Porches Inn at MASS MoCA Invites Guests to Art Country

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Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — In the cultural hub of Northern Berkshire County, Porches Inn at MASS MoCA has debuted a new ArtCountry package that offers art lovers access to four of the area’s renowned institutions: the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), the Clark Institute, the Williams College Museum of Art, and Bennington Museum.

The ArtCountry package includes one ArtCountry pass per adult per stay for complimentary admission to each museum, overnight accommodations, and buffet breakfast. Prices start at $270 per night based on double accommodations. The package is available for travel June 11 through Sept. 24.

“With the location of Porches Inn literally across the street from MASS MoCA and the other museums just minutes away, our guests have a home base to experience what locals have always considered art country,” said Mel Karakaya, general manager of the Porches Inn at MASS MoCA. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with these venues to enhance that experience.”

MASS MoCA will kick off ArtCountry’s summer season with the opening of its new addition, Building 6, on May 28. The new space will add 130,000 square feet to the museum’s campus and feature work from artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, James Turrell, Jenny Holzer, Laurie Anderson, and Gunnar Schonbeck (Bang on a Can). Located across the street from Porches Inn, MASS MoCA will be the largest contemporary-art museum in the country once the new addition is complete.

Set in seven renovated Victorian-era buildings, the Porches Inn’s guest rooms and public spaces employ a clever synthesis of retro and contemporary designs. The inn features a year-round outdoor heated pool, wi-fi, hot tub, sauna, bonfire pit, fitness room, and meeting rooms for retreats and special events.

For more information on the ArtCountry package, visit www.porches.com/berkshires-hotel-specials.

BusinessWest 2017 Restaurant Guide

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restaurantguidefeature0517b
Cover Story Restaurants Sections

Your Annual Guide to Eating Out

restaurantguidedpThe Western Mass. region is well-known for its culinary diversity, offering nearly endless choices when it comes to cuisine, atmosphere, price range, and overall experience. For our 2017 Restaurant Guide, we made our way to four restaurants — from a 40-year-old icon to newer establishments well on their way to becoming household names. There’s plenty on the menu, so read on.

SEE: List of Restaurants in Western Mass.

 

• ‘Accommodating Cuisine

At Sierra Grille, they’re not fixing what isn’t broken

• Upwardly Mobile

Cima is making more history at a long-time dining destination

• Pop On Over

Judie’s continues to draw a crowd 40 years after its opening

• Taking a Simple Approach

The Alvah Stone offers a view — and much, much more

At Sierra Grille, They’re Not Fixing What Isn’t Broken

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Restaurants Sections

‘Accommodating Cuisine’

By Kathleen Mellen

Sierra Grille sous chef David Moses has his eye on pleasing the customer.

Sierra Grille sous chef David Moses has his eye on pleasing the customer.

We’ve all been out to dinner with that person: you know, the one who pores over a restaurant’s menu and then tries to reinvent it on the spot.

“I’d like the tuna,” your companion might say, “but instead of the baked potato you have listed here, I’ll have mac and cheese, and rather than a salad, I’ll go with butternut squash.”

Let’s face it; the creative orderer can be a waitstaff’s nightmare. It’s why you’ll see the words “no substitutions, please” on so many menus.

But not at Sierra Grille, where diners are invited to build their meals at will, from a menu that features a dozen entrées, 18 ‘small bites,’ 10 special sauces, seven choices of salads and paninis, and nine sugary desserts — and that’s not counting the sliders, soups, and daily specials.

Say you’re craving a blood-red tenderloin steak, but you aren’t a meat-and-potatoes fan, per se, and would prefer a double order of locally grown asparagus in place of the more traditional spuds. No problem. Or, maybe it’s meatless Monday, and your mouth is screwed up for seitan or tempeh, cooked on a veggie-only grill, and paired with royal basmati rice and grilled vegetables. Sierra Grille has you covered.

SEE: List of Restaurants in Western Mass.

This place is a mix-and-matcher’s delight.

“I call it an accommodating cuisine,” said Sierra Grille owner O’Brian Tomalin, in a recent interview at his establishment at 41 Strong Ave. in Northampton. “Did you ever go to a barbecue, where you bring a six-pack, which you add to the collection of six-packs, and then you bring a side dish, and it lands on a table, and there’s something on the grill? You take what you want from the grill, you have this great selection of sides to choose from, and there’s a selection of beer and wine. This is that kind of experience, extrapolated to a restaurant. Everybody can find something they like here, and that’s what I strive for.”

Tomalin, 49, opened Sierra Grille in 2006 after working in restaurants and breweries in his home state of Maine and, later, as the first bar manager at Amherst Brewing Co. And while he says he’d never call himself a chef, he does know a thing or two about cooking. As the youngest of nine children, four boys and five girls, he learned to make himself an egg for breakfast by the time he was 6, out of necessity.

By the way, one of those nine is actress Susan Sarandon, a fellow foodie who has eaten at her brother’s establishment on several occasions, surprising diners as she’s supped on the likes of hanger steak and scallops. After a recent visit, she asked Tomalin what he had used for a marinade on the scallops. “I said, ‘nothing. They’re just beautiful, fresh scallops. A little white wine and a tiny bit of butter.’ She said they were incredible.”

For this issue and the magazine’s annual Restaurant Guide, BusinessWest visited Sierra Grille and talked at length with Tomalin about his accommodating cuisine and why it resonates with his customers.

Food for Thought

On a recent afternoon, just before the day’s 3 p.m. opening, Tomalin was seated at a two-top high table in the vintage bar area of the restaurant, dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt, cargo shorts, and a baseball cap. Light poured into the wood-paneled room, its effects dappled in spots as it shone through stained glass embedded at the top of two grand, arched windows.

The mahogany bar top dates from 1947, and while Tomalin had it refurbished about five years ago, he said, nothing was changed — other than removing about 50 cigarette burns that harkened back to the days when smoking was allowed in eating and drinking establishments.

The building was constructed in 1880 as a hotel for railroad passengers who arrived or departed from the city’s train station, just across the street. In the 1980s and ’90s, as the Baystate Hotel, it was a popular venue for live music.

As an ode to that history, Tomalin recently revamped a long-defunct program, “Reanimate the Bay State,” which features live music every Thursday, starting at 10 p.m., with a cover charge of $3.

The dining room at Sierra Grille

The dining room at Sierra Grille in Northampton, home to what owner O’Brian Tomalin calls “accommodating cuisine.”

“The bands — most of them local — get 100% of the cover charge, and they get beers while they play,” Tomalin said. “It’s really exciting.” It has also boosted business, with the bar doing up to an additional $1,000 in sales on Thursday nights.

Tomalin leases the ground-floor space from the building’s owners, brothers Antonio and Efthimios Rizos, who also own the Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery in Southampton, and business partners Volkan Polatol and Petros Mirisis. The quartet runs two other restaurants in the building: Mulino’s Trattoria on the second floor, and Bishop’s Lounge on the third.

Sierra Grille is open seven days a week, from 3 p.m. to midnight, but never on holidays (it’s a policy, he says, that his staff appreciates. “The restaurant business is pretty flaky; whatever makes you a whole person — it makes it better for us.”)

An early/late menu that includes everything but the entrées is available from 3 to 5 p.m., and from 10 p.m. to closing.

In addition to the array of culinary choices, the restaurant features 24 beers on tap, as well as a selection of bottled beers. Tomalin is also the owner of Building 8 Brewery in Northampton, and he always has a couple of those brews on tap at Sierra Grille. He also serves selections from other local brewers, including Green River Ambrosia, a mead made with honey from local bees that comes from the Artisan Beverage Cooperative in Greenfield, as well beers from Germany and Belgium and elsewhere in the U.S.

“Berkshire Brewing Co. is always on; we pour their Steel Rail and their Coffeehouse Porter,” he noted. They also go through a keg a week of Allagash White, from the Allagash Brewing Co. in Maine, often using it in recipes. The hoppier beers are customer favorites.

Most of his wines are available for purchase by the glass, and are priced in the mid-range (“I call the selection ‘Wine 101’”), and though there are no obvious favorites, customers invariably switch between reds and whites with the seasons.

The biggest change for imbibers is Sierra Grille’s full liquor license, awarded by the state in January after an 18-month-long process of meetings, applications, and more meetings. Tomalin is in the final stages of designing a stable of craft cocktails, with selections from boutique distillers, which will be priced in the $8 to $12 range.

“You won’t be able to get a Jack and Coke here,” he explained. “We like supporting the little guys.”

Tomalin says he’s committed to supporting smaller growers as well, and buys his food locally, or regionally, as much as possible.

“We can get wahoo from Hawaii, and it’ll be here the day after it’s caught, but do you think I want my fish flying on a plane, blasting stuff into the atmosphere? No.”

Seafood comes from the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine; burger meat comes from local sources; and, when they’re in season, he gets his veggies at local farms, like Queen’s Greens in Amherst, as well as from area foragers. During the growing season, he often stops by Northampton’s farmer’s markets to see if anything strikes his fancy. Those items might just turn up in that day’s specials.

Tomalin says his customers appreciate the local freshness. “We just switched over to local asparagus, and we’ve doubled what we’ve been selling.”

With an eye toward environmental sustainability, the restaurant also recycles plastic, glass, tin, and even cooking oil. “Until recently, an employee was using the oil in his car,” Tomalin said.

The restaurant also supports a number of causes dear to Tomalin’s heart (during the last presidential primary, he held a fund-raiser for Bernie Sanders, where he read a statement of support from Sarandon, a longtime political activist), as well as local nonprofit organizations. This month, for example, the restaurant is running a “Half Pints for Half Pints” campaign: half the cost of each pint of beer sold on Mondays is donated to the Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s “Cooley Cares for Kids” fund-raiser.

“The benefits stuff is pretty great,” he said. “It is nice to do something, have an issue, accomplish that, get it done, and see it work.”

Something to Chew On

Even though Tomalin quips that the restaurant business “would be great if it weren’t for the customers,” he says he’s committed to satisfying diners at his busy establishment.

On an average Saturday, the restaurant serves between 225 and 275 meals; on a bigger weekend, like at college-graduation time, the number rises to about 300.

“People always tout our consistency,“ Tomalin said. “I look at cuisines and see what’s trending, but I don’t want to be trendy. We’re still evolving a bit, but we do what we do. As the saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

Cima Is Making More History at a Long-time Dining Destination

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Restaurants Sections

Upwardly Mobile

Tony Dimaio and Mindy Sullivan

Tony Dimaio and Mindy Sullivan say Cima is off to a solid start, thanks to a great location and a diverse, eclectic menu.

Mindy Sullivan says she and partner Tony Dimaio didn’t realize that, when they chose the name Cima for their restaurant venture in Wilbraham, it would turn into such a conversation starter.

But that’s what it has become, and in most all ways, that’s been a positive development.

For starters, there’s the pronunciation; most don’t get it right. It’s actually ‘cheema,’ although most will leave out the ‘h,’ which leads to a quick correction if Sullivan or another staff member is within earshot. Then, there’s the translation of that term, which usually comes up, because most patrons need one.

In Italian, cima means hilltop (or summit or mountaintop, although Sullivan and Dimaio usually focus on hilltop), which is what the restaurant lies on; it’s also the name that was on this building years ago — the Hilltop (it was most recently known as Horizons, however).

Between the pronunciation, the translation, and then a quick history of this property along busy Route 20, there’s plenty to talk about, said Sullivan, adding quickly that there’s generally more to the conversation.

And this often comes down to what Cima Restaurant and Chop House isn’t — although the menu makes this abundantly clear. Indeed, while the name is Italian, this eatery isn’t what would be called traditional Italian in its cuisine.

SEE: List of Restaurants in Western Mass.

Indeed, while there are some of the stalwarts, like linguini with clams, chicken Milanese, veal marsala, and seafood Mediterranean, the menu tilts heavily toward the ‘chop house’ side of its name, said Dimaio, with everything from a 20-ounce ribeye to double-cut lamb chops to a thick veal chop.

“We didn’t want this to be the typical red-sauce Italian restaurant,” he said, adding that the traditional Italian favorites, steaks and chops, and the overall broad diversity of the menu has made it easy for patrons of the other establishments that have been on this site to return to that stretch of Route 20.

“This has long been a dining destination,” Dimaio, formerly the long-time executive chef at the Monte Carlo in West Springfield, told BusinessWest. “And with Cima, it’s become a destination again.”

In many ways, this venture represents the summit — to date, at least — in a career in cooking that began with Dimaio working in various pizza shops before gradually opening his own place, with Sullivan, in rural Erving.

Cima is closer to home (East Forest Park) for the partners, and also closer to the vision of the restaurant operation the two have long sought to operate.

For this issue and its annual Restaurant Guide, BusinessWest ventured to the hilltop (that’s lowercase) to see why the latest name over the door on this well-known property is generating conversation that goes well beyond that name and what it means.

The dining room at Cima can seat close to 100 people.

The dining room at Cima can seat close to 100 people.

High-steaks Venture

It was a week or so before Mother’s Day, and the calls to the front desk at Cima were coming at a fairly steady clip.

One only needed to hear Sullivan’s side of the conversation to grasp the big picture — and the questions being asked on the other end. Over the span of a few calls, she communicated that the restaurant would have special hours — it would open at noon rather than at 4 — as well as a ‘holiday’ menu with a few additional specials, and, yes, they were still taking reservations.

“It’s become one of the very busiest days of the year — right there with New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day,” said Sullivan, who, by day, is the director of Environmental Health and Safety at Westfield State University. She added quickly that, while Cima would certainly do well on Mother’s Day, as most restaurants do, she and Dimaio were more focused on the hundreds of non-holidays.

And by most all accounts, she said, Cima, which will soon mark a year in business, is off to a very respectable start in a highly competitive business — and also a highly competitive stretch of road.

“We’ve been quite pleased with the response thus far — business has been quite steady, and we have a great base of customers that keep returning on a regular basis,” said Sullivan, who attributed the solid start to a number of factors.

The location is obviously one of them, she told BusinessWest, adding, again, that generations from the same family have now been dining at that location, and essentially from the moment Horizons, which operated on that site for many years, closed, there was speculation — and anticipation — about what would follow, and when.

“A of people missed Horizons, and they were anxious for us to get the place open,” she recalled. “Throughout the three months we were readying it, we had a steady stream of visitors asking when we would be opening.”

And the site has a long history as a restaurant for a reason, said Sullivan, noting that this stretch of Route 20, just a mile or so from the Eastfield Mall in Springfield and also Post Office Park in Wilbraham, is very well-traveled. It’s also accessible to a number of communities, including Ludlow, Palmer, East Longmeadow, Hampden, and others.

And this location certainly played heavily in their decision making as the two partners looked for a solid opportunity within the broad hospitality sector.

“We were looking for something closer to home,” she noted. “And when this particular piece of real estate came on the market, we wanted to be part of the community.”

But location, while always one of the main ingredients for success in this business, to borrow an industry term, is just part of the equation, said Sullivan and Dimaio.

Other important ingredients include an eclectic menu, great service, and, above all else, consistency, they said, with one voice, adding that this is what Cima strives to deliver.

“That consistency is very important,” she noted, adding that it is a key factor in generating both return business and positive word-of-mouth advertising, which have been other factors in Cima’s solid first year in business.

Along with consistency, there is variety, said Dimaio, adding that several specials are offered every evening (prime rib is a common addition), as well as a number of seafood, veal, chicken, pasta, and salad options.

While Cima has become a destination for dinner, it is also “finding its way,” as Sullivan put it, when it comes to private functions such as memorial receptions, showers, birthdays, and others. On the day BusinessWest stopped by, the staff was cleaning up the restaurant after a first Communion gathering.

“The biggest challenge is keeping your product interesting to the public, and consistency is key,” she said in summation. “And we’re definitely keeping things interesting.”

Meat and Greet

While the new name over the door at 2200 Boston Road has been a conversation starter, the diverse menu, thick chops and steaks, and that consistency mentioned earlier are keeping the conversation going.

They’re also helping to continue the site’s long history as a dining destination.

The name means hilltop, and for the establishment’s owners, it means taking things to new heights — in all sorts of ways.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Judie’s Continues to Draw a Crowd 40 Years After Its Opening

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Restaurants Sections

Pop On Over

Judie’s

Judie’s has expanded its space multiple times over the years to meet growing demand.

David Williams worked in architecture, not food service, when he was inspired, 40 years ago, to open a restaurant. His inspiration was a young woman named Judie Teraspulsky.

“We had an office in Boston, in Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and one here in Amherst,” he said over lunch one recent afternoon at a brightly sunlit table overlooking the stretch of North Pleasant Street that passes by Judie’s restaurant. “We used to take clients to the Lord Jeffery Inn, where Judie was the baker and a lunch waitperson, and we’d always sit in her section.”

Those lunches became well-known and well-liked by clients. “They would come to my office and say, ‘can we cut this meeting short, and go to the Lord Jeffery and sit in Judie’s section?’”

He had an idea.

“One day, I mentioned to her that I recently designed three restaurants in food courts in shopping centers. I said, ‘we should start a restaurant together.’” She found the possibility appealing.

The location they chose had recently housed a natural-foods restaurant that didn’t last long, so Williams bought the property and all the equipment, procured financing, and brought Teraspulsky on as an equal investor. Judie’s opened in May 1977 — 40 years ago this month — and quickly became, and has remained, one of the Valley’s most celebrated culinary success stories.

SEE: List of Restaurants in Western Mass.

“The first day we opened, Judie came to me and said, ‘can I be the manager?’” Williams recalled. “I said, ‘Judie, you own 50% of the business. It’s named Judie’s.’”

He said that particular idea wasn’t hers — she would rather have kept her name off the façade. But he also knew that her reputation at the nearby inn would help bring in patrons in those early days.

The target audience, at first, was professional women, who Williams and Teraspulsky felt were underserved by the town’s culinary choices in the late ’70s. “It was all pizza and hot dogs; there wasn’t a lot of ‘adult food’ in town,” he said. “She targeted women realtors, attorneys, insurance agents — and it took off like a shot.”

David Williams

David Williams says he and Judie Teraspulsky saw a need for more eclectic fare in downtown Amherst in the late ’70s.

The idea was that women were more open to experimental food — “and they tip better,” Williams said with a laugh — and, indeed, Teraspulsky’s eclectic menu, rife with fresh ingredients and interesting combinations, proved an immediate hit.

Even with that early success, what the restaurant needed, they felt, was a signature item. They certainly found one.

Enter the Popover

The fateful inspiration was the Proud Popover, a Boston-based restaurant and tavern affiliated with the Magic Pan. After trying that eatery’s namesake starch, Teraspulsky wanted to create something similar in Amherst — but bigger, and more impressive, than the smaller version she enjoyed.

“She came back here and experimented and managed to come up with the Judie’s popover, and it’s been the staple ever since. Nobody else went that big,” Williams said, adding that they’ve never made public how they’re baked. “There’s a very special way you make them in terms of heat and periods of time. It’s a closely guarded secret.”

A popover slathered with apple butter may be the Judie’s classic, but over the years, she’s turned them into sandwiches, incorporated them in stews and salads, filled them with everything from basil pesto chicken to a spicy gumbo, and even used leftover batter to make popover crepes. The Souper, a soup served alongside a popover and salad, has long been a best-selling item.

“I wanted people to have a ‘wow’ experience,” Teraspulsky told BusinessWest several years ago, “so when we put the trays down, the first thing out of their mouth is ‘wow.’”

The popover isn’t the only well-regarded Judie’s original, though. Williams said she’s been ladling out her popular seafood bisque since day one, among other early creations. And her variety of meal-size Caesar salads are another mainstay.

The experimentation that has made Judie’s menu a hit — and with a much wider audience than professional women — reflects a wave of culinary inspiration that has settled across downtown Amherst in the ensuing decades. Visitors can still get pizza or a hot dog, but Judie’s and the Lord Jeffery Inn are now joined by institutions like Johnny’s, Chez Albert, and Oriental Flavor. Of the latter, Williams noted, “a good friend of mine from Taiwan said that’s the best Chinese food you can eat outside of China.”

He doesn’t think it odd to talk up these offerings while simultaneously competing with them for business, noting that the restaurant scene is part of a downtown renaissance that benefits everyone.

“I’m never scared of competition,” he told BusinessWest. “It means there’s going to be more people coming here, and we’ll always get our percentage because we have a unique menu. Judie has crafted a unique destination in terms of the menu, and, having been a waitperson, she is crazy about the service — it’s got to be perfect.”

Art of the Meal

The years have seen plenty of changes and innovations at Judie’s, many of them related to the restaurant’s consistent growth and need for more space. The partners built out the front of the structure early on, and in 2007, they turned an adjoining bar into still more seating, along with an expanded kitchen and new restrooms; the renovation shut the restaurant down for only five days.

Donna Estabrooks’ wildly colorful tabletops have become a hallmark of Judie’s.

Donna Estabrooks’ wildly colorful tabletops have become a hallmark of Judie’s.

A third partner, Katie Day, took on that role in 2000, after coming to work at Judie’s in the 1980s; her sister was the general manager in the restaurant’s early days, and she learned the business from the ground up.

Judie’s has also become known for its striking, colorful paintings that adorn the walls and tabletops, all created by Florence artist Donna Estabrooks, which has effectively turned the restaurant into a gallery. Patrons are welcome to buy the paintings — and, yes, even tabletops — and Estabrooks changes out the offerings on a regular basis.

“Judie has always been fond of artists,” Williams said, noting that she gave additional vent to this passion a few years ago by opening Judie’s Art Bar, an art classroom tucked behind the restaurant where people come and learn how to unlock their own muse — and leave with their own painted creations.

But Judie’s remains best known for its culinary creations, with head chef Michael Babb firing up everything from sea scallops with tomato tart tatin to lamb shank served with a crisp, shredded potato pancake stuffed with grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions, and mascarpone whipped potatoes.

One might assume a restaurant with a four-decade arc would have passed its peak days, but Williams said business continues to increase an average of 4% every year.

“Of course, the area keeps growing,” he was quick to add, pointing out the window at the main artery through downtown Amherst. “Look at this traffic. In 1970, you could lie down in the middle of the street and never get run over, but now, it’s super busy.”

As Judie’s celebrates its 40th anniversary, Teraspulsky, Williams, and Day continue to welcome patrons eager for a hot, fresh popover or any number of other tempting offerings, in an atmosphere drenched in sunlight and dappled by Estabrooks’ artistic visions.

“When Judie realized she was not the manager, but the owner,” Williams recalled, “she really threw her body, mind, and spirit into this place. She knew what she had here.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

The Alvah Stone Offers a View — and Much, Much More

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Restaurants Sections

Taking a Simple Approach

By Kathleen Mellen

The view is just part of the package at the Alvah Stone.

The view is just part of the package at the Alvah Stone.

Tucked away in the tiny Franklin County town of Montague (population 8,437), is the Alvah Stone, a small-burg restaurant with a big-world sensibility — one that it comes by honestly.

Owner Howard Wein has been a major player in the hospitality business for many a year. Since receiving an MBA in hotel and restaurant administration from Cornell University in 1999, he’s built an impressive résumé, launching the W hotel chain and opening big restaurants, like Buddakan and Iron Chef Morimoto, both in New York City, as well as others across the country.

Most recently, Wein, 45, founder and president of Howard Wein Hospitality, created 10 restaurants and bars in eight months for the Diplomat Beach Resort. He finished that job in late April, when he launched establishment number 10 — Monkitail, an izakaya-style Japanese restaurant.

It’s been very exciting (and exhausting), Wein says, but all that corporate work has been for other people. He wanted to create a home where his heart is — in Montague, with his wife, Jennifer, their 8-year-old daughter, Lyla, 7-month-old son, Simon, and, for the past three years, his other baby, the Alvah Stone.

“I love this part of the world,” said Wein, who graduated in 1995 from Hampshire College, where he met Jennifer. “We wanted to come back, but, professionally, I was doing such amazing things. It was impossible to figure out how to ride the career wave from here. Finally we said, ‘we’re not going to figure it out. We’re just going to do it.’”

SEE: List of Restaurants in Western Mass.

So they moved to Montague, and Wein set up an office next door to the Night Kitchen, a restaurant at 440 Greenfield Road. When that establishment closed in 2013, he decided it was time to create a restaurant of his own. So, in 2014, he signed a lease and opened the Alvah Stone.

“This is the only restaurant I’ve ever done that’s really, truly a reflection of me,” Wein told BusinessWest. “I’m everywhere. I did the design. I hired all the people. Doing this keeps me fresh, keeps me focused on the things that really drive success in this business, which is keeping an eye on quality and building a really strong culture of excellence.”

Owner Howard Wein

Owner Howard Wein says patrons come for the local food items, creative cocktails, and spectacular view.

Wein shares the building with the Montague Bookmill, a popular bookstore whose tongue-in-cheek motto is “books you don’t need in a place you can’t find.” And though the restaurant, like the bookstore, is decidedly out of the way, customers have increasingly beaten a path to its door, in search of its signature, all-local food offerings; creative, crafted cocktails; and spectacular view (the restaurant is perched high above the rushing Sawmill River).

They also find old-school hospitality.

“We have a simple approach,” Wein said. “The best thing you can do to build your business is to make sure that every single plate that goes out is great, and that every interaction is satisfying.”

