Berkshire Business Journal March 2023

THE FINAL HURDLE: City of Pittsfield uses ARPA funding to fully fund renovation of business park parcel.

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CANNABIS WITH A CONSCIENCE: Great Barrington cannabis firm relaunches social equity program. Page 10

Berkshire Business Journal

Expanding art for all

Name change and new location provided Berkshire Art Center with tools to grow

By John Townes

STOCKKBRIDGE — The past year has brought two significant changes to one of the Berkshire’s most wellknown art centers.

In June, the nonprofit IS183 Art School of the Berkshires in Stockbridge changed its name to the Berkshire Art Center. In September, BAC expanded its physical scope by opening a new site in downtown Pittsfield.

The new name better conveys the art center’s role as an inclusive and multifaceted regional center for the creative arts, according to BAC’s Executive Director Lucie Castaldo.

“The previous name was confusing and didn’t represent all that we do,” Castaldo said. “Education is a central part of our mission, but the school is just one facet of what we offer.”

The most recent name change — BAC has changed its name twice since its inception in 1991 — was prompted by the nonprofit’s involvement with the Inclusive Leadership Cohort, an initiative led by Multicultural BRIDGE.

BAC is one of the organizations participating in this effort to develop strategies to foster equity and inclusion in the Berkshires. With funding from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, BAC has been conducting an extensive examination of its role, and how it can reduce barriers and increase community access and engagement through art.

“The change in name grew out of an ongoing process that has involved surveys, meetings and other outreach and research,” Castaldo said.

BAC was originally known as the Interlaken School of Arts when it was founded 32 years ago by a group led by Sam Kasten, a weaver who lived and worked in the Stockbridge village of Interlaken. The school changed its name IS183 in 2002 following a legal challenge from a similarly named school in Michigan.

The school’s main studios and offices are still located in a former public schoolhouse named Citizen’s Hall in Stockbridge (the name IS183 fused the school’s location near Route 183 with the spirit of other contemporary arts centers that are located in former public school buildings, like PS122 in New York City). But the new Pittsfield location provides the newly named BAC with additional room for classes, other activities and programs. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday; and on evenings when events take place.

ART, Page 12

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

The Berkshire Art Center, formerly IS183, has opened a second location in Pittsfield. Below: Items made by local artists are for sale in the shop.

Pittsfield alley plans reopening as K&M Bowling, with a new look, new name — and no expense spared

By Tony DoBrowolski

PITTSFIELD — George Mathes practically grew up in a bowling alley.

His father set pins by hand in local alleys during the 1920s, and as a kid Mathes spent many days watching the sport at the former Ken’s Bowl of Pittsfield.

His son, Mark, and his future wife, Kari, first met when they were kids at Ken’s Bowl.

“Bowling’s kind of in the blood, I guess,” George said.

So, it only makes sense that when an opportunity came up recently to buy the city’s last remaining bowling alley — Imperial Bowling Center — Mathes and his family jumped at it. They are giving the bowling alley on Dalton Avenue a complete makeover in hopes of reviving the sport in this city.

The Mathes clan, Mark and Kari, George and Mark’s brother, Joey, who make up the new ownership group, Mathes LLC, bought the alley for $840,000 in November. They are currently busy converting it from candlepin bowling to a tenpin alley with help from George’s wife, Dawn. They are hoping to reopen in late February or early March under the new name of K&M Bowling and Family Fun Center.

Fourteen new tenpin lanes are in the process of being installed at what will be K&M Bowling. Tenpin lanes are wider than the ones used for candlepins, because both the gutters and balls are larger, and the pins are a different size.

“We have an affection for tenpins,” Kari said.

Instead of a mechanical pinsetter, they are putting in a system operated by string, which provides a “faster cycle, keeps your lanes active” and allows bowlers “to enjoy a faster play,” according to Funk Bowling, an international manufacturer of bowling equipment.

The rest of the interior is being renovated to make the site more attractive to bowlers, too.

“We’re really hoping people will go, ‘wow,’” Kari added.

There should be a lot of interest. The Pittsfield Bowling Association had 550 members registered as tenpin bowlers when the organization ceased operations in 2020 after Ken’s Bowl closed, according to City Council President Peter Marchetti, who was a board member of the association.

“I think that all of us who are bowlers have been waiting for somebody to make an investment,” said Marchet-

Six small firms land economic equality grants

Berkshire Business Journal

it to Dalton Avenue from its former location on Lyman Street 10 years later. The business, originally known as Imperial Bowling Lanes, was founded in 1960.

Built in 1952, Imperial Bowling Center’s current location was previously a roller skating rink known as Broyles Arena. Pieces of the original roller rink’s floor are visible during the current renovations.

The rink’s instructor in the 1950s, the late Roland Cioni of Lanesborough, held the world’s roller skating speed championship from 1914 until he retired in 1935, and was the first skater selected when the All-American Roller Skating Hall of Fame was formed in 1953, according to Eagle archives.

Robert Ireland, who competed as a professional candlepin bowler for many years, said that he first put Imperial on the market 10 years ago. It’s been on and off several times since then.

“I’m getting old,” said Ireland, when asked why he sold it. “Forty-five years I was in the business. That’s a long time. It was time to get out. My kids weren’t interested.

“I had a few little bites,” over the years, he said, “but nobody wanted to pay the price.”

PITTSFIELD — Six local small-business owners received a $4,000 boost from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Leaders for an Equitable Pittsfield as part of a grant program aimed at supporting economic equality in the commonwealth’s smaller cities.

Awardees, representatives from the Boston Federal Reserve Bank and Leaders for an Equitable Pittsfield gathered last week at the Berkshire Black Economic Council to celebrate the work of the local BIPOC-owned businesses. The grants were a part of the bank’s Leaders for Equitable Local Economies Grant Program, or LELE.

Maria Arias, head of the Maggie Sadoway Immigrant Cooperative, spent much of the pandemic working with the cooperative’s 28 families to sew face masks for the community. She plans to use the grant funds to expand the cooperative’s effort to make comforters and pillows that will be sold to support the cooperative’s families.

Miriam Orengo, one of the co-creators of La Cocineras Latinas, plans to use the grant money to purchase appliances for a food trailer. The appliances will help her meet one of the final requirements in opening a Health Department certified business. Orengo plans to open the trailer, Gustitos Boricuas, this spring.

ti, who runs a Sunday night bowling league at Cove Lanes in Great Barrington. “They’re going about it in the right way.”

The renovations are as expensive as they are extensive. The Matheses, who obtained a $1.54 million mortgage on the property with Berkshire Bank according to registry documents, believe they’ve spent around $2 million fixing the alley so far.

The family members, who all live in Pittsfield near the bowling center, have done most of the renovation work themselves. “We gutted it,” Mark said.

“All of us did it all.”

And they chuckle nervously at the amount of money they’ve already spent. “We’re pushing the envelope really hard,” added Kari.

But renovating the bowling alley is more than just a project to them.

“It’s a project,” Kari said, “and it’s a labor of love.”

“I’ve always wanted a bowling alley, pretty much,” Mark said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Even as a kid,” Kari added.

The alley’s former owners, Robert and Rosemary Ireland of Pittsfield, bought the business in 1977 and moved

One of those nibbles came from the Matheses who first approached Ireland in 2021, Mark said, while the family was also considering building its own alley in Pittsfield.

“This started over a year ago with me and my wife doing a lot of research,” Mark said.

Mark said the family looked at the vacant 30,000-square-foot building on West Housatonic Street that the city sold at auction in November and checked out a property on Elm Street. They even asked the city if they could build a bowling alley at the William Stanley Business Park of the Berkshires.

“It wasn’t an option,” Kari said.

Ireland has a great affection for candlepin bowling, which has deep roots in Massachusetts. It was founded in 1880 by the owner of a Worcester bowling alley. He’d like Imperial to remain a candlepin facility but believes the aficionados of tenpin bowling, who have been without an alley in Pittsfield since Ken’s closed, will enjoy it.

Ken’s was located just up the street on Dalton Avenue.

“I’m sure the people who bowl tenpin will be happy,’” Ireland said. “They should be pretty busy for awhile.”

Jocelyn Guelce founded Guelce Collaborative Marketing to be “a guiding light” to Berkshire County-based small businesses. The grant funds Guelce received will be put toward purchasing professional subscription, marketing and advertising and equipment to launch the collaborative’s GROWTH project.

Ludwig Jean-Louis purchased Elm Street’s Cravins Soft Serve and Frozen Yogurt to follow his entrepreneurial dreams. He ran the business alongside his siblings and cousins through the last summer season. With the new grant money, Jean-Louis plans to repair the Cravins storefront, update some equipment and cover the cost of new marketing and advertising.

Inspired by her time working at Miraval, Ranisha Grice launched her own line of spa products focused on bringing self-care to the Black community. She plans to reinvest her grant into an expanded inventory and new equipment for her business Grice Beauty.

For the past 12 years, Goundo Behanzin has owned and operated Berkshire International Market as a landing space for staples from across the globe. The new grant will help him withstand the increasing cost of ordering these hard-to-find products and allow the store to increase its storage capacity. Behanzin’s application notes that he plans to expand the catalog with additional Indian and Chinese products.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

The Mathes family — George, top left, his wife, Dawn, bottom left, their son Mark and his wife, Kari, right, along with Mark’s brother Joey (not shown) — has bought the Imperial Bowling Center in Pittsfield. They are renovating the space and plan to reopen the bowling alley under the new name of K&M Bowling.

Pittsfield plans to use ARPA funds to renovate largest business park site

By Tony DoBrowolski

PITTSFIELD — The city of Pittsfield has found the final piece of the financial puzzle it needs to finally begin the renovation of the largest building lot in the William Stanley Business Park, known as Site 9. Officials announced in mid-February that they have added $4.5 million of the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding into the mix to cover the project’s $10.8 million total estimated price tag. In October, the city received $3 million from the state’s MassWorks program to come within shouting distance of that final number. The city also added $1.3 million in GE Landscaping funds, and $400,000 from the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority to the ARPA funding to hit the $10.8 million mark.

“Myself and the ARPA team consider this to be a significant investment in the future economy and the recovery of our city, post pandemic,” said Mayor Linda M. Tyer, during a news conference at the Berkshire Innovation Center, which is also in the business park.

“If the ARPA funding hadn’t been here we wouldn’t be here today,” Tyer said. “We would still be trying to figure out how to find $4.5 million from other sources. We don’t have $4.5 million in the [city’s] economic development fund. We have just a little over $1 million. So we would have continued to plead and beg and try and it might have been two or three years down the road.”

“This gets us over the hump,” said Michael Coakley, Pittsfield’s business development manager. “It’s been a long process to get the funding for this but we’re finally here.”

With the funding now in place, the city expects to put the project out to bid this

spring with the goal of beginning construction this summer, Tyer said. The first phase will consist of either crushing or cracking the jumble of concrete and asphalt building foundations that have been left on the parcel, capping the debris with green space, and adding roadways and utility lines.

The beginning of the second and third phases will be dependent on the amount of interest that the parcel attracts from prospective tenants once it has been renovated, according to project consultant Mark Arigoni. The fourth and final phase will be the actual construction of a building — or buildings — on the site.

Site 9 redevelopment funds

Site readiness grant: $880,000

Brownfields grant: $264,000

GE Landscaping Fund: $1.3 million

PEDA Foundation Fund: $400,000

Economic development earmark: $500,000

MassWorks grant: $3 million

ARPA funding: $4.5 million

Project’s total estimate: $10.8 million

SOURCE: PITTSFIELD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Instead of marketing the parcel as a single building lot, as the city has done in the past, officials have now subdivided it into four smaller parcels to make it easier to attract tenants, Coakley said. If someone was interested in developing just one of those parcels, “that’s all they would have to commit to,” Coakley said.

One entity interested in developing at least part of the entire building lot is Mill Town Capital, the Pittsfield-based private investment firm that owns Bousquet Mountain Ski Area. Mill Town’s interest in the site is what helped the city receive the MassWorks grant from the state last fall, Coakley said.

Mill Town CEO Tim Burke, who attended the mid-February news conference, confirmed his company’s interest in the site, but said it has no solid plans yet.

City officials have been interested in

Vt. auto dealers open shop in Pittsfield

By Tony DoBrowolski

PITTSFIELD — Two men with extensive experience in motor vehicle sales in the Berkshires are returning to the area from Vermont to open a used car dealership in Pittsfield.

Scott O’Connell and Mike Coggins, who both spent more than 20 years working for Haddad Auto Group, opened Coggins of the Berkshires at 876 East St. on March 1. The shop will include a service facility and is associated with Coggins Auto, which operates Ford, Honda and Toyota dealerships in Bennington, Vt.

The Licensing Board approved an annual Class II auto dealer’s license for the group at its Jan. 30 meeting.

Coggins and O’Connell, who will serve as the new dealership’s general manager, are business partners. The two men decided to re-enter the Berkshire mar-

ketplace based on the contacts they have in the Berkshires.

“We have 20 years of customers and friends here,” said O’Connell, who has been working in Vermont for just over a year. Coggins has been in Vermont for two years.

The new dealership is entering a market that has plenty of competition, including four new car dealerships that are located less than a mile from their location on East Street. But O’Connell said they have seen a number of Berkshire-based customers in Bennington, which is less than 40 miles from Pittsfield, and believe there’s enough room in the Berkshires for everyone.

“People are driving over an hour to buy the cars in Vermont,” O’Connell said. “We want to give them service and sales locally. That’s our goal.

“The customers were asking for ser-

vice,” he said. “It’s hard when you buy a car and then you have to drive an hour for an oil change.”

O’Connell said there’s a niche for another auto dealership in the Berkshires.

“The people of Berkshire County have been asking for a higher level of service,” he said. “And there’s a reason why they re driving an hour to buy a car now. It’s more than price. It’s service.

“They want to be treated a certain way,” he said. “They know how they’re going to be treated when they go to our dealerships. They’ve been loyal for over 20 years and they continue to be. Our leads go down all the way to New Marlborough. This is us trying to say thank you.”

The new dealership will be located on the site of East Street Auto Service, which is on the corner of East and Ly-

developing building Site 9, the largest of the 52-acre business park’s nine building lots, since the General Electric Co. transferred ownership of the site in 2012 to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, a quasi-public agency charged with the business park’s development.

Under a consent decree that required GE to clean up PCB contamination in Pittsfield, the company was required to environmentally remediate each parcel before turning it over to PEDA. Site 9 was the last parcel to be transferred.

Two proposals to turn the parcel into a retail complex, including one involving the construction of a Walmart Supercenter, have fallen through over the last 11 years. Development has been hampered by the jumble of building foundations left on the site.

While it was originally thought that leaving the foundations in place would make it easier to build on, that hasn’t been the case. In the past, city officials have referred to the concrete jumble as a moonscape.

Coakley said prospective developers “would moonwalk right out of there” when he would bring them to the site.

The city originally received $40.6 million in ARPA funding from the federal government, but had only $8.9 million left as of December. Tyer said in mid-February that the city probably has a little bit of ARPA funding left following this investment and its housing improvement initiatives, but declined to say how much.

She deferred comment on the exact amount pending a presentation that the city planned to make on its ARPA funding when the City Council met on Feb. 28.

“It’s a continually moving number,” she said.

man streets, across East Street from Berkshire Mazda. Berkshire Mazda is currently exploring plans to move to Lenox.

According to O’Connell, Coggins of the Berkshires will be taking over East Street Auto Service’s customer base. Phil Viscuso, who has owned East Street Auto Service for many years, will be staying on as an employee. Coggins, which is taking over East Street Auto Service’s former auto dealer’s license, is expected to officially acquire the property on March 1.

“I can’t say enough about that gentleman,” O’Connell said, referring to Viscuso. “He’s been a one-man operation for a long time. He turns the wrench, answers the phone, sells the car ... everything.”

The dealership expects to have six to seven employees to start, O’Connell said.

“I have a feeling that it’s going to be bigger than we think it is,” he said. “We might add another two.”

The Friends Spring Book Sale

BEN GARVER

This view of the William Stanley Business Park from Woodlawn Avenue in Pittsfield shows Site 9 and Building 100 in the background. The city of Pittsfield is using $4.5 million of its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding to begin renovating Site 9, the business park’s largest building lot.

Brewery opens in Pittsfield

By M eg Britton-M eH liscH

PITTSFIELD — High on the wall of 1 School St. sits a well loved Cuisinart hot plate. Sarah Real says it’s the appliance that taught her you can’t make risotto on a hot plate — but really it’s so much more.

The slightly rusty kitchen gadget is the namesake for Pittsfield’s newest brewery — Hot Plate Brewing Co. — which recently opened its doors and has begun pouting pints for customers.

After months of renovating, brewing and stocking up before onlookers at the corner of School and North streets, owner Real and co-founder Michael Dell’Aquila say they’re excited to share the brewery with the community.

“For us it’s really exciting to open the doors,” Real said.

There’s a bit of panic that’s mixed in with that excitement. It’s the first brewery the couple has ever opened since starting their brewing journey in their Brooklyn apartment some six years ago.

Real admits that even before doors open she’s already broken a glass. But there’s mostly hope for the days ahead.

“We just hope that people are welcoming and are happy to have a place to be,” she added.

According to its website, the brewery is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

INSIDE HOT PLATE

For months, Real and Del’Aquilla have put all their time outside their day jobs into creating a space that melds the familiari-

ty of their hangouts with friends with a bit of the adventure they felt at discovering new brews in college.

Bright murals complement concert art from the couple’s past. A lounge in the center window features the couple’s first “adult purchase” — a West Elm couch that beckons passersby to drop in and take a load off.

The brewery’s tap list is divided into three sections. The first section is dedicated to classic European style beers. The second showcases currently popular brews like New England IPAs, and the third section is where Real said she gets to play around with her craft.

This section of the menu will be home to specialties like Real’s Egyptian camomile blonde ale and a habanero chocolate stout made from Mexican chocolate.

