Outlook 2021

Outlook 2021 J

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| SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

CONFRONTING THE PANDEMIC AND MOVING FORWARD

Baystate’s Dr. Esteban Del PilarMorales gets his COVID vaccination.

Recovery &reinvention

(BAYSTATE HEALTH PHOTO)

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Machinist David Labucki works on a part at Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

hen the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shut down our world in March, everything changed: Scores of employees in a wide range of businesses began working remotely; manufacturers looked to pivot their product lines to help supply personal protective equipment for the front lines of the pandemic; shuttered restaurants strove to find safe ways to make and deliver food to the public; funeral homes needed to transform how we grieve our lost loved ones; virtual open houses helped Realtors market their inventory; online learning took center stage for colleges and universities; health care providers ratcheted up telehealth services; and the list goes on.

Western Massachusetts is no stranger to ingenuity and innovation over the centuries, and the pandemic has prompted the region’s businesses and

industries, nonprofits, colleges and uni- mother not only of invention but also of versities, and health care institutions reinvention in the face of COVID-19. to rise to the challenges we continue The pandemic continues, but as to face. Necessity has proven to be the vaccinations roll out there appears to be

light at the end of the tunnel. A “new” normal is emerging. Lessons learned amid the pandemic are becoming embedded in that normalcy of life in 2021.

(HCC PHOTO)

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

At left, Wonderlyn Murphy, a native of Springfield, is president and CEO of City Enterprise Inc. The company is one of the few women-owned and -led construction firms in the state.

At center, cannabidiol products in the foreground are used to make cookies during a cannabis culinary assistant training course early last spring at the HCC-MGM Culinary Arts Institute.

At right, Chase Boisseau, left, and Avel Vdovichenko work in the machine shop at Westfield Technical Academy.

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Manufacturing  MassMutual  Building & Construction  MGM Springfield  Basketball Hall of Fame  Springfield Museums

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Education  Banking & finance  Entrepreneurship  Insurance  Small business  World of work  Manufacturing  Retail

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Agriculture  Health care  Nursing  Hospitals  Retail  Marijuana  Big Y  Business success stories

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Entertainment  Food & dining  Craft brewing  Gambling  Automotive  Tourism  Real estate  Transportation  Energy

J2 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Crisis presents opportunity to be better than ever

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Richard Sullivan

HEN I WORKED for Gov. Deval Patrick and we were faced with managing a crisis or natural disaster he would be clear that we had two missions: manage through the crisis taking care of the people impacted and each other; and take advantage of the opportunity that the crisis presented to emerge

smarter and better than when we started.

I think of that principle often these days as we, as a community, state and country have had to manage through the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have come together to combat the virus, we have witnessed heroes in action at our hospitals, schools, grocery stores, delivery services and

our first responder services.

We have worn masks, stayed distanced from friends and family, missed celebrating milestones and saying final goodbyes to loved ones. Companies have been creative and innovative in order to survive and we have shopped local to support our small and neighborhood businesses.

Together, as a regional

community, we are managing through the crisis, and, with the talent of our medical community and the development of a vaccine, we will soon emerge on the other side.

I believe we can emerge from the crisis in an economically better place than when the pandemic started. The pandemic laid bare the importance of work-life balance,

quality of life and community.

It also caused businesses to reassess how they operate, for some working from home can be effective and efficient and provide a work environment that employees appreciate.

Supply chains are being evaluated, and there may be less desire or need to cram back into the large commer-

SEE SULLIVAN, PAGE J19

“Supply chains are being evaluated, and there may be less desire or need to cram back into the large commercial spaces of Boston, New York or other major cities. These are the opportunities that I believe the pandemic has presented to the Western Massachusetts region.”

RICHARD K. SULLIVAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

Creativity, connectivity and compassion are essential

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stage of the Pioneer Valley’s HIS TIME LAST year, Western Massa- evolution, we can’t simply chusetts was focused go back to the way things on continuing its were. We must recognize that incredible momentum. Entre- some developments – from preneurs were launching new vast digital acceleration to a ventures, long-term investlong-overdue reckoning with ments were bearing fruit and systemic racism – will, rightly, public-private partnerships be with us for a long time. So, were helping address key we must summon the same challenges we faced. sense of resourcefulness and And then, COVID-19 focus that got us through brought every2020 to dething to a standvelop creative still, inflicting solutions, build pain and hardnew connecship throughout tions and, our community. most of all, Even now, as demonstrate we see a light compassion in at the end of every decision the tunnel, we we make. know so many At MassMutual, for are still strugRoger Crandall gling. example, we I’m hopeful were proud to that the rollout of vaccines help the Community Founwill slow infection rates, save dation of Western Massachusetts launch its COVID-19 lives and increase employment. But this past year Response Fund, but knew we has also opened our eyes to could do more to aid the pandemic response. Our purpose other ways that we can – and must – emerge from this crisis is to help people secure their future and protect the ones stronger than before.

As we approach this next they love, and we wanted to

“For the people of the Pioneer Valley, compassion and resilience are never in short supply. This region has seen tough days before and chose to reinvent every time. It’s something MassMutual shares with our home community – a history of responding with strength and hope in times of crisis. Together, we’ll once again chart a new way forward,” says Roger Crandall, chairman and CEO of MassMutual. Here, the flag in Springfield’s Riverfront Park waves in the afternoon breeze over the city’s 9-11 memorial. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

provide our health care heroes with the peace of mind of financial protection. Employees at places like Baystate and Mercy Hospital were working incredibly hard to keep our community safe and healthy, at tremendous personal sacrifice.

SEE CRANDALL, PAGE J19

“Our purpose is to help people secure their future and protect the ones they love, and we wanted to provide our health care heroes with the peace of mind of financial protection. Employees at places like Baystate and Mercy Hospital were working incredibly hard to keep our community safe and healthy, at tremendous personal sacrifice.”

Roger Crandall, chairman, president and CEO, MassMutual

In January, the state released a final rail study showing enhanced passenger east-west rail service could attract 278,000 to 469,000 riders per year. Here, riders board a passenger train at Union Station in Springfield.

TRANSPORTATION

East-west rail service reaches important junction to future Pandemic year saw 50% traffic drop at Union Station

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By JIM KINNEY

jkinney@repub.com

bout half as many bus and train passengers pass through Springfield’s Union Station now compared with traffic prior to the emergence of COVID-19 last year.

Transportation boosters and elected officials – including U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who spearheaded the $103 million rehab of the century-old station – are looking beyond the pandemic as they see a moment of opportunity for the long -awaited expansion of passenger rail service through Springfield to include east-west service from Boston through Worcester, Springfield and to Pittsfield with stops along the way.

Neal has said repeatedly a large-scale infrastructure bill that would include rail is the only way to grow the economy out of the post-pandemic recession. Now, with President

“(The $50 million in the state budget for east-west rail) is a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start. And it could begin the design process.”

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Eric P. Lesser, state senator, 1st Hampden & Hampshire District

Joseph R. Biden Jr., a passenger rail fan nicknamed “Amtrak Joe,” in the White House, and Pete Buttigieg, who is amenable to big projects is the new federal transportation secretary, the outlook is improving. Even the state – long a holdout in the east-west rail push – seems more amenable to moving forward.

The east-west train project has the potential to solve eastern Massachusetts’ housing crisis, says state Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow. It’ll link a less expensive housing market in Western Massachusetts with the burgeoning jobs market in the east, a concept that’s already earned the backing of the Boston City Council, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall.

“People are leaving Massachusetts because they can’t afford to live here,” Lesser says.

In January, the state released a final rail study showing enhanced passenger rail service could attract 278,000

to 469,000 riders per year.

The cost for extensive track upgrades would range from $2.4 billion and $4.6 billion.

At that ridership and cost, the project doesn’t meet guidelines for federal funding.

Authors of the state report acknowledged they are likely missing some important data.

That includes the potentially transformative economic and demographic impacts and benefits of a rail line connecting cities like Springfield and Pittsfield to Boston. And, it doesn’t include the changes in behavior spurred by the arrival of rail.

In addition, the report doesn’t use ridership numbers from big cities with burgeoning tech sectors – Boston or San Francisco and the Silicon Valley – with outlying suburbs like Portland, Maine, or Stockton, California, The study also doesn’t examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, the rise in working from home.

The state’s new $16 billion SEE RAIL, PAGE J14

Thank Goodness It’s

2021!

“You too can be part of our post COVID-19 vision and momentum of good economic development initiatives in Springfield.”

“Let the Springfield pride, power and resiliency translate into your business prosperity needs.”

Respectfully, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno Office of Planning and Economic Development 70 Tapley Street Springfield, MA 01104 (413) 787-6020 Mon.-Fri. 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J3

Great things happen when we work together.

Now, more than ever.

For the last 170 years, we have proudly supported creativity and innovation in our business community, and look forward to helping Springfield continue its legacy as the ‘City of Firsts’ in this New Year.

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Insurance products issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual®), Springfield, MA 01111, and its affiliated US insurance companies. Securities offered through MM Investors Services, LLC, Member SIPC® and a MassMutual subsidiary. CRN202301-276394 © 2021 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual®), Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved. www.MassMutual.com.

J4 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

TRADE WAR HINDERED CRRC’S SCHEDULED DELIVERY TO MBTA Eric P. Lesser

Reimagine life, work as we knew it

Hakeem McCoy, a volunteer in the York Street Industries manufacturing training program, works on a wooden chair while, from left, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and carpentry instructor John Turowsky look on. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

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AST SPRING, SIMPLE assumptions we all made about life were shattered. As COVID-19 flew around the globe, it landed with ferocity here in Massachusetts.

Nearly a year later, we remain one of the hardest hit states. Over 11,000 dead, over 300,000 infected. Vaccine distribution is giving us hope, but we also remember the refrigerated morgue trucks, the bodies piled up in our nursing homes and the nurses begging for gloves and protective glasses.

We all know this virus has created the worst public health crisis in a century. But there is a second crisis, sideby-side with the health crisis: an economic catastrophe unmatched since the Great Depression. As always, it will be the ingenuity, creativity and commitment of our local community that will chart a stronger future and a future of recovery.

This virus has been hard on everyone, no doubt, everyone is at their wits end. But many professionals can continue working from home through their laptops. Meanwhile, half of low-income workers at our small businesses have lost their jobs. The challenges are even more pronounced in our black and brown communities. In Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke, where the COVID-19 infection rates are the highest, we’ve seen the lines at our food pantries.

Income for tipped workers like restaurant servers, has declined as much as 80% and as many as 95% of Black- and brown-owned businesses didn’t have access to federal Payroll Protection Program loans.

This virus will be remembered for a lot of things, that’s for sure. But perhaps its longest lasting legacy will be hyper-charging the greatest concentration of wealth in American history.

Some say our economy was doing great before the crisis, that if we flatten the curve and get back to normal, all will be OK. But we know otherwise.

There were deeply unfair and unjust trends in our economy long before COVID-19. The virus hyper-charged those trends, it didn’t create them.

So just getting back to normal cannot be our goal. Frankly, normal wasn’t delivering for Western Massachusetts anyway.

Our region has truly risen to the occasion throughout the course of the pandemic with innovative and community-based solutions. When I visited one of our Boys & Girls Clubs this fall, I walked into the gym expecting to see a basketball or kickball game, and what I saw instead was rows of socially-distanced desks so that our kids have a safe place to participate in remote learning. The Urban League in Springfield has also adapted by offering virtual programming, remote learn-

SEE LESSER, PAGE J14

This past December, the Ludlow Senior Center was distributing over 600 meals a week with 60% of participants being new to the program.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority staff operate one of the new Red Line cars made

by CRRC in China. The Red Line cars are assembled in Springfield. (MBTA PHOTO)

MANUFACTURING

Rail car maker looks to get back on track

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By Jim Kinney

jkinney@repub.com

he Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority promised its riders they’d see new Red Line cars built by CRRC MA in Springfield by the end of 2020, and the transit system delivered.

With less than a day to spare.

That’s par for the course for Chinese-owned manufacturer, where work to replace aging Red Line and Orange Line cars is still about a year behind schedule. Problems with equipment, supplies and the workforce began even before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted both operations at the Springfield factory and its supply chain, which stretches back to China.

Mechanical problems, included noise coming from the undercarriage and trouble with doors, cropped up on Orange Line cars already in service in Greater Boston in late 2019.

The first MBTA Orange Line cars built by CRRC in Springfield went into service in 2019. (MBTA PHOTO)

buying time for CRRC when lawmakers wanted to bar it from getting any federal transportation money.

“I think that they are probably going to get a more careful introspection on the use of tariffs,” Neal says. “I think that the review needs to be comprehensive and it needs to be robust.”

Neal feels China still faces criticism about unfair trade practices.

“They use economic means and in some cases the threat of military might in Hong Kong to expand their economic interests,” he says.

That’s why agreements like the new North American

‘In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity’

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HIS PAST YEAR, the world was turned upside down. With the coronavirus pandemic causing a devastating public health emergency and a severe economic depression, our lives changed overnight, we lost loved ones and we had to quickly adapt to “the new normal.”

However, in these dark moments, I found great hope in my colleagues in Washington and our tireless work to bring real, meaningful, expedited support to Americans across our country. I also found great hope in all of you – the constituents that I am honored to represent here in the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts.

In our nation’s capital, my colleagues and I got to work in earnest at the onset of this pandemic in late February to provide immediate relief in uncertain times. Under my leadership, the House Ways and Means Committee contributed central provisions to a series of COVID-19 relief bills that helped unemployed

Richard E. Neal workers stay afloat, families remain in their homes, small businesses keep employees on the payroll, and first responders access the protective gear they need to stay safe.

Families needed urgent assistance to cope with unexpected job loss and to guarantee that their children had the tools they needed to learn remotely. We were able to provide and expand pandemic-related unemployment assistance, ensuring that beneficiaries who are unable to return safely to work will not exhaust their benefits before March 14.

And although my bill, the SEE NEAL, PAGE J14

“Lessons learned from overcommitting and under delivering based on an under-trained work force. Unfortunately, the MBTA paid the price for that.”

Vince Conti, CRRC

Vince Conti, CRRC MA’s director of business administration, acknowledges the issues.

“Lessons learned from overcommitting and under delivering based on an under-trained work force,” he says. “Unfortunately, the MBTA paid the price for that.”

Add to that a fraught trade relationship between the U.S. and China, one that deteriorated over the last four years.

The Trump administration slapped 25% tariffs on rail cars and parts as some in Washington complained that the Chinese, by establishing CRRC here, were trying to destroy international competitors.

CRRC says it looks forward to a brighter 2021 with new leadership in Washington, more and better-trained workers and a smoother supply chain as it ramps up production not just for the MBTA but also for Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Change will come under the Biden administration, says U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield. Last year Neal brokered a deal

trade pact and a multilateral trade deal with the European Union are important. And so is the American relationship with China.

“It’s the most important bilateral consideration in the world,” says Neal, who campaigned last summer in part on having saved CRRC jobs.

He chairs the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tariffs.

“There are examples, like CRRC, where the relationship works.”

“It’s an extraordinary investment that was made on Page Boulevard,” he says.

“So many people have fond memories of Westinghouse.”

Westinghouse had a plant on the site from 1915 through 1970.

Conti says CRRC is improving things inside its mammoth plant, which began production in 2018.

The company has adjusted its schedules to work with suppliers and bring in new materials, materials that will avoid quality control problems that have plagued production over the past few years.

SEE CRRC, PAGE J18

The past year has been filled with many trials and tribulations, but I have hope for 2021. As we continue to make progress on additional COVID legislation to support and sustain families and businesses across western and central Massachusetts, I am inspired by so many who have reinvented themselves and their companies to support those who need it most.

I stand ready to work closely with the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that the COVID recovery plan succeeds and that our nation can finally recover from this crisis.

As always, I am proud to champion these initiatives as Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means and act as your voice in Washington. I am grateful for your continued support.

Congressman Richard Neal

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J5

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OUTLOOK 2021

J6 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

In Seussian-style, museums are ‘off to Great Places’ “During the coming year, we will continue to advance our efforts to be an educational resource for ever-broader audiences.”

KAY SIMPSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS

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Kay Simpson

PRINGFIELD’S NAtive son and beloved children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel published his last book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” in 1990.

Geisel stated that the book’s theme was “limitless horizons and hope” and that he wrote it to encourage readers of all ages to navigate the maze of life with determination and courage.

At one point, after making progress on his journey, the protagonist of the story travels through “weirdish wild space,” headed to a “most useless place. The Waiting Place…” Since the onset of the pandemic, it has felt at times

In August, to honor the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, area women portrayed Black suffragists and did readings to honor the journey of women’s suffrage during an event on the steps of the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts at the Springfield Museums, left. At right, Braeden Dion, of Springfield, plays with his 2-year-old son, Monte, inside The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in July. (DON TREEGER, HOANG’ LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTOS)

that we have all been in “The Waiting Place.”

We have waited to reopen the economy, waited for the development of vaccines and

we will continue to wait for the world to go back to normal. Now, at long last, it looks like recovery is in sight and, we can both regain our mo-

mentum and forge ahead on a path of growth and expansion.

As we emerge from the “Waiting Place,” the Springfield Museums are uniquely

poised to lift audiences and promote economic revitalization through tourism and community collaborations.

Our historic museum build-

ings’ collections that encompass art, history and science, spacious landscaped grounds and the outdoor Dr. Seuss

SEE SIMPSON, PAGE J18

ENTERTAINMENT & TOURISM

Hoop hall ready to bounce back

John Regan

Reimagined workplace is catalyst for changes

2 enshrinement ceremonies, grand reopening set in coming months

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By Ron Chimelis

rchimelis@repub.com

very year is eventful at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but 2021 will be doubly so.

“We will have two enshrinement ceremonies, one in May for our 2020 class, and one in September for the Class of 2021. We have already booked the MassMutual Center for the September event,” says John L. Doleva, the hoop hall’s president and CEO.

“We are excited at what the hall of fame will be able to offer and look forward to having basketball fans and tourists find out what we’ve added to make their experience more memorable and fun.”

JOHN L. DOLEVA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is looking forward to a busy 2021 with two enshrinement ceremonies planned and a grand opening to celebrate its major transformation completed over the past two years. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

One of the new exhibits at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honors the athletes who have fought for racial equality and justice. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

No one can be sure how this year will unfold, though Doleva is hopeful that as months pass and vaccines are distributed, the coronavirus pandemic will abate.

Consolidating the 2020 and 2021 enshrinement ceremonies into one event was an option, but Doleva says separate events – the first at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the second back in the city of basketball’s birth – is clearly the correct call.

“Each enshrinement is a responsibility, but it is also economically important to us. It’s our biggest fundraiser,” he says. “But there were other reasons, too. We believe each class of inductees deserves its own recognition.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that when an incoming class arrives, they don’t always know one another at first, but by the end of the weekend, they’re friends with a common bond and they stay in

touch. I really like that part.”

Once saddled by debt and facing an uncertain future, the hall of fame enters 2021 in good shape, certainly compared to many other tourist destinations. There was economic pain, to be sure, but it could have been worse.

“Our attendance is 35 to

40% of the previous year, but that’s not bad, compared to other businesses,” Doleva says. “Our capital fund drive had just finished, and we surpassed our goal, so that helps, too.”

The capital fundraising campaign’s initial goal of

SEE HALL, PAGE J17

Signs promoting social distancing due to COVID-19 can be seen throughout the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

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HE UPHEAVAL OF 2020 changed almost everything about the way we live and work.

It was a year that altered the economy, the workplace, health care, manufacturing supply chains and transportation. It affected schools, government, family life, shopping patterns, the housing market, race relations and social interactions.

But as we look to 2021 with a mixture of caution and hope, we are left to ask, “Are we forever changed?”

Did the year of COVID-19, the recession and a national reckoning on race permanently shift our economic and social foundations or merely change our habits temporarily as part of a grand detour around multiple crises?

Let’s ask ourselves: • Will millions of workers who have successfully done their jobs from home return to the office – or is the future of business now indelibly written across Teams and Zoom boxes? And what does that mean for companies and their need to occupy office space or build new buildings?

• What about the twothirds of American workers whose jobs do not permit them to work remotely? Will their physical workplaces be forever socially distanced, separated by temperature scans, nasal swabs and plexiglass?

• Have public-facing industries such as travel, tourism, hotels, sports and fine arts been forever altered by changing public attitudes about gathering in groups? Will 65,000 fans again pack Gillette Stadium? Will audiences return to enjoy the Springfield Symphony Orchestra?

• In a year in which COVID-19 shone a disconcerting light on institutional racism in our communities, our health-care system, and our businesses, will society at long last restructure a system that has left millions on the outside looking in?

• Has the ongoing shift of retail buying to online platforms passed the point of no return among customers who continue to point and click SEE REGAN, PAGE J18

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J7

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ALLIED HEATING & ROOFING AIR CONDITIONING 101 Circuit Avenue, W. Springfield, MA 01089 H & R HOME REMODELING, INC. (413) 732-5599 2345 Boston Road, Wilbraham, MA 01095 (413) 589-0553 / (413) 283-4444 HOME ADDITIONS/ (508) 347-7002 GARAGES www.HandRHomes.com H & R HOME REMODELING, INC. NESCOR 2345 Boston Road, Wilbraham, MA 01095 148 Doty Circle, (413) 589-0553 / (413) 283-4444 W. Springfield, MA 01089 (508) 347-7002 (413) 739-4333 www.HandRHomes.com www.nescornow.com

HOME HEALTH CARE

PHILIP BEAULIEU & SON HOME IMPROVEMENT 1594 Dwight Street, Holyoke, MA 01040 CARING SOLUTIONS, LLC 217 Grattan Street, Stay at home...We can help (413) 533-3000 131 Elm Street, W. Springfield, MA 01089 Chicopee, MA 01020 www.AmericanRugAndFlooring.com (413) 592-1498 (413) 733-5588 www.Caring-Solutions.com GENERAL CONTRACTORS AMERICAN RUG

HOME IMPROVEMENT H & R HOME REMODELING, INC. 2345 Boston Road, Wilbraham, MA 01095 PHILIP BEAULIEU & SON (413) 589-0553 / (413) 283-4444 HOME IMPROVEMENT (508) 347-7002 217 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 www.HandRHomes.com (413) 592-1498

1023 Page Boulevard, Springfield, MA 01104 (413) 734-8898 www.davestruckrepairinc.net

WINDOWS NESCOR 148 Doty Circle, W. Springfield, MA 01089 (413) 739-4333 www.nescornow.com PHILIP BEAULIEU & SON HOME IMPROVEMENT 217 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 (413) 592-1498 WINDOW WORLD OF WESTERN MASS., INC. Hampton Ponds Plaza, 1029 North Road, Westfield, MA 01085 (413) 485-7335 www.WindowWorldofSpringfield.com

If you are a member of the Better Business Bureau and would like to be listed on this page call (413) 788-1165.

J8 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“Sports betting is an amenity that Bay Staters have been requesting since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal prohibition in 2018.”

CHRIS KELLEY, PRESIDENT, MGM RESORTS’ NORTHEAST GROUP

Donna Haghighat

Chris Kelley

Pandemic inspires mothers of equitable re-invention

MGM story ‘remains early in writing’

I

M

GM SPRINGfield stands hand in hand with the Springfield community, our local partners, team members, and guests during this time of unprecedented challenges. As we turn the page, we approach the future with optimism.

The Foundation is Strong: Often the way forward begins with a look back. Prior to the pandemic, MGM Springfield was actively learning a new market and incorporating customer feedback and preferences into our resort experience. These are natural steps for a new property in a new market.

The property team focused on driving out-of-state gaming revenue, providing good jobs to local residents and generating new spending and investment beyond our resort.

An economic impact report released in November by the University of Massachusetts demonstrates the true success of that effort.

In our first year of operations, 40% of our visitors came from out of state and

MGM Springfield marked its second anniversary in August. Chris Kelley, president of MGM Resorts’ Northeast Group, says the casino is approaching 2021 with optimism as the state’s economy continues to reopen. MGM resumed 24-hour operations in late January. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

72% of gambling spending and 61.7% of nongaming spending at our resort was new to Massachusetts. In total, MGM Springfield generated $101.5 million in tax payments to support everything from local aid and public safety to economic development and transportation.

MGM Springfield has driven new customers to other local businesses as well, with 60% of off-site patron spending new to Massachusetts.

This economic engine helped jumpstart the redevelopment of downtown Spring-

field. It began with our nearly $1 billion investment, the largest private investment in the city’s history and continues today. The transformation of our site helped unlock the potential of the surrounding area, including 31 Elm Street, the new MassMutual Center garage, the new CVS on Main Street and Wahlburgers – all projects either directly, or indirectly supported by MGM Springfield.

New development brought Gamblers wearing face masks return to the slot machines as new jobs and opportunities MGM Springfield reopened in July after four months of being for local residents. When we

SEE KELLEY, PAGE J12 shuttered by COVID-19. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

N LATE APRIL, WE predicted that women would lead the way through the pandemic. We have seen this play out on the world stage and right here in Western Massachusetts as women lead various industries and play critical roles in the response to COVID-19. These less-known innovators are responding to the call by reinventing how they work and leading the recovery effort.

In mid-March, Julia Coffey saw trouble when the largest customers of Mycoterra Farm went remote, including the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Mount Holyoke College.

Coffey quickly realized that she, like many other farmers, were likely to be devastated in the subsequent months.

Using her 10 years of business experience and contacts at farmer’s markets across the state, she quickly pulled together the beginnings of MassFoodDeliv ery.com, a comprehensive online ordering and delivery system that brings Massachusetts residents produce and more from local farms SEE HAGHIGHAT, PAGE J10

THE RETURN OF MANUFACTURING Job Creation • Education & Training • Building Partnerships It’s Not Just a Job It’s a Career.

CRRC MA MANUFACTURING FACILITY

A key player in the local economy.

3147087-01

www.crrcma.com

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J9

2020’s ‘hard-learned lessons’ help define future

A Kimberly H. Robinson

LMOST 60 YEARS AGO, the American people were riveted by the news unfolding from Cuba of the discovery of Soviet-built missile sites a mere 90 miles from our country’s shore. That same year, in 1962, the inaugural corps of regional planners hired to

serve in the newly established Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) got to work determining and addressing the region’s challenges – both present and future: a task that few had the capacity, imagination or mandate to undertake.

And so it was again in 2020, as

COVID-19 swept across our country that the committed public servants of the PVPC got to work finding ways to provide immediate relief and support to the 43 cities and towns of Hampden and Hampshire Counties, while diving deeper into the lasting implications of this virus, in conjunction with the

year’s clarion calls for racial equality and renewed push for climate action, on our valley.

In short order, PVPC partnered with the state Department of Public Health to distribute funding to municipal boards of health across the region

SEE ROBINSON, PAGE J16

“Medical Reserve Corps Units in Hampden County – housed out of the PVPC – worked tirelessly to support our region’s beleaguered public health and health care institutions.”

KIMBERLY H. ROBINSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PIONEER VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION

MANUFACTURING

Inside the headquarters of Maybury Material Handling in East Longmeadow, Jeff Wilson, left, fills a parts order. At center, shop foreman Foster Leavitt works on a forklift, with service technician Alina Brydan at right. Maybury is a distributor for approximately 1,300 manufacturers. The company maintained operations throughout the pandemic and continues to recruit new workers to join its team. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

Getting things where they need to go Material handling firm is key link in supply chain

He even has a sign in front of the business in East Longmeadow, advertising for employees. Currently, he has 93, but he can use more. They are recruiting for office staff,

By LORI STABILE fabricators and installers, Special to The Republican along with service technicians ohn F. Maybury who can work independently in the field. grew up working Approximately 20 or so years ago, schools began on minibikes to focus more on college and motorcycles, preparatory courses and less mechanical skills on hands-on offerings, which has contributed to the lack of that came in handy skilled workers, though he has when he started May- seen a resurgence as of late in technical courses being made bury Material Hanavailable, Maybury says. dling in 1976.

There is a need to promote the diverse job opportunities But, finding employees for those not on the college with mechanical or electrical track, and trade schools are experience for his business helping with that message, he is proving more difficult, a believes.

In a year that was filled challenge amplified during with uncertainty due to the the pandemic.

“We’re always hiring. We’re pandemic, Maybury says his continuously advertising. Our sales held steady, and he is demand is growing,” Maybury projecting growth this year said in a recent interview. of 6% to 8% at the private-

J

ly-held company.

Some customers halted big capital expenses mid-year during 2020, but orders are starting to come back, according to Maybury.

His business was deemed essential. The company designs, supplies and services a variety of material handling equipment, helping its customers move, lift and store their parts and products.

They specialize in shelving and machines to stock supply rooms and to make it easier to

get products off shelves. They are a distributor for approximately 1,300 manufacturers.

Educating people as to what exactly Maybury Material Handling does can be challenging, he says. They are the link that helps move that ketchup bottle from the warehouse to the store and to your kitchen, he explains.

“A lot of the things we do are not normal supper conversation or cocktail party conversation,” Maybury says.

Customers include Spring-

Home Depots, as well as J. Polep Distribution Services in

field-based Big Y Foods Inc. and Costco, along with several Stop & Shop stores and

SEE MAYBURY, PAGE J15

Criminal Defense TRIAL ATTORNEY TR

ATTY. A ANTHONY C. BONAVITA

4413-537-4168 1380 Main St., Suite 410 | Springfield, MA Se Habla Español E pregunta por Marisol

“We’re always hiring. We’re continuously advertising.

Our demand is growing.”

JOHN F. MAYBURY, PRESIDENT, MAYBURY MATERIAL HANDLING

The pathway to a promising future for motivated high school students.

■ The Westfield Promise is an early college program offered through Westfield State in partnership with Westfield High School, Westfield Technical Academy, Holyoke High School, and Springfield’s High School of Commerce ■ Earn a minimum of 12 college credits while still in high school ■ Participate in college readiness, career preparedness and financial aid awareness programs Successful participants are given preferred admission to Westfield State upon completion of the Westfield Promise.

QUESTIONS? westfield.ma.edu

3145629-01

John F. Maybury is the president of Maybury Material Handling, a company he founded in East Longmeadow in 1976. The company designs, supplies and services a variety of material handling equipment, helping its customers move, lift and store their parts and products. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

Contact Ryan Meersman at (413) 572-8316 or email rmeersman@westfield.ma.edu

J10 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Dismantling racism is nonprofit’s objective

I Toner Plastics was founded in 1989 with one shop and one employee. The company has grown exponentially since then, with three manufacturing plants and 180 employees today. It is headquartered in East Longmeadow. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

MANUFACTURING

Toner Plastics pivots to produce for pandemic needs Company retooled machines, workers united in effort

T

Jack Warren, president, Toner Plastics, East Longmeadow

By STAASI HEROPOULOS

Special to The Republican

he pandemic is setting the tone for many companies like Toner Plastics, where business has doubled as it took steps to respond to the manufacturing needs to fight the coronavirus.

“COVID-19 drove business for us last year,” says company president Jack Warren.

“That kept us very busy.”

“We know what we’re doing is important. We don’t know what’s around the corner, but it will be another evolution in the history of Toner Plastics.”

Beads, elastics and swabs — three reasons Toner Plastics’ business doubled in 2020 and is driving hard into 2021.

The plastics manufacturing technology company’s key to success was being nimble while retooling its machines State Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Brian Ashe toured Toner and workforce.

“We had to figure out very Plastics in East Longmeadow with members of FORGE Manuquickly how we could double facturing Initiative in January 2020. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / our production of the elastic THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) straps our customers use When children were stuck China, Toner Plastics supto make N95 masks,” says at home with little to do, par- plied elastics straps for the Warren. ents turned to plastic crafting lifesaving Personal Protective Toner Plastics’ pipeline beads to keep them busy.

Equipment. to Walmart flowed steadily as well last year. When When supplies needed to The company has even Walmart’s customers tried to make N95 masks for front made swabs required for SEE PLASTICS, PAGE J15 line workers got hung up in COVID testing.

N 2011 MY THEN CEO, Herbie Flores, signed us up to join a group of Springfield leaders on a City to City trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He stated that it was going to be a teachable moment in my budding career.

As the trip progressed, those teachable moments were evident in the exchange of ideas but also in the small talk that occurred among our fellow travelers. I heard things like, “The best way to fix the Springfield Public Schools is to annex Longmeadow” and other suggestions that sounded a lot like gentrification. If Herbie was also within earshot, we exchanged a look which we would continue to exchange throughout my tenure at his organization. It is a signal that acknowledges and validates all at once. That is, a signal people of color exchange so as to comfort one another with, “I heard it, too, and, yes, you heard correctly.”

At a certain point during this trip, I disengaged. I was ready to get home and was not interested in any more learning. Still, that day we found ourselves at a presentation by the local chamber of commerce. A young woman of color presented their Healing Racism program and cried as she described how difficult but rewarding the work had been up to that point.

I remember feeling empathy but also frustration because I felt she had given too much of herself to the audience. Then, something completely unexpected happened. John Davis, of American Saw and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, stood and declared he would bring the Healing Racism program to Springfield and

Vanessa Otero

“Our program will leave behind, as part of our engagement, a safe and systemic way to dismantle bigotry and prejudice on the organizational or company level.”

VANESSA OTERO, INTERIM DIRECTOR, HEALING RACISM INSTITUTE OF THE PIONEER VALLEY

any of us who wanted to help, should let him know.

I had never met John. I only knew enough to know that this is not something he had to do. Before dinner that evening, I handed him my card and told him I wanted to join his effort. His courage then, and commitment since, have kept me connected to the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley.

SEE OTERO, PAGE J15

EDC ED DC Membership Membership

Haghighat CONTINUED FROM PAGE J8

Pia Kumar, co-owner of Universal Plastics in Holyoke, stands in the company facility. Donna Haghighat, of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, cites Kumar as an example of women in Western Massachusetts who have pivoted their work and businesses over the past year to assist in the recovery from the COVID pandemic. (THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

Kumar hired two women, Maria Velasquez and Monique Grala, on the production side to establish a manufacturing cell and optimize workflow. In response to this shift, Velasquez remarked feeling “grateful to be a part of the solution to help society be safe,” while Grala spoke to realizing the gravity of her work when she placed “shipping labels on finished products to all of the US,” as far as California.

Kumar also hired Nicole Stupka to meet the challenge of their reinvention. Universal had previously been a business-to-business company that rarely worked directly with consumers. With the rise in demand from COVID-19, Universal established an e-commerce presence that Stupka now manages. Stupka finds this work “extremely fulfilling as a woman in manufacturing, on a woman-led team.”

Women are tirelessly working through the pandemic in their careers and in their homes, but data that demonstrates this struggle remains to be seen. Marta Vicarelli, researcher and assistant professor in the School of Public Policy & Department of Economics at UMass, is changing that.

Vicarelli and her team have been collecting data across the region, the state and the nation for their research on

the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on US households.

As Vicarelli adds, “(Our) survey has an ambitious multidimensional approach investigating labor productivity, work-life balance, impacts of education and childcare disruptions on family life, access to health care and mental health support, homelessness, and food security.”

Academic rigor requires the research team to follow a long, peer-reviewed process for publication. However, the team maintains the goal of releasing helpful data prior to publication to “policy makers and practitioners to support an inclusive, just, and sustainable post-COVID recovery.”

The unprecedented scope of the COVID-19 pandemic presents an equally dramatic opportunity for change. Re-establishing systems that limit the progress of women would be a failed recovery. The ways in which Coffey, Kumar and Vicarelli have pivoted inspires us. They have shown us that necessity has not just been the mother of invention but the mother of a more equitable reinvention.

Donna Haghighat is president and CEO of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. To learn more about the women’s fund and its work, go online to mywomensfund.org.

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Smith College S Sm m it t h C Co l ll l ege eg e Farm Workers N. E. Fa arm rm W orkers Council Cou ouncil Springfield Spri Sp ring ngfie ng field College fie gee Inc. OMG In nc. c STCC Peerless Peerle esss Precision, Preeci cisi cisi sion on, Inc. on In nc.

Elsm s College Pride Prid Pr idee Stations id S at St atio ions ns & Stores Sto ore ress UMass UM Amherst FirstLight Power Firs rsstLLig ght ht P ower ow United Personnel Service Sulco Warehousing Sulc Su ulcco W are reho housing ho Interscape Commercial Environments U.S. Tsubaki U U. U.S .S. Tsuba b ki Western New England Univ Monson Savings Mons Mo n on Savin ns ngs Westfield Gas & Electric Universal U Univ n ver e sal Plastics Corp Westfield State Univ Peterr Pan Bus Lines BayPath University Spherion Spher rion Staffing Community Bank Maybury Mayb bury Material Handling Steve Roberts Chicopee Chico opee Electric Light A.L. Griggs Industries Vann The V ann Group BusinessWest Eastern East tern States Exposition For information call Greenfield Gre eenfield Community College Rick Sullivan President & CEO Greenfield/Northampton Co-Op Bank Gr (413) 755-1300 Holyoke Community College 3145073-01

and beyond.

Coffey was proud to connect customers with local farms, but recognized a dramatic rise in food insecurity in Western Massachusetts, so she built the system to allow SNAP customers to use benefits and waive delivery fees. Working with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, they distributed over 11,000 boxes (110 tons) of free produce through the US Department of Agriculture Farmers to Families Program, donated produce to local pantries and soup kitchens and raised funds for nonprofits focused on social justice and food insecurity.

While Coffey is concerned about the lasting economic impact COVID-19 will have on Western Massachusetts, she sees MassFoodDelivery.com as a lasting innovation with the capacity to deliver to 2,000 households weekly. Her next endeavor is to add a “pay what you can, no questions asked” soup kitchen.

Distribution of resources has been essential during the pandemic, especially the medical supplies. Pia Kumar, co-owner and chief strategy officer at Universal Plastics, described their rapid response to meet a sharp increase in demand for their products – face shields, COVID-19 testing machines, thermometers, and incubation boxes – back in March. After Kumar’s team set up safety protocols and equipped all their employees with face shields, they were able to meet that demand and still have the capacity to donate face shields when they were scarcely available.

The first reinvention for Universal Plastics came with the surge of calls from educators seeking face shields as they prepared to step into classrooms. Kumar recognized that Universal was “slammed,” but her drive to help people motivated her to assemble a team to ensure the company’s efficiency and success.

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J11

MANUFACTURING

Rock Valley Tool looks forward, not back Seeks to find new opportunities with old customers

E

By LORI STABILE

Special to The Republican

lizabeth A. Paquette is no stranger to reinvention.

The former special education administrator became a co-owner of a precision machining business in 2013, Rock Valley Tool, a venture she took on with her husband, Jason G. Paquette.

It wasn’t a difficult decision to buy the company. Jason Paquette had experience working there, and, she says, they didn’t want to look back and regret not taking the chance.

“I said, ‘Why not?’ I love to learn and the opportunity presented itself,” she recalls.

“It made sense.”

Today, Paquette is president of the certified woman-owned

Ha Bung polishes a part at Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

business in Easthampton, and her husband is the vice president, overseeing floor operations where they make manufactured parts for customers in the aerospace, de-

Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton is among the region’s precision machine shops, which have seen steady growth in recent times. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

fense, commercial, industrial, medical and plastic extrusion blow molding industries.

The Paquettes have seen steady growth since they took over the company, but, when the coronavirus struck in mid-March, Rock Valley Tool saw its aerospace business immediately drop because of the sharp decline in airline travel.

Its largest aerospace customer informed them that the slowdown could last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, according to Elizabeth Paquette.

“It’s challenging,” she says.

“There are times you can’t believe this is happening. All this hard work. You build a

business for eight years, to see it take this great step backward.”

It was time again for reinvention.

With aerospace and defense comprising half the company’s revenue, Paquette says they had to look for new revenue sources, primarily in its plastic blow molding business and explore new projects with old customers in that segment.

“We were able to beef that up a little bit. Everyone wants disinfectants, cleaning supplies,” Paquettes says. “We make the tooling that goes into machines that create the bottles, whether for pharma-

Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton has been in business for nearly 70 years. Owners Jason G. Paquette and Elizabeth A. Paquette, top photo, bought the company in 2013. Above center, milling machinist Dan Harriman; above, quality manager SEE TOOL, PAGE J12 Ryan Ward. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

“It’s challenging. There are times you can’t believe this is happening. All this hard work.

You build a business for eight years, to see it take this great step backward.”

ELIZABETH A. PAQUETTE, CO-OWNER, ROCK VALLEY TOOL, EASTHAMPTON

Build with pride. Finish with Ponders.

A fourth generation, family-run sawmill, Ponders Hollow specializes in custom wood flooring and architectural millwork.

As Ponders Hollows has been designated as an Essential Service in the Commonwealth, we will be able to operate our normal hours and continue to take orders and produce floors.

Our Ponders family wishes everyone to stay safe and healthy as we navigate through these challenging times together. We are always happy to answer any of your questions, please give one of our specialists a call.

413-562-8730 www.pondershollow.com

J12 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Modernizing natural gas distribution system is priority

S

Mark Gunsalus

O MUCH OF WHAT makes Massachusetts appealing to live or visit is its rich history and the historic value of its buildings and streets. Walking through many communities across the commonwealth is like taking a step back in time.

But history also applies to the infrastructure we don’t see, which ironically sits just feet

below the historic streets we love and appreciate.

Massachusetts is home to one of the oldest natural gas distribution systems in the nation, with some sections built more than a century ago. Currently, we operate more than 8,000 miles of gas pipeline across the commonwealth, 1,600 miles of which stretch beneath the homes

and businesses across Western Massachusetts.

We take the responsibility of that infrastructure very seriously, and we’re proactively finding innovative ways to continue providing safe and reliable gas service to our more than 150,000 Western Massachusetts customers, reduce gas leaks, improve overall efficiency, and lower

carbon emissions.

The replacement of aging bare steel, cast-iron and other leak-prone gas infrastructure is a top priority of ours to minimize the potential for gas leaks and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Since 2015 with our Gas System Enhancement Plan, or GSEP, we’ve invested approximately $72 million

Tool

MANUFACTURING

Boyd Technologies helped fill PPE need Medical device firm in Lee repurposed equipment to help meet demand

A

By Emily Thurlow

Special to The Republican

s hospitals were inundated with COVID-19 patients and medical equipment was in short supply, it wasn’t just health care workers who were drafted as soldiers in the pandemic. Massachusetts manufacturers were also activated.

Boyd Technologies, a medical device contract development and manufacturing firm in Lee, started repurposing its in-house equipment to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) like surgical masks and N95 respirators.

While some of the company’s production lines were suited to produce surgical masks and N95s, they weren’t items Boyd Technologies was already producing, according to chief commercial officer Matthew B. Boyd.

Early on, the firm looked at the production in three different timeframes – immediate, short-term and longterm, according to Boyd. In the immediate category, the company sourced PPE from overseas and supplied it directly to hospitals in Massachusetts.

For the short term, Boyd Technologies partnered with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the

Kelley CONTINUED FROM PAGE J8

Matthew B. Boyd, chief commercial officer, Boyd Technologies

Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (M-ERT) to produce PPE within the state.

M-ERT was formed as a way to support manufacturers in pivoting their operation to produce much-needed materials in response to the SEE BOYD, PAGE J16

learnings as we continue to see restrictions ease in the coming year and are safely able to introduce new entertainment, table games, slot offerings and other types of amenities that bring guests to our resorts and economic vitality to Springfield.

Critical to building upon this positive momentum will be legalized sports betting in Massachusetts. Sports betting is an amenity that Bay Staters have been requesting since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal prohibition in 2018. Twenty-two states plus Washington D.C. have already legalized sports wagering. Our neighbors in Connecticut will soon follow suit.

Massachusetts residents are already driving across the border to place bets, or simply doing so illegally at home from a black-market app or website. Legalizing and properly regulating this market will protect consumers, ensure strong responsible gaming protocols, generate an estimated $50 million in direct, annual tax revenue

to the commonwealth and help create and support many well-paying Massachusetts jobs at MGM Springfield. As the new legislative session begins in earnest, we look forward to working with the Baker Administration and the Legislature to bring sports betting to the citizens of the commonwealth and the associated revenue to its coffers.

The MGM Springfield story remains early in the writing.

Throughout the journey, our foundation has been strengthened by the amazing hard work and dedication of our team members. I am proud of their effort and grateful for their shared commitment to our community.

On behalf of our entire MGM Springfield team, we look forward to tomorrow and the privilege of hosting you all again soon.

Chris Kelley is president of MGM Resorts’ Northeast Group, including MGM Springfield. To learn more about MGM Springfield, go online to mgmspringfield.mgm resorts.com.

the company received its certification to do defense work.

With her background in education, Paquette coordinates training for employees and works with region’s vocational schools to find potential hires. They currently have a full-time employee who is a senior at Westfield Technical Academy.

She says Rock Valley also tries to take advantage of programming at Springfield Technical and Greenfield

Westfield Technical Academy student Carter Reimann works at Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

community colleges for their employees.

Paquette says they hope to be able to “really move forward” in the next five years with the business and will continue to look at smaller shops for acquisition potential.

In the fall of 2019, Rock Valley acquired Arrow Machine in

Belchertown.

“We want to be that onestop shop,” Paquette says.

Rock Valley Tool started out in the 1950s in a garage in the Rock Valley section of Holyoke, hence the name, and, in the 1970s, the company moved to Easthampton, where it has been ever since.

Railcar Assembly Facility, Springfield, MA

Engineers Scientists Planners Designers

Improving mobility.

Enhancing communities.

Contributing to economic vitality.

Springfield, MA 413.747.7113

3146045-01

opened in 2018, we directly employed more than 3,000 team members. In our first year of operations alone, a UMass study found that we created a total statewide economic impact of 6,287 net jobs and $356.9 million in personal income. The team members of MGM Springfield reflect our company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and we are proud of the thousands of good-paying jobs we created for the residents of Springfield and western Massachusetts.

Refining the Economic Engine: The last year has been unquestionably difficult for our team members, our guests and our communities, but we remain resilient and committed. We have learned as we have moved through the chapters of this crisis and we have innovated – perhaps, more than we might have during normal operating conditions.

We will build upon these

“Explaining the supply chain to the governor, we said that you can’t just buy these materials. Ninetyplus percent are made overseas and those materials are pretty locked down by those that do make them.”

Thanks to the U.S. Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Rock Valley received a $318,000 loan last year to cover payroll costs for 24 weeks.

www.vhb.com

A member of the staff at Lee-based manufacturer Boyd Technologies performs what the company calls “hand building” a surgical mask prototype for testing purposes. (PJ MOYNIHAN PHOTO)

SEE GUNSALUS, PAGE J16

At left, grinder Jarrod Laroche works at his station at Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton. Below, strikers await inspection. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE J11

ceuticals, beauty or cleaning products.”

Rock Valley also started working with a different aerospace and defense company and looked for ways to diversify. They expanded their laser etching abilities, hiring an employee specifically for that work. Sometimes customers want specific numbers etched on parts for traceability or branding purposes, she explains.