The restaurant, which seats 65 inside and 40 on an a deck, weather permitting, is open seven days a week, from noon to 10 p.m., for lunch and dinner, and brunch on Sundays, year-round.

“In a destination like this,” Wein said, “you don’t want people wondering if you’re open. If you change the hours all the time, you’re going to lose people.”

Reservations are accepted, but the restaurant is never fully booked in advance, leaving room for those who stop by unannounced. “If you fully book, that’s the same as being closed to someone who just drove all the way here.”

Historical Perspective

The Alvah Stone is named for the first owner of the mill, which was constructed in 1834. It’s a name that firmly cements the restaurant in the building’s history, Wein says. “I didn’t want a trendy or hokey name —  that’s not who we are. The Alvah Stone has strength. It’s unique to the place and to the story of where we are.”

That attention to detail extends to naming cocktails, too. Each is inspired by the history of the building, the geographic location, or a literary reference. Take the Seldom Heard, for example, which features bison grass vodka, maurin quina (a French aperitif), cashew, coconut, lime, and cardamom.

“We were working with this rye vodka from Poland, infused with bison grass, so we went for a theme based on lyrics to the song “Home on the Range” (“Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam …’),” explained bar manager Lincoln Allen, one of 25 employees.

Wein says it’s important that his employees, like Allen, share in the restaurant’s creativity. “We have fun going back and forth about the cocktail names,” Wein said. “If there’s no creative process, then creative people don’t stay. And if we lose creative people, then we don’t have the product we want here.”

Wein calls his food “authentic American,” and says he puts the emphasis on quality and comfort. “We want to be known as one of the best restaurants in the Valley, but definitely not one of the most pretentious. Or serious.”

The menu, which is driven by chef Dave Schrier’s creative juices, features snacks and smaller items, like the li’l pork belly sandwich on a brioche roll with Alabama white sauce, iceberg lettuce, and a pickle; and beets with pickled shiitake mushrooms, toasted seeds, crispy wheat berry, and crème fraîche. Entrées on the menu that changes daily might include an Alvah Stone burger on an English muffin with onion marmalade, mayo, cheddar, and a pickle; and seed-crusted cod, served with a ramp condiment, coconut milk, and sorrel. Desserts and cocktails, wine, and “really local” beers are always available, too.

“The idea of the menu and the pricing is flexibility,” Wein said. “If you want to have a beer and a warm, soft pretzel, you can spend $15. Or you can eat traditionally, where you have a couple of snacks, and everyone gets their own entrée.”

 

Menu items are also determined by what’s fresh. Most vegetables come from the Kitchen Garden in Sunderland and other local farms, and there are also a number of foragers who pop in — including one who arrived on a recent afternoon carrying a tray piled high with pungent ramps.

“We don’t have a green salad with cucumbers and tomatoes unless it’s August or September,” Wein said. “You won’t get a bad tomato on a burger, ever, and we won’t give you mesclun mix from California.”

Just Desserts

The biggest challenge to owning a restaurant is reacting to things you can’t control, Wein says, like rising wages and health-insurance costs for employees. “We’re in favor of always trying to improve the quality of life for workers, at any and all levels, but it’s really difficult when you have a small business.”

And then, there’s the weather. “The deck is an incredible setting, but if it rains every Saturday, it cuts the traffic down, and you’re talking about a dramatic impact on our year.”

But there are plenty of pluses as well, he added.

Before he opened, Wein composed a list of goals: to be a place where people want to work, to be the best restaurant in the Valley, and to have an incredible commitment to hospitality.

And he thinks he’s achieved all three.

Springfield Armory Is Once Again Changing the Landscape

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armoryfeature-0517b
Features

Reclaiming the Past

Armory Superintendent James Woolsey

Armory Superintendent James Woolsey with the skyline of Springfield behind him, something that wasn’t visible from that site just a few weeks ago

While steeped in history, the Springfield Armory property — now a National Historic Site managed by the National Park Service, has become somewhat of a forgotten, or overlooked, part of the city’s past. But James Woolsey, superintendent of the site since 2012, has aggressively worked to shift that equation by changing the landscape at the facility — in all kinds of ways.

James Woolsey walked to the crest of a hill near the northwest corner of the Springfield Armory property and paused for some reflection and commentary.

He started by gesturing toward the skyline of Springfield less than a half-mile away, something that would not have been as visible from that spot just a few months ago because it would have been obscured by small, scruffy trees and bushes.

Woolsey, superintendent of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, as well as the Coltsville National Historic Park in Hartford that is being readied for its opening, then pointed down the hill to a spot that, 40 or so years ago, was used by area Springfield high schools for gym classes, specifically track and field events.

“They used to throw the shot put and javelin down there,” he said, pointing to an area that will, like most of the rest of the 50-acre Armory site, be restored to the way things looked in the late ’50s, only a half-decade before then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara would initiate the process of decommissioning the facility, which had opened near the end of the 18th century.

A shot of the Armory from roughly 60 years ago

A shot of the Armory from roughly 60 years ago. Current initiatives aim to recreate that look.

The Armory has called this comprehensive construction and renovation effort “Reclaiming the Past,” and that’s a sentiment that also fits much broader efforts undertaken by Woolsey since he arrived at the facility five years ago to reconnect it to the area, improve visitation, and, overall, make more area residents aware of the Armory’s story and its broad significance to the region in terms of employment, innovation, and culture.

There is no turning back the clock and making the Armory as prominent as it was throughout most of its history and especially during World War II, when more than 12,000 people were employed there. But Woolsey said it can gain greater visibility, respect, and visitorship, and in many respects it already has.

Indeed, annual visitation, stagnant and hovering around 16,000 when Woolsey arrived after stints at many historic sites here and abroad (more on that later), has risen steadily and is now at or above 25,000.

Woolsey credits this rise to everything from new exhibits such as the current offering on this country’s entry in World War I (nearly a century ago) and the Armory’s role in that effort, to new signs — on area highways and at the Armory itself.

The road signs feature the easily recognizable National Park Service (NPS) logo, said Woolsey, and thus they attract people drawn to the more than 400 individual sites managed by that agency.

“People are very passionate about the National Park Service,” he explained. “And when people see that logo on the sign, they will want to get off the highway and see that national park.”

Springfield Armory has taken a number of steps to be more “welcoming

Over the past several years, James Woolsey says, the Springfield Armory has taken a number of steps to be more “welcoming.”

Overall, Woolsey said the mission is to make the Armory, in a word, more “welcoming,” an assignment that has manifested itself in everything from new exhibits to the new signs, to the reopening of the large gate at the entrance to Byers Street, enabling easier public access to the facility masterminded by George Washington more than two centuries ago.

“What I wanted to do was make it more welcoming,” he explained. “This is a national park; it’s a park for all the American people. We want people to be able to find us, and we want to provide a great experience when they come here.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Woolsey about his efforts to reclaim the past and thus make the Armory a more visible, more relevant part of the city’s present and future.

History Lessons

Woolsey’s office speaks loudly and effectively to his career and his passion for historic sites and the national parks.

His screen saver features a photo from Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, where he served as ‘chief of interpretation’ from 2000 to 2003, and there are many photos depicting his various career stops over the years.

As he was talking with BusinessWest, he grabbed one of them, a photo depicting the grand opening of the visitors center at the Normandy American Museum on the bluffs overlooking the famous battlefield at Colleville-sur-mer in France, a project he oversaw as director of visitor services.

That assignment represented the lone departure from a career spent with the National Park Service. He started as a park ranger working on the National Mall in Washington, and later worked at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park in Maryland, the Lowell (Mass.) National Historic Park, the Mohave National Preserve in California (there were two stints there), and Bryce Canyon, before six years of service in France.

It was a desire to run his own park that brought him to Springfield in the spring of 2012. And that assignment was broadened shortly upon his arrival with the creation of the Coltsville National Park in Hartford, a facility that will commemorate the contributions of both Samuel and Elizabeth Colt, specifically creation of the village of Coltsville, the complex where guns were made and the workers who built them lived.

Current landscaping efforts at the Armory

Current landscaping efforts at the Armory include restoration of some of the gardens on the site, including these, seen nearly 60 years ago, adjacent to the commander’s quarters.

While Coltsville is one of the 50 National Historic Parks (the facility in Lowell is another), the Armory is a National Historic Site. There are 90 of them, and the list includes everything from Ford’s Theater, site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, to the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Utah, where the first transcontinental railroad was completed, to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama.

Most all of the historic sites are managed by the NPS, but some, including the Armory, are what are known as ‘partnership’ sites, said Woolsey, meaning they’re managed in partnership with another entity. In the case of the Armory, that entity is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which owns much of the land and operates Springfield Technical Community College in a mix of old Armory structures and new facilities built in the ’80s and ’90s.

Woolsey now splits his time between the Armory and Coltsville — he says he’s figured out the traffic patterns to minimize the commute time when possible — but has been in Springfield quite a bit this spring to oversee a project that has captured the public’s attention.

As he discussed it, he would gesture out his west-facing window, because that is where most of the work is taking place. Indeed, as he talked, earth-moving machines were humming as part of a project that blends landscaping with much-needed infrastructure work.

“The drainage and sewer system was installed in the 19th century, and the entire system is failing,” Woolsey explained, adding that, while securing funds for this necessary work, he is using this opportunity to restore the historic contouring of the land and undertake other initiatives to essentially turn back the clock.

These include everything from a $500,000 project to repair and paint the many windows on the Armory building (known technically as the ‘Main Arsenal’ because large supplies of guns were stored there) to restoration of gardens around the commanding officer’s quarters adjacent to the main arsenal, to repaving roads and sidewalks.

As for the contouring, Woosley said the city, needing ballfields, trucked in tons of fill and leveled the gentle slope of the Armory property behind the main arsenal; these changes also altered the natural drainage of the site, creating bogs and flooding hazards.

Overall, $1.2 million will be spent on this project, which won’t just recreate the look of 1959, but perhaps some of the feel as well, he said.

Blasts from the Past

But the landscaping work is only part of a larger effort to reclaim the past, said Woolsey, who, soon after arriving at the Armory, put together a multi-faceted strategic plan for addressing a host of needs he soon recognized at the facility.

The first of these needs was to improve what he called “community outreach,” a broad term he used to describe efforts to build visibility, relevance, and involvement within the city and region.

“We’ve really worked to build better relationships with Springfield and Greater Springfield,” he explained, “and become involved in the cultural district downtown and other institutions.”

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Above, the gate at the Byers Street entrance, seen here in a postcard, will soon be open to pedestrians. Below, one of the gardens to be restored through current landscaping initiatives.

Above, the gate at the Byers Street entrance, seen here in a postcard, will soon be open to pedestrians. Below, one of the gardens to be restored through current landscaping initiatives.

Overall, the Armory had to do considerable work to make its story — and its historical importance — known, said Woolsey, adding that it’s among the less-well-known National Historic Sites across the country and even in this region, and correcting this awareness problem is still a work in progress.

“This is something we’re trying to rectify,” he noted. “I’m often surprised at how many local people don’t know this is a national park.”

What’s more, he said there has historically been what he called “less enthusiasm” for this site among local residents, at least when compared to others in the NPS portfolio, such as the park dedicated to Thomas Edison and his work in New Jersey and the park in Lowell, focused on that city’s rich industrial heritage.

“When you compare the enthusiasm of the local population and their involvement with those sites … people here are less involved with their site,” he noted, adding that one theory for this is that the closing of the Armory was a huge blow to the city, not merely from an employment standpoint, but from a pride standpoint as well.

“During World War II, 12,000 people worked here, so this was a central part of the local economy,” he went on. “And when the federal government decided to close it down, I think a lot of people had a bad feeling about that in their gut, and it lasted for years.”

Thus, much of the Armory’s recent efforts aim to get the local population more involved, he said, adding that part of this equation is creating more awareness and making the visitor experience more powerful. Stagnant visitation numbers for the better part of three decades provided ample evidence that work was needed in this realm.

Visitation has improved roughly 5% a year since he arrived, said Woolsey, who attributed this steady climb to several factors, including those new signs and also a new low-power radio station (105.5 AM) that tells those within a 15-mile radius what’s happening at the Armory and how to get there.

“People can find us now,” said Woolsey, adding that the Armory is hampered in this regard not only by the fact that it’s not directly off a main highway, but also because it is at the far end of a complex now dominated by the college.

But getting people to the Armory was only part of the solution, he noted, adding that the facility needed to improve the experience people would find upon arrival.

To this end, Woolsey and his staff worked to create more and better programming, including rotating exhibits and temporary exhibits.

“The exhibitry here had been stale for several decades,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the centennial of this country’s entry into that conflict (April 6, 1917 is the exact date) provided an opportunity to not only mark that occasion (considered a turning point in the war) but also spotlight the Armory’s contributions to the quick and massive rearmament efforts that followed years of isolationism.

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Two views of what are known as Buildings 5 and 6; the one at top is from the 1930s, and the other is recent, after significant restoration efforts.

Two views of what are known as Buildings 5 and 6; the one at top is from the 1930s, and the other is recent, after significant restoration efforts.

Thus, among the exhibits is one featuring the M1903 Springfield, nicknamed the ‘03’ for the year it was adopted by the military.

There have been many other initiatives involving exhibits and programming at the Armory, including a collection of movie clips shown in the facility’s theater featuring weapons made there, including the climax scene in Jaws (yes, that was an M1 Garand used by Chief Brody to obliterate the shark).

The landscaping and infrastructure improvements are among the elements in the strategic plan, said Woolsey, adding that they include an ongoing collaborative effort with the state to renovate and preserve what are known are as Buildings 5 and 6, directly across the main road through the Armory property.

While technically on state property, the buildings, which had fallen into a state of advanced disrepair in recent years, are highly visible and historically important — the large duplex was used as junior officers’ quarters.

Arsenal of Democracy

In 2016, the Armory was chosen as the winner of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Spotlight Award, part of its Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence. The spotlight award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant contribution to the tourism industry in Western Mass.

Woolsey said that honor speaks to the many ways the Armory has worked to improve visitation and bring visitors to the area, and he’s very proud of it.

Overall, though, he has his eyes on a much bigger prize — bringing ever more attention and relevance to a historic landmark and the cradle of the region’s precision-manufacturing industry.

He calls the effort ‘Reclaiming the Past,’ and he’s well on his way to doing just that.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Dietz & Co. Makes an Historic Move into Union Station

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Features

Designs on New Digs

Kerry Dietz, left, and Nancy O’Brien

Kerry Dietz, left, and Nancy O’Brien offer a tour of the space in Union Station that will become the company’s new home.

Kerry Dietz was asked about the circumstances that will bring the architecture firm she put her name on 32 years ago to the second floor of the recently renovated Union Station this summer, making her company the celebrated first tenant in the spacious office area of the landmark.

She paused for a long moment, as if she were reconstructing (that’s one industry term) the timeline of events in her mind, before summoning another phrase used by those in her profession.
“Let’s just say it was a process,” she told BusinessWest before breaking into a broad smile, something she would do repeatedly as she talked about this move, what it means for the company, and what it might mean for the nearly 90-year-old station itself.

But first, that process. It began, she said, with the realization that, while there are many reasons to love the company’s home for 22 years in the so-called Patton Building (circa 1872) on Hampden Street in downtown Springfield — everything from a large skylight to ornate tin ceilings to brass handrails — there just aren’t enough of them.

Or, to be more precise, perhaps, there are not as many as there were when this company was younger and smaller.

Indeed, the venture that started with three employees has grown to now boast 25, and they are spread over two floors of the Patton Building, said Dietz, noting that the company has grown within that building in an organic, but “not very thoughtful way.”

“One of the things that this space has are these great big offices,” she explained. “They were in many ways too big for two people, two small for three people … it’s lovely space and great windows, but it’s not an efficient flow, and it tends to isolate people.”

Nancy O’Brien, an interior designer with the firm who has spent the past few months designing the new space at Union Station, agreed. The existing space makes things logistically difficult, and collaboration … well, that’s not as easy as it should be.

“There’s no open studio space, so when we’re trying to collaborate, we’re running up and down stairs,” she noted. “That’s great exercise, but it’s not good for efficiency.”

Such introspection and close examination of quarters is commonplace when a lease is up, and this was the situation facing the Dietz company, said its founder, adding that this amounted to step one in that aforementioned process.

Step two was deciding whether these shortcomings were enough to warrant a move; eventually, the answer became what amounted to a “soft yes,” said Dietz, who at one point in the conversation with BusinessWest turned to O’Brien and, while adding up all that the company was leaving behind on Hampden Street, said under her breath,“tell me why we’re moving again?”

The answer to that question was the roughly 8,000 square feet of space now being fitted out just around the corner from the conference room where she was talking with BusinessWest.

Kerry Dietz says her company’s move into Union Station makes sense on many levels.

Kerry Dietz says her company’s move into Union Station makes sense on many levels.

“This is what an architect’s office should look like — or, at least it will be once we’re done with it,” said Dietz, referring specifically to the floor plan O’Brien had placed on the table. It revealed a spacious, wide-open area with light streaming in from large windows on three sides.

“We’ve got light coming in from all directions in this space,” Dietz said of the company’s new offices, adding that, in addition to more light, the space provides more and better space in which the team can function. “There’s not a single dark space there except for one little quiet room.”

On top of all that, the move places the company in a landmark building and within a landmark restoration and redevelopment effort, one that city officials believe will be a catalyst for further development in that area and a point of pride for the community.

Dietz said all these points were part of the discussion and part of that aforementioned process. She might have summed things up best by relaying the comments of one of her male co-workers.

“He said, ‘the 6-year-old boy in me is excited about being in a train station,’” she recalled, adding that she’s excited, too, and for a number of reasons.

Blueprint for Growth

Dietz called it “de-papering.”

No, that word is not in the dictionary, but it effectively conveyed her point.

Her company, which has, as one might expect, accumulated vast amounts of paper over its history and kept far more than it should have or needed, has been getting rid of some.

About 7 tons of it, to be exact.

“We’ve filled 49 of those recycling barrels — the big blue ones, not the little ones,” she said, using language everyone in business would understand. “That’s about 14,000 pounds of paper we took out, and we needed to. We don’t need 14 iterations of a schematic we did years ago; it’s all on computer.”

These de-papering efforts are just another part of that process that will have the Dietz company — which has designed everything from the UMass Center at Springfield to a number of senior-living projects to dorms at Smith College — in its new digs, one full floor above the station’s main concourse, by mid-July, according to the latest timeline.

That’s a very aggressive target date, said Dietz, noting that this process began just a few months ago, really, but it’s a timetable the company and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which manages the station, are quite eager to meet.

As for exactly when the process began, Dietz was having a harder time with that date, but she believes it was last fall, as the company began that introspective, forward-looking analysis that commences as a lease gets set to end, and soon decided that relocation was needed.

“I needed to move us to the next level,” said Dietz. “And this was a way to do that.”

She told BusinessWest she did look at a few other sites in Springfield, but admits that the search ended when she got her first look at the space being renovated within Union Station, a building she had never been in but had read and heard about — always with use of the past and future tenses — throughout her career.

That visit might have occurred earlier this year, by her estimation, although O’Brien recalls that the first tour was probably taken before the holidays. Whenever it happened, it was enough to soon take the discussion about whether to move, and to where, to a new place — its conclusion.

When asked about what cinched matters for her and the company, Dietz said there were many factors.

This included everything from the ability to eliminate those shortcomings with the space on Hampden Street to those aforementioned windows; from a desire to assist the city as it went about the stern challenge of making the station a viable entity to something that would resonate with any architect, and any business owner — new systems in an historic, nearly century-old building.

Indeed, above all, this move had to make sense for the company, and to Dietz, it did, on every level (still another industry term), especially the one regarding practicality.

“I wanted to be in a building that had all new stuff in it — brand-new systems, brand-new everything,” she explained. “But new stuff in an old, historic building — that’s even better; there’s history here that’s really quite wonderful.”

And with that, both she and O’Brien waxed nostalgic about the role the station and the trains that rumbled in and out of it played in the city’s history — while also expressing the hope that such prominence can be restored in the future.

“One of the things I’m really hopeful for, and I hope it happens in my professional lifetime, is the east-west train to Boston,” said Dietz. “I spend so much time on the road between here and Boston, and it’s such a waste of resources, time, and money. It’s crazy.”

Whether the east-west train becomes reality or not remains to be seen, but the Dietz company’s future in Union Station is already secure, and its founder is proud to be a big part of the next chapter in the landmark’s history.

Blueprint for Progress

As she talked with BusinessWest, Dietz was only a day removed from finalizing the furniture and the finishes for the new space in Union Station.

“It’s starting to get real now; we picked this color and that color … it’s really exciting, and I can’t wait to get in there and get to work,” she said, using words and phrases that could be echoed by countless others who have been involved with Union Station’s renovation for nearly four decades now.

Her company’s move has become part of a blueprint for progress at the station and within the city — in every sense of that phrase.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

The Many Benefits of Summer Jobs

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Opinion

Editorial

The calendar has turned to mid-May. Winter is a distant memory, and those with events to plan (and that’s most people in business) are already writing e-mails about dates in September, October, or (gulp) beyond.

But first, there’s summer, which is just about here. And when we say ‘summer,’ we’re not referring to the season that starts officially on June 21. The time for summer jobs is already upon us.

Indeed, area college students have taken their last exams, and most have packed up and headed home — wherever that is. Meanwhile, high-school seniors will collect diplomas in a few weeks, and the underclassmen will wrap things up soon after.

In other words, it’s time for area employers large and small to start thinking about the summer and how to create some opportunities for area young people through gainful employment.

We’ve written about this topic often, because it’s an important one. Summer jobs, while sometimes a strain on the budget for a small business, can, and very often do, bring benefits for the employee, the employer, and the region as a whole.

Let’s start with the employee. A job obviously puts needed money in the pocket (and, hopefully, the bank account) of a young person — whether he or she is a high-school junior or a college sophomore — but it does so much more.

It introduces that person to the world of work, if this is their first real job, or it provides them with a new and different experience, if it’s their second, third, or fourth. With each new experience comes opportunities to not only earn money, but develop skills and learn about people and how to work with them.

This is true whether someone is working on the floor for a local manufacturer, on a ride or game at Six Flags, at one of the myriad local restaurants, or at one of the thousands of other small businesses across all sectors of the economy.

As for those employers, by bringing some people on for the summer, they are introducing their company to individuals who just might be lead contributors for years, if not decades, to come.

It happens. In fact, most businesses in this region can tell the story of someone who came on as summer help and was still with that company 20, 30, or even 40 years later.

As for the region, it benefits from summer jobs in a number of ways as well. For starters, when young people have summer jobs, that means they’re not looking for something else to do, which is generally a good thing.

As noted earlier, jobs usually promote responsibility, help develop people skills, introduce and/or reinforce the benefits of teamwork, and so much more. In short, these are learning opportunities as much as they are earning opportunities.

At the same time, summer jobs and internships (almost all of which are now paid positions and therefore jobs) may also introduce some area college students — as well as people from this area going to colleges well outside it — to possible career opportunities within the 413 area code.

Matters are improving somewhat when it comes to the so-called ‘brain drain,’ but still, many young people believe they must look beyond this region to find what they might be looking for. A summer job with the right employer might just alter that mindset.

As we said at the top, summer jobs can be a burden for companies watching the bottom line — and everyone is these days. But for those who have the wherewithal or can somehow find it, these jobs can be game changers in many ways.

Unite Against Bullying and Harassment

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Opinion

Opinion

By Jane Roulier

In schools, on the streets, in relationships, and online, girls in communities across the country are experiencing bullying and harassment. In addition to sexual harassment, many girls experience discrimination based on their race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, religion, and more.

Over the past year, one in four high school girls has been bullied on school property, which negatively affects everyone involved — the victim, the harasser, and the bystanders — as well as the learning environment. While Massachusetts has laws requiring schools to develop and implement plans to address bullying, Girls Inc. of Holyoke recognizes that bullying is not limited to the school grounds.

Indeed, the prevalence of social media means that bullying follows girls into their homes and lives outside of school. Children who are bullied often have little reprieve. To address this pervasive problem, Girls Inc. dedicated Girls Inc. Week 2017, May 8-12, to helping girls advocate for change and make our communities better places to live.

But this is an initiative that goes on year-round — because it must.

Girls Inc. recently surveyed nearly 800 members of our national network, including girls and alumnae, parents, staff, board members, and donors, to determine the top challenges facing girls today. Nearly 70% of respondents identified “bullying, harassment, and sexual violence” as an issue of concern to them. We can’t ignore this. This is a problem that affects us all.

It is important we understand the facts and myths about bullying and harassment in order to effectively address this issue.

Myth: Bullying is just ‘kids being kids,’ and we should stop making it such a big deal.

Fact: Bullying can cause lasting harm. Repeated or severe conduct based on sex or other protected categories is unlawful harassment.

Myth: If it happens off school grounds, it’s not the school’s responsibility.

Fact: Under Title IX, schools have to address conduct they know about, or should know about, that leads to a hostile environment or impedes a student’s ability to benefit from the educational program.

Myth: Bullies are ‘problem kids’ who have aggression issues and should be punished.

Fact: Actually, it is quite common for kids who bully to be victims themselves.

Myth: Bullying will stop only if the victim stands up to the bully.

Fact: Just as society does not expect victims of other types of abuse to “deal with it on their own,” we should not expect this from victims of bullying or harassment.