Along with the house brews, customers will find local ciders, seltzers and non-alcoholic beers on the menu. The brewery encourages customers to bring food into the space from their favorite downtown eatery — be it pizza, a sandwich or birthday cake.

Over the last year, Hot Plate Brewery has transformed from what one neighbor called a blank canvas into a bright spot in downtown Pittsfield.

Real said above all else she wanted the brewery to feel like a welcoming and inclusive space.

That desire went into the brewery’s design. A portion of the bar is ADA accessible — giving patrons in wheelchairs or motorized chairs the opportunity to roll up to the bar and order a drink with friends.

Real said the brewery will in-

‘A great little spot’

B y H eat H er B ellow

clude live music but will keep an eye on the noise levels so people aren’t overwhelmed or drowned out when the visit.

Several seats feature outlets for patrons to charge their phones or sit and send off a couple emails if they’re stopping in for a midday drink.

Community is a deep part of Real’s brewing process as well. Hot Plate sources its malt locally from Turner Hill Malting Co. in South Egremont, Valley Malt in Hadley and Hudson Valley Malt in New York.

During the harvest months, Real turns to a local CSA for fruits and vegetables that serve as the backbone of new recipes and experimental brews.

Grains spent from the brewing process are given to local farmers to use as feed for their stock. Real said one farmer has already shown their gratitude with the gift of a couple of steaks.

The couple said they realize the dream they’ve been carrying from Brooklyn hasn’t become a reality off of their hard work alone. They credit Mayor Linda Tyer, Business Development Manager Michael Coakley and the team they put together as well.

“We would not be here without their emotional support as well as their financial support,” Real said, referencing the funding assistance from the Allegrone Cos., their landlord, MassDevelopment and the city’s economic development fund.

“We just want to build a place for people to come in, and we hope that knowing that a brewery can be here that other businesses will be willing to take a chance as well,” Real said.

The Berkshire Eagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — Before they ever met, Sara Brown and Leland Kent both worked at the same Pittsfield flower shop owned by Brown’s late sister.

Now the couple’s love of flowers, herbs and their handmade creations like tinctures and salves has led them to open their own shop on Main Street next to the town’s Housatonic River Walk.

“It’s a great little spot,” Brown said.

It’s also a love story in more ways than one.

The couple first opened Green Branch Urban Farm Apothecary & Provisions on Valentine’s Day last year, then closed to continue renovations until Mother’s Day. They have been growing and making various herbal products for Green Branch since 2016 and selling them from their home in Housatonic.

“We grow our own herbs or we forage,” Kent said. Some customers still pick up products from the couple’s Housatonic home.

Brown and Kent are both Berkshire County natives who say gardening runs in their blood.

Bridget Brown, the owner of Pittsfield’s Berkshire Flower Co. — who died in 2018 — was Sara’s sister. Sara and Leland learned after they had met that they both had once worked at Bridget’s Pittsfield shop.

Fast forward, and the couple “stumbled across” this Main Street Victorian, Sara said.

They gutted part of the lower level, restored the wood floors and installed the cabinets that harken to a 19th century apothecary.

They sell their homemade herbal tinctures and oils as well as products for digestion and skin care. They also offer some from other small companies near and far.

They are continuing to expand their offerings and those include fresh flowers, potted plants, Mexican-made planters — “The Original PotHead” — as well as sage bundles and palo santo wood for uses that include smudging out evil spirits.

Soon the large glass jars behind the counter will be filled with bulk herbs and teas, Brown noted. They also sell antique glassware and vintage ceramics.

“We’re building it all out,” she said. “We’re continuing to evolve.”

The couple buys fresh-cut flowers and plants from nearby growers like Anna Mack at Wild and Cultivated in Sheffield and Great Barrington-based Naomi Blumenthal.

Business updates

Berkshire County Arc has been awarded more than $650,000 to help pay for a house in Russell to support individuals with brain injuries.

The house was built to help alleviate the lengthy list of individuals with brain injuries waiting to move out of nursing homes and into residential programs.

The funding comes from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and the commonwealth’s Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp.. BCArc also secured a $250,000 mortgage from Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to pay the remainder of the mortgage.

The city of Pittsfield has expanded its online permitting system to include various one-day licenses. The following Licensing Board permit applications include:

• One day alcohol.

• One day wine and malt.

• One day entertainment.

• One day special auctioneer.

These permit applications previously required the applicant to visit City Hall and fill out a paper application. Firsttime users of the online permitting system will need to create a username and password to access the portal.

Applications can be accessed at cityofpittsfield.org/online_permitting/index.

php.

Entrepreneurship for All-Berkshire County awarded $13,000 in prizes to the members of its Fall 2022 Business Accelerator Cohort during a recent ceremony at the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield.

Sixteen businesses shared their product or service during the event.

The award winners and the amounts

they received were as follows:

• $3,000 to Michelle Marrocco and Tiffany Boyden of Berkshire Pup People in North Adams.

• $2,000 to Lisa Mendel of Mendel’s Stained Glass Art Studio in Adams.

• $2,000 to Julie Haagenson of New Pathways Coaching and Consulting in Pittsfield.

• $2,000 to Tiffany Wilding-White of Mind Over Motion in Lee.

• $1,000 to Molly Racette of Herbellion/ Molly and Herbs in North Adams.

• $500 to Dana Grieb of Bumblebee Pet Care in Pittsfield. Grieb received the Paula Buxbaum Award, established in honor of a member of the fall 2021 cohort who died during the program.

The Lee Bank Foundation sponsored a $2,500 award that went to Christina Meucci of The Recovery Room in Pittsfield.

Boyden and Marrocco are planning to use their award to expand their growing business and are currently looking for places to lease.

Pittsfield Community Television has launched its revamped website at pittsfieldtv.org.

The site features a fresh, modern look and many design improvements, and delivers easy access to all of the local video content provided by PCTV, according to a statement from the station. The site also makes it easier to become a member of the organization, quickly find popular PCTV programming on demand, and access the organization’s live streaming programming.

In April 2020, Pittsfield Community Television launched its PCTV Select App, which provides access to thousands of hours of video content on popular streaming hardware such as Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, and also on iOS and Android mobile devices. The new pittsfieldtv.org website now offers a consistent level of access to this programming.

The website was designed by Gemini Creative, a local branding, website design, and digital marketing agency in Stockbridge. Matthew Tucker, PCTV’s engagement and experience coordinator, coordinated the yearlong redesign efforts and transition for the organization.

year-over-year, and 15.9 percent yearto-date. The median sale price rose 2.0 percent year-over-year, but increased 7.8 percent, to $550,000, year to date.

Sales of condominiums in the Berkshire dropped 54.5 percent in December year-to-year, and 32.9 percent year-todate. The year-to-date median sale price for condos in the Berkshire jumped 26.6 percent to $293,100.

The M&T Bank Charitable Foundation has donated $25,000 to the Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation.

The donation will help fund the agency’s “Vision 2020, A Decade of Transformation Capital Campaign,” Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s largest project in 30 years. The funds will help enhance the emergency and cancer care services available to residents regionwide.

The new Kendall Emergency Department and Hoyt-Hunter Regional Cancer Center will impact care for residents of southern Vermont, northern Berkshire County, and eastern New York. Information on the project is available at svhealthcare.org/vision2020.

Pittsfield Cooperative Bank marked the holiday season by allowing employees to support local nonprofit partners of their choice.

The bank-funded campaign, “Holiday Cheer,” allowed each employee to provide support to an organization of their choice. Seventeen organizations were recipients of donations.

The beneficiaries of the Holiday Cheer campaign included 18 Degrees; Berkshire County Kids’ Place; Berkshire Environmental Action Team; Berkshire Humane Society; Berkshire United Way; Carter Strong; Dalton CRA; Dalton Fire Department; and Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter.

A one-time grant award has allowed 1Berkshire to accept applications for a second year of the Best Foot Forward Facade Improvement Micro-Grant program.

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NEWS DEPARTMENT

TONY DOBROWOLSKI, Editor 413-496-6224 tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com

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Share your news with the Berkshire Business Journal. If you have a company promotion, a new business or a new venture, let the Berkshires know about it. Remember the 5 W’s and that briefer is better. Email text and photos to BBJ@newenglandnewspapers.com.

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If you have a comment to make about doing business in the Berkshires or if you’re looking to raise an issue with the business community, this is the venue for that. We welcome letters up to 300 words and commentary up to 600 words. Send these to Tony Dobrowolski at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com.

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Adams Community Bank ended 2022 by providing $75,000 in donations to local food pantries, food banks and fuel assistance programs. Maureen Baran, the bank’s senior vice president of communications and community engagement, presented donations to several Berkshire County nonprofits.

The bank donated $50,000 to the Berkshire Community Action Council’s Fuel Assistance program. This program is part of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federally funded program to help low-income households with their energy costs. LIHEAP runs from Nov. 1 to April 30 each year and covers the cost of various heating methods. This donation will help many families in the Berkshires stay warm this winter.

The other donations included $15,000 to local food pantries from Williamstown to Great Barrington; and $10,000 to The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ Mobile Food Pantry, which visits four towns in Berkshire County — Adams, Great Barrington, North Adams and Pittsfield.

Single-family home sales in the Berkshires dropped in both December and for all of 2022, according to The Warren Group, which tracks state real estate transactions.

The number of sales in December dropped 23 percent from the same month in 2021, which left year-to-date sales through December down 12.5 percent. A total of 1,539 single family homes were sold in the Berkshires in 2022, compared to 1,759 in 2021.

The median sales price for single-family homes remained unchanged at $300,000 in December year-over-year, but increased 9.1 percent, to $300,000, yearto-date.

Statewide, sales of single family homes were down 31.7 percent in December

In 2022, this program provided 31 small businesses and organizations across the Berkshires with facade improvement grants of up to $1,000. The funding not only helped to improve individual storefronts, but also the aesthetics of downtown commercial districts in the region.

A minimum of 47 grants of between $500 and $1,000 will be made available on a rolling basis this year to small businesses and organizations with first-floor storefronts. A maximum of $7,000 in awards will be made within any specific municipality. Priority will be given to businesses that did not receive facade improvement grants in 2022.

Grants will be awarded until the funding is exhausted. All grants must be fully utilized and the associated work completed by June 30. Applications: form. jotform.com/230045434240139.

Lee Bank Foundation awarded $45,670 to 10 Berkshire area organizations during its fourth and final round of 2022 community funding.

Recipients were awarded grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to support their local programming. Included in the awards are a series of Arts Access Grants for arts and culture organizations to expand access to programming for underserved audiences.

The organizations that received funding included: 18 Degrees; Berkshire Community Action Council; Berkshire County Head Start; Berkshire Grown; Berkshire Immigrant Center; Berkshire Pulse; Business Professionals of America, Massachusetts Association; Extra Special Teas; Latinas 413; and Literacy Network of South Berkshire.

2nd Street Second Chances, a program that helps formerly incarcerated people readjust to society, has partnered with Community Legal Aid to open additional office space at 33 Main St. in North Adams. The office suite will be shared with CLA, which currently uses the space as a satellite office.

Expanding to North Adams allows the program to bring services closer to where its clients live, according to Executive Director Jason Cuyler. To schedule an appointment call 413-443-7220, ext. 1275.

The city of Pittsfield’s Commission on Disabilities has provided funding to Pittsfield Community Television to add closed captions on many local programs broadcast on PCTV’s channels.

PCTV has received funding from the city of Pittsfield to place closed captioning on a number of programs. The service will allow hearing-impaired viewers to follow along with the content of the programming by reading text on the screen.

In January, the commission voted to allocate $1,850 to help PCTV provide closed captioning for all city meetings for the year. The captions can currently be viewed on certain programs on the PCTV website, www.pittsfieldtv.org, and the PCTV Select app. Many more programs will be captioned in the coming weeks and months. The money from the Pittsfield Commission on Disabilities comes from the city’s parking violations fund.

PCTV is hoping to expand closed captioning to programming on the Access Pittsfield and ETV channels, but that will require funding for additional hardware. The organization is seeking grants and other local funding to expand the captioning service to additional channels.

Salisbury Bank has donated food and funding raised during its 15th annual “Fill-the-Basket” food drive that took place at its 14 branches during November and December to several local food pantries in the bank’s three-state coverage area.

Locally, those food pantries included People’s Pantry in Great Barrington; Sheffield Food Assistance in Sheffield and South Egremont; The Corner Food Pantry in Lakeville and Salisbury, Conn.; and Fish and Loaves in Canaan, Conn.

Together, the bank’s 14 branches collected and donated over 1,424 nonperishable food and household items, and $524 in cash donations. Salisbury Bank also donated a total of $12,000 amongst the food pantries serving each area.

Salisbury Bank operates Berkshire County branches in Great Barrington, Sheffield and South Egremont.

Price Chopper/Market 32, which operates three markets in the Berkshires, raised $70,400 to benefit the Disabled American Veterans organization during a recent fundraising campaign.

Customers were encouraged to round up their totals at the register. The funding will directly benefit veterans and their families. The regional supermarket chain operates Berkshire markets in Great Barrington, Lee and Pittsfield.

Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs, and other members of the Health Collaborative of the Berkshires PHO have renewed their partnership with Fallon Health of Worcester to provide high-quality, lower-cost health care to members and communities under the state’s Medicaid program, which is called MassHealth.

The PHO and Fallon MassHealth Accountable Care Organization partnership, known as the Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative, will be available to eligible Medicaid members in the Berkshires. It supports the state’s continuation of the successful Medicaid ACO program.

Effective April 1, MassHealth members identified by the Executive Office of Health & Human Services as having a Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs, or other PHO Primary Care Provider will be enrolled in BFHC. MassHealth is a state-administered Medicaid program that provides health care coverage to eligible individuals.

To enroll in BFHC, participants must live in the service area, which includes all of Berkshire County. For information, visit fallonhealth.org/Berkshires.

Main Street Hospitality expands

Red Lion operator takes on resorts in Maine, Canada

By Tony DoBrowolski

STOCKBRIDGE — Main Street Hospitality Group has extended its portfolio of boutique hotels to nine by agreeing to manage two more lodging establishments, including one in Canada.

The Stockbridge-based operator of The Red Lion Inn and several other Berkshire lodging establishments will now manage the Chebeague Island Inn in Maine and Port Cunnington Lodge, which is located in Dwight, Ontario, roughly two hours north of Toronto. The Canadian project is Main Street’s first foray with a lodging establishment located outside of the United States.

Main Street CEO Sarah Eustis said both projects came about due to longstanding relationships that her company has with the owners of those properties. Port Cunnington Lodge has a Berkshire County connection through its owners, the Wadsworth family, which has ties to Williams College, The Porches Inn and the FreshGrass festival.

John “Jack” Wadsworth, a Williams College graduate and former member

Updates

FROM PAGE 5

Big Y Foods’ Sack Hunger campaign, which took place at 72 locations in the company’s two-state marketing area, recently donated 1.5 million meals to four regional food banks, including the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Hatfield.

The three other food banks are the Worcester County Food Bank, the Greater Boston Food Bank and Connecticut Foodshare.

Based in Springfield, Big Y operates Berkshire markets in Great Barrington, Lee, North Adams and Pittsfield and gas station/convenience stores in Lee and Pittsfield.

UCP of Western Massachusetts, which is based in the Berkshires, is seeking a new leader to succeed CEO Sal Garozzo, who has stepped down to take a position in New York state.

Garozzo, who lives in New York, and served as CEO of UCP Western Massachusetts for over seven years, is leaving to take the CEO position at The Arc of Chemung-Schuyler in Elmira, N.Y. He had previously worked for The Arc of Ulster-Greene (now The Arc of Mid-Hudson) for 15 years.

UCP Board President Howard Marshall will serve as CEO on an interim basis while the board searches for Garrozzo’s permanent replacement.

“We are committed to an inclusive process with input from both the board and the staff, to establish criteria for what they look for in a chief executive and best practices for screening candidates,” Marshall said. “We are also working with an organizational consultant on our succession planning process and have hired a local search firm to broaden our search.”

In an effort to better reach and serve homeowners in Western Massachusetts, the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation has reconfigured the region for the state’s Home Modification Loan Program into four sub-regions.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is now the program’s provider agency serving all communities in Berkshire County. Interested applicants should contact Christie Lewis at 413-4421521, ext. 23 or clewis@berkshireplanning.org.

HMLP is a state-funded loan program

of the college’s board of trustees, and his wife, Susy, founded The Porches Inn with Eustis’ mother, Nancy Fitzpatrick. The Wadsworth’s son, Chris, who lives in San Francisco, founded the FreshGrass festival and Studio 9, a recording/performance space that is located inside The Porches. Main Street also manages The Porches.

“We were invited to provide management [of the Port Cunnington Inn],” Eustis said. “We have a 20-plus year relationship with the Wadsworth family. They’ve owned it for almost 30 years.”

Port Cunnington Lodge, located on the Lake of Bays in Ontario’s Muskoka region, which is near Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay, has been accepting guests for 120 years, according to a news release.

that provides no-interest loans to those in need of accessibility improvements to their homes. It is a collaborative initiative between the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing & Community Development, and CEDAC.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts to receive a $50,000 Grants for Arts Projects award.

The funding will support the Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact (C4) Initiative. In partnership with various educational advocacy networks and collaboration with BRPC, the C4 Initiative executes regionwide collaboration for creative placemaking and addresses regional needs in Berkshire County’s 13 school districts. This initiative was launched in collaboration with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the North Adams Public Schools.

This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal 2023 grants.

Nancy Joch O’Connor and Kristie Agar, experienced tax agents who both grew up in Ashley Falls, recently formed their own tax and accounting firm, O’Connor and Agar LLC, at 73 Main St. in Sheffield. The firm offers tax and accounting services to individuals, small businesses, trusts and estates.

O’Connor and Agar also attended the same high school, but didn’t meet until 15 years ago when they started working together at the same accounting firm. Agar had already been employed there for 10 years.

Boasting over 50 years of combined experience in tax and accounting, they are both enrolled agents — the highest credential that’s awarded by the Internal Revenue Service. Having that designation means there are no restrictions on the type of taxpayers they can represent, the tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.