And, thanks to the U.S. Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Rock Valley received a $318,000 loan last year to cover payroll costs for 24 weeks. “It held people’s jobs,” Paquette says.

In August, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, visited Rock Valley to hear first-hand how the company benefited from the PPP program, which was made possible by the CARES Act, something Neal, as chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means, helped write.

“It’s critical that small businesses have the necessary resources to survive the pandemic, keep folks on payroll, and eventually safely resume operations,” Neal said in a statement. “We can’t afford to lose these fixtures of our communities.”

The company had to lay off three people immediately in March, due to the aerospace business slowdown, and a total of 13 over the course of the past year. Some layoffs were due to circumstances involving child care, according to Paquette. For example, one laid-off employee returned as a part-timer due to child-care issues. They had 33 employees at the end of 2020. In the prior year, they had 43, she notes.

The pandemic cut into the company’s sales projections.

Sales were a little more than $3 million in 2020, missing their target of $5 million, Paquette says.

CNC and conventional machining equipment are housed at Rock Valley’s 17,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Easthampton, where they make everything from parts for helicopters for shifting and submarine parts to pieces found in airport runways that assist moving luggage from the ground to the planes. A year-and-a-half ago,

a year and have replaced 500 miles of older gas mains across the commonwealth with state-of-the-art plastic pipe which is safer, more durable and better able to handle the fluctuations in underground temperatures.

In the weeks following our acquisition of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts last Octo-

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J13

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

Built in WMass, by WMass people Western Builders began in ’70s with O’Connell’s Sons

T

By JEANETTE DEFORGE

jdeforge@repub.com

he Granby Public Library.

Soldier On’s veterans housing in Chicopee. PeoplesBank’s banking center at the Yankee Pedlar site in Holyoke. Educare Springfield’s early childhood center. Way Finders’ headquarters in downtown Springfield.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

“We just really find it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding to have an opportunity to work with those type of organizations. Even though it’s a very small part, knowing… what happens in that building will change people’s lives, improve people’s lives, that will go on for decades.”

Western Builders president Chris Boino, right, with team member Roosevelt Wright on the job at the Educare Springfield building in Springfield. The Educare project was completed in late 2019 and opened its doors in January 2020. (RED SKIES PHOTOGRAPHY)

talents,” he says. “We are a traditional construction management firm with project supervisors, superintendents and project managers, and we have a small group of talented carpenters and laborers that perform very specific tasks on site.”

Healey, for example, has a degree in civil engineering. While her main job is to support the project manager to deal with the many unforeseen issues that come up during construction, she also often helps mentor the less-experienced employees when they join Western Builders, Boino explains.

One of the firm’s “rising stars” is assistant project managers Ta Karra Greene.

A graduate of the Springfield Public Schools, she returned home after earning her engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Greene was among those who

Chris Boino, president, Western Builders

worked on the Way Finders construction, gaining enough experience to now be managing a project at the former TD Bank building in Springfield.

Concerned that fewer young people are going into the trades and the difficulty of finding skilled builders, Western Builders is reaching out to the region’s technical high schools in a variety of ways, Healey says. They are offering co-op programs for students to learn on the job.

“There is a serious drought of actual talent in the field, plumbers, electricians, things of that nature,” Healey says.

“They make a very good living, they have flexibility to start their own small business or work for the union. It is going to hurt our infrastructure at some point.”

Western Builders has This photo from 2019 shows construction by Western Builders of the Educare Springfield worked with Pathfinder Refacility rising adjacent to the Brookings School in the city’s Old Hill neighborhood. gional Vocational Technical SEE BUILDERS, PAGE J16

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

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All of these buildings have one thing in common. They were constructed by Western Builders.

The company, which was created in the 1970s in Granby as a subsidiary of Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, has long since come into its own and its 55 employees have made a name for themselves with projects important to the lifeblood of the communities they serve.

Each project may only be a “blink of an eye” for the organizations involved, but to Western Builders they are especially meaningful because the workers grew up and live right here in Western Massachusetts, says company president Chris Boino.

“We just really find it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding to have an opportunity to work with those type of organizations,” he says.

“Even though it’s a very small part, knowing…what happens in that building will change people’s lives, improve people’s lives, that will go on for decades.”

Adds D’Lynn Healey, project executive, “We just work really hard to make sure those institutions get their money’s worth.”

Western Builders worked with D’Lynn Healey Way Finders, the region’s anti-poverty housing agency, from the start to finish on the $16.8 million, 33,000-squarefoot new headquarters where the Peter Pan Bus station once stood at 1780 Main St. In Springfield.

“I have all good things to say (about Western Builders),” says Laureen Borgatti, chief operating officer for Way Finders. “They were very responsive to anything we ran into and we needed to resolve, and they worked with the budget we set forth, which was really important to us.”

The building was finished and ready by May but still hasn’t been fully occupied because COVID-19 restrictions have meant many employees are working from home.

Way Finders continues its relationship with Western Builders, now working on two housing projects in Northampton and Springfield and discussing a third planned in South Hadley, according to Borgatti. “They (are) fantastic. They are an overall great organization to work with,” she says.

Western Builders began with a focus on building wood-frame, multi-family homes and other smaller projects. While wood-frame housing is still the core of the business, Western Builders has evolved and expanded the scope of the work it does.

Along the way, the company has added employees with expertise in concrete, structural steel and other skills, according to Boino.

“We have incredible employees with a legitimately broad range of experience and

PeoplesBank’s banking center at the site of the former Yankee Pedlar restaurant on Northampton and Beech streets in Holyoke is among projects developed by Western Builders.

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OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Neal CONTINUED FROM PAGE J4

CASH Act, to provide $2,000 in stimulus payments to struggling Americans and their families was held up in the Senate, the House and the Senate were able to pass two rounds of direct cash assistance. For students, we successfully pressured the US Department of Agriculture to extend school nutrition waivers to ensure that no student lost access to meals when schools shifted to remote learning. With this support, Springfield Public Schools has had incredible success, distributing over 5 million meals since last March.

On visits to Berkshire Medical Center, Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke Health Center, Baystate Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center, I heard the same thing over and

On July 17, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, speaks with the volunteers in the personal protective equipment production program during his tour of the Hampden County House of Corrections York Street Industries with Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

ed care. I continue to work hard in Congress to ensure that those working on the front lines in our community health centers and hospitals have the funding, support,

Nick’s Nest in Holyoke and the Bean Restaurant Group in Springfield. I heard directly from the owners on what this funding meant to them and how important it is for the

On April 30 outside Nick’s Nest in Holyoke, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, right, listens as Peter Rosskothen, owner of the Delaney House and Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House, talks about the Paycheck Protection Program. The owners of Nick’s Nest, with help from Neal’s office, benefited from the PPP program to keep their doors open during the pandemic.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

“On visits to Berkshire Medical Center, Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke Health Center, Baystate Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center, I heard the same thing over and over again: The money that we were able to provide hospitals through pandemic relief legislation is a lifeline for the providers who are caring for the COVID patients as well as others in the community who need quality health care.”

U.S. REP. RICHARD E. NEAL, D-SPRINGFIELD

over again: The money that we were able to provide hospitals through pandemic relief legislation is a lifeline for the providers who are caring for the COVID patients as well as others in the community who need quality health care.

In particular, I am proud of the $8.7 million I fought for to assist Holyoke Medical Center. They stepped up in a big way when the coronavirus outbreak overwhelmed the Soldiers’ Home and took in patients so that all residents received dedicat-

and personal protective equipment they need to ensure their safety as well as our own.

In Western and Central Massachusetts, some 10,460 small businesses took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program, bringing $1.2 billion back to the district, and allowed for businesses to stay open and pay their bills. I had the privilege to visit some of these businesses – Repro Systems in Pittsfield, Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton,

federal government to do more.

Boyd Technology in Lee repurposed part of their medical device and life industry manufacturing facility to produce personal protective equipment. Excel Dryer in East Longmeadow donated touchless hand dryers and created the Hand Dryer Mobile Hand Hygiene Station for testing facilities across the state.

Local restaurants like Nathan Bill’s and the Student Prince donated countless

meals to our front-line workers. York Street Industries, the corrections industry of the Hampden County Sheriff ’s Department, made face masks and surgical gowns for use in the local community under the direction of Sheriff Nick Cocchi. Truly, we have seen the fulfillment of the old adage that “in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.”

As we look ahead, I remain committed to fighting for additional, substantial relief and stimulus legislation. Big investments must be made to

“People still need to get where they are going.”

CHRISTOPHER J. MOSKAL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SPRINGFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

On average over the past year, about 5,100 rail passengers a month have passed through Springfield’s Union Station. That compares to a monthly average of 12,695 in 2019. Here, rail passengers wait to board a train at Union Station. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Rail CONTINUED FROM PAGE J2

transportation bond bill includes $50 million toward east-west rail. Lesser says of that amount, “It’s a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start.

And it could begin the design process.”

Still, people haven’t been traveling lately, a direct result of the pandemic.

Over the past year, there were about 136,606 passengers passing through the station each month, 5,100 of those train passengers and 126,687 were Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus passengers, according to Appleton Corp., the management company that runs Union Station on a day-to-day basis. That’s compared with about 265,749 total passengers a month in 2019. Of those, 12,695 were on the trains and 226,785 on PVTA buses.

Christopher J. Moskal, executive director of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority that owns Union Station, says it’s a sad fact of the COVID world that Union Station is now as quiet as it is.

The Redevelopment Authority expects both Amtrak and Peter Pan bus Lines, which uses the station as its regional hub, to restart service as the nation

create jobs, support families and ensure states and localities have the resources necessary to continue providing essential services and distribute COVID vaccines quickly and fairly. I have said since the beginning of this pandemic that we cannot fully rebuild the economy until we defeat the virus.

By staying vigilant, wearing masks, socially distancing, and receiving the vaccine as it becomes available, I am sure we will get there. I stand ready to work closely with the

Lesser CONTINUED FROM PAGE J4

ing at their digital learning lab and mobile food bank deliveries.

Our food banks, schools and senior centers have met the surging demand for groceries and meals. This past December, the Ludlow Senior Center was distributing over 600 meals a week with 60% of participants being new to the program.

Meanwhile, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has had to keep staff safe while operating as a control center for food distribution to a network of 175 local feeding programs.

As of August, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts had distributed $4.3 million in COVID-19 relief funding to the region’s nonprofits, and our local manufacturers like Universal Plastics in Holyoke and Toner Plastics in East Longmeadow quickly pivoted their manufacturing capabilities to help design face shields and N-95 masks for first responders and front-line health workers.

We need that same spirit of resilience and innovation as we come out on the other side of this pandemic. In-

Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that the COVID recovery plan succeeds and that our nation can finally recover from this crisis.

Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, is the congressman from the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts and chairs the House Ways & Means Committee. You can learn more about the congressman and his work online at neal.house.gov. His district office in Springfield is located at 300 State St., Suite 200, 413-785-0325.

stead of putting things back to where they were before, we have the opportunity to reimagine the way we live, get around, and work.

That starts with investing in projects like east-west rail, reimagining the typical workday with remote working options and continuing to create new jobs in sectors like advanced manufacturing and life sciences.

As I have stated on the floor of the state Senate, when coronavirus first appeared, we thought we had to flatten just one curve to tamper a viral epidemic.

But now, we must come to realize that if we ever want to make Western Massachusetts what it ought to be, we must flatten a second curve – a curve that represents a pandemic of surging economic and social inequality, and 2021 can be the year we begin to bend that second curve.

State Sen. Eric P. Lessser, D-Longmeadow, represents the 1st Hampden & Hampshire District. He is Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies, chair of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Senate vice chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation.

A passenger train waits at Union Station. About half as many train and bus passengers are transiting through Springfield’s Union Station as did pre-pandemic. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

recovers.

“People still need to get where they are going,” Moskal says.

The Redevelopment Authority has a contractor now building out unfinished space on the station’s second floor into a “vanilla box” with walls, plumbing and wiring in preparation for a new office tenant.

A number of prospective tenants, including two law firms, have been looking at the space

in recent months, he says.

Declining numbers were mirrored elsewhere on Amtrak’s state-funded northsouth “Knowledge Corridor” service called the Valley Flyer.

According to Amtrak, Holyoke’s station saw just 774 riders in 2020, down from 1,718 in 2019. Northampton had 10,943 in 2020, down from 22,284 in 2019. And, Greenfield had 3,233 passengers at its Amtrak stop in 2020, down

Over the past year, there were about 136,606 passengers passing through the station each month, 5,100 of those train passengers and 126,687 were Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus passengers, according to Appleton Corp., the management company that runs Union Station on a day-to-day basis.

from 6,750 in 2019.

Amtrak, the nation’s rail passenger provider, has suspended its Vermonter train north of New Haven, Connecticut, during the pandemic.

So the train no longer serves Springfield, let alone reaches Vermont.

Amtrak says it’ll start bringing service back, but has no timelines.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation says it remains committed to New Haven-Hartford- Springfield service. Late last year, Connecticut announced a CTrail eTix mobile app which allows folks to buy tickets on the Hartford and Shore Line East lines through a mobile phone.

Boys & Girls Clubs around Western Massachusetts responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by helping children in many ways, including setting up remote learning centers and providing meals. Here, state Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, visits the Randall Boys & Girls Club at the Ludlow Community Center and talks with one of the children.

(OFFICE OF STATE SEN. ERIC P. LESSER)

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | J15

Otero CONTINUED FROM PAGE J10

Fabricator Bert Richardson at work at Maybury Material Handling in East Longmeadow.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

Maybury CONTINUED FROM PAGE J9

Chicopee. Maybury Material Handling also works with about a half dozen Amazon distribution services and also provided seasonal lift trucks to Macy’s.

The company has constantly adapted since he started it, according to Maybury.

“We’ve definitely evolved based on the way manufacturing and distribution has evolved,” he explains.

Shelving, benches and cabinets gave way to conveyor systems and more sophisticated forklift trucks. Today, the firm supplies electric or battery-powered forklifts, and some are even autonomous.

The forklifts are purchased from other manufacturers, and Maybury services them.

The company maintains more than 7,000 lift trucks.

To ease customers’ fears about COVID-19, the company is rapid testing employees who visit facilities to perform maintenance work, Maybury says.

The trend toward online sales has increased during the pandemic, and buyers and companies want to streamline their process.

“Our customers ask us how to package better and move it faster,” he says. “We teach them some of the basics for storage and conveying systems.”

They manufacture carts, steel mezzanines and other steel structures in its

John F. Maybury, left, is president of Maybury Material Handling in East Longmeadow. His son, William R. Maybury, is the company controller. The company, founded in 1976, designs, supplies and services a variety of material handling equipment, helping its customers move, lift and store their parts and products. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

“Our customers ask us how to package better and move it faster.

We teach them some of the basics for storage and conveying systems.”

JOHN F. MAYBURY, PRESIDENT, MAYBURY MATERIAL HANDLING

42,000-square-foot facility.

Maybury also has another satellite location in East Longmeadow for equipment storage, as well as a site in Wallingford, Connecticut, and an office in New Jersey.

The company’s primary areas are Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, but it also serves businesses in northern New Jersey and Long Island, New York.

Maybury Material Handling is a family business. John Maybury’s father, Thomas, and mother, Joyce, worked for the company before they retired. Now his wife, Sandra L. Maybury, is the office manager and son, William R. Maybury, is the controller.

The majority of his employ-

ees are working remotely. The sales force has been remote since April, he said.

The company began offering pandemic-related items as a way to provide even more products to its customers, such as disinfectant sprayers, isolation rooms, outdoor stand-alone structures for COVID testing, polycarbonate panels, partitions, tents and screening booths. Maybury says the company has always sold modular rooms and modular offices, and cleaning solutions also have been part of the company’s catalog.

The new COVID-related offerings are part of Maybury’s goal to “try to be the one-source supplier to all our customers,” but they are not a

Maybury Material Handling in East Longmeadow.

main part of the business.

Maybury enjoys the challenges his company brings.

“I like figuring out how to solve a problem and helping someone with a problem or issue,” he says.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

Maybury also is active in the community. He is the immediate past chair of Baystate Health’s board of trustees, and also is involved in the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.

“Our supervisory and management teams were excellent. They worked weekends, led by example and our employees responded.”

Jack Warren, president, Toner Plastics, East Longmeadow

Plastics

and 180 employees today.

The business has grown 500% in the last five years CONTINUED FROM PAGE J10 through mergers, acquisifind crafts for their kids, they tions, and increased sales of were met with largely empty its product portfolio, according to Warren. shelves.

“Competitive products Beyond its pandemic were not on the shelves, but related portfolio, Toner also our products were because makes a range of products, we’re a made in the USA relying on its injection moldsupplier,” explains Warren. ing, extrusion, tooling and mold transfer and toll manu“Our kids craft products really exploded this year, so facturing capabilities.

The company never shut we had to work very hard to keep our customers in stock down during pandemic, rewhile products made in Chi- lying on employees to keep na were stuck there.” the business going while Toner also saw opportufollowing state and federal nity in the textile business safety guidelines for safety. and didn’t mask its interest “Our supervisory and In this photo from October, state Sen. Eric P. Lesser, left, presents company president Jack in making face coverings. management teams were exWarren, right, and members of the Toner Plastics team with the Manufacturer of the Year award Last year Toner Plastics cellent,” Warren says. “They for the 1st Hampden & Hampshire District. Founded in 1989, Toner Plastics is a plastics manworked weekends, led by established Toner Textiles, ufacturing technology company specializing in profile extrusion, injection mold design and example and our employees a brand-new business unit. manufacturing, and injection molding. (ERIC P. LESSER PHOTO) responded. Our people felt The division makes protective face masks in three like we had a purpose. We themes: patriotic; back to couldn’t let our customers school; and animal. The down.” masks became an instant It’s anyone’s guess how hit at Walmart, according to long COVID will continue Toner’s president. driving some businesses “That was a tremendous under while boosting sales business for us. It was a for others. For now, Toner We take care of all your needs: Sales, Service, Parts, Rental Vehicles completely new thing,” says Plastics is committed to Warren. “They asked for our helping meet needs that LugNutz Café open for breakfast and lunch 8am – 2pm. help to bring a mask to them have emerged amid the because they couldn’t get pandemic. masks quickly enough out “We know what we’re doing is important,” says Warof China, so we were able ren. “We don’t know what’s deliver.”

Toner Plastics was found- around the corner, but it will ed in 1989 with one shop be another evolution in the and one employee. The history of Toner Plastics.” company has grown expoTo learn more about Toner nentially since then, with Plastics, visit the website, 1025 Main Street Holyoke, MA | 413-536-1900 | www.marcotteford.com three manufacturing plants tonerplastics.com.

We’ve GrotBack! you

Years later, and under the leadership of Waleska Lugo-DeJesus, the institute trained over 1,000 people across the state. In May, we found ourselves searching for a new director amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

I suggested I could help continue the work until the position was filled. On May 25, George Floyd was killed, and we understood the importance of our work more than ever.

Since then, we have worked to expand our programming, include virtual options, expand our board membership, initiate facilitator training to grow our bench, file for 501 c(3) designation with the IRS and launch a million-dollar fundraising campaign. In addition, we continue to learn about the needs of Western Massachusetts organizations and institutions as they initiate their work towards building an equitable work and service environment.

We describe the work of becoming anti-racist as a process that starts with the hearts and minds of individuals. These individuals then have the opportunity to learn how to build a critical mass of allies within their organizations by building their relational and contextual capacity. That is, community building through the lens of a higher standard of humanity and dignity. Ours is a space where we learn to listen and acknowledge how racism and privilege affects the person sitting next to us.

Later and after much practice, we invite organizations to examine their culture and policies and procedures through this new lens. The result, we expect will be transformational.

Our greatest value is that by building this capacity within organizations, it becomes best practice, inherent, and part of their fabric. We believe this is true because as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley is at an important juncture to challenge the status quo and the demand continues to grow dramatically for our services to make systemic change. In addition to our long-standing collaborations with organizations like the Springfield Public Schools, we have a growing list of partners in the business, nonprofit, and educational sectors willing to engage in a difficult conversation and process of healing.

Our program will leave behind, as part of our engagement, a safe and systemic way to dismantle bigotry and prejudice on the organizational or company level. After all, to defeat a systemic problem requires a systemic solution. We sincerely thank our current partners and invite others to engage us in the process to build racism free organizations and communities.

I have reflected often on that moment in Grand Rapids when that woman presented her work.

I regret not being more generous to her and the emotion she displayed. I imagine she, too, has seen egregious acts but also acts of courage throughout her career. Moreover, naively I was frustrated with a very human response to a human experience. When in fact, she was showing us the way towards that higher standard of humanity.

Vanessa Otero is the interim director of the Healing Racism Institute of the Pioneer Valley.

To learn more about the institute and its work, go online to healingracismpv.org.

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Gunsalus

“The state of Massachusetts also provided CARES Act funding, and the PVPC was able to help bring almost $1.9 million to our region.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE J12

KIMBERLY H. ROBINSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PIONEER VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION

A member of the staff at Lee-based manufacturer Boyd Technologies performs what the company calls “hand building” a surgical mask prototype for testing purposes. (PJ MOYNIHAN PHOTO)

Boyd

“We were very careful early on knowing that we can do sourcing and distribution, prototyping and development work, but making large quantities of PPE really doesn’t exist on our existing equipment.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE J12

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission executive director Kimberly H. Robinson and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal in July announce a $400,000 grant to the commission from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The grant from CARES Act funding is to be spent through 2022 to help determine what is needed, plan effectively for a disaster recovery and bolster the region’s economy. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

Robinson

with communities to identify structural vulnerabilities and develop plans to address them before disaster strikes.

They’ve worked with local officials to assess and re-envision open spaces and recreational opportunities now proven to be of incredible importance during this period of distancing from one another.

Meanwhile, we’ve remained committed to protecting our region’s water and air from pollution, and ensuring the health and safety of our most precious natural resources.

Likewise, our Transportation Section has continued to conduct their regular planning work – partnering with local officials to develop and execute our annual bridge The foundation for beautiful and roadway improvement tomorrows is being envisioned and plans, identifying our most dangerous intersections, and built today on behalf of the people of supporting the Pioneer Valley this valley.

Transit Authority during their time of greatest need. residents and those who determine what is needed, The old saying goes that plan effectively for a disaster speak English as a second when times get tough, the recovery and bolster our local language. tough get going. We are incredibly proud of the ground And yet, despite standeconomy. The planning commission will be engaging with ing up the aforementioned we have covered and the our cities and towns to enviefforts to immediately work we’ve already begun sion what the Pioneer Valley combat this public health in 2021. The foundation for will look like after successful and economic crisis, we have beautiful tomorrows is being economic recovery efforts. remained cognizant of the envisioned and built today on The state of Massachusetts fact that someday COVID-19 behalf of the people of this also provided CARES Act will be but a memory, and valley. Here’s to a brighter fufunding, and the PVPC was that the outlook of tomorrow ture built off the hard-learned able to help bring almost $1.9 is ultimately being shaped by lessons of an extraordinary million to our region. This en- our efforts today. In that spirit past year. abled the commission to stand we have remained steadfast Kimberly H. Robinson is up microenterprise business in our commitment to plan a executive director of the Piofunding opportunities in many healthier, more vibrant and of our communities, as well resilient future for our valley neer Valley Planning Commission. To learn more about as strengthen various social and its posterity. the commission, go online to services struggling under Our Land Use & Environment Section has partnered pvpc.org. increased strain in many of our towns. Overall, the PVPC brought assistance to 28 of our member municipalities, a CONTINUED FROM PAGE J9 whopping 65% of our commu– in many cases personally nities.

The Pioneer Valley Comdelivering them to city halls, plete Count Committee municipal buildings and volunteer health board mem- – convened by the PVPC in bers’ homes. Medical Reserve order to ensure the most Corps Units in Hampden complete accounting of the County – housed out of the valley’s residents in the 2020 PVPC – worked tirelessly to Census – shifted from a primarily in-person engagement support our region’s beleaguered public health and strategy developed over the health care institutions. previous year, to a campaign The US Economic Develop- focused on empowering ment Administration reached human service providers and out to provide PVPC with community organizations, $400,000 in CARES Act while spending heavily on funding to be spent through digital and radio advertisements targeting low-income 2022 to help our region

Builders CONTINUED FROM PAGE J13

In July 2019, assistant project manager Takarra Greene and project superintendent Matthew Montague overlook the Way Finders’ building at the intersection of Main and Liberty streets in Springfield. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

Builders, Boino wound up joining the nonprofit’s board and has spent hours volunteering to help find a new home.

“He connected to us so many resources, and he did it in a joyful way,” Parker says. “We started to look at projects, and we went on a lot of field trips on his advice.” From assessing the organization’s space needs to getting cost estimates and securing financing, Boino’s help proved invaluable, according to Parker.

“Western Builders has helped us find a potentially great new home for Girls Inc. and helped us in order

to make it the best space for girls,” Parker says, adding the diversity of its staff that includes women in roles such as engineers have proven inspirational to the girls they serve.

Girls Inc. Is in the midst of a $5 million capital campaign to help fund the project.

While Western Builders has continued operations throughout the pandemic since the construction industry is considered essential, it has not been easy, according to Healey.

Complying with the Centers for Disease Control recommendations for masks and other protective equipment

two dedicated production lines, one that for surgical masks and one for N95 respirators. The firm is required to keep the equipment operational and in Massachusetts for 10 years.

While the company will maintain its status as a contract manufacturer, it has agreed to produce PPE for the state should another emergency unfold.

At the same time that M-ERT was formed and grant funding was established, Boyd Technologies reached out to one of its customers and secured a five-year contract to produce PPE, said Boyd. He declined to identify the customer. All materials of the PPE – the layers of the masks and head ties that tie around the head – will be sourced domestically.

The company has hired 10 more employees this year, bringing its total staff to 65.

Boyd anticipates hiring more employees this year.

While the firm has a handful of its contracted products that saw a 30% to 40% dip in volume as a result of the pandemic, as a whole, the business has grown by nature of the customers it serves, according to Boyd.

“We have felt very fortunate. Many of our businesses have benefited this year,” Boyd says. “We supply components that are used in the production of vaccines and therapies, so there’s been a really huge increase in the volume of business there.”

and figuring out ways to work while maintaining social distancing, there were many other ordeals encountered over the pastyear, Healey explains.

The supply chain for building materials shipped from across the country and all over the world made it difficult at times to acquire different things, causing frustrating delays in jobs.

“There isn’t a project that made a day’s worth of progress in a day because of all the disruption,” Boino says.

Municipal building projects were slowed as boards and commissions adjusted to remote meeting schedules, and some delays also resulted from difficulties faced by owners in acquiring and processing funding for projects, he explains. Slowly, things are beginning to pick up again.

“We have most definitely seen a significant slowdown in the last three months of last year and the first months of this year, but we are very optimistic about a busy spring,” says Boino.

Matthew B. Boyd, chief commercial officer, Boyd Technologies

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High School in Palmer and connected with Chicopee Comprehensive High School through one of its employees who has a son who teaches in the carpentry department.

They recently hired one of a Chicopee Comp graduate recommended by the teachers to work on the construction of a $27 million, five-building student housing project in Sunderland, according to Boino.

Boino joined a professional advisory committee at Roger L. Putnam Technical Academy in Springfield in February, hoping to develop a relationship with the school and bring a co-op student onto one of the projects. While the pandemic stalled that effort temporarily, “We are committed to developing and mentoring and coaching,” he says.

That is not the only way the company is willing to help the community as Suzanne Parker, executive director of Girls Inc. of the Valley, discovered when her organization began discussing the need for a new headquarters after renting offices at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club for years. They sought advice from Western

pandemic.

In addition to Boyd, for the first two months M-ERT included representatives from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, as well as a number of industry partners.

“We looked at what would it take long-term to develop PPE on existing equipment, but also recognized that if we were to start making such high volumes of PPE on existing equipment, we would have to steal capacity from other products that we make, critical medical products,” Boyd explains. “We were very careful early on knowing that we can do sourcing and distribution, prototyping and development work, but making large quantities of PPE really doesn’t exist on our existing equipment.”

“Explaining the supply chain to the governor, we said that you can’t just buy these materials,” he says. “Ninety-plus percent are made overseas and those materials are pretty locked down by those that do make them.”

Originally, Boyd Technologies, which was founded in 1979, served mixed industries, according to Boyd.

The firm has since narrowed its focus to medical device manufacturing and life sciences. It produces regulated single-use devices and liquid media. That includes diagnostic strips like HBA1C strips for blood tests, as well as over-the-counter creams, lotions and gel-like cleansers for hospitals.

The equipment Boyd Technologies has been using to produce surgical masks and respirators is the same equipment it uses to produce pouches that hold insulin, vital to patients with diabetes.

As for a long-term solution, on May 21, Boyd Technologies was awarded a $1.9 million grant from M-ERT to boost domestic production of PPE and meet the spike in demand. The funding allowed the firm to purchase

ber, we replaced five miles of older gas lines in Western Massachusetts, and we’re scheduled to replace more than 100 additional miles across Western Massachusetts over the next five years. In fact, we’re on track to replace all of our leak-prone pipes statewide within 15 years.

These investments allow us to further modernize the gas distribution system, minimizing repairs and any service interruption. Proactively upgrading the system helps to ensure our customers have a better, stronger network to meet their energy needs.

Our GSEP not only ensures the safe and reliable delivery of gas but also has a positive impact on the environment by reducing leaks on the system and the amount of the greenhouse gas, methane, emitted into the atmosphere. The work we’ve done replacing the 500 miles of leak-prone gas main across the commonwealth has resulted in reductions of approximately 500 metric tons of methane annually, the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 2,400 cars from the road in a year.

We’re proud to have developed and implemented a shared action plan with organizations like the Home Energy Efficiency Team, Gas Safety Inc. and Mothers Out Front to field-test multiple methods to identify leaks with a significant environmental impact. Our accelerated program eliminates high-emitter gas leaks, which are leaks considered to be environmentally significant.

Depending on the extent of its spread, high-emitter leaks are repaired within 12 months to two years as required by state regulations, and we have committed to repairing these leaks sooner than that regulatory requirement.

Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions also includes preventing those incidents that can cause damage to our gas system and result in the releases of natural gas into the atmosphere. We’ve implemented a comprehensive program that employs high standards for marking underground gas lines prior to any excavation, as well as training locators and educating third-party excavators.

We were recently approved by our regulators, the state Department of Public Utilities, to test the viability of geothermal networks, which can provide heat without burning fossil fuels and help to decarbonize our gas future. And as a catalyst for clean energy, we will continue to look ahead at cleaner energy supply solutions, such as renewable natural gas and environmentally responsible natural gas supply.

We have long been committed to a culture of “Safety First and Always,” and we have been continually implementing safety improvement initiatives focused on our customers, employees, operations, and the adoption of new and emerging technologies. We will continue to deliver safe and reliable energy, make critical investments and propose new initiatives that will help Massachusetts achieve its bold carbon reduction goals.

Mark Gunsalus is general manager of gas operations for Eversource. To learn more about Eversource, go online to eversource.com.

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“We’re looking at this June for what would amount to a grand opening for a whole new museum, since that’s what it is. That will depend on where we are with public health and the pandemic, and those are things we don’t know. But we are hopeful.”

JOHN L. DOLEVA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame features a new exhibit reflecting the hall’s partnership with TNT. This exhibit spotlights “Inside the NBA,” an award-winning postgame show. Here, hoop hall president and CEO John L. Doleva is seen with the exhibit. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

Hall CONTINUED FROM PAGE J6

$15 million was surpassed so quickly that hall of fame officials raised it to $30 million.

The final windfall totaled $30.2 million.

The hall of fame has undergone massive renovation to expand its lighting, increase its interactive capabilities and maximize exhibit space. Doleva says the renovation work is “98.5%” finished.

“We slowed down the pace of construction because of the pandemic,” he explains.

The COVID-19 scourge was everyone’s nightmare, but it did give workers more time to work on a building that wasn’t utilized in its normal ways.

“We’re looking at this June for what would amount to a grand opening for a whole new museum, since that’s what it is,” Doleva says. “That will depend on where we are with public health and the pandemic, and those are things we don’t know. But we are hopeful.”

For the present, the hall enforces strict protocols that include masks, social distancing and frequent cleaning. “Every time an elevator button is pushed, we clean it,” he says. “We’ve reduced our theater showing from four an hour to two, to allow time for cleaning.”

Doleva learned the challenge of COVID-19 first-hand, having tested positive in late fall. “For two weeks, it knocked me on my back,” he says. Doleva was cleared on Dec. 13 and is healthy again.

He is supervising installation of new offerings such as a Kobe Bryant exhibit and another display that reflects the hall of fame’s new partnership with TNT. This exhibit spotlights “Inside the NBA,” an award-winning postgame show after NBA games on that network.

The decision to move Enshrinement 2020 from Springfield to the Mohegan Sun was difficult for hall of fame officials, who had previously pledged that whatever events were held outside of basketball’s home, the induction ceremony would never leave. What Doleva and others could not have imagined, however, was a global

The hall of fame has undergone massive renovation to expand its lighting, increase its interactive capabilities and maximize exhibit space.

The new look of center court inside the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

“Kobe: A Basketball Life” is a new exhibit honoring Kobe Bryant at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, above and at right. Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. He will be among the members of the Class of 2020 due to be inducted in a delayed ceremony now scheduled for May at the Mohegan Sun casino.

In the top photo, center court at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been transformed as part of a major renovation project over the past two years. A grand opening to highlight the changes will be planned later this year. Above, John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, tries the measure up display at the hoop hall. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

pandemic that put the world on pause.

The enshrinement in May will feature an unusually dazzling class led by Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant. That made Springfield’s loss especially painful, but staging two events eliminates the risk of the 2020 class overshadowing the 2021 inductees, which could likely be led by Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce.

Doleva says booking Springfield for the 2021 event in September substantiates what he’s said all along, which was that moving the 2020 ceremony was a one-time decision driven by unprecedented circumstances. Making the

decision nine months before the event was to be held raised eyebrows, but Doleva says it was necessitated by the complexity of an event that requires year-long planning and involves TV rights, international travel and other factors.

He thinks the Mohegan Sun’s successful staging of the college basketball “Bubbleville” tournament in November, and the fact that January has arrived with the pandemic already taxing Springfield’s capabilities, has validated the decision and its timing. Still, Doleva looks forward to a return to normalcy at the hall of fame, not just at September’s enshrinement but with visitors, gatherings,

The enshrinement in May will feature an unusually dazzling class led by Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant. basketball events and other activities that normally fill the museum’s calendar.

“It all depends on where we are with public health and safety,” Doleva says. “But we are excited at what the hall of fame will be able to offer and look forward to having basketball fans and tourists find out what we’ve added to make their experience more memorable and fun.”

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Simpson

develop and refine our digital engagement skills even as we have re-opened to in-person CONTINUED FROM PAGE J6 visitation. The harsh reality of Sculpture Garden have served the pandemic sparked innovation and made us better and the city and the region for stronger museums. more than 160 years, and we During the coming year, we are constantly evolving. Reinvention is at the core of our will continue to advance our institutional DNA. efforts to be an educational Our ability to embrace resource for ever-broadchange and overcome obstaer audiences. The current cles was put to the test as soon Evolution Campaign at the as we closed to the public. We Science Museum is integral to knew how critically important this goal. Our recently opened it was to our members and Smithsonian Spark!Lab is a friends to stay in touch and to dynamic invention space that be as helpful as we could as we exemplifies our hands-on all adjusted to the new normal. and minds-on approach to stimulating the learning process. Spark!Lab will soon be “We promise to complemented by the opening of an interactive replica of the answer the call International Space Station for social justice that includes displays of astrothrough diverse naut artifacts and a completely renovated planetarium that exhibitions.” features a new projection and Kay Simpson, president and audio system.

CEO, Springfield Museums We will also redouble our commitment to work with our We shifted our in-person community to make Springprograming to online profield a better place to live and graming, adding online class- visit. With the help of donor es, virtual events, video tours Leagrey Dimond, we will develop our property on Chestnut and engagement pages that Street into a retail operation featured activities for people of all ages. These online that benefits the neighborhood activities have proven popuand the museums. lar – expanding our ability to Similarly, we will continue transform the childhood share the unique Springfield home of Theodor Seuss Museums experience exponentially. We continue to Geisel in Forest Park into an

In November, the Springfield Museums welcomed visitors for its annual gingerbread competition and exhibit in the Springfield Science Museum.

The creations were inspired

by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

immersive, multi-media, multilingual experience that raises the profile of Springfield as the home of Dr. Seuss. The house museum will be a stop on a “Ted Tour” which highlights all of the landmarks and places in Springfield that played a role in his development as a creative genius and international icon.

The museums are also collaborating with the Springfield Cultural Partnership and Springfield Parks Department on a two-year public art project to commission eight art installations created by local and national artists in the newly renovated Pynchon Plaza.

In addition to reinventing the

plaza as a dynamic community space, the art work will celebrate Springfield’s citizens, culture and historical legacies.

As the museums move ahead on a comprehensive strategic planning process, we will prioritize inclusivity and access. We are determined to not only make our museums physically accessible, but to make all of our programming, interpretation, marketing and digital communication accessible to everyone.

We promise to answer the call for social justice through diverse exhibitions. We will strive to present programs that help even the disparities in learning opportunities. And,

we will work with community members to offer inclusive cultural experiences for visitors of all ages and backgrounds.

For the Springfield Museums the “Waiting Place” was the “Innovation Space,” and we are “off to Great Places” thanks to the talents and hard work of our staff, our trustees, and our collaborators.

We will all move mountains together – “98 and ¾ percent guaranteed!!!”

Kay Simpson is president and CEO of the Springfield Museums. To learn more about the museums, go online to springfieldmuseums.org.

Apprenticeship program delivers workers

M Passengers ride on one of the new MBTA Red Line cars produced by CRRC in China. Additional Red Line cars will be assembled in Springfield. (MBTA PHOTO)

CRRC CONTINUED FROM PAGE J4

The company has also ramped up hiring. It has 376 employees in the state, 293 of them at the Springfield plant and the rest in Boston working with the MBTA. Of the Springfield employees, 212 are union production workers.

They now are getting or have recently received training in everything from reading blueprints to wiring to drilling a hole.

“Everything is different on a rail car,” Conti explains.

“Drilling a hole is not like drilling a hole at home. You have to use tapping fluid, it has to be precise.”

The factory has a first-of-itskind, state-sponsored apprenticeship program in railroad car manufacturing. It features 2,000 hours of technical training at CRRC in addition to 150 hours of related technical instruction provided by Sheet Metal Workers Local 63.

COVID-19 has made it tough for Conti and his managers to maintain the workforce. On average, 23 people who normally would be on the CRRC factory floor are out with COVID-19 issues.

Those can include illness or the inability to get child care.

“It’s been very significant for us to manage through that,” he says.

Rail cars come to CRRC in Springfield as shells manufactured in China. They’re shipped here by sea, usually to the port of Philadelphia, and then carried north by rail.

The shells spend about three months at the Springfield factory, getting everything from lights to motors installed.

About 60% of the parts are U.S.-made. After assembly, the cars are tested on the factory’s 2,000-foot track along Interstate 291.

The industry is taking root

On average, 23 people who normally would be on the CRRC factory floor are out with COVID-19 issues. Those can include illness or the inability to get child care.

Workers at CRRC in Springfield assemble a rail car for the MBTA in 2019. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

here, according to Conti.

“Let’s be open about that,” he says. “This is the first time in about 100 years we’ve had rail car manufacturing in the state of Massachusetts.”

Wason Manufacturing Co., which made railroad passenger cars, went out of business in the 1930s. It was one of the largest makers of railroad cars and locomotives in the country and operated here starting in 1845.

The state went without federal money on the new trains project so it could require final assembly in Massachusetts.

The state’s idea, under former Gov. Deval Patrick, was to make Massachusetts a center for rail car manufacturing again.

CRRC received a $566 million contract from the MBTA in 2014 to build 152 Orange Line cars and 252 Red Line cars in Springfield. In 2016, the state upped the order with another 120 Red Line cars, with a production cost of $277 million. The Orange Line project is expected to be

completed in 2023, the Red Line in 2024.

The MBTA said in December that it recently accepted the 24th new Orange Line car.

Orange Line trains have six cars each. To date, the Orange Line typically has three new six-car trains, or 18 cars total, in service daily.

The first new Red Line pilot train that entered service at the end of December had prototype cars made in China.

Subsequent cars will be made in Springfield.

Southern California officials voted in 2016 to buy 64 new subway cars for the Los Angeles-area Metro Red Line and Purple Line from CRRC at a cost of $178.4 million. Those pilot cars are expected to arrive this month.

In 2017, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority ordered 45 double-decker rail cars from CRRC at a cost of $137.5 million. Today, the cost is up slightly to $138 million, and those cars will likely arrive in Springfield in May.

ASSACHUSETTS many of whom had been is the first state permanently separated from in the United their current employment States to have a as a result of the COVID-19 registered apprenticeship pandemic.

As a result of this unique program for mechanical partnership and its ability to production worker training collaboratively pivot practices in rail car manufacturing.

The Registered Apprentice- to respond to this surge in ship Program demand, 82 for mechanical production employees were assemblers at hired, including CRRC, with 40 electrical Hampden and 42 meCounty Workforce Board as chanical workers over the last the sponsor, is five months of approved by 2020. These the state Division of Apprenjobs are career tice Standards opportunities David M. Cruise and provides complete with career oppora competitive tunities for unemployed and wage and benefit package and underemployed residents to allowed CRRC to respond to work, be paid and be trained its production needs, while to develop professional putting unemployed individutechnical skills resulting in a als back to work.

Today, CRRC MA’s current long-term career pathway in workforce comprises 376 manufacturing. employees. The manufacCRRC MA, the workforce board and Sheet Metal Work- turing facility in Springfield ers Local 63 are lead partners employs 293 employees, including 212 union production in the registered apprenticeship program and have employees. fostered a unique partnerImmediately upon being ship to provide CRRC MA the hired by CRRC, the newly entry-level employees and hired mechanical assemblers training needed to operaand registered apprentices

CRRC MA in Springfield employs 293 employees, including 212 union production employees. tionalize its rail car assembly operation. The power of this partnership proved to be essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, with the pandemic driving companies to embrace partial virtual recruitment and hiring practices, the partnership moved strategically to respond to CRRC’s need to hire up to 100 new assemblers by December.

The workforce board, working through the MassHire Career Centers in Springfield, Holyoke and Greenfield, coordinated the development and implementation of a series of virtual job fairs that supported CRRC’s shift to virtual hiring platforms and allowed both CRRC and job seekers the opportunity to find each other in “virtual space.”

CRRC pivoted its human resources practices to support the MassHire systems virtual outreach and recruitment platforms allowing for increased access to the CRRC virtual “Hire Room” for interested job seekers,

immediately transitioned to a 150-hour technical instruction program developed jointly by CRRC and Sheet Metal Workers Local 63 that prepared the new employees with the technical skills to perform the required assembly tasks and processes on the CRRC factory floor.

This unique partnership emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in a more strategic position to respond to surges in future demand as CRRC ramps up production for the MBTA’s Orange and Red lines and begins production for the Los Angeles Metro and Philadelphia’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority transit systems.

David M. Cruise is president and CEO of the Mass Hire Hampden County Workforce Board. Co-written by Lydia M. Rivera, director of public relations for CRRC MA Corp. To learn more about the workforce board, go online to masshire hcwb.com. To learn more about CRRC MA, go online to crrcma.com.

Regan CONTINUED FROM PAGE J6

their way through COVID quarantines? What does that mean to tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors who work at Main Street retail businesses and now require us to help them gain new skills, so they are not left behind?

• How will the education of our children, including their preparation to participate in the economic life of Massachusetts, be impacted by the jarring migration to remote or hybrid learning?

Will classrooms look the same?

Many have left the workforce altogether.

The answer to these questions is fundamental to understanding the prospects for the Massachusetts and US economies in the new year. It is also fundamental to developing public policy that balances the solemn task of protecting public health and safety with the equally solemn task of ensuring the economic future of the commonwealth.

Hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors in Massachusetts remain out of work because of the pandemic. Many have left the workforce altogether.

The number of small businesses operating in Massachusetts during November was 37% less than in January. Scores of business owners have told me directly that they are hanging on by a thread and may not make it, even with the latest stimulus passed by Congress.

Addressing the COVID crisis by shutting down the economy again and impeding the ability of people to support their families is not a solution. Neither is imposing Draconian tax increases to address the state’s fiscal issues on the backs of businesspeople trying to keep people employed amid permanent, structural changes to the way we live and work.

The catalyst for all the other changes that will shape the post-COVID world will be a fundamental re-imagining of the U.S. workplace. It’s an overhaul that is already re-aligning job opportunities among industries while weakening the physical bonds that have traditionally tied workers to a particular place.

Some of the repercussions are positive – less traffic in major urban areas, more flexibility for workers and expanded opportunities for employers to hire talented people virtually anywhere.

The bad news? Cities like that have thrived on proximity-driven innovation and community intellectual energy could see that energy dissipate as companies accelerate the move toward virtual operations. Given the OK to go remote, workers may use their freedom to move to cheaper metros where they can afford more space, inside and outside.

Ravi Kumar, president of Infosys, argues that “work will increasingly get disconnected from companies, and jobs and work will increasingly get disconnected from each other.’’

As more work becomes modular, digitized and disconnected from an office or factory, many more diverse groups of people – those living in rural areas, minorities, stay-at-home moms and dads and those with disabilities – will be able to compete for it from their homes.

We are thus confronted by an economy shaped by crisis, buffeted by structural change and marked by a delicate balance of risks and opportunities.

John Regan is president and CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts. To learn more about the organization, go online to aimnet.org.

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Sullivan CONTINUED FROM PAGE J2

cial spaces of Boston, New York or other major cities.

These are the opportunities that I believe the pandemic has presented to the Western Massachusetts region. An opportunity that we need to seize upon.

In August, the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts partnered with the Mass Tech Collaborative, Congressman Richard Neal and iROBOT’s CEO, Colin Angle, to host an event that showcased the capabilities of the Western Massachusetts manufacturers, businesses and services providers to iRobot and other major, mostly out of the region companies. These larger companies were exploring their desire to diversify their supply chains, on-shore some functions, and potentially relocate some services closer to their current base of operations.

The event attracted over 350 participants and has led to contracts being awarded locally, opportunities to bid on products and services have been offered and some site-selection activities have been generated. By all measures the event was successful, and we have already contracted with Mass Tech Collaborative to conduct four similar events in 2021.

The out-of-region companies that participated were impressed with the caliber of the work product that our Western Massachusetts companies provide but also the very competitive costs and turnaround times. This combined with the fact that Western Massachusetts is closer and a more reliable partner in their supply chains is the reason business opportunities will be available to the companies of Western Massachusetts.