Girls Inc. encourages girls to be change agents within their communities, boldly advocating for themselves and others. Along with more than 450 other attendees at our Spirit of Girls breakfast fund-raiser last month, I witnessed girls doing this. Girls as young as 7 through 17 spoke confidently in front of this large crowd about how our programs have impacted their lives by building their self-esteem and encouraging them to make their voices heard. Because of what they are learning, these girls will not be afraid to advocate for themselves or others. Girls Inc. of Holyoke is also working to change policies, attitudes, and beliefs to improve the conditions in which girls are growing up.

Together, we can put an end to bullying and harassment to create more inclusive, kind, safe, and supportive schools and communities.

Jane Roulier is chair of the board of directors for Girls Inc. of Holyoke.

Multi-faceted Plan in Greenfield Reaps Success

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Community Spotlight Features

Community Spotlight

Greenfield Mayor William Martin

Greenfield Mayor William Martin says the town is keeping pace with change through major projects and investments that will serve future generations.

Mayor William Martin recently acquired a book about Greenfield that was published in 1912. He keeps it in his office, and during a recent visit by BusinessWest, he culled through it and pointed out initiatives integral to the town’s economic development that mirror historic advances in the book that were considered progressive in the early 20th century.

They include increasing density downtown, attracting businesses where growth is occurring, and developing town-owned energy companies, while continuing to meet the needs of residents.

“We have taken ideas from the past and brought them into the modern day, which is very, very exciting,” Martin said. “Greenfield is a unique, progressive, and supportive community whose roots go back centuries in time; although people have come and gone, the spirit here remains the same.

“We were called a progressive community 150 years ago and are being called that again today,” the mayor continued, as he spoke about how the town is keeping pace with change through major projects and investments that will serve future generations.

They include the new, $70 million Franklin County Justice Center which opened its doors about a month ago after two and a half years of planning and construction. “It brought people back downtown and consolidated the county’s judicial system into one building,” Martin said, adding that, although some downtown businesses suffered when the old courthouse was closed and the offices were temporarily moved, there has been a revival of vibrancy due to an increase in traffic from courthouse employees, attorneys, and people who visit the justice center to resolve legal issues.

“In addition to housing the Franklin County court system, the center is home to preventive and social-justice offices for the afflicted and the addicted,” Martin said.

The increase in visitors created an immediate need for more downtown parking, which is being addressed. Construction will begin in July on a new, $10 million, four-story Olive Street Garage that will have a solar canopy on its upper floor and offer 355 parking spaces, charging stations for electric vehicles, and spots designated for bicycles and motorcycles.

It is being built on the site of a former parking lot and is expected to alleviate traffic congestion since it is located a block from the courthouse and across the street from the John W. Olver Transit Center, which serves Franklin County Transit Authority bus routes and provides inter-city bus service, as well as a train station that houses Amtrak’s Vermonter line.

“Greenfield is the capital of Franklin County and has always been an active transportation center. Our history dates back to the time of steamboats and stagecoaches which brought supplies to the hilltowns,” Martin said.

He noted that Robert Cartelli, who owns Ford Toyota of Greenfield and recently built a new, $8 million dealership, preserved several historic bas-relief caricatures of stagecoaches, planes, and trains that were on his old building and donated them to the town. One will be mounted on each floor of the garage, and the floors will be named after the sculptures.

A large monitor will also be installed that will serve as an educational showcase for the town’s transportation history and allow visitors to learn about its importance in Franklin County.

For this, the latest installment in its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at the many initiatives and projects taking place in Greenfield that are adding to its vitality and ensuring the town keeps pace with the future.

Continued Progress

Healthcare is an industry that is experiencing rapid growth, and projects in Greenfield reflect that trend. The Lunt Silversmiths property, located about 1.5 miles from Main Street and downtown, has undergone substantial reconstruction, and phase 3 is being completed by the developer 401 Liberty Street, LLC.

One of three buildings slated for redevelopment has been converted into a residential medical treatment center with 65 beds that is operated by Behavioral Health Network. That structure also houses two residential clinics that opened last fall, and Clinical & Support Options will soon move into a 15,000-square-foot renovated space in another building.

When the renovation is finished and the remaining 15,000-square-foot space is occupied, the property will have generated several hundred new jobs and increased taxes from $2.2 million to $11 million.

“The former brownfields site has been put to good, productive use,” Martin said.

He explained that the town purchased the property after Lunt Silversmiths went bankrupt, and the acquisition included a number of ballfields on 6.62 acres of the 11-acre parcel that had been used by youth baseball teams for more than 50 years.

“During negotiations that were associated with the sale, the developer agreed to create a mini-Fenway Park that will contain three playing fields for youth in the community that will open in August,” Martin said.

greenfieldfact

Health services and businesses in Greenfield are on the rise, and the Center for Human Development plans to move its Clinic for Behavioral Services and Community Health Clinic into 104-106 Main St., the former home of an antique and used-furniture business.

“The health clinic serves several thousand clients each month, which will help us reach our goal of increasing density downtown,” Martin told BusinessWest.

In addition, the First National Bank and Trust building downtown, which has been unoccupied for more than two decades, is being acquired by Greenfield Development Authority.

Martin said the state approved the town’s application to establish a cultural district last fall, and plans for the structure include creating a flexible space that could be used for plays, theater productions, an international marketplace during the winter, and an indoor seasonal farmer’s market in the spring, summer, and fall, as well as a gallery and museum to house the city’s antiques, including a Concord coach, an original pump from the Fire Department, a liberty bell, and a golden cane.

“This is a magnificent space in the center of Greenfield that will be used by the community and serve the interests of many residents,” the mayor said.

The Abercrombie Building, another structure downtown in the buildings along Bank Row, will also be put to new use when the state takes over 15,000 square feet and turns it into the Franklin County Public Attorneys’ Office. Martin noted that the building has been unoccupied for about 20 years, and its reuse fits in well with the idea of increasing foot traffic downtown.

Greenfield has also taken a proactive stance toward energy and technology because these sectors will play a vital role in ensuring its independence as well as its ability to attract new businesses.

Greenfield Light and Power began operating as a municipal aggregation plan more than a year ago, and brought lower-cost electricity to the community and measures to procure it from renewable sources.

Since it went online, all electricity used in the town is 100% green and is priced at $8.02 per kilowatt hour, which is less than the cost of electricity supplied by Eversource.

“Greenfield Light and Power was started by the town in the 1880s, then sold to Western Mass Electric in the 1930s. But today we have our own power company again,” Martin said, as he continued to outline the town’s history.

Another major initiative was born last year when the Town Council approved a $5 million bond to create a municipal broadband network that includes Internet, phone, and data services.

Greenfield Community Energy and Technology, commonly known as GCET, will pay for itself now that it is up and running. The mayor said the town will begin taking subscriptions within the next 60 days.

“We’re taking ideas from the past and giving them new life. It’s exciting that things done 150 years ago are the same things we want to do today. Our generation is replacing institutional landmarks, and we hope our Internet service and electric company will continue to operate into the next century,” the mayor noted, explaining that the goal was to provide the most current, fastest service for businesses in Greenfield at no cost to the taxpayer, which is part of the town’s strategy of making investments in capital projects to satisfy needs in the private market.

The town recently issued a request for proposals to demolish the former Bendix Corp. building and draw up a plan for the 17-acre brownfields site. The project is in the final stages of cleanup, and Martin said the city is working with Honeywell Corp., which is responsible for site remediation.

International Container Co. has also announced plans to move from Holyoke and build an 80,000-square-foot building in Greenfield. “We have been meeting with them for eight months, and they hope to start construction in August and hire 65 new employees after they open,” Martin said.

Eye to the Future

Improvements to the public-school system are ongoing. The new, $66 million Greenfield High School opened its doors in the fall of 2015 and sports new playing fields, a concession stand, and a track.

“The first track meet was held behind the building several weeks ago,” Martin said as he outlined other educational investments: Greenfield Community College’s establishment of a downtown campus; the Mass. Virtual Academy at Greenfield on Main Street, which was the Commonwealth’s first virtual K-12 public school; and the recent completion of $1.8 million of work at Federal Street School.

In addition, Greenfield’s Math and Science Academy, which serves grades 4 through 7, is being moved from the Federal Street School to Greenfield Middle School so more students can take advantage of its advanced curriculum.

Progress is also being made on the new 10,000-square-foot John Zon Community Center, which will be designed to meet the changing expectations and needs of seniors in the community.

Forish Construction in Westfield is in charge of the $4.5 million project and began demolition of a 15,000-square-foot brick building at the intersection of Pleasant and Davis streets several weeks ago. The town-owned structure was built as a school in 1908, operated as a hotel and apartments in the ’80s, then used as the public-school administration center.

“It’s an exciting project,” Martin said, explaining that the school’s administrative offices have been moved into the bottom floor of Greenfield Middle School.

Greenfield has also reorganized its Veteran’s Service Department that is the hub for all towns in Franklin County. In addition to a downtown office, it has a van that serves disabled vets in their homes.

“They deserve to get the care they need and also bring in between $7 million and $10 million a year in benefits, which affects our economy,” Martin said, noting that the town recently held a symposium for veterans at Greenfield Community College that dealt with Agent Orange and 43 diseases presumed to originate from exposure to the deadly chemical that was used during the Vietnam War.

In another part of town, the Eunice Williams Bridge has been restored. The historic covered structure was knocked off its abutment during Hurricane Irene and downgraded to a pedestrian bridge. But thanks to $9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover damages in the town resulting from the storm, the abutment was replaced, and the bridge has been upgraded for vehicular travel.

Martin said Greenfield has received a number of awards in the past few years. Green River Park was feted with the 2017 Design of Facility Agency Award from the Massachusetts Recreation and Park Assoc. for major renovations that include a new basketball court, pickleball court, playground, pavilion, dog park, parking area, and Americans with Disabilities Act improvements.

And in 2016, Greenfield was designated as a Crossroads Cultural District by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and honored by American City & County magazine as a Crown Community for pioneering locally generated renewable-energy certificates into the Greenfield Light and Power Program.

A LEED Gold certification was also awarded at completion of the new Greenfield High School, and the town was recognized for the fifth time as a Playful City USA by the national nonprofit KaBoom!, which honors cities and towns that ensure that all children, particularly those from low-income families, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive.

The mayor said these accolades and Greenfield’s continued progress has not come about by accident; rather, they are a result of action that has been taken with an eye to the future.

“I have dedicated myself to making Greenfield a city that is on the precipice of inventiveness, always moving forward while maintaining a dedication to fiscal responsibility,” he said. “We will continue to look for private investments that will enhance long-term development, generate revenue and jobs, and add to our tax base.”

This is a recipe from the past that should yield equal success in the future.

Nominate a Healthcare Hero

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Features

Program Recognizes Excellence, Innovation, Service to Region

healthcareheroeslogo021517-pingThe time for talk is over; the time for action is now.

That’s action in the form of nominations for Healthcare Heroes, an exciting recognition program involving the Western Mass. healthcare sector, launched this spring by BusinessWest and HCN.

Presented by American International College with supporting sponsors Bay Path University, Elms College, and Renew.Calm, with additional sponsorships available, the program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest and HCN.
Nominations are now being sought — and they will be accepted until June 29 — in the following categories:

Categories

(Click on each category to go to it’s nomination form)

The nominations will be scored by a panel of judges to be announced in the coming weeks. The winners will be chosen in July and will be profiled in the Sept. 4 issue of BusinessWest as well as the Sept. issue of HCN.
What follows are the guidelines to consider when nominating individuals, groups, or institutions for these various categories. All this information and applications will be available at businesswest.com/healthcare-heroes/healthcare-heroes-nomination-information-criteria/.
As you consider the award categories, please keep in mind the following guidelines in preparing your nomination:
• Criteria: The criteria for the award and how the nominee fits the criteria for the chosen category;
• Accomplishments: What are the nominee’s specific accomplishments, and how were they achieved;
• Impact: What measurable impact the nominee has had on the population served in the health and wellness community;
• Uniqueness: Is there anything else that makes the nominee exceptional or unique? Provide any other information that will aid in the judges’ consideration of the nomination; and
• Eligibilty: Nominees must work in either Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, or Berkshire county, and organization nominees (which may be for-profit or not-for-profit) must have offices in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, or Berkshire county; nominations may be self-nominated or nominated by another person; and nominees cannot be a member of the judges’ panel or a member of a judge’s immediate family.

Award Category Descriptions

(Click on each category to go to it’s nomination form)

Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider

Who is eligible: Company or organization which has shown leadership and excellent service over a sustained period of time by providing quality care, and is considered exemplary by patients and peers.

Judging Criteria: The judges will be looking for evidence of high quality care and continuous improvement. Successful submissions should also demonstrate an area of going above and beyond in terms of training, new programs, best practices, and staff/service user engagement.

Innovation in Health/Wellness

Who is eligible: A company, organization, individual, or group of individuals responsible for development of a new procedure, treatment, program or service that can save lives or improve quality of life. The award may be given for either new innovations or for the refining of existing procedures, treatments, programs or services.

Judging Criteria: The innovation should be expansive in scope so that it now, or could in the future, affect many people’s lives. The application should provide information on the size of the target population and the potential dollar value of the market.

Community Health

Who is eligible: Company, organization, individual, or group of individuals responsible for promoting healthy living, bringing attention to a health/wellness issue, or solving a problem through community outreach.

Judging Criteria: Impact on the community, fulfilling a need otherwise not met in the community.

Examples but are not limited to: Community education efforts, donation of facility resources for community use, outreach to at-risk youth, volunteer service projects, events and activities designed to address local community needs.

Emerging Leader

Who is eligible: Individual, early in their career, who is making a significant impact in the health/wellness industry, exemplifying true leadership, and acting as a role model for others.

Judging Criteria: The judges will be looking for an individual who is rising through the ranks and establishing themselves as future leaders in the health/wellness industry. The winner of this award will be someone who outshines their peers in many ways and helps their organization surpass the competition.

Collaboration in Health/Wellness

Who is eligible: Two or more entities which demonstrate creative and effective collaborations for the purpose of addressing significant health and wellness needs or common problems and standards in community.

Judging Criteria: The judges will be looking for evidence of excellence in strategic collaborations promoting cooperation, sharing of resources and expertise and mutual support with a focus on outcomes, value and initiatives. Effective elimination of organizational silos and promotion of more holistic approaches to care and service.

Health/Wellness Administration/Administrator

Who is eligible: Individual, or group of individuals, whose performance, care and leadership is considered exemplary by patients and peers.

Judging Criteria: Increased efficiency in the delivery of services, increased employee morale, improved profitability.

Lifetime Achievement

Who is eligible: Individual who has dedicated their career to improving the quality and delivery of healthcare in the Western Mass. community. This person should have at least 20 years in the health/wellness field.

Judging Criteria: A lifetime career in the health care field, making an impact through care, either by the number of people affected or the scope of his/her contributions, dedication to his/her field.

Submitting multiple nominations does not enhance your chances of winning.

At Burkhart Pizzanelli, Relationships Are Paramount

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burkhartfeature-0517b
Banking and Financial Services Sections

Beyond the Numbers

Managing Principal Julie Quink, left, and Principal Deborah Penzias

Managing Principal Julie Quink, left, and Principal Deborah Penzias

The two youngest partners at Burkhart Pizzanelli say they’ve learned well from the accounting firm’s founders, who have long cultivated a relationship-driven culture that builds not only business, but, more importantly, trust. It’s a model they hope to build upon in the coming decades, with the goal of helping clients navigate the many facets of growing a successful enterprise.

To those outside the accounting industry, it may seem like a dry, numbers-driven game.

But that’s not the case at West Springfield-based Burkhart Pizzanelli, said Managing Principal Julie Quink, noting that each of those numbers tells a story, and it’s a story she and her team want to hear and understand.

“We’re very relationship-driven in terms of our clients, and also with our team — we’re a very close-knit team; that’s how we function,” Quink said. “We don’t want to be one-and-done, where we prepare your tax return and don’t hear from you until next year. We want to reach out often to see how things are going. We want to hear when positive things are happening.”

That leads to new business opportunities, said Partner Deborah Penzias, but also a deepening of trust between Burkhart Pizzanelli and its clients that often results in decades-long business relationships.

“We stress the relationship aspect of it; that’s really important to us,” Quink added. “Our topmost priority here is quality, and building relationships is second.”

The company dates back to 1986, when Richard Burkhart and Salvatore Pizzanelli, still partners with the company today, went into business together as an accounting, tax, and consulting firm. A third partner, Thomas Pratt, joined them soon after, and the three steadily grew the firm. Penzias came on board in 1998, followed by Quink in 2011, and today, the five partners are among 18 total employees, performing services in a variety of areas.

“We provide your traditional tax and accounting services, and we also do a lot of things other firms don’t do,” Quink said. “We have a forensic accounting practice, we have our own bookkeeping group in house, and we have access to a third-party administrator on site who can help with defined-contribution plans and plan design.”

 

We don’t want to be one-and-done, where we prepare your tax return and don’t hear from you until next year. We want to reach out often to see how things are going. We want to hear when positive things are happening.”

 

The firm specializes in a number of industry groups, including healthcare, construction, affordable housing, auto dealers, manufacturing, nonprofits, professional services, real estate, restaurants, and wholesale and distribution. “It’s a good mix,” Quink said.

In all those areas, she and Penzias stressed that the company’s culture is one of collaboration, honesty, mutual respect, and trust, and that means forging relationships with all the members of a client’s financial-advisory team, which may include an attorney, an investment adviser, a bank, and an insurance agent. “We’re all part of the financial team advising the business,” Penzias noted.

Whether dealing with a small-business client with $100,000 in revenues or a $100 million entity, that philosophy stays the same, Quink added.

“We like to function as a team. If we find something is not in our bailiwick to deal with, we refer it out. We feel that we should be advising on our core competencies, and if something is outside that realm, we’ll refer it to one of the others on the team. There’s a lot of crossover with legal counsel in terms of estate planning, divorce situations, and business planning. That’s why it’s important for us to work as a team.”

Current Events

It’s equally important to stay on the cutting edge of the accounting and business-advisory world, which Burkhart Pizzanelli does in two critical ways.

“We recently rolled out to the team what our financial picture looks like, where we spend our money,” Quink said. “If you look at it as a pie graph, clearly the biggest piece is our human capital, our people. But the next-biggest buckets where we spend our resources are education and technology.”

“The industry has changed so much since I started in business, when we were preparing tax returns by hand with pen and paper,” Penzias said by way of explaining the commitment to current technology. “That has evolved over the years. Now, we replace our computers on a three-year cycle, whether they need it or not. We’re constantly adding new programs, new tools, so we can delegate the calculation tasks to computers and focus on what’s really important to a business.”

Julie Quink

Julie Quink says she sees Burkhart Pizzanelli as a critical part of a client’s financial team.

Quink added that clients are encouraged to use as much technology as possible, both because it creates an electronic trail, and to make their operations as convenient as possible for them. “We’re conscious of the security piece of it, and we’re very secure,” she added.

Burkhart Pizzanelli also invests substantial resources into continuing education, far beyond the minimum requirements of licensing authorities, the partners explained. This includes industry-specific and technical training in the areas in which they operate and want to expand.

Most team members require at least 80 hours of education every two years to retain their certifications, which they usually split into 40 hours each year. But those industry-specific certifications require additional education and may push them well past 60 hours annually.

“The firm pays for this education and makes sure they’re current with what’s happening in different industries, and that we have appropriate knowledge to work in these areas,” said Quink, who became a certified fraud examiner last year. “We should have a working knowledge of any business we’re serving.”

She reiterated that continuing education isn’t just beneficial, but an integral part of the business. “There are certain educational criteria we need to meet. Some folks here have their insurance licenses and are able to help underwrite policies. On the tax side, we need specialized tax knowledge; most of our people here can do tax returns, so the majority of our people get tax training every year to make sure they’re up on their education. We don’t ever want to be in a situation where we’re serving industries we don’t have expertise in.”

Penzias agreed. “We would refer away before doing something we couldn’t handle,” she said, noting that expertise combined with candor helps build trust with clients. “The best referral sources are happy customers.”

The company’s culture is producing happy employees, too, Quink said, noting that more than half of them have been with the firm more than 10 years.

Community Ties

That kind of retention bolsters a relationship-oriented culture that also manifests itself in the community. Many Burkhart Pizzanelli employees volunteer with local organizations in various capacities, including board membership, advising, and other forms of service.

“One thing we stress here is community service,” Quink said. “We encourage the team and provide time during the day or evening to attend events or be involved. We feel like we make a difference in the West Springfield area — both with clients and in our community. We feel it’s important to be a good community partner.”

“We want to give back,” Penzias added, “and we encourage that in our team.”

Meanwhile, the firm continues to expand its reach in professional areas as well. Take Quink’s certification as a forensic accountant, which allows her to work with legal counsel — sometimes on the plaintiff side, sometimes the defense — to help build a case in matters ranging from divorce to business disputes.

“What we don’t do is come up with an opinion on innocence or guilt — just a pattern of facts to help with the case,” she explained. “It’s not just hard numbers; you see what causes people to do things, what motivates them, and it’s often not pleasant for clients because there’s a level of trust that’s been violated, or it may be a marital situation where one spouse is hiding assets from the other. It’s a little more interesting than just doing a tax return.”

The company continues to expand its traditional services as well, now boasting 10 CPAs but also strengthening client relationships on matters from transactional needs to succession planning.

SEE: List of Banks in Western Mass.

“Tom has one client who’s been with him more than 40 years,” Quink said. “They may not need the same level of service anymore, but they stay because of the relationship aspect. They feel comfortable that we’re giving them the best advice for their situation. Clients look to us for advice, and we provide that. If we’re not able to help them with some particular aspect, we refer them to one of the trusted people we deal with.”

As the youngest partners, and the ones who will eventually be fully in charge, Quink and Penzias want that culture to spur the next 30 years of growth at Burkhart Pizzanelli. As a professor at Elms College, Quink has access to a pipeline of talent she can observe and evaluate in the early stages; four of the firm’s employees are Elms graduates.

Counting on Them

In such a diverse business, they added, everything comes back to those relationships they touted multiple times — those real people, with real issues, behind the numbers.

“We’ve seen companies start from seedlings and grow and watch the next generation take over,” Penzias said. “I’ve worked with the parents, and then the kids take over, and we have to foster those relationships as well. It is very gratifying to see our clients succeed.”

But even when they struggle, Burkhart & Pizzanelli has a place — perhaps an even more important one, Quink said.

“When clients aren’t doing so well, I think we shine there,” she said. “We can provide a lot of insight, alternatives, and strategies. At some point in each business’ life cycle, they’ve had some struggles. Most of our clients are closely held, family-run, not publicly traded companies. Family businesses have their own dynamic — and we understand the dynamics of a family business.”

Being there for all aspects of a clients’ business also creates a personal bond as well, Quink said, recalling a client who lost his spouse, and one of the very first calls he made was to Burkhart. “We have so much impact on people’s lives; it’s impressive,” she said. “But, likewise, so is the impact our clients have on our lives.

“As we evolve as a firm, Debbie and I are the future owners; ultimately, she and I will own the firm,” she went on. “With that happening, we are also grooming the next wave. We’re always forward thinking; we’re finding our replacements, too. We’ll be here awhile, but it takes awhile to build referral networks and understand how the business works and really gain experience in the industry. We’re grooming our next leadership team.”

That grooming and training goes far beyond the technical aspects of the accounting industry, Penzias said, but extends to soft skills and relationship building, which are as much art as science, but are critical to continuing the culture first cultivated by the firm’s original partners.

“Trust is important, and relationships are important,” Quink said — much more important, in fact, than the dry numbers on a computer screen.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Who Benefits from Trump’s Plan?

By
Banking and Financial Services Sections

At This Early Juncture, We Honestly Cannot Tell

By Kristina Drzal-Houghton, CPA MST

Kristina Drzal-Houghton

Kristina Drzal-Houghton

President Trump’s skeletal outline of a tax package, unveiled at the White House late last month in a single-page statement filled with bullet points, was less a plan than a wish list.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Gary Cohn, the director of Trump’s National Economic Council, laid out the skeleton of a plan to reporters. They pitched his new tax proposal as a cut for the middle class and not the wealthy. However, it appears as if it would undoubtedly mean lower taxes for top earners, while the impact on middle incomes is less clear.

The proposal envisions slashing the tax rate paid by businesses large and small to 15%. Lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% is one of the most aggressive moves in the plan. The administration says it gets the rate down to where it is for most other industrialized nations.

Additionally, corporations would pay reduced or no taxes on foreign profits brought back to the U.S. It would be a special, one-time opportunity to bring home cash that they are parking overseas. They did not say how low that rate would be or how they would ensure that the money would be invested productively.

Pass-through businesses, such as S corporations and LLCs, would also pay the same 15% tax rate that Trump has proposed for corporations. As the name suggests, pass-through businesses pass their income through to their owners, who pay tax at their individual rates. For high-income earners, the rate could decrease from 39.6% to 15%. Critics have noted that this will not only benefit small family businesses, but also large business empires like Trump’s own.

On the individual tax front, the number of tax brackets for individuals is reduced from seven to three: 10%, 25% and 35%. The Trump administration did not say where those brackets begin and end. Individual tax rates currently have a ceiling of 39.6% and a floor of 10%. That lowers the top rate by nearly five percentage points, easing the tax burdens on most Americans, including, again, the rich.