For information, call 860-734-5821, send email to tax@oconnorandagar.com, or visit oconnorandagar.com.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and its department of business administration are partnering with

Sarah Eustis is CEO of Main Street Hospitality. The Stockbridge-based hospitality group recently agreed to manage two more lodging establishments, one in Maine and the other in Canada.

BEN GARVER

“When they indicated that they could use some help up in Canada, we jumped at the chance,” Eustis said. “It’s a nice fit in our portfolio.”

The Chebeague Island Inn is located in the Casco Bay region of Maine, a 25-minute ferry ride from Portland, that state’s largest city. The historic 20-room inn, built in 1880, is owned by the Prentice Group, whose owner, Casey Prentice, has worked with Main Street in the past.

Founded in 2014, Main Street Hospitality Group began expanding outside the Berkshires in 2018 when it agreed to manage the new Hammett’s Hotel in Newport, R.I. The company has since gone on to manage lodging establishments in Providence, R.I. and Hampton Bays, N.Y. The Chebeague Island Inn and Port Cunnington Lodge are strictly seasonal opeat-

Habitat for Humanity to offer free tax preparation services to local residents in need through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program

Habitat for Humanity administers VITA, a program of the Internal Revenue Service, to assist taxpayers with disabilities or limited English speaking skills, those 60 years of age or older, or individuals who make $60,000 or less a year. MCLA students assist with both basic and advanced returns, including those with itemized deductions.

Individuals can call Habitat for Humanity at (413) 442-3184 to schedule an appointment or drop-off documents at the site and a certified volunteer will work to prepare the tax return. Drop-off hours are 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays in MCLA’s Murdock Hall.

Appointments are not required for drop-off services but are required for in-person services. The program runs through April 12.

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is accepting applications for its 2023 Internship Challenge, High School Apprenticeship Challenge and Data Science Internship programs.

The Internship Challenge creates opportunities each year for college students interested in pursuing careers in the life sciences industry

The High School Apprenticeship Challenge facilitates and funds paid internships for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged high school students throughout Massachusetts

The Data Science Internship Program focuses on enhancing the availability of advanced analytics/data science talent in the life sciences. The program creates new internship opportunities for qualified candidates at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels by enabling research institutions and small life sciences companies to hire paid interns for up to six months. Information: masslifesciences.com.

Price Chopper/Market 32 has had its Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation renewed by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission.

The company first launched specialty pharmacy services in 2015. A specialty pharmacy provides medications used to treat rare or complex health problems, which may not be stocked by local pharmacies, according to WebMD.

URAC is the independent leader in promoting health care quality, setting high standards for clinical practice,

ions — a first for Main Street, which until now has only been managing year-round properties.

Although the lodging business struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eustis said Main Street has rebounded from the pandemic well and is looking to become involved in the right opportunities.

“We are certainly in a growth period for Main Street,” she said. “It (the company) is getting close to 10 years old and growth has been great. Now that we are solid and healthy post-COVID we are in a position to extend the portfolio, but only for the right relationships and the right reasons.

“We’ve had two great years evolutionally growing back from COVID in 2021 and 2022,” she said. “It indicated for us kind of a loyal following. The places we’re expanding to are places that people want to go to where they can have a relaxing experience in an authentic place where they can be close to nature. When the right project comes up with the right relationship, it clicks. We’re not daunted at all.”

In the Berkshires, Main Street Hospitality manages The Red Lion Inn and Maple Glen at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, The Briaricliff Hotel in Great Barrington. The Porches, and an affiliated hotel, the Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. The Fitzpatrick family owns the Red Lion Inn. A division of the family company owns The Briarcliff.

consumer protections, performance measurement, operations infrastructure, and risk management. Price Chopper/ Market 32 Specialty Pharmacy is also accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.

Price Chopper/Market 32 has pharmacies at its three Berkshire County locations in Great Barrington, Lenox and Pittsfield.

Cheryl Zoll, the CEO of Tapestry Health in Springfield for almost nine years, will step down from that position in June, the organization has announced. Zoll came to Tapestry Health in 2014 and has presided over growth that has the organization now providing services including sexual and reproductive health care, food access and family nutrition and harm reduction to 19,000 residents of Western Massachusetts. “I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to serve Tapestry for close to a decade,” Zoll said in a news release. “though I know that this is the right decision for me.” Tapestry Health has engaged DRG, a talent-consulting firm, to conduct an executive search for Zoll’s replacement. Once available, information regarding the position will be posted at tapestryhealth.org/work-with-us/.

1Berkshire is launching its second year of its GoFundU Crowdfunding Workshop and Technical Assistance series

A partnership with Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation and the Berkshire Innovation Center, the series will kick off on March 15 with three consecutive Wednesdays of workshops presented by Laura Christensen, a high-impact crowdfunding campaign educator and consultant in the Berkshires. Funding support is provided by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation

The series will provide an overview of crowdfunding models, opportunities, and best practices. People who attend at least two full sessions of the three-part series will also be eligible to receive up to two hours of one-on-one direct technical assistance support from Christensen for the development and launch of their own crowdfunding campaigns.

This series will be offered as a hybrid opportunity with Zoom-based participation as well as in-person attendance at the Berkshire Innovation Center. The workshops are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Information/registration: tinyurl.com/2c3ebtey.

For owners of new Italian restaurant, it’s all about nonna’s recipes

By C larenCe Fanto

LENOX

— It’s been a long and winding culinary road for Luigi Iasilli. From learning authentic southern Italian cooking from the nonna who raised him in southern Italy to celebrated Manhattan chef-proprietor, he is now a newly-minted restaurant owner in Lenox.

After a successful run at Nonne in Chatham, N.Y., Iasilli and his partner, Bridget Cappo, have put down roots on restaurant row in downtown Lenox, opening Max at The Whitlock (formerly the Church Street Inn).

Luigi, as he prefers to be called, is proud of his 20 years in the high-stakes New York City restaurant business, arriving in 1996 from years of restaurant work in London, the Caribbean and South America. He’s a native of Basilicata, a forested, mountainous region bordering Calabria, Campagna and Puglia.

But he shies away from a suggestion that he was renowned for his authentic homestyle cuisine in his four Manhattan locations for his Max restaurants.

“I lost my mom when I was 10 and fortunately I and my sister grew up with my grandmother on my father’s side,” Luigi told The Eagle in the dining room of his new establishment, Max reincarnated.

“My grandma was an old southern Italian lady, so she only did two things — cook and pray,” he said. “She was the best, but never wanted a man in the kitchen in those days 50 years ago. But I woke up with the smell of the kitchen. She used to go to 6 a.m. Mass, then continued cooking, and it was an everyday feast for me. That, for me, was everything.”

Understandably, working as a bank teller, as his father had urged because of job security, good pay and benefits in Italy, was not up his alley.

What kind of name for an Italian restaurant is Max, a visitor wondered during the conversation with Luigi and his partner, Bridget, just before dinner hour the other day.

“Imagine this kid in the south of Italy, dreaming about America,” he recalled.

“It was a European magazine called Max, and 90 percent of it was about America, so that was my dream. So, I named my restaurants after my dream.”

After moving north to the Hudson Valley year-round for family reasons in 2020 (before that he was a weekend resident of Hillsdale) he honored his grandma, using his recipes and naming his new Chatham restaurant Nonne, five weeks before COVID struck, as it turned out. The restaurant turned out to be a hit despite the pandemic, and that’s where Luigi met Bridget, a native of Elk Rapids, Mich., near Traverse City.

Eventually, after living in Los Angeles and New York City, she wound up in Chatham 12 years ago running a yoga studio on Main Street, just doors away from Nonne. Bridget became a regular at the restaurant, talking to Luigi about healthy ingredients.

Why did Luigi close Nonne? His lease

was terminated. “I had no desire to leave Chatham, we had a lot of customers from the Berkshires,” he said. As Bridget described it, “Nonne was the place that people gravitated to.”

The couple considered taking over the former Shaker Mill Tavern in West Stockbridge, but that plan derailed after a falling out with a third partner who had been mentored by Luigi, Bridget said. Ironically, the restaurant was named Amici, and it remains successful and locally popular, run by Octavio Nallin, with Bridget Cappo as his business partner “in the background.”

Looking for a new space, Luigi, who had been living in Lenox for the past year and now resides in West Stockbridge, had become personally involved with Bridget. They admired the location of the former Ophelia restaurant at The Whitlock on Church Street, and imagined it as a new home for Max.

After learning from real estate broker Christian Deckert of William Pitt, Julia B. Fee/Sotheby’s in Great Barrington that the space was available, the couple jumped at the chance to replicate Nonne at Seth Johnson’s Whitlock, part of the Lenox Collection LLC.

“We are so excited that Bridget & Luigi have decided to open up Max in Lenox,” said Johnson in an email, “and even more excited that they chose our property to do so.”

“We have a fair lease, it works for them and for us, so we’re gonna stay here longterm,” said Luigi.

So, what’s the “secret sauce” that sets Max apart?

“It’s really the authenticity of the food,” Luigi said. “I grew up with this food, I was successful in New York City and won several awards. And the word ‘affordable’ reflects us. We serve comfort food, nothing fancy, it’s simple and it has been successful — my sauce has been proven in different locations.”

Bridget maintained that “there’s something about the culture that Luigi cultivates in the spaces that he comes into. That also has an authenticity, it’s the spirit of the place that reflects who he is, so you get the kindness, generosity, warmth and compassion that Luigi brings with him that informs people’s experience of the food.”

“I’m his biggest fan, there’s nothing hokey, no gimmicks,” she declared.

Several waitstaff and kitchen employees have followed Bridget and Luigi from Nonne.

“He’s a really pleasant person to work for, very easygoing and he stands up for his staff,” said Ashley Haslun, a server.

“I have a duty to protect my staff,” Luigi chimed in.

Max, at 16 Church St. in Lenox, is open from 5 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

No reservations — first come, first served for the 50-seat space. A pizza oven is on the way. The entire menu is available for takeout.

Val Angell’s pot roast melt grinders are back

By H eat H er Bellow

GREAT BARRINGTON — Val Angell’s pot roast melt grinders are back.

The legendary sandwiches had disappeared with Angell for three years amid the pandemic. Angell — who previously had a following at the South Egremont Market and before that at the Old Country Store in North Egremont — had turned to gardening.

But with a lonely VFW — James A. Modolo Post 8348 — longing for people to come socialize again, Angell opened the Three Sisters Harvest Cafe. It’s been busy.

Customers are coming in to pick up a sandwich and deciding to stay a while. Surrounded by photos of local veterans, the VFW is turning into a new community gathering place. Older couples and a variety of guests are lingering to chat. It’s also a meal out that doesn’t strip the wallet.

“They all were saying the same thing: it’s a decent meal that they can afford and it fills them up,” Angell said. “It’s nothing fancy. It’s just good food for a good price.”

It’s an early morning breakfast to lunch establishment, Mondays through Fridays, serving traditional sandwiches and a variety of daily specials.

And every Wednesday that special is the pot roast grinder. She served 30 the

first week that the cafe was open. Thursday is a turkey bacon melt. Fridays will likely feature meatballs, according to

of fresh rolls, pastries, donuts and small pies from a Saugerties, N.Y., bakery. She’s buying her meats locally and trying to source close to home whenever possible.

Angell said that when her children were young, she ran the VFW. Officials at the social club asked her if she wanted to set up shop here to pull the community back in. For now, she is there rent-free.

“They’re just happy to see the building being used.” she said. “It’s nice to see people having a good time. It’s so needed right now.”

Angell pointed to how expensive it is to eat out now, and this gives older people an option.

“I feel like the little mom and pops that used to be around just don’t seem to be,” she said.

It’s also “a little family business.”

Faith Angell said her mother’s two sisters — Heather Atwood and Kara Quenneville — are helping, as are extended family. The three women were formerly known as the “Williamson sisters.”

“It’s really like a community feeling there,” Faith Angell said. “Anybody’s welcome, even if you just want someone to talk to.”

Val said initially she wasn’t going to do sit-down meals. But people were coming and sitting down anyway. So she decided to bring in some puzzles and a guitar.

“A guy came in today and wrote a song,” she said. “He’s getting new strings for it.”

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Max is a new restaurant that has opened inside The Whitlock hotel in Lenox.

Faith Angell, Val’s daughter. Veterans get free coffee and refills. The cafe gets a daily morning delivery

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Val Angell prepares sandwiches in the kitchen at the Great Barrington VFW, where she and her family have opened the Three Sisters Harvest Cafe, serving breakfast and lunch from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Racking up their future Search for pool game hatched ‘neighborhood pub for adults’

By Sten Spinella

ADAMS — Christin Fetterolf and Bill Sweeney had recently moved to Lanesborough from Lexington two years ago, and they wanted to play pool.

They were empty nesters, with Sweeney’s two daughters from a previous marriage in college. Opening a restaurant wasn’t on the table until Sweeney Googled, “coin-operated pool table near me.”

“That was going to be our date night,” Fetterolf said.

The two warmed up quickly to bar owner Scott Lee and the atmosphere, and when it became clear he wanted to sell the place, he kept Sweeney and Fetterolf in mind.

Fetterolf, nicknamed “Red” for her hair color, and her husband, Sweeney, bought the Viking Pub building at 83 Commercial St. from Lee on an October morning last year and had it running under its new name by the afternoon: Red’s Viking Pub.

“I’m going to go back and take another tech job at some point, or start a company. There’s a reason we called it ‘Red’s,’” Sweeney said. “We never had opening a restaurant as part of the plan. I finally said, ‘Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to work for someone else?”

“I can’t go back to a desk,” Fetterolf said.

Despite the quick turnaround on its first day and the built-in clientele, the couple, who’ve never owned a restaurant before, have been taking the time to establish a presence and build a menu. They’ve hired kitchen staff, put in a dishwasher, installed a pizza oven, became ServSafe certified and made changes to the interior and exterior of the building, among other things. Their grand opening, promoted by the town, was in December. They say that soon, they’ll provide takeout.

Both come from a health care technology background. Fetterolf in particular said she had been out of a job for a bit and was trying to figure out how to spend her time.

“I had never waited tables or bartended in my life,” she said.

Sweeney worked on and off in the restaurant industry when he was 14 to 26 years old before starting his career.

The new owners are also renting out the four apartments above the pub.

Sweeney said Red’s is meant to be a

neighborhood bar with pool, drinks, music and a creative menu.

“We’re a little bit of everything to everyone,” Fetterolf said.

Red’s is 21-plus only, “and we’re sticking to it,” Fetterolf said. “People have asked, ‘Can I bring my 18-year-old in just for dinner, and then we’ll get out of here?’” she continued. “I tried to let it happen a couple times, and it’s just, either you have a policy, or you don’t.”

“People love their kids, but it’s an adult establishment, and at the end of the day, someone’s going to tell a joke with an ‘f bomb’ in it, and if there’s a 15-year-old-having dinner with mom and dad behind them, it’s just not that place,” Sweeney added. “It’s a neighborhood pub for adults.”

Sweeney and Fetterolf profess a com-

mitment to the pool teams that play at the pub, which have had great success in the past.

“Our pool teams are important to us,” Sweeney said. “Everything has been re-felted, rebalanced. This room was very different two weeks ago. I was in the ceiling moving lights, we got rid of all the old tables.”

Red’s sports a brick façade with new awnings out front. Customers are greeted by a large bar with ample seating, a jukebox and Viking paraphernalia and branding. (“We’re leaning into the Viking theme,” Fetterolf said.) The wood-paneled backroom contains pool tables and table seating.

Sweeney led the menu-building effort with Fetterolf, and enlisted the help of Edward Bassi, who ran the kitchen at the

former Bass Water Grill in Cheshire and owned the restaurant with his wife Roberta Gregory.

“Our house is the test kitchen,” Sweeney said.

The pair plan to have Bassi stay on as a kitchen consultant, and once the full staff is in place, the kitchen will become self-sufficient. Fetterolf will run the bar.

While Red’s does offer the usual fare in terms of classic American food, such as French fries, chicken tenders, salads and burgers, twists on those concepts include home-cooked ideas from Fetterolf and Sweeney. The menu includes a massive fried cheese curd as an appetizer, as well as poutine, a favorite of Fetterolf’s. They make a pan pizza, with dough engineered by Fetterolf and sauce by Sweeney. Almost everything is made in-house.

Sweeney is proud of the pastrami sandwich, which involves “beef brisket corned for days, smoked for hours and then steamed.”

As a young man who enjoyed smoking meat, Sweeney learned he was accidentally making pastrami.

“I’m an Irish-Catholic kid from Lowell, Mass., so I thought I was smoking corned beef. Turns out, if you smoke corned beef, it’s pastrami,” Sweeney said.

Red’s has earned positive reviews on Facebook for its Sunday brunch and “Hangover Helpers,” including a frozen super smoothie, lox and bagels, Eggs Benedict, old-fashioned pancakes, “Hair of the Dog ” (a take on Bloody Marys), Gatorade and ginger tea, among other items.

Fetterolf has come to enjoy bartending. She tells a story of the spontaneous magic that comes from running a pub.

“They do karaoke every Friday on State Street, and on Saturday, someone was talking about singing there,” Fetterolf said. “We said we wished we’d got to see them sing, and I said, ‘I work Friday nights, so you gotta do it right now, honey!’ He got up and started belting a cappella. I can’t remember the song. But the whole bar chimed in and started singing along. It was the most fun I’d had in so long.”

“I had left to take the dogs out,” Sweeney said. “She called me to tell me what I missed.”

“I was like, ‘You just missed the best time in the world,’” Fetterolf said.

New York firm buys Shire City Herbals’ former warehouse

By tony DoBrowolSki

PITTSFIELD — The cavernous warehouse that housed the former Shire City Herbals, which closed in July 2022, was recently purchased by a business from New York state.

A restaurant equipment business from the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., area purchased the 22,000-square-foot structure at 15 Commercial St. for $625,000 at a foreclosure auction that took place on-site Feb. 1.