The pandemic has shown everyone how important it is to have a reliable supply chain.

Western Massachusetts will compete effectively in the post-pandemic environment.

COVID-19 has also ushered in widespread working from home or telecommuting, a phenomenon that I believe will significantly survive the pandemic. Many of the jobs can be effectively done from an employee’s home or otherwise remotely. Therefore, individuals will have the opportunity to choose where they want to live and in which communities, what kind of amenities they desire, what type of recreational experiences they want to experience and what defines the quality of life they want to experience for themselves and their families.

Western Massachusetts communities offer an amazing quality of life, urban, suburban and more rural. We have trails to hike, bikeways to ride, terrain to ski, lake and beautiful mountain vistas. We have farm to table and craft beer and wine, world class museums and halls of fame, a casino and candle factories. Recreational and cultural opportunities abound.

But, if you desire more, the biggest cities and the ocean shores are a short distance away. We offer a stellar quality of life at a cost of living that is well below Eastern Massachusetts and other large metropolitan areas. The region is seeing people vote with their feet, and you can hear the region’s Realtors say we need more inventory to meet the demand. We have the opportunity to grow all of our communities.

While the pandemic will appropriately be remembered for the pain it has caused, I do believe Western Massachusetts is poised to exit the pandemic with the opportunity to grow our economy, taking advantage of our strengths and talents as a region. The Economic Development Council stands ready to facilitate relations that will grow business opportunities and market the region and all of its assets. We will emerge better and stronger.

“Fortunately, for the people of the Pioneer Valley, compassion and resilience are never in short supply.”

ROGER CRANDALL, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MASSMUTUAL

Crandall

On Jan. 5, Michael Kennealy, the state’s secretary of housing and economic development, helps introduce a new program, Mass Internet Connect, at the Springfield Innovation Center as Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito look on.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE J2

So, we moved quickly and got creative. The result was HealthBridge, our free life insurance program for health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19, which we were able to launch in a matter of weeks thanks to our ongoing investment in digital technology. We are now protecting more than 10,000 people with this coverage (and we’d love to protect even more – please visit Mass Mutual.com/HealthBridge if you or a loved one may be eligible).

Many others also approached the pandemic with creative can-do-ism, including the New North Citizens’ Council – our partners on the Live Mutual Project in Springfield.

The citizens’ council’s constituents serve as community advocates – but not all of them have devices or experience using computers. New North Citizens’ Council stepped in to fill those gaps, providing technology and support to ensure they could meet virtually with their constituents and continue to help families in need. For example, some families were struggling to stay in their homes, so the citizens’ council connected them with resources that provide rent and mortgage financial assistance.

In short, the New North Citi-

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

zens’ Council used creativity to meet urgent community needs while staying connected to the people they serve – delivering compassionate solutions that will have a positive impact for years to come.

This type of approach will serve us well as we rebuild sectors that have faced challenges for years. Consider early childhood education. A strong, equitable early childhood system benefits our world in significant ways. It gives parents an affordable childcare option so they can stay in the workforce, and it gives young people access to education during a critical phase in their development.

Yet even before the pandemic, many childcare providers had difficulties sustaining their businesses. Many working

families were unable to find quality programs they could both access and afford. Those issues are often worse for families of color – the same communities hit hardest by COVID-19.

This is why I have joined the Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education as a cochair to promote a new social compact for early childhood education – one that acknowledges it as a key driver of equity for students of all backgrounds and as a necessary component of our economic infrastructure.

In fact, the recovery is also an opportunity to improve several aspects of our infrastructure – especially those that connect us. For example, I applaud the ongoing efforts of state lawmakers to provide funding

and additional support to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s Last Mile program, which brings broadband to communities in the commonwealth that lack adequate service, many of which are in the Pioneer Valley.

Similarly, we have an opportunity to make progress on the east-west passenger rail line.

I was pleased to see the final state report on the rail line offered a path forward on the project and that authorization for potential state funding was included in the recent transportation bond bill. Choosing to invest in greener and more convenient transportation will make the Pioneer Valley’s lifestyle and affordability more accessible and attract talented people to the region.

Possibilities like this make

me hopeful for our future – but of course, we still have a long way to go as we rebuild from this crisis. People went through a lot in 2020, and many are still suffering. They’ll need our unwavering support in the weeks, months, and years ahead. We’ll need to draw from the same well of compassion that led people to donate to recovery funds, sew masks for their neighbors and show support for frontline health care workers.

Fortunately, for the people of the Pioneer Valley, compassion and resilience are never in short supply. This region has seen tough days before and chose to reinvent every time.

It’s something MassMutual shares with our home community – a history of responding with strength and hope in times of crisis. Together, we’ll once again chart a new way forward.

Roger Crandall is chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual. To learn more about MassMutual, go online to massmutual.com.

DINE SAFELY

with us!

Ways to Enjoy Safe Dining at the Delaney House: Dine in our dining rooms (at least 6 feet away from other guests) Take Out Curbside Pick-Up Delivery (Delaney House, DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats) Standard Hotel Room Service Private Dining at Hotel (visit stayatthed.com for more info)

We’re here Wednesday through Sunday to serve your favorite Delaney House menu items however you’re most comfortable, because your safety is our priority.

We’ve got it all covered!

Contact Us From 5-8 p.m.

Wednesday-Sunday BOE 4VOEBZ #SVODI 'SPN B N Q N

(413) 532-1800 www.DelaneyHouse.com 3146669-01

Richard K. Sullivan Jr. is president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. To learn more about the council and its work, visit the website, westernmassedc.com.

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HOLYOKE, MA 01040 HOLYOKE, MA 01040

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

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We look forward to Reimagining Your Symphony!

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In tomorrow’s OUTLOOK BUSINESS MONDAY section: Mayor says building back Springfield needs ‘bold’ actions

Outlook 2021

K

| SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

In City of Homes, hometown contractor succeeds City Enterprise is one of few women-owned, -led firms

Wonderlyn Murphy, a native of Springfield, is president and CEO of City Enterprise Inc. The company is one of the few women-owned and -led construction firms in the state.

By ELIZABETH ROMAN

my education, and I look around and see all the wonderful architecture, the After recently finishing a demolition buildings that are just boarded up that and structural repair project involving a have so much potential,” Murphy says. historic building in downtown Spring“I happen to be in an industry where I field, Wonderlyn Murphy, president of can possibly do something about it.”

City Enterprise Inc., is turning her atMurphy founded City Enterprise, with tention to affordable housing in restored offices located on Berkshire Avenue, homes. in 2006. Nearly 15 years later and two “I am a Springfield native. I have been decades since she first got into the inhere my whole life except for when I got dustry, Murphy remains one of the few eroman@repub.com

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

Higher ed brings value to region’s well-being

women who owns and and operates a construction company.

She credits hard work, honesty, integrity and follow-through as the reasons her business has continued to grow throughout the years.

“The fundamentals of business are the same across the board,” Murphy explains. “You have to have honesty, integrity, communication, focus, follow-up

SEE CONTRACTOR, PAGE K12

“You have to reinvent yourself. If you stay stagnant, you will be written off the face of the Earth.”

ALI R. SALEHI, PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA MANUFACTURING INC., WESTFIELD

T

HIS YEAR’S THEME for The Republican’s annual Outlook edition is one that captures the spirit of our valley and our hill towns: recovery and reinvention. Our ability to thrive as a region after this pandemic depends not just on surviving this global health crisis, but on reinventing ourselves as a people and as varied industry and nonprofit sectors.

As a region, we are learning from the pandemic and are becoming more resilient from having to respond and adapt to the unprecedented conditions of the last year. The pandemic has highlighted our resourcefulness, gener-

Yves SalomonFernandez osity and ability to lift up our people and institutions during the most challenging of times – the very essence of community.

The agility that Greenfield Community College and the

SEE HIGHER ED, PAGE K9

At left, the Columbia Galaxy Puzzle Table is made by the Columbia Manufacturing Inc., in Westfield. Among the work the company has taken on amid the pandemic has been privacy screens used in health care settings, right. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

MANUFACTURING

Switching gears to help Columbia adds PPE to its portfolio for pandemic response

Students Chase Boisseau, left, and Avel Vdovichenko work in the machine shop at Westfield Technical Academy.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

EDUCATION

Tech schools adapt to COVID challenges

C

By LORI STABILE

Special to The Republican

olumbia Manufacturing Inc. began as the country’s first bicycle maker in 1877 and switched gears to school furniture in the 1950s, a line that became the company’s mainstay.

By Ron Chimelis

supervises the training of 1,300 vocational students in The vocational director at Springfield.

Roger L. Putnam Vocational Those students have been Technical Academy says the learning remotely since last 11 months have been September, and having their difficult, but could have been education delivered much worse. differently than they’d antic“Some districts were caught ipated.

“Our district made an early (unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic). They planned commitment to full remote,” for hybrid last summer and Alves said. “We had time to then had to go back to full prepare. If we can transfer to SEE TECH, PAGE K18 remote,” said Joao Alves, who rchimelis@repub.com

An original late 1800s bicycle, back, a 2017 replica bicycle, left, a 125th anniversary bike, center, and a recent replica of a military bike from the Columbia Manufacturing Inc., are on display at the company’s headquarters in Westfield. Above right is Ali R. Salehi, CEO and president. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

In 1993, so it could focus solely on school furniture, Columbia authorized another company to make bicycles.

SEE COLUMBIA, PAGE K14

FOR NEARLY 150 YEARS, this community has entrusted Baystate Health with its health and wellbeing.

From our earliest beginnings at Springfeld Hospital, to the modern-day Baystate Medical Center, to today’s continually evolving integrated healthcare system, Baystate Health has grown alongside the many lives it serves.

We are humbled and privileged to make a difference in the lives of our patients every day.

>> Apply Today | BaystateHealthJobs.com

BaystateHealth.org CS12613

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In this photo from 1967, the Polish National Credit Union planned to officially unveil a new home on Exchange Street in Chicopee at the corner of Miller Street.

At the time, Polish National was the largest independent credit union in Western Massachusetts. (EDWARD

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

The Polish National Credit Union headquarters at 46 East Main St. in Chicopee. The credit union, founded by a group of Polish immigrants, is marking its 100th anniversary this year. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

BELLAMY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION)

BANKING & FINANCE

Polish National marks century of savings Credit union was founded in 1921 by Polish immigrants Felix Furtek, first president of the Polish National Credit Union, which was founded in 1921.

(EDWARD BELLAMY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION)

A

By STAASI HEROPOULOS

Special to The Republican

century ago, 15 Polish immigrants banded together, collected $325 and founded the Polish National Credit Union because no one else would take their money. They worked in Chicopee’s textile mills in what were seen as menial jobs, and the region’s banks didn’t want their business.

“By and large they were penniless and undereducated,” explains Sarah Mailhott, marketing manager for the credit union celebrating its centennial. “Most of these young men and women were fleeing the poorest provinces of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

“A lot of the local institutions didn’t want to be associated with these immigrants, so they decided to form their own credit union, and, ironically, they didn’t discriminate. You didn’t have to be Polish to bank at the Polish National Credit Union.”

The credit union will celebrate not only its centennial on March 21 but also its achievements, having grown to be among the major players in finance in Western Massachusetts with seven branches, 15,000 members and assets hovering around $700 million.

“This is a landmark year for us because you don’t hear about too many businesses that have been around as long as we have,” Mailhott

SEE POLISH, PAGE K15

BANKING & FINANCE

Thomas Senecal

PeoplesBank stays nimble, responsive

I

SEE SENECAL, PAGE K16

Pandemic drove rise in personal savings, online banking

F

By Jim Kinney

jkinney@repub.com

The main branch of Freedom Credit Union at 1976 Main St., Springfield. Freedom has 11 credit union locations around Western Massachusetts in Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

or bankers like everyone else, 2020 was a year of dealing with COVID-19: making sure branches were safe, customers cared for and employees healthy while processing a mountain of Paycheck Protection Program loans.

It also was a busy year for home mortgage loans – single-family home sales were up across the region – and a year when many Americans saved more money than usual.

The Personal Savings Rate, figured as a percentage of income, spiked in 2020 when people were working but had fewer places to spend. That spike subsided as the summer wore on, but saving still remained higher than it was in 2019.

In 2021, bankers are looking for more traditional lines of business – commercial loans, home mortgages – to replace PPP loans from the federal government.

Between savings and PPP, Monson Savings grew its assets quickly by $30 million to $510 million. It’s a funny time for bankers, says Steven E. Lowell, the outgoing CEO and continuing chairman of the board.

“What we need are loans.

Our challenge will be to put that money back out to work,” he says.

Banks’ ability to loan will largely depend on the willingness of businesses to borrow.

“Loan demand and business optimism go hand in hand,” says Matthew S. Sosik, president and CEO of Hometown Financial Group, the parent of BankESB, formerly known as Easthampton Savings Bank. “We’re hopeful.”

Associated Industries of SEE BANKS, PAGE K16

Pandemic accelerated adoption of online, mobile banking

F Daniel R. Moriarty, left, has been named the new CEO of Monson Savings, succeeding Steven E. Lowell, right. The two executives are pictured in the lobby of the newest Monson Savings branch in East Longmeadow, which opened in August. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“What we need are loans. Our challenge will be to put that money back out to work.”

STEVEN E. LOWELL, MONSON SAVINGS

REEDOM CREDIT Union was chartered in 1922 as the Western Massachusetts Telephone Workers Credit Union. Although we have been in business for 98 years and survived through many turbulent times, it’s safe to say that we have not faced a challenge like COVID-19.

We operate 11 branches in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. On March 18, we made the difficult decision to close our doors to members and offer drive-up service only.

Freedom has invested significantly in technology

Glenn Welch and services over the last few years which allows members to do business with us without the need to come into our offices. We partnered up with Allpoint ATM networks in

SEE WELCH, PAGE K15

Community Banking is in good hands.

The future brings new leadership for Monson Savings Bank.

Our commitment to remain a mutually chartered, customer focused, community bank is here to stay.

Longtime friends, team members and true locals Dan Moriarty and Michael Rouette will lead Monson Savings Bank forward, following the retirement of Steve Lowell. They are dedicated to continuing to uphold the values that makes Monson Savings Bank a trusted local community banking partner and a preferred employer.

Michael Rouette, EVP Chief Operating Officer | Steve Lowell, CEO | Dan Moriarty Sr., current President and future CEO

Member FDIC | MonsonSavings.bank Each depositor is insured by the FDIC to at least $250,000. All deposits above the FDIC insurance amount are insured by the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).

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N A YEAR UNLIKE ANY other, PeoplesBank also experienced events we have never seen before.

For instance, in the span of just a few days in April, we processed loans as part of the national Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with total values that would represent many months worth of work in ordinary circumstances.

Our frontline associates were deemed essential workers, and, each day, they put themselves at risk in order to help our customers with their pressing financial needs. In fact, so strange was the year that we even found ourselves insisting that our customers wear masks into the bank, and who would ever thought we’d see that day?

As we look to 2021, we look forward to better days and better times ahead. One of those things we are looking forward to is a little R&R – Rest and Relaxation. However, in the meantime we are also now focused, along with many others, on a different type of R & R – Recovery and Reinvention, as this edition of Outlook details.

In many ways, a local bank rises and falls along with the local economy, and we all share a strong desire to have an economic recovery that is solid, sustained, and lifts all segments of our society. We remain committed to playing our part in that recovery, with support for local businesses and customers, and also as an employer and workplace of choice in the communities we serve.

Part of our own recovery process will come with a hoped for “return to normalcy” for our associates, with an easing of the additional pressures and stresses created by the pandemic. While they have performed heroically, that has not come without a cost.

As for reinvention, when we pivoted our business in March to quickly enable a

Loans will signal return to normal

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Nicole Ortiz is the owner of Crave, a food truck and catering business. Ortiz also completed the Entrepreneurship for All, EforAll, entrepreneurship program in Holyoke. (MICHAEL GORDON / HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE)

Crave to succeed is dream come true

Holyoke Community College culinary arts alumna Nicole Ortiz cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the October grand opening celebration for her business, Crave. With her is Mayor Alex B. Morse at the event held outside the college’s MGM Culinary Arts Institute. (MICHAEL GORDON / HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE)

Pandemic did not deter launch, nor success of business

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By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ

Special to The Republican

efore Nicole Ortiz made her culinary dreams come true, she admits she didn’t even know the proper way to hold a kitchen knife.

Ortiz is the chef and owner of Crave, a wildly successful food truck business out of Holyoke specializing in tacos, rice balls, soups, loaded potatoes and a variety of vegan and vegetarian options.

The birth of her business is thanks to her dedicated work ethic, the MGM Culinary Arts Institute at Holyoke Community College, and Holyoke SPARKS’s EforAll (Entrepreneurship for All) program.

“It has been a dream of mine for a long time,” Ortiz says.

After graduating from Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, the Connecticut native moved to Western Massachusetts to be closer to her family. While in Cleveland, Ortiz had been a frequent visitor to its outdoor market.

“There were so many food trucks, and I tried to eat at them as much as possible,” she remembers. “I fell in love with the idea to have my own food truck.”

In 2018, Ortiz became a part of the MGM Culinary Arts Institute Class of 2020 and spent two years perfecting her kitchen skills and learning everything about the business of food. She was very interested in learning about how to use local ingredients.

“It’s super important to use local ingredients because it keeps the local economy thriving, and you use better, organic produce, avoiding added chemicals or preservatives,” she explains.

Before perfecting her ingredient lists, future menus and finding her actual food truck (eventually purchased in Hartford), Ortiz yearned to learn more.

In the summer of 2019, Ortiz saw an advertisement posted at HCC, promoting a pitch contest that was sponsored

by Holyoke SPARK’s EforAll program. Her pitch yielded first place in the contest and a $1,000 prize.

“Making the pitch to get into the program was great because it helped me really get my thoughts in order,” Ortiz adds.

EforAll provided her indepth classes, and a team of three mentors. “The mentorship part of the program was probably the best part of the program,” she says.

EforAll is a free program

SEE CRAVE, PAGE K20

Nicole Ortiz looks out the service window of her food truck, Crave, during a grand opening celebration held in October. She’s been focusing on a catering business over the winter and may add another food truck this spring.

(MICHAEL GORDON / HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE)

EforAll takes entrepreneurship to all Spanish-language effort launched last spring in WMass

By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ

Special to The Republican

Tessa MurphyRomboletti

The Holyoke-based Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) effort recently received a $277,777 grant from Facebook as part of a

$10 million Racial Justice grant initiative.

The grant will allow EforAll to expand its program for inclusive entrepreneurship in existing communities like Holyoke, particularly among Black and Latino Americans.

According to Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, executive director of EforAll in Holyoke, says the Facebook grant was awarded to

the national EforAll organization, and Holyoke was selected out of 400 others for its dedication to racial justice and equity through inclusive entrepreneurship.

“We believe that fostering entrepreneurship is one of the most empowering forms of social service because it transforms people in need of help into people capable of providing for their own SEE EFORALL, PAGE K17

SMALL BUSINESS

Jeff’s Granola is all about the giving Retired educator models business on Newman’s Own

Y

By STAASI HEROPOULOS

Special to The Republican

ou’d have to be nuts to give away all the money you make as a small business owner.

Jeff’s Granola founder Jeff Greim and his employee, Katherine Tapp, hold some of the granola that’s made with organic, all-natural ingredients in large batches at East Baking Co. in Holyoke. (JEFF’S GRANOLA PHOTO)

In fact, nuts are a key ingredient in the granola Jeff Greim makes and a reason he can donate thousands of dollars each year to charities across Western Massachusetts.

Greim founded Jeff ’s Granola in 2012, using a recipe cooked up by a neighbor. He tweaked it here and there, using only organic, all-natu-

Jeff’s Granola, founded in 2012 by Jeff Greim, of Longmeadow, donates its profits to area charities. It was recognized by the Small Business Administration of Massachusetts as its Microbusiness of the Year for 2020. (JEFF’S GRANOLA PHOTO)

ral ingredients made in large batches at East Baking Co. in Holyoke. He started with a single product line and, today, has six.

Solid profits eluded Jeff ’s Granola during its first few years in business, but by 2017 revenue hit $11,000.

That grew to $16,000 in 2018, $118,000 in 2019 and $190,000 in 2020. Greim

landed two major accounts in 2018 and in 2019 debuted Jeff ’s Granola with Foragers Markets in its Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York, locations, which explains how his business took off.

“I began selling one-ounce packets of granola to the Springfield and Providence (Rhode Island) school systems SEE GRANOLA, PAGE K17

“It’s a pleasure to recognize Jeff Greim for creating a brand that supports the community.

Small businesses are such an integral part of the commonwealth’s ecosystem, and the work they do in helping to build and support vibrant communities is so worthy of recognition.”

ROBERT NELSON, MASSACHUSETTS DISTRICT DIRECTOR, SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K5

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

OUR MISSION STATEMENT Driving the economic vitality of the business community and region through leadership, advocacy and partnerships.

THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN ONE LIKE NO OTHER. Over the past year, our community has faced unprecedented challenges. The Springfield Regional Chamber has helped our members every step of the way through business assistance, counseling and resources; more than 150 timely communications; helping members obtain more than 1.5 million pieces of PPE; representing the region to the Reopening Advisory Board; connecting members through virtual events; developing a comprehensive Guide for Reopening; and now shifting into recovery support.

TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD A BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE AND....

• CONVENE LEADERS AND INFLUENCERS TO GET THINGS DONE Represent the interests of the business community in the Springfield Region

“I’m quite proud of the Chamber Board and Executive Committee in the leadership demonstrated in reaction to the pandemic.

I’m even more proud of Nancy Creed and the Chamber staff and how they were able to quickly pivot toward lending a helpful hand to our members with navigating the uncertain waters of the Coronavirus.”

- Mark French, Chair, SRC Advertising Director, The Republican

• CHAMPION BUSINESS GROWTH Help small businesses in the Springfield region gain a competitive edge

• CATALYST FOR THRIVING COMMUNITIES

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Create a shared vision for the Springfield Region

JOIN OUR EFFORTS AND BECOME A CHAMBER MEMBER TODAY!

springfieldregionalchamber.com

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Insurance agencies Nonprofit helps young inventor grow, hire ENTREPRENEURSHIP

in forging industry connections

A

S MASSACHUsetts continues to grapple with COVID-19, the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic have rightly remained front and center in the public conversation.

However, if you know where to look, you can also find examples of employers and industries that are not only surviving during the downturn, but actually growing and hiring.

Among these employers are your local independent insurance agencies. Even now, when every aspect of our lives seems to be in turmoil, we all still need to insure our vehicles, homes, and businesses against loss. When COVID restrictions were put in place, Massachusetts insurance agents were deemed essential workers. Agencies have kept their doors open (both actually and virtually) to serve their customers and their communities.

The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents is a trade association that represents nearly 1,200 independent insurance agencies across the commonwealth. These small- and medium-sized local businesses employ approximately 10,000 workers in well-paying jobs and contribute more than $1 billion annually to the Massachusetts economy.

The association recently surveyed our members about the needs and challenges they have been facing during the COVID crisis. Nearly half (47%) of respondents indicated that they currently have or anticipate staff openings, and are looking to hire new talent.

Even before the pandemic hit, insurance agencies were actively seeking to expand their workforces. That trend is reflected across the country, with more than 400,000 job openings in our industry nationwide. In 2017, U.S. News and World Report ranked “Insurance Agent” fourth on their list of best jobs. As the industry continues to evolve in new and exciting ways over the coming year, we will be actively recruiting the next generation of insurance agency professionals.

What does an insurance career offer?

Nick Fyntrilakis

“The association recently surveyed our members about the needs and challenges they have been facing during the COVID crisis.

Nearly half (47%) of respondents indicated that they currently have or anticipate staff openings, and are looking to hire new talent.”

Nick Fyntrilakis, president and CEO, Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents

• Attractive Compensation and Benefits: We want to see our employees thrive and grow in their careers.

That starts with offering good wages and health and retirement benefits. An agency account manager’s salary, for example, can range from $40,000 to $60,000 plus benefits, depending on level of experience; • Advancement Opportunities: An entry-level agency employee can pursue training and professional designations that pave the way for continuous advancement – with or without a college degree; • Stability: More than 40% of Massachusetts insurance agencies have been in business for over 50 years. Many individuals who run agencies or companies are retiring.

They are looking for new talent to bring in and perpetuate the businesses they’ve spent their lifetimes building up;

SEE FYNTRILAKIS, PAGE K19

I

By Carolyn Robbins

Special to The Republican

t’s a long way from a back-of-thenapkin idea to a dream fulfilled, but a nonprofit with an office at the Springfield Technology Park is helping innovators forge ahead with the process.

Forge, launched five years ago under clean-technology incubator Greentown Labs, helps startups on their journey from prototype to product by connecting them with manufacturers, design firms and engineers.

One of the hundreds of innovators Forge is helping is 19-year-old Connor MacFarlane, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Engineering, who is developing a wearable insulin delivery

University of Massachusetts Amherst sophomore Connor MacFarlane is developing an insulin-delivery system for diabetics with help from the nonprofit Forge. He is shown in front of the UMass Life Sciences building. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

device for diabetics.

The design, he said, reduces pain, plastic waste, the amount of supplies people need to carry and the amount of time spent managing the disease.

MacFarlane, who was diagnosed with diabetes in high school, said he was frustrated that insulin delivery systems were difficult to manage for an active teenager.

A member of Medford High School’s crew and swim teams, MacFarlane was taking four insulin injections a day. Wearing a patch wasn’t practical when “you’re diving into a pool all the time,” he said.

His light-bulb moment came one day while he was out to dinner with his parents and he excused himself from the table to administer an

insulin shot.

“I came back to the table, grabbed a napkin and drew a sketch for my mom,” he said.

Fast forward to the fall of 2019, when MacFarlane, a chemical engineering major at UMass, attended “boot camp” at the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship.

When he shared his idea, he was encouraged to pursue it and come back with a design.

Today his company — Improved Insulin Delivery (IID) — is well on its way to producing a prototype. There is no timeline for when the device would hit the market, MacFarlane said, adding that like other medical devices it would require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

To date, his venture has received more than $30,000

“I want to get the product to young active adults with diabetes.”

CONNOR MACFARLANE, IMPROVED INSULIN DELIVERY

in nondilutive funding, some of it from beating out 100 students during a pitch competition hosted by the Berthiaume Center.

IID has done prototyping work with the W.E.B. Du Bois 3D printing lab and the Advanced Digital Design and Fabrication lab at UMass

SEE FORGE, PAGE K19

HOLYOKE COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL 2200 Northampton Street Holyoke, MA 01040 • 413-533-0111

Attention Parents Lottery for Student Placement Applications can be receive up to Wednesday March 3, 2021 at 12:00 noon Pick-up your application at the School or download at www.hccs-sabis.net Lottery will happen on Thursday, March 4, 2021 @ 4:00 p.m.

Atención Padres Lotería para Ubicación de Estudiantes Aplicaciones serán recibidas hasta el Miércoles, 3 de marzo del 2021 a las 12:00 p.m.

Recoja su solicitud en la Escuela o imprima en www.hccs-sabis.net Lotería Jueves, 4 de marzo, 2021 @ 4:00 p.m.

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K7

WORLD OF WORK

Workplace reimagined Pandemic transformed how, where we work

N

By CAROLYN ROBBINS

Special to The Republican

ow more than ever, home is where the office is.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, business trends – such as remote working and teleconferencing – were already gaining momentum. says, noting that time management skills come into play. “It’s important to set boundaries.”

One of the potential downsides of remote work is the absence of face-to-face workplace interactions that can lead to creative solutions to problems.

Those collaborations “are difficult to replicate online or on a zoom meeting,” Spotts says. “A lot work of work is done in the hallways through conversations that lead to brainstorming and new ideas.”

For that reason, Spotts thinks that it’s likely some hybrid work models may become more common. “Workers may spend one or two days at the office and the rest of the week at home, for example,” he says.

Prior to the pandemic, many companies were wary about allowing employees to work remotely, believing that workers had to be physically present to be productive, according to Spotts. The pandemic has proven that workers are just as productive and committed to their jobs when working from their homes, he believes Now that employees have begun to acclimate to the remote workplace, companies will be forced to provide those opportunities to keep talented workers, a recent Gallup survey showed. The survey revealed that 54% of U.S. workers would

Joe Gerard, interim management department chair and associate professor at the Western New England University Business School, works remotely in his home office. (REENA LEDERMAN GERARD PHOTO)

agement, information management and sports management. How do we make them relevant?”

The future of work, Gerard believes, will change the way higher education is designed and delivered. For example, the university could offer online and on-campus work certificate programs to equip workers with the technical skills needed to thrive in the 21st century workplace, he says.

Students in their 20s and 30s today are much more concerned about work-life balance.

HARLAN SPOTTS, BUSINESS “Five years ago when students PROFESSOR, WESTERN NEW were asked about their vision ENGLAND UNIVERSITY for the future, work-life balance wasn’t on their radar, now they say it’s very important,” Gerard leave their current job for one says. “Now, in grad schools, that allowed them to work there is a lot of discussion about remotely. work-life balance.”

Joe Gerard, an associate The effect of the pandemic professor of management at Western New England Univer- on office market real estate sity’s Business School, says the could be profound also, some unanticipated pandemic crisis business analysts believe. has exposed a number of cracks Companies are reassessing in American business – and in how much office space they the field of higher education. need to rent or buy when a “Some were able to respond larger segment of the workforce continue to work remotemore rapidly to the pandemic ly after the pandemic is over. than others,” Gerard says. “In Transportations costs – inhigher education, we’ve been looking at curriculum of all the cluding gasoline for automobiles and mass transit expenses disciplines –business man-

“The pandemic is accelerating many industry trends by as much as five years.”

– are reduced.

“Work can be done from anywhere you want,” Gerard says.

Workers are moving far from their home office and keeping their jobs, so there is a lot of mobility in the professional class, he adds.

Bruce Weinberg, chairman of the marketing department at the Isenberg School of Business at the University of

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Now, a year later, with the pandemic continuing, more and more professional workers have replaced office cubicles for spare rooms and kitchen tables in their homes where they set up their laptops for work assignments and virtual business meetings.

With the recent roll out of new vaccines to combat the coronavirus, there is hope that businesses will return to normal by the end of 2021.

“But what that normal will look like is a question,” says Western New England University business professor Harlan Spotts.

“The pandemic is accelerating many industry trends by as much as five years,” Spotts said during a recent interview, noting that the rapid changes will be a learning process for both employers and employees.

Spotts, a marketing professor, and his family provide a case in point.

Spotts, who had been teaching both on campus and online, is now running classes solely online as does his wife, who is a public school teacher in South Hadley and his son, who is a journalist working for Turley Publications.

“There are challenges associated with being on screen 12 hours a day as opposed to running classes on the ground,” he

Massachusetts in Amherst, says the lines between the bricks-and-mortar office and the home office will continue to blur post-pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, workers have learned new technological skills that will hold them in good stead when and if they go back to the office, he says. “COVID has almost been an experiment on how to navigate and manage (worklife going forward).”

As for the future of work?

“The short answer is that it will be some sort of hybrid,” Weinberg says, adding that more work will go digital and business structures will become less structures and less formal.

“Take the auto industry,” he says. “You don’t have to go to the showroom to buy a car.”

Post-purchase services, for example, might include a video session with a salesperson explaining the features of the car, instead of in-person.

Like Gerard, Weinberg believes the younger generation of workers is seeking flexibility between work and home life. The business imperatives brought on by the global pandemic will affect both companies and workers, going forward, according to a national survey of human resource leaders by Gartner.

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K8 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

EDUCATION

Colleges eye ‘click and mortar’ future

W

By Ron Chimelis

rchimelis@repub.com

hen the coronavirus pandemic closed college campuses in March 2020, administrators initially hoped some normalcy would return by the fall semester.

That did not happen. Some schools reopened dormitories only to have to shut them down again. Others did not reopen their campuses at all, continuing classes online.

Every pandemic in human history has ended, though, and as vaccines are distributed and visions of a COVID-free future are maintained, college officials are reviewing what was lost, learned and accomplished during the past year.

Partnerships formed during the crisis will remain post-pandemic, according to Michael Giampietro, vice president for finance and administrative services at Bay Path University in Longmeadow.

“From the very beginning, the health and safety of our entire community was our main priority,” Giampietro says.

“We developed our Guiding Principles and a Community Compact that students signed agreeing to individual and collective responsibility to keep our community safe. Continual and accessible testing was and still is the cornerstone of our COVID response plan.”

He continues: “We were extremely fortunate to form a partnership with Caring Health Center in Springfield – together, we established a very successful testing site on our campus. It’s a relationship I know will continue in the future.”

Institutions agree remote learning will remain a part of academic curricula moving forward. So will health protocols, says Springfield College chief of staff Kathy Martin.

“Balancing the flexibility that Zoom and other online platforms offer with the highly desired and effective faceto-face educational and occupational experiences that students and employ-

“We know that this pandemic has had a significant impact on high school students, who may need a boost to be college ready.”

Sandra Doran, Bay Path University

“Today’s students seek a path to degree completion that recognizes the fact that life is complicated.”

Westfield State University professor Tarin Weiss teaches a geology class from her Westhampton home in December.

Christina Royal, Holyoke Community College

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

ees value and expect is an opportunity for us (in the) post-pandemic reality,” Martin says.

At Westfield State University, “we definitely see the value in more frequent surveillance COVID-19 testing and further de-densification of residence halls,” says Tricia Oliver, chief of staff to interim president Roy Saigo.

“We have incorporated both into our plans for the spring semester.”

Western New England University president Robert E. Johnson says he was proud the school was one of about 27% of the nation’s institutions that resumed in-person learning in the fall.

Another was Springfield College.

“Keeping the majority of our students on campus for the fall semester was an extraordinary achievement that took the dedication and commitment of all involved, especially our students,”

says Springfield College president Mary-Beth Cooper. “Through it all, I was – and am – grateful for the way that colleges and universities across the state came together to share information, ideas, and strategies so we could all benefit from shared intelligence and wisdom.”

After the pandemic, Johnson says, the time-honored tradition of brickand-mortar college will give way to a new “click-and-mortar” model. “For traditional age students, in-classroom teaching will remain, but there will be more online and hybrid courses and programs taught,” he says.

“Today’s confluence of crisis has created a space for a reset for the way we work,” Johnson says. “It has shown us just how critical it is to provide students with the foundational skillset to be agile in a rapidly changing world.”

It has also put greater focus on students’ mental health.

“We know that students are experiencing greater levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during pandemic times,” Johnson says. “Refining and adding capacity for our services to students and our resources for employees will be a priority.”

With mental health mind, Western New England had a surprise “No Snow, Snow Day” in October to give everyone a break.

“It was received largely with delight,” Johnson says. “It provided an opportunity to take the pressure off, and for students, to have some (safe) fun with entertaining programming.”

The pandemic accelerated academic changes that were already underway at Bay Path.

SEE COLLEGE, PAGE K13

“For traditional age students, inclassroom teaching will remain, but there will be more online and hybrid courses and programs taught.”

Robert Johnson, Western New England University

“It would be wonderful not to worry about food.

We are worried about everything now .... Feeding my family would put some sense of normal in our days.”

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is deeply grateful to the local community for supporting neighbors during these challenging times.

Food insecurity in the region is at an all-time high. In recent months alone, your YROXQWHHU DQG ²QDQFLDO VXSSRUW has enabled The Food Bank to distribute 27% more healthy food.

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K9

EDUCATION

Fast forward for online learning Faculty, students joined forces to learn digital tools Springfield Technical Community College had a long-term plan to ramp up online and digital learning. But, then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced staff working as part of the college’s Center for Online and Digital Learning to move faster than they ever imagined. The staff includes instructional designers who assist faculty in online teaching

methods they incorporate into the classroom experience.

To maintain the safety of students, faculty and staff, STCC moved classes to remote instruction in March.

Instructional designers worked with faculty over the summer to prepare for fully online teaching during this academic year.

Faculty and administrators

acknowledge the abrupt change to remote learning created great challenges and, for some, led to a lessthan-ideal learning environment last spring. The sudden need to vacate campus resulted in the use of a slew of digital tools to communicate with students including email, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, teleconferencing by phone and Zoom.

“Many faculty had been using online tools for the delivery of their face-to face classes. However, for those faculty who were not familiar with the digital space or whose courses required hands-on instruction, the ‘lift’ to online was great,”

said Geraldine de Berly, vice president of academic affairs. “Since the summer, STCC invested in tools and training to assist faculty in developing the best truly online experience possible, including the hiring of a third instructional designer. Today, all online instruction occurs in a single platform, supplemented by class discussions using tools such as Zoom.”

The college anticipates spending nearly $800,000 through May in helping faculty develop hundreds of online classes and labs, de Berly says.

Today, more than 80% of the credits

Higher ed CONTINUED FROM PAGE K1

entire higher education sector in the region continues to show is part of what keeps us vibrant, as a region, and relevant to the state’s economy.

Our higher education sector ensures that we have a skilled and educated workforce upon which our local companies can rely. Our colleges and universities help sustain citizenship and democracy in our region. We also ensure that young and seasoned adults are able to fully participate in the economy and in civic life, lead financially independent lives and contribute to the economic well-being of the region.

Our three community colleges provide the training and education for those wishing to enter the job market immediately after achieving their associate degree or workforce credential. Partnering with our region’s four-year colleges and universities, we also prepare those wishing to complete their bachelor’s degree immediately after graduation.

In our knowledge-driven Massachusetts economy, closing the middle skills gap

Closing the middle skills gap remains an imperative for businesses at a time when we are experiencing a talent shortage, says Greenfield Community College president Yves Salomon-Fernández. It is a goal that the region’s community colleges, including Greenfield, shown here, and universities can help ensure is met. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

remains an important imperative for businesses at a time when we are experiencing a talent shortage. Educated employees fill more than the middle skills gap, however.

They are the innovators, inventors, healthcare, finance and education leaders of our

region.

An educated citizenry, not struggling to make ends meet, uses its disposable income to patronize local businesses, become homeowners, build our tax revenue base and support our region’s intellectual, social, and cultural vibran-

cy. This year, our colleges and universities continued to make this possible. Our local philanthropists and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts did their best to minimize the financial impact on students’ ability to progress with their

“Since the summer, STCC invested in tools and training to assist faculty in developing the best truly online experience possible, including the hiring of a third instructional designer. Today, all online instruction occurs in a single platform, supplemented by class discussions using tools such as Zoom.”

Geraldine de Berly, vice president of academic affairs, Springfield Technical Community College

SEE STCC, PAGE K15

education by supporting them with scholarships.

So, what will higher education in our region look like after the pandemic?

As institutions of higher learning, we are sharpening our ambidexterity – that is our ability to look back to what helped us be successful thus far and look forward to the ways that we will need to evolve because what got us here will not get us there.

As distribution of the vaccine continues over the next few months, we will soon return to a healthy world.

However, we need to prepare for the predicted economic downturn that will ensue, while considering the broad impact of the pandemic on society. Here are some recommendations on how we move forward: • Continue to build our financial, IT, human and institutional resiliency as we prepare for what is predicted to be a difficult decade for higher education in terms of demographics. This means being prepared for multiple futures; • Become an even stronger vehicle for socioeconomic mobility and equity in the region. People of color, women

and folks 50 and older have been most adversely impacted by the pandemic; • Understand how employers’ adaptation for the future should inform the evolution of our existing academic and workforce programs and the creation of new ones; • Work with employers to increase experiential learning opportunities for students.

Paid internships for college students allow companies to partake in training their own workforce at minimal cost. For colleges and universities, these opportunities add market currency to the degrees and credentials that we award; and • With the impending demographic decline, our colleges and universities should allow for an appropriate balance between preparing young people entering the job market for the first time and supporting seasoned adults who will need upskilling and reskilling.

Yves Salomon-Fernández is president of Greenfield Community College. Her social media handle is @PrezYves. To learn more about Greenfield Community and its programs, go online to gcc.mass.edu.

“THE GREATNESS OF A COMMUNITY IS MOST ACCURATELY MEASURED

BY THE COMPASSIONATE ACTIONS OF ITS MEMBERS.” CORETTA SCOTT KING

The strength and resiliency of the local community makes us proud to call you our neighbors. Thank you to everyone for GRLQJ \RXU SDUW GXULQJ WKHVH GLɝFXOW WLPHV

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K10 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

ENERGY

Inventor sees promise in vegetable oil burner

Thomas Leue shows off his patented uncloggable burner head.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Valley Venture Mentors helped guide Yellow Heat

T

By Ron Chimelis

rchimelis@repub.com

homas Leue knows there are skeptics. With almost every invention or new concept, a little snickering in the background shares space with curiosity, optimism and hope.

He is undeterred. Working from his Ashfield shop, Leue is convinced he’s found an energy source that will help the environment, bring small business costs under control and add value to a substance now usually tossed in the dump.

Through Yellow Heat, Leue guarantees a savings of $1 per gallon or more compared to conventional heating oil by burning vegetable oil – also known as yellow grease. “No messy filtering or preheating required!” his website proclaims.

It sounds almost too good to be true, which may be one reason Leue has had to work so hard for broader acceptance.

Vegetable oil as an energy source may sound radical to some. But Leue, whose company, Homestead Inc., is the producer of Yellow Heat, says he’s proven it works.

“It’s non-toxic and non-flammable. There is no fear of a toxic spill in the basement,” he says. “Vegetable oil is rated as a noncombustible liquid, so it is fire safe and safer than heating oil. Our system is continuously monitored by the internet with an app that shows system status on your phone.”

Leue says his burner makes use of a waste product.

“Every restaurant throws away 5 to 10 gallons of vegetable oil a week,” Leue explains.

“I worked in the biodiesel field, and I got to know about vegetable oil. I looked to see if it had any value, and it does.

We can use it as we use heating oil in a lot of cases.”

Leue, who has been working on his idea for 20 years, recently had help from Valley Venture Mentors, a Springfield nonprofit. Leue said he appreciates what help he received, but says the agency was not overwhelmed by his idea. “I don’t think they realized the incentives of (this type of) green energy. They thought it was a far-out idea,” he says.

Valley Venture Mentors thought enough of the Yellow Heat oil burner to provide a $5,000 Clean Tech award, in partnership with the Massa-

Above, Ashfield entrepreneur Thomas Leue has been developing his Yellow Heat filterless vegetable oil burner for 20 years. Leue says the burner, left, can replace most conventional oil burners and will yield $1 or more of savings per gallon. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“He’s very well-intentioned, it’s a really great concept, and he’s a perfect example of (independent) people who follow their goals.”

Thomas Leue, the man behind Yellow Heat, a company that makes heating systems that use vegetable oil for fuel, adjusts a vegetable oil burner in his workshop. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

chusetts Clean Energy Center, in June 2018.

“Valley Venture Mentors and (the clean energy center) have partnered to offer Yellow Heat this grant, as we recognize that using local waste resources to replace fossil fuels is both good for our local economy and the earth. We’re excited to see Yellow Heat expand his business and wish him the best of luck,” said Dorota Glosowitz of Valley Venture Mentors, which posted a sizable story about Leue’s product to its website.

Did Valley Venture Mentors consider the idea “far out”?

Interim CEO Chris Bignell, who met Leue at the Spring-

field Innovation Festival in 2019, acknowledges it’s easy to think that way.

“But then I got to thinking, those are the people (with such ideas) who often strike gold. He’s very well-intentioned, it’s a really great concept, and he’s a perfect example of (independent) people who follow their goals,” Bignell says. “It’s tough for any entrepreneur to do a startup on his or her own. But he’s still plugging away, and those are the people (Valley Venture Mentors) likes to help.”

Yellow Heat’s assets are similar to those of products of Greasecar Inc., an Oregon-based firm that also has

Western Massachusetts roots.

Created in 2000 by Hampshire College graduate Justin Carven, Greasecar produces vegetable oil conversion kits for diesel vehicles.

“They started out right down the street from me, and their idea worked,” says Leue, who adds Yellow Heat’s process is simplified because, unlike some other uses of vegetable oil, it does not require filtering.

Promoting a new idea involves selling it as much as creating it. Thomas Edison was a marketing genius. Leue confesses he is not. “I’m not very good at marketing. And I’m certainly not the biggest

per gallon with vegetable oil hovering around 25 cents, according to Leue.

On the surface, it sounds as if Leue has come up with the right idea at just the right time.

Clean energy is all the rage, notably in Massachusetts, where Gov. Charlie Baker says he wants to be remembered as the environmental governor.

Small businesses are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have been hit especially hard.

Around the United States, it’s estimated at least 100,000 have closed for good, and the survivors must cut overhead to ride out the scourge.

Leue wants people to know he’s the salesman of a burner for vegetable oil, not snake oil.

CHRIS BIGNELL, VALLEY Any inventor wants to make VENTURE MENTORS a buck, but he sounds much more devoted to providing a heat source he says takes the company in the world,” he checklist of traditional energy admits. drawbacks and crosses them Even so, he says vegetaoff, one by one. ble oil has advantages that “There is almost no sulfur science cannot deny. “Yellow in vegetable oil, so it smells Heat is the world’s only heating system that can be carbon better and does not add this to local pollution and acid neutral. It could be popular, rain. Carbon monoxide and especially with some restaufine particulates are greatly rants,” he says. reduced,” he says. “(EnvironThat’s probably Leue’s best target audience. If a restaurant mental Protection Agency) serving fried foods throws out, calculations show a 98% reduction in net climate say, 10 gallons of oil a week, impact as compared to regular it adds up to more than 500 heating oil.” gallons per year.

In the gigantic field of “Vegetable oil goes for about energy, Leue is the quintesone-tenth the cost of heating sential underdog. But then, oil,” Leue says. “Waste oil is nobody believed Edison at much cheaper.” Heating oil first, either. has lately been about $2.35

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K11

“Never in all our years in business has there been such a challenge for us as the pandemic, but, we will survive, and we’re not going anywhere.”

LARRY KATZ, OWNER, ARNOLD’S MEATS

Arnold’s Meats employs about 105 people at 307 Grattan St. in Chicopee and another 45 at 359 Shaker Road in East Longmeadow. Above right, a beef rib roast sits on a meat cutting table at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

RETAIL

Cash-and-carry business helps Arnold’s Meats survive 2020 Pandemic sent wholesale business on 70% tumble

A

By KEITH O’CONNOR

Special to The Republican

s a business owner, one thing Larry Katz, of Arnold’s Meats, didn’t do was to feel sorry for himself when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Customers shop in the pork section at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Meat cutter Ted Kurlej trims a beef fillet before cutting it into 8-ounce portions at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

restaurant,” he adds.