Under the plan, the top federal capital-gains rate is cut from 23.8% to 20%. This is achieved by eliminating a 3.8% tax that is used to fund the Affordable Care Act. The reduction is meant to create greater incentives for people to invest.

Currently, single individuals have a standard deduction of $6,350, and married couples can deduct $12,700 from their taxable income. The president’s plan would double the standard deduction. That is intended to put more money in the pockets of the average taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions. It has the added benefit of simplifying the preparation of tax returns for more people. Cohn tried to frame this as a benefit to middle- and lower-income people who don’t have deductions, saying some people would pay little or no taxes under Trump’s plan.

The one-page blueprint proposes, without specifics, to “eliminate target tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthiest taxpayers.” The proposal would scrap most itemized deductions, such as those for state and local tax payments, a valuable break for taxpayers in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which have high income-tax rates as well as real-estate taxes. But the president would leave in place popular breaks for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and retirement savings.

The plan would eliminate the estate tax and alternative minimum tax, a parallel system that primarily hits wealthier people by effectively limiting the deductions and other benefits available to them — both moves that would richly benefit Trump himself.

In a brief session with reporters, Cohn and Mnuchin said they had been toiling for weeks on the proposal, much of which closely resembles the plan Trump championed as a presidential candidate. They argued that it would spur robust economic growth that would, along with the elimination of deductions, cover the potentially multi-trillion-dollar proposal entirely, a prospect that even many Republicans believe is virtually impossible.

“This will pay for itself with growth and with reduction of different deductions and closing loopholes,” Mnuchin said, repeating his optimistic estimate that the plan would spur the economy to grow at a rate of 3% annually. “The economic plan under Trump will grow the economy and will create massive amounts of revenues, trillions of dollars in additional revenues.”

The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that the Trump outline could cost $5.5 trillion in revenues. The likelihood of our needing to worry about the accuracy of this estimate seems slim given recent developments.

Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement on April 30 to fund the government through September, effectively ending any suspense about the possibility of a government shutdown. The agreement includes increased funding for the military and for border security. But it does not include funding for the wall that President Trump wants to build along the border with Mexico, one of his major campaign promises.

While the agreement avoids the embarrassment of a government shut-down, it also gives a glimpse of the reluctance of lawmakers to bend to Trump’s spending priorities, like his desire for sharp cuts to domestic programs, with the increase in funding for medical research a prime example.

While you may want to consult your tax adviser about the possible benefits the Trump plan would have on your taxes, I would suggest you hold off on changing your withholdings or estimated tax payments for 2017.

Kristina Drzal-Houghton, CPA MST is the partner in charge of Taxation at Holyoke-based Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; (413) 536-8510.

Risk Management Is Key to Avoiding Insurance Claims

By
insurancefeature-0517b
Insurance Sections

Culture of Safety

riskmanagementMention insurance to someone, and chances are they’ll think of buying a certain level of coverage against loss, damage, or other adverse events. But when it comes to business insurance, that’s just one aspect of protecting a company. Just as important is risk management, which is essentially the process of implementing steps to reduce the probability of such dangers. It’s a win-win effort that saves money for both insurance companies and their clients — and often saves lives, too.

Insurance, Bill Grinnell noted, is a transfer of risk, an investment a business makes in protecting itself from the costs of accidents, fraud, theft, and any number of other occurrences.

“You can manage risk in different ways,” said Grinnell, president of Webber & Grinnell Insurance in Northampton. “You can buy insurance to protect against exposures, but you can also reduce the risk of exposures — and your costs will be lower.”

He was talking about risk management, which can take many shapes, but typically refers to the mitigation of risk to avoid an accident or other incident that could trigger a costly insurance claim.

Risk management is big business for insurance carriers, who employ professionals with industry-specific expertise to help businesses cut down on their exposure to risk, thereby saving both the insurer and client money.

Bill Grinnell

Bill Grinnell says reducing risks is the best way to lower the cost of insuring against exposures.

“Some of it is common sense. But sometimes it takes paid professionals to come in and make recommendations to help devise solutions,” said Timm Marini, president of HUB International New England in East Longmeadow. “The larger employers have their own safety officers and risk-management officers, but even they often rely on people like us.”

He said one of HUB’s calling cards is its network of individuals around the country who develop and help implement industry-specific workplace strategies to reduce risk, from driver training to hazardous-materials edcuation. “Within each discipline, there are very specific types of expertise available.”

Shellye Archambeau, CEO of MetricStream, a provider of governance, risk, and compliance software solutions, recently wrote that the hallmark of a good risk-management program is a pervasive risk-assessment culture that starts at the top, and is built on sound policies, training programs, and incentives.

“For organizations to not only survive, but thrive in this new landscape, they will need to build better resilience. That means gathering, analyzing, and learning from the past, so that decision makers can take measured steps to deal with the next major volatility or stress,” Archambeau noted. “It also means having the right risk data at the right time to understand how to diversify or disperse risks, so that no single risk has a major impact.”

The exposures that HUB works with companies to mitigate, Marini told BusinessWest, are diverse and always changing. For instance, while many accident-prevention strategies in manufacturing have been around for decades, now employers must deal with a demographic shift: Americans working longer in life than before, leading to higher-than-ever instances of joint deterioration and a subsequent boost in workers’ compensation claims related to joint injury and replacement.

Then there’s the new high-tech culture as it intersects with driving, a concern for companies with employees who work on the road. “With new technology in vehicles, we’re seeing more distracted drivers,” Marini said. “That creates increased exposure; when drivers get distracted, it’s very similar to drunk or impaired driving.”

SEE: List of Insurance Agencies in Western Mass.

Grinnell agrees, saying, his agency insures many firms in trucking, fuel-oil transport, and other fields where driver safety is a concern. “So we’re seeing more webcam technology, GPS technology, and technology that tracks the speed of the vehicle, sudden starts and stops, swerves … all that gets recorded.”

It’s a way to both incentivize driver safety and to record the true facts of an accident, both of which affect a company’s bottom line. But another high-tech concern is causing an even greater stir these days in the world of risk management.

Breach Combers

That would be cybersecurity, an area of interest for just about every company, large or small. Not every breach causes exposure on the level of a Target or Home Depot, but any avoidable damage can harm a company’s bottom line and reputation.

“Those companies that keep medical records, Social Security numbers, and credit cards are expected to be more diligent in protecting their data than businesses that don’t have so much of that exposure,” Grinnell said. “You need to be sure you’re not only protected, but in compliance with some pretty stringent laws.”

More and more, Marini added, insurance agencies are working with clients to control cyber privacy and protect information. “It runs the gamut from healthcare to manufacturing. If people get in, they can disrupt your business and hold you hostage. We’re spending a whole lot of time developing capabilities to help our customers protect themselves from cyber exposure and risk.”

Timm Marini

Timm Marini says technology is posing new risks, from data breaches to drivers distracted by their devices.

 

One way it has done that is through the use of certified friendly hackers. “We’ve actually put on some seminars with the FBI, where our friendly hacker goes in and shows how easy it is to permeate your firewalls. For 97% of businesses, it’s not a matter of if, but when something of this nature will happen.”

But he also returned to that concept of creating a culture of safety where each employee understands the risks of, say, leaving a laptop open, neglecting strong password protection, or falling for phishing e-mails. “Those moments of carelessness may be having the same password for everyone, or keeping printed materials of a private nature in your vehicle.”

After all, employee negligence may limit insurance protection, noted Lorelle Masters,  a partner at the international law firm Perkins Coie, in Risk Management Monitor. “Although many businesses have crime insurance that covers ‘computer-systems fraud,’ ambiguous provisions or liability limits may restrict coverage,” she noted. “Some courts have held that fraud coverage applies only when intrusions are unauthorized, but not when an unwitting employee falls prey to an online scam.”

For other types of risk exposure, insurance companies rely on the guidelines laid out by the National Fire Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and other work-related protection agencies — as well as their own, industry-specific expertise — to determine exposure to loss and help companies reduce it.

For instance, manufacturers need to train employees in handling hazardous chemicals and working around dangerous machinery and sharp cutting edges. Much like the friendly-hacker concept, many risk managers conduct mock OSHA inspections, so companies can locate and iron out safety issues before the real thing — when mistakes can lead to hefty fines. Businesses may also choose to make structural changes to their buildings if they’re located in a flood zone, near a faultline, or otherwise geographically vunerable.

Once risk is mitigated to whatever degree is possible, an insurance carrier can then assume the remainder of the risk.

“Risk management boils down to the owner and management of a business making safety a priority and really instilling in their managers to preach safety — and hold them accountable for the safety of their workers,” Grinnell said. “It’s amazing how much common sense can protect a business. On the other hand, if it’s all about profit and productivity and squeezing as much business as you can into one day, then safety falls to the side, then accidents are going to happen. When businesses get the culture of safety right, the rest kind of falls into place.”

Stepping Up

Grinnell noted, however, that many insurance companies do a mediocre job helping companies reduce risk. “Most insurance companies go out for the first visit and make sure companies have their act together, but they don’t repeat that visit or check up on them,” he said. “Some companies do offer more comprehensive risk-management services, but they’re few and far between, so companies are left to rely on their own devices to figure out their risk-management steps. We do offer a fair amount of those services.”

With the risk-management and regulatory-compliance worlds intersecting in a more complex way for businesses these days, Marini said HUB’s emphasis on providing resources to help clients navigate their risks is a definite benefit. “We have all of that available for our customers. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s part of the arrangement.”

Some risk-management startegies are simply common sense, from not leaving customer data lying around to shredding rather than throwing away sensitive documents; from maintaining eye-wash stations where chemicals are handled to installing cameras in parking lots and entryways to record the verity of slip-and-fall accidents that often lead to costly lawsuits.

“Those types of controls have been around for a long time,” Grinnell added. “You basically do an assessment of the business, whether you’re trying to prevent hands getting caught in machines or exposure to hazardous materials or fall exposure, whatever. There are safe practices to follow to protect yourself against all those hazards.”

Although no company can ever say it’s totally safe from the myriad events that cause disruption, financial loss, and injury — or worse — it’s clear that developing that culture of safety, with all the details that go into it, can significantly reduce exposures and help employers sleep better at night.

“You may think you’re running the best operation in the world,” Grinnell said, “but if you’re not thinking about these exposures, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Building Permits

By
Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of April 2017.

AGAWAM

Agawam Plaza, LLC
63-79 Springfield St.
$400 — Illuminated sign

The Style Cottage, LLC
674 Springfield St.
$950 — Replace three windows

Tres Chic Realty, LLC
333-339 Walnut St. Ext.
$15,430 — Interior remodeling

AMHERST

Amherst College
214 Main St.
$322,674 — Install high-pressure fire-suppression sprinkler mist system

BC Rolling Green, LLC
422 Belchertown Road
$2,775 — Install main-entrance sign

Woodgreen Amherst, LP
6 University Dr.
$18,000 — Add interior partitions to existing office space

CHICOPEE

Center for Human Development
187 Fairview Ave.
$6,700 — Bathroom floors, walls, and tile

Center Group, LLC
13 Center St.
$2,500 — Remove step-high platform in back of building, make level with existing floor, install bench on back wall

Chicopee Country Club
1290 Burnett Road
$3,200 — Remove existing railings on patio, install new railings

Chicopee Marketplace, LLC
591 Memorial Dr., Suite H
$3,000 — Relocate existing sprinkler heads to accommodate new wall layout

Lori Jerusik
169 Grove St.
$188,500 — Construct a structure for use as a kennel, shelter, and dog-grooming facility

Christopher Petropoulos
79 Madison St.
$11,900 — Storage addition to old storage building

EASTHAMPTON

Birch Hill, LLC
35 Center St.
$4,000 — Roofing

Williston Northampton School
9 Payson Ave.
$3,000 — Install new corner posts to front porch, install new railings and front stairs, strengthen carrying beam

EAST LONGMEADOW

Cartamundi
443 Shaker Road
$428,000 — Roofing

East Longmeadow Skilled Nursing
305 Maple St.
$25,000 — Interior alterations

Plastipak
108 Industrial Dr.
$17,844 — Fire sprinkler system

Secure Energy Solutions, LLC
515 Shaker Road
$30,000 — Fire-protection system

GREENFIELD

Clinical & Support Options
140 High St.
$2,800 — Ramp

Community Action
154 Federal St.
$11,000 — Roofing

Franklin County Community Developmentr Corp.
324 Wells St.
$616,000 — Addition

J.J. Smith Properties, LLC
30 Mohawk Trail
$800 — Install new roof shingles

TCB Leyden Woods, LP
24 Leyden Road
$316,009 — New commercial building

HADLEY

Pyramid Mall of Hadley Newco, LLC
367 Russell St.
$10,000 — PetSmart stock racking

Pyramid Mall of Hadley Newco, LLC
367 Russell St.
$146,000 — Renovation of existing space into new Nail Pro

Vertical Assets, LLC
165 Russell St.
$1,116,650 — Pre-engineered addition to existing rock-climbing facility with interior finishes

LONGMEADOW

GPT Longmeadow, LLC
720 Bliss Road
$135,000 — Construct new storefront and façade, subdivide into two stores

LPC Realty, LLC
123 Dwight Road
$70,500 — Install roof-mounted solar array

LUDLOW

Apex Dental
653 Center St.
$64,000 — Siding

Oscar’s Pizza
973 East St.
$7,200 — Commercial alterations

SBA Towers II, LLC
201 West Ave.
$15,000 — Cell tower alterations

Springfield Water & Sewer
Skyridge and Holyoke streets
$120,000 — Pumping station

NORTHAMPTON

City of Northampton
125 Locust St.
$1,900 — Interior renovation to DPW administrative building

City of Northampton
Meadow St.
$59,945 — Install 88-panel solar array

Main Street, LLC
207 Main St.
$4,000 — Illuminated wall sign for Greenfield Savings Bank (first of two)

Main Street, LLC
207 Main St.
$2,000 — Illuminated wall sign for Greenfield Savings Bank (second of two)

SBA Communications
254 Old Wilson Road
$10,000 — Remove seven antenna panels and replace with four upgraded antenna panels, add six remote radio heads on existing telecommunications tower

PALMER

Faith Baptist Church
251 Shearer St.
$4,000 — Extend platform inside church, add steps

SPRINGFIELD

Atlantic Capital Investors
3500 Main St.
$59,000 — Re-roofing

Baystate Health
759 Chestnut St.
$42,000 — Interior fit-out of shell space for waiting room

Baystate Health
759 Chestnut St.
$205,050 — Renovate dialysis-machine cleaning area

Liberty Medical Building Associates, LLP
125 Liberty St.
$11,000 — Renovations of medical office, including dividing large space and combining two offices and two suites

MassMutual
1295 State St.
$20,000 — Modify fire-alarm system in first-floor east wing

Mercy Medical Center
233 Carew St.
$202,654 — Interior demolition of walls and removal of portions of concrete floor slab

Mercy Medical Center
271 Carew St.
$184,654 — Retrofit linear accelerator vault to accept new accelerator

Oak Grove Cemetery
426 Bay St.
$63,750 — Chapel re-roofing

SBA Communications
1414 State St.
$90,000 — Add 12 antennas to existing SBA monopole, install natural-gas generator

Subway
55 Frank B. Murray St.
$110,700 — Build-out of Subway restaurant within Union Station

TD Bank
561 Sumner Ave.
$142,000 — Interior renovations

Union Station
55 Frank B. Murray St.
$45,000 — Addition of fire-alarm devices to existing system

Western New England University
1215 Wilbraham Road
$35,000 — Install new overhang on back of public-safety complex

WARE

Charbonneau Funeral Home
30 Pleasant St.
$20,000 — Renovation, including two handicap bathrooms

Charter Foods North, LLC
118 West St.
$6,200 — Primary and secondary building-mounted signs

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Aimeng Lee
283 Elm St.
$148,698 — Alteration of interior first floor, new handicap ramp, repave for additional parking

C Jack Realty
1073 Riverdale St.
$80,000 — Interior fit-up for use as a dental office

Prosthetic & Orthotic Solutions
66 Myron St.
$85,000 — New offices and work areas, including new floors, partitions, paint, and millwork

SBA Properties, LLC
62 Bridge St.
$20,000 — Install cellular antennas and associated equipment

WILBRAHAM

Ampersand Collins Hydro LLC
176 Cottage Ave.
$26,411 — Repair to fire sprinkler system

Real Estate Transactions

By
Departments 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

53 Burrows Tpke.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Bridge Investment Realty
Seller: Diane R. Hays TR
Date: 04/03/17

42 Couch Brook Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Corey B. Wallace
Seller: Susan Cummings
Date: 04/07/17

439 Huckle Hill Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Casey R. Vollinger
Seller: Paul L. Volungis
Date: 04/03/17

CONWAY

143 Williamsburg Road
Conway, MA 01096
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Kenneth P. Duda
Seller: Gregory J. Gagnon
Date: 04/05/17

GREENFIELD

329 Conway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $9,950,000
Buyer: Greenfield Medical Properties
Seller: Middle Franklin Development Group
Date: 04/04/17

734 Country Club Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Duane E. Towne
Seller: Puopolo, Betty E., (Estate)
Date: 04/14/17

88 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Stephen J. Miles
Date: 04/14/17

3 Earl Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $173,000
Buyer: Jeffrey D. Jackman
Seller: Duane Elmer-Towne
Date: 04/14/17

72 Pickett Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Jimmylee Costa
Seller: Corey B. Wallace
Date: 04/07/17

22 Riddell St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: KWC 22 Riddell LLC
Seller: Photo Goddess LLC
Date: 04/14/17

37 Severance St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $147,500
Buyer: Laura J. Hintz
Seller: Heather L. Quinn
Date: 04/03/17

HEATH

8 Taylor Brook
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Samantha M. Howe
Seller: Enrico Mezzacappa
Date: 04/10/17

LEVERETT

103 Old Mountain Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $211,681
Buyer: Citifinancial Servicing
Seller: Nicholas Karlak
Date: 04/10/17

MONTAGUE

69 Main St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Robert M. Rovella
Seller: Sarah A. Willis
Date: 04/05/17

21 Taylor Heights
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Keita G. Lambert
Seller: Donald L. McCool
Date: 04/03/17

NEW SALEM

182 Neilson Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $160,700
Buyer: Pauline M. Anderson
Seller: Carol A. Fisk
Date: 04/10/17

NORTHFIELD

177 Main St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: John Hovnanian
Seller: Norman A. Miller
Date: 04/14/17

ORANGE

97 Adams St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Mark R. Monette
Seller: Paul G. Sullivan
Date: 04/11/17

39 Eagleville Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $192,500
Buyer: Daniel S. Jeffrey
Seller: Susan L. Ellis
Date: 04/14/17

69 East Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Randall S. Sevene
Seller: Marlene E. Hamlett
Date: 04/07/17

SHUTESBURY

77 Baker Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: David P. Myers
Seller: Evelyn Pless
Date: 04/14/17

SUNDERLAND

23 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: Chancellor Masters & Scholars
Seller: Sinauer LLC
Date: 04/07/17

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

101 Almgren Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $6,375,000
Buyer: 101 Almgren Investment Partners LLC
Seller: 4 Cities Partners Ltd
Date: 04/03/17

78 Butternut Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $240,900
Buyer: Michael H. Danek
Seller: Merrill, Georgia, (Estate)
Date: 04/14/17

125 Edgewater Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: William P. Sapelli
Seller: Kathy J. Hale
Date: 04/11/17

79 Elbert Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Joanna Guindon
Seller: S&C Homebuyers LLC
Date: 04/12/17

52 Howard St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: B. I. Carbajal-Gonzalez
Seller: HD Residential Redevelopment LLC
Date: 04/06/17

224 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Tami Barrington
Seller: Kevin Nichols
Date: 04/07/17

55 Norris St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $172,500
Buyer: Laura Harrington
Seller: Michelle Chase
Date: 04/04/17

119 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Linda Barden
Seller: Jeffrey Noll
Date: 04/07/17

BLANDFORD

4 Manola St.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Philip W. Nadeau
Seller: Christine M. Turgeon
Date: 04/04/17

BRIMFIELD

81 5 Bridge Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Charles Sayer
Seller: Konove, Ronald, (Estate)
Date: 04/10/17

CHESTER

Ingell Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Helen Omelia
Seller: Charles M. Hines
Date: 04/14/17

CHICOPEE

108 Bridle Path Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $344,900
Buyer: Kevin C. Johnson
Seller: Gerard J. Disanti
Date: 04/11/17

117 Chateaugay St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $129,188
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Daniel C. Neary
Date: 04/14/17

499 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Kevin O. Lynch
Seller: Zhi Tan
Date: 04/10/17

636 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $211,111
Buyer: Liz Realty LLC
Seller: 636 Chicopee Street Realty
Date: 04/10/17

106 Columba St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Bradford K. Landry
Seller: Michael R. Caron
Date: 04/14/17

53 Emmett St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Larry Whitman
Seller: D&T Investment RE
Date: 04/03/17

156 Farnsworth St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Edwin R. Beato
Seller: Ronnie N. Lafontaine
Date: 04/14/17

51 Foss Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $131,208
Buyer: At Home Properties LLC
Seller: David R. Presz
Date: 04/10/17

64 Langevin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $284,000
Buyer: Donald J. Morissette
Seller: Gerry-Paul Geoffrion
Date: 04/11/17

66 Lorraine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Marcelino Agosto
Seller: Oak Ridge Custom Home Builders
Date: 04/12/17

11 Luther St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: J5 Properties LLC
Seller: Melissa A. Sulikowski
Date: 04/13/17

4 Manola St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Philip W. Nadeau
Seller: Christine M. Turgeon
Date: 04/04/17

32 Marble Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Iana Shabayev
Seller: Gazda, Peter A., (Estate)
Date: 04/14/17

41 Mark St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Carrie A. Terpening
Seller: Roxanne J. Klatte
Date: 04/03/17

1790 Memorial Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $128,700
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Francis A. Hastings
Date: 04/14/17

66 New Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $126,555
Buyer: Anatolii Kiriukhin
Seller: FNMA
Date: 04/12/17

99 Olko Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $213,000
Buyer: George W. Cooke
Seller: Ruel, Joseph R., (Estate)
Date: 04/03/17

17 Sterling St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Jacqueline Izquierdo
Seller: Keem LLC
Date: 04/05/17

106 Taylor St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Thomas M. Marshall
Seller: E&N Laliberte LLC
Date: 04/14/17

101 Thaddeus St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Doreen A. Desmarteau
Seller: Paul R. Guilmette
Date: 04/06/17

56 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Christopher S. Young
Seller: Stephen G. Young
Date: 04/07/17

70 Watson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Sergeo Arbuzov
Seller: FNMA
Date: 04/14/17

EAST LONGMEADOW

71 Highlandview Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Andrew A. Forbes
Seller: Umberto Maruca
Date: 04/14/17

68 North Circle Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Leo M. Lortie
Seller: Edward P. Sunter
Date: 04/14/17

117 Patterson Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Patrick C. Morrissey
Seller: Deangelo, Fred Raymond, (Estate)
Date: 04/13/17

287 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Theodor Rosenholm
Seller: Linda A. Phillips
Date: 04/03/17

9 Skyline Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $416,240
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Nelvin A. Levester
Date: 04/06/17

198 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Megan Hall
Seller: Paul J. Sears
Date: 04/03/17

91 Windham Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Yaw Addae-Wusu
Seller: Anand Kanjolia
Date: 04/05/17

HAMPDEN

207 Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Brittney Devenitch
Seller: Judy H. Hatch
Date: 04/12/17

433 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Mark Michalski
Seller: Mary E. Connors
Date: 04/07/17

23 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Nicholas R. Schott
Seller: Marlene A. Mercure
Date: 04/10/17

HOLLAND

4 Cobham Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Brett M. Smith
Seller: Richard Shonak
Date: 04/10/17

286 Mashapaug Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Joseph E. Anton
Seller: Mary A. Wadsworth
Date: 04/11/17

111 Sandy Beach Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jonathan Rudd
Seller: Brooks, Alfred E., (Estate)
Date: 04/11/17

HOLYOKE

140 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Jonathan Baez
Seller: Riverside Development
Date: 04/14/17

208 Central Park Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Alison Sawyer
Seller: David L. Pinkham
Date: 04/14/17

49 Claremont Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Abrianna S. Morales
Seller: Sebastian R. Labonte
Date: 04/14/17

35 Fenton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $164,065
Buyer: Pamela M. Ferriter
Seller: US Bank
Date: 04/13/17

56 Francis Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $118,900
Buyer: Sovereign Bank
Seller: Norman Nash
Date: 04/14/17

67-69 Longwood Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $124,628
Buyer: Keybank
Seller: Ana E. Delarosa
Date: 04/13/17

924 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $184,500
Buyer: Judith C. Holman
Seller: Michael Tarail
Date: 04/12/17

434 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Mara R. Lopez
Seller: Kristine M. Baker
Date: 04/14/17

37 Princeton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: MTGLQ Investors LP
Seller: Edward J. Eckert
Date: 04/14/17

131 Suffolk St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $356,000
Buyer: Hugenpoet LLC
Seller: Janice Realty LLC
Date: 04/13/17

LONGMEADOW

61 Chatham Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $359,900
Buyer: Richard A. Hartley
Seller: Joanna F. Smiley
Date: 04/07/17

123 Edgewood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Andre J. Bowser
Seller: Laura J. Lomma
Date: 04/12/17

84 Ely Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $474,000
Buyer: Andrew Avery
Seller: Dwight B. Shepard
Date: 04/11/17