Kevin Chen of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., who represented the firm at the auction, said the buyers were interested in both the location of the warehouse and its condition.

“The location’s great,” Chen said. “It’s within proximity to I-90 [the Massachusetts Turnpike]. This was a good opportunity. There aren’t a lot of warehouses available right now and it’s in great condition.”

When asked what his firm intends to do with the building, Chen said: “We don’t know yet.”

Chen did not identify the business he represents, except to say that it buys and sells restaurant equipment, has one partner in the liquor business and another partner who works in Manhattan.

The decision to sell the warehouse also affected two tenants, Berkshire Organics, a food delivery service, and Hosta Hill, which makes fermented vegetable products. Berkshire Organics has closed, while Hosta Hill is moving its operations to another facility in Hudson, N.Y.

The bidding started at $500,000, went down to $450,000, then went as high as $550,000 before the final bid was accepted. The land and the building are assessed at $665,500 by the city of Pittsfield, according to city records. The building was constructed in 1957.

The price also included a 6% buyers premium. Chen wasn’t prepared to bid much higher than he did.

“That was pushing it,” he said, referring to the sale price.

“Our partner pretty much had a number set,” he said. “He said, ‘If we can get it, get it, and if we can’t, we can’t.’”

Under the terms of the sale, the winning bidder was required to put up $35,000 of the total purchase price on

the day of sale, provide 10% of that cost within five business days, and close on the property within 20 days.

Shire City Herbals made vinegar-based health tonics and lost a well-publicized federal court case over the exclusive use of the term “fire cider” in 2019. After the business closed, its former beverage production and distribution facility went up for auction when Lee Bank foreclosed on the mortgage.

The real estate wasn’t the only item that was sold at auction that day. A total of 383 lots of equipment that belonged to the former Shire City Herbals — everything from food processing and bottling equipment to air compressors to office furnishings — went on the block after the property was sold.

The equipment auction, which also took place online, attracted buyers from over 30 states, Canada and Mexico, according to auctioneer Paul Scheer of Aaron Posnik Auctioneers of West Springfield.

Shire City, whose owners are from the Berkshires, made their tonics in Greenfield before purchasing the Commercial Street property in 2017. The building, which Shire City purchased for $412,500, was the centerpiece of a $1.4 million expansion project for which the company received both city and state aid.

The company financed the venture with $74,000 in investment tax credits received from MassDevelopment, and a 10-year, $42,788 tax incentive package from the city of Pittsfield.

In December, the state’s Economic Assistance Coordinating Council voted to decertify Shire City’s incentive package for noncompliance based on the recommendation of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, according to state records.

GILLIAN JONES

Bill Sweeney and Christin Fetterolf of Red’s Viking Pub in Adams.

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Kevin Chen, right, who represents a restaurant company from the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., area, was the highest bidder at $625,000 for the real estate portion of Shire City Herbal’s former warehouse at last month’s public auction.

Wayfair to shutter Pittsfield call center

Come July, 40 employees will join remote workforce

By Tony DoBrowolski

The Berkshire Eagle

PITTSFIELD — Three years after opening a customer call center in Pittsfield, Wayfair has decided to close it, cutting costs amid a companywide retrenchment.

The Boston-based online retailer will close its facility in the Clock Tower Business Center on South Church Street when the company’s lease expires in July. The call center has been open since October 2019.

The 40 employees who work for Wayfair in Pittsfield will join the company’s virtual customer service team, said a company spokeswoman, Susan Frechette. They have all been notified of Wayfair’s decision.

“Clearly, it’s discouraging news, because as you know Wayfair came into the community with quite a bit of fanfare,” said Pittsfield Mayor Linda M. Tyer. When the call center opened three years ago, Wayfair said it planned to have 300 employees working at the facility by 2022.

Wayfair had announced it planned to eliminate 1,750 jobs companywide in January, roughly 10 percent of its workforce, three days before it announced the call center would be closing. Frechette said the effect of those companywide layoffs on the call center staff in Pittsfield is “minimal,” but did not provide specific numbers. The majority of Wayfair’s layoffs, 1,200, will affect employees in the firm’s corporate sector, the company has said.

Wayfair has filed a notice with the state of Massachusetts regarding the pending layoffs, said Heather Boulger, executive director of the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Center in Pittsfield.

“Moving our customer service team to a virtual working model continues to allow us to best serve our customers while supporting cost-saving efforts for the business,” Frechette said in an email. “We remain committed to Pittsfield and our local communities and will continue to provide support to our regional employees who live and contribute to them.”

Before opening its call center in the Berkshires, Wayfair received $31,350,000 worth of investment tax credits from the state Economic Assistance Council to

add jobs in both Pittsfield and Boston. No city money was included or involved in that state tax package.

The bulk of that investment tax credit was related to Wayfair’s proposal to add 3,000 jobs in Boston. The 300 jobs Wayfair said that it planned to create in Pittsfield within three years made up $2,850,000 of that overall sum, which came to $9,500 per position.

In December, the Massachusetts Office of Business Development recommended to the EACC that the future available tax credits left from that package, $29.8 million, be rescinded. According to state records, Wayfair had only claimed $716,050 of that package; $10.3 million of the total amount is refundable. The MOBD said Wayfair had been “substantially compliant” in its job projections for Boston, which were 84 percent

filled. But the company only filled 30 percent of the jobs that it had planned for Pittsfield, creating only 90 of the projected 300.

“It’s the first I’m hearing of this, but I’m not shocked,” said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, the day that Wayfair announced it would close Pittsfield’s call center. “I had heard that they were laying off throughout the company and wondered what the implications for Pittsfield would be.”

“Both the commonwealth and the city of Pittsfield put a lot of resources in to support that company,” she said of Wayfair, “and so the next step would be to see if they’ve fulfilled those obligations under those agreements.”

Tyer said Wayfair told her it plans to hire additional employees in the Berkshires to work in the virtual call center, but did not provide specific numbers.

“On the other hand, they are going to keep their current employees and plan to hire additional customer service representatives,” she said.

“Many corporations have shown that the workfrom-home model works — and it feels like this is part of Wayfair’s corporate strategy to have more of their employees working remotely,” Tyer said.

Wayfair and Berkshire Community College are running a free, monthlong job training program that is designed to give participants skills they need to work as service consultants for the company, according to Deb Sarlin, the college’s executive director for community and education development. The program began this month. Graduates receive placement as Wayfair service consultants, according to the program’s description.

Besides Pittsfield, Frechette said Wayfair has decided not to extend facility leases at many of its customer service locations around the country.

In March 2021, Wayfair closed a call center near Elmira, N.Y., and had all of its employees work virtually.

“Like many companies, we have seen an increase in employees effectively transitioning to remote work, driven in part by the COVID-19 global pandemic and cost savings effort,” she said.

Developer David Carver, who owns the Clock Tower Business Center through Clock Tower Partners LLC, could not be reached for comment.

FILE PHOTO Wayfair is planning to close its customer call center in Pittsfield when the company’s lease for the space expires in July.

One last picture show

Movieplex 8 closes its doors

By Greta Jochem

NORTH ADAMS — Every Tuesday for years, Janice Pugliese has walked from her house to the North Adams Movieplex 8 to see a movie with friends.

Per usual, she was there on the last Tuesday in January, but it would be her last visit. The only multi-screen cinema complex in Northern Berkshire closed at the end of that month.

“I hate to see it go,” Pugliese said while waiting for a friend in the lobby. “There’s not enough to do in North Adams.”

The theater opened in the Steeple City Plaza in 2007 and with its closure, it leaves the city without a movie theater. It’s not clear why it is closing. First Hartford Realty Corp. owns the plaza property and the movie theater business. Last week John Toic, president of the company, declined to say why the theater was closing and what the plans were for the space. Many flocked to the movies over the weekend and on Jan. 31, the business’ last day, and they, like Pugliese, mourned the theater’s loss.

The movieplex sold 300 tickets a day over the weekend, quadruple what patronage on a “good day” was, said the manager, Amy Smith. It was so busy on the last Saturday that it was open that employees were delivering popcorn to people in their seats as employees worked through a backlog of popcorn tickets spread on the counter.

“We couldn’t pop fast enough,” Smith said while standing behind the checkout counter. A slushy machine whirred behind her and an array of movie theater-size candy sat in the display case in front of her.

At the register, a wine glass-turned-tip jar was stuffed full of cash. A large stash of to-go popcorn bags sat on the counter for sale. Smith said she and employees spent hours making popcorn in advance.

Before becoming the manager in December, Smith was the assistant manager for four years. She’s gotten to know some customers, and one regular recently brought her a card. “I’ve had a lot of tears,” she said.

She didn’t have any insight into why the business was closing. “I can honestly say I have zero information,” she said.

There have been some challenges, she said. “COVID and streaming took a huge hit to the theater.”

Still, some prefer seeing movies in person.

“It makes me sad they’re closing. We’ve always had a theater in North Adams,” said Marie Kelly-Whitney, a regular. “This will be the first time in the 62 years I’ve been alive.”

On the theatre’s last day, Kelly-Whitney was in the lobby after seeing “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” She browsed a few boxes of old movie posters the theater was giving away, settling on two picturing animals that she plans to use as prizes for her students in the library at Stamford Elementary School where she works.

A self-described “popcorn enthusiast,” she feels like their popcorn is particularly good and praised the service.

“If you’re a regular they know what you want before you get there,” she said.

Like Pugliese, she worries residents are losing an amenity — some businesses target tourists and are not accessible to residents like a $7 movie,

she said. “This is for everybody.”

There are not a lot of places for young people to hangout in the area, and the movie theater was one of them, said Jamie Golin, who was the lobby with her mom, Marie Russell.

“It’s just so sad,” Russell said. “There’s nowhere else around here for a movie,” she said. The movie theater in Williamstown, Images Cinema, shows one movie at a time, and other options are a drive away in Bennington Vt. or Pittsfield. The North Adams theater seemed homier, he said.

Ryan Pause, a 26-year-old city resident, was so devastated about the closure that he sent a message to Phoenix Theaters, a company that owns a number of movie theaters across the coun-

try, including the Beacon in Pittsfield, asking them to consider taking over the North Adams theater.

The closing “leaves a huge gap for movie goers in Northern Berkshire County,” he wrote in his letter posted on social media. “As much as we’ll always love the Beacon for what it offers, we’d love to see something similar in North Adams. Perhaps you can consider reviving the North Adams Movieplex.”

So far, he said he has not heard back.

The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Like Pause, Pugliese hopes a new theater moves into the movieplex space. “This theater, we need it,” she said. “The people here need this.”

The expanding L X T ® System includes 18V and 36V lawn mowers , string trimmers , blowers , chain saws , brush cutters , pole saws , and more For pro landscapers and homeowners alike , this means more batter y-powered options to replace gas equipment for top per formance with lower noise , less maintenance and zero emissions . With more than 60 solutions , L X T ® is the world ’s largest professional cordless outdoor power equipment system powered by 18V lithium-ion slide -st yle batteries

GILLIAN JONES

People watch a 3D version of “Avatar: The Way of Water” at the North Adams Movieplex in January, the last day of showings before the theater closes for good.

Program aims to increase diversity in cannabis industry

By Tony DoBrowolski

GREAT BARRINGTON — A Berkshire cannabis company has recently formed a social equity program to provide emerging entrepreneurs from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with the capital they need to enter the business.

Theory Wellness, which operates a cannabis facility in Great Barrington, undertook the initiative to satisfy a requirement from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission that companies set up a positive impact plan in order to receive a license from the state. The CCC regulates the cannabis industry in Massachusetts.

“When you’re applying for a license you basically have to say what are you going to do to give back to the community,” said Tom Winstanley, Theory Wellness’ Chief Marketing Officer. “So this was something that we proposed and it satisfies part of the CCC requirement.”

Under the terms of its program, Theory Wellness will provide up to $250,000 in start-up costs and inventory for those who meet the social equity program’s criteria. The program’s first recipient, Legal Greens of Brockton, which opened in March 2021, received $100,000 in zero-interest financing and $150,000 worth of startup cannabis inventory on consign-

ment from Theory Wellness’ social equity program.

The CCC operates its own social equity program. Theory Wellness’ program is not based on the state’s initiative, but Winstanley said the eligibility for Theory’s program is based on a designation set up by the state. The CCC certifies the status of social equity or economic empowerment to those disproportionately impacted by high rates of arrest and incarceration for cannabis-related crimes due to previous state and federal drug polices.

“The state isn’t giving them the funding to open or guidance,” Winstanley said. “We’re basically saying, okay the state has given you this designation and we’re going to take it a step further by supporting you in every way possible.

“I would think of it more as an investment,” Winstanley said, when asked why a privately-held company like Theory Wellness would be motivated to give money away.

“I think people might be making the argument of why are you breaking a mold in order to help a competitor in the marketplace,” he said. “But at the end of the day, if you look at the lack of diversity and inclusion in the licensing structure in Massachusetts, we’re really investing

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Above: Employees at Theory Wellness have a laugh while at work. Below: Theory Wellness will assist the candidate it selects to participate in its Cannabis Social Equity Program with help with financing, product, navigating the complicated regulatory hurdles and more to the candidate, according to Chief Marketing Officer Thomas Winstanley, pictured.

THEORY

CANNABIS, Page 14

Cover story

“In addition to people who already participate in BAC, we want this space to introduce us to those who are not familiar with us,” said Castaldo. “We invite everyone to stop in whenever we’re open and get to know us.”

The new space features a free guided art project which people can undertake on a self-directed basis. “People can come in and have the experience of making something creative at any time we’re open,” she said.

The Pittsfield location also offers a Free Family Drop-In series on the first Friday and third Saturday of each month featuring creative projects for families to make with the guidance of a faculty artist. Another regular event is Arts Nights Out, which takes place on the second and fourth Fridays of the month. This is a social gathering for couples and singles with a focus on a creative activity.

The school’s purpose is to provide a place where “people who love art, regardless of age or ability, can gather to experience creative expression,” according to its mission statement. It emphasizes handson participation, through art classes and workshops. BAC also sponsors exhibits, artist talks, community creative gatherings, youth programs, and other activities and services.

BAC already operates a gallery shop in Stockbridge, but in Pittsfield the school

has opened a new shop to expand its support of local artists and makers by showcasing and selling their work. The new space features exhibits of area artists.

It also carries a variety of locally made items, such as mugs and notecards. Used and discounted art supplies and creative material for local artists and other creators to use in their work are also available.

The space is seen as a vehicle to strengthen existing and new collaborations with other local organizations, including those serving underrepresented

communities. “It’s also a resource for other groups,” said Castaldo.

On the second Monday of the month, the Pittsfield space hosts meetings of Katunemo, a group that was formed by area Hispanic and Portuguese-speaking artists with the purpose of creating community and healing through mutual support and sharing of art.

BAC is also encouraging mutually beneficial partnerships with downtown businesses, such as an arrangement it has with Methuselah Bar & Lounge on North Street. People who attend an Arts Night

Out event can receive a 15 percent discount on food at Methuselah afterward. The move to Pittsfield came through an ongoing relationship the art school has had with Giora Witkowski and Linda Mitchell, a couple who are the long-time owners of the Brothership Building.

“They have been great supporters of us, and for a number of years they let us use the building’s window for exhibits,” Castaldo said. “When a space opened up in the building for rent, they let us know it was available. We had already spon-

Above, top, opposite page: The Berkshire Art Center, formerly IS183, has opened a second location in Pittsfield. Left: Ceramic artist Hunter Cady’s work is displayed in the gallery window.

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN ART, Page 13

sored activities at other locations in Pittsfield and knew there was an audience for us. So it made sense.”

Citizens Hall, which was built in 1870, fell into disrepair after its original use as a public schoolhouse and meeting hall ended. In 1975 the building was acquired by Old Curtisville Inc,. a nonprofit formed by local residents, which made critical repairs funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The Interlaken School of Art leased the building from Old Curtisville before becoming the owner when the two organizations merged in 2005. Further repairs and improvement to the building, funded by a capital campaign, were completed in 2009.

BAC operates its two locations with an annual budget of $600,000, which it raises

through grants, individual gifts, fees, and fund-raising benefits, like its upcoming costume dance party April 1 at the Colonial Theatre. The school has four fulltime staffers and two part-time employees. It also pays about 45 area artists as occasional or regular instructors.

Castaldo, who became executive director in 2018, started with BAC as an intern in 2009 before joining the staff three years later. She said the school currently serves about 2,500 people annually, including adults and young people who participate in its programs and activities. These encompass a wide variety of media, including painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, fiber arts, and ceramics, among others.

Most of BAC’s one session classes and workshops, and multi-session courses are offered in either or both Pittsfield and Stockbridge, at other county locations, or online. The lone exception is ceramics, which all take place in Stockbridge,

where a ceramics studio with kilns and other equipment is located. The studio can also be used by ceramics artists for their own projects (BAC sponsors a Berkshire Potters Collective).

After-school and off-school programs are offered in collaboration with area school districts. One of those initiatives, ARTcentric: Berkshires, brings the studio art experience to students in the schools. Another program, Learning Through Arts, integrates multiple disciplines using art-making as a tool to teach conflict resolution and social emotional skills. Youth programs also include vacation camps.

Artist residencies pair local visual artists with cultural institutions and historic landmarks. BAC also has a service that organizes art-related events for area business and organizations.

BAC has activities that are both free and involve a fee. Because classes have varying lengths and numbers of sessions,

overall tuition ranges from approximately $50 up to about $350.The school works hard to balance its goal of open access with financial necessity.

“Our mission is based on accessibility, and we don’t want price to stop anyone from being able to participate,” Castaldo said. “But our mission also includes paying a living wage to the artists who are instructors.”

For those who cannot afford tuition, BAC offers needs-based scholarships and professional-development scholarships. These are supported through individual scholarship funds or local cultural councils. The school also provides opportunities to exchange work for tuition and gives significant discounts to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders.

