Learning and growing The Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy, which formed last year, graduates its first cohort of students. Page 5
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Berkshire Business Journal NOVEMBER 2023 I VOL. 2, NO. 11
Battling food insecurity
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
Karen Ryan, the food services director at The Christian Center in Pittsfield, asks Dionisio Kelly to load boxes of canned goods for another food pantry at The Christian Center in Pittsfield. The nonprofit organization is one of several entities that are focused on battling hunger throughout Berkshire County.
Groups of volunteers and staffers are addressing hunger in the Berkshires one meal at a time By Jim Therrien PITTSFIELD — They’re not always visible and they frequent places where lots of Berkshire residents never go. But this behind the scenes fair-sized army of volunteers and staffers, mainly from nonprofit organizations, is the driving force behind community meals and food pantries throughout Berkshire County. As we head into Thanksgiving, these are the people — the front line soldiers, if you will — that are helping the Berkshires combat the food insecurity that has become a such a devastating issue regionally and nationally. Countywide, there are dozens of nonprofits, church groups, farms, businesses and individuals involved in year-round operations to head off hunger and ensure good nutrition for those in need.
And many more individuals, groups and businesses donate or stand ready to raise money for financial support. According to the Berkshire United Way, there are at least 40 food pantries located in the Berkshires, along with 28 more sites were meals are served. Beyond the many small, local efforts there are a number of larger, regional entities involved as well, such as the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; which operates in the state’s four western counties; the Berkshire Bounty program; and the meals and nutrition programs overseen by Elder Services of Berkshire County. “Berkshire Bounty is a food rescue organization,” said Morgan Ovitsky, the executive director of the countywide program, which is based in Great Barrington. “The primary aspect of what we do is collect donated food from
grocery stores and other retailers, and we distribute it to a network of food pantries and meal sites.” She added, “we deliver to 28 meal and pantry sites countywide and we collect from 21 retailers now.” The businesses contributing food to Berkshire Bounty include Big Y Foods four supermarkets in Berkshire County and Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, which has stores in Great Barrington and Pittsfield. Berkshire Bounty also collects food from farms. Sometimes when there is surplus produce, volunteers will be out in the fields harvesting the last of a crop. “And we put a portion of our fundraising to purchase food as well,” Ovitsky said, “which means on food not available from the [Western Mass.] food bank. Like fresh produce, dairy and eggs and meat.” Food generally is provided at cost, free
or at a discount by retailers, she said, and a lot of it is produce that will be past its prime if not used soon. Berkshire Bounty therefore has to inspect for over-ripeness and distribute the food quickly. But the organization knows how to “rescue” perishable food, she said, adding, “We have a pretty well-oiled machine of pick-up and drop off.” They are on track in 2023 to handle 400,000 pounds of food, working six days a week. “Volunteers generally use their own car,” she said. “We do have a van for larger pickups.” Berkshire Bounty operates throughout the county, Ovitsky said, but is “a very small organization staff wise, and all work remotely.” COLLABORATION In addition to working closely with FOOD PANTRIES, Page 7
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Front pages ELECTRO MAGNETIC APPLICATIONS INC.
Pittsfield firm will partner with UMass on $5M project
It will create a first-of-its-kind optical tech. facility By Tony Dobrowolski
PITTSFIELD — One of the Berkshire Innovation Center’s high-tech member companies will partner with the University of Massachusetts on a $5 million state-funded project intended to enhance work on advanced optical technologies across the country. Electro Magnetic Applications Inc., which came to Pittsfield in 2019, will collaborate with UMass on the project, which the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative announced recently in Amherst. The $5 million award from the Healy-Driscoll Administration will help UMass create an on-campus open access-additive manufacturing and design/testing facility that will support testing, research and production of advanced optical technologies. It will be the first publicly accessible facility of its kind in the United States. The grant, from the Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant Program, will augment UMass’ capabilities in the advanced manufacturing
space and increase its collaboration with universities across Massachusetts around research and development for advanced optical technologies. These technologies have applications in a variety of sectors including biotechnology, defense, aerospace, environmental monitoring and general electronics. EMA specializes in the testing and design of materials used in space. Based in Lakewood, Colo., the company has received more than $500,000 in city and state funding since arriving in Pittsfield four years ago, including a $250,000 grant from the city’s Economic Development Fund this winter to help fund its work in electromagnetics. The company’s exact role in the project was unclear at the news conference announcing the grant, but the BIC is scheduled to act as a bridge between industry, academia and government to help develop an additive manufacturing talent pipeline by providing workforce development opportunities for students and young professionals. EMA is based at the BIC — it was the innovation center’s first tenant — and installed an aerospace testing center there a year after coming to the Berkshires. “The state of Massachusetts
and MassTech continue to prioritize investing in critical technologies and capabilities within the Commonwealth,” said Justin McKennon, EMA’s Principal Scientist II at Friday’s news conference. “It sets the state apart as a place that not only welcomes, but believes in the companies that reside here. At EMA we understand that any new technology requires the ability demonstrate it can work in harsh environments, and with our test and simulation capabilities we are beyond excited to play a key role in helping companies in and around the Commonwealth to prove out their technologies in apace and other harsh environments.” Berkshire Community College is one of three state academic institutions that will participate in the project along with Northeastern University in Boston and Springfield Technical Community College. BCC is also a member of the BIC. “Optical technologies are essential in the 21st century, acting as the backbone for transformational industries ranging from semiconductors to mobile technologies, medicine to national defense,” said Pat Larkin of Pittsfield, the director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech, which manages the Collaborative R&D
MASS TECH COLLABORATIVE
Pat Larkin of Pittsfield, the director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech, speaks at a news conference announcing that Electro Magnetic Applications of Pittsfield will collaborate with the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a $5 million state funded project to enhance advanced optical technologies. grant program. “That’s why it is critically important to expand collaboration and partnerships in this space, to encourage increased engagement between research institutions, and private industry,” Larkin said. “We’re proud to make this investment in UMass-Amherst to help establish a first-of-its-kind open-access facility that will expand our capability for innovation and strengthen training opportunities in a sector that will be so critical to the future of our economy.” The announcement comes on the heels of the state’s recent award of $19.7 million in funding through the federal CHIPS and Science Act to expand production of microelectronics in the Northeast, work that will benefit from increased research and development in related sectors, including advanced optical technologies. The Collaborative R&D Matching Grant program has awarded nearly $60 million to
projects across the state that have leveraged more than $180 million in matching contributions from project partners. “This investment is another example of Massachusetts’ commitment to strengthening innovative technologies and making R&D tools more accessible to growing businesses, academic researchers, and entrepreneurs across the state, providing opportunities that would normally be cost-prohibitive,” said Carolyn Kirk, executive director of MassTech. “Placing it at our flagship university, which has a track record of proven success and partnerships in the advanced manufacturing space, made perfect sense. When we invest in technical training at a leading institution like this, we can expand training opportunities and the talent pipeline to manufacturing careers, helping diversify our workforce and the ability of the state to compete on a global scale.”
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Business updates Berkshire Skills Cabinet forges $15 million in new resources The Berkshire Skills Cabinet has generated $15 million in new resources, trained 550 residents, connected 15,000 youths to career readiness and has engaged 2,000 companies during its five years of operation, members told state officials during a meeting in Pittsfield in early October. The Skills Cabinet, led by MassHire Berkshire, Berkshire Community College and 1Berkshire, convened with state leaders to showcase alignment efforts with workforce, economic development and education in the Berkshires to prepare for the development of the Berkshire Workforce Blueprint 3.0. This blueprint identifies key industry sectors and occupations to direct resources for pathway development and employment. Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, and Economic Development & Housing Secretary Yvonne Hao hosted breakout sessions in current priority sectors. They heard from local businesses and education and training providers on where training gaps are, how programs can be replicated, and to identify ways for the state to eliminate potential barriers. The regional planning initiative is aimed at addressing the skills gap by bringing together regional teams of educators, workforce, and economic development professionals to create a regional blueprint for growth strategies in every region of the commonwealth.
Shakespeare & Co. holding actor training session The Center for Actor Training at Shakespeare & Company will hold the 43rd session of its month-long intensive for mid-career actors in Lenox from Jan. 3-29. For six days a week, morning to night, participants immerse themselves in voice, movement, text analysis, exploration of the actor/audience relationship, sonnet work, scene work, clown, stage fight, and in-depth discussions about the function of theater and the role of the actor in today’s world. Complete applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the intensive is filled. Tuition costs include double-occupancy housing and all meals. Information: training@shakespeare.org.
Kripalu offering free day passes In recognition of its 40th anniversary in the Berkshires, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is offering 400 free R&R Day Passes for local residents who have never visited Kripalu before and live within 60 miles of the center in Stockbridge. The R&R Day Pass Scholarship Program is an open invitation to enjoy yoga classes, workshops, outdoor activities, and delicious food — all at no cost, with the goal of fostering a healthier and more resilient local community. The free day passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis through December or until they run out. Information: kripalu.org/impact.
MCLA ranked seventh among liberal arts colleges Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has been ranked seventh among the nation’s top public liberal arts schools by U.S. News and World Report for the third straight year. In the magazine’s social mobility category, MCLA is ranked first in Massachusetts, second in the country and 22nd among national liberal arts colleges. MCLA has appeared on U.S. News’ list of Top Ten Public Colleges for nine consecutive years. The college has also been acknowledged in its list of National Liberal Arts Colleges for Social Mobility since the organization adopted this ranking in 2019. This list measures how well institutions graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants, typically
awarded to students whose families make less than $50,000, though most Pell Grant money goes to families with income below $20,000. More than 42 percent of MCLA undergraduate students receive Pell Grants, and 51 percent are the first in their families to go to college. Overall, 93 percent of MCLA students receive some kind of financial aid.
Lime Rock Park launches online auto platform Lime Rock Park has partnered with HK Motorcars to launch an online platform for the automotive community to buy and sell exceptional vehicles. Lime Rock Classifieds powered by HK Motorcars offers an HK Motorcars curated selection of race cars, sports cars, collector cars and daily drivers around the New England area as well as consignments from across the United States. The platform has been designed with user experience in mind, making it easy for buyers and sellers to navigate, connect and transact. Complete listings are available at hkmotorcars.com/limerockclassified. For questions on buying or selling a vehicle go to lrp@hkmotorcars.com.
Ocean State Job Lot cited for workplace culture Ocean State Job Lot, which has a store in North Adams, has been ranked 47th in The Inspiring Workplaces Group’s inaugural Global Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces list. The companies listed were evaluated in six main categories: Culture and Purpose; Leadership; Wellbeing; Inclusion; Communication; and Experience. Other companies that made the list include Anheuser-Busch, Experian and Verizon. The company has also received a 2023 Sustainability Leadership Award from the Business Intelligence Group for the second straight year. The Sustainability Awards honor those people, teams and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission. OSJL was also named among the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in North America earlier this year, as well as a 2023 U.S. Best Managed Company, sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, a program that recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams.
Medical Center recognized for social responsibility Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has earned an “A” rating and been ranked first in the state of Vermont as “most socially responsible” by the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. The only annual ranking to fully integrate racial inclusivity, community investment, and pay equity with traditional outcomes measures, the 2023-24 Lown Index for Social Responsibility evaluates more than 3,600 hospitals in the U.S. and uses 53 metrics to create the index. The index indicates the health system’s dedication and commitment to healthy patients and the surrounding community. This is the fourth year of the Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility and the first year that Medicare Advantage claims were included to calculate rankings. Additional sources used in creating the index include Medicare claims, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ hospital cost reports, and Internal Revenue Service Form 990, among others.
Berkshire Scenic Railway introduces poster series The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum has introduced a poster series promoting its Hoosac Valley Train Ride, the Town of Adams, and the Berkshires. Working with a New England artist, BSRM developed the poster series highlighting the sights and attractions along
MASSHIRE BERKSHIRE WORKFORCE BOARD
State officials met with members of the Berkshire Skills Cabinet in Pittsfield in October to prepare for the development of the Berkshire Workforce Blueprint 3.0. From left, Pittsfield Mayor Linda M. Tyer; Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler; Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones; Berkshire Community College President Ellen Kennedy; 1Berkshire President and CEO Jonathan Butler; North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey; Secretary of Economic Development & Housing Yvonne Hao; and MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board Executive Director Heather Boulger. the historic Adams Branch Line between Adams and North Adams. BSRM operates scenic train rides along this line. The posters are designed in the style of the colorful artwork created under the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, and hark back to the vintage railroad advertisements that promoted tourist attractions along their routes. The first three posters feature the Fall Foliage Train Rides, the Hoosac Valley Train Ride, and the Greylock Glen. BRSM plans to release additional posters in this series, and is open to partnerships to create new posters to promote events, features, and businesses in the areas served by its trains. The 11x17 posters are ready for framing and available for $12.95 at the Hoosac Valley Train Ride’s gift shop at Adams Station, 57 Park Street Gifts & Goodies in Adams, Wigwam Western Summit in North Adams, and WardMaps LLC in Cambridge, N.Y. Information: berkshiretrains.org.