135 Longfellow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: David Levitt
Seller: Ruth M. Levitt
Date: 04/07/17

160 Lynnwood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Vinnie A. Regan
Seller: Huan Zhao
Date: 04/14/17

234 Wimbleton Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Josefina E. Poma-Demejia
Seller: Paul R. Ouellette
Date: 04/07/17

LUDLOW

35 Amherst St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Leonel L. Marques
Seller: Margarida Ferreira
Date: 04/07/17

694 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: VDS Proprties LLC
Seller: Krzyzek, Theodore M., (Estate)
Date: 04/03/17

53 Edison Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $219,500
Buyer: Joe S. Lopes
Seller: Carla A. Silva
Date: 04/14/17

51 Goddu St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $181,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Alfredo J. Maravilha
Date: 04/10/17

27 Greenwich St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Spencer Squires
Seller: AEM Property Investment
Date: 04/07/17

172 Highland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Misty L. Haynes
Seller: Joseph V. Casagranda
Date: 04/13/17

24 John St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Bryan Mahoney
Seller: Marcyanna Mascaro
Date: 04/05/17

29 Pinewood Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Angelique A. Pasquale
Seller: Donald E. Pollard
Date: 04/07/17

16 Vienna Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Maple Ledge Assocs. Inc.
Seller: US Bank
Date: 04/03/17

483 Winsor St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Jose Dias
Seller: Carol A. Costa
Date: 04/07/17

MONSON

14 Macomber Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Barry S. Drinkwine
Seller: Daniel J. Zollo
Date: 04/07/17

194 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $171,000
Buyer: Angel L. Andino
Seller: Walter L. Norrman
Date: 04/14/17

PALMER

320 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Gregory M. Koss
Seller: Brian R. Kraft
Date: 04/07/17

2041-2043 High St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $179,579
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Christopher J. Fernandes
Date: 04/13/17

58 Ruggles St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Kenneth Marsden
Date: 04/14/17

RUSSELL

135 Highland Ave.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Christopher R. Merritt
Seller: Bush Property Mgmt. LLC
Date: 04/07/17

SOUTHWICK

9 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: FV 1 Inc.
Seller: Troy D. Conlin
Date: 04/10/17

22 Buckingham Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $209,900
Buyer: Mark A. Abelin
Seller: Alice M. Davey
Date: 04/11/17

7 Cedar St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $162,500
Buyer: Luis M. Pagan
Seller: Curtis J. Beck
Date: 04/04/17

138 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $132,840
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Brian E. Till
Date: 04/14/17

235 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $439,000
Buyer: Walter Fluhr
Seller: Mark J. Krynicki
Date: 04/03/17

2 Maple St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $182,081
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: David J. Mason
Date: 04/05/17

SPRINGFIELD

37-39 Algonquin Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $127,800
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Jorge L. Ortiz
Date: 04/14/17

403-405 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: William J. Velez
Seller: Roger W. Williams
Date: 04/07/17

104 Belvidere St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Todd Linnell
Seller: Rebecca L. McKeever
Date: 04/04/17

122 Berkshire St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: William M. Cawthra
Seller: Robert B. Farman
Date: 04/13/17

164 Carol Ann St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Kelsey A. Carnovale
Seller: Jessica Federici
Date: 04/14/17

252 Centre St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Godfred Ansah
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 04/14/17

43-45 Clayton St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Kevin Kitchens
Seller: Jeffrey Laporte
Date: 04/06/17

9-11 Cloran St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $126,788
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Debra A. Cameron
Date: 04/14/17

26 Crawford Circle
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,230
Buyer: Norris Rabb
Seller: Della Ripa Real Estate
Date: 04/04/17

15 Crow Lane
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $134,000
Buyer: Whitney Brown
Seller: Mary Munkatchy
Date: 04/13/17

85-87 Edgeland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Conrad L. Mcintosh
Seller: Leticia Arriaga
Date: 04/05/17

114 Endicott St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $197,500
Buyer: Michael A. Gilmore
Seller: Michelle E. Turgeon
Date: 04/10/17

88 Fair Oak Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $131,200
Buyer: Lakeview Loan Servicing
Seller: Luis M. Rivera
Date: 04/13/17

119 Fargo St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $149,000
Buyer: Orlando O. Roberts
Seller: Gladys Rivera
Date: 04/14/17

25 Flower St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $196,100
Buyer: Eva-Marie Sullivan
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 04/06/17

84 Gilman St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Kayrim B. Lopez
Seller: Norberto Santana
Date: 04/07/17

216 Greenaway Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Florence M. Castonguay
Date: 04/13/17

105 Gresham St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Wilfredo Aponte
Seller: Megan K. Hall
Date: 04/03/17

17 Hartford Terrace
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Spencer F. Holmes
Seller: Carlo Fazio
Date: 04/07/17

63 Joanne Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $144,900
Buyer: Betzaida Hernandez
Seller: Saint Peters Episcopal Church
Date: 04/07/17

69 Kenwood Park
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Evan R. Nyman
Seller: MNL Management LLC
Date: 04/13/17

Lakewood Park
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $429,000
Buyer: H&F Properties Inc.
Seller: Gina G. Daniele
Date: 04/10/17

191 Leopold St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Regina Walker
Seller: RHL Properties LLC
Date: 04/10/17

92-94 Manhattan St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Irelisse Gomez
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 04/14/17

98 Massreco St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Iluminada Navarro
Seller: Emily Wruck
Date: 04/05/17

4 Melville St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Lina M. Mateo
Seller: Branco Construction LLC
Date: 04/06/17

18-20 Milton St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $126,535
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Rud D. Perez
Date: 04/12/17

84-86 Mooreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Natalie Johnson
Seller: Saw Construction LLC
Date: 04/10/17

49 Nutmeg Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Paull
Seller: Bayview Loan Servicing
Date: 04/13/17

271-277 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $566,750
Buyer: OM Orange LLC
Seller: ASHM Traders LLC
Date: 04/05/17

Orange St. (NS)
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $566,750
Buyer: OM Orange LLC
Seller: ASHM Traders LLC
Date: 04/05/17

190 Orange St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $566,750
Buyer: OM Orange LLC
Seller: ASHM Traders LLC
Date: 04/05/17

198 Orange St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $566,750
Buyer: OM Orange LLC
Seller: ASHM Traders LLC
Date: 04/05/17

132 Overlook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $155,500
Buyer: Christina L. Cookish
Seller: Kathleen M. McDonnell
Date: 04/14/17

120 Paramount St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Wendy R. Kearney
Seller: Barry S. Drinkwine
Date: 04/07/17

238-240 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Steven Al-Husseini
Seller: Tommy Nguyen
Date: 04/03/17

1398 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Joseph A. Federico
Seller: Linda A. Boucher
Date: 04/06/17

24 Rockland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Gina M. Horniak
Seller: Renee L. Thayer
Date: 04/10/17

195 Rosewell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Stephan P. Turoczy
Seller: Bally David LLC
Date: 04/13/17

18-20 Seneca St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Robert P. Cuyler
Seller: Dianne S. Cybulski
Date: 04/11/17

267 Shawmut St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Sabine Legrand
Seller: Edwar Velazquez-Gonzalez
Date: 04/14/17

32 Spikenard Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Bethany Boyle
Seller: Bradley K. Causey
Date: 04/06/17

1515 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $6,091,300
Buyer: KB Dialysis Northeast DST
Seller: Cop Springfield LLC
Date: 04/13/17

1606 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Alexander Seid
Seller: Gail S. Terranova
Date: 04/13/17

76 Winding Lane
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Thomas Eisenman
Seller: Barry L. Smith
Date: 04/11/17

181 Woodcrest Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Maurice F. Doran
Seller: Andrew A. Forbes
Date: 04/14/17

125 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Michael R. Grillo
Date: 04/11/17

WEST SPRINGFIELD

12 Ames Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Carl A. Augsberger
Date: 04/14/17

73 Baldwin St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Joshua M. Glushien
Seller: Luis A. Lizardi
Date: 04/14/17

514 Dewey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Regan A. Holloway
Seller: Davida R. Michaels
Date: 04/07/17

119 Galaska Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Russell T. Salvatore
Seller: Frederick S. Salvatore
Date: 04/14/17

5 Hazel St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: William Sullivan
Seller: Jeremy D. Leap
Date: 04/14/17

19 Jennifer Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Ronnie N. Lafontaine
Seller: Waclaw A. Hojnoski
Date: 04/14/17

417 Massachusetts Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Michael R. Whelihan
Seller: William J. Fitzsimmons
Date: 04/12/17

518 Memorial Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $755,656
Buyer: Steven M. Roberts
Seller: Abbot S. Roberts
Date: 04/10/17

155 Ohio Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Roy H. Carter
Seller: John M. Cauley
Date: 04/13/17

52 Upper Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $234,900
Buyer: David K. Roberts
Seller: Kathleen A. Cassidy
Date: 04/14/17

Windsor St. #53
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Boyle
Seller: Yelena Ivanov
Date: 04/14/17

21 Worcester St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $149,485
Buyer: Katelyn M. Crogan
Seller: Virginia L. Young
Date: 04/07/17

WESTFIELD

117 Berkshire Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Timothy A. Levasseur
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 04/12/17

6 Blueberry Ridge
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Benjamin Mead-Larsen
Seller: William A. Delnegro
Date: 04/14/17

36-1/2 Cross St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Peter Pilecki
Seller: Benjamin Larsen
Date: 04/14/17

Day Lily Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Bradford Cabral
Seller: Bent Tree Development LLC
Date: 04/14/17

1257 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Carla A. Hemmer
Date: 04/13/17

16 Frederick St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $196,850
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Amy V. Sfakios
Date: 04/10/17

63 Hillcrest Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Antonio Capua
Seller: C&M Builders LLC
Date: 04/04/17

16 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $215,329
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Karen L. Richards
Date: 04/14/17

170 Pontoosic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $352,000
Buyer: Michael Bryant
Seller: Osme V. Benedict
Date: 04/12/17

238 Prospect St., Ext.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Amy E. Rocco
Seller: Brian S. Hartley
Date: 04/13/17

91 Steiger Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $240,500
Buyer: Robert M. Corliss
Seller: Jeffery A. Papineau
Date: 04/14/17

28 Taylor Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $630,000
Buyer: Joyce M. Andrews TR
Seller: Gezotis Realty Group LLC
Date: 04/13/17

WILBRAHAM

Cypress Lane #29
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $418,375
Buyer: John Albano
Seller: Mile Oak Land Holdings
Date: 04/14/17

3 Jeffrey Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Michael K. Ryan
Seller: John M. Albano
Date: 04/14/17

31 Pleasant View Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $333,000
Buyer: Andrew Wall
Seller: Guy B. Beacom
Date: 04/06/17

1228 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Tramaine Muckle
Seller: Robert P. King
Date: 04/14/17

22 Sunnyside Terrace
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Christian A. Barthelette
Seller: Jeffrey R. Weinberg
Date: 04/11/17

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

31 Hall Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $10,650,000
Buyer: Amherst Medical Properties
Seller: Middle Hampshire Development Group
Date: 04/10/17

1102 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $297,500
Buyer: E&P Associates LP
Seller: Robert A. Szala
Date: 04/06/17

32 Owen Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $651,000
Buyer: Wu L. Xun
Seller: Geunhwa Jung
Date: 04/03/17

85 South East St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $264,900
Buyer: 85 South East St. LLC
Seller: Donna A. Spence
Date: 04/04/17

24 Tyler Place
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: MEK Realty LLC
Seller: 220 North East Street LLC
Date: 04/07/17

560 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Sheila Jaswal
Seller: Alan Poey
Date: 04/13/17

11 Wildflower Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Ethan J. Pope
Seller: Reid W. Bertone-Johnson
Date: 04/13/17

BELCHERTOWN

72 Canal Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Matthew R. Taft
Seller: FNMA
Date: 04/12/17

50 Center St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $334,000
Buyer: Francis J. Donovan
Seller: Commons Group LLC
Date: 04/12/17

3 Chauncey Walker St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $177,500
Buyer: Emma G. Savoy
Seller: Stella Seibert
Date: 04/13/17

586 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Emily M. Baecher
Seller: FHLM
Date: 04/12/17

47 Jasons Way
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $356,000
Buyer: Erik Miller
Seller: Lafleur & Son Inc.
Date: 04/10/17

4 Manola St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Philip W. Nadeau
Seller: Christine M. Turgeon
Date: 04/04/17

156 Sargent St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Harsha B. Navaratne
Seller: Jackson Brothers Property
Date: 04/04/17

80 Ware Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Superior Floor Solutions
Seller: Richard F. Greene
Date: 04/13/17

EASTHAMPTON

484 East St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Vision Investment Properties
Seller: Wendy L. Thompson
Date: 04/11/17

25 East Maple St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Melissa Carvill-Ziemer
Seller: Mark S. Maulucci
Date: 04/07/17

8 Groveland St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Casey J. Parsons
Seller: Nicholas M. Parsons
Date: 04/10/17

42 Knipfer Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Jonathan N. Kelley
Seller: Stanley J. Saletnik
Date: 04/05/17

396 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Lisa Anthony
Seller: Harry Hackworth
Date: 04/14/17

238 Northampton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $12,400,000
Buyer: Easthampton Medical Properties
Seller: Eastern Hampshire Development
Date: 04/10/17

43 Northampton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Jeike Barthel
Date: 04/14/17

86 Pomeroy St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Seney
Seller: Cykowski RET
Date: 04/03/17

37 Rabideau Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sandra P. Ruvolo
Seller: John M. Bronson
Date: 04/14/17

7 Water St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Gretchen Williams
Seller: Renee J. Cote
Date: 04/07/17

143 West St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Dale E. Strader
Date: 04/04/17

GRANBY

6 Trout Lily Lane
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $557,000
Buyer: Richard B. Bedore
Seller: Donald W. Clarke
Date: 04/12/17

HADLEY

27 North Maple St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $244,800
Buyer: Austen Iglehart
Seller: Dennis Bak
Date: 04/10/17

HATFIELD

3 Porter Ave.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $171,200
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Robert Tefft
Date: 04/11/17

72 West St.
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Barker Properties LLC
Seller: Marcus J. Boyle
Date: 04/12/17

327 West St.
Hatfield, MA 01066
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: 327 West Street LLC
Seller: Robert T. Bartlett
Date: 04/10/17

NORTHAMPTON

112 Brookside Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Rayna M. Heldt
Seller: Katherine Norris-Sasser
Date: 04/07/17

634 Burts Pit Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Joseph R. Corbeil
Seller: Dale A. Canon
Date: 04/14/17

43 Dryads Green
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $610,000
Buyer: Reid W. Bertone-Johnson
Seller: Judith A. Ryan
Date: 04/13/17

442 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Jeffrey J. Tenczar
Seller: Richard J. Mott
Date: 04/07/17

39 Lyman Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Rhianna L. Suprenant
Seller: Quiet Corner Property Acquisitions
Date: 04/13/17

70 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $6,300,000
Buyer: Florence Medical Properties
Seller: Middle Hampshire Development Group
Date: 04/10/17

63 Maple St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $6,300,000
Buyer: Florence Medical Properties
Seller: Middle Hampshire Development Group
Date: 04/10/17

77 Maple St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $6,300,000
Buyer: Florence Medical Properties
Seller: Middle Hampshire Development Group
Date: 04/10/17

64 Reservoir Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Russell M. Griffin
Seller: Travis Johnson
Date: 04/13/17

78 Ridgewood Terrace
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Jerelyn Parker
Seller: Gonski 2009 IRT
Date: 04/07/17

105 Straw Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $329,500
Buyer: Willem Systma
Seller: Lance C. Black
Date: 04/14/17

11 Winchester Terrace
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Sarah Bidus
Seller: Ralph F. Carpenter
Date: 04/13/17

17 Woodlawn Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,075,000
Buyer: Noah J. Epstein
Seller: James M. Sagalyn
Date: 04/05/17

SOUTH HADLEY

19 Cornell St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Thomas A. Heim
Seller: Susan M. Mello
Date: 04/10/17

506 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Amherst Market TK Inc.
Seller: 506 Granby Road LLC
Date: 04/14/17

4 Manola St.
South Hadley, MA 01020
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Philip W. Nadeau
Seller: Christine M. Turgeon
Date: 04/04/17

75 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Yee
Seller: Marc A. Guenther
Date: 04/14/17

38 South St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Christopher Silvestri
Seller: Camille C. Girard
Date: 04/11/17

42 Spring St., Ext.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $143,206
Buyer: Umassfive College FCU
Seller: Timothy D. Raymond
Date: 04/03/17

4 Woodcrest Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $378,000
Buyer: Elizabeth N. Melton
Seller: Susan E. Fitzgibbon
Date: 04/14/17

SOUTHAMPTON

13 Cottage Ave.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Kyle J. Carvalho
Seller: Bruce A. Slabinski
Date: 04/12/17

55 Gilbert Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $368,750
Buyer: Shelle Truehart-Paquette
Seller: Paul E. Truehart
Date: 04/03/17

33 Strong Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Karen J. Morin
Seller: Thomas M. Bacis
Date: 04/14/17

WARE

108 Bondsville Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: David E. Fisher
Seller: Yvon Demers
Date: 04/07/17

21 School St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Marc Lavallee
Seller: MAC FT
Date: 04/11/17

106 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Jimmy L. Kiser
Seller: Kevin C. Johnson
Date: 04/11/17

WESTHAMPTON

255 Main Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Erica L. Simonette
Seller: Walter A. Kwolek
Date: 04/04/17

WILLIAMSBURG

46 Hyde Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Alex Kassell
Seller: Thomas A. Raschi
Date: 04/07/17

190 Main St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Nicholas F. Bouthillette
Seller: Big Deal Partners LLC
Date: 04/13/17

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

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

Ayala, Angel M.
199 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Beauregard, Michele
92 Lloyd Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Buzzell, Donald R.
Buzzell, Tina M.
11 Green St.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Dawicki, David Stanley
42 Arnold St. Apt B-1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Diaz, Enid S.
47 Ardmore St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/09/17

Diaz, Gloria M.
137 Glenwood St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/12/17

Ejsmont, Erika
37 Pascal Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/31/17

Elliott, Virginia Marie
129 Sumner Ave., Apt. 8
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/07/17

Finch, Cara Lee
253 Amherst Road, Apt C7
Sunderland, MA 01375
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Geedy, Susan
609 Main St., #1
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Gregori, Bruce F.
242 Burbank Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/12/17

Haracz, Michael E.
115 Trumble Lane
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/11/17

Hernandez, Juan Delacruz
32 Gates St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Hitchcock, Yvette Duval M.
a/k/a Duval, Yvette M.
1449 County Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/06/17

J.Innovations, LLC
Jimenez, Josean Antonio
Jimenez, Aimee Linn
a/k/a Dubois, Aimee Linn
Jimenez, Josean Antonio
140 Skeele St., Apt. 2
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/13/17

Jacque, Tonia
31 Echo Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Jones, Keih
142 Morton St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/14/17

Kutylowski, Dominic Stanley
29 First Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

LaRose, Jason Erik
284 Patten Road
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Lipka, Michelle M.
a/k/a Michaelis, Michelle M.
47 Gilmore St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Lowe-Chin, Joan
355 Tremont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Lugo, Lillian I.
193-195 Oak St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/12/17

Mansen, Joan M.
115 Jones Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Martinez, Juan
65 Mandalay Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Mason, Meghan Ann
53 Glendale St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/12/17

Mastroianni, Dominic N.
Mastroianni, Carolyn A.
75 Pleasant St., Apt. A101
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Messina, Rosario E.
a/k/a Messina, Rosanjoe
35 Silver St., Apt. B
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/11/17

Mickey, Darrell D.
Mickey, Jolane N.
a/k/a Colon, Jolane N.
180 Keddy St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Mills, Edward C.
255 Dalton Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Morales, Andres E.
776 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/04/17

Moscoffian, Alyssa R.
a/k/a Johnson, Alyssa R.
720B North Brookfield Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/07/17

Mullan, Denise Deborah
10 Granaudo Circle
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Mwakabi, Saumu
54 Homestead Ave.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Nigro, Candyce
a/k/a Cressotti, Candyce
21 Gove St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Odom, Andrea
33 Norman Terrace, #21
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/13/17

Patnode, Nathan A.
6 Maple St., #3
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/11/17

Pekosz, Craig A.
Pekosz, Karen L.
30 Upton St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/11/17

Peltier, Jennifer M.
a/k/a Mulcahy, Jennifer
238 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/08/17

Phelps, Dale E.
Phelps, Sandra A.
a/k/a Barbarotta, Sandra
110 East Housatonic St., Apt. #15
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/05/17

Polk, Leshawn A.
66 Midway St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/31/17

Price, Gregory P.
Price, Karen L.
20 Bonny Lane
Peru, MA 01235
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Raymond, Travis
154 Easthill Road
Oakham, MA 01068
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/11/17

Remillard, Jason P.
Remillard, Erin L.
a/k/a McDonough, Erin L.
PO Box 272
Wales, MA 01081
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/08/17

Renaud, George
Renaud, Melissa S.
55 Church St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/04/17

Reynolds, Paula
14 Eloise St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/06/17

Rivera, Hamilton
371 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/12/17

Roberson, Ricardo Kyle
115 Dwight St., Apt. 910
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/13/17

Sandoval, Monique M.
39 Royalton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/31/17

Sepulveda, Justo R.
124 Donbray Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Stenlund, Niklas
196 Pondview Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Sullivan, Mark John
148 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/13/17

Tanguay, William R.
9 School St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/10/17

Terrapin Woodworkers
Terrapin Woodworking
Gerrish, Charles B.
Nicole-Gerrish, Maureen E.
a/k/a Gerrish, Maureen
a/k/a Nicole, Maureen
34 Jackson St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/13/17

Williams, Dianne Marie
107 Monrovia St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/03/17

Young, Peter
107 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/07/17

Doing Business As Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

The following business certificates and trade names were issued or renewed during the month of April 2017.

AMHERST

N & Co.
3 Moss Lane
Naomi Elliott

Playful Earth
310 Montague Road
Jay Mankita

Playful Engineers
310 Montague Road
Jay Mankita

BELCHERTOWN

Acme Painting
185 Metacomet St.
Eric Howe

Avis Properties
31 Pondview Circle
Elizabeth Davis

Creigle Electric
181 Mill Valley Road
Nicholas Creigle

Hampshire Towing
147 Bay Road
William Johnson, Robert Johnson

Sullivan Lawncare
439 Warren Wright St.
Patrick Sullivan

Tomato Interactive, LLC
72 Allen St.
John Jacobson

CHICOPEE

Double D Cleaning Services
172 Poplar St.
Daniel Shaw

Gamer Group, LLC
41 Perkins St.
Maria Amaral

Kashmir Minimart
51 Springfield St.
Syed Akhtar

PathWise World Financial
54 Parenteau Court
Charles LaFlamme, Jingqian LaFlamme

The White Orchid Nail Spa
1979 Memorial Dr.
Teresa Lee

EASTHAMPTON

Etymon Press
18 McKinley Ave.
Rachel Tapley

Home Stays USA
7 West Green St.
Joseph Bock

Little Trúc
14 Taft Ave.
Alexander Kemper, Katrina Pierson

EAST LONGMEADOW

Authen Food
3 Birch Ave.
Jasjit Maggu

Booth Rental
128 Shaker Road
Lillian Buettner

My Happy Place Travel
560 Parker St.
Regina Karolczuk

Salon Karma
35 Harkness Ave.
Mina Valego

GREENFIELD

Greenfield Auto Shipping
733 Country Club Road
Veaceslav Hotnogu

OM Country Farm Inc.
49 Main St.
Pakesh Patel

HOLYOKE

A.K.B. Stonework
22 Florida Dr.
Andrew Braunschweig

A Brush Above Painting Co.
4 Scott Hollow Dr.
Alan Tardy

C-Mart #1 ZMQ Brothers, LLC
1500 Northampton St.
Syed Mobeen

Leary Masonry Solutions
630 Dwight St.
Martin Leary

The Wherehouse?
109 Lyman St.
James Curran

LUDLOW

Deluxe Auto Sales
127 East St.
Manuel Coelho

George L. Sexton
300 Cady St.
George Sexton

Ken Bousquet Jr. Excavating & Trucking
305 Miller St.
Ken Bousquet Jr.