But it is Katz’s wholesale business – including serving colleges, prep schools, small independent markets and restaurants – that is hurting still due to the pandemic and was down 60% to 70% by the end of 2020. It is those customers for whom Katz feels “I am fortunate to have two most sad. cash-and-carry stores in Chi“I’ve never felt as bad in my copee and East Longmeadow, life as I do for these people and people were still buying because they’ve worked food,” Katz explains, noting so hard over the years and Arnold’s Meats considered don’t deserve this,” Katz says an “essential” business not about the hardships faced by affected by the shutdown. restaurants and other food “Our retail business is acservice providers because of tually up 50% because more COVID-19. “Once again, because people aren’t eating out people are eating at home and are buying more food to rather than going out to a

prepare at home, the independent markets we sell to are not being hurt as much.”

Still, Katz – whose uncle and father began the business in the 1950s in Holyoke – has had his own challenges amid the pandemic. His Chicopee store was closed by the municipal Health Department for two weeks after an employee tested positive for the virus.

“I’ve never had two weeks off in my life,” he says, “But, seriously, we did lose some business over the two-week period. Thankfully, we didn’t lose any of our fresh products because we were able to bring them to our East Longmeadow store to sell.”

SEE ARNOLD’S, PAGE K17

g and collaboration enable us to explore and implement the ideas that will shape Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work that we do nnovation and collaboration enable us to explore and implement the ideas that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and d trust are the foun n dations of the work that we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us u to explore and implement the ide d as that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work that we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us to explore and implement the ideas that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work that we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us to explore and a implement the ideas that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work that we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us u to explore and implement the ideas that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are e the foundations of the work that we w er. Innovation and collaboration ena a ble us to explore and implement the ideas that o ur u future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work thatt we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us to explore and implement the ideas that our future. Kindness, inclusion, and trust are the foundations of the work that we er. Innovation and collaboration enable us to explore and implement the ideas that our future.

AT HCC, YOU'LL FIND ALL THE SUPPORT YOU NEED: G AT HCC C ent with guidance Commonwealth of usetts, the CDC, and lth agencies, HCC oped a plan designed a robust academic e while maintaining the d safety of our students, taff and a community. y LY REMOTE C LASSES t, the great majority s will be conducted with the ex e ception Health Sciences and Arts courses, which n approved to conduct ce-to-face instruction ary to meet program ents. These departments loped strict control t maintain hygiene, on and sociall distancing Limited face-to-face nd other services are by appointment when y, and must also comply ge health protocols.

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Flexible online classes Multiple start dates Tutoring & mentoring programs WiFi hotspots & Laptops for you to borrow + Student Emergency Fund for unexpected bills LEARNING AT HCC In alignment with gui g dance from the Commonwealth t of Massachu u setts, th and n other health agencies, HCC C has developed a plan desig g ned to deliver academic experience while maintaining the health and safety of our stud faculty, staff and community.

PRIMARILY REMOTE CLASSES At present, the great at majority of classes will be conducted remote t ly, with exception of so s me Health Sciences and Culinary Arts courses, which have approv v ed to conduct limited face-to-face instruction as necessary to mee requirements. These departments have developed strict control plans tha hygiene, disinfection and social distancing policies. Limited face-to-face other services are available by appointment when necessary, and must al with college health protocols.

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LEARNING G AT HCC In alignment with guidan d ce fro f m the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the CDC, and other health agencies, HCC has developed a plan designed to deliver a robust academic experience whil h e maintaining the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community.

PRIMARILY REMOTE CLASSES ES At present, the great majority of classes will be conducted remotely, with the

K12 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

%%SATFOL-%%3MONTH%%2DATE OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“I have been here my whole life except for when I got my education, and I look around and see all the wonderful architecture, the buildings that are just boarded up that have so much potential. I happen to be in an industry where I can possibly do something about it.”

to quarantine, but nothing serious and no one on my team or their families have come down with COVID, thank God.” Murphy hired two assistant project managers as well as an operations manager in 2020, brining her staffing to WONDERLYN MURPHY, OWNER, CITY ENTERPRISE INC. a total of 15 employees.

“We got so busy it, and it got to be too much for me to do everything on my own,” she says. “I knew that in orCONTINUED FROM PAGE K1 der to be effective and grow and follow-through. You can well I had to delegate and get to the door, but then you hire new staff.” have to get through the door She credits the establishment of an estimating team as well. I think honesty is not for the success the business discussed in business at all, has had in securing conand many people seem to tracts. think that successful people “We have an estimating cut corners to get where they department that includes my are, but that has not been the senior estimator with over case for me.”

Murphy’s credentials 40 years of experience and in are many. She is a licensed the past year we put a system in place for how we were construction supervisor with going to reach out and do our a degree in architectural Wonderlyn Murphy, a native sourcing,” Murphy says. “I design technology from the of Springfield, is president really spent time shoring out Wentworth Institute of Tech- and CEO of City Enterprise nology in Boston. She also the department so we had Inc. The company is one of the earned a master’s degree in a specific way of going after few women-owned and -led management from Cambids and going after pricing construction firms in the state. bridge College and a certifor our subcontractors. We In this photo from Aug. 27, Gov. Charlie Baker gestures in front of 13-31 Elm St. as officials forCity Enterprise recently comfication from the Harvard really got that department mally launched the $51 million Elm Street Redevelopment and Preservation Economic Project pleted the first phase of work Graduate School of Design solid.” in Springfield’s Court Square. The first phase of the project was recently completed to prepare on the 13-31 Elm St. project in In the months ahead, she in program process manage- Springfield’s downtown. the building for future uses, including apartments on the upper floors, which were once hotel (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN) ment. is looking forward to exrooms. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) City Enterprise has grown panding the residential side to the point where Murphy of the business and creating can pick and choose what opportunities for first-time contracts the company will homebuyers and people bid. looking for beautiful, afford“We work mostly on able homes. government contracts with “One of the things that commercial properties, and sparked an interest in me we will take on almost any is that we did a food drive challenge as long as we know and a gloves and hats drive it’s something we can sucfor kids over the holidays. I cessfully complete,” she says. reached out to my employCurrently her team is workees, and we came up with ing on renovating a veterans a lot of food that we took facility in Pittsfield as well as down to the Open Pantry. I delivered it myself and when some projects on the Lowell I got there I saw that there is and Amherst campuses of a serious need,” she says. “It the University of Massachusetts. got me thinking a lot about Her most recent hometown At left, a 2017 photo shows a fifth-floor office in the 13-31 Elm St. building in Springfield’s Court Square before any demolition or how much need there is in restoration work began. The block is to include market-rate housing on its upper stories and is scheduled for completion some- the community, not only project was the $3.4 million demolition, structural repair time in 2022. At right, an exterior view of the 13-31 Elm St. building. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTOS) for food, but for affordable housing for people who want and environmental remeprise’s staff, he says Murphy diation of the former Court to own homes. We are in that down for their team and for work because of that,” Murentire site. phy explains. “We have had industry, this is something I was always monitoring the Square Hotel property at 13any one on my team who Murphy remembers first can do and I’m very excited 31 Elm St. The customer was progress being made. “I was walking into the former hocould have been exposed, so little sprinkles of exposure in my team, so they have had about it.” dealing more with her team, tel, which was built in 1892, the city of Springfield. we lost about two weeks of Peter Garvey, director of as an amazing experience. but she called in quite a bit capital asset management for to make sure everything was “When we first walked in the city of Springfield, says there were murals of the hisgoing fine. It’s important to tory of Springfield that were Murphy’s company took on have that communication,” on the walls. The architeca challenging project with he says. ture and the lights were ina quick turn-around period The work done by City credible,” she says. “It was a and was able to execute it Enterprise preserved the very difficult project because well. historical character of the “We were under pretty the building sat there empty building so that it can be rigorous time constraints, for many years and it was a key feature in the next and they came through,” dilapidated. We were able to phase of the project where Garvey says. “They finished get it to the point where they the WinnCompanies, of on time, on budget and did a Boston, and co-developer can build what they want to good job.” build there.”

Peter Picknelly’s Opal Real While Garvey dealt As part of the next phase of Estate, of Springfield, will primarily with City Enterfully renovate and restore the the project, the street level will be restored for retail and restaurant use, while the upper floors and its original hotel rooms will be converted to one- and two-bedroom housing units. The full project is target to be completed 2022.

As 2021 brings new projects and a new branch of the business which will expand into the residential space Murphy reflects on 2020 and how it affected her business and her team.

“It was honestly our busiest year,” she says. “I hired people during this COVID experience, we got contract after contract and we just kept going. We didn’t miss a beat.”

Although no one on her staff came down with COVID-19 she did recently In this photo from 2014, Wonderlyn Murphy, founder of City En- have to shut down a conterprise Inc., center, receives the Springfield Regional Chamber struction site on Cape Cod of Commerce first place Super 60 honor for revenue growth when the entire sub-conduring the prior year from Glenn S. Welch, left, and Jody Gross, tracted construction team right. It marked the 25th anniversary of the Super 60 recognitested positive for the virus. tion celebration. (THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) “We had to shut the job

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K13

MANUFACTURING

Covestro adapts to help fight COVID-19 Franklin County plant honored for pandemic work

C

By STAASI HEROPOULOS

Special to The Republican

ovestro had quite a year in 2020 and is sailing into 2021 on strong winds from its work to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company earned a legislative salute for helping to protect America’s frontline health care workers and first responders.

Based in Germany, Covestro is a global organization running U.S. operations out of its headquarters in Pittsburgh. There are several manufacturing plants in this country, including one in Whately. The company makes specialty films used in everyday products, spanning multiple industries including automotive, electronics, packaging and

Covestro employs about 180 people at its plant in Whately. Based in Germany, Covestro is a global organization running U.S. operations out of its headquarters in Pittsburgh. The company makes specialty films used in everyday products, spanning multiple industries including automotive, electronics, packaging and health care. It was named Manufacturer of the Year in the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester state Senate district. (COVESTRO PHOTO)

College CONTINUED FROM PAGE K8

“Even before the pandemic, there were intense pressures on higher education to more completely serve the students of today,” says president Sandra J. Doran, who, like Johnson, began her tenure in the middle of the pandemic.

According to Higher Learning Advocates, 37% of today’s college students are older than 25. Almost two-thirds work while in college, about 25% are parenting and 49% are financially independent from their parents.

“We know that this pandemic has had a significant impact on high-school students, who may need a boost to be college ready,” Doran says. “We are looking at creatively planning ways to prepare these students

health care.

The company is playing a crucial role amid the pandemic, manufacturing materials used to make face shields and protective gowns. The business is running nonstop, with employees working 24/7 to handle demand.

Being named Manufacturer of the Year in the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester state Senate district was big news in Covestro’s world.

“Our employees work hard and to be recognized as a manufacturer of the year in Massachusetts is huge, and it helps us from a recruiting standpoint too,” says Robert Walker, head of external communications for Covestro in the U.S. “As we look to filling open jobs and the future workforce, we can talk about the stability of the business, the quality of our work, and the recognition we receive. It goes a long way toward attracting new talent.”

Covestro shuffled its manufacturing operation to handle increasing demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing SEE COVESTRO, PAGE K19

“Pre-pandemic, remote or online courses were not always accepted for credit transfer, especially to some of the more competitive private colleges our graduates often attend after graduating from Holyoke Community College. That has now changed.”

CHRISTINA ROYAL, PRESIDENT, HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

for college through ‘boot camps,’ partnerships with schools, and other initiatives.”

Holyoke Community College president Christina Royal observes changes in both twoand four-year schools.

“Today’s students seek a path to degree completion that recognizes the fact that life is complicated,” she says.

“Flexible schedules, varied semester length, hybrid courses, 24/7 access to student support resources, and mentors that remain with you every step of

the way will become more the norm.”

HCC offered multiple, flexible start dates during the fall semester. “That is an acknowledgment of all that is happening in the lives of our students.

We’re continuing that for the spring semester,” Royal says.

Remote education was not as new as the pandemic made it seem, though the scourge pushed it to the forefront, according to Westfield State’s Oliver.

“Online learning has been

between two- and four-year institutions, notably involving distance-learning courses.

“Pre-pandemic, remote or online courses were not always accepted for credit transfer, especially to some of the more competitive private colleges our graduates often attend after graduating from Holyoke Community College,” she says.

“That has now changed.” critical. part of our course delivery For all the hardships, sacri“One can’t communicate for more than a decade,” she fices and adjustments, adminenough,” he says. “In our says. “Having gained greater istrators share a common case, we used every platform skills around online learning certainly positions us to expand possible to get our message out conviction that the pandemic those offerings, even when we and will continue to do so in the has made them stronger, more aware of their mission, more spring semester.” transition back to more onsensitive to the human needs For people feeling isolated, ground learning, once conditions permit.” of students and staff, and more Royal says too much commuwilling to pivot to different Most Westfield State students nication was better than not enough. forms of delivering an educaprefer to be on campus for tion.

“Being available to answer the “full college experience,” They say that won’t change, questions in real time was a according to Oliver. even when the pandemic is way for everyone to cope and Bay Path’s Giampietro says feel less stressed,” she says. She over – hopefully sometime in keeping employees, students envisions a greater partnership 2021. and families informed proved

I believe in the power of markets to fix problems and turn them into opportunities through constant innovation and visionary thinking.

2020 saw a devastating pandemic test our community like never before, but I have faith in Springfield’s resiliency in 2021 and beyond.

Believe in the future!

Mark W Teed, WMS, CRPC® Senior Vice President, Investments 1500 Main Street, Suite 1700 // Springfield, MA 01115 413.372.6610 // teedcapitalmanagement.com

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At left, an original late 1800s bicycle from Columbia Manufacturing is on display in the Westfield showroom. Above left, the front fender and logo of a 125th anniversary bicycle from Columbia Manufacturing Inc. Above right, Columbia Manufacturing has become best known in its recent history for production of school furniture. Two of the chairs manufactured in Westfield are the Columbia Silhoflex chair, at left, and the Columbia Jiggle chair, right.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

Columbia

“Columbia is truly the only remaining all-American manufacturer of school furniture in this country.

We manufacture all of our frames here.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K1

“The company has a tradition of reinventing itself,” says Ali R. Salehi, president and chief executive officer.

That tradition of reinvention was harnessed again during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Columbia was faced with a decline in demand for school furniture as districts switched to remote learning and budgets tightened amid economic uncertainty.

“Volume took a major, major hit,” he explains. “School construction stopped or slowed.” And, school systems steered funding toward the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE).

In March and April, as the coronavirus spread worsened, Columbia Manufacturing looked to see what it could make to help prevent virus transmission and assist frontline workers, according to Salehi.

“Because of COVID, we did design several new PPE designs,” he says. “You have to use every resource at your disposal. You have to think outside the box.”

In March, Columbia renewed its focus on a mobile nursing cart, something which had been in the works. The company also began making polycarbonate shields in customizable sizes for libraries, schools, offices and other workplace environments.

It also produced foldable privacy panels, face shields for retailers and over-the-bed pull trays.

A major metropolitan hospital was in dire need of privacy panels and reached out to Columbia for the product, Salehi recalls. In addition, the company made 32,000 disposable gowns for a Western Massachusetts healthcare system.

To this day, the orders for face shields continues, he says.

Protective shields were sold throughout New England and as far away as North Carolina and Texas, according to Salehi. He says Columbia will continue producing them as long as there is a demand. In this region, the buyers are as diverse as Suffield Academy

The headquarters of Columbia Manufacturing Inc. is located at 1 Cycle St. in Westfield, left. The company, today best known for its manufacture of school furniture, began manufacturing bicycles in the 1800s. By 1900, Columbia was the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world. Above, a mural of the Columbia bicycle is seen in the offices of the company headquarters.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

and Westfield’s Short Stop Bar & Grill, which is using the shields between booths and tables.

The PPE segment is a “small part of what we make right now,” Salehi says, noting school furniture remains its core product. “You have to reinvent yourself. If you stay stagnant, you will be written off the face of the Earth,” he says.

This isn’t the first time Columbia has contributed during a time of crisis for the nation, according to Salehi.

During World War II, Columbia was the only manufacturer permitted to make bicycles for the government.

They made the first foldable bicycle for paratroopers, who attached them to parachutes and then used them on the ground in the fight against the Nazis in Europe. Columbia also made shell, bomb and bazooka casings here for the war effort, he said.

Last year, as Columbia was pivoting its production to PPE and other products, Salehi said he was faced

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

“very good,” according to Salehi. As a private company, Columbia does not release sales numbers.

He is anticipating a “much better year” for 2021 due to “pent-up demand” for his products as schools return to in-person learning. The lasting power of a small manu-

facturing company in Massachusetts is always a concern, but Salehi says Columbia is a “survivor.”

The company, over the course of its almost 150-year history, has proven resilient, surviving the challenges of several recessions as well as the Great Depression, he notes.

“Our outlook is great. We have a very bright future,” Salehi says. “We are a hidden gem in Western Massachusetts.”

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Ali R. Salehi, CEO and president of Westfield-based Columbia Manufacturing Inc., sits behind a protective shield which attaches to the firm’s desks at the company’s headquarters.

with the difficulty of finding skilled workers, particularly welders, over the summer months, Columbia’s busiest time. Potential workers had fears about going to work and contracting the virus. Others may have been collecting unemployment, exacerbating the lack of available workers, he said. Overtime was utilized to cope with the worker shortage, he said.

Columbia’s business is seasonal because of the nature of the work, and usually employs between 75 and 80 employees during its peak.

Trends have completely changed from a year ago as a result of the coronavirus.

Before, Salehi said “collaborative” learning was emphasized with conjoined desks, but now districts want individual desks and units, to practice social distancing. For example, a unit that promotes social distancing that they didn’t sell more than 500 of over the past five years has become popular, with Columbia selling 2,000 in a short period recently, he said.

All of Columbia’s products are made here in Western Massachusetts “with pride and integrity.” Says Salehi, “Columbia is truly the only remaining all-American manufacturer of school furniture in this country. We manufacture all of our frames here.”

“We’ve always been a leader in this industry,” Salehi says.

Years ago, they may have had only five or six competitors, whereas now there are more than 20 competitors around the world.

“The products we make are like Sherman tanks,” he says.

“They don’t die.”

Columbia’s school furniture can be found in districts such as Springfield, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Westfield, West Springfield, Agawam and Longmeadow.

The company also has contracts with Boston, and New York City, the largest school system in the country.

In 1897, company founder Col. Albert Pope opened the Westfield plant, which today has more than 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, office and storage space at the Cycle Street facility. Company legend states that automaker Henry Ford visited Columbia

to learn assembly line technology.

Salehi, who has been with Columbia for more than 25 years, was recently appointed to a five-year term on Westfield State University’s board of trustees by Gov. Charles Baker.

Until COVID hit, the business forecast for 2020 was

ALI R. SALEHI, PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA MANUFACTURING INC., WESTFIELD

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Welch

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K9

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K2

are offered online, a jump from 12% prior to the pandemic.

Over the coming year, STCC also expects to expand its online-only options in addition to its existing in-person and hybrid degree programs.

The college will return to face-to-face, on-campus instruction when it’s safe to do so, but will continue to offer online options and apply digital tools to enhance the classroom experience, according to de Berly.

English professor Denise “Daisy” Flaim has years of experience teaching students on campus in classrooms, so converting to the online experience was a big adjustment. She worked closely with the online team to prepare for the transition and feels confident going into this spring semester.

“We’re learning technology, just as the students are learning technology,” Flaim says.

Dan Misco, an alumnus and faculty member in the digital media production program, considers himself well-versed in the online teaching world.

Today, he teaches most of his classes online, but misses the face-to-face interactions with students in a classroom.

“I considered myself a face-to-face instructor,” Misco says. “I always excelled in the classroom. I liked being there with students to build a rapport with them.”

The adjustment to online learning can be challenging for some students, but Misco says faculty try to do all they can to help.

Student Kimberly Quiñonez, a Springfield resident studying social work, expresses gratitude to the support from faculty over the past year.

“My experience as an online learner has really been amazing, although there were times I felt like quitting,” she says.

“During those times my professors would reach out and check in with the class. In the very beginning I must admit that it was quite challenging transferring from an actual classroom to a computer. The classroom brought security to most students because questions were answered immediately. With online learning you may have to wait for a response through email.”

Aminah Bergeron, of Westfield, a mechanical engineering technology student, found benefits to online learning, noting she has “gotten the hang of it” after a year of studying from home.

“It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. It was for sure different but a ‘good’ different,” Bergeron says. “I didn’t have to worry about getting ready, or making sure my house doors are locked or even thinking in the back of my head, ‘Did I leave the faucet running?’ I just had to open my laptop and start my schoolwork whether at my own pace or scheduled Zoom meetings. I also had much more time to research and not worry about calculating the time I’d lose on commuting to one location to another.”

2019, allowing our members access to their money at over 55,000 surcharge free ATMs. We have a very robust online and mobile banking suite of products which allow individual and business members to make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills and more, all without the need to come into the credit union.

In 2019, we implemented a 24/7 system to allow members to apply for a consumer loan online or via phone and get instant approval. The member can also close on their consumer loan from home with the help of e-sign.

Early in 2020 we began to use a video banking solution in our call centers, allowing our members to interact with our employees for various banking issues in a secure environment. We can verify the caller’s identity while helping them walk through transactions and can share documents within a secure portal. Through our driveups, we handed out pamphlets to our members to help them understand the ways to bank with Freedom remotely.

As we have gone through the various phases to reopen the state, we have had to adapt to new ways of doing business and rethink how we

“Industry experts believe the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online and mobile banking by five to 10 years, so there will certainly be some changes in the way our members interact with us going forward.”

GLENN S. WELCH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FREEDOM CREDIT UNION

provide our banking services and how our employees serve our members. In order to keep our employees safe, we reconfigured our office space to allow proper social distancing. We utilized some conference and training rooms as temporary office space. While our branches were closed to in-lobby traffic we invested in Plexiglas shields at our teller lines and on desks where personal interactions take place.

Freedom has approximately 116 employees, and about half of our employees have the ability to work remotely: up from only 10 when the epidemic began. About 15% of our employees work entirely remote, and the rest are able to flex between remote and office.

This was no small feat pulled off by our IT Department especially in light of the whole world trying to get as many people to work remotely as possible. Remote work brings new challenges for both the employee and the company. Managers had

to develop different ways to check-in and manage people from afar. Remote workers had to find ways to stay connected to not feel isolated.

Freedom has created new ways to keep its employees up to date on our products, services, industry trends and happenings within our organization. Although we already used online training software, we moved to a solution for video conferencing for on-line meetings and webinars. These face-to-face solutions allow us to have more productive communication.

Freedom also established ways to connect with our staff on a more personal basis. Senior management made several trips to our branches to celebrate our essential staff and give our gratitude by simply standing outside the drive-ups and windows with home-made signs thanking them for all they do. We had themeddress days where we posted pictures on our intranet and people competed for

“Our members keep more money in their accounts than any other credit union in the country. I think that’s outstanding and a testament to their savings tactics.”

SARAH MAILHOTT, MARKETING MANAGER, POLISH NATIONAL CREDIT UNION

very careful with its lending, according to Mailhott, putting the financial institution in a strong position to deal with the fiscal fallout of COVID-19.

“We are in a very healthy capital position and have superior asset quality,” she explains, “so we are positioned to weather the storm and we participate in the payroll protection plan to help small businesses stay afloat.”

The credit union’s founders started Polish National to create a safe haven for their cash. Five generations later, members are among the most frugal and best savers in The Polish National Credit Union’s second location was at the country.

228 Exchange St. in Chicopee. It was there from 1943 to “Our members keep more 1966. (EDWARD BELLAMY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION) money in their accounts than any other credit union setts where banks and credit in the country. I think that’s unions are working hard to outstanding and a testament keep their customers and to their savings tactics,” says CONTINUED FROM PAGE K2 members financially sound.

Mailhott. says. “We’ve been true to “Our mortgage originators Even as the founding our roots in helping local are so attentive, and they members were all Polish and customers, the community, are making exceptions for their heritage is embedded and businesses. It’s going to people who are unable to in the name, the institution be a good year for us.” pay their loans right now,” remains open to people of all The pandemic has rattled says Mailhott. “We do have ethnic backgrounds. home and business owners people who are in deferment, “They just wanted to form across the country with the but we’re in touch with those a business that people could shutdowns and spiraling people on a monthly basis to go to if they needed help and unemployment rates. The na- see what their updated finan- the founders were happy to tional financial crisis hasn’t cial situations are like.” offer that help,” says Mailspared Western MassachuPolish National has been hott.

Polish

prizes. We also held online social gatherings with virtual cocktail hours, virtual games and open phone line Fridays where staff could call in and just talk to others about anything on their minds.

Visits to our branch lobbies have decreased dramatically.

We don’t know how much of that is due to the various ways we have had to operate to keep our staff and members safe and how much of that will remain permanent.

Industry experts believe the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online and mobile banking by five to 10 years, so there will certainly

be some changes in the way our members interact with us going forward.

Freedom Credit Union has been here for 98 years and has evolved from a one-room office in the telephone company to our existing organization.

COVID has required us to evolve and adapt to continue to be relevant to our members and the community.

This evolution will continue.

Glenn S. Welch is president and CEO of Freedom Credit Union. To learn more about Freedom and its services, go online to freedom.coop.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K15

THE BEST KIND OF LENDING …is lending a hand.

Freedom Credit Union has always been about connection—and that commitment has never mattered more.

Partnering with service organizations, we’ve stayed connected with our îŃķķŸĹĚŰƗ ÒĹô ŰĕúĚŠ îĕÒĮĮúĹĎúŧ ŰĕŠŃŸĎĕŃŸŰ ÒĹ ĚĹîŠúôĚíĮƗ ôĚčƥîŸĮŰ ŰĚķúȡ ¾úɇƐú ĕúĮŝúô úÒŧú ĹúƑ ÒĹô ƑŃŠŧúĹĚĹĎ íŸŠôúĹŧȽčŠŃķ ƥĹÒĹîĚÒĮ ĮŃŧŧúŧ ŰŃ food insecurity—and created opportunities for others to join us in these critical efforts. At the same time, we’ve kept our members connected with the services, rates and conveniences they need, while ensuring every measure to help keep them safe.

If you have yet to connect with Freedom, let’s get started today.

Because the stronger the connection, the bigger the difference.

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“As we complete our current plan, we are more aware than ever of the need to be two very different organizations at the same time – continuing to be a stable, trusted and secure financial institution; while also continuously challenging ourselves to innovate, evolve and reinvent ourselves in the pursuit of being better.”

Tom Senecal, president and CEO, PeoplesBank

Senecal CONTINUED FROM PAGE K2

This is PeoplesBank’s VideoBakerITM, technology that serves customers in a contactless manner seven days a week, managed from a remote location. It’s one of the ways in which PeoplesBank’s existing technology for e-banking helped its customers during the pandemic. (PEOPLESBANK PHOTO)

and plan to remain so. This structure allows us to be nimble and responsive, with local decision making to support local businesses, and it also allows us to exist solely to serve our depositors. As we move forward in the new decade, while returning to a new normal, our pledge is

that we will continue to be there for you.

Here’s to a better 2021 and beyond, when no one has to wear a mask in our bank.

Tom Senecal is president and CEO of PeoplesBank. To learn more about PeoplesBank, go online to bankatpeoples.com.

Thank You!

Banks

ues to be a laborious task,” O’Connor says, he says. But those loans kept instead of business customers operatCONTINUED FROM PAGE K2 being routed ing during the worst of the Massachusetts’s 100-point pandemic. “That’s been a real through a lifesaver,” Sosik says.

Business Confidence Index central call Area banks opened a numended 2020 essentially center.

Kevin O’Connor ber of new brick-and-mortar neutral at 49.3. The organi“Small zation said that represented branches in 2020 despite the things, but a 10-point gain since its April I guess they make a differpandemic. ence,” he says. survey.

Monson Savings opened a Like all banks, Westfield “Massachusetts companies branch in East Longmeadow are optimistic about their own processed PPP loans. Massa- in August, a former Farmchusetts businesses received ington Savings Bank, said prospects, which provides more than $14 billion through incoming CEO Daniel R. hope that the economy will rebound once the nation gains the federal program. A second Moriarty. Farmington, which round of the loans became opened there in 2016, had control of the pandemic,” available thanks to the $900 been through a number of Raymond G. Torto, professor at the Harvard Graduate billion federal stimulus pack- mergers and had closed the branch. Monson Savings knew School of Design and chair of age passed in December.

Some banks farmed out the it already had customers in the AIM Board of Economic the area. work to outside contractors, Advisors, said in a statement The bank also opened a loan with mixed last month. and operations center in Wilresults.

Western Massachusetts braham over the summer.

Westfield bankers have long relied, BankESB opened a branch even in an increasingly online Bank kept at 235 Triangle St. in Amherst. the process world, on the promise of Westfield Bank opened in-house, but branch offices where customers can talk to a person, three new branches in 2020, did automate according to O’Connor. Two – get a problem resolved and it halfway Matthew Sosik West Hartford and Bloomfield seal that resolution with a through the – were in the central Connectihandshake. Then came the summer. cut region where Westfield pandemic. Phone and online “We are in the forgiveness banking have flourished, process,” O’Connor says. “It’s Bank hopes to grow. The third was in Huntington, where while people have been reluc- going well.” tant to out of in public and risk United Bank closed its branch Sosik says BankESB processed all its PPP loans by contracting or spreading the after going through a series of mergers. hand. “That was and contincoronavirus.

“COVID has changed a lot,” says Lowell. “And banking ACCEPTING MERCY HEARING AND habits have changed dramatMASS HEALTH PATIENTS ically.”

Many area banks closed 12 Southwick Street their branch office lobbies Feeding Hills, MA for most of the spring and summer, reopening in the fall Additional locations in as infection numbers fell. As Auburn, Greenfield & COVID-19 cases rose again Pittsfield, MA in the winter, banks relied on www.myearmasters.com drive-throughs for in-person contact with customers.

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Westfield Bank. “We’ve had Doriana M. Vicedomini MA#130 very good online and on-ourwebsite tutorials. But they were also on the phone.”

Westfield Bank started publishing telephone numbers for individual branches. That You Will Like What You Hear! meant folks could easily contact a teller in “their” branch, 3147131-01

remote workforce, at a time when customer demand for information and access was at the highest point I can ever recall, we learned many things about ourselves as a workplace and company.

We were already committed to process improvement, but the opportunities presented to us as a result of the current environment were unexpected and numerous.

We have already learned how to be more efficient in several operational areas, and also using technology like our VideoBankerITMs to serve customers in a contactless manner, seven days a week, which we can manage from a remote location.

It is ironic that our last strategic plan, covering 2016 to 2020, was titled “Vision 2020.” Had we known what visions 2020 would bring, we likely would have approached several areas within that plan differently.

As we complete our current plan, we are more aware than ever of the need to be two very different organizations at the same time – continuing to be a stable, trusted and secure financial institution; while also continuously challenging ourselves to innovate, evolve and reinvent ourselves in the pursuit of being better. A better place to bank, a better place to work, a better corporate citizen in our communities.

We do not know what the future holds, but we do know we have to be prepared for whatever may come. We are fortunate and proud to be independent and mutual,

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Springfield Symphony Orchestra

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K17

EforAll CONTINUED FROM PAGE K4

needs,” she said.

Now more than ever people are turning to entrepreneurship as a result of unanticipated COVID-19 hardships like unemployment or changes in income, according to Murphy-Romboletti.

“This grant opportunity will support EforAll’s organization-wide efforts to expand our Spanish language programming and serve more aspiring entrepreneurs and startups in and around Holyoke, as well as across the state,” she said.

EforAll evolved from the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce SPARK program that began in 2015. As its three-year grant came to a close, SPARK joined forces with EforAll (Entrepreneurs for All), a nonprofit based in Lowell, in 2018.

EforAll launched its EparaTodos program to focus on supporting Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in Greater Holyoke last spring.

The free one-year business accelerator program helps under-resourced individuals successfully start and grow their businesses or nonprofits, across a wide range of industries including personal and professional services, food, manufacturing and online-traditional retail.

The program offers a combination of immersive business training, dedicated mentorship and access to a professional network. The organization typically offers its programs in-person but it is prepared to deliver classroom training and mentor sessions online if necessary.

Among the businesses started by EforAll participants, 75% are owned by women, 56% are owned by people of color, 54% are owned by immigrants and 56% are owned by people who were previously unemployed.

The program recently announced 18 area entrepreneurs, early-stage businesses from across all four counties of Western Massachusetts, have been accepted to participate in two winter cohorts. Eight of them are for the Epara Todos accelerator which will be held entirely in Spanish.

For more information about EforAll Holyoke, visit the website, eforall.org/ma/ holyoke, or contact Murphy-Romboletti by email to tessa@eforall.org, or program manager Jayne Melendez by email to jayne@eforall.org, or call 833-336-7255, ext. 7205.

Arnold’s Meats carries its own line of spices.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“Our retail business is actually up 50% because more people are eating at home rather than going out to a restaurant.”

LARRY KATZ, OWNER, ARNOLD’S MEATS

While the coronavirus pandemic hurt Arnold’s Meats’ wholesale business supplying restaurants and food services, it did bring in more retail customers to its stores in Chicopee and East Longmeadow. Above is owner Larry Katz. Below, a meat cutter plies his trade at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Arnold’s

frozen grade-A vegetables and seafood, desserts, bread, dairy products and hunCONTINUED FROM PAGE K11 dreds of sauces, marinades Customers shop at the self-service deli cases at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee.

Another positive for and spices. All that is in Arnold’s Meats is that the addition to one of the largest (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) business never faced any selections of quality beef, food shortages. lamb, veal and poultry in the “Every time you turned Western Massachusetts and on the television early in the Connecticut areas. Arnold’s pandemic all you would hear butchers will cut the meat to about is food shortages, but I order. never had a problem bringing As Katz looks ahead to in product,” Katz says. “The 2021 and the hope that problem was as soon as you the vaccine will return life put things out on the shelves and business back to some such as chicken, for example, semblance of normal, he is they would disappear.” optimistic for the future.

Arnold’s Meats employs “Never in all our years in about 105 people in Chicopee business has there been such and another 45 employees at a challenge for us as the panits East Longmeadow store. demic,” he says. “But, we will • Best Charity Event, Tom Cosenzi Driving for the At each location, Arnold’s survive, and we’re not going offers a self-service deli, anywhere.”

Cure Charity Golf Tournament

Thank You for Your Vote!

• Best Auto Repair

Granola CONTINUED FROM PAGE K4

for use in their breakfast and lunch programs,” says Greim of how it happened. Before that, Greim had relied on retail sales in 13 Big Y Foods stores and the River Valley Co-op in Northampton.

Greim was the graduate director of nonprofit studies at Bay Path University in Longmeadow when he founded his business. He wrote an academic paper on the consumer brand Newman’s Own, which was established by actor Paul Newman and donates 100% of its profits to charity. Greim wanted to replicate that business model locally.

“I’m very, very lucky, and I appreciate what it is that has come my way in life,” he says.

“If we all do our part, we share and come out better as a community.”

JEFF GREIM, FOUNDER, JEFF’S GRANOLA

“I’ve known for a long time that other people don’t have the benefits I have so this is just a way to give back and acknowledge we’re all in this together. If we all do our part, we share and come out better as a community.”

Greim donates all of his profits to local charities and relies on his customers to decide what ones share the bounty. There’s a tab on his website where customers make their selections. Jeff ’s Granola donated nearly $12,000, divided among more

“Thank you to our employees who make our ˖˨˦˧ˢˠ˘˥ ˘˫ˣ˘˥˜˘ˡ˖˘ Ѓ˥˦˧ʠ˥˔˧˘ ˔ˡ˗ ˧ˢ ˔˟˟ ˢ˙ ˢ˨˥ amazing customers who continue to vote for us!”

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Jeff ’s Granola, founded in 2012 by Jeff Greim, of Longmeadow, donates its profits to area charities. It was recognized by the Small Business Administration of Massachusetts as its Microbusiness of the Year for 2020. (JEFF’S GRANOLA PHOTO)

than 50 charities in 2019 and exceeded that in 2020 with donations totaling $18,315.

He’s since retired from Bay Path and doesn’t draw a salary from the business. Greim says he’s not in it for money or accolades, even though the Small Business Administration of Massachusetts named Jeff ’s Granola its Microbusiness of the Year for 2020.

“It’s a pleasure to recognize Jeff Greim for creating a brand that supports the community,” SBA Massachusetts district director Robert Nelson said. “Small businesses are such an integral part of the commonwealth’s ecosystem and the work they do in helping to build and support vibrant communities is so worthy of recognition. We all commend Jeff ’s Granola and congratulate them on their path to success and on becoming an impactful household brand!”

Adding more school systems to his cache of clients, along with more retailers, is part of Greim’s 2021 plan. If that happens, he thinks he can double his business and his donations in this new year.

You can learn more about Jeff ’s Granola online at jeffsgranola.com.

1/26/21 2:23 PM

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Tech CONTINUED FROM PAGE K1

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“If anything, I think the pandemic will ultimately have a net positive effect on our senior class’ job prospects, in particular.”

Above, freshman Victoria Panasyuk works in the culinary arts shop at Westfield Technical Academy. At left, students work in the auto repair shop.

JOSEPH LANGONE, WESTFIELD TECHNICAL ACADEMY

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Above, instructor Matt Seklecki works with student Kaitlin Dewey in the print shop at Westfield Technical Academy. They are screen printing T-shirts. At left, students work in the woodworking shop at Westfield Technical Academy. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

being made under challenging circumstances.

Attendance was up as students embraced the school experience they might have once taken for granted or even groused about. When they were in school, class time was valued as never before.

“They’d get right to work, no more sitting around or talking to each other at the start of class,” automotive technology teacher Greg Guertin said.

Ingram and Guertin agreed that losing the social interaction of high school cannot be ignored. But they believe being forced to adapt and improvise may pay “life skill” dividends, even while acknowledging the sacrifices and adjustments being required now — as well as the added task of giving remote instruction for courses designed for hands-on work.

“This has allowed (faculty) to be better teachers,” Ingram said. “As educators, you can end up in silos, but this has required more collaboration and methods of keeping all

The administrators at Westfield Technical Academy are, from left, Peter Taloumis, Career & Technology director; Kevin Daley, assistant principal; Robert Ollari, student services coordinator; and principal Joseph Langone. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

the students engaged with technology that was new to many (teachers).”

Frustration among students, however, cannot be denied.

Understanding the unprecedented situation does not mean they find it the equivalent of consistent hands-on learning.

“We were there for a good month or so before our school was shut down once again,” said Chicopee Comp senior Trent Bordeau, who is enrolled in the carpentry program.

“As I continue to learn online, I’m honestly not learning to my full expectation. I’d much rather be in school to

actually visualize and socialize with a teacher, rather than through a computer screen six to eight hours a day.”

Bordeau soldiers on, however, and he commends his instructors. He says the spirit is willing, even at a distance.

“My teachers always ask if anyone has any questions or concerns before and after a lesson, or they will provide a Zoom session after school for extra help if needed,” he said.

Alves said Springfield’s decision to go fully remote from the outset allowed teachers to “take a deep dive” into two weeks of professional development training. That made them far more prepared for distance learning than in March, when the abrupt closing caught them unprepared.

Educators are hopeful. They believe technical skills are especially timely for students who have had to adjust to challenging conditions, but will have job opportunities ahead.

“If anything, I think the pandemic will ultimately have a net positive effect on our senior class’ job prospects, in

particular,” Langone said.

“Currently, we have about 40 students from a wide variety of our programs accessing Cooperative Education,” he said. “That means that approximately 30% of our seniors don’t come to school during their shop weeks but report directly to jobs for which they are getting paid both in terms of wages and on-the-job-experience.”

He said many of these coop positions translate into full-time employment once students graduate. Those who go onto college sometimes keep part-time jobs at their co-op site.

Alves agreed that jobs await graduates. He said the demand for skilled workers has never been higher, and predicted “the floodgates will open” once the pandemic ends.

“There will always be work,” Alves said. “I’ve been doing this 30 years and I’ve never seen (vocational training) in such demand. It’s tough for everybody right now, but I have no doubt there will be plenty of work.”

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hybrid, we’ll be prepared for that. I think it’s harder to do it the other way around.”

In no curriculum is the challenge of remote or even hybrid education felt more acutely than in vocational and technical courses. By their nature, they represent hands-on learning, which is why many students gravitate to them in the first place.

“I can’t say enough about our teachers,” Alves said.

“They’ve been fantastic, finding different and creative ways of educating kids, and teaching ‘out of the box.’”

Not every technical school has been shut down from the start, as Putnam and other Springfield schools have been.

Westfield Technical Academy opened two weeks later than normal, as allowed by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, to prepare its facilities and protocols.

In-person courses were maintained until Christmas vacation and resumed Jan. 19.

“On the whole, it has been very much business as usual, since all of our technical programs are in-person,” said Principal Joseph Langone, whose school enrolls 570 students.

“For us, the greatest success is we managed to complete a little over one marking period, approximately 25% of the school year to date, without any significant COVID-related event forcing us to have to close a program or the school as a whole,” he said. “This is a tribute first of all to our students. Per our (state-approved) Return-to-School Plan, all of our technical programs are in-person, and all of our academic classes are remote.”

The academic year in Chicopee began on a staggered schedule. At Chicopee Comprehensive High School, which the city’s vocational students attend, students learned remotely for three days a week. They attended hands-on training for the other two days.

When the city’s COVID-19 numbers started rising in the fall, Chicopee public schools went fully remote. Some career tech students never made it into the school. Carl Ingram, academic and career technical coordinator at Comprehensive High, pins his hopes on the students.

“I think kids today are more resilient than ever,” Ingram said. “One of the bright spots has been seeing 15and 16-year-olds take more ownership of their learning, something we might not have expected before.”

Even so, they looked forward to Feb. 8, the target date when technical training students could resume a hybrid schedule with in-person learning.

Alves similarly commended Putnam’s students for “showing up (remotely) for something they did not sign up for.”

Some of Putnam’s 22 vocational courses of study are affected more directly than others. The business management course, as one example, lends itself more readily to distance learning than programs such as auto repair or carpentry.

“But nothing is easy. With today’s teaching tools, we’re in a better place than we would have been years ago, but nothing is like hands-on and having the student in front of you,” Alves said.

He said some teachers have entered the otherwise empty school to create their own videos, which they share with students.

Of critical importance is not to burn out students, Alves said. Teachers must know their students and be open to the needs of teenagers who are being expected to be online all day — and then do homework.

At Chicopee Comp, the disappointment in losing the hybrid option went beyond the fact that two days of hands-on learning was not as good as five, but better than none. It was that progress was

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | K19

Forge

Covestro

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K6

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K13

Amherst.

In addition to Forge and the Berthiaume Center, IID has received assistance from VentureWelI and i-Corp.

“These connections will be instrumental for taking the next steps with IID as we are starting to do more serious product development and are looking to find companies that are local, with the right capabilities, and willing to help us along our journey,” MacFarlane said.

Forge Executive Director Laura Teicher said the organization is committed to helping startups and manufacturers stimulate the local economy and solve tough problems.

To date, the Somerville-based nonprofit has supported nearly 300 startups statewide, resulting in $30 million in known contracts and purchase orders to make innovative products locally.

With its proliferation of precision machine shops, Western Massachusetts was a logical place for Forge to expand its westward reach, Teicher said. The research and development going on at UMass Amherst was another plus, she added.

Massachusetts has 7,000 manufacturers, Teicher said, and there is a great opportunity for them to help innovators like MacFarlane turn their inventions into real products.

Adam Rodrigues, director of regional initiatives at Forge in Springfield, said Western Massachusetts has earned its designation by the regional chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association as a precision manufacturing “hot spot.”

The region is home to more than 200 precision manufacturers, Rodrigues said, adding that “some are quite small and a lot are multi-generational.”

State Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, and Sen. Eric Lessor, D-Longmeadow, were instrumental in bringing Forge to Western Massachusetts.

“We always looking for ways to enhance opportunities for our region and make east-west connections,” Wagner said.

Forge’s funding sources include state and federal grants, foundation grants and sponsorships from the manufacturing community.

“Crucial to our Western

production of materials for the effort while dealing with a dip in the automotive industry.

“Market research tells us the automotive industry is going to rebound in 2021 and we’re certainly well positioned to deal with the increasing demand,” Walker says. “I also think the medical business will remain relatively strong for the rest of the year.”

Identification is another important industry for Covestro. Specialized security features embedded in documents like passports and driver’s licenses make them more difficult to forge.

Smarter IDs also means developing even more advanced products as identification becomes digital, according to Walker.

“That whole market segment is headed strongly toward digitalization, turning to fingerprint identification in some applications.

The film you actually put your fingerprint on is what we’re talking about here,”

• Flexibility: An insurance agency career offers work-life balance, with a schedule that can accommodate vacation time, travel, and seeing your kids’ Little League games. During the pandemic, the vast majority of our agencies have nimbly moved to either a hybrid or fully remote work environment to accommodate employees and customers alike; • Meaning: Insurance is a helping career, where you make a real difference in people’s lives by helping

LAURA TEICHER, FORGE

Massachusetts presence have been an annual $150,000 from the commonwealth and $50,000 from the Davis Foundation,” Teicher said.

In October, hundreds of innovators and regional manufacturers attended Forge’s second annual Manufacturing and Innovation Showcase — held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Even though the COVID-19 crisis resulted in the temporary closing of manufacturing plants, Teicher said 2020 was

a good year for innovation.

“When the pandemic hit, we expected a slowdown, but we did not see that,” she said, adding that Forge helped 170 innovators in 2020, an increase from 2019.

Since it opened its regional office at Springfield Technology Park in 2016, Forge has supported more than 90 startups and engaged more than more than 75 manufacturers and suppliers, resulting in more than $11 million in contracts.

Teicher said Forge finds innovators through university contacts, local businesses and word of mouth.

“Matching startups with hardware and physical product is capital-intensive up front,” Teicher said. “If they don’t make the right design and supply chain design, they can easily run off the runway.”

It’s Forge’s job, she said, to match startups with the correct resources at an early stage. Forge believes “that if you can invent it locally, you should be empowered to make it locally,” she said.

Advantages of local production include strengthened communication, transparency and intellectual property protections, as well as avoiding tariffs, shipping fees and management overhead associated with working with overseas supply chains, she said.

As for MacFarlane’s hopes for his company, he said, “I’d like to think it could go national,” but right now “I want

them rebuild when they suffer a loss; and • Community: Independent agents know and care about their clients as friends and neighbors, coaches and volunteers. Association member agencies contribute a total of $8.5 million to charities annually, and donate countless hours volunteering for local civic, cultural, and religious organizations. During the pandemic, they have stepped up in ways both big and small, giving generously of their time and money to the communities and people they serve.

The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents is committed over the coming

year to identifying new talent, partnering with organizations to create a workforce development pipeline, and working to ensure that our vital industry weathers this pandemic and remains strong for decades to come.

If you are interested in learning more about a career in insurance, or helping us build our talent pipeline, visit the association’s online Career HQ: massagent. com/careerhq.

Nick Fyntrilakis is president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents. To learn more about the association, go online to massagent.com.

to get the product to young active adults with diabetes.”