High Lawn Farm receives outstanding dairy farm honor High Lawn Farm has been named one of the 2023 Outstanding Dairy Farms in New England. The farm received the award recently at the New England Green Pastures Recognition Banquet at the Big E in West Springfield. One farm in each of the six England states received recognition. High Lawn Farm was Massachusetts’ representative. Each farm was recognized for excellence in a variety of categories. Now in its 75th year, the Green Pastures program began in 1947, when New Hampshire’s then-Gov. Charles Dale bet that his state had greener pastures than anywhere else in New England. The claim sparked an annual competition that recognized innovation and pasture management. Extension services in each New
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England state facilitated the contest, and the program has evolved to annually recognize one extraordinary dairy farm in each state. Each year, previous winners interview, tour and judge the nominated farms. Judging criteria includes business management, crop production, herd performance, environmental practices and community leadership. Each family received a silver pitcher and a sign designating their farm as a New England Green Pastures winner.
PCTV presents programming, community service awards Pittsfield Community Cable Broadcasting Inc. recognized achievements in programming and presented community service awards recently at its 36th annual meeting at the Polish Falcons Club in Pittsfield. Pittsfield Community Cable Broadcasting operates both Pittsfield Community Television and WTBR-FM (89.7). Berkshire Jazz received the Community Service Through Community Media Award. It was accepted by Ed Bride, Phil Tierney, and Chuck Walker. The award recognizes an organization that has positively impacted our community using community media. John Williams received The Outstanding Member Service Award. An audio professional in the Berkshires, Williams is a longtime supporter of PCTV and participates in some of the larger productions that PCTV facilitates, such as the Fourth of July Parade. His behind-the-scenes contributions over the years have been critical to the success of these important productions. PCTV also handed out several annual awards for programming excellence. On the television side, the award for Programming Excellence in a TV Series went to Woody Printz for his long-running musical performance series “Woody’s World.” Printz has produced this series of programs for more than 20 years, and features local performances of Americana and folk music. The award for Programming Excellence in a TV Special went to Rick Foulkrod, for his QRMC National Hill Climb Championship program. On the radio side, the award for Programming Excellence in a Radio Series was given to the Pittsfield Suns baseball organization, which broadcast its second season of home and away games on WTBR-FM this summer. The award for Programming Excellence in a Radio Special was awarded to Mark O’Clair, who created the “This Day in Music” interstitial spots for the station. PCTV also awarded Community Programming Accomplishment certificates to several member producers. The certificates recognize five, 10, and 15-year milestones in producing community programming.
Mountainside offering family recovery services Mountainside Treatment Center in October launched comprehensive Family Recovery Services to provide family members of addicted individuals professional counseling and coaching programs to how they have been personally impacted by their loved one’s illness. The intensive 10-week therapy program consists of group and individual counseling to cover a range of topics including healthy communication, trust, boundaries, self-care, and more to help individuals mend relationships, resolve conflicts, and move forward together as a family in a positive direction. Mountainside, which is located in Caanan, Conn., also offers Family Recovery Coaching for families who are looking for peer guidance to better understand the day-to-day realities of addiction and recovery, and how best to navigate them. Through daily com-
EASTERN STATES EXPOSITION
High Lawn Farm was recently named one of New England’s 2023 Outstanding Dairy Farms of the Year. The farm received the award at the New England Green Pastures Recognition Banquet at the Big E in West Springfield. Representing High Lawn Farm at the presentation ceremony were, from left, Mason Gilligan, Caitlin Moriarty and Aaron Cuevas. munication, family recovery coaches teach family clients how to successfully address challenges as they arise, incorporate self-care into their lives, develop healthy relationships, and build a support system. Information: https://mountainside. com/treatment/family-services/.
Home design business opens in Hillsdale, N.Y. Custom furniture designer Irwin Feld of Hillsdale, N.Y. has opened his own home design business, “Irwin Feld Design”, in the historic Althouse-Higgins house, a restored 1845 home, at 2666 State Route 23 in Hillsdale. Feld, who has more than 25 years of design and retail experience, intends to expand his design and consulting business and offer items from his extensive vintage and custom home furnishings collections. “This is a dream now realized. This space was created exactly to fit my needs” said Feld in a news release. He also maintains a presence in Manhattan’s New York Design Center. “I label myself more of a home design coach or consultant and really rely on the client to make decisions. “The key to a successful relationship is a mutual exchange of thoughts and ideas. My goal is to assist in the creating an ideal home environment, blending my design expertise with the client’s vision, and tailor them in a thoughtful, practical way”, he said.
SolaBlock launches $3 million seed funding campaign SolaBlock of Pittsfield, one of the Berkshire Innovation Center’s member companies, has launched a $3 million seed funding campaign. The firm is in active discussions with climate tech and construction tech venture capital firms, strategic businesses, and other sources of financing. SolaBlock intends to use the proceeds from this funding to open its first assembly facility in Pittsfield and
to fund operations until it reaches positive cash flow. The company has developed a solar masonry unit that embeds a solar PV module inside a standard cement block, which allows the walls of commercial buildings to become entire vertical solar systems. “We are ready to go to market at the perfect time,” said SolaBlock’s CEO Eric Planey in a news release. “The demand for Net Zero building solutions is growing with federal, state and city green building mandates.”
“The key is not in spending time, but in investing in it.” Stephen R. Covey, author
Simon’s Rock recognized in college rankings Bard College at Simon’s Rock has been ranked highly in several categories in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Colleges rankings. Within the Regional Colleges North category, Simon’s Rock was tied for first for best undergraduate teaching and ranked second among most innovative schools. In social mobility, Simon’s Rock finished tied for 32nd in Regional Colleges North and 41st among top performers. The rankings for Best Undergraduate Teaching were based on nominations by college presidents, provosts, and admissions deans who participated in a peer assessment survey focusing on their view of schools with strength in undergraduate teaching. The Most Innovative Schools received the most nominations in a peer assessment survey based on colleges thought to be making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities.
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Front pages
Sharpening skill sets
First cohort graduates from Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy
By Tony Dobrowolski
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Innovation Center has been working on ways to enhance the skill sets of employees at the county’s many advanced manufacturing firms. A step in that direction took place recently in Pittsfield, when 12 students who were among the first cohort of the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy graduated from the 26-week, three phase program last month. As of press time, one other student’s graduation was still pending. The ceremonies took place on two separate nights at the BIC. Each graduate presented a summary and an explanation of the project they chose to present for the final phase of the 26week program, which took place in three phases. “It was a true privilege to take on this class,” said student Jason Hover, a printing and marketing supervisor at Spectrum Plastics in Pittsfield. “I am very prideful of being part of the very first graduation class.” The academy, which the BIC runs in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was formed last year with the goal of spurring growth in Berkshire County’s advanced manufacturing sector by seeking solutions to the persistent challenges that face the county’s manufacturing economy. One goal is to close the gap between local supply chain capabilities and the needs of larger manufacturers. That would be brought about, proponents say, through education, training, and technology assistance. All of the 13 graduates in the first cohort are employed by Berkshire manufacturers. The Manufacturing Academy is funded by a combination of state and federal funds. “It’s clear this initiative is the right one to spark the educational innovation needed to build community, skill development and economic impact right here in the Berkshires,” said Dennis Rebelo, the BIC chief learning officer, in a news release, following the final student presentations. “The evidences is what we all just witnessed, engaging students applying the problem solving tools they learned to immediately enhance work place performance across multiple departments and teams,” he said. At the core of the BMA is the STAT training program, which stands for Systems Thinking for the Application of Technologies. The program is designed to address two key industry needs: developing employee troubleshooting and systems thinking and enhancing human skills. The Berkshire Manufacturing Academy’s curriculum takes place in three phases that each last six weeks with remote learning breaks scheduled in between them. In the first phase, students focus on the principles of DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) as a framing tool to enhance their troubleshooting and problem-solving skills to more effectively approach any problem. In phase two, students apply the framework they learned in phase one to micro-manufacturing simulation. In the last phase, they apply all of the tools they have learned in the programs first two phases to a real-life opportunity within the firms where they work. The entire curriculum also focuses on human skills. Students learn about the eight universal core human competencies and then through an administered individual assessment they come to understand in which competencies they have aptitude, interest, knowledge, and capacity, and what the application level, or distribution of that
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BERKSHIRE INNOVATION CENTER
Students gather with friends, family, and colleagues to celebrate the graduation of the first cohort of the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy
Manufacturing Academy graduates The first cohort of the Berkshire Innovation’s Manufacturing Academy, which graduated from the 26-week, three phase program in October. • Rachel Birch, accounting manager, Boyd Biomedical, Lee. • Jordan Callahan, product design and development specialist, Pro Workforce Development, Richmond. • Jason Hover, supervisor, printing and marking, Spectrum Plastics, Pittsfield. • Michelle Jones, vice president of manufacturing, Boyd Biomedical, Lee. • Kenny Loynes, production supervisor, concrete finishing, Unistress Corp., Pittsfield.
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• Matthew McInerney, finishing supervisor, Interprint Inc., Pittsfield
TONY DOBROWOLSKI, Editor 413-496-6224 tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com
• Luis Ortiz, assembler/operator, Sinicon Plastics , Dalton.
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• Ricky Reynolds, quality control representative, Interprint Inc., Pittsfield.
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• Matthew Roccabruna, manufacturing engineering supervisor, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield. • Robert Smith, lab technician, Electro Magnetic Applications Inc., Pittsfield. • Paddy Sullivan, apprentice mold maker, Spectrum Plastics, Pittsfield. • DJ Tanner, operations supervisor, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield. particular competency is. Knowledge of their competencies and levels is intended to help them in both their professional and personal lives. “At the onset we were committed to build a world class learning experience that would help future leaders and frontline workers solve the problems they see daily, by applying proven technical frameworks and creating in class opportunities to tune the right combination of human skills,” said Dennis Rebelo, the Berkshire Innovation Center’s chief learning officer. “it’s clear, this initiative is the right one to spark the educational innovation needed to build community, skill development and economic impact, right here in the Berkshires,” Rebelo said following the student presentations. “The evidences is what we all just witnessed, engaged students applying the problem solving tools they learned to immediately enhance work place performance across multiple departments and teams.” “We achieved the goal that we had set out to achieve, to inspire change agents
within organizations that will inspire others to continuously improve,” said Patrick Becker, the Manufacturing Academy’s primary DMIAC instructor. They show not only an aptitude but the ability to apply what they have learned to better themselves and their businesses. I am confident they will achieve great things.” At graduation, speaker John Liu of MIT praised the students for their work. “At MIT we search of key partners around the world,” Liu said. “We are so glad to have found one such partner in the BIC right here in Western Massachusetts”. Speaking directly to the students, Liu said, “there is a human element to manufacturing. No one can take away the critical thinking and soft skills you learned by attending this academy. You’ll take that with you, wherever you go in the world”. The academy’s second cohort begins Nov. 7.
Share your news with the Berkshire Business Journal. If you have a company promotion, a new business or a new venture, let the Berkshires know about it. Remember the 5 W’s and that briefer is better. Email text and photos to BBJ@newenglandnewspapers.com. Provide your expertise in the Berkshire Business Journal. Do you have the answer to a persistent question about business and the Berkshires? Do you have ideas and suggestions on how our business community can grow? If you have a comment to make about doing business in the Berkshires or if you’re looking to raise an issue with the business community, this is the venue for that. We welcome letters up to 300 words and commentary up to 600 words. Send these to Tony Dobrowolski at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com. Berkshire Business Journal is published monthly by New England Newspapers Inc., 75 S. Church St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Periodicals postage paid at Pittsfield, MA 01201. Berkshire Business Journal is delivered free to businesses in Berkshire County via third class mail. Additional distribution is made via dropoff at select area newsstands. The publisher reserves the right to edit, reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance of an advertiser’s order. All contents are copyrighted by New England Newspapers Inc.
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Sidehill Farm owners set to move on
JANE KAUFMAN
Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski say they hope the next owner of Sidehill Farm will demonstrate decency and take the business to the next level.