Trademark Custom Installations
29 Barrett St.
Timothy Muir

NORTHAMPTON

L3 KEO
50 Prince St.
Matthew Richi, David Graves

Munificent Scribbler Press
95 Laurel Park
Tira Pandolf

Northeast Greenway Solutions
62 Chestnut St.
Craig Della Penna

Rose Hill Farm
1367 Westhampton Road
Rose Damon

Serio’s Pharmacy
63 State St.
Paul Serio

Somewhere Is Here
72 Center St., #33
Jaye McElroy, Leta Herman

Sugar Maple Trailside Inn
62 Chestnut St.
Craig Della Penna

Trailside Tours
62 Chestnut St.
Craig Della Penna

PALMER

Countryside Landscaping
6 Waverly St.
Matthew Rovelli

Crossfit Ardor
1007 Church St.
Rebecca Casinghino

Elite Transmission
320 Wilbraham St.
Robert Linehan III

HXC Floor Covering
15 Charles St.
Shane Hestad

Interactive School House, LLC
2055 Main St.
Nancy Roy

M. Cadieux’s Home Remodeling
3 Homestead St.
Matthew Cadieux

Raise the Pooch
240 Sykes St.
Jennifer Connolly

Sam’s Delivering Service
15 Lariviere Ave.
Jeffrey Lawlor

SPRINGFIELD

2 Cents Home Grown
83 Jamaica St.
Shaunia Swinton

7-Eleven Inc.
376 Boston Road
Joseph DePinto

Afterlife Tattoo Studio
378 Dwight St.
David Bissaillon

Cedar’s Food Mart, LLC
405 Armory St.
Lina Gheit

Christina’s Paw Spaw
1211 Parker St.
Christina Janet

Digital Studio Inc.
12 Emily St.
Kemar Wallace

Dom Dee Photography
43 Ferris St.
Denise Stewart

GLA Custom Framing
74 Acrebrook Road
Gerald LaFlamme

I.A. Greatman Enterprise
153 Seymour Ave.
Isaac Agyemang

J.N.R. Construction
303 Maple St.
Johan Rohena

LD’s Unlimited Home Improvement
217 Hanson Dr.
Lee Dutil

Noah’s Ark Day Care
82 Sunrise Dr.
Susan Jensen

P.B. Remodeling
565 Riverside Road
Pedro Baez

Payless Auto
720 Berkshire Ave.
Wayne Doyle

Pizza Hut of America, LLC
793 Boston Road
Erika Burkhardt

R & S Media
153 Allen St.
Richard Stewart

Sullivan’s Pool Service
387 Main St.
Brian Sullivan

Tapia Market and Deli
935 Worthington St.
Ramon Tapia

Tema, LLC
513 Main St.
Debra Katz

Tenant Finders
101 Mulberry St.
Debra Fletcher

Veras Mini Market & Deli
17 Knox St.
Santana Veras

Western Mass. Home Service
29 Middle St.
Jeremy Mutti

WARE

Frohloff Heritage Farm
236 Church St.
William St. Croix

WESTFIELD

Alex Buzz
1315 Southampton Road
Aleksey Bazukn

All Auto Expert
216 Ponders Hollow Road
Ruslan Golubchik

Crystal Vazquez & Co.
10 South Maple St.
Crystal Vazquez

D & D Cleaning Services
322 Papermill Road
Deborah Gaudette

Father & Sons Hardscape & Landscaping
32 Rosedell Dr. Ext.
Valeriy Mikhalinchik

Letourneau & Sons Painting
30 Crown St.
William Letourneau

Pete’s Handyman Service
163 Franklin St.
Peter Newman

Western Mass. Irrigation Services, LLC
503 West Road
Robert Patenaude Jr.

Xpress Mobile Service
75 Orange St.
Jerry Mattey

WILBRAHAM

Creative Touch Remodeling
7 Wilson St.
Timothy Hinks

Fern Valley Hay
76 Old Boston Road
Daniel Fernandes

Prime Service Inspections
11 Weston St.
Ralph McKinley Ward

Sugar Plum Shots Photography
11 Northwood Dr.
Christine Colton

Sundance Canna Labs
3 Wagon Dr.
Angela King

Incorporations

By
Departments Incorporations

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

AGAWAM

Strela Builders Corporation, 40 Lango Lane, Agawam, MA 01001. Vladimir Strela, Same. Home improvement.

CHICOPEE

VP Management Inc., 12 Center St., Chicopee, MA 01013. David Vilkhovoy, same. Real estate management.

GREENFIELD

ST Tile & Stone Installation Inc., 33 Rockland Rd., Greenfield, MA 01301. Sergio Tahli, same. Tile and stone installation and restoration.

Taproot Threads Inc., 69 Pierce St., Greenfield, MA 01301. Carol Lynn Michelfelder, same. Sale of silkscreening clothes.

HOLYOKE

Sumo Steak House Inc., 50 Holyoke St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Li Rong Xaoi, same. Restaurant.

INDIAN ORCHARD

Send-It Safe Solutions Inc., 48 Martha St., Indian Orchard, MA 01151. Kevin O. Ryan, same. Delivery business, via Fed-Ex routes.

NORTHAMPTON

Sangtawan Inc., 84 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA 01060. Kanittha Lertsangajaemsai, 574 Dalton Division Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Full-service Thai restaurant.

SPRINGFIELD

Tejada Market 2 Corp, 112 Walnut St., Springfield, MA 01107. Rowenny Tejada, same. Grocery store.

The Friends of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield Inc., 577 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104. Sr. Maxyne Schnieder SSJ, 32 Lower Westfield Road, Unit 10, Holyoke, MA 01040. Purpose of the corporation is to support the continuation of the religious and charitable missions of the Congregation of St. Joseph of Springfield.

Unidad Aviamento Unity and Revival Ishshah Ish Naar Corporatioin, 156 Florence St., Springfield, MA 01105. Fryda Gonzalez, 5100 Monarch Court, Fredericksburg, VA 22408. Church purpose worship to help the needed people.

WILBRAHAM

Upper East Corp, 2205 Boston Road, D33, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Alla Meyko, same. Transportation.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Employer Confidence Declines in Massachusetts in April

BOSTON — Massachusetts employers hit the pause button on a seven-month rally in business confidence during April, but their outlook remained solidly optimistic in the face of mixed political and economic signals. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index lost 2.2 points to 60.2 last month, 4.0 points higher than its level of a year earlier. Every constituent element of the confidence index lost ground after reaching a 13-year high during March. The results came as the Massachusetts economy contracted at a 0.5% annual rate during the first quarter and state unemployment rate rose to 3.6%. “We should not be surprised to see confidence readings correct slightly after advancing six points since September,” said Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design. “It bears watching to determine whether the broad April decline becomes a trend as we move into the summer.” Analysts believe the numbers may also reflect growing concern among employers about the ability of the Trump administration to deliver the many pro-growth policies it promised during the campaign. The AIM Index, based on a survey of Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative. The Index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997-98, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009. The index has remained above 50 since October 2013. Employers grew less confident about both the overall economy and their own operations during April. The Massachusetts Index, assessing business conditions within the Commonwealth, lost 0.4 points to 63.3, leaving it 6 points higher than in April 2016. The U.S. Index of national business conditions shed 2.7 points after gaining ground for the previous sixth months. April marked the 85th consecutive month in which employers have been more optimistic about the Massachusetts economy than the national economy. The Current Index, which assesses overall business conditions at the time of the survey, declined 1.9 points to 59.9, while the Future Index, measuring expectations for six months out, dropped 2.5 points to 60.5. The future outlook remained 3.2 points higher than a year ago. The Company Index, reflecting overall business conditions, fell 2.6 points to 60.2. The Employment Index fell 2.8 points to 56.2, and the Sales Index declined 2.1 points to 60.5. The AIM survey found that nearly 39% of respondents reported adding staff during the past six months, while 19% reduced employment. Expectations for the next six months were stable, with 37% planning to hire and only 10% downsizing. The April survey also reversed an unusual result in March, when Western Mass. companies were more confident than those in the eastern portion of the Commonwealth. Eastern Mass. employers posted a 61.7 confidence reading in April versus 58 for employers in the western part of the state. AIM President and CEO Richard Lord said employer confidence is facing headwinds from accelerating healthcare and health-insurance costs. Massachusetts has exceeded its objective for healthcare spending in each of the past two years, and employers continue to pay some of the highest costs in the nation. “The good news is that Massachusetts is beginning to identify some answers. And there appears to be enough common ground and political will on the issue to pursue some solutions,” Lord said. “New research conducted by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission suggests that Massachusetts employers, insurers, and policymakers could reduce total healthcare expenditures anywhere from $279 million per year to $794 million per year, or 0.5% to 1.3%, by making several key improvements to the healthcare system.”

Ko-Aqua Kit Wins Elevator-pitch Competition

HOLYOKE — Nkori Edem, a student from Mount Holyoke College, took first place at last week’s elevator-pitch competition at the Awards Ceremony & Banquet for the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. She pitched the Ko-Aqua Kit, a completely waterproof and airtight swim cap designed specifically for women of color. Edem convinced a panel of judges from area banks that her pitch was the best. Rune Percy and Alexander Smith, a student team from UMass Amherst, took second place based on their business-concept pitch for ARBioDesign, which aims to save tens of thousands of patients every year by personalizing dialysis treatment using rapid and inexpensive microfluidic blood-diagnostic tests. Finally, Daniel Olive, a student at Elms College, took third place with the DBL (Don’t Be Late) Pillow, which utilizes Bluetooth technology to revolutionize waking up. Representatives from six area banks once again sponsored the elevator-pitch competition and served as judges at the annual event held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The banks include Berkshire Bank, Country Bank, KeyBank, PeoplesBank, United Bank, and Westfield Bank. The live event featured a student representative from each of 13 participating local colleges: American International College, Bay Path University, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Hampshire College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, UMass Amherst, Western New England University, and Westfield State University. First-, second-, and third-place winners received $1,000, $750, and $500 respectively. Each student participating received $100. Six student businesses were identified by the bank judges as Best Exhibitors. These were selected from a pool of 62 unique companies during a trade-show-type portion of the evening which featured the 2017 Grinspoon Entrepreneurial Spirit Award winners. The winning exhibitors were Elms College: JMH Partners, LLC (Kevin Hepburn, Connor Holland, John Jacquinet, and Raphael Monterio); Western New England University: Sparks to Sparkles (Rebecca Abramson); Westfield State University: JPS Design Solutions (James Schmidt); Western New England University: Napollo Music (Sebastien Percy); Springfield College: Thorello Leather Goods (Dilyara Celik), and UMass Amherst: App Outreach, LLC (Jordan Ames, Davis McVay, Rich Sadick, and Lauren Tse-Wall). The Grinspoon, Garvey & Young Alumni Entrepreneurship Award is presented each year to an individual who has advanced substantially as an entrepreneur since receiving the Grinspoon Spirit Award. Phil Scarfi, founder of Pioneer Mobile Applications and alumnus of UMass Amherst, was awarded the 2017 Alumni Award and $1,000. Pioneer Mobile Applications is a software consulting agency, specializing in mobile app design and development.

Unemployment Down Across State in March

BOSTON — Local unemployment rates decreased in 23 labor-market areas and increased in one area in the Commonwealth during the month of March, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported. Compared to March 2016, the rates were down in all 24 labor-market areas. All 15 areas for which job estimates are published recorded seasonal job gains in March. The largest gains occurred in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Worcester, Barnstable, Framingham, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford areas. From March 2016 to March 2017, 13 of the 15 areas added jobs, with the largest percentage gains in the New Bedford, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Barnstable, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, and Pittsfield areas. In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for March was 3.9%. Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.6% in the month of March. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 200-job gain in March, and an over-the-year gain of 49,000 jobs. The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor-market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates. The estimates for labor force, unemployment rates, and jobs for Massachusetts are based on different statistical methodology specified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Dragon Boat Festival Seeks Organizations to Sponsor Boats

SPRINGFIELD — The fifth annual Springfield Dragon Boat Festival will take place on Saturday, June 24 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at North Riverfront Park, 121 West St. in Springfield. Racing begins at 9 a.m. Registration is now open for teams wishing to participate at www.pvriverfront.org/db-fest-reg. In addition to dragon-boat races, the festival will feature family-friendly events such as music, performances, food, vendors, and children’s activities. The boat races will have both community and club racing categories. For businesses and organizations looking for a team-building opportunity, the $2,000 race fee includes a coached training session the week prior to the race, the use of boats and paddles, and personal flotation devices. On race day, teams will participate in three 200-meter races. No prior experience is necessary to participate. Proceeds from the event will provide support for riverfront programs for youth and adults at Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club as it grows and strengthens its presence in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley. “Our mission is to connect the community to the Connecticut River,” said Ben Quick, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club. “Past community team participants have included MassMutual, Health New England, the Center for Human Development, and more. It is a great way for community groups to have fun and create awareness. They love that they can enjoy a great team-building event and support programs that help our local youth and adults get fit.”

State Receives Federal Funds to Fight Opioid Crisis

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito administration recently announced that Massachusetts has received a federal grant totaling nearly $12 million to bolster its public-health response to the opioid epidemic, particularly for outpatient opioid treatment, recovery services, and expanded community overdose-prevention programs. “Our administration strongly supported the 21st Century Cures Act as an effort to advance Massachusetts’ leadership in biomedical innovation and expedite new ways to treat disease and addiction,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “We are grateful for the opportunity to use these funds for prevention and treatment activities to address the opioid crisis that has devastated families in every corner of Massachusetts.” The grant, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is the first round of annual funding authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law late last year. The funds will support an array of statewide prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery activities managed by the state Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. “This administration is intensely focused on ending this epidemic, which has claimed far too many lives across our Commonwealth,” said Marylou Sudders, state Secretary of Health and Human Services. “This new grant enables us to continue the fight and expand successful prevention, treatment, and recovery programs throughout the state.” The majority of the $11.7 million in funding will be used to increase outpatient opioid treatment and recovery services and expand community overdose-prevention programs. The funding will also support new programs to promote treatment and recovery for at-risk populations, including pregnant and post-partum women and correctional inmates scheduled for release. “This funding comes at a critical time and supports our comprehensive response to this deadly epidemic,” said DPH Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel. “Investing in prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery saves lives, and this funding helps us in each of those areas.”

Single-family Home Sales Record Uptick in March

SPRINGFIELD — Single-family home sales were up 5.9% in the Pioneer Valley in March compared to the same time last year, while the median price was up 1.7% to $188,000, according to the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. In Franklin County, sales were up 21.2%, while the median price fell 12.0% from a year earlier. In Hampden County, sales were up 10.2%, while the median price was up 2.8%. And in Hampshire County, sales fell 8.0% from March 2016, while the median price rose 4.3%.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

J. Polep Acquires Assets of Garber Bros. Inc.

CHICOPEE — J. Polep Distribution Services announced its recent acquisition of certain assets, including inventory, from Garber Bros. Inc., other than accounts receivable or its facilities in Stoughton. J. Polep is now New England’s largest family-owned convenience-store distributor, servicing over 6,000 customers weekly. To balance the continued leveraged growth, J. Polep was able to retain a majority of Garber’s sales force. J. Polep is excited about the opportunities this acquisition gives its employees and customers. Heavy concentration will be on the development and growth of customers’ in-store sales and improving their margin dollars. With the newly acquired assets, J. Polep will present newly obtained value-added services and food service programs to its customers. One of the new food-service offerings acquired from Garber Bros. is the popular branded coffee program, Beantown Coffee. J. Polep holds the exclusive rights to Beantown Coffee, allowing customers to have a coffee shop within their convenience stores featuring specialty roasted Beantown blend and flavored coffees, cappuccinos, iced coffee, and beans. Beantown Coffee is being added to the already extensive hot beverage category at J. Polep, which includes Keurig Green Mountain, Baronet, and New England Coffee. These assets and operation synergies will give J. Polep a stronger presence within the convenience-store industry throughout the Northeast and will further strengthen its business.

CHD Introduces Summer Program for Youth on Autism Spectrum

CHICOPEE — For typical youth in their high-school years, summer vacation provides a break from academic and social pressures. But for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this break in their normal school-year routine can lead to substantial regression. For summer 2017, the Center for Human Development (CHD) is providing an Extended School Year (ESY) Autism Coaching Program in support of select school districts in Hampden and Hampshire counties. The program, developed by Jennifer Bogin, coordinator of Autism Initiatives for CHD, is designed specifically for a higher-functioning population of youth with ASD. The program was designed for a specific population:

• Diagnosis or presumed diagnosis of ASD/asperger’s, non-verbal learning disability, social communication disorder, or any other disability that leads to social/emotional challenges;

• Co-occurring behavioral-health challenges (depression, anxiety disorder, OCD, ADHD);

• Age 16 to 22;

• Average IQ (either mild or no intellectual disability); and

• Skills deficit in relationship skills, communication, adaptive/life skills, employment/pre-employment, self-regulation, time management, community participation, and self-advocacy.

CHD’s ESY Autism Coaching Program runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from July 5 to Aug. 10. The program is located at Chicopee Comprehensive High School, 617 Montgomery St., Chicopee. The co-location with the other Chicopee Public Schools Extended School Year programs on site will allow students possible vocational or volunteer placements as well as access to full culinary-arts facilities. “CHD conducted a needs assessment from September 2016 to February 2017 and found there was a wide service gap in ESY programming for a higher-functioning population,” said Bogin. “While it’s not designed as a summer-camp experience, CHD’s ESY Autism Coaching Program does allow youth and families living with autism to participate in a fun, social learning program designed for their needs. It helps keep youth engaged academically and involved socially so their summer isn’t spent alone or glued to a video game. Some ESY programs exclude youth based on the need for a mental-health component, but CHD has built this program with that in mind.” ESY program participant will gain new and transferrable skills, such as time management, grooming and self-care, budgeting, using transportation, as well as soft skills, such as making small talk, taking a break, and making plans with a peer. “Some social-skills programs focus on the hard skills and lack intentional work on soft skills, but this program is combining both,” said Bogin. “Community inclusion is the goal, and independence, socialization, and transition readiness to adulthood are the objectives.” One intended outcome of the program is building a regional cohort of youth who share similar interests. “Naturally developing communities are based more on interest than geography,” Bogin explained. “So instead of forcing socialization based on a specific school district, we’re attracting youth from all over the region, and providing an engaging, supportive environment where similar interests will be whatever develops organically.” A typical program day starts with a brief small-group check-in and review of the daily schedule. Students are then brought to one of three different community sites to work on the skills targeted in their individualized education program and ESY plan. Following community time, students are transported back to the program site for a professionally facilitated lunchtime social-skills group followed by a half-hour of unstructured (though supported) generalization and recreation time. Students spend the final hour of their day in a small group facilitated by a clinician to focus on interpersonal relationships, dressing for success and grooming, self-regulation and cognitive behavior therapy, time and money management, or self-advocacy. A new topic is chosen each week and is repeated three times per week to allow students an opportunity to practice what they are learning in the group and report on how they are able to generalize skills. School-district and private-pay options are available. Space is limited. For more information, visit www.chd.org and search ‘autism’ or e-mail Bogin at [email protected].

Dowd Insurance Collects Cell Phones to Battle Domestic Violence

HOLYOKE — The Dowd Insurance Agencies announced the launch of a cell-phone-collection drive to benefit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). The organization, founded in 1978, works to end violence in the lives of women and men through education and advocacy efforts. The donated cell phones will be refurbished and sold or recycled, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the organization and its programs. Collection boxes will be placed at the reception desk of each Dowd branch location throughout the month of May. According to NCADV, every minute, as many as 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner in the U.S.; during one year, this equates to more than 10 million victims. “With such staggering figures, we felt compelled to make a difference,” said Jon Lumbra, Dowd’s chief financial officer. Seeing multiple benefits to the drive — funding domestic-violence programs and, additionally, environmental benefits to reusing and recycling the electronics — it was unanimously agreed the cause was a noble one, and efforts to accelerate the program began. “We are honored to have the platform to raise awareness and funds for such a worthy cause,” Lumbra noted. Cellular Recycler, NCADV’s recycling partner, has received responsible-recycling certification, the highest designation from the Environmental Protection Agency and confirmation that donated materials are recycled safely and reliably. “There is no need to clean or wipe information from the cell phone you wish to donate,” Lumbra explained. “All donated electronics are either refurbished and resold or recycled for parts. If refurbished, all of the item’s software is replaced, which completely wipes all stored information on the device. If the item is recycled, it is crushed down during the process, making data retrieval impossible.” To date, an estimated 3 million cell phones have been kept out of waste sites due to the efforts of NCADV and cellular recyclers. Items donated fund programming that empowers domestic-violence victims, connects survivors to helpful and potentially life-saving resources, impacts legislation aimed at ending domestic violence, and gives support to organizations across the U.S. working to stop violence in the home. Those interested in donating a cell phone to the drive may do so through the month of May by visiting a Dowd location in Holyoke, Southampton, Hadley, Indian Orchard, or Ludlow.

Spirit Takes Flight from Bradley Airport to Orlando, Myrtle Beach

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Spirit Airlines’ inaugural flights from Bradley International Airport to Orlando, Fla. and Myrtle Beach, S.C. launched on April 27. “We are thrilled to deliver this non-stop service to two of the country’s most popular summer destinations,” said Mark Kopczak, vice president of Network Planning for Spirit Airlines. “These news flights, with new service to Fort Lauderdale starting in June, give Hartford even more ultra-low-cost options for summer travel.” Spirit Airlines is currently Bradley Airport’s only ultra-low-cost airline. This airline business model, which is increasing in popularity among economy travelers and the college-student population, offers introductory service to a variety of destinations for competitive fares. “Spirit Airlines is a strong addition to Bradley’s growing menu of direct flights,” Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) Chairman Charles Gray said. “A continued mission of the Connecticut Airport Authority is for Bradley’s travelers to love the journey through the airport and beyond. One way of doing that is by continuing to diversify Bradley’s flight options, which is why we’re very pleased to be welcoming Spirit to the Bradley family.” All of Spirit’s operations at Bradley Airport will utilize either a 145-seat Airbus A319 or a 182-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. The Orlando route is offered daily, year-round, and the Myrtle Beach non-stop is a seasonal service offered four days per week. Spirit will commence non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale on June 15. “The key to successful route development is a loyal customer base,” CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon said. “The Myrtle Beach service has been frequently requested by our travelers, and the additional frequencies between Bradley, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale will provide travelers with more options. It is our hope that these additions to our route structure will continue to encourage our travelers to come home to Bradley and choose our local airport over other airports.”

AIC Adopts Quality Matters

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) is committed to ensuring that its online courses and programs employ best practices based on the existing research literature. Course-development goals are focused on ensuring the highest levels of student learning, interaction, and engagement. To meet these goals, AIC has become a Quality Matters (QM) member. QM is a faculty-centered peer-review process designed to certify the quality of online courses. The QM Rubric and course-review process were developed from a grant provided by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. QM has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in distance learning and has more than 1,000 subscribers in North American and around the world. The QM Rubric is research-based and promotes best practice-based quality standards. Alignment, a central concept of the QM Rubric, requires that critical course components — learning objectives, assessment and measurement, instructional materials, learner interaction, and engagement and course technology — work together to ensure that students achieve desired learning outcomes.

Puffer’s Salon & Day Spa Raises Funds to Support Boston Children’s Hospital

WESTFIELD — Salons throughout the U.S. will be participating in HAIRraising, a fund-raising event benefiting Boston Children’s Hospital’s Heart Center. Puffer’s Salon and Day Spa has joined this initiative with a month-long celebration including raffles, featured items, and promotions. Throughout the month of May, 100% of the proceeds from all children’s haircuts will go to Boston Children’s Hospital. Founded in 2010 by longtime business partners John Frieda and Gail Federici, HAIRraising brings together the salon and hair communities to help support the life-saving care and breakthrough cures, treatments, and innovations at Boston Children’s Hospital. “We’re so grateful to the salon community for their ongoing support of Boston Children’s Hospital,” said Frieda. “We’re consistently overwhelmed and amazed by the level of commitment this effort receives from salon owners and stylists.” Added Federici, “support for Boston Children’s Hospital is critical. We need everyone to understand the huge global impact that this hospital has, not only for children, but for adults as well. Together with this event, we can help save countless lives.” Judy Puffer, owner of Puffer’s Salon & Day Spa, said she is “thrilled to participate in HAIRraising this year to support Boston Children’s Hospital. It’s exciting to be a part of something that unifies our community and can make such a huge difference in the lives of sick children.” In the past seven years, salons have raised more than $1 million for Boston Children’s Hospital through HAIRraising and the generosity of the salon community. This year’s event is expected to raise more than $300,000 for the hospital.

Pioneer Valley Credit Union Awards Scholarships

SPRINGFIELD — Pioneer Valley Credit Union (PVCU) announced the recipients of its 2017 College Scholarship Awards. Each year, Pioneer Valley Credit Union selects four deserving students to receive a $1,000 scholarship to help with college expenses. Since the inception of the program in 2000, PVCU has awarded nearly $65,000 to local young adults continuing their education. The Pioneer Valley Credit Union 2017 College Scholarship recipients are a group of young adults who have proven themselves in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and in various activities and clubs. Dorilyn Castillo of Chicopee High School received the Maurice O’Shea Scholarship. Kaitlyn Feyre of Westfield High School received the Richard Borden Memorial Scholarship. Daniel Sexton of the Springfield Renaissance School received the Ignatius Collura Scholarship. Kamran Noori Shirazi of Springfield Central High School received the Ted Klekotka Memorial Scholarship. The 2017 recipients were honored at the credit union’s 94th annual meeting.