He said he hopes his invention give diabetics a better quality of life “with increased happiness and freedom.”

IT’S ALL IN FRANKLIN COUNTY! IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

Plus great food, craft beverages, outdoor adventure, the arts and much more!

NATURE & OUTDOOR ADVENTURE ·B ·Barton Cove ·Berkshire East ·B ·Bridge of Flowers · · ·Crabapple Whitewater · ·Crumpin Fox Golf Club ·Great Falls Discovery Center · ·Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory ·Northfield Golf Course ·Northfield Mountain ·Zoar Outdoor ·16 State Forests

FOOD & CRAFT BEVERAGES ·Berkshire Brewing Company ·CiderDays ·Richardson’s Candy Kitchen ·The Farm Table ·Champney’s at Deerfield Inn ·West County Cider ·Blue Heron ·Terrazza Ristorante ·Cameron’s Winery ·Mesa Verde

ARTS & CULTURE A ·D ·Double Edge Theater ·J ·Ja’duke Performing Arts ·S ·Shea Theater Arts Center · ·Pioneer Valley Symphony · ·Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center · ·Green River Festival ·Wormtown Music Festival ·Historic Deerfield ·Silverthorne Theater Company ·Piti Theater Company ·Moonlight Magic

bons

CONTINUED FROM PAGE K6

“Matching startups with hardware and physical product is capital-intensive up front.

If they don’t make the right design and supply chain design, they can easily run off the runway.”

Photo by Kim Chin-Gib

Fyntrilakis

University of Massachusetts Amherst sophomore Connor MacFarlane is developing an insulin-delivery system for diabetics with help from the nonprofit Forge. He is shown in a lab in the UMass Life Sciences building. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

he explains.

Covestro employs some 180 people in Whately, each encouraged to follow the company’s lead and give back to the community.

Covestro allows its employees 16 hours of paid time for community service.

“We have a commitment to the business and the surrounding area. Across Covestro in the US we’ve got a really good history of giving back to the community and supporting community initiatives. We recognize the importance of being a good neighbor and that plays out strongly at the South Deerfield site,” says Walker. (Covestro refers to the plant being in Deerfield, although it is physically in Whately.)

Walker is predicting a strong 2021 for Covestro.

Its specialty films are found in thousands of products, from paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants to clothing, footwear and scratch resistant polycarbonate film for iPhone covers. It’s an immensely diversified business with a strong, ongoing presence in Franklin County.

This is just a sampling! For more info, please visit:

VisitFranklinCountyMA.org

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We strongly believe in giving back to the community and are proud to support many local and national organizations and foundations.

Toner Plastics

Toner Crafts

The Beadery

Modern Mold & Tool

Toner Textiles

Headquarters 35 Industrial Drive, East Longmeadow

413-525-2369

tonerplastics.com

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Founded in 1989, Toner Plastics is a plastics manufacturing technology company specializing in profile extrusion, injection mold design and manufacturing, and injection molding. With an uncompromising commitment to quality and service, we provide solutions that meet our clients’ needs while exceeding expectations.

K20 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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“It’s super important to use local ingredients because it keeps the local economy thriving, and you use better, organic produce, avoiding added chemicals or preservatives.”

NICOLE ORTIZ, OWNER, CRAVE

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

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Holyoke Community College culinary arts alumna Nicole Ortiz is the owner of Crave, a food truck and catering business. (MICHAEL GORDON / HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE)

Crave CONTINUED FROM PAGE K4

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fruits and vegetables came from Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland and Ray’s Farm in Southwick.

The Crave food truck is equipped with steam tables, a grill, refrigerators and coolers.

Prior to opening for the day, Ortiz prepares her food in a commercial kitchen in Southwick that she rents from one of her professors.

In the beginning, the Crave truck would sell out. “It was definitely exciting,” Ortiz

recalls. “We never expected to have such a big turn-out each day.”

Some of the most popular items were chicken tacos, along with birria soup, loaded nachos and brownie parfaits.

Though the truck is off the road for the winter, Ortiz is taking catering orders and will soon have a takeout location on High Street in Holyoke. Check out Facebook.com/cravefoodtruck for menu options and how to order. There may even be a second truck come spring.

Now that Ortiz is focusing on catering and her future takeout location, she’s had some time to reflect on her whirlwind first season as a business owner. “It’s been crazy and non-stop,” she says. “It’s unbelievable how successful this was in such a short amount of time. It’s all surreal.”

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offered twice annually, providing its students immersive business training, mentorship and access to an extended professional network.

Crave welcomed its first customers on Aug. 17 in the midst of the global pandemic with the truck parked in various locations around Holyoke. Not only was Ortiz opening a new business during a pandemic, but the summer’s drought posed a challenge in the availability of fresh produce from the region’s farms.

“It was hard to work with local farms because the weather impacted how much they could supply to me,” Ortiz explains. It didn’t keep her from her goal, though, as corn and apples came from Blossoming Acres in Southwick and other fresh

Not only was Ortiz opening a new business during a pandemic, but the summer’s drought posed a challenge in the availability of fresh produce from the region’s farms.

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A variety of flowers is seen in the fields at the end of the season in late September at Rooted Flowers in Agawam. (DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

AGRICULTURE

Taking flowers from field to vase Hadley native grows business on abandoned farm

R

By Janice Beetle

Special to The Republican

ebecca Sadlowski’s floral business was in full bloom at the end of March 2020. She walked around her greenhouse in Agawam one afternoon to take stock of the flowers ready to be made into bouquets and centerpieces for the events she had planned.

In this photo from Sept.

26, owner Rebecca Sadlowski holds her 2-weekold daughter, Julia, while watering at Rooted Flowers in Agawam.

The next day, the state of Massachusetts shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and Sadlowski had no market for her blossoms.

“I opened up an online shop,” the owner of Rooted Flowers recalls. “I did some social media posts. ‘We have flowers in bloom, and we have no way to move them. Are you interested? Head to our online shop.’ And people did. We’ve been going ever since.”

By the fall, Sadlowski had also created new products — wreaths and dried arrangements with a winter theme — and, in combination with her new online bouquet subscription service, her income stayed on track throughout 2020, with only a quick dip owed to the pandemic.

Customers can now order online bouquets and wreaths that Sadlowski makes herself, and the 33-year-old mom and entrepreneur delivers

SEE ROOTED, PAGE L18

“I opened up an online shop. I did some social media posts. ‘We have flowers in bloom, and we have no way to move them. Are you interested? Head to our online shop.’ And people did. We’ve been going ever since.”

REBECCA SADLOWSKI, OWNER, ROOTED FLOWERS

MARIJUANA

Holyoke cultivates new industry in old mills

By Dennis Hohenberger

dhohenberger@repub.com

Cannabis is expected to be an economic driver for the city of Holyoke, with several largescale growing and retail operations slated for 2021 and beyond.

The Paper City’s open-arms approach to the industry has attracted interest from investors drawn to the low utility rates and former mills ripe for conversion. The state Cannabis Control Commission has already issued around 40 provisional licenses for businesses in Holyoke, the most per capita of any Massachusetts

“We know from our experience that cannabis tourism is an important part. We love the city (of Holyoke) as a whole.”

Rick Bossie

Erik Williams, chief operating officer, Canna Provisions

SEE MILLS, PAGE L17

Manager Isaias Lopez assists a customer at Canna Provisions in Holyoke.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Baystate focuses on flexibility, innovation

L Mark Keroack

EADERS OF ALL ORGANIZAtions need to spend time living in the future. They need to wonder about how the world will change and how their organization can adapt to those changes.

Five years ago, the leaders of Baystate Health envisioned a health care envi-

ronment that was increasingly volatile and complex: a world in which our providers would be asked to assume more and more responsibility for the total health, and the total health care budget, of an assigned group of patients.

Taking on this responsibility meant moving to an organization that was

more flexible, innovative, and team oriented. It meant listening more deeply to patients from all the communities we serve to understand their unique preferences and values.

Bit by bit, as changes were put in place to build a more flexible and responsive SEE KEROACK, PAGE L9

Resilience defines 2020 for Big Y

T

EAMWORK, PROBlem solving, innovation and increased reliance on our teams have been critical in managing the challenges faced by Big Y and the food industry since the beginning of the pandemic early in 2020.

Even though we had a good understanding of the eventual evolution of the needs of our

SEE BOSSIE, PAGE L20

“

WE GOT THE SAFE, QUALITY CARE HE NEEDED WHETHER WE WERE AT THE HOSPITAL OR RIGHT IN OUR HOME.

”

Vicky, Emmitt’s mother

>> For more information on how Baystate Health is transforming

the care we provide, including virtual care video appointments, visit BaystateHealth.org/Connect

BaystateHealth.org CS12613

L2 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“The spring 2020 semester was significantly impacted, when clinical learning with our affiliated hospitals and other clinical sites understandably closed.”

KATHLEEN B. SCOBLE, ELMS COLLEGE

HEALTH

Nursing programs gain new purpose

N

By Ron Chimelis

rchimelis@repub.com

urses have always been the frontline foot soldiers of public health.

Post-pandemic America will be no different.

What will be different is how their crucial value will be perceived and, to a lesser degree, how they are trained.

“Nursing has always been treated as a line item, but the success of health facilities depends on nurses,” says Karyn Skiathitis, assistant dean of nursing at Greenfield Community College.

During the coronavirus pandemic, colleges and universities have made relatively small adjustments to their nursing curricula. Most changes addressed safety issues such as social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE).

And, against immense obstacles presented by the pandemic, colleges continued hands-on learning that is not just necessary to develop skilled nurses, but also required by the state Board of Registration in Nursing.

“We have not modified our curriculum, as the content and learning outcomes in our accredited and approved pre-licensure program are essential for educating nurses,” says Kathleen B. Scoble, dean of Elms College’s School of Nursing in Chicopee.

Pandemic-driven protocols were emphasized, as they were in all nursing programs, according to Scoble.

“The curriculum remained the same, but there was a special emphasis on maintaining safety and cultivating resiliency,” says Marcia Scanlon, associate professor and chair of the Department of Nursing and Allied Health at Westfield State University.

“Safety included information on how to keep themselves, patients, family and friends safe,” Scanlon adds.

“There was a mandatory

During the coronavirus pandemic, colleges and universities have made relatively small adjustments to their nursing curricula.

As Westfield State University overcame obstacles to handson nursing training, simulated treatment and care was practiced in the Nursing & Allied Health program in the fall semester. (WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTO)

Holyoke Medical Center now has four LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots. The LightStrike robot is proven to deactivate Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, on surfaces in two minutes. (HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER PHOTO)

Holyoke Medical innovates to meet challenges Nursing students at Elms College in Chicopee practice health assessment techniques in a simulations lab before starting their clinical rotations. (ELMS COLLEGE PHOTO)

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50% of learning be face-toface,” she notes.

“Nurses have demonstrated incredible The fall term went about as leadership, strength, and resiliency because well as could be hoped. With of the pandemic. The opportunity clinical learning in mind, GCC didn’t need to fully close its for new nurses will not diminish campus and go remote until and employment is expected to 14 weeks of a 16-week term were completed. grow exponentially more than for “When I listen to some of other professions.” the horror stories from other Jessica Holden, Westfield State University schools, I am eternally grateful,” Skiathitis says.

The Greenfield program review on transmission-based “The spring 2020 semester increased its focus on telehealth. No longer an uncomprecautions and how to corwas significantly impacted, rectly don and doff personal mon or last-resort option, when clinical learning with protective equipment. Resiltelehealth is expected to our affiliated hospitals and ience may help students to remain in popular use after other clinical sites underbetter cope with physical and standably closed. We were the pandemic has ceased. mental stress associated with far less affected (in the fall),” “Telehealth is one area Scoble says. the pandemic.” where we anticipate a per“Due to our clinical affiliates manent shift as a result of Hands-on training was a the expansion to payment for requiring fewer students on more difficult challenge to care delivered via telehealth,” navigate, but was handled for site, we reduced our clinical says Christine Klucznik, chief group sizes but were able to the most part with students nursing officer and vice presiable to remain on schedule to meet these requirements dent of patient care services at while providing the students graduate and earn licensing.

Baystate Health. with their scheduled hours “In addition, with the recent for clinical learning,” she changes to expand Advanced adds. “Additionally, we have increased the number of skills Practice RN scope of practice in Massachusetts I believe and simulation labs in order we will continue to see an to have smaller groups of expansion into rural areas, students with faculty in the home care and home monitorlab to accommodate public health requirements for social ing of chronic conditions, and efforts to support preventative distancing.” care and continuity of care; Elms also increased use of its Care Van, which serves the telehealth can help with all of these,” Klucznik says. homeless, as an avenue for “Health care settings are clinical learning for students. changing,” says Jessica HoldSimilarly, Greenfield Greenfield Community College nursing students practice Community was able to keep en, an assistant professor at isolation techniques. Like other nursing programs, Greenstudents on track with clinical Westfield State. “We are movfield has had to navigate a challenging environment to meet ing away from hospital-based learning, Skiathitis says. It hands-on learning requirements during the coronavirus pancare and expanding to places wasn’t easy. “The Board of demic. (GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE PHOTO) SEE NURSING, PAGE L7 Registration is adamant that

g n i d ar w Re y t i n u t Oppor Ahead!

Spiros Hatiras

W

HEN I WAS asked to contribute to this year’s edition of Outlook at the beginning of November, with the theme being Recovery & Reinvention, recovery was very much in sight, or so we thought. By the time I put pen to paper, recovery seemed to have been, once more, pushed off to a future date with cases of COVID-19 rising and restrictions increasing.

Hopefully, as you are reading this, recovery is, once again, on the immediate horizon.

My main focus will be reinvention. We know that recovery will happen sooner or later, but what will it look like? What will have changed forever? Is there a silver lining in this pandemic? Will we come out stronger?

As painful as this pandemic has been and continues to be, our belief at Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems is that we have all learned from it. There have been some very difficult lessons, for sure, but important lessons nonetheless. So, let’s see what some of those are and how they are helping to reinvent our future.

Innovation: The realities of the pandemic forced us to innovate at a pace that far exceeded what we anticipat-

Registered nurse Cornelius Maddox wears an elastomeric respirator and other personal protective equipment at Holyoke Medical Center. (HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER PHOTO)

ed, including new ways to deliver health care and new ways of working together.

While telehealth had been on the horizon even before the pandemic, it took center stage during the months of quarantines and restrictions.

We quickly ramped up our capability to deliver appropriate care when in-person visits were not safe. In many instances, the care delivered in this way is more efficient and easier for our patients.

Because of this, our system invested in long-term telehealth solutions, as this is one of the innovations we believe is here to stay.

At the same time, we examined how to accomplish work in the safest possible way. While much of the work cannot be done remotely for many of our frontline staff, some of the work was shifted

SEE HATIRAS, PAGE L13

BFAIR continues to provide top notch services to individuals with disabilities. Be a part of our dynamic team!

Full-time, part-time and relief hours available for all shifts.

Check out our openings at: www.bfair.org where you can apply right online! We offer an excellent benefit package, generous time off and the opportunity to grown and learn.

AA/EOE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L3

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Thank You to Our Award-Winning Team!

Setting the Standard in Patient Care.

We know how great our team is at Holyoke Medical Center.

But it’s good to know that experts in our industry think they’re outstanding, too.

Top Hospital Award

Healthcare Heroes Award

What’s Right in Healthcare

Superior Stroke Care

Top General BusinessWest Huron | Studer Four national Hospital Award, and Healthcare Group 2020 and state bestowed by News Healthcare awards The Leapfrog recognized the Hero Award including Group for staff of Holyoke presented to Get With The the hospital’s Medical Center, President & Guidelines®achievements under the CEO, Spiros Stroke Gold in, and leadership of Hatiras for Plus, Target: commitment Spiros Hatiras, HMC’s quick Stroke Elite Plus, to, patient in supporting response in & Target: Type 2 safety and the Holyoke supporting Diabetes Honor quality. HMC Soldiers’ Home. the Holyoke Roll Award has earned this Soldiers’ Home.

(American national award Heart/Stroke in 2020, 2016, Association). and 2014.

Platinum Award for Promoting Organ, Eye, And Tissue Donation in the hospital and in our community from Health Resources & Services Administration/ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

3145071-01

HolyokeHealth.com

Let Life Bloom Platinum Award

L4 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Mercy focused on safety, poised for growth

W Deborah Bitsoli

HEN YOU NEED medical attention, you expect the care you receive to be safe, effective, and easy to access. At Mercy Medical Center, we strive to meet that expectation every day, with every patient.

As a member of Trinity Health, safety is one of our core values, calling us to embrace a culture that prevents harm and nurtures a healing,

safe environment for all.

Mercy’s relentless focus on a culture of safety has long been in place and is most recently reflected in our “A” grade in quality and safety from the Leapfrog Group, an independent organization that uses national performance measures to evaluate individual hospitals on safety, quality and efficiency.

When you or a loved one develop symptoms that

require a visit to the Emergency Department, we know it’s important to provide appropriate care as quickly as possible. Mercy’s Emergency Department is expanding its Rapid Medical Evaluation area, allowing more patients to be triaged, diagnosed, and treated even more quickly and in a private area. This care ap- Chief nursing officer Darlene Cunha and president Deborah proach promotes shorter wait Bitsoli discuss patient care issues with nurses Marion James times, improved patient flow, and Humberto Veresko in the Intermediate Care Unit at Mercy SEE BITSOLI, PAGE L15 Medical Center in Springfield. (MERCY MEDICAL CENTER PHOTO)

“We were essential employees with a whole warehouse of food, with a distribution center with trucks and drivers. We thought, ‘Let’s bring food to our friends’ houses and do what we can.’”

SCOTT SMITH, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER, SIMOS PRODUCE

Sarah Fernandes, Health New England’s Medicare sales manager, worked in the community in the fall to provide Medicare education to the public at socially distant events.

(HEALTH NEW ENGLAND PHOTO)

Health New England turns 35 amid pandemic challenges

2

020 WAS A YEAR like no other. It brought health challenges, economic uncertainty and social justice issues that remain top priorities today. It underscored the need for us to work together as a community to take care of each other.

At Health New England, our mission is to improve the health and lives of the people in our communities by providing outstanding service, delivering superior value and acting as a leading corporate citizen. This mission serves as our foundation and guides us in navigating the complex changes needed to serve our members, our employees and our community during the pandemic and prepare for a post-COVID future.

The pandemic changed the way patients receive medical care. In 2020, there was a sharp rise in the use of telehealth services. Our members had over 300,000 telehealth visits, up from just 900 visits in 2019. Telehealth is becoming a routine mode of treatment that will continue to grow in both the number of visits as well as the scope of care.

The effects of the pandemic also heightened awareness of our mental health needs. Isolation, economic uncertainty, substance use and anxiety are

When the pandemic struck last March, Scott Smith, assistant general manager of Simos Produce in Springfield, and co-workers put their heads together to help both the business as well as customers and friends. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

SUCCESS STORIES

Simos Produce pivoted to help friends, neighbors Richard Swift more widespread. Behavioral health professionals are successfully using virtual formats to deliver care, improving access for these important services.

COVID-19 emphasized the need for proactive management of chronic conditions to improve health outcomes.

This past year, Health New England launched a new diabetes solution and a management program for kidney disease. We will continue to focus on prevalent health conditions and collaborate with health care providers to offer innovative solutions that keep our members as healthy as possible.

The pandemic has brought into sharp focus the importance of health care coverage.

It is essential to evaluate options and find the right plan to fit your individual financial and health needs. At Health

SEE SWIFT, PAGE L13

A curated produce box is filled in the Avocado Street headquarters of Simos Produce. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Home delivery helped wholesaler fill gap during coronavirus pandemic

F

By JANICE BEETLE

Special to The Republican

or 80 years, Simos Produce in Springfield has delivered fruits and vegetables to hundreds of customers, including restaurants, schools, retirement homes, jails, and grocery stores.

The family-owned wholesaler had a niche, and longtime staff ran through a day’s delivery with the same ease it takes to slice a cucumber.

Then, COVID-19 struck, ing the business, the three and Scott Smith, Simos’ longtime friends also noticed assistant general manager, that their friends and family SEE SIMOS, PAGE L14 says the economic hit was almost instantaneous. As restaurants and schools were forced to close, the need for deliveries tapered down.

Smith began talking about the crisis Simos faced with Jeremy Durrin, the account and marketing manager, and Trevor Emond, the company president.

As they talked about sav-

Jacob Stevens fills a curated produce box at Simos Produce.

Launched amid the pandemic when restaurants and school meal site customers were not ordering from the company, Simos continues home deliveries of about 15 boxed groceries a day across the region. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L5

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

MERCY AWARDED

Top Grade in Patient Safety

Mercy Medical Center, a member of Trinity Health Of New England, was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Mercy’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.

3144960-01

271 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104 • TrinityHealthOfNE.org

L6 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Cooley looks to have positive impact during challenging time

F The main entrance at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. Cooley Dickinson Health Care is a member of the Mass General Brigham health care network. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

OR MOST OF 2020, our community has simultaneously experienced two public health awakenings, the COVID-19 pandemic and a national recognition of systemic racism in our nation and how it impacts the health of our communities.

A once-in-a-century, worldwide public health crisis of the novel coronavirus has demanded laser focus and

unprecedented approaches: to care for patients; to protect our employees; and to be a leader in our community to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Cooley Dickinson Health Care recognizes that we are at a moment in history when we can and must embrace these shifting priorities while delivering on our mission to serve our patients and communities with exceptional, compassionate and personalized care.

We reflect on the initial surge and what we learned as we look ahead to what the new year brings.

COVID-19 taught us what we could accomplish in a short amount of time. It is because of the amazing talent, creativity and hard work of so many leaders and staff at Cooley Dickinson that we were able to have such a positive impact during this challenging time.

Joanne Marqusee To serve our community, Cooley Dickinson quickly established a free-standing respiratory illness clinic. In just two days, a team created an outpatient respiratory clinic

SEE MARQUSEE, PAGE L15

Jessica L. Dizek, of Mapleline Farm, stands in the main cow barn at the farm in Hadley. Mapleline is among the region’s farms that participate in the Sunderland Farm Collaborative, created during the pandemic last year, to provide home delivery of food and produce. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

AGRICULTURE

Farms cooperate to stay strong

By CORI URBAN

W

Special to The Republican

hen the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, leaving many food producers without their usual distribution avenues and consumers under a host of restrictions, the Sunderland Farm Collaborative delivered a solution.

Milk and produce feed cooperative to deliver local food

The collaborative, a group of mostly Western Massachusetts farmers, teamed up

to offer their products in a convenient online marketplace. They grow high-quality organic vegetables and farm products and deliver yearround.

“We were eager to be part of a local food service that, in ordinary times, fills a demand of delivering farm-

SEE FARMS, PAGE L16

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OUTLOOK 2021

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L7

“Telehealth is one area where we anticipate a permanent shift as a result of the expansion to payment for care delivered via telehealth.”

CHRISTINE KLUCZNIK, CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, BAYSTATE HEALTH

Nursing CONTINUED FROM PAGE L2

learning opportunities were limited or postponed, “some students were angry at first. But now they understand we’re doing all we can,” Skiathitis says.

However long it takes for the pandemic to subside, Holden said the next generation of nurses will be well-trained, ready for new challenges and appreciated for their crucial role in public health. She draws upon data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as proof of their need.

However long it takes for the pandemic to subside, Holden says the next generation of nurses will be well-trained, ready for new challenges and appreciated for their crucial role in public health.

Employment of registered nurses, which is predicted to grow faster than the average for all other occupations per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is predicted to be even more necessary in New England because we have a slightly higher average age of RNs than in other parts of the country, Klucznik says.

“Within the next four years, it’s anticipated that the demand for licensed registered nurses nationwide will increase dramatically to meet the needs an aging population and increased rates of chronic conditions, and to offset the retirements of more than 70,000 RNs each year,” she says. “Anticipating that this will mean that we lose the experience that these nurses have when they retire, Baystate is looking at nurses at the end of their careers to mentor newer nurses and build the workforce of the future.”

“Nurses have demonstrated incredible leadership, strength, and resiliency because of the pandemic,” Holden says. “The opportunity for new nurses will not diminish and employment is expected to grow exponentially more than for other professions.”

Shelly Tinkham, left, interim dean of the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at Westfield State University, and Jessica Holden, coordinator of the registered-nurse-to-bachelor-of-science-in-nursing program, are seen here in one of the university’s nursing simulation laboratories. (WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTO)

Our office is open, with service provided by appointment only.

NO WALK-IN SERVICE IS AVAILABLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Office hours will vary, so please call and leave a message and we will return your call.

We have new procedures in place for your safety.

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with more focus on preventative and community-based care. More nurses are needed in these settings to address the demand.”

At a time the need for skilled health care professionals seems unusually urgent, job opportunities exist. Training students to be ready on time is the challenge.

“The pandemic has created both barriers and opportunities to collaborate with future employers. It has been more difficult to place students in these settings as we routinely have in the past, due to challenges such as risk of exposure, lack of supplies, and social distancing,” Holden said. “However, our students have had opportunities to practice in settings they normally would not have had, for example, monitoring persons who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.”

“The pandemic may have caused a reduction in direct patient care hours and an inability to use high fidelity mannequins, but this did not deter hands-on learning. Faculty and students used common household supplies and technology to learn and validate skills remotely,” Scanlon said.

“It appears as if there is, and will continue to be, more opportunity. However, the first challenge this past spring and summer was the delay in graduates being able to sit for (the national license exam) due to reduced exam sites. The typical July and August testing was primarily moved to September and October,” Scoble said.

“An additional challenge is the capacity of our health care organizations to onboard numbers of new nurses, while meeting the increased staffing and workload created by the pandemic. It appears this has

slowed hiring.”

The Western Massachusetts Nursing Collaborative, a consortium of nursing programs, hospitals and clinical agencies, has worked to maintain communication with schools and to identify challenges and approaches.

“Baystate Health, along with local health care providers and schools, is a member of WMNC. Melissa Tuomi, our director of Professional Practice, Nursing, and Quality, has been participating in weekly calls with members Christine Klucznik of WMNC to plan innovative ways to place students,” Klucznik said.

“We have been able to meet our commitment to placing groups of students even while limiting clinical groups to caring for patients without COVID-19; we have had to limit group size, which has turned out to be a positive experience for staff and students. Understanding that COVID-19 will be in our clinical environment for the foreseeable future, Baystate Medical Center created an opportunity for nursing students in their final semester to participate in a student experience caring for COVID-19 patients while working 1-to-1 with a nurse mentor.”

Skiathitis approaches the late winter and spring with the same mix of apprehension, caution and hope shared by many people. Even as vaccines may finally alleviate the pandemic’s most intense impact, a new surge may apply new limits to what can be safely done.

“I’m concerned. Many schools are struggling with (the 50%) hands-on learning requirement,” she said.

Last spring, when hands-on

TrinityHealthOfNE.org TrinityH HealthOfNE.org

Dear Cardiovascular Team, Last October, you performed surgery on my dad, Paul. Just days before, he hadn’t been feeling well.

You discovered he had an aortic root aneurysm and scheduled surgery right away.

You fixed my dad’s heart…and I want to thank you with all of mine.

—Donatella Mancinone

At Trinity Health Of New England, our approach to cardiovascular care includes getting to know you for the person you are, not just the conditions you have. We learn what’s important to you, as well as your risk factors and lifestyle.

As the regional leader in cardiovascular care, we are committed to achieving exceptional outcomes. We treat conditions ranging from the simple to the complex, providing customized treatment plans aimed at helping you live your longest, best life.

Learn more about Trinity Health Of New England Cardiovascular Services at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/Heart.

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OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Online sales, events present a lifeline

Claire Morenon

Region’s food system steps up to plate

M

ASSACHUSETTS farmers stepped up to meet the challenges of 2020 with flexibility, hard work and a serious commitment to feeding our communities – and they were met with meaningful consumer support. As we look forward into 2021 and the ever-changing circumstances of the pandemic, our regional farms face consequential questions about what changing consumer demand will mean for the investments they have made in adapting to this tough year and for future growth.

COVID-19 hit our region just as the main growing season was beginning. The farms that were selling products through winter farmers markets or to schools and restaurants had to make swift and costly changes to their operations.

Some farmers, including maple syrup producers who operate seasonal sugar shack restaurants and wedding florists, suffered major income losses that reverberated through the year.

Still, the timing insulated many area farms from the earliest economic shocks of the pandemic, while also undermining their wintertime planning and demanding that new plans be developed on shaky ground.

As we moved into the spring, two things happened: farms took enormous and brave leaps to meet the needs of the moment; and demand for local food and farm products erupted. Two farm-run, home-delivery services, the Sunderland Farm Collaborative and Mass Food Delivery, were launched within weeks of the shutdown.

Farms throughout the region changed their business models, pivoted to accommodate online ordering and curbside pickup, and made expensive behind-thescenes changes to operations and staffing. And farm workers, whose work was rightly deemed essential, kept on going to work and facing the risk that has been absorbed by so many essential workers.

SEE MORENON, PAGE L12

Nancy Felton, an owner of Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, talks with Ted Clements.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

RETAIL

Pandemic marks new chapter for independent booksellers

Zelona “Zee” Johnson says she opened Olive Tree Books-nVoices in Springfield as a social hub, but coronavirus precautions have changed that. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“We began to rethink how we operate.”

F

By CAROLYN ROBBINS

the help of Mount Holyoke College, community members or Joan Gre- and staff.

But the pandemic was a new nier, owner and unimaginable threat.

“We began to rethink how of the Odwe operate,” Grenier said. yssey BookThat has meant curbside pickups, increased online shop across limited hours and new from Mount Holyoke sales, budget items such as perCollege, 2020 was a sonal protective equipment, year of constant rein- plexiglass dividers, sanitizing wipes and virtual events, she vention — and gratisaid.

Zelona “Zee” Johnson, tude. owner of Olive Tree Books-nWith business interrupted Voices, opened her store at 97 by the coronovirus pandemic, Hancock St. in Springfield’s Grenier said she was faced Mason Square neighborhood with the possibility of closing. 15 years ago as a haven for The crisis prompted her to book lovers looking for a place set up a GoFundMe online to stay awhile and read, meet fundraiser seeking help from other community members longtime customers and and get recommendations. supporters of independent The shop has always been booksellers. a place for social networking, Grenier said she was overJohnson said. “We encourage whelmed when donors came people to bring their laptops forward with $70,000 to help and come in and hang out.” the bookstore stay open and It has been difficult, howmake payments on bills total- ever, to replicate that sense ing nearly $150,000. of community during the “I’m very grateful to every- pandemic. For those who do one,” she said, adding that drop in, there are COVID-19 Mount Holyoke alums and rules. Customers must wear a folks from all over the country mask, use hand sanitizer and were among the contributors. socially distance.

The store has also received Because she is a passionate some government stimulus proponent of face-to-face contact with customers, Johnson funds to help weather the said she never thought she COVID-19 crisis. would sell online. But that has Since March 2020, when the state ordered nonessential changed with the pandemic.

She is working to enhance businesses to temporarily shut down, Grenier and other the store’s online presence, and continues to reach out to independent booksellers in customers, and community Western Massachusetts — partners and schools. including Broadside Bookshop in Northampton and Olive Tree, named after Olive Tree Books-n-Voices in Johnson’s daughter Olivia, Springfield — have all been is one of a handful of Blackreinventing themselves. owned bookstores in the state.

Grenier said her store, It offers African American founded in 1963 by her father history and fiction, inspiraRomeo Grenier, has survived tion and self-help books and children’s literature, as well tough times before. In the as bestsellers showcased in 1980s it suffered two major fires. It was rebuilt with several rooms.

Special to The Republican

JOAN GRENIER, BELOW, OWNER OF ODYSSEY BOOKSHOP IN SOUTH HADLEY

Zee Johnson adjusts the shelves in her Olive Tree Books-nVoices bookstore in Springfield. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Broadside Bookshop, a fixture on Northampton’s Main Street since 1974, is another independent bookstore that has weathered the pandemic with grit and gratitude.

Nancy Felton, one of the shop’s owners, said Broadside took a hit when nonessential businesses were closed in March. Now, with the help of

SEE BOOKS, PAGE L12

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OUTLOOK 2021

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L9

HEALTH

Baystate-led group addresses inequities amid pandemic IDs at-risk patients, does outreach for COVID tests, vaccines

By KEITH J. O’CONNOR

Special to The Republican

One of the many ways of improving health care outcomes is to address health inequities.

According to the American Medical Association, “marginalized and minoritized patients have and will suffer disproportionately during the COVID-19 crisis due to the inequities in society perpetuated by systemic practices.”

As the large first surge of the coronavirus in Greater Springfield was just beginning to ease in April and the inequitable impact on vulnerable groups had become clear, a work group gathered virtually to address the impact.

Comprised of leaders, experts and stakeholders from Baystate Health, Caring Health Center and the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, the work group quickly determined their key activities would be: • Identifying those at risk in Springfield and determining their needs and finding ways to act on them;

“Today the work of our teams continues using the systems and relationships we put into place over the months. We are making sure that patient outreach is robust, and we are looking for ways to further enhance community outreach. Also, the availability of the COVID vaccines will transform our work and bring hope to 2021.”

Dr. Paul Pirraglia, chief of the Division of General Medicine and Community Health, Baystate Health

• Engaging in culturally and linguistically appropriate community outreach; and • Enhancing COVID testing, particularly where testing was not readily available.

According to Dr. Jackie Spain,

co-chief medical officer of the BeHealthy Partnership ACO, the team formed groups and quickly got to work.

“One team used available data to create maps of where risk in Springfield was likely the highest,

and which patients had conditions which would increase their risk if they contracted COVID. Meanwhile, another team conducted structured interviews and conversations with a number of community leaders and

SEE PANDEMIC, PAGE L18

Keroack CONTINUED FROM PAGE L1

Baystate Health, the culture of the organization began to change toward one where diverse ideas mattered, participation in problem solving was encouraged, and innovation was prized.

Little did we know that a once-in-a-century pandemic would test this new culture to its core. Within days of the appearance of COVID-19 in March 2020, non-emergent care ceased, and team members were redeployed to new roles, some of which had never existed before. Ambulatory surgery spaces were converted to makeshift intensive care units, virtual approaches to routine outpatient care became the norm within weeks, drive-thru testing centers were set up within days and thousands of team members in administrative roles began to support our clinical efforts from their homes.

Networks of critical care providers across the country shared their experiences, and Baystate Health began to implement novel approaches to care for patients with low oxygen levels that avoided mechanical ventilators and saved lives. Support from the communities we served buoyed our spirits and lifted our hearts.

Now, nearly a year into the pandemic, after more than 2,100 patients cared for in our hospitals and more than 360 deaths, the care of these challenging patients has become routine, though still heart-wrenching. The ultimate victory over the virus is within sight in the form of effective vaccines, which are being administered with increasing efficiency.

Before the end of this year, the painful restrictions we have lived with in 2020 will be only a painful memory.

Now again, the leaders of Baystate Health are imagining what will come next. Ancient plagues forever changed the people and communities that survived them, and COVID-19 will be no different in the present day.

Here is how we are envisioning the world to come and getting ready for it:

Ten months into the pandemic in mid-December, Baystate Health began administering its first allotment of 1,950 doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. Here, Dr. Esteban DelPilar-Morales gets his vaccination at Baystate Medical Center. (BAYSTATE HEALTH PHOTO)

• The voice of the consumer will speak more loudly than ever. Virtual approaches to care are here to stay, and they will need to become part of all providers’ tool kits. Convenience will be at a premium, and consumers will participate to a much greater extent in the evaluation and design of the health care systems that serve them; • Internal consumers, our employees, will continue to value flexible working arrangements. Rigid work schedules will give way to novel approaches that mix work from home with face to face teamwork; • Building a workforce in which employees of all races, ethnicities, and cultures feel that they belong and can advance will be the key to success in attracting and retaining the best talent at all levels.

This will also make us better at caring for our increasingly diverse communities; • Economic pressures on health care costs in our country, the highest in the world, will most certainly intensify.

Americans will demand that fewer of their dollars go to health care and more go to education, infrastructure and other priorities. This will likely mean more pressure on Baystate Health to assume even more responsibility for the total health of an assigned

Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services in Springfield’s Mason Square neighborhood has a robust weekly food pantry. During COVID, older adults became homebound and unable to pick up their weekly food. The MLK center established a home delivery program focused on serving homebound and older adult pantry consumers with staff using their own vehicles. After learning of these challenges, Baystate Health’s Community Benefits Program sponsored a six-month rental of a Marcotte Ford cargo van to help with the deliveries. (BAYSTATE HEALTH PHOTO)

Support from the communities we served buoyed our spirits and lifted our hearts. population on a global budget.

Every day we are getting better at doing this; and • Finally, the lines between health care delivery, health care payment, and the preventive activities of public health will become increasingly blurred. We will partner more deeply and frequently with In the wake of the May killing of George Floyd, Baystate Health personnel united in support of the public health authorities to White Coats for Black Lives effort for racial justice in medical care and education. (BAYSTATE HEALTH PHOTO) promote good health for all in our communities, something we have learned to do more of in this past year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many traditional approaches to health care delivery. It has shown that Oakdale Dental Associates is safely open for all care can be given effectively dental procedures. We follow the infection control in nontraditional locations recommendations of the CDC, OSHA and and in novel ways. Because of the work we have done The American Dental Association, as we always have. to build a flexible, learning organization, I believe that Air purifiers, disinfecting of operatories, Baystate Health is well prepre-screening of patients, plexiglass screen at desk, pared to thrive in this exciting face shields, surgical masks & gowns and a socially future.

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Dr. Mark A. Keroack is president and CEO of Baystate Health. To learn more about Baystate Health, its services and programs, go online to baystatehealth.org.

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OUTLOOK 2021

MARIJUANA

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

MARIJUANA

Colleges see future jobs in cannabis

Delivery has pot industry abuzz

By Ron Chimelis

Access to financing still an obstacle for minority startups

J

rchimelis@repub.com

effrey Hayden says the clientele for Holyoke Community College’s cannabis industry training program is different than he expected.

“If you’d asked me a year or two ago, I would have probably gone with the stereotype and said we’d get young males in their 20s who think, ‘This is cool, man,’” said Hayden, the college vice president of business and community services.

“The reality, though, is that people are seeing this as an entrepreneurial and career opportunity,” he said. “We get students as young as 21 and as old at 65 or 70 expressing interest. They’re looking at this as a job or career, and at the end of the day it’s kind of like the typical workforce.”

One such individual is Damaris Aponte of Holyoke, who worked at Baystate Noble Hospital and wanted a change in her life.

“I took the cannabis culinary training program last year. I had been in the medical field for 20 years and I was looking for something different,” said Aponte, 44, who is in the process of applying for a cannabis delivery license.

The HCC course she took

dealt with Massachusetts regulations and cooking skills related to marijuana edibles.

Aponte received tuition help from a local nonprofit.

“We learned the basics of the commercial kitchen, and the treatment of food and edibles,” Aponte said. “Now I’m reaching out to other women to help set up a cannabis committee in Holyoke.”

“I’m Puerto Rican, a woman and from Holyoke, and this is a city that could use a boost,” she said. “Holyoke could get that boost by being a cannabis hub. I’m very involved with giving back and helping that happen.”

American International College in Springfield is also responding to the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts, which occurred first for medical use and then, by 2016 referendum vote, for recreational adult use.

AIC offers two cannabis studies programs. The first is a three-course certificate in “micro-emerging markets” and is designed to provide

By Melissa Hanson

mhanson@masslive.com

Some of the cannabidiol products in the foreground were used to make cookies during a cannabis culinary assistant training course early last spring at the HCC-MGM Culinary Arts Institute. (HCC PHOTO)

an understanding of the basic science, business and legal issues of the cannabis industry, including chemistry, cultivation and uses of cannabis; delivery systems; and management, marketing and operational aspects. It also addresses federal and state laws and policies.

Administrators at colleges that have taken a proactive approach to cannabis feel they have a head start in an industry expected to experience dramatic growth Holyoke Community College is offering a cannabis program in Massachusetts, with a with an eye on future job opportunities in the burgeoning field. commensurate increase in job Here, an instructor demonstrates how to make cookie batter opportunities. using cannabidiol (CBD oil) extracted from hemp. (HCC PHOTO) “Coursework at AIC is designed to accommodate students of any academic individuals with an introduc- Susanne T. Swanker, dean tion to the cannabis industry. and professor in the AIC background. The curriculum “The impact of the multiSchool of Business, Arts and was developed and being billion dollar cannabis indus- Sciences. taught by a combination of try on the global marketplace Additionally, AIC offers a AIC faculty, consultants and is explored through entrepre- 30-credit master’s degree in professionals in the cannabis neurial, commercial, legal, cannabis science and comindustry,” Swanker said. merce. This program provides SEE CANNABIS, PAGE L12 and ethical lenses,” said

“Coursework at AIC is designed to accommodate students of any academic background. The curriculum was developed and being taught by a combination of AIC faculty, consultants and professionals in the cannabis industry.”

SUSANNE T. SWANKER, DEAN AND PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ARTS AND SCIENCES AT AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

This year is poised to have a milestone moment for the Massachusetts cannabis industry with the anticipated launch of home delivery.

But members of the state’s equity programs still struggle with finding the financing to get their businesses off the ground.

“I want to show people, hey, if I can do this why can’t you.”

Devin Alexander, Rolling Releaf

To start 2021, the state Cannabis Control Commission promulgated new regulations including a delivery operator license that will allow for the wholesale purchase of cannabis items to be warehoused and then sold and delivered.

Delivery is limited to social equity and economic empowerment applicants for at least the first three years. Delivery is seen as a financially viable option for participants in those programs — who tend not to have the capital enjoyed by larger corporations already

SEE DELIVERY, PAGE L11

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L11

“People are telling me they just want to support small business. People are saying it out loud a lot. It really touches me when I hear that – the warm and kind sentiments that people say.”

Joy Sullivan, right, owner of Enjoy, Shelburne Falls

RETAIL

Customers’ shared passion helps women’s clothier survive E-commerce pivot proved key move in 1st months of virus

W

By JANICE BEETLE

Special to The Republican

hen Joy Sullivan opened her women’s clothing shop, Enjoy, in Shelburne Falls three years ago, she created a website, including a platform on the site’s internal side for selling merchandise online. She later talked herself out of e-sales, deciding to focus on the women in her midst in the community instead.

Delivery

of its members left in protest. That obstacle is gone, but Hoffman said during the commission’s monthly CONTINUED FROM PAGE L10 meeting Jan. 14 that an updated operating in the marijuana indusapplication and process to review try. But there’s still more work to applications are still needed. be done to help people of color who “I want to show people, hey, if were disproportionately affected by I can do this why can’t you,” said the war on drugs.

Devin Alexander, an entrepreneur The approval process is already and cannabis activist seeking two underway for delivery-only licensdelivery operator licenses for his es — which will allow businesses to business, Rolling Releaf. He said deliver cannabis products directly to he is waiting to get a host community agreement approved south of consumers or patients from retailers, but not to sell, process, store or Boston. repackage goods. Commission Chair Having the delivery licenses Steven Hoffman said those operaavailable only to equity applicants tions could start relatively soon. is empowering, Alexander said.

For the delivery operator license, For consumers, delivery is helpful which does allow warehousing, it because a stigma still exists around will be months before businesses cannabis use. can get going.

“It’ll give people more sense The Commonwealth Dispensary of privacy. Some people may not Association earlier this year dropped want to go out to a dispensary in a lawsuit challenging the delivery the local community,” Alexander operator regulations after several said. “It gives consumers just the

Haitian-made BelJoy earrings, necklaces and bracelets are among the jewelry lines offered at Enjoy in Shelburne Falls. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

As the Amherst resident got to know her clientele and understand individual tastes and shared values, the skeleton for e-commerce remained on her site, in the background and unused, but ready for action nevertheless. That was key when the COVID-19 pandem-

convenience really, and also on the entrepreneurial side, it shows equity applicants there’s a pathway where you can be your own owner.”

The coronavirus pandemic has created an even greater demand for cannabis delivery, as avoiding crowds and long lines have become commonplace, especially for people who are at high risk for COVID-19.

Equity applicants will also have first dibs on license for social consumption, that is, businesses like cannabis cafes. But given the changes brought by the pandemic, there may be less of a push. Also, Legislative clarification is still needed to allow for communities to approve social consumption.

Progress with legislation is another thing Alexander hopes to see this year. Last year, there was a push for a social equity loan fund.

“Massachusetts’ equity program is great, but there’s no financing,” he said. “That financing would really

ic descended last March.

“I was able to just pivot and focus on e-commerce pretty quickly,” Sullivan says.

The adaptation gave Sullivan a head start on sales when she was forced to close her shop in March, and she has since made creative use

set us apart and really push it over the hump and be a gold standard for other people across the country to look at.”

Last year, cannabis regulators asked the Legislature to consider a loan for people disproportionately impacted by cannabis arrests, similar to programs that exist in Illinois and in Oakland, California.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis recently asked for $5 million to fund a cannabis advancement program aimed at helping the industry, including entrepreneurs from communities most impacted by the war on drugs, according to Marijuana Moment.

Massachusetts Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who has served on the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, said she will continue to push for social equity loans. Last year, legislation that would establish no-interest loans for equity applicants was reported favorably by the committee.

of social media marketing and curbside pickup. She’s even been driving around the Pioneer Valley to deliver merchandise as well.

“I would spend an afternoon driving around, hanging bags on doorknobs,” she shares.

SEE ENJOY, PAGE L12

“I’m also hopeful that the heightened level of attention that the commonwealth as a whole, and the Legislature, has on issues of racial justice and racial equity will hopefully lift up that Sonia legislation even more Chang-Diaz in the coming term,” she said.

Major Bloom, which is working to open a retail store in Worcester, is also eyeing a delivery operator license. The company still needs a host community agreement, said co-founder Ulysses Youngblood.

As an economic empowerment applicant, Youngblood said he’d love to see the Cannabis Control Commission provide a list of vendors who understand the cannabis industry and the equity programs to help applicants through a long and costly licensing process.

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OUTLOOK 2021

Enjoy

Joy Sullivan, owner of Enjoy, says her store features “goods that enrich the lives of both the maker and the wearer.”

Among her offerings are fair trade items, organically grown textiles, eco-conscious wares and one-of-a-kind artisan goods.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE L11

“I’d get waves out the window, and thank-you emails when I got home. It’s a different experience for all of us.”

She reopened in June and says customers reacted positively. “People are telling me they just want to support small business. People are saying it out loud a lot,” Sullivan explains. “It really touches me when I hear that – the warm and kind sentiments that people say.”

By the end of 2020, Sullivan was thinking positively.

“Overall, I’m feeling pretty confident,” she shares. “I’ve really kept a positive attitude throughout the whole thing.

I do have loyal women that shop with me.”