Organic yogurt firm on the market By Jane K aufman HAWLEY — The founders and own-
ers of Sidehill Farm LLC are ready to sell their organic yogurt business, hoping to find a buyer who will take the business to the next level. Even as they prepare to sell, Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski are planning to roll out two initiatives that will reduce Sidehill Farm’s reliance on plastic. In 2024, the yogurt maker will begin selling 6-ounce portions in paper cups, which will be both recyclable and compostable. They will also be launching a pilot with River Valley Market in Northampton to test the feasibility of deposit-return stainless steel containers, which will be reused by Sidehill Farm. Lacinski and Klippenstein say they simply don’t have the same level of energy for the business as they have in the past. Quoting a business owner interviewed in The New Yorker, Lacinski put it this way: “If you’re coasting, you’re going downhill.”
LARRY PARNASS
Sidehill Farm uses leased space at a creamery the owners built in Hawley. Lacinski and Klippenstein say the ideal buyer will have energy, time and know-how to expand sales and products for Sidehill Farm, whose products are sold in Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, southern Vermont and New Hamp-
shire, and in the Hudson River Valley in New York. They also hope the next owners will demonstrate decency, which they identified as a core value of the business and one they’ve tried to bring to every aspect and interaction.
Customers are asking for new products, Klippenstein said, and there is room for an expanded market in other states. She said things are going well for the business, making it an ideal time for a transfer. “The door is open,” Klippen-
stein said. “Somebody’s just got to walk through.” Lacinski and Klippenstein previously owned both the more than 220-acre farm and the yogurt business on Forget Road, along with an onsite farm shop. YOGURT, Page 7
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Food pantries
What is food insecurity? Definition: The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. This can be a temporary situation for a family or can last a long time. Food insecurity is one way we measure how many people can’t afford food.
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dozens of small pantries, which typically form loose, supportive networks of their own, Berkshire Bounty also collaborates with other large groups, like the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the region’s largest food bank. The Food Bank recently moved from Hatfield to Chicopee, where it occupies a building that is double the size of its old one. Berkshire Bounty is in the process of entering into a formal partnership with The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, which will allow the Great Barrington-based organization to receive food from more stores, Ovitsky said. That partnership also will “allow us to be kind of the Berkshire County arm of the food bank,” she said. Berkshire Bounty also receives funding through Berkshire Grown, a Great Barrington-based organization that supports and promotes local agriculture. Berkshire Grown provides money to purchase produce from local farms, thus supporting agriculture in the area. Originally established in Hadley in 1982, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has been a leader in regional efforts to address food insecurity, providing food to its members in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties. It belongs to Feeding America, which is a national network of more than 200 food banks. Deb Ondo, FBWM’s communications and engagement manager, said the food bank’s programs include distributing food staples received through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program and large donors like markets or other food vendors. The WMFB works with 170-plus member food pantries, meal sites and other anti-hunger initiatives throughout the four western counties. “We also have two direct distribution programs,” Ondo said, including the Brown Bag: Food for Elders program, which provides items for a grocery bag of nutritious food to eligible seniors once a month at local senior centers and other sites, including eight in the Berkshires. And their mobile food bank vehicles make periodic stops to deliver food at community sites throughout Western Massachusetts, including at four locations in Berkshire County. Another of the food bank’s roles is in partnering with policymakers and the community to address the underlying causes of hunger. THE RETAIL LEVEL The Christian Center on Robbins Avenue in Pittsfield operates one of the county’s many local food initiatives. “Most of the pantries get food from the Food Bank of Western Mass.,” said Executive Director Betsy Sherman. “We order every week and what they do have they distribute. We get about two to three thousand pounds of food a week.” During the spring, summer and fall, she said, the food bank will have some fresh fruits and vegetables. “A lot of our
GILLIAN JONES-HECK
Stephanie Bosley was recently named the executive director of the Berkshire Food Project in North Adams, which operates out of the First Congregational Church on Main Street. fruits and vegetables come from local farmers.,” she said, “and people who have gardens will bring produce in if they have excess vegetables, and so forth. “In terms of fund-raising, we do an annual appeal every year, and that supports our operations,” Sherman said. “Facebook is a really good tool for us in terms of an ask,” she said. “It is seen by hundreds and hundreds of people, and people do respond very positively. People also do food drives for canned and packaged goods that we don’t necessarily get from the food bank, and some people will just bring things in — people or organizations that have a surplus, etc. So we have a variety of ways of getting food, canned food and packaged food.” The Christian Center obtains fresh foods like milk and eggs through a grant. “We get those every week,” Sherman said, referring to those supplies. “I also write grants for food.” The center gets “donations of bread, baked goods and similar items,” she said. “Berkshire Bounty does a very good job of collecting all that stuff throughout the county ... We are eternally grateful to everyone in the community that supports us. We couldn’t do it without them.” In North Adams, the Berkshire Food Project operates both a meals and pantry site at the First Congregational Church on Main Street. “We offer a free meal each day, now four days per week,” said Executive Director Stephanie Bosley. In-person meals were scaled back during the COVID-19 pandemic, “and we are now looking to reopen to five days,” she said. The meals are provided with “no questions asked,” Bosley added. “It’s really walk through our doors and receive a meal.” “We do have some groceries we can hand out, and also some donations [of food]. But our main mission is to serve people hot meals in-house, because part of our mission is to fight social isolation.” The in-house meals allow for social
interaction. “We have people come in and have conversations, and I think that is so important coming out of COVID to connect once again and be able to sit down and have a meal,” Bosley said. “Then we have groceries that they can supplement with when we are not open.” The BFP fund raises through an annual mailing. “We also do events like musical bingo, and we receive money from Northern Berkshire United Way, Williamstown Community Chest and also have private donations.” Bosley said the number of people served is trending higher, in part because all meals are now in-person, “and, as people are seeing, prices are rising. We have seen an influx of people coming through our doors in part because of rising costs at the food stores.” About 600 meals were served during a recent week, she said in October. Through September, the Berkshire Food Project had served 52,464 meals to 14,776 individuals this year. “We currently have a strong group of over 30 volunteers who make our mission possible,” Bosley said. “We are always looking for more volunteers to join our team.” BFP also partners with area farms for produce. The Growing Healthy Garden Program in North Adams schools “brings us vegetables that students have been growing through the school year and summer.,” she said. Like others interviewed, Bosley lauded the cooperation she sees among multiple organizations working toward similar goals. “I think we are very fortunate in the Berkshires that there is such collaboration between community organizations, in that we all work together to benefit the population that we serve,” she said. The People’s Pantry, located at St. James Place in Great Barrington, is one of the initiatives that is battling food insecurity in South County.
The causes: Many people in America struggle to meet their basic needs, which increases their risk of food insecurity. Lay-offs at work, unexpected car maintenance, or an accident can suddenly force a family to choose between buying food and paying bills. Other causes include poverty, unemployment, or low income; lack of affordable housing; chronic health conditions or lack of access to healthcare; and systemic racism and racial discrimination. The effects: They depend on individual circumstances, but can include serious health issues, and often create difficult circumstances for children to learn and grow. The numbers: In Berkshire County, food insecurity affects 8.9 percent of the population as 11,450 residents are considered to be food insecure. More than 34 million people, including 9 million children experience food insecurity in the United States. *Source: FeedingAmerica.org. “The People’s Pantry operates as a food pantry,” said Board President Beth Moser. “Our vision is to provide healthy, nutritious food to people facing food insecurity.” She said there are scheduled shopping hours twice a week, and people allowed to come once a week. “One thing that makes our pantry different from some,” Moser said, “is that ... I believe people call it self-selection. Which is to say that people go shopping. They can choose what they want.” The pantry offers food staples along with beef, chicken or fish, and milk, eggs or cheese. “People like that very much,” she said. “We also have wonderful produce, the majority is local – and that is part of our mission too. It is to use local food whenever feasible.” The pantry at times “looks like a beautiful farmer’s market — you know, bright colors and very healthy food,” she said. The People’s Pantry also works with the regional food bank, with Gideon’s Garden, a youth-operated farm in Great Barrington and with the Greenagers program in South Egremont. It also receives produce from community supported agriculture shares provided through Berkshire Grown. FOOD PANTRIES, Page 8
Yogurt FROM PAGE 6
They sold the farm in 2020 for $1.1 million, which included the land and all buildings, farm shop, equipment and cows. At the time, there were 10 employees and a cow herd of about 100, with 45 being milked. Lacinski and Klippenstein now have a contract with Meadow Sweet Farm owners Gus and Kyra Tafel to buy milk produced there at $50 per hundredweight, a price that is above market rate. Sidehill Farm leases space at Meadow Sweet, and the two seven-year contracts run until June 2027. The premium price for milk was guaranteed “primarily because as retiring farmers, we
“The door is open,” says Amy Klippenstein, of the yogurt business she and Paul Lacinski own. “Somebody’s just got to walk through.” LARRY PARNASS
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Berkshire Business Journal
November 2023
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
Visitors can pick items from the shelves at The Christian Center’s food pantry in Pittsfield.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
An assortment of breads are available for visitors at the Christian Center’s food pantry in Pittsfield.
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a holiday that usually spreads even more fellowship and good cheer among those who work in or benefit from the county’s food security network. One participating organization is the Christian Center in Pittsfield, which actually has two Thanksgiving dinners, said Executive Director Betsy Sherman. “We actually prepare two,” she said. “The first is done for delivery to the elderly and home bound (between 500 and 600); the second is a sit-down dinner, open to the public, here at the Christian Center on Thanksgiving.” She said the turkeys are purchased by the Christian Center and prepared at the Berkshire County House of Correction kitchens and delivered to the center. A group of volunteers prepares the rest of the fixings, she said.
GILLIAN JONES-HECK
Marianne Bailey helps to prepare a recent meal at the Berkshire Food Project in North Adams. In-person meals at the Food Project were scaled back during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organization is now interested in opening five days a week.
Food pantries FROM PAGE 7
“And we also have the staple foods that people need, like pasta, canned tuna fish, peanut butter, things like that,” Moser said. The pantry operation also is supported by grants and donations – largely from within the local community, she said. “But we get donations far and wide,” she added, and through tennis club or concert fundraising events, or a large tag sale; and they receive support from local churches and businesses. “We are South County, but we do not ask for proof of residency,” Moser said. “Many don’t live in South County but work in Great Barrington.” In a typical week, she said about 40 volunteers are in the pantry, serve customers, stocking shelves or doing other work. Some work on fundraising. “We have a list of over 100 volunteer names,” she said. SMALLER SCALE Many other efforts, most of them operating on a small scale, contribute to the Berkshire County response to food insecurity. None are quite alike. “All of them have their own personality and serve their own demographic,” one food project staffer said. The Adams Council on Aging provides food without an actual pantry facility. “We have two programs through the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts,” said Director Sarah Fontaine. The Council on Aging participates in
the Food Bank’s mobile food bank program, which twice a month delivers fresh produce and shelf-stable foods to the Adams Visitor Center. Other stops are made at several sites around the county. “That is open to anyone,” Fontaine said. Another initiative provided by the Food Bank,” the Brown Bag: Food For Elders” program, offers once-a-month deliveries of grocery bags. Participants have to apply for the program and must be age 60 or older. Many seniors also participate in Elder Services of Berkshire County nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels, Fontaine said. The Elder Services’ program congregate meals for seniors at several sites in the Berkshires. The Adams Council currently is working with organizations and churches hoping to open a pantry in town that would replace one that closed last year, Fontaine said. The nonprofit Berkshire Dream Center operates in Pittsfield’s Morningside neighborhood, with a food pantry at 475 Tyler St. and restaurant-style soup kitchen that opened last spring, said Executive Director Katelynn Miner. The Dream Center operates a mobile food pantry effort in both north and central county, Miner said, with trucks stopping at five locations in Pittsfield and at three in North Adams once a month. It also partners with Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and receive financial donations from the public as well as donated food. The Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative operates a food pantry in
North Adams. “Our focus is the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry at 45 Eagle St.,” said board President Lois Daunis. “We are primarily a food pantry,” she said. We are open on Wednesdays. Guests fill out a menu and baggers fill their order. While doing that, they can go to the choice area, where they can pick out bread, pastry — donated items that we don’t have a lots of. And fresh fruit and vegetables.” If people have difficulty getting getting to the center, they can call on Wednesdays for a Thursday delivery, Daunis said. “We are an all-volunteer organization,” she said. “There is no paid staff.” The Nelson Center is a member of the regional food bank and also receives local farm CSA shares and some donations from the public and from Berkshire Bounty. “And also from random farmers who will just stop by and say, ‘Would you like quarts of blueberries?’” Daunis said. Fundraising is primarily through an annual letter campaign. Other organizations also organize benefits for the Al Nelson center. SUPPORTING ROLES Other groups provide support to the overall effort, even when their primary focus isn’t on fighting hunger One of them is Berkshire Agricultural Ventures whose mission is bolstering the local food economy and supporting local farmers. BAV’s Market Match Fund program supports farmer’s markets at 10 locations in the Berkshires. It essentially provides
The People’s Pantry in Great Barrington “provides food for people to be prepared at home,” said Beth Moser, president of the pantry’s board. “All get a turkey and a lot of the fixings, as we call them.” She added, “This is done with the support of the Great Barrington Airport, they have for years. They take up a collection and also donate. Others donate as well.” Probably the biggest organized local effort is organized by the Thanksgiving Angels, https://www.thanksgivingangels.org/ — the work of 22 Pittsfield area food pantries, organizations and faith groups, which last year provided more than 1,800 families with a complete packaged Thanksgiving meal. grants that allow these venues to double or triple the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that they can provide for customers. “So if people show up and can spend $30, the Market Match program means they are able to spend $60,” said BAV’s communications and development associate Patrick Grego. Berkshire Agricultural Ventures enhances the buying power of people in the SNAP program with grants from the $141,500 that the organization has raised over the past year and subsequently donated to the 10 farmer’s markets, Grego said. This also benefits local farmers, he added, and allows everyone to shop at farmer’s markets. “We feel that farmer’s markets should not be seen as an exclusive spaces for tourists or people of means,” Grego said. “Everyone should have access to clean, nutritious food grown locally.”