People on the Move

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Departments People on the Move
John Cook

John Cook

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) entered a new chapter in its 50-year history last month with the inauguration of John Cook as its sixth college president. The installation ceremony at STCC’s Scibelli Hall Gymnasium featured a mixture of pageantry, tradition, and celebration. The event opened with a processional led by the STCC Ceremonial Brass Ensemble, followed by the Bearer of the Mace and more grandeur befitting such formal occasions. After the presentation of the presidential medallion, Cook spoke about the college’s rich history, while looking ahead to the future. “Springfield Technical Community College carries an incredible legacy, and it is an absolute privilege to champion who we are becoming in this, our 50th year, and during a time of renaissance and innovation all around,” he said. Christopher Johnson, chair of the STCC board of trustees, praised the new president for his efforts since taking the helm. “The board of trustees is delighted with its selection of Dr. John Cook as STCC’s president. It has been a pleasure working with Dr. Cook during this academic year as we strive to continue to improve the lives of our students. Dr. Cook has done a great job in his inaugural year to keep STCC moving forward as the Commonwealth’s only ‘technical’ community college,” Johnson said. Brian Tuohey is president of the Collins Companies, sponsor of the inauguration. He also is a longtime member of the STCC Foundation board of directors and its past president. He noted, “I have been very impressed with Dr. Cook’s commitment to and involvement with the STCC Foundation and our new board. His enthusiastic leadership and direction have been key components in re-energizing this very important asset, both for our college and our students.” Cook’s induction office falls during the 50th anniversary of the founding of STCC. He succeeded Ira Rubenzahl, who guided the college for 12 years. Cook took over the reins to become the sixth president of STCC on Aug. 1, 2016. Before the inauguration ceremony, the STCC Foundation hosted a VIP luncheon that included business community partners, community stakeholders, and representatives from other education institutions.

•••••

Shannon Asselin

Shannon Asselin

David Ferraro Jr.

David Ferraro Jr.

Melissa Hall

Melissa Hall

Private Financial Design, LLC (PFD) recently announced the promotions of Shannon Asselin and David Ferraro Jr., and welcomed Melissa Hall to the company. Asselin was promoted to executive administrator. She began her career with PFD in 2014 as a client services assistant, bringing more than 14 years of experience in customer service, which included head teller for a local bank. Over the past two years, she has advanced her skills in the financial-services industry with further training and education. She has been honored for excellence in her work with PFD’s broker dealer and clients. She will oversee the administrative operations and client services for PFD while taking on more corporate responsibilities. Ferraro has been promoted to financial advisor. He has been working as an administrator since July 2016 so he could learn the procedures and compliance needs for his clients. His affiliation with PFD began when he interned in 2010, and he was a part-time administrator for several years while attending college. Ferraro graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bryant University, where he studied financial services and economics. He leveraged his education to win the National Financial Plan Competition sponsored by the International Assoc. of Registered Financial Consultants. While attending Bryant, he served as chairman of the Macroeconomic Committee of the Archway Investment Fund. In this role, he developed the investment strategy for this $1 million endowment fund. His work at PFD will be focused on financial and estate planning, investment management, and retirement plans. He is currently pursuing the education and training requirements to become a certified financial planner. Hall has joined the team at PFD as a registered administrator. She has more than five years of experience in the financial-services industry, starting first with a mutual insurance company and later working with an independent certified financial planner for several years. She is currently FINRA Series 6 licensed and will be actively working toward other licensures in the near future. Beyond financial services, Hall has many years of customer-care experience, including many years of volunteer work at her church and on the foreign mission field. She will be helping to develop best business practices, as well as designing new processes to enhance customer service. Private Financial Design offers comprehensive financial planning for both personal and business needs, including fee-based investment-advisory services, retirement plans, and other wealth-management services.

•••••

Berkshire Bank announced the promotion of Mark Pedrotti to Vice President, Marketing Officer. Pedrotti began his career with Berkshire Bank as a college intern from Johnson & Wales University in 2006. He was offered permanent employment in 2008 as eMarketing and website administrator and has continued to learn and grow within the marketing department, taking on new titles and increasing challenges as the years have progressed. “Mark is a key member of Berkshire Bank’s marketing team, and this promotion reflects his dedication to his position,” said Elizabeth Mach, senior vice presient, marketing officer. “We are proud of his accomplishments and look forward to his continued growth in the future.” Pedrotti continues to cultivate his career by acquiring new knowledge and challenging himself in and out of the office each day. In his new role, he will manage the strategic initiatives of Berkshire Bank’s digital properties, in addition to assisting with the overall integrity of marketing assets. Outside of the bank’s marketing department, Pedrotti is also engaged with his community. He is an active participant of the Berkshire International Film Festival, and has been since its inception. Passionate about film and the Berkshire region, he does his best to merge the two, spending much of his time immersed in the outdoor community, always with a camera in hand.

•••••

Jessica Collins, Executive Director of Partners for a Healthier Community, has been appointed to Gov. Charlie Baker’s Special Commission on Behavioral Health Promotion and Upstream Prevention. The commission is tasked with investigating “evidence-based practices, programs, and systems to prevent behavioral-health disorders and promote behavioral health across the Commonwealth. The Commission is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of leaders in behavioral health, prevention, public health, addiction, mental health, criminal justice, health policy, epidemiology, and environmental health. The Commission is zeroing in on three overarching questions: what’s working in behavioral-health promotion and upstream prevention? How can we better fund what’s working? And what can we achieve if we fund what works? More information can be found at promoteprevent.com/mission.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

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Chamber Corners Departments

GREATER CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• June 2: “Spicing Up Your PowerPoint Presentations,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., hosted by La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Cost: $40 for members, $50 for non-members.

June 17: Third annual Champions of Chicopee 5K and 2-mile walk, starting at the Portuguese American Club, 149 Exchange St., Chicopee. Registration is at 7:45 a.m., and race begins at 9:30 a.m. Cost: $25 per runner/walker, $15 for kids 12 and under. Each participant receives a T-shirt (if registered by June 3) and lunch at the Munich Haus. Part of the proceeds will benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in memory of Nathan Dumas of Lucky Design + Media. Sponsored by Munich Haus, PeoplesBank, Holyoke Medical Center, Polish National Credit Union, Westfield Bank, First American Insurance Agency Inc., Insurance Center of New England, and MedExpress Urgent Care.

• June 21: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., hosted by Munich Haus Restaurant, 13 Center St., Chicopee. Cost: $23 for members, $28 for non-members.

• June 29: Business After Hours, 4:30-6:30 p.m., hosted by Valley Blue Sox, Mackenzie Stadium, Holyoke. Game time: 6:35 p.m. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• June 6: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., “Move the Mountain” with the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, hosted by New City Brewery, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Finck & Perras Insurance Agency Inc. and Westfield Bank. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call the Easthampton Chamber office at (413) 527-9414 or the Holyoke Chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• June 28: Speaker Breakfast: “Why Ping-pong Tables Do Not Define Your Business Culture,” 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Williston Northampton School, 19 Payson Ave., Easthampton. Featured guest speaker: Tim Retting of Cincinnati-based InTrust. Sponsored by BusinessWest, Easthampton Savings Bank, Finck & Perras Insurance Agency Inc., Innovative Business Systems Inc., United Personnel, and Williston Northampton School.

• July 13: Networking by Night featuring the Oxbow Water Ski Team, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Oxbow Marina, Old Springfield Road, Northampton. Sponsored by BusinessWest, Fleury’s Outdoor Equipment Inc., and American Boat Restoration. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

• July 28: The Chamber Island Golf Tournament, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by Southampton Country Club. Visit www.easthamptonchamber.org for additional information.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holyokechamber.com
(413) 534-3376

• June 6: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., “Move the Mountain” with the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, hosted by New City Brewery, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Finck & Perras Insurance Agency Inc. and Westfield Bank. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call the Holyoke Chamber office at (413) 534-3376 or the Easthampton Chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

• June 14: Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Year in Review and Award Winner Announcements, 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Sponsored by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Corporate Leaders. Networking, buffet, and announcement of 2017 Business Person of the Year and the Fifield Volunteer Award winners. Cost: $35. The public is invited to attend. Visit holyokechamber.com to register

• June 21: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., sponsored and hosted by Slainte Restaurant, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. Mix and mingle with your friends and colleagues at this casual networking event. Refreshments will be available. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Sign up at holyokechamber.com.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• May 18: “Intro To QuickBooks,” 9-11 a.m., at the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by Pioneer Training. This session will cover setting up a new company, invoicing and receiving payments, writing checks, and paying bills. The session will end with a brief introduction to and overview of reports. It is suitable for those who have recently started using QuickBooks and those planning to use it. This session is taught on the PC desktop version, but the basic principles of QuickBooks remain the same for the Windows, Macintosh, and online versions of the program. Be aware that specific details of how to accomplish a task or available features may differ on the different versions, and these differences will not be covered. It is not required, but if you have a laptop or tablet and have QuickBooks installed, you may bring it and follow along. Note: this workshop is designed for training on the basics of QuickBooks and is not intended to troubleshoot problems individuals may currently be experiencing. Those types of questions are better suited to a one-on-one consulting session. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members.

• June 7: June Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., at ConVino, 101 Armory St, Northampton. Sponsors: Keiter Builders and MassDevelopment. Networking event. Cost: $10 for members.

• June 23: “Microsoft Excel: Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts,” 9-11 a.m., at the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by Pioneer Training. Pre-registration is required; space is limited. To register, visit [email protected]. Cost: $35 for members, $45 for non-members.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• May 22: The chamber’s 56th annual golf tournament, 10 a.m., the Ranch Golf Club, Southwick. Sponsors: Whip City Fiber, SealRyt Corp., Westfield Bank, Baystate Noble Hospital. Along with a round of golf, bid at the live auction to benefit three $500 student scholarships and win some raffles. Online registration, along with information on sponsorships and foursomes, are available at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• June 1: Workshop: “Non-Compete Agreements,” 8:30-10 a.m., hosted by Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Attorneys Mary Jo Kennedy and Ryan Barry from Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas, LLP will present on the subject of non-compete agreements. Topics will include the circumstances in which non-compete agreements arise, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements, how to structure non-compete agreements, limitations on the enforceability of non-compete agreements, recent cases discussing non-compete agreements; proposed legislation regarding non-compete agreements; and alternatives to non-compete agreements. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. Cost: free for members, $30 for non-members (cash or credit paid at the door or in advance). Light refreshments will be served. Online registration is available at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• June 5: June Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Stanley Park, 400 Western Ave., Westfield. Join us for our monthly Mayor’s Coffee Hour with Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan. This event is free and open to the public. Call the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618 to register for this event so we may give our host a head count.

• June 9: June Breakfast featuring Secretary Jay Ash, 7-9 a.m., hosted by Westfield State University in Scanlon Hall, 577 Western Ave., Westfield. Sponsored by Westfield State University (platinum) and Westfield Gas & Electric (gold). Come hear Jay Ash, secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce June Breakfast. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members (paid in advance). There will be a 50/50 raffle to benefit the chamber’s CSF – Dollars for Scholars fund. Online registration is available at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• June 14: June After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Westfield Bank, 462 College Highway, Southwick. Our kickoff to summer is a celebration with a cookout. Refreshments will be served. There will be a 50/50 Raffle to benefit the chamber’s CSF – Dollars for Scholars fund. Bring your business cards and make connections. Cost: Free for members, $10 for non-members (cash or credit paid at the door). Online registration is available at www.westfieldbiz.org. For more information, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.springfieldregionalchamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• June 1: Professional Women’s Chamber Woman of the Year Dinner honoring Jacqueline Charron of PeoplesBank, 5:30 p.m., hosted by Storrowton Tavern Carriage House, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Cost: $55.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER
www.springfieldregionalchamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• May 17: Speed Networking, 3:30-5 p.m., hosted by Lattitude, 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Cost: $20 for members in advance ($25 at the door), $30 for non-members in advance ($35 at the door).

May 23: Professional Women’s Chamber Woman of the Year Celebration, 5:30 p.m., hosted by Storrowton Tavern Carriage House, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield.

• May 30: Pastries, Politics, and Policy, 8-9 a.m., hosted by TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. Cost: $15 for members ($20 at the door), $25 for non-members in advance ($30 at the door).

• June 7: Business@Breakfast, Annual Meeting honoring the Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year, 7:15-9 a.m., hosted by Flynn Campus Union, Springfield College, 263 Alden St., Springfield. Cost: $22.50 for members in advance ($25 at the door), $30 for non-members in advance ($35 at the door).

• June 14: After 5 on the Riverfront, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, North Riverfront Park, 121 West St., Springfield. Cost: $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Register online for events at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• May 18: Networking Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m., hosted by Lattitude in West Springfield. Members or guests of members may attend. Enjoy a sit-down lunch while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief sales pitch. The only cost to attend is the cost of lunch. Attendees will order off the menu and pay separately the day of the event. We cannot invoice you for these events. For more information or to register, visit www.westoftheriverchamber.com or contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

• June 7: Wicked Wednesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m., hosted by Lattitude, 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events, hosted by various businesses and restaurants, that bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information about this event, call the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or register at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

• June 15: Annual Meeting and Business Grant Drawing, 7-9 a.m., hosted by Chez Josef, Agawam. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new Chairman Frank Palange and the incoming WRC board of directors. Two $500 business grants will be drawn the morning of the event. Guest speaker will be Drew Crandall. Cost: $35 for members, $45 for non-members. For more information and for tickets to this event, call the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
springfieldyps.com

• June 15: Ninth annual Great Golf Escape, hosted by the Ranch Golf Club. Cost: $95, including lunch and dinner. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m., shotgun start at noon.

Agenda

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Agenda Departments

‘Home Care and Financing Strategies’

May 16: Monson Savings Bank will host a complimentary workshop titled “Home Care and Financing Strategies: A Workshop for Families and Caregivers,” featuring Paul Hillsburg, president and owner of Amada Senior Care of Western & Central Massachusetts, and Nancy Simms, sales vice president, Long Term Care for Highland Capital Brokerage. Finding the right senior care for you or a loved one can be overwhelming and time-consuming. This event is designed to help people learn and understand what options there are for care and how to pay for it. Hillsburg and Simms both have extensive backgrounds in long-term healthcare and understand how daunting the process can be. This workshop will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Monson Savings Bank Corporate, 107 Main St., Monson. It is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. “So many people are concerned about senior care these days,” said Steve Lowell, president of Monson Savings Bank. “The options are confusing, and people want to know how they can help their loved ones live as independently as possible. We want people to know that the event is open to the public, not just our customers.” Seating is limited. Those interested may call Anna Calvanese at (413) 267-1221 or e-mail [email protected] to RSVP.

Run for River Valley

May 20: River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), an affiliate of Holyoke Medical Center and member of Valley Health Systems, will hold its sixth annual Run for River Valley fund-raiser on Saturday, May 20. Funds raised will support RVCC in providing critical behavioral-health and other supportive services to individuals, families, and groups throughout the Pioneer Valley. “Research shows that exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. This event helps raise funds for our programs, but it also promotes the importance of exercise and wellness for everyone in our community,” said Angela Lozano Callahan, RVCC’s Marketing and Development specialist. The 5K run and 1.5-mile walk will take place at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke. Registration starts at 8 a.m. at Elks Lodge 902, 250 Whitney Ave., and the race begins at 9:30 a.m. An awards ceremony will be held at the Elks Lodge following the race. The registration fee is $25 ($10 for children 12 and under). Adults who pre-register will save $5, and the first 100 registrants will receive a free race T-shirt. To register online, visit accuspec-racing.com or download a registration form at rvcc-inc.org. The deadline for mail-in registration is Saturday, May 13, with online registration accepted until Wednesday, May 17. Sponsors of the 2017 Run for River Valley include PeoplesBank, Palmer Paving Corp., Holyoke Gas and Electric, Hamel’s Catering, Laurel Pure, and Gallagher Real Estate. For additional information, visit www.rvcc-inc.org or contact Angela Callahan at (413) 841-3546 or [email protected].

‘An Afternoon with Tom Ahern’

June 1: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation invites regional nonprofit staff to attend “An Afternoon with Tom Ahern,” a two-part workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. at Jane Iredale Cosmetics, 50 Church St., Great Barrington. Back by popular demand, Ahern will present two back-to-back workshops: “The Big (little) Diff: Writing for Online Readers,” a discussion of best practices in writing for web, e-mail, and social-media platforms; and “Writing a Powerful Case for Support,” which will review effective fund-raising methods. The New York Times calls Ahern “one of the country’s most sought-after creators of fund-raising messages.” This event is part of Berkshire Taconic’s popular annual Seminars in Nonprofit Excellence series. Tickets are $40 per person, and light food and beverages will be provided. To register, visit www.berkshiretaconic.org/ahern.

Discussions about Race

June 2-3, 9-10: Cooley Dickinson Health Care, the United Way of Hampshire County, and the Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College are addressing the issue of racism, as well as race-related incidents that continue to occur both locally and nationally, by offering a series of community dialogues on race in Northampton and Amherst. Community members who live or work in Hampshire County are invited to attend either of the sessions. The two-part dialogue will be offered Friday, June 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College, Wright Hall, 5 Chapin Dr., Northampton. A second two-part session will be offered Friday, June 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Amherst Survival Center, 138 Sunderland Road, Amherst. Event organizers say they aim to move toward solutions rather than continue to express or analyze the problem; to reach beyond the usual boundaries, offering opportunities for new, unexpected partnerships; and to unite divided communities through a respectful, informed sharing of local racial history and its consequences for different people in today’s society. The community dialogue is free, and lunch will be provided. Attendance is limited to 30 people, and participants must attend both Friday and Saturday. When registering, people will be asked their name, the organization they represent, if any, and their race/ethnicity. Organizers are asking about race/ethnicity as they have a goal of 50% participation from people of color. To register, call (888) 554-4234 by Tuesday, May 30. You will receive confirmation on whether you have been selected to attend a session.

WGBY Asparagus Festival

June 3: The WGBY Asparagus Festival returns to the Hadley Town Common from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to once again celebrate the region’s legacy of agriculture and community. The family-friendly, outdoor event features more than 90 local food, crafts, and agricultural vendors at a Farmers’ & Makers’ Market. In addition, there will be entertainment displays, kids’ games, and a live visit from PBS Kids character Curious George. A large “Rooted in the Valley” stage will feature popular performers. Family entertainer Tyler Conroy will start off the day, followed by bands Western Den and Parsonsfield, which were selected by Northampton-based Signature Sounds. Western Den blends “compelling lush harmonies with ambient textures,” and Parsonsfield “trades instruments, shares microphones, and sings in tight multi-part harmonies,” according to each of the bands’ websites. “As a public television station, our WGBY Asparagus Festival is so rewarding to us because it not only raises funds for local educational programs and services, but also helps fulfill our mission of connecting Western New England,” said Lynn Page, WGBY’s interim general manager. “Seeing so many community partners and so many neighbors from around the region, you really leave the event feeling good, feeling like you’re a part of the community.” Attendees will leave the event feeling well-fed, too. More than a dozen Pioneer Valley culinary artisans, local brewers, and regional food vendors will offer a wide variety of snacks and meals. Taste original dishes from Mi Tierra, Esselon Café, or Spoleto. Visit the Wheelhouse Farm, UMass Dining, or Hadley Fry King food trucks. Or, go on the sweeter side and sample asparagus-flavored ice cream from Flayvours of Cook Farm, maple treats from the North Hadley Sugar Shack, or a specialty from the Florence Pie Bar. Other food vendors include North Hadley Congregational Church, Harmony Springs, and Dean’s Beans. In addition, a large craft-beer tent will provide tasting opportunities from popular local breweries (craft beer tasting tickets available at wgby.org/beer). The WGBY Asparagus Festival is open to the public and free with a recommended donation of $5 per person. It will be held rain or shine. Donations directly benefit public television and education efforts in the Western New England region. The event is sponsored by the Dennis Group, Greenfield Savings Bank, Whole Foods Hadley, and Alternative Recycling Systems. Media sponsors include the Daily Hampshire Gazette, MassLive, and Yankee magazine.

40 Under Forty

June 22: The 11th annual 40 Under Forty award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, honoring 40 of the region’s rising stars under 40 years old. An independent panel of judges has chosen the winners, and their stories are told in the April 17 issue and at businesswest.com. The event is sponsored by Northwestern Mutual (presenting sponsor), PeoplesBank (presenting sponsor), Baystate Health, Moriarty & Primack, Health New England, the Gaudreau Group, the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, Six-Point Creative Works, Renew.Calm, and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield. Tickets cost $75. A limited number of tables are available, and some individual and standing-room-only tickets are also available, but are expected to sell out quickly. To purchase tickets, call (413) 781-8600.

BFAIR Walk for Independence

June 24: Berkshire Family & Individual Resources (BFAIR) announced its second annual Walk for Independence. Last year, the inaugural walk along the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail saw participation of nearly 100 walkers of all ability levels, with this year already set to exceed that number. A stroll to Cheshire and back (with or any distance in between), the walk will be a fund-raising event in which BFAIR participants, community members, and sponsors can get involved in through sponsored walking, lunch, bucket raffles, and entertainment. Starting and finishing at the Adams Visitors Center, the walk is a day of fun and helps BFAIR share its mission to enrich the lives of people of all ages and abilities by providing positive life experiences and advocacy through distinctive, individualized, quality services. As a local nonprofit, BFAIR relies on public funds to provide critically needed residential, vocational, habilitative, and clinical services for adults, adolescents, and children with developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injury, as well as home-care services for the elderly. The registration fee for the walk is $25 for adults and $12.50 for children 10 and younger. Registration includes a picnic lunch and ball-cap giveaway. Interested walkers can register online at thedriven.net/bfairwalk, by calling (413) 664-9382 ext. 40, e-mailing [email protected], or visiting www.bfair.org. In addition to registering, walkers may seek individual sponsors by asking family and friends to support their walk. Donations are accepted via thedriven.net/bfairwalk, or donation envelopes can be provided for walkers. Corporate sponsorships are available for the trail, mile, bronze, silver, and gold levels, ranging from $100 to $2,500, respectively. Interested businesses should contact Jennifer Civello at [email protected] for more information. Current gold-level walk sponsors include Greylock Federal Credit Union, MountainOne, and the Print Shop Williamstown.

Nomination Deadline for Healthcare Heroes

June 29: Healthcare Heroes, an exciting recognition program involving the Western Mass. healthcare sector, was launched this spring by BusinessWest and HCN. Sponsored by American International College, Bay Path University, Elms College, and Renew.Calm, with additional sponsorships available, the program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care. Nominations are now being sought — and will be accepted until June 29 — in the following categories: Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider; Innovation in Health/Wellness; Community Health; Emerging Leader; Collaboration in Health/Wellness; Health/Wellness Administration/Administrator; and Lifetime Achievement. The nominations will be scored by a panel of judges to be announced in the coming weeks. The winners will be chosen in July and profiled in the Sept. 4 issue of BusinessWest as well as the Sept. issue of HCN. The guidelines to consider when nominating individuals, groups, or institutions in these various categories are available HERE.

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

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.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
Felipe Merced v. Ian C. Harvey and Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
Allegation: Negligent operation of a PVTA bus causing collision with another vehicle and injury to bus passenger: $7,330.50
Filed: 4/18/17

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Yvonne Williams v. Omnitrition International Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay commissions earned: $730,000
Filed: 4/18/17

HAMPDEN DISTRICT COURT
Nancy Ansah v. Yelena Ivanov d/b/a Spa of Eden
Allegation: Negligence causing burns and injury: $1,600
Filed: 3/8/17

Donald P. Henneberger v. B.S.C. Realty Inc.
Allegation: Slip and fall causing injury: $21,000
Filed: 3/17/17

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Louis Stevens v. Mark A. Zive, DMD
Allegation: Medical malpractice
Filed: 3/27/17

Dennis Riley Jr., individually and as father and next friend of a minor, Alayna Riley, v. Eastman Chemical Co., M.L. Schmitt Inc., and Entersolar, LLC
Allegation: Negligence causing electrical burn injuries: $600,000
Filed: 4/6/17

Alan Shapiro v. Brothers Pizza
Allegation: Negligence causing fall down stairs and injury: $33,000
Filed: 4/6/17

Jimmie Mitchell v. Dr. Rajat Jindia and Great Expressions Dental Centers of Massachusetts, P.C.
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $26,516.28
Filed: 4/10/17

Nixa Oliver v. Small Smiles of Springfield, LLC
Allegation: Slip and fall causing injury: $100,000
Filed: 4/14/17

Janet Lapinski v. Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts, LLC
Allegation: Medical malpractice, fall causing injury: $33,250
Filed: 4/19/17

Dennis Matulewicz v. EDAC Technologies Corp. and EBTEC Corp.
Allegation: Employment discrimination
Filed: 4/24/17

Eugene Allen v. Chessmen Lounge Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing injury: $33,000
Filed: 4/25/17

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Latisha Ealy v. Town of Easthampton
Allegation: Exposure to high levels of toxic mold leading to permanent injuries: $150,000
Filed: 4/7/17

Picture This

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Departments Picture This

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

Celebrating 50 Years

Springfield Technical Community College staged its 50th Anniversary Gala on April 28 at the Marriott in Springfield. The event drew more than 400 attendees, including past and present presidents, faculty members and staff, and supporters on many levels, including trustees and foundation board members. Below, from top to bottom: 50th Anniversary co-chairs Setta McCabe and Richard Parkin (right) with photographer and frequent STCC instructor Jim Langone; former STCC President Andrew Scibelli with his wife, Kitty; from left, Gary Fialky, retired partner with the law firm Bacon Wilson, Joe Sibilia, founder of Gasoline Alley, and Paul Stelzer, principal with Appleton Corp.; STCC President John Cook, who was inaugurated a day before the gala, with his daughter, Sawyer, son, Crawford, and mother, Nancy Codd Cook; from left, retired faculty members Marilyn Pooler and Joanne Cerato with current faculty member Margaret Woble-Valenski; Frederick and Marjorie Hurst, owners of African American Point of View (Frederick is a former trustee of the college); from left, Gail Carberry, president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester and former vice president at STCC, and current college staff members Linda Padykula, Cynthia LaPlante, and Sharon Conte.
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Horses, Hats, and Hors d’oeuvres

Short of heading to Churchill Downs, the Colony Club in Springfield was the place to go for the 2017 Kentucky Derby on May 6. Hundreds of guests wore their finest hats, floral patterns, and pastels to celebrate the 143rd running of the annual race. The event has become a signature event for Square One, a regional nonprofit organization serving at-risk children and families. Presented by the Gaudreau Group, Northeast IT, and the Colony Club, with sponsorship support from NUVO Bank, American International College, Chicopee Industrial Contractors, and others, the event raised more than $20,000 to support Square One’s mission. Below, from top to bottom: Jeremy Casey, David Condon, and Justin Roberts looking dapper; from left, Square One President and CEO Joan Kagan, Christine Maiwald of Renaissance Advisors, Karen Tetrault of the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., Werner Maiwald of Renaissance Advisors, and Kristine Allard, Jenise Katalina, and Joni-Beck Brewer, all with Square One; Joan Kagan and her husband, Dr. Steve Levine; Square One’s Chief Family Services officer, Joni Beck-Brewer, and husband, Bruce Brewer; Square One event volunteers Samantha Baker, Kelsey Allard, and Grace McConnell, all sophomores at Minnechaug High School in Wilbraham. (Photos by Deb Hanna Photography)
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Pride Stores Launch Campaign to Support Square One

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — First there were dice. Then came Wendy’s hamburgers, followed by Rubik’s Cube and SpongeBob. Now, Bob Bolduc and his team at Pride Stores want to add Square One to the list of famous ‘squares.’