Sullivan has worked in retail since she was in high school, most notably at Yankee Candle, and for 20 years, as she raised three children, at Zanna in Amherst. She has a strong background in visual merchandising.

As her children neared college age, Sullivan happened to be at a performance in Shelburne Falls and learned from a friend that a shop, complete with a view of the Glacial Potholes on the river, was being

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

vacated. After researching everything from the town and its retail traffic to her financing options, Sullivan took on a loan and opened Enjoy.

In her 500-square-foot storefront, she sells mainly eco-friendly women’s clothing as well as accessories such as jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, some gift items and, recently, a small selection of menswear.

Her mission to offer clothing made of biodegradable materials came after she read an article in a fashion industry publication about clothing piling up in landfills like plastic in the sea. “I got a great

response from the local women because I provide the type of clothing that hasn’t been in the area,” she says.

After Sullivan closed her shop and turned to e-commerce for COVID-19 relief, she put much of her inventory up on her website, at store enjoy.com, focusing on those lines for which professional photography was readily available. “I focused on basic things that were good sellers,” she explains.

Having collected customers’ email addresses over the first two years in business, she began reaching out to them with promotions and notifica-

tions. She posted frequently on Facebook and Instagram as well.

When Sullivan reopened her shop in June, online sales dipped, but customers began visiting in person. Overall, the pandemic has stung. Sullivan’s sales, which climbed steady in the first two years, dropped by 40% in 2020.

“I’m juggling all the balls and making it work,” she says. “It’s my passion. It’s my dream. It’s what I love to do, and people want to support that. It brings me to tears – that people want to support my passion, and they’re getting something out of it, too.”

“Early on, we looked at it as a workforce issue, and that is how we approach it now.”

Cannabis CONTINUED FROM PAGE L10

Interest in the master’s program remains high, with new cohorts starting in the spring 2021 term, Swanker said.

HCC and its new community partner, Elevate Northeast, unveiled its cannabis careers training program in October.

Swanker said AIC does not have any agreements with local cannabis organizations to provide workforce training. She said the college is working with professionals in the cannabis industry, some of whom are local to this area, to build and teach the courses at both the certificate and the master’s degree levels.

HCC offers cannabis industry training in both credit and noncredit programs, where

JEFFREY HAYDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, HCC

students pursue the goal of moving directly into the employment sector rather than pursuing a degree.

Hayden said COVID-19 has created a focus on the health care aspect of cannabis, though hospitality purposes are also covered at HCC. The course has been converted to fit the distance learning curriculum made necessary by the pandemic.

Four cannabis industry career tracks are available at Holyoke Community College.

They are cultivation assistant, extraction technician, patient services associate and culinary assistant.

Books

Print sales in 2020 were up almost 8% over 2019, according to industry research from CONTINUED FROM PAGE L8 NPD BookScan. customers, the store is beginFelton, Johnson and Grenier ning to recover by finding new are cautiously optimistic about ways to market its service-ori- the future of their businesses ented business. now that COVID- 19 vaccines “The community has been are becoming available. incredibly supportive,” Felton Independent bookstores said. “Customers have been have faced challenges before — buying gift certificates to help including the rise of superstore the store. chains and the emergence “People were coming in and Amazon.com, according to the buying stacks and stacks of American Booksellers Association. But before the onset of books — even before the holiday season,” she said. the pandemic, independent If there is any silver lining to booksellers had been enjoying a year when people were cona decade-long a resurgence. fined to their homes, it is that Association membership, there is new appreciation for once more than 5,000, was books and the joy of reading. down to 1,401 in 2009 during With concerts and movie the- the height of the Great Recesaters largely unavailable, more sion and was expected to keep people have been looking for declining as e-books began to activities to do at home. catch on.

Cultivation assistants handle daily care of the crops from seed to harvest. They may be involved in cracking seeds, soil mixing, potting, defoliation, watering, pest control and trimming.

Extraction technicians work in labs and assist production managers in extraction, purging, oil manipulation, winterization, distillation, solvent recovery and quality control.

Patient service associates work behind the counters at cannabis dispensaries, answering technical questions and providing information to registered cannabis patients,

Print sales in 2020 were up almost 8% over 2019, according to industry research from NPD BookScan.

But after a shakeup in the industry — including the closing of the Borders chain and a reorganization of Barnes & Noble — the association saw a rise in membership to 1,887 in 2019, with some sellers opening additional outlets.

When the pandemic hit, the association projected it could wipe out all the gains the industry experienced since 2009. A summer survey found 20% of members could go out

caregivers and recreational customers.

Culinary assistants are responsible for preparing cannabis products using a variety of cooking, baking and infusion techniques.

Hayden said the HCC training program is attracting serious individuals because it’s all business.

“We’ve attracted people with a variety of skill sets including accounting, management, or those having culinary skills to connect with the cannabis industry,” he said.

“Early on, we looked at it as a workforce issue, and that is how we approach it now.”

Morenon CONTINUED FROM PAGE L8

Meanwhile, shoppers were breaking out of existing habits and looking for places to shop that were well-stocked and felt safe. A Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) survey, conducted this summer through a handful of local farms, found that 64% of the 800-plus respondents were buying more local food because of COVID-19, and 27% of respondents were new customers of the farms from which they received the survey. Visits to CISA’s online guide to local food and farms skyrocketed 200% over the same period last year.

There was an especially notable uptick in demand for local meat, connected to major failures in the industrial meat industry. This spring, meat-processing plants became ground zero for the spread of COVID-19 in parts of the rural Midwest, including North Dakota and Iowa. The cruelest losses were borne by the largely immigrant and refugee workers in those facilities. This crisis forced some of the largest meat processing plants to shut down, which had enormous effects on our nation’s food supply: the price of meat rose 8.1% nationwide in April, and it was estimated that millions of overgrown pigs would have to be euthanized.

Meanwhile, the local meat supply was uninterrupted, and farmers met this new demand with enthusiasm.

Still, our region isn’t immune to some of the same bottlenecks that stressed the national system. It takes time for farms to increase production, and the already limited number of federally inspected slaughterhouses in our region had to slow production in order to implement necessary safety measures. We are in a moment that could provide a boost to local meat production, but local farms and processing plants need to be able to count on sustained demand in order to make the investments in livestock, equipment, and staff training required to maintain an

Denise Barstow, marketing and education manager, is the seventh generation of her family to work at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley.

(THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

increase.

For meat farmers and slaughterhouses, building out infrastructure enough to really expand local meat production would be a longterm, expensive project. For the farmers who have already invested in online ordering platforms or delivery vehicles, the scale may be different but the questions are the same: will consumer demand for local products, and for COVID-specific outlets like online ordering and home delivery, continue beyond the immediate needs of this pandemic period?

The full financial reckoning of 2020 for our region’s agriculture won’t be clear for months – although sales were up on many farms, the costs of new systems and protocols were also high. Pandemic uncertainty will continue at least through most of 2021.

So local farms continue to do what they have always done: grow food and figure out how to get it to people. They have taken risks, stretched to the edges of their capacity and proven not only their own resilience but the inherent strength of our local food system.

You can help ensure that their efforts are rewarded, and they are able to keep going long past this crisis point, by choosing local!

Claire Morenon is communications manager at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). Visit the CISA website at buylocalfood.org.

The Odyssey, for example, has an agreement with Mount Holyoke to sell school merchandise and apparel, which provides the shop with another source of income.

Grenier said the Odyssey hosts about 125 events a year, which has been a significant revenue stream for the shop.

For now, those events — from authors’ book signings and children’s programs — are online, she said.

“But it’s nothing like the magic” of meeting an author and other book lovers who attend the events, she said.

Broadside Bookshop has been a fixture of Northampton’s Main As retail life returns to a Street since 1974. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) new post-pandemic normal, local bookstore owners are Independent bookstores car- eager to see their patrons in of business. Meanwhile, the ry other items including greet- person again. When that hapnumber of new independent stores opening dropped sharp- ing cards, journals, calendars, pens, Johnson said, “I can’t ly, with 30 in 2020 compared book bags and bookmarks and wait to give them all great big hugs.” to 104 in 2019. many other items.

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OUTLOOK 2021

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“The pandemic has increased financial and resource demands on our community partners and charitable organizations.”

RICHARD SWIFT, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HEALTH NEW ENGLAND

Swift CONTINUED FROM PAGE L4

Holyoke Medical Center invested in long-term telehealth solutions as an innovation it believes is here to stay.

(HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER PHOTO)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE L2

off-site to be accomplished from home or from a location other than the hospital or clinic. As with telehealth, we expect some of the remote infrastructure we put in place to remain well past this pandemic. In many cases, the ability for employees to work offsite gave us access to additional staff and allowed us to test remote work in ways we had not done before.

Understanding: We gained new understanding of ways to protect ourselves from disease transmission and the value of a collective effort to protect our patients. Our understanding ranged from deploying previously unused or underused technology such as elastomeric respirators and UV sterilizing robots to the simple, but effective, use of face coverings and hand hygiene.

We certainly always understood the way disease is transmitted, however, we gained a new appreciation for just how effective face coverings and good hand hygiene can be in reducing the incidence of transmission. A clear indication of how we curb transmission of disease is the fact that while we have been working to protect ourselves from COVID-19, the seasonal flu seems to be almost nonexistent this year.

And, while we often miss the human interaction which involves hugging, handshakes and general close contact, we have certainly come to understand just how much these interactions cause disease transmission. I, for one, will be very thankful for a more enlightened existence when we will be more cognizant of our own illness and the potential to spread it and will take the simple measures to avoid doing so.

Focus: We have also gained a renewed focus on what is important; not just in our personal lives, but also as an industry. Certainly, at Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems, we took stock of what is important for our facilities, our community, our staff and our patients.

In addition to work redesign and the investments we made to continue to be prepared for this or any other pandemic challenge, we also invested in much needed services. Just as we built our new emergency room a few years ago, which was a godsend during this pandemic, we are now investing in behavioral health services which are a critical need in our community.

Our soon-to-be-opened child and adolescent unit, as well as our additional adult behavioral unit, can’t come fast enough. This will be followed by our plan for a brand-new behavioral health hospital on our main campus.

I hope that our world will return to normal, albeit a “new normal,” soon. I also hope that my message of reinvention at the hospital and our affiliate organizations resonates with many of you and your own situation.

Our thoughts go out to the many we have lost and to those who have lost loved ones. Wishing all of you a better year in 2021.

Spiros Hatiras is president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems. To learn more about Holyoke Medical, go online to holyokehealth.com.

“In many cases, the ability for employees to work offsite gave us access to additional staff and allowed us to test remote work in ways we had not done before.”

SPIROS HATIRAS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER

As a health plan, we serve and employ people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and levels of ability. Our work to create an environment of trust and equity, address health disparities, and advance solutions that improve health and life quality issues impacted by social determinants, including racism, continues in 2021 and beyond.

The pandemic has increased financial and resource demands on our community partners and charitable organizations.

In response, Health New England expanded its community benefits support and provided an additional $300,000 in grants for COVID relief efforts throughout Western Massachusetts to help residents with access to food, mental health care, childcare, housing and basic needs.

Additionally, our teams collaborated with health care providers, including Baystate Health. Health New England clinical profes-

Health New England associate Maria Breault at her remote workstation. President Richard Swift says Health New England made strides amid the pandemic to make it safe and easy for members to connect and learn about plan options through online learning sessions, additional call center staff and improved web tools. Health New England is marking its 35th anniversary in 2021. (HEALTH NEW ENGLAND PHOTO)

sionals including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and care coordinators assisted at the hospital, freeing up Baystate Health staff for direct patient care. Equally important, as the hospital was impacted by surges of new patients, we adopted innovative practices to help members get home more quickly, freeing up beds for others needing hospital care.

While it is fitting to reflect on the year that was, we look ahead with optimism to 2021. This is a special year for Health New England, marking our 35th anniversary of serving members. In that time, our health plan

has grown to cover over 170,000 residents of Western and Central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.

As the local health plan, we pride ourselves on the meaningful difference we make in the lives of our members. We are grateful for the learnings of the past year and look forward to 35 more years of success in our dynamic and changing health care environment.

Richard Swift is president and CEO of Health New England.

To learn more about Health New England, go online to healthnewengland.org.

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New England, we made it safe and easy to connect with us and learn about plan options through online learning sessions, additional call center staff and improved web tools.

The impact of COVID-19 and related economic downturn has increased enrollments in public health programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and more people are buying health insurance on their own. For 2021, we have more plan options at affordable costs for the individual market available to purchase on our website, healthnewengland.org.

In addition, we made benefit adjustments to make it easier for our members to get needed care. These adjustments include no out-ofpocket costs for COVID-19 diagnostic testing ordered by a medical professional or for telehealth visits for all conditions, allowing early refills of prescriptions and, more recently, no out-ofpocket costs for COVID-19 vaccines.

2020 was a year that uprooted business as usual, from the pandemic shaping a new normal to the emergence of an important social justice movement gaining historic momentum across the country.

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members were frightened.

“They didn’t want to go out,” Smith recounts. “We were essential employees with a whole warehouse of food, with a distribution center with trucks and drivers. We thought, ‘Let’s bring food to our friends’ houses and do what we can.’”

What started as an altruistic way to help those in their innermost circles immediately grew into an idea that serves hundreds of people across the Pioneer Valley.

Simos now offers daily deliveries of boxes loaded with enough fruit, vegetables and dairy to last a family of four a full week.

Simos Produce was appropriately founded on Avocado Street in Springfield in 1934 by three immigrants from Greece. The Delis family took over the business in the 1970s, and the company is still family-owned today.

From the start, the mission of the organization was to source and deliver locally harvested produce, when it’s available in New England, and produce from around the country when it is not.

Before the pandemic, Smith said 100% of the business’ profits came from wholesale deliveries, now it’s more like 80% wholesale, 20% boxed deliveries.

“It’s definitely been tough this year,” he says of 2020.

“Pivoting to curate grocery boxes has saved us.”

When the idea launched – shortly after Smith, Durrin and Emond began delivering to friends – they were trucking hundreds of boxes a day to individual homes, as well as remaining whole-

A view of the headquarters of Simos Produce on Avocado Street in Springfield. The wholesale distributor has pivoted during the pandemic into supplying curated grocery boxes to the public. Below, a truck is loaded with produce.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

A truck leaves the Avocado Street headquarters of Simos Produce in Springfield. For 80 years, Simos has delivered fruits and vegetables to hundreds of customers, including restaurants, schools, retirement homes, jails and grocery stores. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Before the pandemic, Scott Smith said 100% of the business’ profits came from wholesale deliveries, now it’s more like 80% wholesale, 20% boxed deliveries.

it forever.”

“It’s been a challenge,” Durrin adds.

Now, cussale customers’ warehouses. tomers can Along with pallets of produce order online, for wholesale customers, and delivThis label is on a curated produce box in the Avocado Street eries can be the trucks also held dozen headquarters of Simos Produce. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) of the $55 boxed deliveries, Jeremy Durrin scheduled the to individual homes during a systems in place. Hundreds next day – or each containing milk, eggs, pandemic. of orders came in via the any day. And the company butter, potatoes, onions, “It wasn’t just plug and phone and were difficult to has purchased iPhones and tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and broccoli, along with organize. Truckers with deplay,” Smith explains, noting GPS software that dovetails cades worth of experience in that after some training for fruit such as pineapple and with the wholesale business packing, loading and delivcantaloupe. the six drivers and four ware- system that was earlier in ering wholesale goods had house staff, everyone got up Smith says it was a chaotic place. This way, when a truck to learn how to safely deliver to speed, “like they’ve done start because there were no is loaded with wholesale and

individual deliveries, the software creates a route that is most efficient.

As of December, Simos was delivering about 15 boxed groceries a day. “It ebbs and flows, based on what the government is mandating,” Smith explains.

Durrin said the new mission is in place indefinitely.

“If it trickles down to almost nothing, we might decide to end it,” he says, adding, “We’ve gotten really positive feedback from the community, so I think we will keep it going.”

“If it trickles down to almost nothing, we might decide to end it. We’ve gotten really positive feedback from the community, so I think we will keep it going.”

JEREMY DURRIN, ACCOUNT AND MARKETING MANAGER, SIMOS PRODUCE

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OUTLOOK 2021

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | L15

“A recent Gallup poll indicates that nurses are ranked as ‘the most trustworthy in the health care field’ and Mercy’s nursing clinical practice exemplifies this tenet.”

Deborah Bitsoli, president, Mercy Medical Center

Bitsoli CONTINUED FROM PAGE L4

Above left, Mercy Medical Center’s Dr. Mark Kenton, chief of emergency medicine, and registered nurse Maria Guihan review a patient chart. At right, lead MRI technologist Chris Moore, second from right, explains the benefits of the new Signa Premier 3T Wide Bore “Open” MRI unit to Mercy Medical Center president Deborah Bitsoli, chief nursing officer Darlene Cunha and diagnostic imaging administrator Lynn Shewchuk. (MERCY MEDICAL CENTER PHOTO)

technology and fast imaging times for increased speed and lower radiation doses in comparison to other systems. This PET-CT also features a wide opening and table as well as a short tunnel, allowing patients to feel more comfortable and less claustrophobic.

Additionally, Mercy Medical Center’s Nuclear Department will add a GE Nuclear Medicine/CT 850 ES, a state-of-the art cardiology nuclear camera to help in the evaluation of coronary heart disease in testing performed by providers at Pioneer Valley Cardiology. The device, which will be in use by April 1, features new technology that reduces the patient’s

Marqusee

its serve as a safe option for both health care providers and patients by reducing poCONTINUED FROM PAGE L6 tential infectious exposures. to provide support and care It’s still critical that patients to people suspected of having keep up with routine screenings and not delay their care coronavirus while keeping if they have symptoms of a providers and other patients serious condition, such as safe.

To meet testing needs stroke or heart attack. The of the community, Cooley patient portal also allows Dickinson quickly set up a patients to communicate drive-thru COVID-19 testing with their providers, view site on the hospital campus. test results and more from a Working collaboratively with computer and mobile device. local boards of health and Cooley Dickinson provid-

Registered nurse Amy Hamel vaccinates Cooley Dickinson’s Emergency Department physician and chief of emergency medicine Dr. Bobby Redwood. He was the first staff member at Cooley Dickinson Health Care in Northampton to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (COOLEY DICKINSON HEALTH CARE PHOTO)

other community members, Cooley Dickinson’s laboratory has provided thousands of tests to symptomatic and asymptomatic people throughout the course of the pandemic, including people who live in communal settings as well as area first responders.

Changes in the way that health care is delivered during the pandemic have been essential and health systems have had to adjust to the way they triage, evaluate, and care for patients using methods that do not rely on in-person appointments.

At Cooley Dickinson, our challenge was to continue to deliver care while keeping patients and staff safe. In outpatient settings, patients have access to virtual visits, either by phone or by video-enabled software. These types of visits are offered at urgent care locations in Amherst and Southampton, in primary care and specialty care offices, and for physical, occupational and speech-language therapy appointments.

Telehealth and virtual vis-

ers are ready to care for our community. Following the guidance of the state Department of Public Health, we are committed to caring for patients safely in our hospital and at our off-site locations throughout Hampshire and Franklin counties. Our Safe Care Commitment is in place at all of our facilities: we screen to protect patients, visitors and our staff. We clean our hands and spaces to make it easy for patients to do the same. We protect everyone in our environment. We require all people – patients, visitors and employees – at our facilities to wear masks.

To ensure all our patients are screened for symptoms before entering our offices, Cooley Dickinson has deployed mobile friendly digital screening tools.

This screening tool allows patients to complete a digital attestation of symptoms prior to their arrival, leading to an expedited check-in and a process that ensures patients and staff are safe.

One of Cooley Dickinson’s core values is show respect:

see a growing demand for easily accessible, high quality inpatient and outpatient clinical services, and, as a result, a growing demand for additional changes in care delivery that make it more patient friendly and cost effective. symptoms. According to the At Mercy Medical Center, American Hospital Associawe welcome these changes, tion, 76% of hospitals connect knowing that successful transpatients and consulting prac- formation in these areas will titioners with video and other leave us well-poised to serve technology. Supported by our community for years to Mercy Medical Center, these come. telehealth services not only improve access and support Deborah Bitsoli is president patient safety, they also help of Mercy Medical Center and ensure that patients receive its affiliates. To learn more the right care, at the right about Mercy and its programs, place, at the right time. go online to mercycares.com/ The years ahead will surely sprin­gfield.

Telehealth is the combined use of medical devices and communication technologies to diagnose, analyze and monitor diseases and symptoms.

According to the American Hospital Association, 76% of hospitals connect patients and consulting practitioners with video and other technology. exposure to radiation.

While our commitment to high quality care is demonstrated by all of our providers, patients primarily interact with our nurses at the bedside.

A recent Gallup poll indicates that nurses are ranked as “the most trustworthy in the health care field” and Mercy’s nursing clinical practice exemplifies this tenet. Our nurses are not only committed to providing the best possible care and

patient experience, they also work to bridge disparities and gaps by making sure patients and families have a voice in their health care.

The ability to access care quickly and remotely has become increasingly important to patients.

Telehealth is the combined use of medical devices and communication technologies to diagnose, analyze and monitor diseases and

“Changes in the way that health care is delivered during the pandemic have been essential and health systems have had to adjust to the way they triage, evaluate, and care for patients using methods that do not rely on in-person appointments.”

JOANNE MARQUSEE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, COOLEY DICKINSON HEALTH CARE

we believe in embracing diversity, understanding differences and striving for health equity. Never in our history has honoring this value been as critical as it is now.

“We know we can and must do better to tackle and overcome the barriers to equality that exist in our organization,” wrote Mass General Brigham President and CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski in an email to employees last fall. (Cooley Dickinson is a member of Mass General Brigham.)

Cooley Dickinson established its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council in 2014.

With the council’s guidance and work, we have accomplished much, particularly in our work to be a leader as an LBGTQ-affirming provider and employer.

Consistent with Mass General Brigham’s initiative, we have embarked on our own anti-racism initiative. Our plan includes specific timelines and metrics of success on our journey to becoming an anti-racist organization, and our work encompasses strategies and tactics in the areas of organizational culture and work environment; diverse talent, including acquisition/management practices; collaborative community relationships; and the intersection of health equity and clinical outcomes.

The challenges in 2021 are significant for our nation and particularly, for all health care providers. Managing the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be easy, but I am optimistic as the vaccine is being distributed. And I am inspired by teams of providers and staff at Cooley Dickinson, for their dedication to our patients and the community as we advance the priorities, mission, vision and values of Cooley Dickinson Health Care.

Joanne Marqusee is president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care in Northampton.

To learn more about Cooley Dickinson, go online to cooleydickinson.org.

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and a more positive patient experience. This project will begin in the coming months.

Mercy Medical Center is also committed to improving access to specialized care by physicians who are experts in their fields. We have focused efforts on adding to our medical staff in the areas of orthopedics, vascular surgery, gynecologic oncology and breast surgery and podiatric surgery. We are also proud to offer minimally invasive and microscopic neurosurgical procedures, as well as robotic spine surgery with Globus Excelsius GPS technology, to relieve neck and back pain with shorter recovery time and less pain.

The use of the latest diagnostic technology is also central to providing high quality patient care. Mercy now uses a Signa Premier 3T Wide Bore “Open” MRI unit for diagnostic testing. This MRI unit provides enhanced prostate, orthopedic and spectroscopy scans, determining the presence of abnormal tissues in these areas, all in a patient-friendly design that maximizes comfort and offers additional space.

In the coming months, Mercy will also use the new Biograph PET-CT mCT with advanced dose-reduction

L16 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“During that March conversation we realized that our farms produced a wide selection of vegetables without much overlap and decided to try marketing them collaboratively directly to customers by providing convenient online ordering and safe, contactless delivery.”

CAROLINE C. PAM, KITCHEN GARDEN, SUNDERLAND

Farms CONTINUED FROM PAGE L6

fresh products right from the producers to consumers,” says Jessica L. Dizek, co-owner of Mapleline Farm in Hadley.

“But especially at a time when this service can be essential to people, it’s a win-win – for the farmer who, like us, had excess product from a decline in restaurant orders and consumers who need it for their homes.”

Mapleline – with its herd of registered Jersey cows that produce a premium milk – has benefited from membership in the collaborative because it helped move products that otherwise may not have been ordered by the food service industry. “With cows, they don’t stop production because of a global pandemic or anything else that could be problematic to supply and demand,” Dizek explains.

According to Caroline C. Pam, Sunderland Farm Collaborative co-owner and market manager, the collaborative began in March after a conversation with Sunderland farmer friends and neighbors from Queen’s Greens and the Riverland and Warner farms to brainstorm ways the businesses might survive under circumstances where many of their usual buyers were suddenly closed because of the pandemic.

“During that March conversation we realized that our farms produced a wide selection of vegetables without much overlap and decided to try marketing them collaboratively directly to customers by providing convenient online ordering and safe, contactless delivery,” said Pam, also co-owner and market man-

Caroline C. Pam

Jessica L. Dizek

The Sunderland Farm Collaborative offers home delivery on Wednesdays and Saturdays for a $10 delivery fee to Sunderland, Whately, Hatfield, Deerfield, Greenfield, Montague, Amherst, Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley, South Hadley and Holyoke.

Customers also may choose from one of eight pickup locations for a $5 pickup fee.

Western Massachusetts dairy farms like Mapleline Farm in Hadley are dealing with a changing marketplace landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the steps it took last year was to join the Sunderland Farm Collaborative.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

ager for the Kitchen Garden.

“We then reached out to other farmers experiencing similar disruption in their usual sales channels to invite them to fill out our offerings and provide one-stop shopping for locally grown and produced foods, including fruit, milk, cheese, bread, mushrooms, flour, honey, maple syrup, meat, fish and more.”

Participants knew that what their farms offer jointly has more value that what just one could supply alone. “And it’s way more efficient to have one farm manage all the aggregation and delivery logistics

for the group than for each of us to figure it out separately but redundantly on our own,” Pam said.

The Sunderland Farm Collaborative offers home delivery on Wednesdays and Saturdays for a $10 delivery fee to Sunderland, Whately, Hatfield, Deerfield, Greenfield, Montague, Amherst, Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley, South Hadley and Holyoke. Customers also may choose from one of eight pickup locations for a $5 pick-up fee.

Currently there are more than 60 participating farms

when people get back to their daily routines of grabbing their coffee on the way to work or having lunch or dinner out with friends, they will continue to purchase through regional food delivery services like the Sunderland Farm Collaborative because it’s convenient and it supports local agriculture and local small business. “And last but not least, it’s great stuff!” she enthuses.

For more information about Sunderland Farm Collaborative go online to sunderland farmcollaborative.local foodmarketplace.com.

and food businesses, although some offer products that are only available seasonally.

Sales through the collaborative have been strong during the pandemic “because we offer an alternative to shopping in person, which many people are avoiding during COVID,” Pam says. “It has certainly been challenging adapting on the fly to ever-changing (pandemic) guidance, but we all feel lucky to be able to continue to farm and grow food and show up to work in person with our fellow farmers.”

Dizek is confident that as the pandemic eases and

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community.

“Holyoke has become a site where we clustered the industry, particularly for manufacturing,” said Marcos Marrero, who resigned in January as the city’s director of planning and development. “Specifically, growing the plant, processing the active ingredient, whether it’s the THC oil or the flower.”

Besides the leaf, the end ingredients are also used for edible products, oils for Frohmund K. Burger, left, is general manager of Trulieve’s cannabis grow, production and retail facility at the former Conklin vaping pods and medicinal Office Furniture building at 56 Canal St. in Holyoke, right. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) products.

In April 2018, Green Thumb Industries opened a medical marijuana cultivation facility on Appleton Street, an $8 million rehab of a former paper mill. Soon followed retailers Canna Provisions on Dwight Street and Boston Bud Factory on Sargeant Street.

Marrero likened a cannabis retail operation to a liquor store. However, politics and community standards play a part in where the stores can open – mostly away from residential areas. A cannabis manufacturer or grower can serve the overall market, providing raw materials or finished products, Marrero said.

Holyoke provides “political stability,” where a majority of residents voted in favor of the 2016 referendum legalizing recreational marijuana, Marrero added. Mayor Alex B. Morse championed relaxing the state’s marijuana laws and allowing for recreational use.

Marrero cited the city’s electricity rates, some of the lowest in Massachusetts, as a key reason investors are flocking to Holyoke. Growing and cultivation operations require lots of electricity to operate artificial lights and for maintaining optimal growing conditions.

In April 2018, Green Thumb Industries opened a medical marijuana cultivation facility on Appleton Street, an $8 million rehab of a former paper mill. Soon followed retailers Canna Provisions on Dwight

Street and Boston Bud Factory on Sargeant Street. Trulieve has started work on a grow facility on Canal Street.

Erik Williams, the chief operating officer for Canna Provisions, says while retail remains the company’s focus, cultivation and manufacturing are part of its long-range plans. In addition to its Holyoke store, the company has retail locations in Lee and Easthampton.

It also runs a cultivation facility in Sheffield, allowing it to offer sun-grown, outdoor marijuana buds.

“We’re the only ones who have it because we support farmers,” Williams says.

Greg “Chemdog” Krzanowski, the company’s director of cultivation, is considered the “Father of Kind Bud,” according to Williams. Krzanowski produced a bud in the 1990s with over 30% THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Williams says the open attitude of the city’s mayor toward the industry was a factor in opening the Holyoke store.

“We know from our experience that cannabis tourism is an important part. We love the city as a whole,” he says.

Canna Provisions opened in August in the former Canal Gallery at 380 Dwight St. in Holyoke.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

In terms of popularity, Williams says flower products for smoking account for half of all purchases, a universal trend in the industry, followed by edibles, vaping, concentrates, topicals and accessories.

Williams added that older consumers mostly buy edibles for wellness, a way to boost appetite or to combat aches and pains. Flower remains popular across generations. “Vaping is a bit of a different crowd. We’re seeing women over 45 or with children still in the house as big vape users,” he said.

Franklyn Dailey, Boston Bud Factory’s CEO and co-owner, said business has slowly increased despite the state’s advertising limits. “It makes it hard for new businesses to advertise they’re open,” he said. But he added COVID-19 occupancy limits are driving customers from larger retailers to smaller stores like Boston Bud Factory.

Dailey said Holyoke’s open-minded approach to the cannabis industry helped with his location decision. “They were ahead of the curve and

leading the pack,” says Dailey, who nixed a Springfield operation after a series of delays.

“Coming to Holyoke allowed us to get the store open much quicker.”

While Dailey expects more stores to open in 2021 and beyond, the city of Holyoke charges a 3% impact fee under host community agreements with marijuana businesses, which might prove too costly for small retailers. “In the end, they’re going to drive traffic to other towns for lower prices,” Dailey says.

The cannabis industry and investors are gobbling up the massive former paper mills in the Canal District. For generations, the mills supplied a steady stream of paper and employment for Holyokers.

Trulieve, a powerhouse in the cannabis industry, has operations in California, Connecticut, Florida and Massachusetts, including a 140,000-square-foot growing-cultivation facility under construction in Holyoke.

In June 2019, Trulieve paid $3.2 million for the former Conklin Office Furniture building at 56 Canal St. The company plans to set aside 100,000 square feet for cultivating marijuana, with the remaining 40,000 square feet for office space, production and a dispensary.

Lynn Ricci, Trulieve’s director of investor relations and corporate communications, says the company is finishing the permitting process. “We’ll be operational during the first half of the year,” she says.

Trulieve will dedicate the start of operations to growing the marijuana plants.

Frohmund K. Burger, the general manager of Trulieve’s Holyoke site, explains cultivation operations need hospital-like sanitation standards to ensure the plants are protected and free from pests or outside matter.

The company raised $40 million in capital for the Holyoke project, according to Ricci. “It’s a big, older building, and we’re putting a lot into it to make it a best-in-class cultivation,” she says. “It’s quite costly, but we have not used that full amount as of yet.”

Ricci says Trulieve decided early on to invest in “majority-minority communities” like Holyoke. The host community agreement Trulieve signed with Holyoke stipulates that a percentage of employees come from the city, along with security personnel.

Burger will hire up to 300 employees, including growers, administrative staff, executives, technicians, and scientific and research staff.

Let’s grow together.

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OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Pandemic CONTINUED FROM PAGE L9

Owner Rebecca Sadlowski’s daughter, Mary, drives around in her own John Deere tractor at Rooted Flowers in Agawam.

Sadlowski cuts dahlias in the field late in the season at left.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTOS)

Rooted CONTINUED FROM PAGE L1

into northern Connecticut and north to parts of Franklin County.

Sadlowski is a fourth-generation Hadley native and grower. She was tilling soil by age 10 and worked on vegetable, dairy and tobacco farms.

She started her own vegetable stand as a teenager, growing tomatoes, squashes, cucumbers and pumpkins.

Not long afterwards, Sadlowski began to grow flowers in an effort to make her stand look more appealing from the roadside. Thus was born Rooted Flowers, paying tribute to her farming roots, and it immediately began to evolve.

First, the young entrepreneur added a pick-your-own patch on the family land she farmed in Hadley, and, then, she researched providing flowers to the region’s florists, deciding in the end to be a florist herself.

After attending a bouquet class in New York City, where Sadlowski witnessed that flowers for New England designs come packaged in heavy cellophane and cardboard, she decided she was going to hoe her own row.

“When I got back to the farm, I said, ‘I’m going to do it my way – from field to vase.’

Everything we do is garden-inspired. The packaging we use is 100% compostable – stickers, wrapping material.

Helen Brown gathers cuttings for a floral arrangement at Rooted Flowers in Agawam.

(DAVE ROBACK PHOTO)

If the pandemic had a silver lining, it was helping to get Sadlowski on track.

As international floral supplies became scarce, or impossible to source locally, people went looking.

No plastics.”

Sadlowski’s partner, Albert Grimaldi, came on the scene around that time, about 2016.

They got married and moved to his hometown of Agawam, where Sadlowski began to clean up the 25-year-old farm on their property, once active but long abandoned and overgrown. She continued to grow her wares in Hadley until early in 2020, when the

flowers originally,” Sadlowski notes, explaining that online sales platforms were not yet developed well enough to manage sales as efficiently as she can now.

If the pandemic had a silver lining, it was helping Agawam site was ready to be to get Sadlowski on track. As tilled and planted. international floral supplies Now, she has two children, became scarce, or impossible an infant and a 2-year-old, to source locally, people went and she is busy year-round. looking.

In early December, she “It opened the eyes of the locals (to say), ‘Hey, what do we relaunched her website at rootedflowers.com, and she have around here?’” Sadlowski shares. “Supply chains were intends to continue with her cut down. No flowers were current subscription model coming in. It forced people “for the long haul.” to look locally and opened up “That’s how I intended things to go when I was selling their eyes.”

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influencers to learn about the prevailing knowledge and concerns regarding COVID,” said Dr. Paul Pirraglia, Baystate Health’s chief of the Division of General Medicine and Community Health.

The latter team, led by Yemisi Oloruntola-Coates, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Baystate Health, and Annamarie Golden, director of community relations at Baystate Health, used the experience of working with the Russian community in Westfield in the first surge, as well as what was learned in the interviews to develop a patient needs assessment tool.

Other teams determined the availability of food and medication deliveries, as another team began considering testing strategies.

“Once the teams had done their initial work, we reformed into three teams that continued to work collaboratively,” said Jessica Collins, executive director, Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts and co-director, BeHealthy Partnership.

One team continued to gather and review data, while a second team worked on patient-focused outreach, and another team engaged in community outreach.

“The data analysis team gathered available data which was used to direct outreach efforts. This helped assure that limited resources would go where they were likely needed the most,” said Cristina Huebner Torres, vice president of research and population health at the Caring Health Center.

Guided by the data, community health workers from Baystate’s Community Health Centers and Caring Health Center reached out to patients more at risk due to their physical locations

and health risks. They completed individual needs assessments, then directed available services – as well as materials supplied through a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts such as masks, cleaning products and thermometers – to these patients through a contact-free delivery process.

Meanwhile, the community outreach team conducted a webinar entitled “Religion & Culture and Its Impact on COVID-19,” which led to two smaller interactive virtual sessions called “Faith Leaders as Public Health Advocates.” Also, the public health institute hosted just before Thanksgiving a livestreamed virtual town hall entitled “Latest on COVID-19 Safety: What You Need to Know for Yourself & Your Family.” The community outreach team also continued to produce tailored communications on COVID safety to specific communities.

Additional community outreach efforts led by Dr. Sarah McAdoo, population health capstone director and co-leader of Capstone Scholarship and Discovery Course at the University of Massachusetts Medical School – Baystate, included testing and educational events held as part of the state’s “Stop the Spread” campaign. The Springfield Housing Authority, Square One, Martin Luther King Center and New North Citizens Council also partnered to help organize these events.

“Today the work of our teams continues using the systems and relationships we put into place over the months. We are making sure that patient outreach is robust, and we are looking for ways to further enhance community outreach.

Also, the availability of the COVID vaccines will transform our work and bring hope to 2021,” said Pirraglia.

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“Our store teams, under the most daunting circumstances, were determined to provide their customers a shopping experience that was comfortable, safe and normal.”

RICHARD BOSSIE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, BIG Y FOODS

Bossie CONTINUED FROM PAGE L1

customers and employees, the events of the past year significantly advanced our timetable. Implementing extraordinary change required team efforts and commitment at levels significantly higher than at any time in Big Y’s 85-year history. Lessons that we have learned will drive increased convenience, quality, freshness, innovation and an improved customer experience for many years to come.

As we reflect on the past year, the word that quickly comes to mind is resiliency.

Our store teams, under the most daunting circumstances, were determined to provide their customers a shopping experience that was comfortable, safe and normal. This was not easily done. Staffing challenges, product supply shortages and regulatory protocols added complexity to everyone’s work.

Countless times we heard about store teams that were faced with seemingly impossible challenges who worked together and formed a creative solution. The abilities our teams have to brainstorm and execute problem-solving ideas while dealing with the whirlwind of their daily tasks is framed in a business process we use at Big Y called the “Chairman’s Challenge.”

A tremendous example of this process occurred in our Derby, Connecticut, store.

Tasked with the mandate of doing hourly cleaning and sanitizing at the front-end registers, our team realized how challenging that would be while still serving customers as efficiently as possible.

The store team brainstormed

Big Y Foods put the finishing touches on its Fresh & Local Distribution Center in Springfield during 2020. Here, James Isham zips along on his forklift in the distribution center on Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

led to long-term solutions that would have been deemed impossible in the past.

Another very effective tactic employed by our store teams managing the challenge was cross-training. Specialization in roles, was quickly determined as impractical. Individuals learning new tasks and technologies not only helped us weather the storm, Mary Garlo sanitizes a station at the self checkout at the Big Y World Class Market in Southwick. it provided tremendous deRichard Bossie, senior vice president of operations and customer experience at Big Y, says many velopment opportunities for of the stores’ enhanced safety protocols were based on suggestions made by customers. Below, them allowing career growth head cashier William Banks works in the customer service area. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) with Big Y. Although technology has and implemented an auto long been part of our lives racing “pit crew” solution. at Big Y, this past year has Small teams worked together, provided many opportunities using tactics they developed to refine our systems and to on their own, to clean, sanitize re-prioritize the implementations of new strategies. and return the check-out back Remote meetings using to operation in impressively video services has become an short order. They achieved important part of our commuresults far better than if they nications. were just following directives In-store equipment and from “headquarters!” software, such as handWe also have to commend held devices for employees, our customers for their resiliency and cooperation and enhanced self-checkout and support of our store teams. scan while you shop, customer experience software platOn a daily basis we receive forms, were all jump-started feedback on social media and in 2020. Big Y also invested in email, letters and telephone exceptional time and effort calls, praising our employees, offering suggestions and safety protocols were based in building the foundation schedules, staffing models providing insights to their on suggestions made by our and work protocols proved to for new E-Commerce solutions and partnering with communities. This feedcustomers. be impractical very early on back is welcomed and very Flexibility was another in the pandemic. Recognizing other companies to provide valuable as we build on the key component in dealing the needs of working parents, shopping options that are many learnings from the past with 2020’s headwinds. Our increasingly important to our seniors, commuters and immuno-compromised people year. Many of our enhanced customers. industry’s traditional work

Importantly, Big Y did not let the pandemic slow us down in terms of growth! We opened a World Class Market in Simsbury, Connecticut, opened a new Big Y Express fuel station in Westfield and remodeled 16 stores over the course of the year. We also put the finishing touches on our Fresh & Local Distribution Center in Springfield. Our stores and customers will benefit greatly from having this facility close by and ready to provide product during even the most challenging times.

Leading the Operations Team at Big Y, I have been always been impressed by the incredible accomplishments of our people, but no more so than this past year. Their hard work, sacrifice, and commitment made it possible to serve our communities at the highest levels. Along with their efforts in managing the crisis, they also learned important lessons and participated in problem-solving and idea generation, contributing to strategies that will shape our company well into the future. They have embraced change and provided me a very optimistic view our company’s future.

Richard Bossie is senior vice president of operations and customer experience at Big Y Foods. To learn more about Big Y, visit the website, bigy.com.

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In tomorrow’s OUTLOOK BUSINESS MONDAY section: Springfield Regional Chamber gives voice to business

Outlook 2021

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SUCCESS STORIES A photograph from 1935 shows Nick’s Nest as it appeared back then, run by the Malfas family. The iconic restaurant is celebrating its 100th anniversary. At far right, Allison Descheneaux puts a hot dog on a bun.

Eugene Cassidy

Enthusiasm, optimism drive Big E in 2021

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Hot dog!

2

020. WE ALL HAD SUCH great expectation for this particular year, building on the achievements of 2019 with “vision” for continued and enhanced successes.

At Eastern States Exposition, we finalized a robust budget, prepared to announce the findings of an extensive economic impact study, and with the Big E’s Best. Year. Ever. in the rearview mirror, hired additional professional staff and set an ambitious agenda of year-round shows and fair-time activities. Those activities included the unique partnership between the exposition and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the highly anticipated Hooplandia!

Instead, as the year played out, and the pandemic continued we: saw more and more of Western Massachusetts’ time-honored shows and events canceled; postponed the exciting Hooplandia event; figured out how to present a Storrowton Ghost Tour in a socially distant manner; made the heartbreaking decision to cancel the 104th edition of the Big E; joined the Victory Cheese movement; and, through the efforts of our creative and nimble staff, found new ways to bring highlights of the fair experience to Big E fans safely.

The Big E is dependent on a number of small businesses, from Etsy-style artisans, craft breweries, mobile food concessionaires, hometown restaurants, local pool and spa providers, agricultural producers and state-specific vendors, to name a few. In all of our pivots and alternative events and offerings, our overarching goal was to help our vendors and associates.

Our industry is unique, and the

Nick’s Nest set to turn 100 Federal PPP loan helped eatery keep doors open

C

By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ

Special to The Republican

hances are, if you ate a homemade lunch yesterday, it wasn’t very memorable. But if you ate at Nick’s Nest in Holyoke, you might surely be planning your next visit!

Jenn Chateauneuf, seen here, and her husband, Kevin Chateauneuf, own Nick’s Nest on Northampton Street in Holyoke. Hot dogs, baked beans and popcorn stay on the menu as they have from the time Nick’s opened 100 years ago. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“What surprises us the most about owning Nick’s Nest is that it’s so much more than a little hot dog stand.”

SEE NICK’S, PAGE M17

JENN CHATEAUNEUF, CO-OWNER, NICK’S NEST, HOLYOKE

SEE CASSIDY, PAGE M17

SMALL BUSINESS

Business proved ‘wicked good’ Ware couple grows line of BBQ, hot sauces and rubs

By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ

Jay’s Wicked Gourmet Sauce, founded by Jason and Shannon Green, offers a line of barbecue sauces, seasonings and spice blends.

Special to The Republican

Not only are Jason and Shannon Green a “match made in heaven” with two beautiful daughters, they’re one “wicked” business match, too.

The Greens, of Ware, are creators and owners of Jay’s Wicked Gourmet Sauce.

Their company produces and markets over six different varieties of small batch gourmet barbecue and hot sauces. Ingredients are locally sourced, and they happily omit gluten ingredients and preservatives. All of their products’ packaging is sustainable.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN /

SEE WICKED, PAGE M17

THE REPUBLICAN)

M OWNER

McNeill HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CO., INC. Established 1975

OPERATED OVER

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Nick’s Nest, located at 1597 Northampton St., has been serving up its famous hot dogs and homemade baked beans for nearly a century.

Open daily year-round for lunch, dinner and everything in between, Nick’s Nest offers soup specials as well as some new menu items , including waffle fries and macaroni-and-cheese, and its ice cream window delights customers spring through summer.

SUCCESS STORIES

The principles of Peter WMass hospitality guru soldiers on, undaunted by COVID

By KEITH J. O’CONNOR

Special to The Republican

Peter Rosskothen

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SEE PETER, PAGE M19

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M2 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

ENTERTAINMENT

Anticipation grows for live shows, plays The Boston Red Sox hosted their sixth annual Winter Weekend in downtown Springfield at MGM Springfield and MassMutual Center on Jan. 17, 2020. Here are former designated hitter and first baseman David Ortiz and former starting pitcher Pedro Martinez. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

‘Cautious optimism’ abounds for region’s tourism venues

W

HAT A DIFFERence a year makes. In December 2019, the Western Massachusetts tourism industry appeared to be in its strongest position in decades. And it was. We were enjoying a continued strong economy, stable gasoline prices and our solid inventory of one-of-a-kind attractions had been enhanced by key new investments.

Fueled by newly planned and classic events like MGM Springfield’s Red Sox Winter Weekend and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Hoophall Classic, we enjoyed the most vigorous first quarter in recent memory. Those in our industry had every reason to believe we would continue to roll into an equally robust spring, with a vigorous summer and fall coming right behind.

Hospitality leaders across the region were feeling bullish.

And then, COVID-19 struck.

Overnight, events everywhere were canceled, hotels and attractions shut down.

Restaurants were open for take-out only. Only essential retail and offices remained open.

Most of our tourism community began working from home. Many were fur-

Mary Kay Wydra loughed. Some were laid off permanently.

No industry has been as hard hit as travel. The U.S. economy lost more jobs in leisure and hospitality than any other industry.

By year’s end, Hampden County tourism had lost over 5,300 jobs and was experiencing a 21% unemployment rate, leading all other business sectors. Massachusetts remains on the list of top 10 states impacted the most by the pandemic.

The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau suffered as well. Right away, we had to make some very difficult tactical decisions, closing down the Visitor Information Center with the Business Improvement District on Main Street in Springfield and cutting four staff positions.

The spring surge of the SEE WYDRA, PAGE M6

Socially-distanced concerts could return by summer

L

By George Lenker

“The pent-up demand should make for a lot of great shows in the near future.

Just thinking about seeing an artist hit the stage to a roaring crowd gives me the chills!”