“We believe that access to art and creative expression is a basic need in a community,” she said. ”Art has been a core of the human experience, ever since the prehistoric era when people painted on the walls of caves.”

She believes the role that art plays is especially vital in the Berkshires. Posted on a wall in her office is a finding from a recent statewide report, Culture + Community in a Time of Transition by the Barr Foundation, that indicates that 90 percent of survey respondents in Berkshire County place a high value on the arts as an important social value. This is the largest percentage in the state by far.

“Berkshire County has many opportunities to see art,” she said. “We provide one of the main opportunities for people to actually make art.”

A new name and two separate locations are making that task more accessible.

CHP is On the Move with Mobile Health Workplace Clinics!

in that free market. We really want to be able to bring more diversity. The future of the industry is going to be homogenized through corporate entities. That’s not why we’re here.

“People will definitely say it’s crazy that you’re doing that, and it is crazy,” Winstanley said. “But at the same time we think it’s a necessary point to take the initiative and hopefully inspire others to take similar initiatives in an independent or free market.

“For us, obviously, there’s a capital commitment,” Winstanley said. “But the net gain, I think, for everybody is that we’re bringing much more people into the market that may not have a seat at the table.”

Theory, which is based in Stoneham, has finalized the application for a second recipient, and hopes to make its selection by March or April. Theory Wellness recently opened a cannabis facility in Brattleboro, Vt., but only applicants from Massachusetts are eligible to apply. Between 25 and 30 entrepreneurs applied the first time.

“We’ll probably have about a month, depending on interest, to see how many people will fill out the full application,” Winstanley said. “Once we get that intel back in to evaluate we’ll set up an internal community from every department for the evaluation process to score and rank the applications and then the executive team will make the final decision. Once people put in their applications we’ll probably do some personal interviews as well with the candidates, too.”

Berkshire County’s cannabis companies pull in around $200 million a year, and Theory Wellness receives about a quarter of that, The Eagle reported in June. But Winstanley said the cost of entering the market, especially now, makes it difficult for cash-strapped entrepreneurs to participate.

Total U.S. marijuana capital raised year to date is down 62.6 percent since last year, and equity financing is down 96.3 percent, from $2.1 billion a year ago to $78 million currently, according to Viridian Capital Advisors, a New York-based capital advisory firm.

“When we decided to do this program again part of it was because cannabis investing is crazy difficult right now,” Winstanley said. “The cost of cannabis is bottoming out right now. Because of that, seeking and securing investment is increasingly difficult.”

Theory Wellness does not retain a stake in any of the companies that it assists through its social equity program, Winstanley said.

“Just to make it really clear because there’s a misconception about this, we have no stake or any ownership or anything like that of the company that we are working with,” he said. “It’s not like we get any preferential treatment, we do not get a percentage of ownership. We get none of that. It is a very, very clear-cut, no-strings arrangement.

“We also have a lot of institutional knowledge around the industry,” Winstanley said. “We can help share and help promotes a little bit more of a free market and a social equity program because the

Theory Wellness has renewed its Cannabis Social Equity Program and is accepting applications from people from underprivileged and underserved backgrounds for the company’s help in breaking into the cannabis industry. Theory will offer its help with financing, product, navigating the complicated regulatory hurdles and more to the candidate it selects.

most robust vehicle to do so.

All cannabis companies that are given licenses to operate in Massachusetts are required to create positive impact and diversity plans that describe how they intend to meet and promote the state’s guidelines for equity in the industry, said Bruce Stebbins, one of the CCC’s five commissioners.

“They’re required as a licensee to create a positive impact plan, and that positive impact plant is to help communities help residents who were disproportionally impacted by the war on drugs,” Stebbins said.

A new measure signed into law in August codified the social equity program and now requires municipalities to prioritize equity applications in their local licensing process, according to the CCC.

“I think what Theory Wellness is doing, and all of our licensees are doing, is to step up and create very unique approaches to comply with those positive impact plans,” he said, referring to Theory Wellness’ social equity program, which began in 2019. “So what you’re seeing from Theory Wellness is a really strong strategy.”

“Every year our licensees come back to renew their licenses,” Stebbins said. “I hope what Theory Wellness will do is provide us with an update on how well they are progressing towards this strategy and what success they’ve had with this strategy as part of their positive impact plan.”

Vanessa Jean-Baptiste, the president and founder of Legal Greens and the leader of the first generation Haitian-American team that opened the Brockton facility, said in a news release that Theory Wellness also provided her firm with additional support in banking, insurance, licensing and marketing. When Legal Greens opened last year it was the first dispensary owned by a Black woman on the East Coast. The process took three years.

Community Health Programs… Care for a Lifetime.

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Berkshire voices

Openings, closings, bowling and hunting for pastina

PITTSFIELD — Comings and goings, openings and closings occur all the time in the business world.

For some reason a great deal of that activity has taken place in the Berkshires at the beginning of this year.

Recent and upcoming closures include the Movieplex 8 cinema complex in North Adams; the Cantina 229 Restaurant in New Marlborough; Bed Bath & Beyond’s Berkshire County store in Pittsfield; and Berkshire Organics food delivery service in Pittsfield. Wayfair announced that it would be closing its once highly touted call center in Pittsfield when the lease runs out in July. Shire City Herbals went out of business last summer, but its former warehouse in Pittsfield was sold at a foreclosure auction Feb. 1. That decision also affected the operations of two other businesses that served as tenants, Berkshire Organics, and Hosta Hill, which has moved its operations to Hudson, N.Y.

That’s a lot of activity in a little over a month. But those closures and sales are matched by these announcements.

New owners are in the process of purchasing the former Powder Hounds Restaurant & Tavern next to Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock; there’s a new breakfast spot, Three Sisters Harvest Cafe, opening at the VFW in Great Barrington; and Main Street Hospitality has taken on management responsibilities for two additional lodging establishments outside of the Berkshires, including one in Canada. A couple from Lanesborough recently reopened a venerable Adams watering hole as Red’s Viking Pub, which they describe as a “neighborhood pub for adults.” The long awaited Hot Plate Brewing Co. also recently began operations in downtown Pittsfield. Separate stories on many of these events can be found in this month’s Berkshire Business Journal.

And then there’s one more. The Mathes family of Pittsfield, a group that loves bowling, is looking to revive the sport in the city after purchasing the former Imperial Bowling Center in Pittsfield and converting it into a tenpin facility that will be known as K&M Bowling and Family Fun Center.

Of all the recent transactions that have occurred, I think reopening a bowling alley in Pittsfield is the most important because it will affect the greatest number of people. As someone who used to type weekly bowling scores into The Eagle when I was a sportswriter back in the 1990s — a task that often took over an hour (this was before the internet, kids) I can tell you that the sport is very popular around here. This will be the first tenpin facility in the city since Ken’s Bowl closed three years ago. There hasn’t been bowling period in the city since Imperial Bowling Center was sold in November. I’m sure there’s a lot of pent-up demand. The Mathes family deserves a lot of credit for working on what they consider to be a dream project. As of January, they’d spent close to $2 million on renovating the old alley and converting it from candlepin bowling to a tenpin lane.

I talked to the family members about their goals and aspirations for a story that was published in The Berkshire Eagle in January. When I was there I found out that the bowling alley had originally been constructed as a roller skating rink when it was built in 1952. Pieces of the original floor could be seen while the renovations were taking place. Believe it or not, it took only $125,000 to build and equip Broyles Arena, as the roller rink was originally known, 71 years ago, according to Eagle archives. It’s not a fancy building. The Eagle has referred to it in the past as a both a “prefabricated steel structure” in 1952 and as a “quonset hut in an Allendale cow pasture” in 1987, the year it became a bowling alley. But function often trumps beauty and this building has persevered. I hope this project succeeds. The Mathes’ have put a lot of heart, soul and sweat equity into their venture. They did a lot of the renovations themselves. This is definitely a place that will be worth checking out.

• First it was toilet paper that was in short supply then it was gas. Now it’s pastina. What’s pastina? It’s a tiny starshaped pasta (it literally means “little pasta” in Italian), the smallest type of pasta produced. It can be used in many different ways in Italian cuisine. It’s considered a great comfort food, and it’s suddenly become an essential staple because of that. “Good Morning America” recently did a segment on pastina because it’s so in demand. The day I wrote this a 12-ounce box of pastina was being offered for $16.99 on Ebay. A small box of Barilla pastina, the brand that was featured in the “GMA” piece, costs less than $2 in the supermarket. At least that’s what I paid for it when I finally found it.

I know this firsthand because at my

The Mathes family of Pittsfield recently purchased the former Imperial Bowling Center and plans to reopen it as a tenpin facility known as K&M Bowling.

wife’s request I spent a recent Saturday afternoon cruising Pittsfield’s big chain supermarkets in search of the elusive little bugger. Everywhere I went it was sold out. It wasn’t until the next week that I finally found it, where I won’t say. When I did find it, there were only five boxes

left, all tucked in tight against boxes of orzo, another small box pasta. I was glad I found them. I hope others have found them, too.

Tony Dobrowolski is the editor of the Berkshire Business Journal.

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

Bowling lanes are under construction at the former Imperial Bowling Center in Pittsfield. The building was originally constructed in 1952 as a roller skating rink.

Tony Dobrowolski Commentary

Robotics: 23 years of STEM inspiration

By Denise Johns an D T im Bu TT erworT h

PITTSFIELD — Assisting local manufacturers with adopting the latest technologies is core to our mission at the Berkshire Innovation Center.

Since first opening our doors three years ago, we have worked hard to establish ourselves as regional experts in robotics and automation. The seeds of our mission go back even further. Over two decades prior, we can highlight an early effort to invest in the future of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) for Berkshire County youth.

In 1999, BIC Board Member Doug Crane discovered a new robotics challenge being held in Boston. Based on Lego Mindstorms kits, these robots were designed and constructed from familiar plastic pieces. Yet unlike your childhood Lego set, these robots were granted autonomy through a suite of sensors, motors, and a “brain” to control them. The challenge was geared towards middle school students: for most, this would be their first experience with robotics. Lego made the challenge easily approachable, and Crane was inspired by the potential of these toys to encourage interest in STEM pathways. As a father of three, Crane knew he had to bring this challenge back home to Berkshire County.

“I was struck by the incredible energy and enthusiasm at the competition. It felt like a sports tournament,” he said. “The kids were simply jazzed, passionate and focused. It was immediately clear to me that I wanted my kids to be able to have an opportunity to experience this.”

Crane held an initial meeting with the goal of fielding a single team of up to a dozen students to compete in Boston. He was stunned when 200 students and their families came to voice their interest. The mandate was clear: Berkshire County needed its own competition, and so the Berkshire Robotics Challenge was born. The first BRC Challenge was held in February 2000, and since then it has involved 4,062 students, 1,064 coaches, 426 team sponsors and 657 volunteers with a pre-pandemic peak of 32 teams participating.

Modeled after the U.S. First Lego League, the BRC is inclusive of students from third through eighth grades (ages 8-14). Students work in teams toward a competitive goal while learning problem-solving, teamwork and good sportsmanship. With the aim of building their engineering and programming skills, each team must design and build a robot that completes a variety of missions in under two and a half minutes. Teams typically spend between 8-to-10 weeks developing their robot to earn points by completing as many of these missions as possible.

The competition also encourages broader interest in science fields through a complementary research project based on that year’s theme. Past challenge themes have been designed around topics such as assistive technology, community and urban planning, education and learning, global climate change, health and well-being, oceanography, nanotechnology, recycling and renewable energy, space exploration, and transportation. Each year, a new challenge is issued that is designed to emulate a current scientific, engineering, or technological challenge.

For this year’s challenge, titled “Super Powered” which takes place March 18, teams will have to design their robots to generate, collect, transport, store, and distribute “energy units” across 16 unique missions. Eric Planey, CEO of SolaBlock, will give the keynote address to discuss the critical need for renewable energy and how their building materials with embedded solar panels will help address that need. SolaBlock is one of several BIC member companies committed to developing clean technology here in the Berkshires.

While the BRC has always received an enthusiastic reception across the county, credit for its sustained success

goes to the ongoing efforts of a cohort of committed volunteers. Crane originally pulled together a dynamic planning committee, consisting of John Wood, Bernie Klem, Lee Flournoy, Denise Jezak, Dorothy Curtiss, and Denise Johns. Johns, the BIC’s business administrator, has continued to organize the event ever since.

“When I first got involved, I had no idea what the BRC would grow into,” she said.. “Now, 23 years later, my own daughter is participating for the first time. She’s fortunate that we live in a region with so many folks working to introduce students to technology.”

Johns is joined on the current BRC committee by Kevin Mooney of General Electric, Wil Bourdon and Jim Chalfonte of General Dynamics Mission Systems, and Kate Light and Tim Butterworth, assistant director and operations manager of the BIC, respectively. Many employees of General Dynamics volunteer on the challenge day as team coaches. In addition to the tremendous contributions from volunteers, making this challenge widely accessible has required significant fiscal support. With confidence in the educational mission of the BRC, the Feigenbaum Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the challenge.

How important is it that Berkshire youth gain this early exposure to robotics? We know that career development is one clear benefit: STEM careers are academically demanding, and fostering an early interest in these fields can give students an advantage in their own career growth. This technical focus does not mean that only the left brain is engaged. In fact, the challenge is a tremendous way to spur creativity through inventing novel solutions to each challenge. The skillset of strategic problem solving is difficult to learn in the abstract. The BRC succeeds by providing structured challenges to ease students into an effective approach to problem solving.

Equity and inclusion are major goals of both the BRC and the BIC. Studies have shown that students on the autism spectrum can be better engaged learners when robots are part of their education. We also believe that the challenge permits girls to explore their interest in STEM at an early age, before societal pressures discourage such exploration. The fun atmosphere and low stakes of the competition encourage even the shyest students to freely contribute ideas. For many, the BRC is an opportunity to engage with robotics, programming, design skills and more that they otherwise would not receive in school for years, if ever. Along with the “varsity tech” programs that we offer, the BIC is committed to lowering the barrier to entry for technology for all students in the Berkshires.

“The BRC was my earliest experience with robotics and programming,” Butterworth said. “I begged my parents to buy me a kit of my own for Christmas and was fortunate that they also saw the educational value. The hundreds of iterations of Lego robots that I built were my first steps towards a career in engineering.”

We at the BIC believe that early exposure to technology is critical to developing a robust workforce pipeline. This pipeline will lead to better jobs for our children and a healthier, sustainable

Berkshire Innovation Center Operations Manager Tim Butterworth assembles 3D printed Lego people to be fashioned into trophies for the winners of each category at last year’s Berkshire Robotics Challenge. This year’s 23rd annual event takes place at the BIC on March 18.

economy for us all. We often hear that robots are the future. On March 18, over 100 Berkshire students from 14 teams will prove that wrong. Thanks to people like Doug Crane, robots are the present. To learn more about the BRC and support youth technology engagement in the Berkshires, visit www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com.

Denise Johns is the business administrator and Tim Butterworth the operations manager of the Berkshire Innovation Center. Johns is also the organizer of the Berkshire Robotics Challenge.

Common Capital offers small business loans of any size up to $300,000 in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.

Colorful Resilience

“They were so good with communication, they were very clear with their expectations, they were extremely reasonable with the things they were asking of me and it was actually a very seamless, very positive experience.

I’m really glad that Colorful Resilience exists because of Common Capital.”

Owner Mayrena Guerrero

Elliott Properties

“Common Capital has been a big part of growing our business. Helping out with the accounting, always having ideas and things to help us with infrastructure. Making sure we are making some of the right choices. They’ve also put us in touch with grant money that is out there, that we wouldn’t have otherwise known about.”

Owners Chris Elliott & Cristie

Phinney

Common Capital is a nonprofit community loan fund that responsibly lends money to small businesses that are unable to access all the capital they need from other lenders. Please visit our website at www.CommonCapitalMA.org to learn more. CommonCapitalMA .org

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STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN

First impressions indicate an interesting year

LEE — How do Massachusetts employers view the economy now that we’re well into the first quarter of 2023?

The answer to that question has implications for everyone in Berkshire County. Confident employers hire workers, expand into new markets and invest in capital equipment.

Patricia Begrowicz

Pessimistic employers batten down the hatches, hold onto capital and closely manage their payrolls.

The best real-time measure of employer sentiment comes from the monthly Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index. AIM, the statewide business association where I serve as board chair, surveys 150 Massachusetts employers from all sectors of the economy and measures their level of confidence on a 100-point scale. Index readings of more than 50 suggest optimism; less than 50 indicates a bearish outlook.

The January BCI shows Massachusetts that employers remain optimistic about the economy — but just barely.

The AIM BCI declined 0.8 points to 53.2 during January, leaving it 2.7 points weaker than its level of January 2022. Employers remain wary even though the Massachusetts economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate and the U.S. economy at a 2.9 percent annual rate during the fourth quarter of 2022.

Companies are concerned that efforts by central banks to moderate inflation by raising interest rates will push the economy into a period of slower growth. At the same time, labor remains in tight supply. U.S. employers created a staggering half a million jobs during January and job vacancies remain at historic highs, with two openings for every unemployed person.

Look closer at the BCI and you’ll find

some interesting insights about the mindset of Massachusetts business people in the new year.

The confidence employers have in their own companies stands at 56.5, well above the overall confidence reading. So, employers remain bullish on their own prospects despite some doubts about the overall economy.

The Massachusetts Index assessing business conditions within the Commonwealth declined 2.4 points to 50.2, down 5.1 points from a year earlier. The U.S.

Index measuring conditions throughout the country gained half a point to 46.7 but remained in pessimistic territory for the fourth consecutive month.

Participants in the Business Confidence Index Survey reflect the often-contradictory signals being given off by the economy.

“We have seen a definite slowdown in the large logistics buildings being planned and proceeding to construction. On the other hand, we are seeing fairly robust activity in the planning and con-

NONPROFIT NOTES

struction of flex industrial space….We have seen multiple projects expedited to construction in order to fix interest rates before the next increase,” wrote one employer in the construction industry.

