. The store is offering 30% to 50% off gold and diamonds and 25% off watches through July 31.

The New York jeweler’s custom jewelry clientele includes Buffalo Bills defensive end Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr. and rappers Conway the Machine, Westside Gunn, and Benny the Butcher. Holyoke Mall is Mandati’s fourth store and joins locations in Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse.

Nominations Sought for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2023

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — In the spring of 2017, BusinessWest and its sister publication, the Healthcare News, created a new and exciting recognition program called Healthcare Heroes.

It was launched with the theory that there are heroes working all 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 hundreds, perhaps thousands of heroes whose stories we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in.

Nominations for the class of 2023 are due Saturday, July 29, and we encourage you to get involved and help recognize someone you consider to be a hero in the community we call Western Mass. in one (or more) of these seven categories:

• Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider;
• Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration;
• Emerging Leader;
• Community Health;
• Innovation in Health/Wellness;
• Collaboration in Health/Wellness; and
• Lifetime Achievement.

Nominations can be submitted at businesswest.com/healthcare-heroes/nominations.

For more information, call Melissa Hallock, Marketing and Events Director, at (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or email [email protected].

BusinessTalk with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College

By
Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

 

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 169: July 3, 2023

BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College

Colleges are in many ways at a crossroads, emerging from the pandemic years but still battling long-term trends toward fewer applications and heightened competition. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Hubert Benitez, president of American International College, about that institution’s holistic approach to standing out in a crowd, one that prioritizes not only academics, but also campus culture and a sense of belonging, as well as connections with the community on workforce-development efforts aimed at strengthening the region’s economy and keeping graduates here. It’s must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

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Healey-Driscoll Administration Issues Joint Statement Following SCOTUS Decision

By
Daily News

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll administration, along with about 100 Massachusetts higher-education leaders, civil-rights advocates, elected officials, and organizations dedicated to equity, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in two higher-education admissions cases, Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina:

“Massachusetts will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education. Today’s Supreme Court decision overturns decades of settled law. In the Commonwealth, our values and our commitment to progress and continued representation in education remain unshakable.

“We will continue to break down barriers to higher education so that all students see themselves represented in both our public and private campus communities. Massachusetts, the home of the first public school and first university, will lead the way in championing access, equity, and inclusion in education.

“We want to make sure that students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first-generation students, and all students historically underrepresented in higher education feel welcomed and valued at our colleges and universities. Today’s decision, while disappointing, will not change our commitment to these students. We have an imperative to make sure our schools reflect our communities. Our academic competitiveness, the future of our workforce, and our commitment to equity demand we take action.”

ISO New England Elects 2023 Board Slate

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE —ISO New England, the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity marketplace, announced the election of its 2023 board of directors slate.

The slate includes new member Craig Ivey, retired president of Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc., who brings three decades of experience in the electricity industry. His three-year term will begin on Oct. 1.

Current board members Brook Colangelo and Mark Vannoy have been reelected to their third and second terms, respectively. Roberto Denis will retire from the board this fall.

“Craig brings extensive expertise in utility operations and a commitment to innovation to the ISO New England Board of Directors,” ISO New England President and CEO Gordon van Welie said. “His knowledge will support our mission of ensuring a reliable and efficient regional grid throughout the clean-energy transition.”

Ivey served as president of Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc. for nine years, retiring in 2017. While in this role, he was responsible for all aspects of the electric system that serves more than 9 million New Yorkers. He previously spent 25 years at Dominion Energy, rising through the ranks from a part-time position during his college years to become senior vice president of Transmission and Distribution.

Ivey serves on the board for Ameren Corp., as well as the Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit serving children in low-income communities in New York City. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University and has completed executive-education programs at the University of Michigan and Harvard University.

Colangelo, elected to his third and final term, is vice president and chief information officer for Waters Corp. Earlier in his career, he served as chief information officer of the White House under President Obama. He holds a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.

Vannoy joined the ISO board in 2020 and was re-elected to a second term. He is currently president of Maine Water and previously served as the chairperson of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. He is a retired U.S. Navy officer, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds a master’s degree from Cornell University.

The Dowd Agencies Supports Area Charities as 125th-anniversary Celebration Continues

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — The Dowd Insurance Agencies, LLC, a leading insurance provider serving New England since 1898, has donated a total of $3,250 to five charities since the beginning of the year as it celebrates its 125th anniversary.

“One of the ways we are celebrating this milestone anniversary is by donating to charities that our employees support and believe in. We will do this throughout the year on a monthly basis. It is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community that has supported us for 125 years,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO of the Dowd Agencies. “We are proud of our long legacy and extremely humbled by the trust residents and businesses have placed in us for well over a century.”