John Sanders, DSP Shows

Special to The Republican

ast year at this time, the biggest perceived threat to many Western Massachusetts entertainment venues was competition from MGM Springfield. This year, that idea seems rather quaint.

Now the threat from the coronavirus pandemic is much more serious, but the region’s entertainment bookers still sound a hopeful note when talking about their outlook for 2021.

MGM Springfield has not brought a steady parade of Las Vegas-level stars to the city despite assuming management of the MassMutual Center and Symphony Hall.

The casino brought Stevie Wonder to the MassMutual Center for its grand opening bash in 2018 and marked its first anniversary with a string of Aerosmith performances.

In the 11 months in between, the center welcomed Cher and Christian rockers Casting Crowns.

The track record at Symphony Hall has also been uneven.

While DSP Shows rented the hall for a sold-out Bob Dylan show in 2018, MGM Springfield has succeeded in bringing in a handful of noteworthy acts since then, including Motown legend Smokey Robinson, Boyz II Men and funnymen Steve Martin and Martin Short.

In September, entertainment venues across the nation, including Springfield Symphony Hall, were lit up red to draw attention to the financial predicament of production companies and stagehands during the coronavirus pandemic. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

DSP Shows partner and talent buyer John Sanders says 2020 was devastating, with the company’s business down 96% from the previous year. The company, which books shows up and down the Pioneer Valley, as well as all across the country, is already looking forward to a time later this year when it can bring live shows back.

Northampton’s Academy of Music will be ready to go when the time comes, and it is working on its usual concert series at the Pines Theater at Look Park, Sanders says.

With Holyoke’s Gateway City Arts now closed – at least until a new owner steps forward – Sanders and company are working on finding new

venues for some of the shows that had been scheduled there. He mentioned the Shea Theater Arts Center in Montague as one possibility.

Springfield’s Bing Arts Center is also looking for a new owner. The nonprofit that operates the venue listed it for sale at the end of January for $175,000.

Iron Horse Entertainment Group, which runs three Northampton venues that feature national talent, shuttered the Iron Horse Music Hall, Pearl Street Night Club and the Calvin Theatre in March when the COVID-19 lockdown began. Like most people, the staff wasn’t sure how long the suspension of live shows would last back then.

“If we had known it might be as long as a year or more, our eyes would have gone wide,” says Iron Horse marketing director Jim Neill.

“Would knowing have made a difference in our plans? I doubt it. Really we’ve never known how long we’ll be dark, and we still don’t.”

Neill says the company is tentatively looking down the road for when it can return.

“The wide window we are working with is this September 2021 to early 2022 depending on how efficiently the vaccine rollout goes,” he says.

“Basically, we mothballed the venues, and we will reopen when the world is back on its axis. I suspect it will be with SEE SHOWS, PAGE M18

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M3

CASINO GAMBLING

Casinos gamble on future of sports betting Expert predicts it’s make or break moment for MGM

E

By JIM KINNEY

jkinney@repub.com

fforts to control the deadly coronavirus pandemic – from plexiglass shields at roulette tables to bans on patrons standing and drinking at the same time – dominated the news for MGM Springfield and the region’s other casinos in 2020.

But it’s sports gambling and how Massachusetts and its neighbors choose to regulate it, that could have the biggest impact on MGM going forward.

“If they don’t get sports gambling at the casino or online, I don’t see much of a future,” says Richard McGowan, a professor in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College who studies the gambling and casino industries. “They are in way too much debt. The future of gambling looks like it’s online. What will make or break MGM Springfield is what the Massachusetts Legislature decides to do with sports gambling.”

That could be running online betting through the existing casinos, as New Jersey has done. Delaware uses the state’s lottery. But online operators

At left, Robert Westerfield, vice president of casino operations, stands at a blackjack table on the gaming floor of MGM Springfield in July when the casino reopened to the public.

Plexiglass screens now separate each seat. Above, COVID-19 safety precautions at MGM Springfield mean many slot machines are now turned off to allow for social distancing.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTOS)

like DraftKings want in on the action as well.

McGowan is the author of six books on the gambling, alcohol and tobacco industries.

He predicts MGM will sell the Springfield casino as a way of recouping its losses at a property that hasn’t lived up to expectations. MGM management says that’s not on the table.

“Let’s put to rest any question of MGM’s continued commitment to the Springfield community,” the company said in an email. “Since reopening our doors in July, despite the ongoing pandemic and mandated restrictions, we have been buoyed by our dedicated customer base and resilient business performance. We are

excited about the future here in Springfield and resuming the progress of the many downtown redevelopment projects in the works.”

MGM management declined to be interviewed in person.

They responded to an emailed question about how sports betting figures into MGM Springfield’s future.

“Sports betting is an amenity that Bay Staters have been requesting since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2018,” the company said.

“Sports betting is already happening illegally. Legalizing and properly regulating this market will protect consumers, ensure

strong responsible gaming protocols, potentially generate an estimated $50 million in direct, annual tax revenue to the commonwealth, and help support the many well-paying Massachusetts jobs that MGM Springfield has created. We will continue to work with the Legislature during the new session to bring sports betting to the citizens of the Commonwealth and the associated revenue to its coffers.”

In one indication of how big online sports gambling is expected to be, MGM Springfield’s corporate parent, MGM Resorts International, tried last month to buy British gaming company Entain, owner of the storefront Ladbrokes book-

making shops and a global online gambling infrastructure, for $11 billion. Entain rejected the offer.

Casinos around the Northeast are slowly reopening from pandemic-related shutdowns last year.

Massachusetts’ three casinos – MGM, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park – reopened for 24-hour operations in the last week of January after being forced to close from 9:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. under a strict COVID-19 curfew. The all-hours gambling applied, at least initially, to slots at MGM. Table games were open until 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, according to a news release.

Business at the state’s three

casinos rebounded in December, according to the most recent figures from the state Gaming Commission. Revenue, though, still remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

MGM Springfield reported $11.4 million in gross gaming revenue in December. That was up about 8.5% from the $10.5 million MGM reported in November.

In December 2019, though, MGM reported $19 million in gross gaming revenue. In December 2018 it reported $21.6 million.

At Encore, the Gaming Commission reported gross gaming revenue of $29.3 million, up about 7% from $27.3 million in

SEE CASINO, PAGE M20

“Let’s put to rest any question of MGM’s continued commitment to the Springfield community.

Since reopening our doors in July, despite the ongoing pandemic and mandated restrictions, we have been buoyed by our dedicated customer base and resilient business performance.”

CHRIS KELLEY, PRESIDENT, MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL’S NORTHEAST GROUP

For approximately 80 years, The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Western Massachusetts has represented residential construction trades. This local association is well-known for their lobbying, providing education through the trades, along with being a reliable resource to the general public in hiring reputable people across trades.

Andrew Crane, executive director of the Home Builders Association, said, “We network amongst each other for materials and services.” The association is a “one stop shop,” he added.

Amid a global pandemic, the construction industry has steadily increased. Crane stated that people always seem to need projects done, however, while being stuck in their homes, they are noticing these projects more so than ever beforedreaming about what their homes could be.

For the past 65 years, the Home Builders Association has produced a home show. This event is held at the Eastern States Exposition, bringing in between 15,000 to 25,000 people annually.

The home show is split-up across

two large buildings and an outdoor area. There are 550 booths, filled with products all over the map.

Roofs, siding, dry wall, insulation, lumber, tools, patio, hardscaping, and more- you name it, the home show has it!

Crane claimed, “These are all products that you might see in other places, but definitely at the home show!”

Drifting away from primary construction trades, other booths contain items such as skin care products, hot tubs, and cutlery, along with food and drink vendors.

While the event is typically held in March, COVID cancelled last year’s home show. This year, the 66th annual Original Western Mass Home and Garden Show which normally is produced in March, will be postponed until August 19th through the 22nd - 2021 to ensure everyone’s comfort and safety. So mark your calenders!

The main purpose for this event is to serve the general public. Crane said, “It’s a business to client show.”

While carrying on their notable reputation, the Home Builders Association is looking forward to another safe and successful year.

240 Cadwell Drive, Springfield, MA

413-733-3126 3144971-01

M4 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

From left: Mike Fitzgerald, owner of Schermerhorn’s Seafood in Holyoke, holds a live lobster from the tank in his retail fish market; chicken francaise is among the continuing favorites on the menu at the Tavern Restaurant in Westfield; chef Adan Mendoza prepares a meal in the kitchen of Three Figs restaurant at 94 Mountain Road, Suffield. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

FOOD & DINING

Takeout helps sustain restaurants money for a restaurant-specific grant program.

“Each restaurant closing has a story three times over,” Clark says. “A business owner vested in his business. Employees who made their living at the restaurant. And customers who patronized their favorite restaurant.”

Alexander Schuler and Three Figs in Suffield share a story of survival.

“For us it is the uncertainty of the situation that has been our biggest worry. We had never been involved in anything like this. You were being told to shut down, and you really didn’t know what to do,” he says. “So, we shut down for a month to recalibrate.”

It meant reworking the menu to make it more takeout friendly. “Not all foods carry well, such as french fries, for example, which often lose their Patrons enjoy lunch at the bar at the Tavern Restaurant in Westfield. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN) crispiness. And from a consumer standpoint, that’s your

By KEITH J. O’CONNOR fault,” Schuler explains. “Then, Special to The Republican there’s the fact that takeout is two to three times the work ne of the with all the packaging involved. top restauIt’s a lot easier putting food on a plate and running it to rant trends the table. On an already tight for 2020 margin, you have to absorb the costs associated with packreported by aging because you can’t pass the National Restauthat along to your customers rant Association was ... it’s just not fair. We had delivery-friendly menu This is Three Figs’ pan seared scallops. It features a succotash also never items. That was even of red roasted peppers, peeled edamame, yellow corn, green done delivery before the coronavirus zucchini, yellow squash, bacon and green peas with a parsley before, and puree. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN) decided to do pandemic changed it ourselves everything for restau- employees being laid off and operators expect their sales to to avoid third Alexander many, about 35% to 38%, not decrease during the first three party fees, rants, many of which being called back to work,” months of 2021. Only 3% of which would Schuler last year turned to an Clark says. operators expect their sales will cut into an “Going back to March 2020, increase; already tight margin.” off-premises model there were 16,000 food and • 56% of Massachusetts As the demand grew for to survive during the beverage operations in the operators say their restaurant’s takeout meals, it resulted in total labor costs (as a percent even more “recalibration,” says national shutdown – or state employing more than 300,000 people, which is apof sales) are higher than they Schuler. close their restaurants proximately 10% of the state’s were prior to the COVID-19 “All of a sudden on Facecompletely. book we were seeing postworkforce. Also, the industry outbreak; and “For the last year and first ings that people couldn’t get in 2019 saw $19.5 billion in • 49% of Massachusetts quarter of 2021 the trend is through on the phone to our sales, while 2020 numbers are operators say it is unlikely survival,” says Steve Clark, restaurant,” he says. “That far below that threshold, with their restaurant will still be in vice president for government many operators reporting 25% business six months from now, was something we didn’t think affairs for the Massachusetts to 50% losses, with some as if there are no additional relief about when the restaurant Restaurant Association. was full, but at the time we high as 85%,” he adds. packages from the federal The food and beverage were doing just takeout. We The figures, which some con- government. sider “bleak,” from a National On the positive side, a industry has accounted for only had two lines and needed Restaurant Association survey number of financial relief one in four jobs lost during more, and that was a problem on the economic health of the programs that have now been because other businesses had the pandemic, more than any industry released in early Demade available to restaurant other sector of the economy. also recalibrated by cutting cember tell the rest of the story: owners is going to “provide And approximately 100,000 down on staff and were not restaurants were forced to close • 91% of Massachusetts them with a lifeline,” says letting their people into your from April through September, restaurant operators say their Clark. That includes the latest building.”

More telephone lines took according to Bon Appetit. total dollar sales volume in stimulus bill approved post“In Massachusetts, we are October was lower than it was election by Congress, the state three months. Then there was a approaching 4,000 restaurant in October 2019. Overall, sales having made $668 million in problem with the soda fountain closures due to the COVID-19 were down 43% on average; sector-specific grants and the system, and “we had to for pandemic, alongside 210,000 • 89% of Massachusetts Legislature authorizing more that, too,” says Schuler. “But

Amid ‘bleak’ times, restaurateurs keep serving their best

your customers don’t understand. Nobody wants excuses.”

Three Figs is down about 35% in sales compared to 2019, Schuler notes he lost business in the summer because they didn’t have a patio for outdoor dining. With few to no events being held, his catering business also “dried up” for the time being.

Schuler and Mike Fitzgerald, owner of Schermerhorn’s Seafood in Holyoke, are among restaurateurs who say their businesses were also hurt by suggestions dining establishments could contribute to spread of the virus.

On Sept. 11, for instance, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy SEE RESTAURANTS, PAGE M16

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M5

“We regrouped, stayed focused and kept grinding it out. There remain hurdles and competing priorities, but each day brings more promise. We have an incredible team that sees the light.”

RAY BERRY, OWNER, WHITE LION BREWING, ON DEALING WITH THE PANDEMIC

CRAFT BREWING

‘This is Springfield’s brewery’ White Lion comes home to settle in city of its birth

In its first years, White Lion Brewing Co. produced its beer under contract brewing agreements with other brewers. Now, for the first time, White Lion Brewing is brewing beer at Tower Square in downtown Springfield. At left, Mike Yates, brewmaster at White Lion Brewing Co., stirs a batch of brewing beer. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

T

By GEORGE LENKER

Special to The Republican

he slogan for White Lion Brewing is that “a white lion has mythical qualities and is symbolic of the good that unifies humankind.”

The sentiment surely resonates with a lot of people these hectic and uncertain days. But while it took White Lion six uncertain years to find its permanent home, the wait was worth it.

The brewery now resides in downtown Springfield’s Tower Square, and founder Ray Berry couldn’t be happier – even though the search was fraught with anxiety.

“It truly has been a journey, and, as a group, we have learned so much along the way,” he says. ”Looking back, I take responsibility on a key miscalculation that ultimately delayed our transition to brick-and-mortar, and, when you are a bootstrapped small business, any misstep can be costly. There wasn’t much room for error.”

Berry says he was “all-in” on locating the brewery in the heart of downtown

White Lion Brewing Co. moved into space at Tower Square in downtown Springfield last year. Opening of the taproom could come in the second quarter of this year, depending on pandemic conditions. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Springfield, but there was not a lot of light manufacturing space, which was needed for a brewery, in the immediate downtown corridor. He and his team vetted five different locations and actually had considered Tower Square as a possible option when it was under prior ownership, but nothing materialized.

“We pretty much exhausted every available option downtown and started to look elsewhere in the city when Tower Square’s new ownership reached out, and the rest is history,” he explains.

The move from doing contract brewing (brewing its beer at another brewer’s facility) to White Lion having its own space and equipment

required a new mindset, says Berry.

“Though the brand remains the brand, the business model changes,” he says. “Under the contract model, your contract facility is doing the majority of the work for you, and there is little to no to worry in regards to operating a facility, procurement, excise taxes, etc. Conversely, our new model incorporates traditional operational expenses, but due to the pandemic it does not include expected taproom, kitchen and special event revenue.

“Other breweries in the area at least have that option and can generate taproom-kitchen revenue.

There are many risks with

COVID-19, and a decision was made to just ride it out, not open the kitchen, which will be outsourced to a food partner), focus on distribution, and see where things stand as we enter the second quarter of 2021. Not ideal, but that’s where we stand.”

The pandemic also forced a number of tough decisions, such as having to furlough the majority of his team, adds Berry.

“There was a lot of uncertainty in the trade at that time.

Everyone was thinking restaurants and liquor stores were going to shutter. Once we were considered essential and had a better understanding, we brought back staff, burned the midnight oil looking for

resources to help bridge some gaps because we lost 100% of our outdoor programming,” he says.

Fortunately, the company had some pressures relieved along the way from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the city of Springfield’s Prime the Pump program, the Springfield Business Improvement District and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s funding programs, according to Berry.

“We regrouped, stayed focused and kept grinding it out.

There remain hurdles and competing priorities, but each day brings more promise. We have an incredible team that sees the light,” he says.

Berry credits head brew-

er Mike Yates with being a key contributor to the entire process.

“The project doesn’t work without Mike. When it was time to identify systems, get knee deep into construction, and finalize system set up, his experience unquestionably benefited all parties,” Berry says. “Under his full-time control everyone has witnessed an uptick in the quality of our liquid. Mike has complete control, he knows the expectations, and not to hype him up but pound for pound, I would put him with the best of them in Massachusetts.”

For Yates himself, being able to work in his own brewery makes a huge difference.

SEE LION, PAGE M16

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Locally owned and operated. Your hometown real estate agency.

M6 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Joe Artioli, the general manager of Artioli Chrysler Dodge Ram, 525 Enfield St., Enfield, says his dealership saw a new-vehicle sales recovery in the second half of 2020.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

This is a view of the service department at Marcotte Ford. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

AUTOMOTIVE

Car sales on road to recovery GM shutdowns hurt; other dealers rode out pandemic

I

By KEITH J. O’CONNOR

14.46 million units were down 14.7% compared to 2019. t should come as While the overall new-vehicle market fell by 14.7%, consumno surprise that er retail sales only declined by an estimated 9%, according to COVID-19 has their report. had a tremenNow the good news.

While the U.S. motor dous impact on vehicle market suffered with the automotive indus- a significant drop in automotry, just as it has on tive sales, there were signs of recovery as the nationwide others. shutdown came to an end.

First the bad news.

Demand, however, exceeded “The coronavirus pandem- supply on popular models ic certainly impacted new once shoppers began to hit the light-vehicle sales in 2020, showrooms again followed by not to mention the U.S. econ- a shortage of models because omy as a whole,” said Patrick of earlier manufacturing Manzi, chief economist for shutdowns. the National Association of At Central Chevrolet in Auto Dealers in their analysis West Springfield, sales manager Edward O’Grady says of auto sales last year. “Our they “did not notice” a drop forecast at the start of 2020 in business, but the pandemic estimated new light-vehicle did prompt the dealership to sales would fall by 1 to 2% make some difficult decisions compared to 2019 for a total of 16.8 million units sold, but regarding staffing, selling and once COVID hit, we knew this how they would sell while would be a different year than their showroom was closed.

“COVID-19 brought many anticipated.”

As 2020 came to a close, people to purchase online new-light vehicle sales of by appointment, but online Special to The Republican

Edward O’Grady, left, is sales manager and Todd Volk is the president and CEO of Central Chevrolet, 675 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

has not replaced the human touch. In fact, the biggest change for our customers has been the importance to have an appointment to purchase a vehicle,” O’Grady says.

“People still want to test drive a vehicle and see it in real life before they purchase. We continue to offer touchless deliveries and salesman free demonstration rides.”

Central also saw an in-

creased demand for used vehicles over the summer months due to a shortage of new model vehicles. And interest in electric vehicles continues to grow as pricing, according to O’Grady, “has never been better.” He adds, “Chevrolet is coming out with a new EUV (Electric Utility Vehicle) this spring. It will be an all-electric, 400-mile range type of SUV.”

“All things considered we had a good year,” says Mike Marcotte, owner of Holyoke’s Marcotte Ford Sales. In part, he explains, new car sales for Ford dropped as the car maker stopped making the Fusion in July, didn’t add any new sedans and is shifting focus to SUVs. It prompted used car sales – and prices – to go up, according to Marcotte.

SEE CARS, PAGE M12

“We’ve had one of our best years ever, and we were actually up 19% over last year.

One of the main reasons for that is that our manufacturers didn’t take their foot off of the gas pedal and continued their production.

They also began offering the highest rebates I’ve ever seen.”

GARY ROME, OWNER, GARY ROME HYUNDAI AND KIA

Bright Nights at Forest Park celebrated its 26th season from November through early January with pandemic-imposed restrictions. Recognized as one of the best holiday lights display in the nation, Bright Nights had to be drive-thru only, meaning it could not offer its gift shop, carriage rides and photos of kids with Santa. This is the Springfield City Hall and Municipal Group light display. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

Wydra

3146357-01

jobs that were lost at the start of the pandemic back, but the remaining half of the jobs lost CONTINUED FROM PAGE M2 will be very slow to come back; virus slowly abated, and our • 80% of travelers indicate region managed to welcome a they expect to return to normal significantly reduced nummovement patterns within six ber of visitors through the months of the virus’ containlate summer. However, cooler ment; and autumn weather forced most • Travel and tourism recovery must be our focus for an Americans indoors, leading overall economic recovery. to the feared “second wave” Put more simply, a general that plagues us still. Countless The Magic Wings Butterfly economic recovery for the naprognosticators predicted that Conservatory & Gardens tion cannot and will not occur these first months of 2021 will in Deerfield reopened for visitors in late summer. In this until there is also a recovery of represent the darkest days of photo from September, Micky the U.S. travel industry. They the pandemic.

Smith, of Monson, interacts However challenging the are closely linked. months ahead may be, we still with a new friend on her Nobody can yet say for cershoulder. (DON TREEGER / tain where the pandemic will look forward to later this year THE REPUBLICAN) take us in the months ahead, with a guarded measure of but we have every reason to cautious optimism.

The first reason is our own plans for them dominating the believe that both as an agency reorganization. During the recent headlines, we currently and one of Western Massachuvery difficult past months, the have more reason for optimism setts’ most essential regional convention and visitors bureau than at any time since the pan- industries, we’re better-posidemic began tioned to handle whatever may has been steadily reinventing And, so, an inevitable recome. itself into a “Bureau 2.0” that covery of our economy (and As the president of the Greatis best able to properly serve er Springfield Convention & our members and aggressively therefore, the tourism sector) promote our region’s attributes seems to be slowly coming into Visitors Bureau, I can tell you with great certainty that the focus on the horizon. to key audiences in a still-unfolding new normal. We were In early December, I partici- bureau’s commitment to our pated in US Travel’s “Looking not alone in having to make members remains unwavering.

Ahead to 2021 Travel Forecast” The bureau will do everything this strategic pivot. Destination-marketing organizations webinar. A few important possible to lead the Western Massachusetts tourism around the world have had points of that webinar bear industry through our biggest to reevaluate, reassess and paraphrasing here: challenge ever. reinvent.

• Leisure travel will lead Another major reason for our recovery, followed by business cautious optimism is, of course, travel; Mary Kay Wydra is president dependent upon the arrival • Leisure travel will be back of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau; to of a long-term solution to to 2019 levels in 2022, and COVID-19. With the highly en- business travel will be close to learn more about the bureau, go couraging news about effective those levels by 2024; online to explorewestern vaccines and the distribution • We have gotten half of the mass.com.

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THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M7

“We know that the competition that existed pre-pandemic will only be more intense. That’s where it’s going to be very, very important for us to continue the philosophy of differentiating ourselves from the airports in New York and from Logan. We feel we are positioned very well.”

KEVIN A. DILLON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONNECTICUT AIRPORT AUTHORITY

TRANSPORTATION

Bradley positioned for return of travel Aer Lingus hopes to restore Dublin flights later in ’21

P

By JIM KINNEY

jkinney@repub.com

assenger traffic at Bradley International Airport through the first 11 months of 2020 was down 63% compared with the year before with just more than 2.2 million people getting on or getting off airliners.

In 2019, more than 5.6 million people had traveled through Bradley by the end of October, and the airport was on its way to drawing 7 million passengers in 2019, besting its 2018 mark of 6.7 million by more than 2%.

This year, in a sign of the times of life amid a global pandemic, Bradley used on-arrival COVID testing to boost traffic by travelers who’d otherwise have to quarantine.

The latest numbers are actually something of a recovery, as back in April and May the airport was running 90% or more behind its passenger traffic from the spring of 2019. They are not numbers that Bradley and the Connecticut Airport Authority can sustain long term even though airports in Boston and New York City were down 80% to 85% in star-crossed 2020.

Recovery, says Connecticut Airport Authority executive director Kevin A. Dillon, will be difficult. Airlines took a beating in 2020 with a net loss of $118.5 billion globally. They expect to face a net loss of $38.7 billion in 2021.

That means, according to Dillon, that when airlines emerge from the pandemic it’ll be slowly and with fewer aircraft and employees and also with a thirst for revenue.

“We know that the competition that existed pre-pandemic will only be more intense,” Dillon predicts.

Bradley depends on airlines’ will-

Above, travelers pass through Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. For the first 11 months of 2020, traffic was down 63% compared with the year before, with just more than 2.2 million people getting on or getting off airliners. Other airports reported drops as high as 90%.

In October, Bradley International Airport began using on-arrival COVID testing in an effort to boost traffic by travelers who’d otherwise have to quarantine. The testing area is located near the baggage claim, left. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

ingness to deploy resources – flights, crews, ground personnel handling luggage and selling tickets, marketing money – to Bradley and the Hartford-Springfield market it serves.

“That’s where it’s going to be very, very important for us to continue the philosophy of differentiating ourselves from the airports in New York and from Logan,” Dillon says. “We feel we are positioned very well.”

Aer Lingus, which had been Bradley’s lone trans-Atlantic flight prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns, wants to

resume flights from Connecticut to Dublin, according to Dillon.

But that anticipated return date won’t be until the end of 2021 or into 2022.

“They would like to return as soon as possible,” he says. It wasn’t until September that Aer Lingus even had the legal ability to fly the route due to COVID restrictions, and international travel is still highly restricted.

To compete, Bradley must offer not just a good market of travelers but cheap operating expenses when it comes to renting space and fees for landing and taking off.

The Connecticut Airport Authority

instituted a hiring freeze, pay cuts and cuts to operating expenses just to make it through 2020. The authority also deferred $20 million in capital projects, according to Dillon.

Bradley did continue as scheduled all year with work on its long-awaited ground transportation center, a $210 million project. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in July 2019.

The ground transportation center will have host all the rental-car operators, be a bus station and have the capability to expand into a rail transit hub someday in the future. Financed through a surcharge on car rentals at the airport, it’s still scheduled to be completed in May 2022.

There have been bright spots for

Bradley. COVID-19 testing for travelers has been popular as it facilitates travel without quarantining.

The Connecticut Airport Authority and Hartford HealthCare also ran a drive-through COVID-19 testing site for Connecticut residents who were not traveling. The idea was to keep the general public, especially if they were exposed or symptomatic, out of the terminal, Dillon says.

Bradley International Airport received the Airport Health Accreditation from Airports Council International World.

And Bradley had a banner year for freight traffic with Amazon, UPS, FedEX and DHL all up, according to Dillon. That happened industry wide with more people ordering online.

M8 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

T

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Realtors pivot to a digital world

REAL ESTATE

Realtors confront robust seller’s market from $229,000 in 2019 to $250,000 in 2020; • Days on the market were down 21.1% from 66 average number of days on the market in 2019 to 52 average number of days on the market in 2020; • Pending sales (under agreement to sell) were up 5.6% from 6,068 listings pending sale in 2019 to 6,408 listings pending sale in 2020; and • Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.11% with an average 0.7 points for the annual average, down from 2019 when the rate averaged 3.94% with an average 0.5 points.

“It is absolutely a seller’s market right now with a supply that cannot meet the demand.

What happened as the coronavirus pandemic began is that John Brunelle is the owner of B&B Real Estate. He is shown at fewer people were putting their a listing on Argyle Avenue in Holyoke. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) homes on the market because they were fearful of having potential buyers who might “In my 35 years in business I’ve seen a lot of cycles and changes, have COVID-19 come into their homes,” says Suzanne Moore, but never have I seen such a of Real Living Realty Professionals in Westfield. “In my 35 demand and lack of supply.” years in business I’ve seen a lot Suzanne Moore, Real Living Realty Professionals, of cycles and changes, but nevWestfield er have I seen such a demand and lack of supply.” son client meetings and home John Brunelle, owner and the Massachusetts Realtors broker for B & B Real Estate in Association, one of the greatest showings.

Locally, key points from the Holyoke, agrees. saves for the market was when “People don’t want to move Gov. Charlie Baker updated his 2020 market report for Pioneer guidance in early April to deem Valley single-family home sales during the pandemic, so there tell the story: are very few houses on the marresidential and commercial ket. People have no place to go, • Sales were up 1% from real estate services as essential, Acuna adds. As a result, 6,037 in 2019 to 6,100 in 2020; so they have money to spend SEE REALTOR, PAGE M14 Realtors could resume in-per• Median price was up 9.2%

Low mortgage rates, short supply mean multiple offers

By KEITH J. O’CONNOR

Special to The Republican

As Realtors were approaching their busy spring season last year, the national lockdown in March resulted in slower than normal sales. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The good news is that as the country began to open up again, the market saw increased demand along with rising property values in many states.

“Home sales in November took a marginal step back, but sales for all of 2020 are already on pace to surpass (the previous year’s) levels,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist in a year-end press release. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s amazing that the housing sector is outperforming expectations.”

Yun also noted that while continued growth is expected in 2021, job recoveries have stalled in the past few months, and fast-rising coronavirus cases along with stricter lockdowns have weakened consumer confidence.

“Overall, I think in the end we had a good decent year.

Prices were up so that was great for sellers. In terms of pending sales, they were up also in the number of houses that went under contract,” says Elias Acuna, president, Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley.

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HE ONGOING PANdemand continue to rise as demic has forced the rates remain favorable while real estate industry to the housing stock continues to reimagine the home decrease. This has meant that buying and selling process as days on market has fallen and well as how clients can be best prices have risen. served from in many cases Acting on a keen desire to 6 feet away. As the CEO of succeed and an adaptation the Realtor Association of to an increasingly digital real Pioneer Valley I can speak to estate world, Realtors have the ingenuity championed this of my member scenario as not Realtors and a detriment to the strides they the industry, but have made since rather a unique the beginning of position to bring the pandemic. their client’s The Realtors eyes to new opof the Pioneer portunities in almost real time.

Valley have As the virtual done nothing guide Realtors short of take Brendan Bailey have helped charge of the their sellers challenge in meet the pent-up demand head front of them. Prior to the pandemic large in-person open on, and their buyers visit a wide houses, property tours with the range of homes in less time whole family and quite literally than they have ever before.

When the market is tight holding a client’s hand through decisions have to be thorough the process of buying and but timely. Realtors have selling a home was the norm.

Throughout 2020 Realtors saw allowed for this to be possible.

It is not, however, simply a these practices become less matter of houses bought and and less possible.

A pivot was required: a pivot sold that Realtors have focused to digital. on. During this time of a panThe large open houses with demic and increasing demand, (hopefully) many dozens of Realtors have doubled down on visitors became a virtual expe- their commitment to fair housrience, now reaching as many ing through crucial advocacy people as the internet has to efforts at the state and national offer. Platforms such as Facelevels. The Realtors’ commitbook Live were embraced in ment to diversity, equity and order to still serve their clients inclusion continues to be a when an in-person event was major influence in the effort to not possible. make homeownership accessiClient meetings were no ble to all. longer limited to an office or 2020 was a year truly unlike home visit but could be held any other, and all signs point to anywhere over web confer2021 being in many ways much ring platforms such as Zoom. of the same and, in others very Realtors quickly found that this much different. The Realtor type of meeting to broke down Association of Pioneer Valley the barriers of constrained provides as many up-to-date schedules, allowing all parties resources as we can to help our to attend any meeting from members do their job the best literally anywhere in the world. they possibly can.

Clients looking to relocate to In the coming year Realtors the Pioneer Valley no longer will face new highs, new lows had to travel in. The only vehi- and will continue to reinvent cle that was needed was their themselves time and time laptop. As the landscape to best again. Homeownership is the facilitate clients’ wants and backbone of the Pioneer Valley, needs changed daily before the the commonwealth and the Realtors of the Pioneer Valley, nation. The Realtors are here the one item that has remained to adapt, overcome and defend constant is the housing market. this most critical element.

The housing market across the commonwealth continBrendan Bailey is chief execuues to surge, paying no real tive officer of the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley. To learn attention to the ebb and flow more about the association and of the pandemic. Realtors in its work, go online to rapv.com. the Pioneer Valley have seen

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Drivers who are not mechanically inclined tend to put their vehicles in the hands of a trusted mechanic to perform routine maintenance like oil changes. But there’s a host of simpler vehicle maintenance tasks that drivers don’t want to overlook, some of which can be performed without visiting the auto body shop.

Brake inspections Brake inspections are best left to the professionals, who can check the thickness of brake pads and look for other indicators of excessive wear. The automotive resource Cars.com recommends having brakes inspected during routine tire rotations, which many automotive professionals suggest should be done every six months.

Car wash

Air filter The air filter on a car or truck prevents debris, dirt and other contaminants from getting into the engine. The auto insurance experts at Allstate® advise drivers to inspect their vehicle air filters once a year. Air filters in need of replacement may appear dirty, and reduced fuel economy, unusual engine sounds and reduced horsepower are some other potential indicators that an air filters needs to be replaced.

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M10 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

RETAIL

Pandemic proved time to get comfort at home Furniture retailers see increase in sales as homes became offices

By Keith J. O’Connor

I

Special to The Republican

n the comfort of your own home.

These seven little words took on new meaning in the age of COVID-19 in the furniture and home furnishings industry.

Fly By Night furniture is located at 21 State St. in Northampton. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“Consumers have a new appreciation of their homes now that they are spending more time there. They want more comfort when relaxing, while at the same time making their home more functional, especially for families where adults are now working from home alongside their children who are learning from home,” says Jackie Hirschhaut vice president of public relations and marketing for the American Home Furnishings Alliance.

“Upholstery tends to be among the first pieces that

Desks and comfortable chairs were among the top selling items at Raymour & Flanigan in West Springfield, where Dianna Wilson is the showroom manager. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

get replaced in the home even in the best of times. And the boom in the home office category is not surprising as multiple persons found themselves Zooming around the same table and needing more work space,” she adds.

The outdoor category also saw an increase in sales after

people had been cooped up indoors and temperatures began to warm up in April and May. “Many consumers found some relief by being able to go outdoors once again to relax and enjoy a meal with family,” Hirschhaut says about the sale of fire pits, tables with

umbrellas as the sun really heated up, and other outdoor furniture.

Western Massachusetts furniture retailers say business has been brisk during the pandemic and agree with Hirschhaut on her assessment of the industry.

SEE FURNITURE, PAGE M19

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

‘Never Cattywampus’ are Yankee Home’s key words Owner says quality workmanship is company mission

By Cori Urban

Yankee’s core values are integrity, responsiYankee Home Improvement’s work is bility, excellence and “Never Cattywampus.” listening to the needs of Cattywampus? clients.

That’s a word used by the ChicopThe business’ ee-based company that provides window mission is to provide and door replacement, bath remodeling, high-quality, trustGer Ronan roofing, siding and gutters. worthy service that has “‘Never Cattywampus’ means that we been at the heart of the see to it that every job is right side up and Yankee Home Improvement organizaon the level,” explains Ger Ronan, pres- tion from the beginning. ident of Yankee Home Improvement.

Ronan moved from Ireland years ago “After more than a decade in business, to find success in America. While workwe developed a reputation for quality ing hard to build a career, he was ripped workmanship service.” off by a home contractor for $2,500.

Special to The Republican

The impact this experience had on him provided the driving force behind beginning a home improvement business that people could trust and rely on for life.

He began Yankee Home Improvement to offer customers a trustworthy, worry-free experience with top-of-the-line workmanship and service; the business uses state-of-the-art technology and techniques and guarantees services.

At Yankee Home Improvement, employees understand the stress that comes with hiring a contractor the client does not know, Ronan says. That’s why they have made it their mission to go Yankee Home Improvement is headquartered at 36 Justin SEE YANKEE, PAGE M12 Drive in Chicopee. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBICAN)

E T A T S E L A IN RE

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M11

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

home (hom). I. n. One’s house or country. II. a. 1 Domestic.

2. Close. III. adv adv.. 1. To one’s habitation. 2. To the point.

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Cheryl C. Malandrinos,

SUZANNE MOORE

Realtor

Participated in the sale of

OVER

1347

Serving Western Mass since 2014

• Award-winning REALTOR • Military Relocation Professional • Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES ) ®

P PROPERTIES

®

Totaling g

IN SALES

M Overr 194 MILLION

Cheryl C. Malandrinos

SUE MOORE

Opening doors one key at a time.

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M12 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

%%SATFOL-%%3MONTH%%2DATE OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

“‘Never Cattywampus’ means that we see to it that every job is right side up and on the level.”

GER RONAN, PRESIDENT, YANKEE HOME IMPROVEMENT, CHICOPEE

Yankee CONTINUED FROM PAGE M10

A look inside the warehouse at Yankee Home Improvement in Chicopee.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBICAN)

above and beyond for every one of their clients in the Western Massachusetts and Connecticut area.

“As Yankee began to experience incredible growth, it was suggested that we come up with a memorable tagline that could embody those values,” Ronan says. That’s when “Never Cattywampus” was first

used.

“It began as a crazy slogan for a three-month marketing campaign, and it stuck,” he explains.

“People started talking about it on social media or when we would see someone out and about. It came to epitomize the ‘Yankee Way’ so much that we decided to go ahead and trademark the slogan. Now you’ll even see it on bumper stickers from time to time.”

Yankee Home Improvement is

open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We go above and beyond to exceed your expectations. That’s how we became the most-referred contractor in New England,” Ronan says.

For more information about Yankee Home Improvement at 36 Justin Drive, Chicopee, call 413-362-7631 or visit the company’s website, yankeehome.com.

Cars

think those who didn’t take us up on the offer pick up their car for service and delivering CONTINUED FROM PAGE M6 it back to them, will realize Adds general manager Mike how more convenient it is for Filomeno about November’s them.” sales numbers, “Our new car Wirth is “cautiously optimistic” for a better 2021, and sales were down, used sales notes the big story for them were up, and commercial is an entire family of SUVs to sales were up. We’re a prominent truck dealer in the area offer customers and the coming introduction of several with the Ford F-Series, Transit, and Super Duty vehicles. new electric models under a Contractors were having a line called EQ with the first busy year with home renoarriving this year. vations since people weren’t Artioli Dodge Chrysler spending their money elseRam in Enfield saw a new-vewhere during the coronavirus. hicle sales recovery in the Michelle and Peter Wirth are the owners of Mercedes-Benz of That fact combined with tax second half of 2020 as retail Springfield, 295 Burnett Road, Chicopee. consumers returned to dealer incentives and depreciation (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN) lots, according to general write offs at the end of the manager Joseph Artioli. year led to many contractors because they ride and pertry, Peter Wirth, co-owner of “We started the year off and outside workers replenishing their fleets.” form like cars and have extra great, then COVID-19 hit and Mercedes-Benz of Springfield Also, in Holyoke, Gary we ended up doing probably room that people may never with his wife Michelle Wirth, Rome Hyundai and its Kia 50% of what we would have use but want just the same,” says their dealership’s story is counterpart in Enfield didn’t normally done in those early he says. “Also, we have an “slightly different.” feel the big pinch of the coro- aging population who want to months of the disease,” he “While sales were down, navirus pandemic. says. “As a result, we had to be up higher from the ground independent of the coronaviMike Filomeno, left, is the general manager, and Mike Mar“We’ve had one of our rus, we were still on a signififurlough 90% of our employmaking it easier for them to best years ever, and we were ees, but eventually brought get in and out of the vehicle.” cant growth pattern after only cotte, right, is president of Marcotte Ford. Marcotte Ford has been selling cars on Main Street in Holyoke for over 50 years. them all back to work in May.” actually up 19% over last opening in 2017, so it is hard Looking ahead, Rome (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) Light duty trucks and SUVs year,” says owner Gary Rome. expects to see “the same into compare our losses with make up the majority of his “One of the main reasons for crease as last year or slightly other years,” Wirth says. business, according to Artioli. that is that our manufacturers higher.” “I believe that people Spring saw a significant “Our brand has a signifiby appointment only and we didn’t take their foot off of the have COVID fatigue and are impact on the dealership. would allow just one custom- cant experiential component “They are making pickups to it. People like to come in today that are as nice as any gas pedal and continued their feeling down,” he says. “In re“Our showroom was closed, er in at a time.” ality, life is short, and people Once they returned to and see the car, feel the wheel sedans,” he says, “lush and production. They also began and we went through differwant to do something nice for ent iterations of opening,” he traditional retail and custom- and smell the leather. But I good on fuel, and the same offering the highest rebates ers once again were bringing themselves like buying a new explains. “At first, we would think many will still prefer holds true for our SUVs. You I’ve ever seen.”

Like any other brands, will find features available on their cars in for service, some doing the paperwork online bring cars to customers at car, even if they don’t really Rome says 68% of his dealtheir homes or workplaces to of those changes may “stay need a new one.” or Facetime us with questions our Ram pickups and SUVs erships’ sales are in the SUV that people only dream about with us for the future and While Mercedes-Benz sales test drive. Then, in the early about their new car after category. “People love them having on a high-end sedan.” evolve,” Wirth says. stages of reopening, it was were down around the counreceiving it,” he says. “And I

Lorena Sienko, local Realtor since 2003 Originally from New York, Lorena made her move to Western Massachusetts in 1992, where she and her husband Greg had purchased their 1st home and started a family.

While raising 2 children and working as Vice President of Sales for TVS Communications, Lorena soon realized that their family had outgrown the tiny ranch they purchased nine years prior. It was time for a change.

Through her role as a homebuyer and seller, she became acutely aware of just how tedious and time sensitive a real estate transaction can become. Reflecting on what these experiences were lacking prompted a desire to help others in their quest for homeownership. Utilizing a background in sales and management, Lorena set out to pursue a career in real estate.

Since 2003, she has become an esteemed realtor highly regarded by her clients as evidenced with repeat business

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Lorena Sienko - Real Estate Specialist Real Living Realty Professionals Multi Million Dollar Producer 413-896-7504 | lorenasienkorealestate@gmail.com | www.lorenasienko.realtor

and a 100% satisfaction rating.

Lorena sets her sights on educating and listening intently to her clientele, outlining a detailed plan for their next move while always looking out for and keeping their best interest at heart. Buyers and sellers can expect a first class experience from start to close that comes complete with powerful marketing, communication, and negotiating skills.

Her track record of success stems from the unique ability to “See around corners” a skill she believes is most critical for a successful closing. Her ability to accurately price and sell a home quickly and for top dollar has earned much of her repeat business. Lorena continues to be a consistent top sales agent finishing 2020 in the top 20 for sales volume with Real Living Realty Professionals.

This year Lorena will be donating 100.00 per transaction to a charitable organization of buyer or seller choice.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M13

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

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Licensed in MA and CT Notary Licensed in MA Kathy and CT Wallis-McCann Kathy Wallis-McCann Presidents Club - A Consis Notary Licensed in MA and CT Licensed MACTand CT Licensed in MAinand Multi-Million Dollar Prod Notary Presidents Club - A Consistent Notary Notary Presidents Club - A Consistent Multi-Million Dollar Producer Presidents Club A Consistent International PresidentsOver Circle Award 35 years of Real Estat Multi-Million Dollar Producer Multi-Million Dollar Topand 5% of Producer Realtors Over 35 years of Real Estate Marketing Experience Over 35 Over years of Real and Estate 35 years of Estate Real Over 35 years of Estate Real and and

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“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.”

“And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”

(413) 237-3394 lisasullivan1@comcast.net www.lisasullivan.info ©2020 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

MARIA ROSARIO, ABR, SRS

DENISE LONDRAVILLE REALTOR Sales Associate 413-536-0573 Office 413-538-926 7 Fax 413-374-2890 CELL dlondraville@yahoo.com

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“Ms. Kitty” “Ms. Kitty” “Ms. Kitty” Phone (413) 531-0535 Cell Phone (413) 531-05 Cell Phone (413)Cell 531-0535 Cell Phone (413) 531-0535 Email: Kathywallismccann@gmail.com Email: Kathywallismccann@g Email: Kathywallismccann@gmail.com Email: Kathywallismccann@gmail.com 75 B Broad d Street, St t Suite S it B EFERRALS Westfield, Massachusetts 01085

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M14 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

%%SATFOL-%%3MONTH%%2DATE OUTLOOK 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

From left: This image shows the 1950 installation of a Kaplan turbine, a propeller-type water turbine with adjustable blades, in what is now Holyoke Gas & Electric’s Hadley Falls facility; James Lavelle, general manager of Holyoke Gas & Electric, overlooks the Holyoke Dam; Joshua Wells, mechanical maintenance supervisor in the hydro division at Holyoke Gas & Electric, operates a touch screen inside the Hadley Falls facility. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

(PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLYOKE G&E)

ENERGY

City’s utility emphasizes green, affordable energy hile the city’s energy future looks clean, green and bright, Holyoke Gas & Electric must adapt to new industries, shifts in demand and a strained natural gas supply.

Realtor CONTINUED FROM PAGE M8

on renovations and are staying where they are,” says Brunelle.

“And, for those who do put their homes up for sale, they are seeing multiple offers.”

Along with the shortage of houses and attractive interest rates – Brunelle just had a buyer who got a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 2.35%, house values have gone up, especially in Hampden County, notes the Realtor.

Brunelle says he’s seen increasing numbers of younger, first-time buyers who have done a good job at saving their money, and who are able to put a significant down payment on a house that they hope to make their home.

“What I find very interesting is that many of those first-time buyers, especially in Holyoke, work in the health care industry,” he adds. “Five out of my last 10 clients were health care workers.”

In the new age of COVID-19 social distancing trends alongside virtual tours and a greater reliance on social media has taken precedence.

“We were among the first to begin virtual tours during the pandemic,” says Pat Wheway, team leader for the Wheway Group of Coldwell Banker Realty. “My husband would go into a home and do a Facebook live, and we would publicize it just like an open house. We got

The massive dam that reroutes the churning Connecticut River provides Holyoke with a seemingly never-ending supply of clean, hydroelectric abundance.

A 33-foot drop caught the attention of 19th-century engineers who exploited the natural anomaly and the Irish laborers who built the dam and canal system.

Few paper mills or heavy industry now exist along the three-level canal system.

Blocks of brick structures adjacent to the lower level have since been plowed down and readied for future development.

James Lavelle, HG&E’s general manager, An aerial view of Holyoke Gas & Electric’s Hadley Falls facility. In the foreground is a new solar power

“Overall, I think in the end we had a good decent year.

Prices were up so that was great for sellers. In terms of pending sales, they were up also in the number of houses that went under contract.”

Elias Acuna, president, Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley

tons of viewers and got an offer on our very first attempt.”

As things began to “loosen up,” though, and sellers were more willing to allow potential buyers into their homes, Wheway notes it was all about “social distancing and safety with masks, booties and hand sanitizers.”

“We would ask viewers not to touch anything, and, if they did, we would go back and sanitize those areas after,” Wheway explains. “But now I am seeing a flip again as people seem more reluctant once again to let potential buyers into their homes as the virus is on the increase and becoming more contagious.”

Moore is among those who question the validity of virtual tours. “Some houses on camera look good, then you walk in the front door and you are hit with

SEE ENERGY, PAGE M15

array. (COURTESY OF HOLYOKE G&E)

the smell of smoke or other things,” she explains.