A manufacturer writes: “Most manufacturing companies will burn off excess backlogs from 2022 during the first two quarters of 2023. The real story is the second half...”

Those sentiments are consistent with confidence readings among employers around the nation.

The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index fell to its lowest level in six months during December. Likewise, the Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers’ Index of manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since May 2020.

MassBenchmarks Leading Economic Index is projecting annualized GDP growth in Massachusetts of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, slowing to 0.6 percent in the second quarter. The mean projection for U.S. GDP by the January survey of economists by the Wall Street Journal is for only a 0.1 percent annualized rate of growth in the first quarter, and a 0.4 percent decline in the second quarter.

The bottom line is that employers in most sectors remain at once fundamentally optimistic about 2023 though wary of an economy that continues to behave in unusual ways. Sure, companies in housing, technology and other interest-rate sensitive industries have seen significant slowdowns, but the majority of employers apparently still hold out hope that the Fed will be able to engineer a soft landing that moderates inflation without sending the economy into recession.

It’s shaping up to be an interesting year.

Everyone needs to help end ‘Nonprofit Starvation Cycle’

By the Board of the NoN profit C eN ter of the Berkshires a N d the NoN profit a dvisory Board

GREAT BARRINGTON — A strong nonprofit sector is vital to a healthy, vibrant, and economically mobile society.

Nonprofits operate in nearly every sector of the Berkshire economy: health, education, social services, arts and culture, the environment, recreation, housing, youth programs, and community development. They employ one in four workers in our region and double their economic impact through direct and indirect spending on goods and services.

The Berkshire community is generous and our many nonprofits benefit from people’s volunteer help, board service, and donations. Our supporters have a range of options for getting involved, and for supporting causes near and dear to their hearts. Per capita our small rural county has the second-highest number of nonprofits in the state and double the national average. That means that sometimes the number of requests for support can seem overwhelming. How much is really needed? Do my donations make a difference? Why do they ask again and again?

The fact is it costs a lot to run an effective nonprofit organization — really not that much less than a for-profit company. Nonprofits’ costs include salaries, rent, facility upkeep, utilities, insurance, and technology. But, according to the Council on Nonprofits there is a myth that nonprofits should have low “overhead” costs.

“These costs are essential to delivering on a nonprofit’s mission” the council states. “Understandably donors want to support a nonprofit’s mission, but many don’t understand that incurring

administrative costs is not bad. Instead, those costs are essential for mission advancement.”

In a recent article in Chronicle of Philanthropy, researchers studied data from over 20,000 arts organizations over a period of 10 years and found that those that had spent 35 percent of their budget on overhead, such as staff salaries and technology, fared best in terms of attendance. The article noted that scholars have been warning for years that unrealistic expectation of funders to keep nonprofit overhead low (known as the “starvation cycle”) deprives organizations of the necessities for long term health and increased performance.

Investing in a nonprofit organization’s core infrastructure maximizes program delivery and enables it to reach more community members who need its services, according to The Aspen Institute report, “Stronger Nonprofits, Stronger Communities”, that was published in a Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation in 2016. The report states that a lack of general operating support actually limits the effectiveness of nonprofits. The report notes that successful businesses typically spend 34 percent of their budget on “essential behind-the-scenes support” while nonprofits are expected to get by with half of that, or risk being viewed as inefficient, or poor stewards of donors’ generous contributions. The majority of our Berkshire nonprofits are small with few cash reserves. Maximizing the productive use of their scarce resources is essential for them to carrying out their missions effectively.

Salaries, in particular, are typically a nonprofit’s largest expense because, after all, it is staff members who teach the

students, care for the patients, help workers get stable housing, providefree legal services, and put up the art exhibits and direct the plays. They do the bookkeeping and file the financial reports that ensure that you know the charity is operating honestly and ethically. However, because staff salaries are such large part of the budget, they are often squeezed when nonprofit budgets are tight.

Kristen van Ginhoven, artistic director of WAM Theatre in Lenox, summarizes the issue very well.

“For too long, the arts and nonprofits in general have existed by overworking and underpaying, but our donors do not know that,” van Ginhoven said. “A huge part of our advocacy work over the coming decade, if we hope to continue with our missions and impact sustainably and equitably, will be adjusting the mindset about how much running a nonprofit actually costs.”

What is also not well understood about charitable giving is that the majority of non-government funding comes from individuals. About 85 percent comes from both donations and bequests, with only about 15 percent from private and corporate foundations. Individual donors are also most ikely to provide the unrestricted operating support that give nonprofits the flexibility to direct funds where they need those dollars most, while most foundation grants and corporate sponsorships are restricted to specific programs or initiatives.

That is why our nonprofits come to us, their community members, for support. It is also why they may need to come to us at various times during the year to ensure that they have the funding to continue delivering the programs

and services that the community relies on. Nonprofits value their relationships with their donors and they are more than willing to accommodate yourpreferences as to how and how often you hear from them. Don’t hesitate to contact them and ask.

“We’re in the business of creating and maintaining relationships so donors have an understanding of how their philanthropy is supporting a cause close to their heart,” said Shela Levante, cochair of the Berkshire County Development Alliance. “What I love most is the personal experience that occurs. Some donors only want an email update while others want to go on a site visit. It leaves a lot of room for flexibility and meaningful engagement.”

Nonprofits strengthen our community, educate young people, make our neighborhoods more resilient, give us joy and inspiration, keep us healthy, protect our lakes and mountains, preserveour history, and help ensure that no one who is struggling is left alone. Nonprofits do all of this only with your support.

Tom Bernard, the president and CEO of Berkshire United Way in Pittsfield, recognizes this.

“We steward precious resources carefully to ensure our work and the positive impacts we aspire to make in the community reflect our commitments to effectiveness, efficiency, and most of allequity as we listen to, learn from, and work in partnership with the people our organizations seek to serve,” he said.

The mission of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires is to facilitate growth for charitable organizations through shared resources, affordable services, and creative collaborations.

Patricia Begrowicz, the president and co-owner of Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee, is chair of the board of directors of Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

GRAPHICS PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index shows ups and downs over the past 12 months.

The View from AIM

Hashtags reach the right users

PITTSFIELD — If you are putting energy into creating social media content for your business you want to know that you’re reaching people and growing your audience, too.

It can feel like an uphill battle to gain new followers on Instagram but it can be done, even now as things keep changing.

Always keep in mind though that your follower count is more of a vanity metric than a key performance indicator (KPI) at this point. While you want it to grow you should be more focused on getting the existing followers to engage with what you’re creating and, hopefully, converting more often. What should you be doing to make that happen and see your followers grow?

Take five to 15 minutes of your time to visit each hashtag daily if possible and like as many posts as you can in five minutes. When you visit the feed go right down the list

First, find one-to-two hashtags that your audience is using. I know. You’ve heard this one over and over. But this isn’t about helping your posts reach more people. This is how you connect with new people directly. Take five to 15 minutes of your time to visit each hashtag daily if possible and like as many posts as you can in five minutes. When you visit the feed go right down the list and like as many posts as you can manage in five minutes. If you are using a popular hashtag there will be plenty of new posts to like each time you check in during the day. Double tap as much as you can and when the five minutes is up, stop. The goal is mostly to show up in the notifications of your target audience.

The next step is to go beyond liking posts and genuinely engage in that time. While I am scrolling and liking posts, I will comment on any posts that actually pull me in and make me feel like I want to comment. This will add another layer of engagement and allow you to make some real connections with people that you may enjoy chatting with regularly.

Within 30 minutes of doing this I usually have one-to-three new followers and lots of new post likes on my recent content. As the day goes on the followers will continue to come. If I have time to engage with the hashtag again it will help boost that and it will grow more. If this isn’t happening then try this process with a different hashtag. There are literally endless hashtags to work with so keep trying them until you start to see real results. Give this a try for the next week and see which hashtags work the best. This will help you see growth more regularly and not require a ton of your time.

There’s more to the market than residential real estate

PITTSFIELD — Since residential real estate makes up 70 percent of our total sales, we at the Berkshire County Board of Realtors typically focus our reports on that side of the market.

But this month, we’re going to examine another sector — multifamily housing and condominium sales. They complete the picture of housing availability.

Sanda J. Carroll Real estate

Let’s start with multifamily sales, which account for 12 percent of our overall real estate transactions. In 2021 when residential homes were incredibly hard to find due to increased demand and lower inventory, we saw a spike in the number of multifamily home sales that were transacted. In the five years leading up to that peak, there were, on average, 165 multifamily sales per year, compared to 240 when multifamily sales peaked two years ago. That market did dip to 223 sales last year, but that 2021 number is still an historical high. The multifamily market accounted for $47 million in real estate sales volume last year, compared to only $25.8 million in 2020. Given that increase, the average selling prices rose proportionally from $156,659 per property in 2020 to $210,627 countywide in 2022. Multifamily home sales in south Berkshire tracked at $379,500, a much higher average selling price than the entire county averaged. Northern Berkshire sales were lower than the county average at $178,568.

The vast majority of multifamily properties are located in central Berkshire County, with over half of the countywide sales taking place in Pittsfield. Of the 147 central county sales last year, 132 were Pittsfield properties. In central Berkshire, multifamily sales volume went from $17 million sold in 2020 to $32 million sold in 2022, almost double the total sales volume, which is a very significant increase. While Pittsfield dominates the multifamily market, it is worth noting that 39

multifamily properties sold in North Adams last year, and 24 in Adams, which are the county’s next two biggest markets. The most popular multifamily property type is currently the two-family duplex. These units, on average, had 57 annual sales leading up to 2021, but peaked at almost 100 sales two years ago before settling at 73 in 2022. Two, three, and four-unit buildings represent 89 percent of the total multifamily sales market. There are few larger than four unit multifamily properties in the Berkshires, and very few go on the market. Only 17 transactions of five units or more were recorded in the Berkshire Multiple Listing Service.

WHEN THE SMALL BUY MIGHTY

Condominium sales represent 8 percent of our total real estate sales market, but at $59 million in total transactions, this segment of the market has a significant impact on the overall economy of the Berkshires. Northern Berkshire condo sales have maintained the growth they experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But southern Berkshire sales have retracted to pre-pandemic sales rates and central Berkshire sales have fallen considerably.

While many think of South County as the primary market for condos, it should be noted that sales in that area of the Berkshires represent only 8 percent of the county’s total condominium transactions. Central Berkshire dominates the market with 52 percent of all unit sales, while northern Berkshire is at 40 percent. Last year, 157 total condominium units were sold in the Berkshires, according to the board’s figures, including 63 in the north, 82 in central Berkshire and 12 in the south (the Berkshire County Board of Realtors only tracks Realtor-assisted transactions.) The overall condo market is completely dependent on the city or town those units are located in and the availability of other housing

options to satisfy buyer demand.

Condominium sales in South County slowed considerably last year compared to 2021 sales rates, but in northern Berkshire the trend was just the opposite. The 63 units that were sold in northern Berkshire last year were valued at $21 million a figure that far exceeds sales rates in prior years. But sales trends are mixed throughout the county.

In central Berkshire, the drop in condo sales last year was due to a falling market in Lenox as total dollar volume dropped from $12.5 million in 2021 to $5.6 million. Despite that drop, condo sales in Pittsfield soared. Thirty units valued at $11 million were sold in Pittsfield last year. Overall sales during the peak year of 2021 were actually higher in Pittsfield at 33, but they generated only $7.9 million in total dollar volume. Hancock is the largest condo market in the Berkshires because of the number of units located at Jiminy Peak Resort. Thirty eight units valued at $22 million were sold in Hancock in 2022, a drop from the all-time high of 44 sales in 2021, which generated $9 million in total sales. But this market continues to grow.

Back to South County. The 12 total units sold last year were lower than the total sales rates the area experienced in both 2020 and 2021, but that number is in line with sales that occurred in the years before that. The condo market held steady in Stockbridge last year, but fell considerably in Great Barrington, where the total number of units sold dropped by more than half.

In April, we’ll take a look the history of land sales, which account for 10 percent of our total transactions. We’ll also delve into smart growth and what building will look like in the years ahead to see if the potential exists for growth in the Berkshire County housing market

Kaitlyn Pierce is the founder and chief strategist of PierceSocial, a digital marketing company.

Kaitlyn Pierce

and like as many posts as you can manage in five minutes.

If you are using a popular hashtag there will be plenty of new posts to like each time you check in during the day. Double tap as much as you can and when the five minutes is up, stop.

PROVIDED PHOTO

The view of the front of a home at Devon Meadow, a luxury condominium complex in Lee. Condominium sales make up only 8 percent of the Berkshire total real estate market, according to the Berkshire County Board of Realtors, but the dollar volume generated from those transactions helps power the Berkshire economy.

America is rewriting the economic playbook

PITTSFIELD — Over the past year, Congress agreed to plunk down more than $2 trillion to remake the nation.

Three different bills targeting infrastructure, semiconductor chips, and the greening of America are meant to transform the U.S. and regain its position as the premier competitor worldwide.

The new Congress, which gives the GOP a slim majority in the House, has already raised the prospect of spending cuts in exchange for their agreement to raise the country’s debt limit. If the Republicans get their way, the $280 billion Chips and Science Act, the $400 billion Inflation Reduction Act, and the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill may become a bargaining chip in the discussions over future spending.

The fact that much of this spending will occur over the next decade makes whittling down the total package an easier target than cuts to programs such as Social Security or Medicare. However, there are plenty of land mines for those on both sides of the aisle doing so.

The passage of these bills was a humongous effort. Months of discussions hammered out a careful balancing act between conflicting desires from both parties and their constituencies. Climate change, for example, a subject near and dear to much of liberal America, was painstakingly pared with hawkish views on the economic threat of China. Help for the rural areas of the country was married to the need to preserve and protect the environment. Support for Ukraine, the need to promote energy production, and further subsidies for electric vehicles were the result of complicated horse trading and two years of negotiations.

The point is that these three huge budget busters are addressing long-delayed measures to transform major holes in the domestic economy. Fixing crumbling infrastructure, development of clean energy, coupled with preserving and expanding the existing fossil fuel industry, and protecting our manufacturing sector, especially in the semiconductor and auto industry, are in some respects,

vital initiatives that are just too big to fail.

Aside from the size of these programs, how these spending initiatives will be implemented is already calling into question an entire era of trade policy in the U.S. Traditionally, America adhered to a post-war practice of promoting global trade through domestic spending programs. As a nation, we embraced the concept of comparative advantage. It is an economic theory that implies that each national economy should produce what it does best and most efficiently. Countries should therefore confine their efforts to those products. This would lead to gains in efficiency, international trade, and specialization. As such, the U.S. has long been an advocate of market liberalization, tariff elimination, and free trade in our economic policies. But times are changing.

These policies through the years have cost the country a great deal in terms of the economy, and society in general. Some credit should go to Former President Donald Trump, who spent four years articulating the idea of “America First.” He argued correctly that our policies have caused a decline in manufacturing communities. Others point to the deindustrialization of our economy, as we deliberately shipped jobs and industries to foreign countries in the name of comparative advantage. The concentration of wealth and rising income inequality in this country are symptoms of these trends.

The COVID pandemic also revealed another cost of our traditional trade policies. Cost savings like just-in-time inventories and dependency on foreign supply chains for a myriad of goods came back to bite us where we sit. The sudden scarcity of all kinds of products and parts, coupled with spiking inflation, has shown us the folly of our ways.

“In today’s world,” wrote U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a December 2022 essay for Project Syndicate, “I believe that any economic agenda must consider the potential for regional and global shocks to impact our supply

chains, including those shocks driven by the policies of certain foreign governments. We are concerned about vulnerabilities that result from over-concentration, geopolitical and security risks, and violations of human rights.”

In short, the reliability of trade is now just as important as comparative advantage, if not more so.

Part and parcel of the remaking of America is a long list of rules and regulations spelling out where and what can be made and by whom. Each project is expected to single out U.S. domestic manufacturers for preferential treatment, whether they are the most efficient producers or not. The U.S. electric vehicle tax incentive program, for example, insists that local assembly and local content requirements are met to qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500.

Batteries must be made in North America. Green products such as wind turbines, rare earth mining, as well as semiconductors must be sourced whenever possible from domestic companies. High-tech imports and exports will be increasingly governed by the dictates of national security.

As one can imagine, these policy changes will have an immense impact on our trading partners. For decades foreign nations have benefited greatly from our free trade approach. This change to the status quo has immediately caused a negative response from across the globe. Japan and South Korea are unhappy with the Chips Act. The European Union disagrees with the whole idea of subsidies and tax credits for our key target industries.

Acknowledging their grievances, the Biden Administration has come up with an approach called “friend-sharing.”

The White House contemplates a large array of new bilateral and multilateral agreements with friendly nations in both emerging markets and developing countries, as well as advanced economies.

Using existing organizations such as the U.S-EU Trade and Technology Council, and the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, among other existing trade pacts, the U.S. is hoping to create “secure” supply chains in target

areas such as the solar, semiconductor, and rare-earth sectors for starters. By the way, “secure” is polit-speaking for ex-China, Russia, Iran, etc.

Friend-sharing is going to be gradual and targeted to countries where certain sectors and products are considered critical to our national and economic security.

Australia is just such a case in point.

The U.S. is working to reduce China’s dominant market share in the production of magnets and rare-earth minerals. Both are critical inputs for clean-energy capacity, military technologies, and consumer electronics. Australia produces both, and we are working with them to build rare-earth mining and processing facilities located in both countries.

However, no matter how friendly we try to be, the facts are that the game has changed and most of our trading partners are not going to like that. As a result, expect to see tit-for-tat increases in foreign tariffs, subsidies, and credits in answer to the “America First’”tone of these U.S. mega-trillion-dollar initiatives.

Global organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund will decry this trend, arguing that the U.S. is moving away from globalization towards regionalization. That, they say, will only further declines in world economic growth and living standards over time. Private industry will argue that targeted subsidies for products like semiconductors will only cause worldwide overproduction.