The locally owned chain of gas stations and convenience stores is launching a campaign where customers may purchase a square for one dollar, in support of the work that Square One does with children and families throughout the region.

“We are proud to be supporting the programs and services that Square One offers to ensure that children and families have the tools they need to be successful,” Bolduc said. “Selling squares and displaying them in our stores will be a very visible way to help raise funds for the organization and create greater awareness of the work they are doing.”

The squares are available for purchase at the checkout registers of participating Pride locations. For every dollar donated, Pride will display a Square One square in the Pride location of purchase. All proceeds will benefit Square One’s early-learning and family-services initiatives.

“We are so grateful to Bob and his team at Pride for all their very generous support of our work,” said Kristine Allard, chief Development and Communications officer for Square One. “Whether we are teaching children to read and write, inspiring an appreciation of fine arts, providing a nourishing meal, or developing a healthy love of play, everything we do is driven by our vision of a bright future for all children, despite the daunting challenges they face at home.”

She added that many children in Square One programs are living in homeless shelters, struggle with food insecurity, have a parent who is in addiction recovery or post-incarcerated, or are in custody of an appointed legal guardian or foster parent. “Support from Pride and other businesses is critical to our ability to continue to serve these families.”

Partners for a Healthier Community Wins Grant for Asthma Project

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), following a national competition, has awarded grants and support to Partners for a Healthier Community in Springfield, as well as Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.), Health Net of West Michigan (Grand Rapids, Mich.), and Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being (Memphis, Tenn.), to advance their Pay for Success (PFS) projects.

GHHI is providing these grants and services through funding awarded last year from the Corp. for National and Community Service’s (CNCS) Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to support SIF Pay for Success projects that address social determinants of health. These awards will build off of the past work of the SIF projects to assess the feasibility of the PFS financing model and advance high-quality, promising projects toward launch.

Each of the PFS projects focuses on providing comprehensive services to asthmatics in low-income communities. These services include home-based care and addressing environmental triggers of asthma such as pests and mold. These services will lead to better health and quality-of-life outcomes for families and reduce emergency-department visits and hospitalizations due to asthma, saving healthcare costs. Prior work has shown that a PFS transaction is feasible, and GHHI will be working with the awardees to pilot the home-based services, work with their state Medicaid programs on any needed policies to advance PFS, and engage partners such as potential investors as the projects advance toward launch.

“We are honored to build upon the great work over the last couple years and advance these promising projects that will bring much-needed services for families,” said Ruth Ann Norton, GHHI president and CEO. “Through utilizing Pay for Success, we will help our partners scale home-based interventions for asthma. To truly impact the health of populations, we need to move beyond the walls of the hospital and clinics, and these four projects will establish a mechanism to truly scale services that address social determinants of health.”

Added Lois Nembhard, acting director of the Social Innovation Fund at CNCS, the grants “will help build a powerful pipeline to take more Pay for Success projects from feasibility to implementation. We are thrilled to support the expansion of Green & Healthy Homes Initiative’s work in providing customized developmental support for these four projects to advance health equity and address the social determinants of health.”

Bay Path to Host Conference for Nonprofits on June 9

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University, partnering with the Human Service Forum, will host a free conference and workshop, “Hot Topics: Meeting Your Mission Through Integrated Communications Strategies,” for area nonprofit management and leadership on
Friday, June 9.

The session is being presented by Bay Path’s MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy and MS in Strategic Fundraising programs and will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Blake Student Center, where Amy Sample Ward, CEO of the Oregon-based Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), will present to attendees.

The morning session and presentation by Ward will be followed by a hands-on workshop at Wright Hall that will provide building blocks for area nonprofit professionals. The program, “Community-Driven Communications,” will outline community-driven communication strategies, including the use of social media, and provide templates and plans attendees can complete and implement with their organizations.

According to Sylvia de Haas-Phillips, director and assistant professor of the MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy and MS in Strategic Fundraising programs, the event will help nonprofits more effectively use digital, social, and mobile technologies in engaging supporters and in collaborating with other community organizations.

Full participation in the breakfast presentation and afternoon workshop earns CFRE points towards certification or recertification. Those interested can register by clicking here.

Ward is a speaker and author; her latest book is Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money, and Engage Your Community. In addition to serving as CEO of NTEN, she is dedicated to educating and supporting organizations nationwide in using integrated communications strategies to create meaningful engagement, helping nonprofits make lasting change in their communities.

The Human Service Forum is an association of nonprofit and public agencies in the Pioneer Valley providing trainings, roundtable networking opportunities, and advocacy for its members.
An economic-impact report published by the Human Service Forum indicated that more than 50,000 people are employed at more than 1,000 nonprofits in the Pioneer Valley.

According to de Haas-Phillips, “nonprofits in the region represent a significant sector both economically and in terms of the services they provide to improve the quality of living in the Pioneer Valley. Providing a no-cost forum to nonprofits to help their managers better utilize traditional, social, and other communication strategies in realizing their missions is an important community service for Bay Path.”

Bay Path inaugurated the Nonprofit Management program in 2007 in response to the growth of the nonprofit sector in the local economy.

“The pace of change in the digital world and in the nonprofit sector today has created an environment where many nonprofit staff are overwhelmed with options and often choose not to adopt new tools or test new strategies,” Ward said. “This conference is designed to help nonprofit professionals understand better the role technology already does play in their work and identify opportunities that are right for their organization.”

MassMutual Refreshes Brand to Celebrate Interdependence

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has unveiled a newly refreshed brand, designed to better reflect and build on its legacy and the core values that have guided the company since its founding. Celebrating the gift of interdependence, the new positioning elevates the idea that Americans today want to protect the ones they love with a company whose values align with their own.

The brand refresh — marked by the launch of a new, multi-channel advertising campaign, updated logo, and dramatically revamped website — communicates the company’s long history of stability and strength.

massmutuallogo“Since 1851, MassMutual has been guided by our founding principle — we are people coming together to look out for one another,” said Gareth Ross, chief Digital and Customer Experience officer. “We know people are inherently reliant on one another, whether that’s at home, in the workplace, or in the community. Our new positioning celebrates these relationships, underscoring that, when we depend on each other, we are not only more secure, but life is also happier and more fulfilling.”

He added that, based on company research and customer insights — combined with the fact that a substantial number of individuals and families across the U.S. are in need of financial guidance — MassMutual wanted to reinforce the company’s vision and identity in a new, fresh, and relatable way. The new brand recognizes that, while the world celebrates independence, true happiness comes from our reliance on one another. It also seeks to inspire people to see themselves as part of something bigger.

“Much has changed in the past decade — we live our lives differently, connecting on social media and depending on each other at all stages of life,” said Jennifer Halloran, MassMutual’s head of Brand and Advertising. “As we took a close look at the key attributes that distinguish us from our competitors, we saw this as not only an opportunity to communicate who we are, but to also help more Americans with holistic financial solutions at a time they need the help the most.”

At the core of the refresh is the fact that American expectations about interdependence continue to evolve. Some 32% of young adults (ages 18 to 34) now live at home with their parents, and only one-third of Baby Boomers are confident they will have enough money to last through their retirement. Add in the fact that some generations, like Gen X, may be taking care of both parents and children, and it’s clear that Americans are turning to their loved ones for support throughout their lives.

The need for holistic financial solutions in rapidly growing and underserved communities is also very apparent. Millennials, the middle class, and Latinos are the industry’s fastest-growing customer base, but many are financially unprepared. Millennials are the largest living generation and the biggest group in the workforce, but they are burdened with more than $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. Furthermore, median middle-class income fell 4% in the past decade, and although Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S., more than half say they are financially unprepared.

MassMutual’s new look is being rolled out through a broad, multi-channel advertising campaign that includes prominent TV, radio, print, outdoor, digital, and social-media advertising across the nation. The company’s visual identity has also been updated to focus on its policy owners and customers. The blue chip has been replaced by a newly designed logo, featuring a bold, dynamic blue color and symbolic dots that represent the community of people that MassMutual is helping to connect. Additionally, the company’s website, massmutual.com, has been redesigned to reflect the refreshed brand, improve the user experience, and deliver new features.

“This is just the beginning of the next chapter in MassMutual’s long journey of helping people secure their future and protect the ones they love,” Ross said.

The HealthSouth Difference

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Custom Content

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Comfort. Professionalism. Respect.

Those are the three words, or principles, that define the care provided at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massaachusetts in Ludlow, and they make clear why this state-of-the-art facility stands apart from all others in this region.

John Hunt, MA, CCC-SLP, the new CEO of HealthSouth explains:

“The focus of inpatient rehabilitation is to increase and restore as much function as possible, and to limit the amount of care that a patient and his or her family or caregiver may need to help them return to a more-full life following a life-changing event.”

Bioness-NESS-H200-002To succeed in this mission, HealthSouth focuses on a higher level of care that is decidedly personal in nature and anything but the cookie-cutter approach that seems to define much of the inpatient rehabilitation provided today.

“We do not see our patients as a diagnosis,” Hunt explained, “but rather as a person with individual needs.”

This philosophy, which has been a defining characteristic at HealthSouth since it came to Ludlow two decades ago, explains why this facility — and the team of professionals working there — sets the standard when it comes to caring for those who have suffered stroke, traumatic brain injury, amputation, and other serious injuries and illnesses.

As an acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital, HealthSouth operates under the rigorous guidelines of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. As a result, patients and their families benefit from:

• An intensive therapy program tailored to the patient’s needs;
• A multi-disciplinary approach to the patient’s care;
• Frequent visits by rehab-trained physicians;
• Exceptionally trained therapists;
• Specialty-trained nurses;
• Weekly team conferences, family meetings,
and community outings.

“In my 30 years in rehabilitation, I have never seen a facility or a team quite like this,” said Hunt of his decision to join HealthSouth. “The pride that I see people taking each day is awe inspiring to say the least.”
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That pride is the HealthSouth Difference.

And that difference is why you and your family should choose this exceptional facility for comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation.

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State of the Art In Every Way

When HealthSouth decided years ago to build a new facility in Western Massachusetts, it made two fundamental decisions.

The first was to build in Ludlow, it’s home for more than 20 years. The second was to build the most advanced, most comfortable, most state-of-art facility of its kind in this region.

To say HealthSouth has succeeded in that mission would be an understatement.

Everything about this facility, built at the historic Ludlow Mills site in the center of this community, is not only state-of-the-art and LEED-Gold certified, but truly patient-focused and patient-friendly.

“That’s how you build a first-class facility, which is what we have done here,” said Hunt. “You focus on the patient and their family, and you never lose that focus. If you’re always thinking about the patients and their specific wants and needs, then you can build a rehabilitation hospital that stands apart.”

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The ‘new’ HealthSouth does that, in many ways. Here are just a few examples:

• Private rooms. Each patient at HealthSouth gets his or her own room, something no other facility in this region provides. This assures respect and privacy, keys to an individual being comfortable as they recover from injury or illness;
• Private, large bathrooms equipped with showers;
• A large gymnasium equipped with the latest equipment designed to help speed one’s recovery from illness or injury and build self-esteem;
• A courtyard that acts as a park and therapeutic area featuring stairs, inclines, and a variety of surfaces — from gravel to sand — that patients with mobility issues will face when they return home.

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In all these ways, and many more, the new HealthSouth represents the future of rehabilitation care — only it is available now.

However, a state-of-art facility is only part of the story.

“You can have the most beautiful building in the world, but if you don’t have the best nurses, the best therapists, and the best doctors, it doesn’t make a difference,” Hunt explained. “We have incredibly talented and versatile therapists, nurses, and physicians. This building lends itself to a great patient experience.”

And this is another big reason why you should choose HealthSouth.
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Bruce Marzotto Named 2017 Community Bank Hero

By
Daily News

LEE — Lee Bank announced that Bruce Marzotto, senior vice president of Commercial Lending, has been named a Community Bank Hero by the Warren Group and Banker & Tradesman. Community Bank Heroes is an annual award that honors the achievements, commitment, and dedication of financial professionals who go above and beyond for their institution and community.

Award recipients are nominated by their peers and selected by Banker & Tradesman’s editorial board; this year’s 13 winners hail from community banks throughout Massachusetts.

Marzotto has been with Lee Bank for 10 years and has worked in banking in Berkshire County for 40 years. After receiving his associate’s degree at Berkshire Community College, he continued his education through banking courses with the American Institute of Banking as well as the New England School of Banking at Williams College. As former treasurer of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Great Barrington Little League, and Boy Scouts of America Troop 23, he is continuing his community involvement as a trustee of the newly organized Great Barrington Municipal Affordable House Trust.

“It is a great honor to receive any award that has the word ‘community’ associated with it, and in this case it’s Lee Bank’s commitment to our community that makes this award even more special,” Marzotto said.

The Community Bank Heroes awards will be distributed at a dinner event on Tuesday, May 23 at the Hyatt Regency Boston hotel. Recipients will be featured in the May 22 issue of Banker & Tradesman. To see a full list of the Community Bank Heroes and for more information about the awards dinner, visit www.thewarrengroupevents.com/communitybankheroes.

PeoplesBank Announces Four Staff Appointments

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank announced the appointment of Mark Foster to vice president, operational risk manager; Jay Seyler to vice president, business banking officer; Shana Hendrikse to business banking officer; and Jessica Menard to commercial credit officer.

Foster brings more than a decade of financial and audit experience, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. He is an RSA Archer-certified administrator and was named a 2015 RSA Archer Innovation Award winner.

Seyler possesses more than 30 years of banking and financial experience, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and an MBA from Western New England University.

Hendrikse brings more than a decade of banking and financial experience, and holds a master’s degree from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Leo University. She has completed training through the New England School of Financial Studies at Babson and holds a certificate in financial studies.

Menard possesses close to a decade of banking and commercial-loan experience, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Bay Path University. She has completed training through the Risk Management Assoc., the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc., and the Center for Financial Training.

Hyman Darling Inducted as NAELA President, Named NAELA Fellow

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that attorney Hyman Darling recently took the oath of office as the incoming president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He was sworn in as president at NAELA’s annual conference along with other incoming members of the executive committee, and will officially assume his duties as NAELA president on June 1.

In addition to accepting the office of the presidency, Darling was also honored as a NAELA fellow for 2017. The fellow designation is the highest honor bestowed by NAELA, and is granted to members who have careers in elder law and who have made exceptional contributions to the field. Election as a NAELA fellow signifies an attorney recognized by his peers as a model for others, and an exceptional lawyer and leader. The most significant component in the selection process is commitment and contributions to NAELA through committee participation, programs, and leadership.

Upon accepting the fellow award and the presidency, Darling proceeded to address his NAELA colleagues, thanking them for record-high conference attendance and laying out his plans for the coming year. Much to the delight of the audience, his remarks were delivered entirely in rhyming verse.

Darling is a partner at Bacon Wilson, where he has practiced since 1981. He concentrates in the areas of trusts, estates, taxes, estate planning, probate, guardianships, special needs, and elder law. Prior to joining Bacon Wilson, he served as a trust officer. He has been a frequent presenter for both the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. He has also spoken for NAELA at several conferences, both local and national. He is an adjunct faculty member at both Western New England University School of Law and Bay Path University.

Darling serves on many local planned-giving committees, and is a frequent lecturer for professional and civic groups in the Pioneer Valley. He is a member of the Special Needs Alliance, and is also a former president of the Hampden County Estate Planning Council.

United Way of Pioneer Valley Board Names Jim Ayres President, CEO

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — United Way of Pioneer Valley (UWPV) announced that its board of directors has appointed Jim Ayres the organization’s next president and CEO, effective June 12. Ayres, who currently serves as the CEO of the United Way Hampshire County, will succeed Dora Robinson, UWPV’s most recent president and CEO and current president emeritus.

“After a comprehensive search, the board is thrilled to have found a strong leader with a proven track record to lead this organization that is such an integral part of the Pioneer Valley,” said Ben Markens, United Way Pioneer Valley board chair. “The board of directors was impressed with Jim’s extensive nonprofit experience, leadership skills, and collaborative approach to problem solving. As we approach our 95th anniversary, it’s only fitting that we’ve found a leader with both enthusiasm for the United Way mission and the skills to position us to provide essential services to the community for many years to come.”

Ayres comes to UWPV from United Way of Hampshire County (UWHC), where he has served as CEO and executive director since 2011. During his tenure there, he expanded the donor base and increased both funding diversity and overall revenue at a time when many United Ways nationally had experienced shrinkage.

Prior to joining UWHC, he served for 12 years as the executive director of the Center for New Americans, an education and resource center for immigrants, refugees, and other limited-English speakers in Western Mass. With roots in the Springfield public schools, where he worked as a parent community and involvement coordinator, he has extensive experience working with school systems, local and state governments, community coalitions, workforce boards, and other nonprofit organizations to develop programming and policy. He is the incoming board president of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network and an adjunct professor of Nonprofit Administration and Philanthropy at Bay Path University. He holds master’s degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

“I am excited for the opportunity to partner with the United Way Pioneer Valley’s steadfast board of directors, dedicated staff, and vital community partners to extend the organization’s impact in the communities we serve,” said Ayres. “It’s an honor to be entrusted with the organization’s leadership as we continue to fight for the health, education, and financial stability of people across the Pioneer Valley.”

Robinson added that Ayres “is an exceptional leader and very well-respected United Way professional who has elevated the respect, trust, and engagement of stakeholders with United Ways across our region. I’m absolutely thrilled with the board’s decision to hire Jim.”

UWPV will celebrate Ayres’s arrival at the organization’s 95th-anniversary celebration on Wednesday, May 31 at the Barney Carriage House at Forest Park.

The HealthSouth Difference

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Comfort. Professionalism. Respect.

Those are the three words, or principles, that define the care provided at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massaachusetts in Ludlow, and they make clear why this state-of-the-art facility stands apart from all others in this region.

John Hunt, MA, CCC-SLP, the new CEO of HealthSouth explains:

“The focus of inpatient rehabilitation is to increase and restore as much function as possible, and to limit the amount of care that a patient and his or her family or caregiver may need to help them return to a more-full life following a life-changing event.”

Bioness-NESS-H200-002To succeed in this mission, HealthSouth focuses on a higher level of care that is decidedly personal in nature and anything but the cookie-cutter approach that seems to define much of the inpatient rehabilitation provided today.

“We do not see our patients as a diagnosis,” Hunt explained, “but rather as a person with individual needs.”

This philosophy, which has been a defining characteristic at HealthSouth since it came to Ludlow two decades ago, explains why this facility — and the team of professionals working there — sets the standard when it comes to caring for those who have suffered stroke, traumatic brain injury, amputation, and other serious injuries and illnesses.

As an acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital, HealthSouth operates under the rigorous guidelines of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. As a result, patients and their families benefit from:

• An intensive therapy program tailored to the patient’s needs;
• A multi-disciplinary approach to the patient’s care;
• Frequent visits by rehab-trained physicians;
• Exceptionally trained therapists;
• Specialty-trained nurses;
• Weekly team conferences, family meetings,
and community outings.

“In my 30 years in rehabilitation, I have never seen a facility or a team quite like this,” said Hunt of his decision to join HealthSouth. “The pride that I see people taking each day is awe inspiring to say the least.”
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That pride is the HealthSouth Difference.

And that difference is why you and your family should choose this exceptional facility for comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation.

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State of the Art In Every Way

When HealthSouth decided years ago to build a new facility in Western Massachusetts, it made two fundamental decisions.

The first was to build in Ludlow, it’s home for more than 20 years. The second was to build the most advanced, most comfortable, most state-of-art facility of its kind in this region.

To say HealthSouth has succeeded in that mission would be an understatement.

Everything about this facility, built at the historic Ludlow Mills site in the center of this community, is not only state-of-the-art and LEED-Gold certified, but truly patient-focused and patient-friendly.

“That’s how you build a first-class facility, which is what we have done here,” said Hunt. “You focus on the patient and their family, and you never lose that focus. If you’re always thinking about the patients and their specific wants and needs, then you can build a rehabilitation hospital that stands apart.”

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The ‘new’ HealthSouth does that, in many ways. Here are just a few examples:

• Private rooms. Each patient at HealthSouth gets his or her own room, something no other facility in this region provides. This assures respect and privacy, keys to an individual being comfortable as they recover from injury or illness;
• Private, large bathrooms equipped with showers;
• A large gymnasium equipped with the latest equipment designed to help speed one’s recovery from illness or injury and build self-esteem;
• A courtyard that acts as a park and therapeutic area featuring stairs, inclines, and a variety of surfaces — from gravel to sand — that patients with mobility issues will face when they return home.

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In all these ways, and many more, the new HealthSouth represents the future of rehabilitation care — only it is available now.

However, a state-of-art facility is only part of the story.

“You can have the most beautiful building in the world, but if you don’t have the best nurses, the best therapists, and the best doctors, it doesn’t make a difference,” Hunt explained. “We have incredibly talented and versatile therapists, nurses, and physicians. This building lends itself to a great patient experience.”

And this is another big reason why you should choose HealthSouth.
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Local Land Trust Offers New License Plate

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Daily News

AGAWAM — The Massachusetts Chapter of the Sportsmen’s National Land Trust (SNLT) is collecting pre-orders for a new Massachusetts license plate which it plans to have released later this year. The SNLT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Agawam, founded in 2003 to help conserve natural resources and wildlife habitat across the state. Proceeds from the plate will be used to acquire, maintain, and improve open land strictly within Massachusetts, which will be available to the public forever.

The all-volunteer land trust has created a special plate with a deer-buck image created by local wildlife artist Ed Snyder. A limited number of low-number original issue plates are still available at the land trust website at www.snltmassachusetts.org, but quantities are limited. Further information about the SNLT can be found at the website as well.

STCC Appoints New Dean of School of Health & Patient Simulation

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) announced the hiring of Christopher Scott as the dean of the School of Health & Patient Simulation.

Scott had been the interim dean since the retirement of Michael Foss in 2016. His previous positions at STCC include assistant dean for the School of Health & Patient Simulation and director of Clinical Education and SIMS Medical Center.

“Chris Scott is the perfect choice. He has demonstrated that he will uphold the standards of excellence for our programs that have made our graduates so sought-after by employers, while making sure STCC remains on the forefront of innovative healthcare education,” said Dr. Arlene Rodriguez, vice president of Academic Affairs at STCC. “He’s truly a visionary leader.”

Scott will lead a school that offers the most competitive programs at STCC and is home to the Northeast’s largest patient-simulation training facility. The SIMS Medical Center at STCC provides a clinical setting to train students as well as healthcare providers.

Scott played a key role in expanding the facility when he was hired as director in 2010. At the time, the center included 18 patient simulators and five rooms and provided 3,000 simulation experiences each year. Today, there are 52 simulators and 12 rooms, or simulation areas, and more than 20,000 simulation experiences.

As dean, he is responsible for the overall leadership of the school as well as for the daily and long-term operation of all the credit and non-credit health programs. About 800 students are enrolled in credit and non-credit programs. The school includes more than 100 full-time and part-time faculty and staff.

Scott sees his mission as helping to meet the community’s health care needs and ensuring access to the degree and certificate programs, which include cosmetology, dental assistant, dental hygiene, diagnostic medical imaging, interdisciplinary health studies, medical assistant, medical laboratory technician, nursing, rehabilitation therapies, respiratory care, and surgical technology.

“We want to make sure that our community understands what health programs are offered at STCC, and we want to ensure that we set our community up for success to enroll and graduate from our health programs,” Scott said. “We’re really about community engagement.”

Scott, who holds a master’s degree in health education and curriculum development from Springfield College, is currently is completing his doctorate of education in higher education administration from Northeastern University in Boston. A certified healthcare-simulation educator, Scott earned his bachelor’s degree in emergency medical services management from Springfield College.