November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal Long Bow Lane West, Becket, to Thomas W. Rumbolt, trustee, Niridium NT, $39,000.
Real estate transactions BERKSHIRE COUNTY REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS FOR SEPT. 4-29 ADAMS Trevor W. Crombie sold property at 72-74 Park St., Adams, to Venus Enterprises LLC, $755,000. Carrie Burnett sold property at 312 East Road, Adams, to Luke P. St. Pierre, $150,000. Christian Leonard Rilla sold property at 10 Forest Park Ave., Adams, to Brace A. and Jamie L. Trala, $266,000. Cassie L. Scott sold property at 8 Mckinley St., Adams, to Ethan and Christina Johnston, $297,450. Gary and Gail Duranko sold property at 5 Turners Ave., Adams, to Spencer Moser, $216,500. Manuel Hernandez-Novo sold property at 3 Richmond St., Adams, to Delia N. Root, $163,000. Kristopher R. Saunders sold property at 92-94 East Hoosac St., Adams, to Cheryl Woodard and Richard Thayer, $155,000. Maureen Z. and Stephen F. Pappas, trustees of the Stephen F. Pappas and Maureen Z. Pappas Revocable Living Trust, sold property at 180 Commercial St., Adams, to Patricia Walton, $80,000. Robert E. and Nicole L. Armata sold property at 2 Summit St., Adams, to Shirley Rodgers, Ashley Rodgers and Frederick Rodgers Jr., $230,000.
BECKET Jonathan R. Sheets sold property at 132 Dawn Drive, Becket, to Erdim Yilmaz, $240,000. Anthony W. and Meridee Stein sold property at 328 Woodmere Road, Becket, to Daniel R. and Kathleen G. Spirer, $630,000.
Patrick A. and Virginia T. Conner sold property at 1705 Main St., Becket, to Jolyn Gail Unruh, $212,000. Timothy and Jessica Ogilvie sold property at 67 Cherokee Road, Becket, to Rajesh Gandhi and Bonnie Southworth, $725,000. Josiah E. Denham sold property at Bonny Rigg Hill Road, Becket, to Danielle Foster, $15,500. Luz Bravo-Gleicher, trustee, Luz Bravo-Gleicher Trust, sold property at 113 Iroquois Ave., Becket, to Eliza Lewis, trustee, Eliza Lewis LT, $549,500. Diane F. Nichols sold property at 174 King Richard Drive and King Richard Drive, Becket, to Mauricio Rubio and Eeva Mikkola, $167,500. Michael and Patricia McEnerney sold property at 264 Nottingham Circle, Becket, to Serguei and Iryna Khramtchenko, $459,000. George Michael and Luan Marie Fellman sold property at 870 George Carter Road, Becket, to Bradley W. and Elysse N. Greene, $500,000. Lauren E. Hyde and Russell M. Hyde Jr. sold property at 50 Deer Trail South, Becket, to Thomas W. Rumbolt, trustee, Niridium NT, $20,000. Scott, Beverly and Ray Garon sold property at 97 Will Scarlet Drive, Becket, to Jeremy and Amanda Martin, $275,000. Al Merkle sold property at Squires Lane West, Becket, to Mohegan Real Estate LLC, $15,850. TMR Realty LLC sold property at 98 Dawn Drive, Becket, to Katherine Von Haefen, $375,000. Ronald M. Melycher Jr. sold property at
Jane J. White sold property at 219 Bancroft Road and Bancroft Road, Becket, to Jeffrey Patrick Walkden and Donna M. Costi, $290,000. Joan Terry and Arnold Drucker, trustees, Drucker FRVT, sold property at Skyline Ridge Road, Becket, to Elizabeth and Edmond J. Duncan Jr., $35,000. Brian E. and Gary J. Hebert sold property at 51 Mountain Pasture Road, Becket, to Michael Ragusa, $40,000. Donald P. and Carole Lawrence sold property at 151 Long Bow Lane West, Becket, to Black Bear Holdings I LLC, $480,000. Andrew J. and Aimee A. Bevacqua sold property at 607 Yokum Pond Road, Becket, to Joel Marcus and Carol Davis, $950,000. Susan E. Tillman, trustee, Lawrence Wolfson and Annette Wolfson Irrevocable Trust, sold property at Yokum Pond Road, Becket, to Chih Yi Lee, $45,000.
CHESHIRE LCS Financial Services Corporation sold property at 23 Prospect St., Cheshire, to Prospect Place LLC, $50,000. John F. Segala Jr. and Nancy Iacuessa Segala sold property at 335 North St., Cheshire, to Jeremy K. and Nicole E. Johnson, $320,000. Worbert Development LLC sold property at 192 Willow Cove, Cheshire, to Mark Arsenault and Carina Wohl, $350,000.
CLARKSBURG Town of Clarksburg sold property at 25 Millard Ave., Clarksburg, to Danmark LLC, $27,000.
9 $180,000. Michael R. and Darlene A. Lapierre sold property at 0 Earl Taylor Drive, Clarksburg, to William Parsons, $59,900. Adam Michael and Amy Garner sold property at 164 Cross Road, Clarksburg, to Jonathon and Kaytee Cantoni and Susan A. Fisher, $241,000. Cynthia A. Dilorenzo sold property at 1187 River Road, Clarksburg, to John J. and Carol M. Greenbush, $265,000.
DALTON Daniel C. Brooks sold property at 215 Dalton Division Road, Dalton, to Anthony M. and Audrey J. Shelton, $310,000. Thomas J. and Marilyn H. Patti, trustees, Thomas and Marilyn Patti RVT, sold property at 61 Ensign St., Dalton, to Scarlet Flora Patti, trustee, Scarlet Flora Patti RVT, $100,000. Richard G. and Rosemary M. Day sold property at 142 Depot St., Dalton, to Gregory T. and Sherry L. Chapman, $256,000. Christopher Joseph Burgess sold property at 147 Pine St., Dalton, to Robert L. Gordon, $245,000. Arthur M. Sanders, personal rep. of the Estate of Kathyrn K. Sanders; Arthur M. Sanders and Edward A. Phelps, sold property at 517 South St., Dalton, to Joshua F. and Brittany Biggart, $370,000. Branden M. Knysh and Krista Furlon sold property at 1041 South St., Dalton, to Gary T. and Gail L. Duranko, $277,000. Joseph M. and Corrine Dipietro sold property at 122 Pine St., Dalton, to Gilen Jeffrey Prett and Savannah Jade Granger, $270,000. Go Home LLC sold property at 40 Franklin St., Dalton, to Jason D. Haskins, $335,000.
Mark Meczywor sold property at 95 McLagen Drive, Clarksburg, to Michael Joseph Wood Jr., $365,000.
Oliveri Properties LLC sold property at 463 High St., Dalton, to Joseph Massaro, $35,000.
Elaine F. Cann sold property at 605 Middle Road, Clarksburg, to Anthony E. Beverly,
Robert A. Meichner sold property at 94 REAL ESTATE, Page 19
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Berkshire Business Journal
November 2023
Berkshire voices
You have questions, we’ve got answers GREAT BARRINGTON — The Non-
profit Center of the Berkshires receives many requests. I’ve been tracking these “referrals” since 2018. Over the past six years, the Nonprofit Center has fielded 968 questions, requests for advice or referrals. Fielding questions every day and providing assistance was part of the original mission and vision for the Nonprofit CenLiana ter. Nonprofits Toscanini need help — all Nonprofit kinds of help. Notes Below, I have shared a range of the most popular requests we’ve received to shed light on what it takes to run a healthy nonprofit organization. How much do executive directors make in the Berkshires? Sometimes this question comes from an executive director wanting to lobby for a raise. Other times a board member is doing due diligence in considering the question of executive compensation. With support from Guardian Life and Greylock Federal Credit Union, the NPC was able to conduct a salary survey in 2021 showing the median salary for executive directors of nonprofits in the Berkshires to be between $80,000 and $90,000. Of course, the size of the organization makes a difference in the amount of compensation. Smaller nonprofits pay between $50,000 to $60,000 while large nonprofits may pay $150,000 or more. This handy salary and benefits data does more than establish benchmarks for our sector. It saves executive directors and board members precious time researching. Can you recommend a strategic planning facilitator? After the stock market crash of 2008, nonprofits were advised to trim their strategic plans down from three years to one year because of economic and fundraising uncertainty. After three years of nimble, pandemic-related pivoting, equity movements, and technological game-changers like Zoom, nonprofits are eager to take stock of their programs and organizational position to assess future opportunities and challenges. Nonprofits can choose talented consultants right here in the Berkshires or from a bit farther afield in Boston, New York and Connecticut. NPC has a good track record of matching nonprofits to just the right facilitator. At very least we supply a list of stra-
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
A large group of volunteers works on pumpkin designs during the weekly pumpkin carving event that takes place during the Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show at the Naumkeag gardens in Stockbridge. There are several ways prospective volunteers can find the nonprofit organization that suits them best. tegic planning consultants in our Virtual Resource Directory. It’s located under resources at npcberkshires.org. Have you ever thought about putting together a consortium of nonprofits to buy health insurance more affordably? We have indeed. According to our research, nonprofits are considered “high risk” by insurers. Perhaps it’s the long hours and minimal pay, or maybe the burnout rate of caregivers, teachers, and healthcare workers. Whatever the reason, it seems unlikely a consortium will happen in my lifetime. But ever hopeful, we’ve asked the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network to put it on their “to-do” list. Some options worth investigating in the meantime include healthcare. gov where the health care tax credit is highest for those organizations with fewer than 10 employees; local employment benefit experts like Scarafoni Financial; and looking into health savings accounts which have grown tremendously over the last decade. We also mention the CORE 401(k) plan for nonprofits with 20 or fewer employees as part and parcel of benefits research. How much should board members give? Three quarters of Berkshire nonprofits are considered “small” with annual revenue
under $500,000. Many are community-based. Their fundraising success may depend on numerous small and modest gifts from the community. Furthermore, the composition of their boards consists of a mix of retirees and working folks who roll up their sleeves and contribute their skills, time, and whatever treasure suits their budget. A minimum required giving amount is simply not appropriate here. Rather, it is suggested that board members make the organization a priority and consider a gift in “an amount that is meaningful to them.” For example, if the board member usually gives $50 to charitable organizations, they should consider “stretching” that amount to $100 or more for the organization they represent. It’s possible that the minimum gift requirement is a notion on the brink of extinction anyway, given the aspiration of many nonprofits to make their boards more accessible, inclusive, and equitable. Your most passionate board members should “give ‘till it hurts” as my neighbor used to say. We need a grant writer. Do you know anyone? Grant writers are thin on the ground in the Berkshires. I’m still one of the few people I know who actually likes writing grants. And I’m not
even a great writer. But I know how to follow directions, battle with character counts, and throw in an irresistible testimonial or two. While some new names have come to my attention recently, it is noteworthy that over 40 people signed up for our bundle of six webinars on grant writing. With topics like “Writing a Compelling Statement of Need” and “Project Budgets That Make Sense,” this series helped Berkshire nonprofits compete in a crowded landscape. Maybe NPC’s next step is to create a grant writing school where people can obtain and hone skills needed to add their names to the pool of available grant writers in the Berkshires. We need an employment manual. Do you have any templates? The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires was founded on the principle that we should leverage the expertise of community members to address our lack of resources. Very few small nonprofits have HR staff so we are lucky to know more than one human resources professional willing to help, often pro bono. “Google University” is often our friend as well. A web site called Workable.com has a downloadable employee handbook template with links to resources and more information
on everything from workplace safety to wellness programs. The NPC has been stockpiling online resources so when the question comes in, we’re ready with a useful reply. I want to volunteer. Everyone told me I have to talk to the Nonprofit Center Admittedly, the Berkshire nonprofit landscape can be overwhelming. So many good organizations are vying for volunteers and donations. They all seem great. That said, people often want to know where they are most needed. This is how we loosely approach matchmaking: Step one: Direct people to our Giving Back guide (always appreciated as a wonderful resource and available on our web site as a downloadable PDF). Step to: Inquire as to skills and passions, then offer up several organization names and contacts. Step three: Arrange a coffee meeting to share more about the nonprofit landscape and explore all options. There is no way to measure the impact of this service for which there is no charge. But the referrals that come out of such a process may be the most beneficial of all for our community. Liana Toscanini is the executive director of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires in Great Barrington
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November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal
11
Berkshire voices
When innovation enhances collaboration PITTSFIELD — Sometimes you in-
novate to collaborate. The first cohort of the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy graduated last month after submitting their final presentations. This is a different kind of learning institution. Fueled by federal funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, General Dynamics Mission Systems and support from the Massachusetts TechnolDennis ogy CollabRobelo orative and MassDevelopment, the BIC’s Manufacturing Academy represents a deeply collaborative approach to training, learning and development. As the BIC’s Chief Learning Officer, I was tasked upon my arrival with the responsibility of building a collaborative industry-driven learning experience for incumbent workers of our Berkshire regional innovation-enabled companies. The core training program was developed after countless hours of interviews, meetings and learning from a diverse range of Berkshire area industry partners. After deliberating about “what to call it” we decided to name it Systems Thinking for the Application of Technologies, or STAT. DETERMINING INITIAL GOALS The STAT program was designed to answer two key industry concerns: One, developing employee troubleshooting and systems thinking; and two, enhancing human skills. Both goals were to be accomplished through one effort, one program, and one learning experience. It was a history making 26 weeks, and in re-thinking the journey of building and supporting students and instructors, here’s what I’ve learned: • Approach is Everything — Here’s my lesson number one. For years instructors have done the “sage-on-the-stage” bit, driving the energy of the classroom to their goals as instructors, teachers and sharing
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BERKSHIRE INNOVATON CNTER
Members of the first cohort of the inaugural Berkshire Innovation Center’s Manufacturing Academy receive hands-on instruction during a recent class. The 13 members of the first cohort graduated in October. what they know with little or low engagement. Our approach was anything but that older way of sharing information. Instead, we adopted the approach that “experience is the key” for adult learners. As a group of instructors, we believed that if we were to impact learning, the significance of each class had to be felt for each student. Our approach was always to be in-service to the student experience for each and every section of a class. Every moment was designed to have impact. Like a great streaming Netflix or PRIME episode grabs your attention and pulls you into it, we believed that we had to foster “pulling students in” to create stickiness through constant engagement. That approach was everything. It worked. • Sometimes the voice of the customer is more than one voice — One of the key lessons our instructional team realized and then tuned into was related to the Voice-of-the-Customer, or VoC. It is actually a concept that we teach as part of how to problem-solve in real-life. Our instructors used this VoC
perspective to ensure we were always building content that mattered to the voice of our customer. However, the issue was that there were many voices: the students, their supervisors and leaders at their companies, and their customers. Instead of picking one voice we had to ensure we built content and delivered an experience that incorporated all of these important perspectives. • Everyone Learns from Retrospectives which are After-Action-Reports — Retrospectives are another key concept and lesson that were part of the curriculum. Retrospectives involve — as you may have guessed — “looking back” in time to reconsider what happened, analyze decisions that were made and gain a better understanding of any corrections to the way a person may be able to evolve what happened for a future better outcome. As instructors, though we teach and preach this method, we also applied it along the journey in preparing each week’s classes, using the last week’s class and insights to perform “retrospective analy-
sis” as an after-action-report to better our instructor efforts. We even began using retrospectives immediately following class instead of waiting a few days to ensure we captured each other’s insights just minutes following the conclusion of a class. This specific lesson proved to be powerfully helpful in shaping our collaborative efforts. INSTRUCTORS UNITED By sharing these lessons learned through the BIC’s Manufacturing Academy’s community update, it’s my hope that you can feel the shift into collaborative teaching that we, as instructors, experienced. It’s rare these days. The word collaborative is tossed about in modern chitchat frequently — people seem to love this word, perhaps it is even trending. However, true collaboration involves “people working to create something,” and that creativity is a by-product of individuals contributing meaningfully then experiencing integration of their efforts into something new. That’s what happened here.
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From our work with John Liu, Julie Diop, Haden Quinlin and Zhen Zhao (all from MIT) and with Patrick Becker (the chief logistics officer at General Dynamics Missions Systems) and Tim Butterworth (the BIC’s operations manager) along with Rich Peters (former chief scientist at Sabic), true collaboration was not only an aspiration, but pragmatically achieved. By being receptive, adaptive and driven to align with the needs of our industry partners, we were able to explore then co-create a curriculum. Then, just as importantly, we delivered the performance of that curriculum in a manner that inspired another level of collaborative efforts with students from all ages and stages of life and from varied work types. As Rollo May, who wrote The Courage to Create, noted: “The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day-by-day. These decisions require courage.” The last bonus lesson I have worth sharing is just that point: It takes courage to create. Whether it’s better learning programs, instructional planning or class experiences, courage must be part of the recipe. To create a better impact on how we do innovation right here in the Berkshires, the courage to create collaborative outcomes is certainly essential, and it can even be fun. COLLEGE CREDITS POSSIBLE At a time when training, learning and development is quite costly, we are honored to announce that this 26-week program — which is certificate bearing — is free of charge. Students who are accepted into the program and complete it may even earn college credits through prior learning assessment coordination with our local educational partners like Berkshire Community College or Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The second cohort begins on Nov. 7. Dennis Rebelo is the Berkshire Innovation Center’s chief learning officer.
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Dispensaries help seniors find wellness with cannabis LEE — Seniors are becoming the new can-
nabis connoisseurs. According to a federal survey by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a significant paradigm shift in the consumer demographic of cannabis is blooming. The seasoned, silver-haired generation is progressively embracing cannabis. Usage notably soared from 11 percent in 2009 to a striking 32 percent in 2019 amongst the over-65 age group. There’s a mosaic of aspects fueling this trend. From the breaking down of long-standing stigmas through extensive Meg Sanders research and tireless Cannabis advocacy by medical Corner professionals, in concert with a collective awareness and openness to explore alternative wellness avenues, as well as an ongoing need to find ways to improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and deal with general chronic pain, the driving factors are a key aspect to focus on in order to serve them better. In an epoch where wellness is not merely the absence of disease but a holistic embodiment of physical and mental well-being, cannabis continues to usher in the promising of potential relief and comfort from ailments often accompanying seasoned years: chronic pain, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and a quest for overall wellness of continued life. The insights reveal that over half of those in the age 60-to-64 demographic have also embarked on their cannabis journey, symbolizing a strikingly sharp uptick. It is now ever more important for the health of the members of our community we serve, who, as emblems of the ongoing narrative of compassionate service and tailored offerings Canna Provisions has pioneered, is a welcome and growing national trend. Dispensaries have emerged as a pivotal educator and guide to those in the winter years of their lives. Aiding them in navigating through the myriad of choices as seniors charter their course towards understanding the beneficial uses of cannabis will benefit both the health of seniors as well as the health of the local industry. The journey into cannabis for seniors is not a mere transactional experience, but an expedition that often commences with curiosity, burgeons with knowledge, and quite often culminates into a personalized wellness regime. Having a well-versed, empathetic staff facilitate a nurturing, consultative environment where questions are welcomed and discussed one-on-one, apprehensions are eased, and a symbiotic relationship between the plant and the consumer’s unique needs is meticulously forged. This underscores how the assortment of products available, with the right guidance, can be seamlessly integrated into the daily routines of our seniors addressing their specific wellness objectives. From tinctures that may potentially soothe arthritic joints, to edibles providing a peaceful night’s sleep, the offerings
CANNA PROVISIONS
Seniors Bob Jones and John Pitha, from left, serve as cannabis guides at Canna Provisions in Lee. are myriad, yet personalized. Recognizing that technology might pose a daunting frontier for some seniors, etching a thoughtful approach with instore consultations, educational sessions, and establishing the ensuring of safety and confidence in product selection, conjure a space where seniors don’t merely purchase but immerse, learn, and adapt to a potentially life-enhancing wellness alternative. We’ve done that at Canna Provisions. It’s why we sponsor and build partnerships where the seniors are at Shakespeare and Co., Tanglewood, and our wellness program over the summer at The Constance in Lenox and The Mount. At the local level we’ve always been aware of seniors, and even the 50 and over crowd (of which I at 57 am a card-carrying member), being a key legal cannabis demographic. But the new data constantly emerging says it loud and clear, so we’ll continue to do what we do for seniors which is to encourage one-on-one guiding in the store, letting them take their time asking questions, and launching local senior center outreach programs. From an industry perspective it’s clear why this shift is paramount and deserving of our collective attention. The self-propelled interest and growing consumer base of seniors seeking legal cannabis is a mirror reflecting our society’s progressive adaptation towards accepting and implementing alternative, plant based wellness solutions. Cannabis is assisting in cannabis increasingly stepping into the spotlight. Furthermore, it signals the eroding barriers of stigmas that have long shackled our perception and utilization of cannabis. In the CNN special feature, “Cannabis is having a senior moment”, which aired in August, Dr. Sanjay Gupta writes: “Since 2020, The United States has spent $4 trillion a year on health care, of
which almost $580 billion was spent on pharmaceuticals alone in 2021. When it comes to seniors, 30 percent of people over the age of 65 take five or more pharmaceuticals every day. But as they have increasingly turned to cannabis instead of pills, the expectation is that prescribed medication use may decrease.” Our silver citizens are redefining the canvas of their golden years, exploring and embracing avenues that promise enhanced quality of life and wellness. Having an attentive, educative, and personalized approach for them stands as a testament to how dispensaries can pivotally shape, guide, and nurture this exploration, ensuring that the intertwining paths of seniors and cannabis are not merely met but journeyed with understanding, empathy, and respect.
It’s an expedition where the flourishing buds of cannabis meet the autumn leaves of life, crafting a tapestry that intertwines wellness, acceptance, and a progressive stride towards holistic health. In the leafy embrace of cannabis, our seniors find not just a product, but a companion in their wellness journey, promising potential relief, comfort, and peaceful twilight years. Dispensaries catering to this important consumer class can easily observe a blueprint, signaling the ways in which the cannabis industry can evolve, cater, and lovingly serve the growing, exploring, and ever-curious senior demographic, ushering in a future where wellness knows no age and exploration knows no bounds. Meg Sanders is the CEO and co-founder of Canna Provisions in Lee.