All of the above is likely to be true when we confine our arguments to the pristine theory of economic comparative advantage. But this country is only now waking up to the geopolitical and social costs of blindly adhering to this principle for decades. Relying on others to supply and deliver vital goods and services to our nation only works in a friendly world where everyone agrees all the time. “Reliability of trade,” on the other hand, has become a concept we can no longer afford to ignore.

Bill Schmick is registered as an investment adviser representative of Onota Partners Inc. in the Berkshires.

AP FILE PHOTO

A crane transports vehicles operating on a container ship in Oakland, Calif., in this file photo. The U.S. is reassessing its trade policies with other countries, and it has already begun rubbing some nations the wrong way. China’s premier promised to improve conditions for foreign companies following the latest tariff dispute between the U.S. and China.

Bill Schmick

Real estate transactions

Berkshire County real estate transactions for Jan. 2-27

Adams

Terry A. Snyder sold property at 24 Mill St., Adams, to Shannon M. Love, $147,000.

John Kochanski sold property at 9 Kearns Lane, Adams, to Dana E. and Martha E. Labbee, $22,000.

Glen A. and Dorothy D. Germanowski sold property at 29 Powers St., Adams, to Royal Realty Holdings LLC, $120,000.

Topia Arts LLC sold property at 4 and 10 Pleasant St., Adams, to Pleasant Street Holdings LLC, $600,000. Celeste DeMarsico sold property at 81 Howland Ave., Adams, to C-11 Properties LLC, $120,000.

Sharon L. Girard, trustee of the Howland Avenue RT, sold property at 39-41 Apremont St. and 321 Old Columbia St., Adams, to Mass Rental Properties LLC, $280,000.

Becket

Savan Prum sold property at 80 Beaver Brook Road, Becket, to Michael Tosch and Andrea Lee, $145,000. Home Bridge Real Estate LLC sold property at 379 Captain Whitney Road, Becket, to Kenneth R. Tessier, $38,500.

Richard A. Maxwell sold property at 171 Excalibur Drive, Becket, to Joshua Coben, $10,500.

Nancy Schachter sold property at 409 Moberg Road, Becket, to 409 Moberg LLC, $512,250.

Cheshire

Linda Hattat sold property at 28-30 Prospect St., Cheshire, to Owen and Karyna Politis, $164,893.

Donald O. and Dennis M. LeClaire and Lisa M. Meczywor sold property at 81 Wells Road, Cheshire, to Richard F. Salvi, $220,000.

Mark J., Brian P. and Brent V. Lancia sold property at 61 Wells Road, Cheshire, to Mitchel J. Lancia, $155,000.

Edwin S. Davis sold property at 322 Notch Road, Cheshire, to Roger E. Lachance Jr., $55,000.

Clarksburg

Richard Bernardi sold property at 0 Farview Heights, Clarksburg, to William and Tammy L. St. Pierre, $26,000.

Linda M. Reardon sold property at 86 Earl Taylor Drive, Clarksburg, to Rebecca L. Cook and Leroy W. Johnson Jr., $360,000.

Stephanie Lynn Rougeau sold property at 600 North Eagle St., Clarksburg, to Isiah Clark, $260,000.

Dalton

Alena Buka sold property at 248 Grange Hall Road, Dalton, to Chloe-Rae Wood and Dylan Mayhew, $330,000.

Jason A. Wells sold property at 184 Depot St., Dalton, to Martin P. Landau, $255,000.

Egremont

Joel S. Grossman & Judith A. Grossman sold property at 186 Baldwin Hill Road N/S, Egremont, to Rachel L. Rivin & Corrine J. Heyes, $1,925,000.

John A. Cinkala & Diane D. Cinkala sold property at 151 Hillsdale Road, Egremont, to Linda Difulvio, $275,000.

Great Barrington

John F. Baughman and Caroline A. Baughman sold property at 73 Hurlburt Road, Great Barrington, to Michael Striker and Carol Striker, $2,050,000.

Rita Valliere sold property at 4 Lake Ave., Great Barrington, to Betty L. Wright, $438,000.

Jean F. Parsons sold property at Alford Road, Great Barrington, to Berkshire Natural Resources Council Inc., $220,000.

Jonathan M. Perloe and Malaine R. Miller sold property at 13 Londonderry Drive, Great Barrington, to Garret Peaslee, $330,000.

Hancock

Robert A. and Stephanie M. Franchini sold property at 37 Corey Road, Unit 827, Hancock, to Justin and Kelly Marsh, $490,000.

Marc L. Rubin, trustee of the Marc L. Rubin LVT, sold property at Corey Road, Hancock, to Howard Greenspan, $132,500.

Equity Trust Company for benefit of Vincent P. Guntlow IRA sold property at Whitman Road, Hancock, to Christopher L. Crocker, $80,500.

Christopher Crocker sold property at Whitman Road, Hancock, to Vincent P. and Suzanne M. Guntlow, $80,500.

Lauren C. Head, trustee of 45 Chestnut Street NT, sold property at 37 Corey Road, Unit 520, Hancock, to Howard Greenspan, $125,000.

Lanesborough

J.W. Kelly Family LLC sold property at 0 Rosenberg Road, Lanesborough, to Toby Walton, $90,000.

Iron Horse Properties Inc. sold property at 828 North Main St., Lanesborough, to Lindsey Kurowski, $348,250.

Sharon Paris, personal rep. of Linda M. Halliday-Zurrin, sold property at 40 Opechee St., Lanesborough, to Mahoven LLC, $82,000.

David Wilson, successor trustee of The Ouellette FT, sold property at 29 Westview Road, Lanesborough, to Logan J. Wilson and Caitlin R. Galea, $200,000.

Lee

Yokun Ridge Property Management LLC sold property at 350 Fairview St., Lee, to Adam M. and Jodi Buratto, $175,000.

Timothy B. Borchers, trustee of the Bossidy-Sewall Trust, sold property at 3 Fernside Road, Lee, to Mark and Mary Elizabeth Williams, $125,000.

Yokun Ridge Property Management LLC sold property at 350 Valenti Farm Road, Lee, to Adam M. and Peter A. Buratto, $175,000.

Brian P. and Terri A. Thorne sold property at 30 South Prospect St., Lee, to Nicholas Peter Speidel, Timothy Speidel and Jane Alsen, $270,000.

Linda M. Baker, formerly known as Linda M. Truden, and Kenneth Truden Girardey, personal rep. of the Estate of James Franklin Truden Jr., sold property at 260 Stockbridge Road, Lee, to Wilson Ayala and Hope Amanda Monsalve, $197,500.

Kathleen Ward sold property at 25 Parkview Terrace, Lee, to Zachary W. Desantis, $325,000.

Lenox Development LLC and Leetown Development Inc. sold property at 715 Columbia St., Lee, to Lenox Development LLC, $3,714,952.56.

Glenn Tamir sold property at 115 High St., Lee, to Robert M. Heinzman and Katherine M. Miller, $305,000.

Darlene Taylor sold property at Balmoral and Devon Roads, Lee, to Alastair Taylor, $10,200.

Tammami Minamiya Pouliot, personal rep. of the Estate of Brian J. Pouliot, sold property at 135 Church St., Lee, to Donna Marie Long, $310,000.

Lenox

Betsy Lee Workman sold property at Muirfield Drive, Unit 11B, Lenox, to Stephen R. Schoenfeld and Penelope Hudnut, $500,000.

Joan M. O’Brien sold property at 160 Housatonic St., Lenox, to Michael T. and Ellen M. Eagan, trustees of the Michael T. Eagan RVT, $325,000.

Robert A. Romeo sold property at 510 Walker St., Lenox, to Jason Albert and Carla Morano, $750,000.

Barry E. and Susan R. Director Berg sold property at 24 New Lenox Road, Unit 4, Lenox, to Joel S. and Judith A. Grossman, $775,000.

Claudia A. Pepper sold property at 6 Morgan Manor, Unit 11, Lenox, to Avon Frulla, $262,500.

TWG Lenox LLC sold property at 40 Plunkett St., Lenox, to Radify Lenox LLC, $7,500,000.

Monterey

Helene Fisher sold property at 85 Main Road, Monterey, to Matthew D. Mogavero, $575,000. Estate of Alice M. Davis, Pamela C. Joyce and Donna J. Crawford sold property at 91 Pixley Road, Route 57, Monterey, to Full Moon Farm LLC, $210,000.

Mount Washington

Lois K. Case and Richard L. Case Sr., trustees of Lois K. Case 1997 Revocable Trust, sold property at 688 East St., Mount Washington, to A. Mackenzie W. Waggaman, $551,000.

New Ashford

J.W. Kelly Family LLC sold property at Mallery Road, New Ashford, to Daniel Francis Jennings, $75,000. The Polish American Realty LLC sold property at Mallery Road, New Ashford, to Daniel Francis Jennings, $50,000.

New Marlborough

Richard Drucker and Hilary Drucker sold property at Peter Menaker Road, To-Ho-Ne Shores, New Marlborough, to Michael J. Sullivan and Cynthia S. Sullivan, $202,000.

Susanne P. Petrucci sold property at 1605 Clayton Mill River Road, New Marlborough, to David P. Hamill and Linda M. Hamill, $360,000.

North Adams

David A. Fierro sold property at 45 Leonard St., North Adams, to Centerville Sticks LLC, $269,000.

Lisa A. Mazzu sold property at 140 Kemp Ave., North Adams, to Tredick T. Goodman, $231,500.

Andrew Alcaro sold property at 28 Summit Ave., North Adams, to Timothy J. Barrett, $173,000.

J3 Properties LLC sold property at 38 Wesleyan St., North Adams, to Daniel J. Tucker and Carrie Clement-Tucker, $182,000.

Anthony E. Randall and Kimberly J. Racine, personal rep. of Claudia Marie Randall, sold property at 364 Richview Ave. Extension, North Adams, to Jennifer Lee Racine, $325,000.

Robert D. and Travis M. Cramer, trustees of Front Street RT, sold property at 47 Front St., North Adams, to Wenninger Family LP, $150,000.

Travis M. Cramer, trustee of Whiteface RT, sold property at 199 Houghton St., North Adams, to Wenninger Family LP, $150,000.

W. Paul Grimshaw sold property at 19 Eagle St., North Adams, to Eugene F. Barry, $100,000.

Otis

David P. and Linda M. Hamill sold property at 23 Tyringham Road, Otis, to Michael J. and Kathryn R. Cohen, $249,000.

Catherine Rubenstein, trustee of the Catherine Rubenstein Living Trust, sold property at Tyringham Road, Otis, to Peter L. Cassidy, $47,900.

Dennis C. and Laura M. Hanahan, trustees of the Dennis C. Hanahan & Laura M. Hanahan Joint RVT, sold property at 51 Pine Grove Ridge, Otis, to Dorothy Markowski, $1,255,000.

Peru

Tina Marie Carter sold property at 22 South Road Extension, Peru, to Bruce L. and Lisa A. Vachon, $11,000.

Town of Peru sold property at 144 Middlefield Road, Peru, to William J. and Sonia J. Bruno, $3,500. Cathryn A. Gilmour sold property at 234 East Windsor Road, Peru, to John M. and Holly J. McCammon, $295,000.

Garnet Mountain Property Management LLC sold property at 4 North Road, Peru, to ABR Estates LLC, $70,000.

Pittsfield

James M. and John K. Woodlock, individually and co-personal representatives of the Estate of Patricia D. Woodlock, sold property at 16 Concord Parkway, Pittsfield, to Tricia Ellen Lewis and Charles Blomquist, $375,000.

David J. and Russell M. Quetti sold property at 109 Sunset St., Pittsfield, to Benjamin J. Gelb, $172,000.

Thomas J. Donohue Jr. and Mary Giulian Donohue, formerly known as Mary L. Giulian, sold property at 526-528 Fenn St., Pittsfield, to Rudy A. Fabian LLC, $125,000.

Melyissa M. Maloy sold property at 47 Peck’s Road, Pittsfield, to Realize Group Inc. 2, $50,000.

Orion Pro Friend ML LLC sold property at 841 Dalton Ave., Pittsfield, to Pittsfield Realty Investments LLC, $1,907,000.

David Rolle sold property at 84 Marian Ave., Pittsfield, to Jeremy Clifford Branstad and Kathryn Teresa Decker, $325,000.

Galo P. Emerson Jr., personal rep. of the Estate of Jo-Ann Hollister Emerson, sold property at 164 Bartlett Ave., Pittsfield, to Wadsworth Capital LLC, $285,000.

Robert J. Galvagni Jr. sold property at 91 Greenwich St., Pittsfield, to David R. Belanger, $220,000.

Norman S. Smoller sold property at 42-44 John St., Pittsfield, to Juan Carlos Parra, $175,000.

Daniel A. Goldstein, personal rep. of the Estate of Steven S. Rosenberg, sold property at 121 Plunkett St., Pittsfield, to Vicente Nivelo, $105,000.

Glenn M. and Donna M. Murphy sold property at 71 Howard St., Pittsfield, to Michele Purcell, $120,000.

Jacques Townsend sold property at 81 Dartmouth St., Unit 209 and G29, Pittsfield, to James Barry, $190,000.

Joseph E. Pasquarelli, personal rep. of the Estate of Stephanie Jane Pasquarelli, sold property at 67 Donna Ave., Pittsfield, to David Alan Tyler Jr., $275,000. Frederick D. Taliaferro sold property at 95 Parker St., Pittsfield, to Tasheona M. Taliaferro, $55,000.

Robert E. Herrick Jr. sold property at 37 Osceola St., Pittsfield, to Jerry A. LaBerteaux and Donald A. Lesure, $80,000.

Jennifer Carmichael, trustee of the Carolyn S. Stewart Trust, sold property at 261-263 Pomeroy Ave., Pittsfield, to Anthony J. Cimini, $90,000.

TJLR Onota LLC sold property at 110-118 Lincoln St., 18-24 Cherry St. & 122-124 Lincoln St., Pittsfield, to RL Real Estate LLC, $20,000.

Arron J. Sondrini and Kelly K. Sondrini, formerly known as Kelly K. Samuels, sold property at 17 Harding St., Pittsfield, to Soumya Aleti, $240,000.

Delto Inc. sold property at 60-62 Richmond Ave., Pittsfield, to Cory Evangelisto, $93,000.

U.S. Bank Trust NA, trustee, and Michael T. McCabe sold property at 56 Perrine Ave., Pittsfield, to Igloo Series III REO LLC, $130,153.68.

G & W Rentals LLC sold property at 549-555 North St., Pittsfield, to I & R Rental Agency LLC, $760,000.

Heather J. Lear, personal rep. of the Estate of Robert S. Lear, sold property at 93 Lenox Ave., Pittsfield, to DUTA Real Estate LLC, $75,000.

Travis T. Blanchard and Alisa J Muniz, formerly known as Alisa J. Blanchard, sold property at 395 Lebanon Ave., Pittsfield, to Liborio W. Scaccia, $112,000.

Lynn A. and Candace H. Germanowski, personal reps. of the Estate of Peter E. Germanowski, sold property at 20 Students Lane, Pittsfield, to Candace H. Germanowski, $62,200.

Michael T. Boyle III and Kniesha M. Tarjick sold property at 146-148 Newell St., Pittsfield, to Florentina Gomez Suescun and Johan Stiglmayr Bernal, $189,000.

Thomas C. Spratlin sold property at 43 Onota St., Pittsfield, to Nicholas J. Mlynarczyk, $150,000.

Ian and Tiffany Roberts sold property at 582 West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, to Maureen Kirby, trustee of the Evans Family Irrevocable Trust, $210,000.

Edward A. and Debra M. Arasimowicz, trustee of the Arasimowicz FT, sold property at 67 Wealthy Ave., Pittsfield, to Kari Ann Mendel, $335,000.

Scott Macdonald, trustee of the Dorothy J. Macdonald 2008 FT, sold property at 25 Taylor St., Pittsfield, to Martha A. Meier, $249,750.

Fiona Macpherson sold property at 70 Donna Ave., Pittsfield, to Matthew J. and Aleah Mazzer, $270,000.

Helen and Sidney Bisgrove sold property at 50 John St., Pittsfield, to LND Investments LLC, $50,000.

Michelle J. O’Brien, personal rep. of the Estate of Marianne Creran, sold property at 100 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, to 786 Holdings LLC, $520,000.

Helen M. and Sidney J. Bisgrove sold property at 46 John St., Pittsfield, to LND Investments LLC, $50,000.

First York Financial LLC sold property at 5 Bentley Terrace, Pittsfield, to Barthelemy Teba, $155,000.

Catherine Mlynarczyk sold property at 24 Onota St., Pittsfield, to Yathalia Cotto, $175,000.

Pasquale and Maria Concetta Pannisco sold property at 25-27 Hamlin St., Pittsfield, to Claudio N. and Jhonny F. Siguencia, $235,000.

Michael B., Robert, Paul, Peter, Timothy J., and James Campoli, Sally Anne Hitt and Suzanne White sold property at Stearns Avenue, Pittsfield, to Nicholas J. Garzone Sr. and Marjorie G. Garzone $2,700. Suzanne L. Halik sold property at 11 Elmhurst Ave., Pittsfield, to Eric D. Shuman, $185,900.

Richmond

Linda Morse and Dorothea Greene, trustees of the Linda Morse RVT and Dorothea Greene RVT, sold property at 161 Rossiter Road, Richmond, to Matthew P. Kulesza and Meghan M. St. John, $735,000. Thomas F. Owens Jr. and C. Jeffrey Cook, trustees of the George F. Rufo Sr. 2006 RVT, sold property at 754 Canaan Road, Richmond, to Joseph A. Pellegrino Jr., $2,044,000.

Robert Arthur Erardy and Eileen Claire Jones sold property at 199 Old Post Road, Richmond, to Jeremy D. Richardson and Marisa F. Cohen, $670,000. Kathy M. Schatz sold property at Oak Road, Richmond, to Skyline Properties Inc., $2,000.