Charities were determined by polling employees. So far in 2023, the Dowd Agencies donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes for children diagnosed with critical illnesses; Community Music School of Springfield, which provides arts education to local students; Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Holyoke, which provides horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities; Shriners Children’s, which provides critical medical care to children; and Homework House Inc., in Holyoke, which provides free tutoring and mentoring for children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The Dowd Agencies will continue to donate to charities selected by its employees throughout the remainder of the year.

Goddard House Welcomes WSU President Linda Thompson to Board of Trustees

By
Daily News

WESTFIELD — Linda Thompson, President of Westfield State University, has joined the board of trustees at Goddard House Assisted Living in Brookline.

Prior to her role as president of Westfield State University, Thompson held the role of dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UMass Boston. She has an extensive background in healthcare leadership and public policy. In Baltimore City, Md., she served as director of Occupational Medicine and Safety and developed programs and policies to promote the health of the city workforce, including the implementation of policies for HIV prevention and substance use and abuse. At the state level in Maryland, she served as special secretary of Children, Youth and Families, where she developed programs and policies to improve quality of care for vulnerable populations of children.

Thompson draws parallels between her service at Westfield State University and Goddard House’s mission. “While we may serve different generations, our goals are closely aligned,” she explained. “Maintaining compassion and respect for others while nurturing collaboration, creating innovative methods to solve contemporary challenges, and embracing transparency while rewarding excellence are noble practices that serve all of humanity.”

Goddard House embraces the aging experience for seniors living in the Boston area by operating a high-quality assisted-living community and by creating innovative programs which support the need for purpose, engagement, autonomy, and choice as people age.

“The Goddard House board is very fortunate to gain Linda’s extensive experience and unique perspective,” said Alexandra Schweitzer, board chair. “Her dedication and expertise in public-health advocacy and delivering high-quality care is remarkable and aligns with the core values we share at Goddard House.”

Town of Amherst, UMass Amherst Announce New Strategic Partnership Agreement

By
Daily News

AMHERST — The town of Amherst and UMass Amherst announced a multi-year strategic partnership agreement recognizing the shared interests and responsibilities of the town and the university. The total value of university contributions to the town over the five-year agreement is $5.5 million, nearly double the university’s previous investment.

“For the past decade, I have had the pleasure of calling Amherst home. I am happy that, as I prepare to depart, we are able to finalize this strategic partnership agreement,” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said. “The university and the town have always worked closely together, and this agreement will serve to strengthen our partnership in the years to come so that Amherst remains as one of the top college towns in America.”

Added Town Manager Paul Bockelman, “after many months of frank and fruitful discussions, I am very pleased that we have a new agreement. The town and the university meet regularly and work well together. I especially want to recognize Chancellor Subbaswamy, who has been committed to completing this agreement, which recognizes the important role the university plays in the town.”

The agreement includes a significant increase in the university’s support for fire and ambulance services, including the purchase of a new ambulance, yearly support toward town services to promote safe and healthy neighborhoods, and an increase in the university’s annual contribution to support the education of K-12 students residing in university-owned housing.

Key elements to the agreement include $3.5 million ($700,000 annually) for fire and ambulance services, $400,000 ($100,000 annually beginning in FY24) toward town services that support safe and healthy neighborhoods; and $1 million ($200,000 annually) into the town’s public schools to support the education of K-12 students residing in university-owned, tax-exempt housing. The university will also pay $125,000 ($25,000 annually) to support other services provided by the town.

One-time payments by the university include the purchase of a new ambulance for the town valued at $400,000, a $50,000 investment — to be matched by the town — to fund economic development, and university funding up to $65,000 for a pedestrian safety study along the town-owned North Pleasant Street corridor that bisects the campus.

In addition, the university will continue to provide funding equal to that of a 6% lodging fee for each occupied room per night at Hotel UMass (excluding rooms paid for by university accounts), which amounted to approximately $120,000 in FY22. The university will also continue to pay the town for licenses, fees, and services, including water and sewer service, which last year totaled more than $3.4 million.

The new partnership agreement marks the sixth time the town and university have entered into an accord, dating back to 1995. The new agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2022 and extends through June 30, 2027.

In the spirit of the strong and long-established town-gown partnership, the agreement commits town and campus leadership to continued and enhanced cooperation around planning, housing, economic development, and public infrastructure, and memorializes the frequency and salient topics being addressed. Also, the university and town pledge to continue to work together on conservation, sustainability, and resiliency efforts and the responsible stewardship of the local environment and natural resources, including strategies around water conservation and wastewater effluent use.

“This agreement is an important step in recognizing our shared needs and concerns and sets an exciting new standard for our relationship going forward,” Bockelman said.

Added Subbaswamy, “in any town-gown relationship, there are bound to be ups and downs. But we know we are better when we work together. This agreement shows that we are both confident about the relationship and our future shared successes.”

National Grid Awards $800,000 to Eight Chambers in Support of Small Businesses

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — National Grid announced it will donate $800,000 to eight chambers of commerce in Massachusetts to support local small businesses. The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce has been named one of the recipients of a $100,000 award.