The big question for 2021 is what will happen when moratoriums on mortgage foreclosures and evictions expire. Researchers at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab say some 28 million Americans will be facing eviction, while before the pandemic, about 3.6 million Americans faced eviction every year.

“What happens is that people get a false sense of security that they won’t lose their homes to foreclosure and tell themselves they will catch up on their mortgage payments when the moratorium ends,” Wheway says. “But the truth of the matter is that they are often so far behind, that they will never catch up and you will end up seeing a glut of foreclosures.

And that will affect the market by flipping it from a seller’s to a buyer’s market, along with the lowering of property values from homes that haven’t been kept up or abused during the pandemic.”

As the 2021 buying season gets underway, Brunelle offers some tips for buyers and sellers.

“I’d advise having a real estate agent come into your house first and go through it to give you a realistic value of your home. We can identify any issues to address before showing the property, such as painting or something that might need to be fixed, so they don’t become an issue and you

can obtain the maximum price you’re looking for,” Brunelle says.

“For buyers, I advise getting your pre-approval letter before starting to look. I tell my potential buyers that just because they are approved for a certain amount, it needs to be a payment that they fell comfortable with. You don’t want your mortgage to be so high that you can’t afford to do anything

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By Dennis Hohenberger

Special to The Republican

else with your life such as going on vacation, out to dinner, or other things. You need to find an agent who will work on your behalf,” he adds.

While circumstances are far from being back to the pre-pandemic normal, noted the NRA’s chief economist, he predicts “robust growth is forthcoming for 2021.”

“I believe 2021 will be strong and continue to be a

seller’s market with inventory remaining low. If interest rates continue to remain low as the year continues, I think we are going to see a busy fourth quarter as we continue to get ahead of the pandemic with the many new vaccines,” Wheway says.

Adds Moore, “We should remain cautiously optimistic because there were just so many surprises in 2020.”

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M15

MMWEC, municipal partners keep utility service flowing

W Staff at the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. Stony Brook Energy Center in Ludlow work on rebuilding a water circulating pump during the fall maintenance outage at the plant. (MASSACHUSETTS MUNICIPAL WHOLESALE ELECTRIC CO. PHOTO)

Energy

HEN THE COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 and everyone was told to hunker down at home, one industry that didn’t miss a beat was the electric utility industry.

In fact, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), the state’s joint action agency for municipal utilities, quickly scrambled into action, ensur-

but also for these businesses that are hurting and unable to work on full capacity, particularly the retail and CONTINUED FROM PAGE M14 hospitality sector.” said the city still generates twoHG&E plans to monitor the thirds of its power from the turbines burgeoning marijuana industry’s that spin at the dam complex. Over- energy needs, especially with all, HG&E produces and imports several large-scale growing operations coming online in 2021. GTI 90% carbon-free energy.

“We are well positioned with our on Appleton Street and Trulieve’s current energy portfolio to meet 140,000-square-foot complex on current needs,” Lavelle said. “We Canal Street are “significant loads” got a fairly sizable solar complement on the grid, Lavelle said. as well we’re pleased with.”

HG&E made infrastructure Besides the dam and turbines, improvements at both locations to HG&E draws power from the New match energy demands. Lavelle York Power Authority and a nuclear expects similar projects as more cannabis businesses open downtown in source. “That helps us get our carbon footprint small from an energy the next few years. standpoint,” he said.

“If we have clusters of those, we’re The COVID-19 crisis shifted the going to be faced with making upresidential-commercial energy bal- grades on our distribution system,” ance as more ratepayers work from he said. home. Lavelle reported a reduction The region’s natural gas supply remains squeezed, prompting HG&E in commercial-industrial use, including natural gas. to issue a moratorium on commerTypically in the winter months, cial and residential connections. residential customers would wake HG&E was close to an agreement up in the morning and turn up the with Columbia Gas to increase capacity, Lavelle said, but the deal fell thermostat and use hot water and small appliances. Before leaving for through. He added that Columbia Gas cited resistance in neighboring work, consumers would lower the communities to expanded pipeline thermostat and turn off the lights.

Now, the heat stays cranked up, and capacity in the region.

Lavelle estimated HG&E has lights and computers run all day.

Residential use jumped by 5%, while turned down hundreds of residential customers’ requests to switch to natcommercial use has dropped 8% to ural gas as a heating source. Instead, 15%.

“We’re hoping to get through this potential customers must rely on oil pandemic quickly,” Lavelle said, or propane as fuel sources, which “not only so that we can see the burn up to 30% dirtier than natural consumption get back to normal, gas.

ing the lights stayed on for the thousands of customers served by its 20 municipal light plant members across the state.

MMWEC, which counts as its members Holyoke Gas & Electric, Chicopee Electric Light, South Hadley Electric Light Department and Russell Municipal Light Department, immediately began making plans to ensure the continuity of services its non-profit, public power members and their

customers have come to expect and rely upon.

MMWEC’s Stony Brook Energy Center in Ludlow plays a critical role during times of stress on the electric grid and brings unique value to the regional power system operator, ISO New England. Despite the pandemic, the power plant must be staffed, and the safety of its workers was a top priority to maintain uninterrupted service.

Ronald C. DeCurzio MMWEC has developed protocols and provided the necessary supplies to keep Stony Brook staff healthy and working. In September, plant staff conducted its regular annual maintenance outage,

SEE DECURZIO, PAGE M20

Although energy costs factor into Rome’s business model, remaining in Holyoke was his top priority. He estimated the panels have generated 8 gigawatts of power since their installation a few years ago.

On the residential side, Holyoke’s low electric prices remain a selling point for real estate agents.

HG&E said residential customers paid $59.93 per month for 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2020.

That compares to $79.47 for customers of the South Hadley Electric Light Department and $130.27 for customers paying National Grid’s fixed default rate, according to HG&E. Erin Brunelle, of Rovithis Realty, helped form Buy Holyoke Now, a consortium of real estate agents, banks and businesses committed to helping individuals and families buy homes in the city. She said energy costs are a consideration for most homebuyers.

“At least 80% of transactions, the potential buyer asks the seller for a “They (HG&E) held our hand and copy of their past 12 months of utilHowever, commercial customers ity bills,” Brunelle said. “It’s overcontinue to partner with HG&E and partnered with us when we were whelmingly common for a buyer to designing and installing the solar regional firms to boost the grids’ be conscious of how their energy array,” Rome said. The array does solar capabilities. bills will affect the affordability of a Gary Rome, who built the nation’s not power the building but creates property.” largest Hyundai dealership, praised renewable energy that reduces carWith Holyoke’s older housing a partnership with HG&E. He credit- bon emissions. ed the utility’s project expertise and Under an agreement with HG&E, stock, Brunelle recommended homeowners pay for an energy audit knowledge of energy tax credits the array powers 12 homes in Holyoke and Holyoke Housing Authority to seal up leaks and find additionto ensure going solar was the right al savings. She added that HG&E properties. The customers get rechoice. A solar farm with rows of ductions in their electric bills. Rome offers low-interest loans and other panels dominates a rear parcel adjacent to the dealership off Whiting earns tax credits from the energy the programs to replace aging boilers Farms Road. panels produce. and hot water heaters.

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CRAFT BREWING

Distillers turned to sanitizer to ride out pandemic Whiskey Project makes debut to start the new year off

B

By Emily Thurlow

Special to The Republican

usinesses throughout the state may have started 2020 with certain financial forecasts, but after the coronavirus pandemic struck, those expectations went out the window.

Michael Sharry, a distiller at Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield, checks on a batch of Greylock Gin. In March, Berkshire Mountain Distillers packaged its ethanol-based hand sanitizer in 5-ounce glass bitters bottles. Since then, the distillery has been able to acquire more traditional packaging for its product, right. (EMILY THURLOW PHOTOS)

SEE DISTILLERS, PAGE M18

“Each restaurant closing has a story three times over.

A business owner vested in his business. Employees who made their living at the restaurant. And customers who patronized their favorite restaurant.”

Lion

STEVE CLARK, VICE PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, MASSACHUSETTS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION

Restaurants CONTINUED FROM PAGE M4

The seafood counter at Schermerhorn’s Seafood in Holyoke, where owner Mike Fitzgerald says he pivoted from dine-in business to focus on takeout meals and the sale of fresh fish and lobsters during the pandemic. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

long because people were shuttered at home, they were looking for something to do, and they wanted to eat.”

At the Tavern restaurant in Westfield, general manager Chris Osgood says adapting to the many changes since March has been his biggest challenge.

“It’s the surprise factor, not knowing what is coming next,” Osgood says. “Keeping up with the day-to-day announcements by Governor Baker on capacity limits and following all the safety guidelines from sanitizing tables and more to wearing masks and making sure there was adequate social distancing between tables.”

During the shutdown, the Tavern did have to lay off some employees (pre-pandemic, the restaurant had a staff of 60).

Once in-house dining, both outdoors and inside, resumed, those staff members were offered their jobs back.

“We were doing takeout, but hadn’t done delivery before. So, we were able to use delivery as a staffing source to create jobs from some of those employees (that would have been laid off),” Osgood says.

As the summer arrived, Osgood rose to the challenge of outdoor dining, getting a permit from the city and adding 10 ta-

bles for a quickly-created patio.

“We did quite well for those few short months,” Osgood notes.

Like many restaurants, the menu was adapted for the times, offering fewer selections in order to keep stock fresh when availability also played a factor.

Clark, like other restaurateurs, says the pandemic is far from over in the challenges served up for the dining industry. “It’s going to be rough, and restaurants are going to see some dark times,” he says.

“But as the weather warms, the vaccine continues to roll out and there is no additional red tape, I think you are going to see things change for the better. Consumer demand is going to skyrocket, and there is going to be plenty of pent-up people who are looking to go out to eat and socialize once again.

incorporates an intimate feel, an open-air streetscape, full kitchen, private room, all CONTINUED FROM PAGE M5 while seeing every aspect of “With contract brewing, I the brew space.” worked closely with the team, White Lion will also have but the brewery has its own the opportunity to use Tower team, and I can’t be there 24/7, Square Park for larger outdoor so I have to count on them to events. “We will eventually treat the beer the way I want it open six days a week, have to be treated,” Yates explains. light food fare, occasional The White Lion Brewing Co. is “So being back in control of entertainment and special looking to open its doors to the 100% of the process is great.” events,” he says. public later this year, including While Yates says the contract One important element to brewing phase worked out fine his model, Berry underscores, possibly using Tower Square Park as an outdoor venue for the company, being in his is that White Lion will not during the summer months. own building compete head-to-head with (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) also helps fellow restaurant and bar with experpartners. imentation.

“You will not see White excited to have found a home “If I want to Lion regularly open past 9:30 in the city of Springfield,” change one p.m.,” he says. “We want to he says. “This is the city’s little thing, be a pit stop, affording visitors brewery, and it was built for I can do it the opportunity to frequent the community. We just need without go- Mike Yates other area venues as well.” to be patient. We are certainly ing through In the end, Berry believes not on an island by ourselves. a whole information process there is a tremendous amount The entire team is really excitand retraining people,” he of upside being in the heart of ed to see what is in store as we maneuver through 2021 into notes. downtown.

2022.”

Yates has also worked for “We could not be more several breweries over the years, including helping open some, so his experience came in handy.

“You do things a few times and by the third time or so, you have a sense of what needs to be done – logistics, planning, even foreseeing problems or bottlenecks,” he says. “I was able to be here with the architects and designers planning the place from Chiropractic • Physical Rehab day one, and it’s definitely working and flowing.”

Acupuncture • Massage • Laser Therapy Once the pandemic is under D.O.T. Physical Exams control and patrons can actually visit White Lion, they can 4 Maple Street, Springfield, MA expect a visual feast, along with good beer at the brewery, (413) 781-8900 promises Berry.

“The optic is pretty unique.

That is the intriguing part about breweries: Every layout and location provide different elements and experiences,” MaplegateRehab.com he says. “We are presenting an urban industrial vibe that

MAPLEGATE REHAB INC.

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and Infectious Diseases, told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell: “If you go indoors in a restaurant – whatever capacity, 25 or 50%, or what have you – indoors absolutely increases the risk (for COVID-19).”

“They say we are spreading the virus, but you go into Coscto, Walmart or other places and they are packed from front to back,” Fitzgerald says.

“Governor (Charlie) Baker has us at 25% capacity right now.

He might as well close us down.

You can’t make any money on that.”

For Fitzgerald, his biggest concern has been to do enough volume in sales to stay in business. “(We) have a lot of fixed costs. You still have to pay your mortgage, gas and electric and insurance bills. So, my answer has been to strive to do enough volume, which pays for a lot of things, especially people,” Fitzgerald says. “I didn’t have to layoff anyone.

The more people you have on hand to help, then the easier it is because you can move them around where needed.”

Fitzgerald notes that while Schermerhorn’s lost its dining room sales during the shutdown, its focus changed entirely to zero-in on takeout business and the seafood market. The results were positive as both became “quite busy.”

But like Three Figs, the blessing of increased takeout business came with some stress.

“You just couldn’t handle it all. We have five telephone lines and still lost business because there were days when some staff didn’t come into work because they were afraid of COVID-19,” Fitzgerald says. “When at one time most of your takeout calls usually came around 4 or 5 p.m., you were now getting calls all day

Even businesses that were deemed essential, like Sheffield-based Berkshire Mountain Distillers, experienced a paradigm shift. A project that was five years in the making and slated to launch in 2020 was shelved as dining-in service in restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York was halted, says Chris Weld, owner and founder of the distillery. “It was close to about half our business,” he explains of the spirits that would have sold at dining venues.

While the company’s lofty goals were shelved, shelves all over Massachusetts – and even the country – were emptied of cleaning supplies, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. After provisions were waived by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the Sheffield distillery was able to shift its operations to produce ethanol-based hand sanitizers to meet the demand.

It’s a shift others in the distilling world made as early fears about the pandemic drove record sales for disinfectants. Copper Moon Distillery in Springfield and Element Brewing & Distilling in

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“We believe the pandemic allowed people to pay more attention to small businesses. We’ve tried to be very present in our community. I feel like if you can give back to your community, they give back to you.”

SHANNON GREEN, JAY’S WICKED GOURMET SAUCE

Wicked CONTINUED FROM PAGE M1

“What makes our family business a success is that we both have separate sets of strengths and weaknesses,” Shannon Green says. “We make a really great team.”

She earned her business degree from Anna Maria College, while her husband graduated from the laser electronics and technology program at Springfield Technical Community College. But his true passion is in food creation, and he worked as a chef at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware for many years.

The birth of his first, original barbecue sauce made quite the impression on friends, family and colleagues.

“Our friends started asking if they could have squeeze bottles filled with my sauce, and that’s when we realized how much people enjoyed it,” Jay Green says. “Shannon has a great entrepreneurial spirit, and she’s the one who encouraged us to start this business.”

The couple went straight to work, becoming members of the Franklin Country Community Development Corp. and gaining access to the Food Processing Center of Western Massachusetts in Greenfield. It’s there that they produce their products.

“We schedule a day each month to produce certain sauces, and we utilize their amazing team to help us,” Shannon Green explains. “They are awesome, and we’ve been working with them for five years now.”

The processing center has all the

Husband and wife Jason and Shannon Green are creators and owners of Jay’s Wicked Gourmet Sauce. Their company produces and markets over six different varieties of small batch gourmet barbecue and hot sauces.

Above, all of the ingredients used in the sauces are locally sourced.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

equipment the Greens and many other small, food-related businesses in the region need to produce their products.

“Our sauces have no chemicals, no high fructose corn syrup – only the good stuff,” Shannon Green says of the Jay’s Wicked line. All of their recipes are top secret, and they get as many local ingredients as possible.

“There are a few farms in the area that we get our peppers from, as well as local ginger, turmeric and horseradish

for our cider tonic,” she adds.

The 2020 farming season was challenging because of weather and the extended drought. Still, each year can present challenges, Jay Green notes, as hot peppers are very delicate and need to be harvested before frost.

During an average year, the Greens produce up to 100 gallons of sauce during each monthly visit to the food processing center. The year of the pandemic, however, saw their online sales go up considerably, according to

back to you.”

Jay’s Wicked Gourmet sauces can be found in 30 different retail locations around Western Massachusetts, including Big Y stores, Atkins Farms Country Market in Amherst, Arnold’s Meats’ two stores and more.

Their sauces are also on the menu at a few area restaurants, as well as some restaurants in the Boston area.

In 2019, Jay’s Wicked Gourmet Sauce was among the vendors inside the Massachusetts State Building located on the Avenue of States at the the Greens.

Eastern States Exposition. “Being “I’m so glad we had multiple sales a part of the Big E was an awesome channels in 2020,” Jay Green says.

“Because we didn’t attend any events, experience, and we look forward to doing it again,” Shannon Green says. our internet orders picked up, and Looking ahead, the Greens hope to we were able to sell more products at roll out new dry rubs, and sugar-free local stores.”

“We believe the pandemic allowed versions of their cider tonic and origpeople to pay more attention to small inal barbecue sauce. To learn more about Jay’s Wicked Gourmet Sauce, businesses,” Shannon Green adds.

“We’ve tried to be very present in our go to the website, jayswicked.com, or visit the Facebook page, Facebook. community. I feel like if you can give com/jayswicked. back to your community, they give

Cassidy CONTINUED FROM PAGE M1

Nicole Descheneaux pulls on rope to open the front door for a customer at Nick’s Nest.

The iconic restaurant is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

Nick’s CONTINUED FROM PAGE M1

Whether you desire fresh, buttery popcorn, a frappe or a stack of onion rings, Nick’s Nest owners Kevin and Jenn Chateauneuf credit the longevity of their business to very loyal customers, even during 2020’s COVID pandemic.

“The Holyoke community is so wonderful,” Jenn Chateauneuf says. With so much uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Chateauneuf says Nick’s was very fortunate: “2020 gave us almost a normal summer with a good flow of business, and the ice cream window was great.”

A big helper came in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program loan they received through New Valley Bank & Trust in April.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, helped Nick’s Nest with the program, and the business never had to close its doors and was able to keep all 10 employees on payroll, according to the Chateauneufs.

Learning last month that the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade and Road Race would be canceled for a second year in a row was a disappointment for Nick’s Nest. “It’s understandable, but unfortunate,” Jenn Chateauneuf says.

“Road race day is our busiest

Three generations of the Malfas family ran Nick’s Nest until the Chateauneufs purchased it in 2005. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

day of the year, and it’s usually our kick-off to spring when our business picks up again.

We’re praying the COVID-19 vaccine will help, and we can be back to normal later this year.”

Owning Nick’s Nest was always a dream for the Chateauneufs as they both pursued careers in the restaurant business. “Like many in Holyoke, my husband and I would grab lunch at Nick’s Nest and walk down Northampton Street,” she recalls. “We always said it would be a great place to own, and one day, we noticed the for-sale sign.”

Purchased from the Malfas family who owned Nick’s Nest for three generations, the Chateauneufs bought Nick’s Nest in 2005. “What surprises us the most about owning Nick’s Nest is that it’s so much more than a little hot dog stand,” she says. “People have so many memories

tied to Nick’s Nest, and, when people come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, they make sure to stop in to see us!”

When asked about the most popular item purchased, the original hot dog is the choice, topped with relish, mustard and onions.

As Nick’s Nest approaches its 100th anniversary, Chateauneuf says they plan to offer hot dogs and other menu items at special prices, visits from antique cars and other surprises.

“We hope things can get back to normal for everyone,” Chateauneuf says. “We hope we can keep Nick’s Nest going so our 11-year-old daughter can run it with her future husband and children for another 100 years.”

For more about Nick’s Nest, visit the website, nicksnest holyoke.com, call 413-5325229 or visit them on Instagram and Facebook.

general business population has no context of its many challenges and nuances, the generations of personal interaction and relationships forged on goodwill and, in some cases, a handshake.

Furthermore, the economic horsepower fairs bring to their communities, regions, states and countries is immeasurable. The economic impact of the Eastern States Exposition, according to a 2019 study by Regional Economic Models, is $681 million.

Here is a glimpse of some of the unique activity that took place at the exposition in 2020, when business, as we know it shifted and changed in a devastating manner: • COVID-19 testing site for first responders, April-June; • June’s Taste of the Big E drive-thru food preview; • Summer Weekends at Storrowton with socially distant dining and entertainment; • Storrowton Village Ghost Tours, socially distant general and STEAM tours; • Big E Cream Puff Bakery in full operation, summer through late October; • Established a virtual marketplace for Big E vendors; • Autumn Food-to-Go drive-thru; • Introduced the Big E Golden Ticket, $1,000 lifetime pass to the fair; • Victory Cheese Movement, Cheese boxes sold from the Eastern States Exposition Farmers Market to benefit the dairy industry, which was especially hard hit by the pandemic; • Cabot cheese distribuThe Eastern States Exposition’s “Golden Ticket” promotion sold out in November in a matter of seconds. In this photo from Nov. 16, Eugene J. Cassidy, president and CEO of the exposition, holds a case containing 100 “Golden Tickets” to the Big E that will offer lifetime entrance to the fair and premium parking for a one-time $1,000 payment.

(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

In this photo from June, Sarra Mears, of Haverhill, displays a fresh batch of cream puffs from the Big E Bakery during one of the Taste of the Big-E drive-thru fair food events held in the summer and fall. It was one of the ways in which the Eastern States Exposition maintained interest in the fair and helped vendors throughout the pandemic. (FREDERICK GORE PHOTO)

tion point for local farmers’ markets; • Winter storage for boats and vehicles; • Winter Wonder drive-thru Christmas light show in Better Living Center; and • Partnerships with local businesses to showcase AUTHENTIC Big E gastronomic offerings, including our cream puffs and other iconic foods and beverages to satisfy the September cravings of fair fans in Massachusetts and Connecticut in particular. Many thanks to the Log Cabin and Delaney’s Market, the Yarde Tavern, Rumbleseat Bar and Grille, Hagars Farm Market, Ocean Beach Park, the Student Prince and Clemenza’s.

Restrictions prevented a full-blown execution of some events, but we feel that we utilized our facility in the best way possible under the circumstances, engaged our vendors, partners and the public and were able to keep many of

our staff on the payroll.

We are vigorously planning for the 2021 fair with enthusiasm and optimism.

I have the privilege this year of serving as chairman of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. I have logged immeasurable Zoom hours in nearly every time zone on Earth, but I am fortunate in a couple of ways. In addition to having a front-and-center outlook on the best practices around the globe, I am able to influence the industry in the ways of a someone whose values were built right here in Greater Springfield. I am proud of that most of all.

Interesting and encouraging to note is that there were 24 fairs that took place in 2020, from small county fairs throughout the nation to the large Delaware State Fair. According to the health departments in each of these states, there were no cases of COVID-19 traced back to a fair in any of the municipalities where these events took place.

I am beyond grateful for our innovative staff, the vendors who supply and sell, and in a special way our local partners.

I am further thankful for the support of our directors and trustees and, most importantly, our loyal fans. Collectively we should all strive, hope and influence that our gates will open on Sept. 17, and we will warmly welcome you back to the Big E with a smile for the return to normal.

Eugene J. Cassidy is president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition. To learn more about the exposition, go online to thebige.com.

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that June reopening,” Eaton says.

Sanders holds out hope from what he heard at a recent Association of CONTINUED FROM PAGE M2 Performing Arts Professionals virtual safeguards in place for a while, and conference, where Dr. Anthony Fauci said that if the vaccine rollout is sucwe hope that maybe someday there cessful, promoters should be able to will be the live musical communions do some indoor shows by the start of we all miss so much.”

Likewise, Jim Olsen of Signature the fall.

Sounds, who also runs the Green “This summer I expect to see a lot River Festival in Greenfield and the of socially distanced shows outdoors Parlor Room in Northampton, is with smaller audiences than the “hopeful for live music in 2021.” venues can typically hold. We have “The big blow for us was losing been working on a few scenarios to the Green River Festival,” Olsen make this work in the region as well,” Sanders says. says. “Our team immediately turned Patrons may find temperature to figure out how to do livestream checks and wellness questionnaires concerts, producing the first one just Danny Eaton, Majestic Theatre at the door, and masks will still be a week after our club the Parlor Room worm. was forced to shut down.”

Signature Sounds President Jim Olsen said the company shifted to presentdifferent by this summer,” he says.

Since they started, they have “Overall we are excited to get back produced more than 70 livestream Reflecting on a tough 2020, Danny ing livestream concerts after the cancellation of its Green River Festival. to work, and from our conversations (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) shows, the income of which gets Eaton, director of the Majestic Thewith artists, venues and patrons, shared with artists. The company has atre in West Springfield, says the furwe feel that when it’s safe to do so, he says. paid out more than $130,000 to date. loughing of staff, including himself, what live theater truly is — performfolks will be very excited to return to ing before an audience, which is our Similar to what Neill said, Olsen along with federal loans allowed the Eaton also hosted a weekly inthese venues to see live music again. envisions indoor shows to possibly cultural uniqueness.” theater to stay somewhat operational. terview show talking with a couple The pent-up demand should make dozen Majestic performers. start in the autumn, with socially Eaton is targeting a June 5 opening for a lot of great shows in the near “We also had some online programming. I taught a playwriting “We did get approached to ‘prodistanced outdoor shows beginning for the theater. He’s keeping his finfuture,” Sanders says. “Just thinking duce’ some events, again via Zoom,” gers crossed. “This, of course, is con- about seeing an artist hit the stage to in the summer. “The new administra- workshop, we streamed some of our tingent on vaccinations, etc., but I’m a roaring crowd gives me the chills! I tion has prioritized vaccine distribuhe adds, “but I have refused to do children’s theater productions, and tion, and I think things will look very via Zoom did a reading of a new play,” any of this since it flies in the face of a glass-half-full guy, so I do anticipate can’t wait.”

“We did get approached to ‘produce’ some events, again via Zoom, but I have refused to do any of this since it flies in the face of what live theater truly is — performing before an audience, which is our cultural uniqueness.”

Distillers

“It was an incredibly busy two months. Staff would adhere labels during the day, and my kids would be helping me put them on at night.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE M16

Montague also turned to making hand sanitizer last spring.

“We got the green light to produce hand sanitizer on a Wednesday and had some out the door by Thursday morning ... within 24 hours,” says Weld.

Berkshire Mountain Distillers and its staff of six snapped into action and distributed hand sanitizer to the community. That distribution included donations to hospitals, clinics, group homes, police, fire and emergency medical services departments and even FBI field offices.

The company already had all the sanitizer ingredients, but the bottles and tops weren’t as easy to come by.

In the beginning, Berkshire Mountain used 5-ounce bitters bottles and even orange juice jugs to package his product. By March 20, the distillery had created around 100 gallons of the product. The distillery used Kwik Print Inc. in Great Barrington to create labels that were put on each bottle by hand.

CHRIS WELD, BERKSHIRE MOUNTAIN DISTILLERS

Sheffield store remained steady. The distillery’s bourbon was an especially popular item, according to Weld.

With the constant shift of reopening and closing of dining-in service in restaurants, sales have ebbed for the company.

“Restaurants are really taking a beating. We have been fortunate that our (on-site) store has been really Chris Weld, owner and founder of Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Shef- busy,” says Weld. “I didn’t forecast for a pandemic, and, then, all of a field. (EMILY THURLOW PHOTO) sudden, it’s here. It’s a really terrify“It was an incredibly busy two ing time to own a business. It’s one of months. Staff would adhere labels those things where you wake up in a during the day, and my kids would cold sweat at night over. You put your be helping me put them on at night,” heart and soul into it and occasionally Weld says. there’s a lightning strike (of prosperity). ... My heart goes out to those that Demand for hand sanitizer declined in the fall. But with traffic from have been adversely affected by this second- and third-homeowners taking pandemic.” day trips or staying in their Berkshires While Weld has no intention, or residences full-time, retail sales at the financial capacity, to compete with top

manufacturers of hand sanitizer, the distillery still has products on hand and still has a supply should demand pick up again.

Berkshire Mountain Distillers was established in 2007 and is known for its award-winning artisanal spirits, including Greylock Gin, Ragged Mountain Rum and Ice Glen Vodka.

At the end of 2020 the business was finally able to launch its Craft Brewers Whiskey Project. After nearly five years of aging it in oak barrels, the distillery, in partnership with 12 breweries, released three of 12 new whiskeys. Each addition to the American Whiskey Collection is the product of a single-sourced craft brew distilled into a distinctive whiskey.

“I love craft beer and these collaborations are great. I had the opportunity to work with brewers I really respect to make a collection of whiskeys by

distilling 12 different beers from 12 different brewers,” says Weld. “While people have distilled beer before ...

I don’t think anyone has ever done a collaboration like this before.”

The first release featured whiskeys distilled from UFO White Ale, which is produced by Harpoon Brewery; Spencer Brewery’s Trappist Ale; and 413 Farmhouse Ale from Big Elm Brewing in Sheffield. The rest of the collection will be released in trios throughout the year. The collection also includes whiskeys distilled from beer from Smuttynose Brewing Co. in New Hampshire; Long Trail Brewing Co. in Vermont; Sam Adams; Jack’s Abby Brewing in Framingham; Berkshire Brewing Co. in Deerfield; Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Brewery Ommegang and Chatham Brewing in New York; and Two Roads Brewing Co. in Connecticut.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | M19

“There was a lot of pent-up demand after not buying for several months. People are spending more on beautifying the interior of their homes, where they are spending more time.

They have more money to spend since they are going out less.”

Michael Ouimette, owner, Pieroway’s

have been super busy since the shutdown,” he says. “One was pent-up demand. People weren’t able to buy for several months. The other main thing is that many people were stuck at home, not going on vacation, so that opened up more money for them to spend.

“We’ve found in troubled times and recessions that people live off soft things like couches and mattresses which wear out, as opposed to hard Pieroway’s furniture showrooms in Ludlow and West Springfield have been “going gangthings like dining room tables busters” with business ever since retail stores were allowed to reopen in June, according to which don’t often break. Our owner Michael Ouimette. This is a view of the West Springfield store at 139 Myron St. strong suit is our sofas, sec(DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN) tionals and cherry bedroom furniture which we make are buying better quality customers to determine what ourselves,” he adds. love seats and dining room Zafft notes how doing best fits their need (and) their tables, for example, then ever sleep patterns, do they have a business has evolved over the CONTINUED FROM PAGE M10 before,” he adds. years, even before the panmedical condition like sleep According to Michael Ouidemic: “It used to be people At Raymour & Flanigan in apnea, do their sleep on their mette, owner of Pieroway’s going to the Yellow Pages to West Springfield, showroom side,” she adds.

Furniture in Ludlow and West manager Dianna Wilson confind your business, but now Wilson also notes that Springfield, his store has been curs, saying they had custom- making customers “comfort- they go online. So now instead ers “waiting to get in” when able” as they welcomed them of your local phone book you “going gangbusters since back to shop in their store are competing online with the reopening on June 8 after the they reopened their doors after the initial shutdown. was an important goal. “We entire world and giant intershutdown.”

“There was a lot of pent-up “We saw a big growth in wanted them to feel safe with net companies like Wayfair.” demand after not buying for The shutdown provided desk sales and comfortable everything from adding hand several months. People are chairs to accompany them sanitizer stations to plexiglass, time for Fly By Night employees to focus on helping spending more on beautifying for people now working to cleaning our bathrooms customers navigate online the interior of their homes, from home and students for frequently and screening our shopping and improve their where they are spending more remote learning,” Wilson says. employees as they come into experience, according to time. They have more money “People have also been eating work,” she says.

Zafft. to spend since they are going out less and cooking more at After the three-month “We created a professional out less,” Ouimette says, home and spending more time closure for stores early-on studio in our warehouse – referring to the fact that much at the dinner table. So, the sale during the pandemic, Richcomplete with special lighting fewer people are dining out. of kitchen tables has also been ard Zafft, president of Fly By “We are also seeing more Night in Northampton, says and a white backdrop – where big. serious buyers, not as many his business, too, experienced we would go every day to pho“We’ve also seen an influx tography our furniture from tire kickers, so to speak, who a similar rush of customers of mattress sales as customevery angle, ending up with usually are only out to browse, ers are honed in on getting when it reopened. a better, more comfortable over 17,000 photographs,” he but now are more afraid of “There were two reasons night’s sleep. We work with getting COVID-19. And they why we came out stronger and explains. But Zafft notes that

Furniture

Peter CONTINUED FROM PAGE M1

Born in Bogota, Columbia, Rosskothen came to America in 1986 at the age of 21. “I grew up in a resort town and worked in the hotel business while living there,” he shares. “I majored in finance, but never really got out of the hospitality business.”

First came his Boston Chicken in 1991, which later became Boston Market, followed by purchasing Holyoke’s landmark Log Cabin restaurant and transforming the site into a premiere banquet facility.

“I’m always looking for opportunities,” Rosskothen says. “It’s the philosophy of our team today and why we keep trying so many different things, and why we refused to stand still in the face of COVID-19.”

“Rotisserie chicken was a popular dish in Colombia and throughout Europe, but not in America, and I saw an opportunity to offer something different here which is now popular throughout the country,” he notes of how he began three decades ago. After selling the franchise, he set his sights in 1996 on the Log Cabin.

“The restaurant was in foreclosure, and I saw that as another opportunity,” he recalls. “Opening it as a restaurant again wasn’t a wise choice, but there was an underserved need in Western Massachusetts for a quality event venue.”

Later, when Holyoke’s once popular Delaney House was for sale, Rosskothen and his now business partner and executive chief Mick Corduff purchased that, too, in 2003 and eventually the hotel next to it, which was first run by another entrepreneur, the late Peter L. Picknelly.

Rosskothen says it was Picknelly who approached him to buy the restaurant, while he would purchase the hotel. “Honestly, we struggled for the first couple of years and almost closed after making some very bad decisions with our original concept for the restaurant,” he says.

The restaurant’s concept evolved, though, and it’s now successful with both fine dining and casual fare with Delaney’s Grill and The Mick.

Then came a catering business on wheels, cleverly named Log Rolling.

If that wasn’t already enough on Rosskothen’s plate, the entrepreneur later turned his attention to the “grab and go” market with his Delaney’s Market store fronts, which rolled out in 2016 and now number three with locations in Longmeadow, Wilbraham and Westfield.

“Our Log Rolling catering division came in response to a radical drop in sales during the economic downturn in 2008. We lost 25% of our sales, especially in the event business,

the journey only begins on the internet, referring to it as “pre-shopping.”

“While the internet is unsurpassed for doing research, it is admittedly second-rate for making a final furniture decision,” he says. “Looking at pictures and reading reviews is not a substitute for actual real-life experience.”

While increased demand for home furnishings may have been there for retailers during the pandemic, the supply was in question at times.

“It’s been a mixed bag only because so many retailers have been challenged by the supply chain,” Hirschhaut says. “Manufacturers were not able to produce at full capacity because of COVID-19,

and there were additional challenges along the way in obtaining raw materials such as wood and fabric.”

Even before the pandemic there was a challenge in the trucking industry to have enough drivers to move merchandise and that made the whole distribution process more difficult.

Acknowledging that problem, Ouimette cautions, “It is now taking longer to get merchandise, often three to four months. The reason for that is most factories don’t have full staffs because of mitigating factors, such as social distancing and the number of workers they can have in their buildings. Mass production doesn’t exist right now.”

At Fly By Night in Northampton, owner Richard Zafft says, “There were two reasons why we came out stronger and have been super busy since the shutdown. One was pent-up demand. People weren’t able to buy for several months. The other main thing is that many people were stuck at home, not going on vacation, so that opened up more money for them to spend.” (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

“I’m always looking for opportunities. It’s the philosophy of our team today and why we keep trying so many different things, and why we refused to stand still in the face of COVID-19.”

barriers to keep people safe, spacing out tables for social distancing, and constantly sanitizing our dining areas and bathrooms. It was a different world for us.”

Delaney House formulated new menus and expanded its focus to PETER ROSSKOTHEN offer take-out meals, which now acccount for over a third of its business, according to Rosskothen. “We quickly became very busy designing systems on how to effectively do takeout and get these meals delivered to customers,” he says.

Events at both Delaney House and the Log Cabin fell sharply with what few they had being very small, limited to 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors, Rosskothen says. “For all practical purposes, the event industry is dead right now. Our restaurant isn’t doing the business it once did before COVID-19, but we are doing enough the keep the machinery running.”

With some summer weddings and other events already on the books, At left, Peter Rosskothen, owner of the Log Cabin and Delaney House, talks on Oct. 28 about a new style of event Rosskothen and his team late last planning and hybrid events with Augmented Reality technology. At right, Rosskothen rolls out plans for his transyear introduced a new concept for formation of the old Log Cabin restaurant in Holyoke into a banquet facility on Sept. 13, 1996. the business world (one not quite (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO; CHRISTOPHER EVANS / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) ready for weddings yet) that he believes will help fill the event void which is a luxury and easy for people for now and that will continue when and companies to cut back on,” COVID-19 is under control.

Rosskothen says. “So, now we had Along with two high-tech firms, a catering business where we could Link to VR and CJC Lighting and bring what people loved best about Production, Rosskothen has created what they are calling “hybrid us right to them.” events.”

Just as the pandemic hit last year, “We are really excited about the Delaney’s Markets saw its meals possibilities this will offer to busimade available in some of Big Y’s ness who want to hold a staff or sales World Class Markets, adding yet meeting, but because of COVID-19 another opportunity for Rosskothen right now cannot do this in person,” to grow his business. “We are in six he explains. “The simplest definition of their stores, and I’m very excited I can give you about a hybrid event is about this new venture and hope to that it involves people in multiple loexpand it in the coming months,” he cations linked or integrated together says. through technology, while eating Then, when, while everything was meals prepared in our kitchens working like a fine, oiled machine, and delivered to special cites to be came the coronavirus. “Like so picked up close to each location. And many other businesses, we were if someone is in another state, we concerned, but hoped it would be can deliver that meal by mail.” short lived,” he recalls. “With the “I believe social events will begin restaurant closed, we wanted to keep Peter Rosskothen, of the Delaney House and Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, gets some help from Holyoke Fire Department Lt. Cisco Rivera as once people feel comfortable with the some of our employees working by he delivers close to 100 meals to fire headquarters on High Street on April environment surrounding us, but it focusing on prepared meals. So, we 15. The meals were part of the “Stuff the Bus to Feed The Fight in Western is going to take a couple years before started offering meals to frontline Massachusetts” campaign by Peter Pan Bus Lines and the Bean Restaurant the event business is back to 2019 workers as a convenience.”

Group. Area restaurants joined forces to show support to first responders numbers. And, I’m still worried about The concept proved a hit for busiand frontline health care workers. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) nesses that remained open during corporate events,” Rosskothen says.

As the new year began, Rossthe shutdown, according to Rosskothen. Home Depot was one of the was on the road making deliveries to send meals to whomever we felt kothen introduced yet again first to respond to the idea, followed himself for up to 40 hours during really needed them.” something new: Log Rolling Virtual

by Baystate Health and others, he some weeks.

As summer came and some of the Restaurant. “Our virtual restaurant says.

Some good also came from those COVID restrictions eased, the focus involves going online and ordering a freshly made, healthy meal deliv“We wanted to make it as inexefforts. “We found that people want- of the business returned to the Delpensive as possible for them, while ed to ‘pay-it-back’ to others during aney House, which began outdoor ered hot right to your door,” he says. maintaining our high quality. Our the pandemic,” Rosskothen says. dining in June and was able to return “For now we are offering our virtual restaurant only on the weekends. approach was to offer a ‘meal of the “They were doing double good by to limited indoor dining in July.

Friday is Pasta Night, Saturday is day,’ such as chicken parmesan, for supporting us and those who needed “It was just like starting a new Steak Night, and Sunday is Family example,” he explains. He says he a little help to get by during the business when we opened our Roast Night.” visited Home Depot every day for pandemic. We had one local busidoors,” Rosskothen says. “You now nessman, and there where others, The only question now is, “What’s months, filling the refrigerator in had all these COVID regulations to their break room with meals. He who would give us $250 every week observe, the installation of plexiglass next?”

M20 | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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DeCurzio CONTINUED FROM PAGE M15

which includes the completion of numerous tasks performed on a strict timeline to ensure timely return to availability of the plant.

Meanwhile, MMWEC’s administrative staff swiftly shifted gears. Staff was fully equipped to work remotely and did so for several months before switching to a hybrid remote-and-inoffice schedule. Service to MMWEC’s municipal customers, vendors and the public has continued seamlessly.

Likewise, MMWEC’s municipal light plant members sprang into action. Working with MMWEC and its energy efficiency vendor, the light departments halted in-person home energy audits, and within just days, launched virtual home energy audits.

This involved developing procedures, training staff and educating customers on the benefits of a virtual energy audit. Energy efficiency is a critical service provided by the municipal light partners, and adjusting the process for energy audits on a temporary basis helped to ensure this important program continued.

In addition, MMWEC and its members continued developing new,

Casino CONTINUED FROM PAGE M3

November.

At Plainridge, gross revenue from slot machines was $9.2 million in December, up about 20% from $7.6 million in November. Plainridge does not have table games.

Connecticut’s two casinos reported significant drops in revenue in 2020.

Mohegan Sun in Uncasville reported net revenue of $715.67 million – a nearly 28% drop from fiscal 2019 when it generated revenue of $992 million, according to casino. org. Foxwoods in Mashantucket said its net revenue totaled $539.2 million, a 31.6% decline from the previous year’s haul of $787.8 million.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun abandoned plans in December to build a competitor to MGM at the site of a now-demolished

A worker at the Stony Brook Energy Center in Ludlow guides the offloading of a new carbon dioxide system. This system will be used to upgrade the center’s old fire system for three gas turbines. Stony Brook is operated by Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. (MASSACHUSETTS MUNICIPAL WHOLESALE ELECTRIC CO. PHOTO)

innovative programs and initiatives, aligning with the state’s goals for carbon emissions reduction. In April, MMWEC launched its “Connected Homes” program, which allows residential customers to better manage wifi-connected devices in their home

movie theater in East Windsor, just south of the Massachusetts state line. The Connecticut casinos have also sprung into action helping their neighbors get tested for COVID-19 and providing spaces for mass vaccination.

MGM’s focus is clearly on reopening.

“We are happy to welcome back some team members today, and as the capacity restriction is eased and additional amenities reopen, such as the hotel and Tap, our hope is to welcome back even more,” said Chris Kelley, president of MGM Resorts International’s Northeast Group, which includes Springfield and the company’s operations in New York state, in a statement ahead of reopening Jan. 29.

MGM didn’t say how many employees it planned to bring back. Before the pandemic triggered its closing last March, MGM Springfield had 2,000 employees. In July it reopened

while reducing their carbon footprint.

Meanwhile, MMWEC continued to administer the solar rebate program for customers of participating municipal light partners. This program, offered in conjunction with the state Department of Energy Resources,

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

provides rebates of up to $1.20 per watt for qualifying residential solar projects. In December, the state granted an extension to the program, allowing more municipal utility customers the opportunity to take advantage of this incentive.

COVID-19 also didn’t slow down the municipal light partners’ efforts to increase carbon-free energy in their power portfolios. In November, 19 member utilities entered into a power agreement with Canadian public utility Hydro Quebec. Under the contract, the partners purchased 15 megawatts of carbon-free hydropower, which represents 131,400 megawatt hours annually – enough to power nearly 22,000 homes per year.

On the legislative front, the municipal light plants were successful in developing their own greenhouse gas emissions standard, in alignment with the commonwealth’s Decarbonization Roadmap. This emissions standard language was included in the compromise climate bill, Senate Bill 2995, and demonstrates the municipal plants’ commitment to supporting the state’s carbon reduction efforts over the next 30 years.

Despite the “business as usual” approach taken by MMWEC and its municipal partners, we know it was

not business as usual for our customers. Throughout the pandemic, MMWEC’s members reminded their customers that in these stressful times, help is available to them. In consideration of a request by state attorney general Maura Healey to investor-owned utilities, Eversource and National Grid, the 20 MMWEC member light departments have been consistent with their long-standing policies to find alternative solutions for customers struggling to pay their electric bills. They have encouraged customers to contact them to make payment plans or other arrangements if they were having financial difficulties. Fortunately, most customers living in municipal utility communities already receive safe, reliable, superior service at a low cost.

With an uncertain future and a hope for a better tomorrow, MMWEC and its light department members will continue our steadfast efforts to provide the exceptional service public power customers have enjoyed for over 100 years.

Ronald C. DeCurzio is the CEO of Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., based in Ludlow. To learn more about MMWEC, go online to mmwec.org.

“If they don’t get sports gambling at the casino or online, I don’t see much of a future.”

with this funding collectively structured as a loan. The developers, Opal Real Estate Group and WinnDevelopment, have also secured approximately RICHARD MCGOWAN, PROFESSOR, CARROLL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, BOSTON COLLEGE $11.3 million in state and federal historic tax credits. They will amenities,” MGM said in an talking about long-term plans apply the credits together with with 800 workers, operating emailed response to questions. relative to where the city is developer equity, a conventionunder capacity restrictions A Wahlburgers restaurant going with regards to economic al mortgage and a commitment and with some amenities like was completed last year on the development in the downtown from trade unions to assist with the hotel and movie theater MGM campus, but the opening and how they can play a role in $500,000 of housing funds remaining closed. has been delayed until at least that effort,” says the city’s chief to round out the total of $51.3 In November, right after the spring. million of required funding. development officer, Timothy state curfew was imposed, The city acknowledged last MGM will be reverting ownSheehan.

MGM announced that layoffs ership of 195 State St. to the city year that MGM Springfield has Without MGM being a partor reductions in hours would ner, the housing redevelopment for complementary redevelyet to have the desired effect impact 250 employees. opment. That building, once MGM has reopened its Chan- spurring economic growth in its of 31 Elm St. at Court Square dler Steakhouse and South the Springfield Public Schools’ would not have gone forward, neighborhood. Nearby develEnd Market food court. Unlike opment includes a CVS that offices, has been the subject of according to Sheehan. “They Encore, MGM has not reopened opened in 2019 and a jewelry stepped up to the plate in a very, stalled redevelopment plans store across the street. The city very difficult time and said, its spa. for more than a decade. Like is looking into changing the “We hope the promise of a ‘We’re in,’ and signed their end the Court Square project, it was zoning in the neighborhood to more widely available vaccine to have been to the location of of the deal,” he says. encourage development. and continued focus on safety affordable downtown housing The partnership includes $5 “I think it’s important to recpractices will ease restrictions, million from MassMutual, $14.5 for casino workers, something ognize that despite the impact the economy will strengthen, MGM promised in its pre-develmillion from MassHousing’s opment pitch to the city but has and consumer demand will re- of the pandemic on MGM, Workforce Housing Initiative, bound so we can further reopen MGM has been at the table not yet delivered. and $16 million from MGM,

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