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November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal
13
Berkshire voices
Finding housing for workers a crisis for employers regions of the country. “It’s a labor-market come such an intractable issue they’re solving, issue that some employnot a housing-market ers are taking matters problem,” said Chris into their own hands. Herbert, managing diWalt Disney Co. has rector of the Joint Censet aside 80 acres near ter for Housing Studies Walt Disney World Patricia at Harvard University. in Florida for what it Begrowicz The problem is that expects to be a 1,300The View almost every employer unit affordable-housing from AIM in Berkshire County and project that could be beyond has heard this used, in part, by its from an employee at one theme-park workers. time or another: The medical-devices maker “I’d love to come to work here Cook Group in April said it (or I’d love to stay here) but would help build 300 single-famI can’t afford housing for my ily homes across south-central family and me.” Indiana in the coming years to Housing turns out to be a address a shortage of housing decisive complicating factor as for its employees. employers struggle to find workCloser to home, the owner of ers in an economy running at Pate’s Restaurant in Chatham 2.6 percent unemployment. on Cape Cod bought a former A big reason is lack of supply. motel on Route 28 for $850,000 Massachusetts desperately in early 2022, freeing up 15 rooms that now provide housing needs 200,000 new housing units. A recent listing of large, for 30 workers. And in Great medium and small U.S. metro Barrington, organizations have areas building the most housing been working to convert two includes no regions in Massaformer bed-and-breakfasts into chusetts or in New England. rooms for workers who can’t The large metro areas building find an affordable place to live. the most housing units are These companies and organiAustin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; zations are not trying to recreand Nashville, Tenn. The fastest ate the 19th-century concept of growing mid-sized markets are the “company town” that first Greeley, Colo., and Provo, Utah. took shape nearby in Lowell. Housing construction has These firms simply realize been particularly anemic in the that soaring prices and limited Berkshires. The change in the availability are driving some of number of housing units from our best and brightest employ2010-to-2021 was 1.6 percent, ees to decamp for less expensive
LEE — Housing has be-
compared to 6.1 percent for all of Massachusetts and 7.4 percent for the entire United States. The median list price of a home in Berkshire County increased 29.4 percent to $385,000 between September 2022 and September 2023. That includes an eye-popping jump of 154.4 percent for the one-bedroom homes that would be most attractive to younger workers. The median sale price of a single-family home throughout Massachusetts rose 4.3 percent to $610,000 during the past 12 months even though sales fell 25 percent. Renters are struggling as well. The average rent in Pittsfield for a one-bedroom apartment has surged 70 percent in the past year to $1,275 per month, while the average rent for a two-bedroom held steady at $1,450. The 2022 American Community Survey found that 23 percent of Berkshire County residents pay more than half of their household income in rent. Governor Maura Healey is proposing to address these issues with a menu of housing policies, including encouraging the creation of accessory dwelling units, creating seasonal designations for communities like the Berkshires affected by summer tourism, establishing a commission on the future of senior housing and upgrading existing housing stock to make
AP FILE PHOTO
Finding affordable housing for workers is turning into a matter of survival for many Berkshire employers. it more accessible for people with disabilities. No wonder, then, that employers are looking at housing as a potential source of employee benefits. Employer-led housing programs generally fall into two categories. Companies in rural areas where not enough housing exists might explore developing new homes or apartments and selling or renting them to workers, while employers in high-cost locations may offer subsidies to defray some housing costs. Such housing arrangements are often tied to employment in some way, so that a rental might come with a
contract saying that an employee will have some set period of time to vacate the housing if she or he leaves the company. Housing is a complex issue. It touches everything from the migrant crisis in Massachusetts to transportation to permitting and land use. In many cases, it defines the character of the communities in which we live. For employers, the ability of workers to find housing may just be a matter of survival. Patricia Begrowicz, the president of Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee, is chair of the board of directors of Associated Industries of Massachusetts.
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Berkshire Business Journal
November 2023
Berkshire voices
A persistent problem that demands a solution PITTSFIELD — The Berkshires are an with problems. Transfer taxes, incredible place to live. Our towns even those with a carve out for offer scenic beauty, a thriving cullower value homes, increase tural and artistic community, and housing costs. historically, at least, lower housing They apply downward prescosts than eastern Massachusetts. sure on homes priced below However, more recently we’ve bethe threshold as every $1,000 come a microcosm of a statewide increase in cost prices out 1,727 Sanda J. challenge — we need more housMassachusetts residents. The Carroll ing. With the assistance of Jonaimpacts go beyond hurting Real estate than Schreiber of the Massachuhomeowners or homebuyers. setts Association of Realtors, we Increased costs are passed have access to very interesting loalong to renters who are often cal market data research. least able to afford them. TransMost of our towns have essentially fer taxes are also exclusionary. They stopped development for a decade or make it harder for new residents to enmore. In Great Barrington, for example, ter a community, slowing the gradual 68 percent of the town’s housing units progress we’ve made towards diversity were built before 1970. and inclusivity. In Stockbridge, 80 percent of the Rather than increasing taxes, we need homes were built before 1980, with only to apply diligent effort to reform our 40 units added from 2010 to 2021. Lenox regulatory structure to become a more lost homes, dropping from 3,017 housing welcoming housing market. Runaway units in 2017 to 2,473 units in 2020. It’s no regulatory costs have made Massachuwonder given these statistics that houssetts one of the least affordable states ing prices have increased and vacancy by drastically inflating the cost of land, rates are minimal, especially with the which currently stands at over $102,000 proliferation of remote work giving peoper acre, four times the average in the ple more flexibility in where they live. contiguous 48 states. One simple way As a result, the region is facing a our communities can identify these cost major challenge — the desperate need to saving reforms is through the use of increase its housing stock. More homes a housing production plan, a state-apwill help lower prices and stabilize rents. proved “proactive strategy for planning More homes will also improve energy and developing affordable housing.” As efficiency and climate resiliency as new of 2021, 174 communities had housing homes are built to significantly higher production plans, but only one was in standards than they were 40 to 50 years the Berkshires (in Lenox). These plans ago when our region last saw any sizable create a strategy to enable communities housing growth. to meet their affordable housing needs. But how can we get there? It’s temptMost include zoning objectives that are ing to immediately turn to funding, and rarely adopted. For example, the 2017we’re seeing more conversations about 2021 Lenox plan calls for incentivizing taxing homes to help fund a housing affordable housing by establishing realsurge. But that recommendation is rife istic density standards for multifamily
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CENTRAL BERKSHIRE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
The town of Great Barrington took this house for back taxes, then worked to renovate it and turn it into one of the town’s few affordable houses. It’s on sale through a lottery based on factors that include a family’s income and need. It’s one of several solutions that’s been adopted to deal with the Berkshire’s persistent housing shortage. dwellings and townhouses which are yet to be adopted. We also need to maximize our use of existing resources to fund housing. The Community Preservation Act is a powerful tool, generating $3 billion in municipal revenues all from homeowners who agree to pay an additional surcharge on their property taxes. The state provides matching funds derived from deeds’ excise fees also paid by homeowners. Yet, despite the acknowledged housing crisis facing the region and the source of funds from homeowners, only 34 percent of the CPA funds in Great Barrington, Lenox, Pittsfield, Stockbridge and Williamstown have been devoted to housing. North Adams has not adopted the CPA. Lee
adopted it in 2020 but has not spent any of those funds yet. Across the region 43 percent of funds have been used on historic preservation. There are also several glaring holes. Lee, Williamstown, and Pittsfield all adopted surcharges significantly below the three percent maximum. Setting aside potential revenues that could have been had over decades due to recent adoption, Lee ($142,109), Pittsfield ($5,679,694), and Williamstown ($2,886,266) have foregone over $8.7 million in CPA funding by adopting surcharges below that three percent cap. Municipalities in the area have also historically struggled to comply with an annual 10 percent housing spending requirement, with several reporting multiple years without any CPA funds spent on housing. While taxes may seem like a quick fix, the real answer is that it took us decades to dig our housing deficit hole, and it will take time to build ourselves out. Thankfully, we have incredible resources already available. We can study our local challenges through housing production plans and ease zoning restrictions to incentivize development. We can supplement development funding and individual’s housing budgets through more effective use of existing programs such as the CPA. It will take time and a diligent commitment to reform, but we have the power to do it. We just need to shift our mindset and embrace more homes, including more density and multifamily housing, which will help us achieve the diverse and inclusive communities we all want. Sandra J. Carroll is the chief executive officer of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors and the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service.
Natural Gas Safety: Things you should know... Natural gas is one of the safest and cleanest burning energy sources available. That’s why it is America’s number one fuel choice. Delivering safe, reliable natural gas service to our customers is our top priority. Using your senses Despite an excellent safety record, natural gas may pose a hazard and has the potential to ignite. A natural gas leak is usually recognized by smell, sight or sound. SMELL
A distinctive, pungent, “rotten eggs” odor.
SIGHT
A white cloud, mist, fog, bubbles, blowing dust or dead vegetation.
DO NOT strike a match, use telephones, or switch on/off appliances, lights, or even a flashlight in the area where you smell natural gas. Pipeline safety The natural gas pipeline system is the safest method of transporting energy, and pipelines underneath streets play a vital role. While rare, pipeline failures can occur due to corrosion, material defects, events of nature, excavation damage and more. We ensure pipeline safety through the planning, design, operation, maintenance, inspection and testing of pipelines. And we work closely with emergency responders to prepare for and respond to emergencies.
SOUND An unusual noise like roaring, hissing or whistling. What you should do if you suspect a leak MOVE to a safe environment. CALL us immediately. We are available to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Call Before You Dig (www.digsafe.com) The greatest risk to underground pipelines is accidental damage during excavation on public and private property. To protect natural gas pipelines, the law requires that all contractors – even homeowners planning to build a deck, patio or addition – notify Dig Safe at 811 at least two full working days before excavating. We will mark our facilities in the area of work, and at no cost.
For additional safety information, please visit our Web site • www.berkshiregas.com IN AN EMERGENCY, CALL BERKSHIRE GAS 1-800-292-5012
November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal
15
It’s game on for Hudpucker’s How AI is helping us all stay linked in Father and son open sports bar and pub near Wahconah Park
By M att M artinez PITTSFIELD — In an article published in The Berk-
shire Eagle on Feb. 23, 1997, co-owner Tony Rizzo credited the inspiration for his restaurant’s name, “Bobby Hudpucker’s,” to a dream. Now the name — and the dream — are being revived on Wahconah Street. But neither is an exact replica. Hudpucker’s Pub and Grill, the restaurant at 101 Wahconah St., opened in early October under the management of owners Mark and Justin Martin — father and son, respectively — bringing a sports bar to the neighborhood next door to Wahconah Park. The pub is located in the space next door to the park that previously housed Tahiti Takeout, with some cosmetic changes since that eatery closed. The name is a nod to Bobby Hudpucker’s, a Pittsfield restaurant that closed in 2009 co-owned by Rizzo — Justin’s grandfather — and David Byrd. The restaurant had two locations during its operation, splitting its years between 41 North St. and 1350 East St. Both of the Martins have memories of the old restaurant — Mark worked in the kitchen there for years, and Justin recalls eating there when he was a young child. Bobby Hudpucker’s was a casual dining establishment serving steaks, pasta and various entrees. The newly opened restaurant, which hopes to be known for its specialty burgers and American fare, will work to develop its own identity as a sports bar. Mark and Justin Martin spent time scouting locations in Naples, Fla., for inspiration over the summer, and brought back some ideas with them. But the idea is still the same: it’s a family business, just a different generation. “My grandpa always wanted to do more sports bar, pub-style stuff,” Justin Martin said. “He never really got a chance to do it, so this is more of that aspect of it.” Mark Martin said the restaurant’s philosophy would be to keep things simple, a management style that he learned as the owner of two Subway restaurants in Pittsfield. The eatery will be a
BEN GARVER
Bobby Hudpucker’s Pub and Grill is located at 101 Wahconah St. next to Wahconah Park in the space that housed the former Tahiti Takeout. Hudpucker’s takes its name from a restaurant that formerly operated in Pittsfield, but this version of the eatery offers a different menu. quick-service restaurant focusing on takeout and getting food out with some hustle. But there’s also an atmosphere for those who want to stick around, including a barroom with 16 taps. The restaurant’s walls are adorned with Red Sox memorabilia and TVs to catch games just in time for Patriots football — the pub offers a “Belichick Burger” with mushrooms, onions and American cheese. More prominently, though, it offers flatbread pizzas named after Red Sox icons. “The Manny” offers buffalo chicken, jalapeno and onion; “The Big Papi,” on the other hand, features shaved steak and onion. The menu will continue to evolve too, the Martins said, including the potential to add entrees down the road. “It’ll be a little bit of the old, a little bit of the new,” Justin Martin said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of unique things that maybe other restaurants don’t have around here. We’re gonna get more creative once we get our feet wet.”
PITTSFIELD — Artificial
you’re not just hoping intelligence keeps enyour posts get seen. hancing its portfolio. You’re getting precise, In September, actionable insights LinkedIn launched a into who’s most likely series of AI-powered to become a loyal cusfeatures that are revtomer. It’s as if you’ve olutionizing the way got a seasoned advisor Kaitlyn Pierce guiding you, saying, businesses operate. These tools are not “focus your efforts on just for advertising; this group; they’ll love what they offer comprehensive you offer.” solutions for recruiting, LinkedIn has also simplified learning, and sales as well. the user experience, making For small business owners these advanced tools accessiin the Berkshires, this is an ble even if you’re not tech-savopportunity to level up your vy. This levels the playing field marketing and operational for small businesses offering a strategies. competitive edge in reaching One of the standout features the right audience. is audience segmentation, part LinkedIn’s new AI tools of LinkedIn’s new “Accelerate are more than just an for Campaign Manager.” This update; they’re a transfortool uses artificial intellimation in how we think gence to analyze a wealth of about and execute business data from user profiles and marketing. We’re entering interactions. It then automata future where data-drivically suggests the audience en insights empower us to most likely to engage with connect more deeply with your campaigns. This is a huge our communities. For local level-up for businesses that businesses struggling to don’t have the resources for keep up with the growing a dedicated marketing team. expectations that they will Instead of manually sifting spend even more time on through data, you can now marketing, LinkedIn is hopfocus on crafting compelling ing to ease that burden by narratives that resonate with automating some of the most your target audience. time-consuming aspects. Another noteworthy feature With these AI features, is predictive analytics. While it LinkedIn aims to make it easidoes offer invaluable insights er for small businesses to focus into the likely performance of on what they do best — servyour ad campaigns, its utility ing their communities — while extends beyond advertising. still benefiting from sophisImagine running a cozy bookticated marketing strategies store in Berkshire County, that were once only accessible competing with online giants to larger corporations. but armed with something they don’t have — local charm Kaitlyn Pierce is the founder and and community spirit. With chief strategist of PierceSocial, a LinkedIn’s new AI features, digital marketing company.