Each chamber will receive $100,000, which they will then distribute in grants of $1,000 to National Grid small-business customers with fewer than 150 employees. The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce looks forward to distributing these grant awards to give local small business community a boost during the coming months. Qualifying businesses can apply for a $1,000 grant by clicking here.

This pledge follows a similar donation by National Grid in January, when the company distributed $1 million to four small-business organizations to help with energy bills. The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Retailers Assoc. of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Restaurant Assoc., and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce each received $250,000 to distribute to their small business members.

“After seeing the positive benefit our previous grant-funding effort had on the small-business community of Massachusetts, we decided to expand that reach by partnering with additional chambers of commerce,” said Stephen Woerner, president of National Grid New England. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, providing jobs and supporting the vibrancy of communities across Massachusetts. We’re pleased to be able to support those businesses that continue to need help as everyone continues to adjust to higher costs for basic goods and services.”

Chambers receiving the funds include the Cape Cod Chamber, Merrimack Valley Chamber, North Central Chamber of Leominster, Greater Northampton Chamber, North Shore Chamber, OneSouthCoast Chamber, South Shore Chamber, and Waltham Chamber.

“We are grateful for National Grid’s generosity and support of small businesses,” said Vince Jackson, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. “We are equally appreciative to be among the chambers selected to award these grants that will deliver much-needed relief in Northampton and the surrounding area.”

This second round of funding comes as part of National Grid’s ongoing commitment to uplifting the well-being of small-business owners and entrepreneurs in Massachusetts. Previously part of its Customer Savings Initiative, National Grid has expanded upon its ‘season of giving’ with renewed customer-assistance efforts. Since October 2022, the utility has donated $3.8 million.

Country Bank Recognizes Crystal Mansfield as President’s Platinum Recipient

By
Daily News

WARE — Country Bank announced the recipient of the 2023 President’s Platinum Award. The Bank’s recognition program, Above and Beyond, encourages team members to look for co-workers who embody the bank’s corporate values of integrity, service, teamwork, excellence, and prosperity (iSTEP). Within this program, members can receive different levels of recognition: Silver Spotlight, Gold Star, and the President’s Platinum.

“Country Bank’s team members contribute to the bank’s success in many ways throughout the year, and we are delighted to celebrate their contributions,” Country Bank President and CEO Paul Scully said. “The 2023 President’s Platinum award was presented to Crystal Mansfield, Customer Experience and Sales Support specialist. Crystal embodies the bank’s corporate values in every interaction she has. In addition, her nominator recognized her contributions to the organization, customers, and co-workers. The Country Bank team is extremely dedicated, knowledgeable, and committed to delivering the best service to their external and internal customers.”

Added Mansfield, “I am extremely honored to have been named a recipient of the Presidential Platinum Award. Thank you to my colleague for nominating me and to Paul for selecting me to receive this year’s award. My focus is always on a positive customer experience. Supporting, listening to, and finding customer solutions is simply the best part of my job. I could not do what I do without all the amazing team members at Country Bank. I am humbled to receive this award and appreciate that Country Bank has a culture that supports and recognizes the contributions of the team.”

Berkshire Agricultural Ventures Welcomes Martha Page to Board of Directors

By
Daily News

GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV), a growing nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local agriculture and a resilient regional food system, announced the appointment of Martha Page to its board of directors. With her extensive experience in nonprofit, government, and private-sector management, Page brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to further strengthen BAV’s mission and impact across the Berkshire-Taconic region.

Page joins the board following her successful tenure as executive director of Hartford Food System Inc., where she spearheaded innovative initiatives to address food security, promote equitable access to nutritious food, and foster community development. Her deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the food system will be invaluable in helping guide BAV’s strategic vision.

Throughout her career, Page has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to collaborative problem solving. Her multi-disciplinary background has allowed her to navigate complex landscapes and build strong partnerships across sectors that will play a vital role in helping to shape BAV’s initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Martha Page to the Board,” said Tom Gardner, BAV board president. He emphasized her impressive background and steadfast commitment to enhancing food systems, which strongly resonates with BAV’s mission. “Martha’s extensive expertise in the government and not-for-profit sectors will help BAV foster the development of a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system within their service area.”

Page will collaborate closely with other board members and BAV staff to ensure that BAV continues to make a significant impact on the agricultural communities of Berkshire, Litchfield (Conn.), Columbia (N.Y.), and Dutchess (N.Y.) counties.

“I am so excited to join the board of Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, I have followed the work of this impressive organization and have been a fan for several years,” she said. “What they do to ensure strong farms and food businesses in this region resonates so strongly with my ongoing commitment to help build a resilient New England food system. I look forward to working closely with Rebecca and the other board members to promote and support the work of BAV’s dedicated and talented staff.”