Sandisfield

Janet M. Singer sold property at 7 Mountain Home Lane, Sandisfield, to Stephen E. Rubenstein, trustee of Stephen E. Rubenstein Living Trust, $47,000. Sandra Sergeant sold property at 5 Cronk Road, Sandisfield, to Todd Nigh & Lynn Elliott, $499,900. Mary Ann Gacek sold property at 150 Cold Spring Road, Sandisfield, to Susan Francesconi Edwards, $199,000.

Ariel S. Manacher sold property at 100 Silverbrook Road, Sandisfield, to Adam I. Manacher, $241,667. MTGLQ Investors L.P. sold property at 60 South Beech Plain Road, Sandisfield, to Alexander Morgan Platt and Heyser Patricia Platt, $295,000.

Savoy

Lawrence and Sharon C. Michalenko sold property at 669 Main Road, Savoy, to Thomas Anthony Gamari, $179,900.

Jeffrey Parker and Taffeta White sold property at New State Road, Savoy, to Stephanie Burton-Harris

People in the Berkshires

Chris Melski has been named vice president of residential services, while Erin Manson has been promoted to director of residential services at Berkshire County Arc. Melski, who previously served as co-director of residential services, has worked at Berkshire County Arc for more than 30 years. In his new position. Melski will oversee the director of brain injury services and the director of residential services, which encompasses 43 homes across Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley.

A licensed construction supervisor, Melski will continue to oversee the maintenance of all properties for the agency. He has spearheaded numerous BCArc programs, including the men’s group, which addresses issues around men’s health, social interaction, dating and other related issues.

He began his career at BCArc as a site manager and has also served as the assistant residential coordinator and residential coordinator.

Manson also previously served as co-director of residential services. She will oversee support of the individuals with developmental disabilities living in BCArc’s residential programs. She started her career at BCArc in 2004 as an assistant site manager, and has also served as a supervisor.

Real estate

and Daniel Harris, $65,000.

Richard D. Sawyer sold property at 435 Center Road, Savoy, to Andrew E. McNary, $82,500.

Sheffield

Andrew F. West and Ann M. Brassard sold property at Silver Street, Sheffield, to Nicholas D. Pedretti, $25,000.

Elene R. Galilea sold property at 1720 Home Road, Sheffield, to Karen Triantafilis, $350,000.

John A. James and Katherine G. Ness, co-trustees of John A. James Revocable Trust, sold property at 250 East Main St., Sheffield, to Elise T. Contarsy and Cynthia A. Lynch, $955,450.

Russell H. Funk & Eleanor L. Funk sold property at 440 Polikoff Road, Sheffield, to Jacob William Race, $52,000.

Beatrice M. Zamperini sold property at 90 Cobble Lane East, Sheffield, to Leslie Claus Van Hise, $369,000.

Stockbridge

20 Church Street House LLC sold property at 20 Church St., Stockbridge, to Carl Michael David and Margaret Nihoul Hughes, $565,000.

OK Mass Realty LLC sold property at 1 Elm St., Stockbridge, to Mass Postal Realty Holdings LLC, $888,850.

Mark J. Buffoni, individually and as personal rep. of the Estate of Laura-Lee Buffoni; Meaghan Carlotto and Dylan Buffoni sold property at 4 Mohawk Lake Road, Stockbridge, to Mark J. Buffoni, $200,000.

Karen Elizabeth Sayers sold property at 14 Yake Hill Road, Stockbridge, to Nina L. Aronoff, $700,000.

West Stockbridge

Daniel P. Koval and Krisztina Koval sold property at 290 Great Barrington Road, West Stockbridge, to Joseph R. O’Neil and Patricia S. O’Neil, $695,000. Estate of Jennie May Fadding sold property at 2 Wilson Road, West Stockbridge, to Stacy J. Gill & Debra K. Gill, $480,000.

Williamstown

Keith M. and Bayard S. Davis sold property at

She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in social work from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Suzanne Bateman , Jason Cuyler , Harry “Chip” Moore and Jennifer Vrabel have been elected to Berkshire Community College’s board of trustees. Bateman, a student trustee, is a nontraditional student who is a mother of four and grandmother of nine.

Since 2015, she has owned and operated Autumn’s Bistro, a restaurant and special events business. Previously, she owned and operated Pepe’s Kitchen and was a transportation coordinator for Ace Cab Co. A graduate of August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colo., Bateman is now a business administration student at BCC, where she is active in the Student Government Association.

49 May St., Williamstown, to IRAR Trust Company for the benefit of Louise Palmer Account Number 3602783, $289,000.

Robert J. Cummings sold property at 1587-1589 Green River Road, Williamstown, to Kira K. Guidon, $200,000.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St., Unit 401, Williamstown, to VAH Cable Mills LLC, $875,000.

John P. Gerry and Laura H. Schoenbaum sold property at 20 Meacham St., Williamstown, to Graham K. and Catherine O. Giovanetti, $750,000.

Pamela A. Cadran, personal rep. of James Alexander Renton, sold property at 10 Main St., Williamstown, to 10 Main Street Partners LLC, $175,000.

Bradford W. Baer and Pamela Shapiro Baer, trustees of the Bradford W. Baer and Pamela Shapiro Baer RVT, sold property at 74 Bridges Road, Williamstown, to Franco and Madeline D. DiAddezio, $496,000.

Adrian R. Lafond and Jocelyn B. Torio sold property at 112 South Hemlock Lane, Williamstown, to John and Jean G. McClellan, $303,000.

C. Ondine Chavoya sold property at 65 Jerome Drive, Williamstown, to Benjamin Timothy Grimes and Jan Maghinay Padios, $410,000.

Julie Arnold, personal rep. of D. Janet H. Hopton, sold property at 29 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown, to Zachary R. Wadsworth and Alexander T. Pyper, $577,500.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St, Unit 412, Williamstown, to Robert G. and Sandra H. Sullivan, $895,000. Windsor

Dustin W. Teich sold property at 235 High Street Hill Road, Windsor, to James and Valerie Treadway, $449,900.

Cuyler, a licensed social worker, is the executive director of 2nd Second Chances of Pittsfield, a nonprofit under the direction of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office that connects formerly incarcerated people of Berkshire County with the tools, programs and support they need for reentry into their community.

He has been a case management coordinator for the sheriff’s office for 20 years, is a board member of Hillcrest Educational Centers, Berkshire United Way and the Christian Center, and a member of the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Domestic Violence High Risk Team. Cuyler holds a criminal justice certificate and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Moore, a native of Washington, is executive vice president of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he had previously served as vice president/ controller.

He has also worked for Adams Community Bank and Greylock Federal Credit Union. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Westfield State College, a master’s degree in executive bank management from Babson College, a diploma from the National School of Banking, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland, Adelphi.

Vrabel is the executive director of communications, planning and development at Berkshire Health Systems.

She has previously served as director of development at Berkshire Medical Center, executive director of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire and assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at Williams College. A board member of Downtown Inc., Vrabel holds a bachelor of arts degree in art history from Williams College and is active with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pittsfield.

, Jay

Green , Andy Ottoson and Nyanna L. Slaughter have all been elected to the board of directors of Second Street Second Chances Inc., an organization that supports formerly incarcerated men and women in Berkshire County.

Accetta, a formerly incarcerated person, is a clinician for the acute care services/emergency services program at the Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Use in Pittsfield. After completing Berkshire Community College’s Social Work Transfer Program in 2011, she earned a bachelor of social work degree from Elms College in 2013 and a master of social work degree from Westfield State University’s Advance Standing Program in 2015.

Accetta, who has a hearing disability, has been in substance abuse recovery for 16 years and works per diem as a recovery coach for the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Green is the town administrator for the town of Adams. He has

PEOPLE, Page 22

Kristin Accetta

R.

Melski

Manson

Bateman

Cuyler

Moore Vrabel

Accetta Green

Ottoson

Slaughter

previously served as an assistant district attorney with the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, as chief administrative officer for the city of North Adams, and as district manager of station operations with Amtrak in Albany, N.Y.

He holds a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice from Saint Anselm College, a law degree from Western New England School of Law and a certificate in railroad management from Michigan State University. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Intermittent/Reserve Police Academy.

Ottoson is a senior public health planner at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, overseeing countywide substance use–related initiatives.

He has also worked in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Program at Berkshire Community College and as systems manager at National Association of Drug Abuse Problems focused on moving individuals with substance use disorders into self-sufficiency. He also has served as a producer/director in theater and opera in New York City and elsewhere.

Slaughter is the Central Massachusetts regional director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and treasurer of the Berkshire Black Economic Council.

A former Pittsfield School Committee member, Slaughter has held multiple supervisory roles working with children, including positions as coordinator and co-director of Pittsfield’s Marilyn Hamilton Sports and Literacy Program. She holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice for investigative services from the University of New Haven and a master’s degree in business administration from Fitchburg State University.

Realtor Danielle “Dani”

Giulian has joined William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty’s brokerage in Lenox. The Pittsfield resident, who has a background in sales and finance, became a Realtor in 2019 after first entering the industry in a support role four years before.

Giulian serves on the board of directors of the Multiple Listing Service and is a member of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors’ government and affairs committee.

“I am excited to welcome Dani to the firm and to our brokerage, where her passion for real estate and the community will be a key differentiator,” said Stephanie McNair, brokerage manager for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Lenox. “I know our clients throughout the region will benefit significantly from her dedication, organization and highly responsive approach to client service.”

Lisa Dent has been appointed director of public programs at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the first person in the museum’s nearly 25-year history to hold that position.

Dent comes to Mass MoCA from Artspace New Haven in Connecticut, where she had been executive director since 2020. Previously, she led public programs and business development at Powerhouse Arts, led the artist services department at Creative Capital, and was associate curator of contemporary art at Columbus Museum of Art. She also founded Lisa Dent Gallery in San

Francisco,

In her new role, Dent will oversee public programming that amplifies and enhances Mass MoCA’s visual and performing arts offerings through programs in creative and cultural practices often found outside of exhibition-making and performance presentations, building upon long-standing partnerships with local, regional, and national organizations in authoring new initiatives.

Dent holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Howard University, and a master’s degree in fine arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

She has completed the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program in curatorial studies, has served on several juries and committees, and is currently a board member of Black Lunch Table.

Jason “Jay” Nocher, broker/owner of Nocher Realty, has been elected 2023 president of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors.

Nocher has been practicing real estate since 2013 and became a licensed broker three years later.

He has served on the Berkshire County Board Realtors for several years, on the MLS task force for land and commercial property listings, and as a member of the board’s personnel, finance, professional standard and nominating committees. He represented the board at the 2022 midyear legislative meetings in Washington, D.C.

A resident of Adams, Nocher also serves on the town’s finance and capital planning committees.

He has been the owner and manager of multiple business ventures in the Berkshires. Nocher Realty,

which marked its fifth anniversary Feb. 5, has offices in Adams, Great Barrington and Pittsfield.

Wendy Healey has been named executive director of Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Lenox. Healey, who lives in Colebrook, Conn., has previously been a management consultant and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in banking, financial technology and marketing.

She has also served on WAM Theater’s board of directors since 2018, most recently as board president, and also chairs its governing committee.

She is a founding member of the Inclusive Economic Innovation Group, a think tank that seeks equitable solutions to systemic economic racism, and has served on the board of directors of BerkShares, the local currency of the Berkshires.

She has been involved with local chambers of commerce her entire career, and served as the first woman president of the Avon, Conn., Chamber of Commerce.

Healey holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from the University of Connecticut.

Greylock Federal Credit Union has promoted Jennifer Connor-Shumsky to assistant vice president, community support and events; and Mark Kaley to vice president,

PEOPLE, Page 23

Giulian

Dent

Nocher

Healey

Connor-Shumsky

contact center.

ConnorShumsky is now responsible for sponsorships and community support and manages Greylock’s Quality Time Club, high school scholarship program and the new mentorship program. She joined Greylock almost five years ago, bringing 27 years of expertise as a development professional with Community Health Programs and the Berkshire United Way.

She serves on the steering committee of the 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program, and is an active volunteer with PEO Chapter L of Pittsfield and Salvation Army of Hudson, and has a long history with Berkshire County UCP. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and lives in Great Barrington.

Kaley joined Greylock in 2008 as the manager of the contact center. He now oversees a team of 12 employees who handle every incoming call to Greylock as well as provide internal and external support for online banking inquiries.

He coaches his children’s sports teams and is a high school basketball and soccer official in Berkshire County.

A Dalton resident, Kaley serves on the Robert “Boog” Powell Memorial Fund committee and is a member of Wahconah Country Club

Connor-Shumsky and Kaley also work on Greylock’s employee United Way campaigns and organize workplace events and fundraisers with Ann Palmer.

Anthony V.

Hayes has been named president and CEO of WMHT Public Media. He becomes the sixth person, and first African American, to lead WMHT since its inception in 1953. He replaces Robert Altman, who is retiring after 15 years as president and CEO of WMHT.

Hayes most recently served as chief operating officer and general manager of New England Public Media in Springfield, Mass. He was instrumental in the merger of public television station WGBY-TV, which he led as general manager, with New England Public Radio to create NEPM.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Hayes has also served as senior vice president for engagement at Connecticut Public Broadcasting in Hartford, and held positions in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Va.

Hayes is currently an elected member of the board of trustees of America’s Public Television Stations, a national nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system, and a member of the Association of Black Business & Professionals.

Immigration attorney Susan Cohen and television producer Jennifer Seelig have joined the board of directors of Berkshire HorseWorks Inc.

Cohen is a nationally recognized immigration lawyer who has played an instrumental role in shaping both federal and

state regulation for over 30 years. She recently became a best-selling author with the publication of “Journeys from There to Here.”

She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and resides in both Boston and Becket.

Seelig was a producer at Fox News Channel for over a decade and served as deputy director of media affairs for Jon Kasich’s Presidential Campaign in 2016.

She has an extensive background working with national news organizations including NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, BuzzFeed, and the Huffington Post.

Currently, she is a podcaster inchief of Podcast PR Pro and the CEO of its parent company, Orion Public Relations.

BHW has also received a firsttime grant of $5,000 from the Scott Fujioka Fund for scholarships for its Ranch Life 101 program and other equine-assisted learning initiatives.

Dr. Mark J. Sterling , a board certified and fellowship trained gastroenterologist, has been appointed to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center and the provider staff of Gastroenterology Professional Services of BMC, according to Berkshire Health Systems.

He previously worked at Tufts Medical Center for six years. He has served as director of endoscopic ultrasound at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, and as chief of gastrointestinal endoscopy and director of gastroenterology service at UMDNJ-University Hospital in Newark, N.J.

Sterling is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, and fellowship trained in gastroenterology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center/Faulkner Hospital in Boston, and in advanced endoscopy/gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

He received his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester.

Melissa Mazzeo and her daughter, Mia Mazzeo , have joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeService Barnbrook Realty as Realtor associates.

Melissa Mazzeo served on the Pittsfield City Council for 10 years, which included a stint as council president under former Mayor Daniel Bianchi.

She also ran for mayor in 2019.

Born and raised in the Berkshires, Mia Mazzeo has an extensive background in the food industry and runs the family’s restaurant, Mazzeo’s Ristorante in Pittsfield, with her father, Anthony.

Melissa will apply her recently earned Massachusetts Real Estate Salesperson license to residential sales throughout the Berkshire County market.

Mia, who already has several years of licensed real estate sales experience, will be adding her real estate and market knowledge to the new mother/daughter team.

Barnbrook Realty, established in 1976, has offices in Great Barrington, Lenox and Pittsfield.

Aaron Gordon , of Lenox, has

been named director of finance and operations at Miss Hall’s School. He will work with senior administrators and the school’s board of trustees to ensure fiscally responsible and mission-aligned decision-making.

His role will include overseeing all financial and operating functions, including budgeting, financial reporting, monitoring investment accounts, and campus services.

Gordon has extensive experience in nonprofit finance, higher education administration, strategic planning, student and residential life, and operations, having most recently served as director of student administrative affairs, strategy and planning at Williams College.

He joined Williams in 2005 as assistant director of campus life-residential programs.

In 2011, he was named director of divisional business affairs. Gordon served in that role until June 2020, when the division merged with the division of the dean of the college.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in classical archaeology and ancient history, Gordon also holds an MBA from Clarkson University Graduate School.

Miguel Silva has been promoted to director of tutoring at the Literacy Network of South Berkshire.

Silva, who joined LitNet in 2021, formerly served as the organization’s learner liaison.

In his new role, under the direction of Executive Director Leigh Doherty, Silva will oversee the enrollment of all new tutors and will serve as support for LitNet’s existing 140 plus volunteer tutors.

He will retain his responsibilities as also being the point of contact for LitNet’s 160 active learners, the majority of whom are immigrants seeking English language instruction.

Silva, a native of Colombia who moved to the Berkshires at age 10, taught Spanish at Berkshire Country Day School before joining LitNet. He is certified in teaching English to speakers of other language.

Dr. Yagya Tiwari , a board certified and fellowship trained Infectious disease specialist, has been appointed by Berkshire Health Systems to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center and the provider staff of Berkshire Internists of BMC.

Tiwari comes to the Berkshires from New Bedford Community Health Center, where he served as an infectious disease and internal medicine provider since 2018.

His clinical interests include antimicrobial stewardship, complex lung and abdominal infections, and viral infections.

He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease and was fellowship trained in infectious disease at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in New York.

He received his medical degree from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, and completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

BIC Presents Event Recycled Materials Innovations

Consumer demand for sustainability is rising. Environmentally sustainable innovations are needed in material sourcing, manufacturing procedures, and basic chemistry to improve recylability and safety and reduce cost and dependence on carbon materials in the consumer goods industries. Join our panel of experts helping to lead the charge to innovation-driven consumer goods.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

5:00 - 8:00 PM Berkshire Innovation Center 45 Woodlawn Avenue, Pittsfield

In-person and live-streamed Free and open to the public

Hayes

Cohen

Seelig

Sterling

Melissa Mazzeo

Mia Mazzeo

Gordon

Silva

Tiwari

Kaley

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