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42 SUMMER ST., PITTSFIELD
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INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY - 8% CAP RATE. Desirable office Boutique Bakery in the heart of Sheffield. Space was Second Floor office area of ~3,350 SF. Elevator and building located close to Fairview Hospital and downtown Great renvated for bakery use in late 2020 and opened in large parking lot for tenants. Ideal for professional, Barrington, with 10 suites and ample parking. Great income Feburary 2021. Space is 1,000 SF and all equipment and medical or other offices. Currently set up as about 9 stream with diverse tenants. See additional disclosures for inventory are included in the sale. Lease will need to be offices with waiting and conference and staff areas. additional information on lot size and tenants. Financials available. assumed, business only for sale, no real estate. Property will be available for rent starting on 9/1/2023.
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November 2023
Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing sold Offering a taste of the Dominican on Tyler Street Buyer will retain employees, facility
By Meg Britton-Mehlish
El Sabor Dominicano brings the flavor
By M att M artinez PITTSFIELD — Marisela Pascual, co-owner of
the newly arrived El Sabor Dominicano on Tyler Street, said the restaurant’s timing couldn’t be better. For as long as either of them can remember, it’s been the dream of Pascual and her mother, Maribel Polanco, to have her own restaurant. The dream started when they were living in Dower Square and neighbors would come over asking for whatever she was cooking, drawn in by the scent. When Pascual told her mother that she and Markeece Harvin were able to secure the restaurant at 496 Tyler St. from its previous owners, her mother almost couldn’t believe it. “She was kind of shocked, which wasn’t the reaction I was expecting,” Pascual said. “I expected her to be more happy, but she said, ‘No, I’m in shock, because I was literally just talking to myself today asking when I’m going to have my restaurant.’ So this is like the sign that it’s meant to be.” The family will be opening up shop in the space that formerly housed El Sabor, a Puerto Rican restaurant which has since closed. El Sabor Dominicano will serve food from the Dominican Republic, where Polanco is from. She’ll handle the cooking duties herself, serving up unique flavors from the Dominican, and adding to the landscape of Latin American cuisine in the Berkshires. The menu includes sandwiches, finger foods, main courses, desserts and specialty juice-based drinks, distinguished by Caribbean flavor. Plantains will feature heavily in the menu, in sandwiches and as a side dish, but that’s just one example of what the eatery will offer. “There’s a lot of Latin places that kind of serve similar food, but we’re adding the
MATT MARTINEZ
From left: Maribel Polanco, Marisela Pascual and Markeece Harvin are the owners of the new restaurant El Sabor Dominicano, which is located at 496 Tyler St. Dominican touch to it,” Pascual said. “The mangú, the chicharrón, the sancocho, the habichuelas con dulce.” Mangú is a mashed plantain side dish. It’s currently on the menu with fried cheese and egg for a “Tres Golpes” dish, a beloved breakfast in the Dominican Republic.. Sancocho is a stew with a wide array of meats, vegetables and rich flavorful broth served with rice and avocado. Habichuelas con dulce is a sweet and creamy red bean dessert. The owners hope the restaurant will be inviting to everyone in the community and provide people with an introduction to Dominican cuisine if they haven’t had it yet. The eatery will be family-owned and operated, with Polanco’s cooking as the centerpiece. And for the family, who has always enjoyed Polanco’s cooking, the restaurant’s opening will be a storybook ending. “She feels like miracles and dreams really do exist, and really do come true,” Pascual said, interpreting for Polanco, whose first language is Spanish.
LEE — A partnership between a Lee-based provider of sterile injectable medical products and a multinational pharmaceutical packaging company has turned into an acquisition. Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing and Sharp Services LLC have announced that Sharp purchased BSM for an undisclosed amount. Sharp, which is based in Allentown, Pa., is a contract packaging and clinical supply and service company. In 2018, the company partnered with BSM for its sterile fill and finish services in which companies send BSM the active pharmaceutical ingredients in a drug and BSM then sterilizes the formula and places it in vials and syringes. Now, BSM’s 228 employees will work under the Sharp umbrella. The announcement issued by the two companies stated that all of the BSM employees will continue to work in the current facility in Lee. Joining these employees on the Sharp company roster is Dr. Shawn Kinney, BSM’s co-founder and CEO. Kinney will continue to lead the Lee facility’s daily operations as he joins Sharp’s leadership team. “This is an exciting development for everyone at BSM and for our clients, who will benefit from a seamless downstream packaging, labeling, storage, and distribution service through Sharp’s network of facilities and expertise,” Kinney said in the joint announcement. “With Sharp’s support, I am looking forward to the opportunity to grow the sterile manufacturing
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business and to broaden our reach in the service of our clients and their patients.” Kinney founded BSM with Dr. Andrea Wagner and Paul Souza in 2014. According to the announcement, Wagner has decided to leave BSM following the acquisition and pursue other opportunities focused on creating a fund to support women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The trio from Boston raised $10 million from a variety of sources, including MassDevelopment, in order to launch the company in the former warehouse and headquarters for KB Toys. In the nearly decade since its founding, BSM has quickly expanded from tens of employees to more than 200. The company served an important role during the coronavirus pandemic, working with companies who were developing vaccines to the virus. That work of helping pharmaceutical companies find solutions to the leading medical problems of the day continues, the companies said. Sharp will use the acquisition to expand its offerings to companies with small-to-medium scale sterile injectable service needs. Kevin Orfan, the president and CEO of Sharp, said that sterile injectables have an important role in meeting unmet medical needs. “This acquisition, which builds on the existing partnership between our two companies, will greatly benefit our clients, creating an efficient manufacturing and distribution service for biotech companies developing sterile injectable products across the world,” Orfan said.
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November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal
17
Mold-breaking growth Rising demand for outdoor rec drives firm’s expansion
By Tony Dobrowolski PITTSFIELD — When much of the world went into lockdown during the pandemic, the impact on many businesses was devastating. One exception was outdoor recreation, which experienced a significant growth spurt. “Recreation type of products, like kayaks and canoes, went through the roof,” said Bruce Dixon, CEO/chief financial officer for Pittsfield Plastics Engineering, which makes, among other things, custom paddles, oars and seats for canoes and kayaks. “Prices were skyrocketing,” Dixon said. “Our business doubled and tripled.” To keep up with the demand, the injection molder is currently finishing up a multimillion-dollar expansion project at its 64,000-square-foot West Housatonic Street plant — its second major growth initiative since 2012. The project, which began about a year ago, includes new investments in machinery and equipment, an extra 9,000 square feet of warehouse space, advanced material-handling capabilities and a state-of-the art toolroom. It also includes several site improvements: new paving, 25 additional parking spaces and an outdoor employee break/luncheon area. The estimated price tag for all the improvements, including new machinery, is between $4 million and $5 million, Dixon said. Coming out of COVID, he said, “We’re just trying to reposition ourselves in the marketplace.” PPE currently has around 100 employees working three shifts, but has enough room for 15 more. Around 10 positions have been lost to attrition over the years, but two employees were hired last week and Dixon said the company’s goal is to reach its employee capacity level and maybe go beyond that. The break/luncheon area was added due to the anticipated growth of the company’s workforce. “Our employees see that we’re investing into the place and trying to grow the business, which we have been,” he said. “There’s been an onslaught of construction.” Founded in 1968, Pittsfield Plastics Engineering manufactures proprietary items like spools, reels and bobbins that producers of bare wire, insulated wire, tape, film, textile monofilaments and other stranded items use to package their products. It also makes custom products, like construction helmets, and items used in the outdoor recreation industry,
BEN GARVER
Parts come off a 1,200-ton injection molding machine at Pittsfield Plastics Engineering. The company makes spools, electrical components and outdoor equipment. which is where the company’s growth lies, Dixon said. Wisconsin-based Johnson Outdoors, which makes watercraft, diving equipment and camping gear, ordered so much product from Pittsfield Plastics Engineering in 2021 and 2022 that orders are down this year, Dixon said. But overall orders still remain strong. “As our customers’ business increases so does ours,” Dixon said. “It’s economics 101.” Nick Roth, the company’s national sales and products manager, said Old Town Canoes and Johnson Outdoors are two of the company’s largest customers. “That was sort of the driving force for the expansion,” he said of the pandemic spike in the outdoor recreation industry. “Our goal is to get back to COVID levels of manufacturing. With the current footprint we had it was insane, man. Everybody was tripping over everybody.
There was no room. So expansion was necessary.” Roth commented on the company’s additional 9,000 square feet of warehouse space. “It’s going to free some areas on the production floor,” he said. “It’s going to make more room for more production.” The new space is adjacent to the company’s current warehouse, manufacturing plant and administrative offices. It will supplement the company’s two other warehouse facilities in Pittsfield and Lee, and a third site located in North Carolina. The company’s new state-of-the art material handling system is entirely digital and makes it easier to move those products around the floor. It utilizes three silos in the back of the plant that can each store up to 80,000 pounds of material. The new automatic loading and conveying system allows materials to be transported directly from the silos to the molding machines on the floor. Automatic color feeders have also been installed to eliminate manual handling and mixing, thereby reducing operational costs and minimizing inaccurate mixtures. “It has all the latest bells and whistles. It’s all electronics,” Roth said. “It’s all run from a computer that’s mounted on the wall. ... It’s completely streamlined. The way we were doing it before was very manual.” A couple of high-end machines have been added to the tool room, which is staffed by seven full-time employees. The full-service mold making and repair operation has received several new equipment upgrades including the purchase of EDM machines and Haas CNC machines. “It’s amazing what the guys can do with that,” Roth said. At the end of 2019, Pittsfield Plastics Engineering spent about $500,000 to purchase a 48-ton machine that can apply 1,204 tons of pressure to plastic when it is in a mold, which increased the firm’s capability for making larger custom-molded products like canoe and kayak seats. In 2012, Pittsfield Plastics Engineering added 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space when it expanded into the area that Sinicon Plastics had occupied before moving to Dalton (Sinicon had rented that space from PPE). The company also expanded its tool room 11 years ago and added two 500-pound presses. “The employees like to see things being upgraded and made more technology-efficient,” Dixon said.
A fresh start for a Gilded Age mansion Another chapter for the Elm Court property: Introducing the Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate
By Clarence Fanto STOCKBRIDGE — Since it was built in 1886 for the Vanderbilt and Sloane families of Gilded Age fame, the Elm Court mansion and its lush grounds have seen its share of ups and downs. Since 2012, it’s been in a holding pattern. But the purchase last year by real estate entrepreneur Linda Law has once again set things in motion at the estate. Law, who lives mostly in Lenox and part-time in California’s Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, Calif., purchased Elm Court for $8 million in December after a developer abandoned a 10-year effort to build out a $50 million resort on the 89-acre property. That was a steep discount from the $12.5 million asking price when the previous owner put it back on the market in 2020. Now rebranded as the Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate, the site is undergoing additional, substantial renovations for its next chapter. About $3 million has been spent so far on what will ultimately be an $18 million investment to transform the property into a 30-room hotel.
“This is magnificent, however no one’s ever been able to make it successful,” Law said. “No one could hold on to it since the original owners [the Sloane and Vanderbilt families] as a result of high operating costs, maintenance expenses and much-needed renovation costs to preserve the property. I wanted to give it a name that’s fresh and free from a decade of contention,” citing the failed joint venture between Amstar Group and Travaasa Experiential Resorts. The Stockbridge Select Board recently voted 3-0 to keep in place the existing zoning special permit that allows the resort operation. Evidence provided by attorney Elisabeth Goodman showed that substantial renovation work had been undertaken by Law and her partners. “It’s a huge investment that she’s making in this property and in Stockbridge,” Goodman told the board. She submitted a lengthy list of renovations completed, noting that six fulltime employees are working on the project. A similar permit extension request is expected to go before the Lenox zoning board soon,
since that town owns 3 acres of the property — the main entrance and the frontage along Old Stockbridge Road. During a recent two-hour tour and discussion, Law, property co-owners Richard Peiser, professor of real estate development at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and contractor Raymond Ranta outlined their vision for the historic estate. It’s based on a master plan: Renovation of the Manor House and alternatives to the hotel annex are being explored, which will include less density than the existing special permit, Law pointed out. The new plan calls for 18 new units to be added to the dozen existing suites. Renovations would include an elevator plus electrical, HVAC, significant structural work, public space and guest room enhancements. The on-site work will be allcash without financing — “the money is there,” Law said. In addition, as required by the Lenox special permit, there’s a roughly $10 million offsite infrastructure project along Old Stockbridge Road, including sewer and water extensions and sidewalks. Law had sold the high-end Blantyre resort in Lenox for $15 million in November 2021. She
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate owner Linda Law and her business partner Richard Peiser discuss the ongoing renovation and transformation of the historic property into a hotel. “This is magnificent,” Law said, “however no one’s ever been able to make it successful.” and her investor-partners had purchased the property from the Fitzpatrick family for $8.7 million in June 2017, including the value of the business, furnishings and equipment. Closed since December 2021 for renovations, Blantyre is scheduled for reopening in late 2024. Now, Law acknowledges second thoughts — “I made a mistake; I knew it the day I sold it.” Elm Court, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1886 as the summer home of William Douglas Sloane, whose family owned a prominent furniture company, and Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. It was the last 19th century Berkshire Gilded Age “Cottage” still under original
family ownership when it was sold in 2012 by Robert Berle and family members, descendants of the Sloane and Vanderbilts. Details about the high-profile user of the Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate remain under wraps for now, Law said. “When we get this finished, there’ll be a bright light shining over Lenox and Stockbridge because of the high-profile user,” she said. “It’s hard, hard work, but I know it’s going to happen,” Law said, despite her self-described extremely pessimistic nature. “I always think nothing’s going to work. This, I know, is going to work,” she said. “The Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate will be a wonderful addition to our community.”
18
Berkshire Business Journal
November 2023
Paul Rich bullish on North Street Furniture store marks 40th year in downtown Pittsfield
By Tony Dobrowolski PITTSFIELD — The late Paul Rich
once told The Berkshire Eagle he was a big believer in North Street. Rich, who died in 2018, opened his Pittsfield store Paul Rich & Sons Home Furnishing + Design in early October 1983. The family business is marking 40 years on Pittsfield’s main commercial thoroughfare — no small feat for a business district that has experienced many changes, and empty storefronts, over the last four decades. When asked if the family still feels this way about North Street, Pam Rich replied: “Yes, it is still very true.” Pam runs the store with her husband Tom Rich, the late Paul Rich’s son. “We represent three generations of Pittsfield natives dating back to the early 1900s,” said Pam, who joined the business in 1995. “We still share the belief of our grandparents and parents that there is incredible opportunity in Pittsfield. “That combined with the natural beauty of the city and the area continues to fuel our belief that we are in the right place.” Founded by Paul Rich, his wife, Betty and Tom, the store sells high-end furnishing and design services. It has been located in the Farrell-Sweeney building at 242 North St. since its inception, but expanded three times into adjoining spaces, in 1985, 1987 and 1989, according to Eagle files. In 1990, Paul Rich spent $150,000 refurbishing the store’s gallery so the store could display furniture in actual room settings, a practice that has continued to this day. The business currently owns both the Pender and Farrell-Sweeney buildings, which cover almost an entire city block on the east side of North Street. The store stretches from Persip
Park, on the corner of Eagle and North streets, to the Berkshire Family YMCA Pittsfield branch. The store’s last and largest renovation occurred in 2008, when the entire interior space in both buildings was renovated. A 200-foot awning, which also spans an entire city block, was installed at the front of the store. “We have a cool, historic building with original details and architecture,” Pam said. That structure currently contains 30,000 square feet of retail space. The store also has a 40,000-square-foot warehouse that’s located a mile from the store. And there’s more. “Additionally, we have roughly 25,000 square feet of unoccupied space in the upper floors of both of our buildings,” Pam said. This space could potentially be renovated for other uses, such as residential housing, she said, which has occurred in several other former commercial buildings along the North Street corridor. Even issues with downtown parking — which have vexed many a Pittsfield merchant, and caused many of them to move out of the area — haven’t affected the Rich family business. “We’ve had the luxury of owning the back parking lot of our buildings, which accommodates roughly 25 cars,” said Pam. “Although, we don’t support the metered parking as it has an impact on our neighboring downtown businesses and restaurants and is not welcoming to customers who want to visit our downtown.” The store carries what Pam describes as “high quality design-forward furniture” made by domestic manufacturers. Paul Rich also has several onsite designers who make complimentary in-home visits and a full-service design center. In 1989, Paul Rich attributed
BEN GARVER
Pam and Tom Rich are the owners of Paul Rich Furnishings and Design, which has been located on North Street in Pittsfield for 40 years, having opened in October 1983. the store’s success to the Berkshire’s growing second-home market, which has expanded in leaps and bounds since then. Pam said the second-home market still makes up a large part of the store’s clientele, but has been augmented by sales from within the Berkshires. “The second-home customer has been a steady part of our business through the years, and we are so grateful that people have chosen the Berkshires as a place for their second homes and made the choice to shop with us,” she said. “We also have a solid local following, which has constantly supported and grown with us,” she said. The home furnishings space has grown exponentially during the last 40 years due to the presence of home décor shows, do-ityourselfers, high-end magazines and design influencers, Pam said. But Paul Rich provides a more traditional touch. “Unlike the big box stores, chains and online furniture busi-
nesses we offer a unique experience in our stores, one that is not readily found in today’s world of retail furniture,” she said. “We give our customers a chance to see, feel and touch our product. “We are an anomaly with fewer and fewer family-owned, brick-and-mortar furniture businesses operating today, and we believe that is a big part of our success.” Paul Rich & Sons grew out of another family-owned business, New England Furniture, which Betty Rich’s father, Isadore Secunda, founded in the 1930s. Secunda began his career selling furniture out of a cart in Pittsfield in the early 1900s. At one point, New England Furniture also occupied a storefront located at 242 North St. Paul Rich, Betty, who died in 2019, and Tom all worked for New England Furniture. A 1950 graduate of Williams College, Paul Rich served 16 months in the army after graduating from college then worked with his father operating two well-known
North Street businesses, Palace News and Berkshire News, before joining his father-in-law’s business in 1954. Paul, Betty and Tom decided to start their own business because they had different ideas about where the furniture business was headed and how to position it for success, according to Pam. “So they decided to leave to pursue their own vision,” she said. While others have stumbled or failed to catch on in downtown Pittsfield, the Rich family has found the center of the Berkshire’s largest city to be the perfect spot for what they have to offer “Downtown Pittsfield is centrally located in Berkshire County, an ideal location which gives us the opportunity to draw from all over Berkshire County as well as areas in New York state, Vermont and Connecticut,” she said. “After establishing our business in this location, we found that we were able to draw from a radius of almost 200 miles and developed a strong following, which prompted us to bring our delivery operations to accommodate our market and handle long distance deliveries.” The Richs acknowledge the changes that North Street has gone through since the store opened. “Throughout our 40 years we have seen ups and downs, and COVID put an additional strain on the entire downtown community,” Pam said. “However, North Street still has a lot of potential and we are looking forward to being part of the next rebirth of the city. The Riches are bullish on North Street for the long haul. “We have no plans to leave downtown Pittsfield,” Pam said, “and we are committed to our store and this community.”
Lakeside to close this month ‘I hate to sell it, owner says, citing lack of local support By Jane K aufman LANESBOROUGH — The owner of the Lake-
side Bar & Grill said he would rather keep the restaurant open than sell it for redevelopment into condominiums, but he just can’t make it work from 3,000 miles away. Paul Ambrus, of Yorba Linda, Calif., said in October that he planned to close the restaurant for the winter at the end of that month, citing a slow winter season last year. “Now a lot of people hate to see it go,” Ambrus said, “and I agree with that statement.” But he expressed disappointment with the number of customers and what he characterized as an unfriendly business environment in the town. “Where’s the support during the whole year — let alone the summer?” he said. Still, the Lakeside might reopen in the spring, but only if permits are still needed to move forward with a proposed redevelopment of the site into condominiums. “Anything’s possible,” Ambrus recently told The Berkshire Eagle. “Until it’s kind of a done deal, you just don’t know.” Scott and Logan Graves, father and son owners of LSG Investments of Pittsfield, are hoping to purchase the property, demolish the restaurant and build a total of 10 condos on the site along the eastern shore of Pontoosuc Lake. The units already are listed for $575,000 on Realtor.com. The pair also own of The Pub at the
Rusty Anchor, which is also located on the eastern shore of Pontoosuc Lake. Ambrus is also owner/operator of Canyon Inn in Yorba Linda, which is 37 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. He considers the sale of the Lakeside as a “trade” in order to allow him to buy the mall where his Yorba Linda sports bar is located. His initial intent had been to hold onto the Lanesborough property, but he’s now ready to cash out. “It’s gorgeous,” he said of the property. “I mean, honestly, I hate to sell.” The Lakeside has more than 150 seats indoors and outside, and a summer staff of about 20 at the height of the season. Ambrus said his father first encouraged him to partner with Kim McArdle and Brant Boyington, who are brother and sister, in buying the Lakeside Bar & Grill from Helen Reilly, whose family owned the restaurant for decades. In 2018, after putting in 84 percent of the money to acquire the business and land at 750 South Main St., Ambrus offered 8 percent ownership to McArdle, who was general manager. Her husband, Tom McArdle initially ran the kitchen. Ambrus’ share then became 75 percent. The plan was that he would oversee things from California. Ambrus said things quickly soured and that he fired McArdle and Boyington and then bought them out. On Jan. 17, 2020, McArdle and Boyington sued Ambrus in Berkshire
GILLIAN JONES-HECK
The owner of the Lakeside Bar & Grill on Pontoosuc Lake in Lanesborough says the restaurant could reopen in the spring if plans to build condominiums on the site have not yet come to fruition. County Superior Court in an equitable remedies case seeking dissolution of both Lakeside Bar and Grill LLC and BPK LLC. The lawsuit has been voluntarily dismissed with prejudice — meaning it cannot be reopened, which typically indicates a monetary settlement has been reached. Paperwork on file at the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office now lists Ambrus as the sole signatory in both businesses. Among the unwelcome surprises to
Ambrus were learning that he needed a building permit to erect a stage on the lawn of his business. And last summer, he was told a permit would be needed to float the docks he had on Pontoosuc Lake. “It’s not business friendly,” Ambrus said of the climate he faced. “I want to see the community grow. I want to see, you know, businesses grow. I want everyone to do well … That’s how I view it, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”
November 2023
Real Estate
Berkshire Business Journal
19
David J. Plaza, trustee of the Plaza FT, sold property at 0 Ore Bed Road, Lanesborough, to Nancy L. and Cory Carpenter, $90,000.
Stephen Daniell and Ellen Farris sold property at 220 Kemble St., Lenox, to Thomas R. Kiley III and Caitlin C. Helfrich, $820,000.
and Meredith Starr, $200,000.
EGREMONT
Andy Pauker and Elaine Handel sold property at 7 Wabasso St., Lanesborough, to Jennifer M. Homan, $250,000.
Eleanor Windman, Vicki Windman and Marilyn Hammer sold property at 106 Egremont Plain Road, Egremont, to George O. Klemp Jr. and Lynne Sebastian, $1,329,500.
Danmark LLC sold property at 31-37 Arnold St., North Adams, to Daniel and Elvira McGonagle, $239,900.
Paul Moriarty, personal rep. of Patricia F. Moriarty, dba Moriarty Real Estate Partnership, sold property at 10 Goodell Road, Lanesborough, to Yael and Yoel Shamos, $950,000.
One Bancroft LLC sold property at 79 Reservoir Road, Lenox, to Laurence Jay and April Chang-Miller, trustee, Miller RVT Agreement, $1,875,000.
GREAT BARRINGTON
Robert J. and Mia C. Davis sold property at 52 Greylock Estates, Lanesborough, to Christopher and Kelsey Romano, $441,000.
MONTEREY
LEE
Elliot G. Sagor and Susan J. Sagor sold property at 241 Main Road, Monterey, to Matthew A. Amstead and Mitchell D. Amstead, $307,000.
FROM PAGE 9
Depot St., Dalton, to Thomas A. Pagliarulo and Elizabeth M. Arias, $190,000.
Christopher George Dietemann and Beatrice Webster Dietemann, trustees of Dietemann Family Trust, sold property at 6 Fairview Road, Great Barrington, to Kyle J. Schwartz and Emily Schwartz, $486,500. 4S Realty LLC sold property at 168 Main St., Fuel Business Unit, 168 Main Street Condominium, Great Barrington, to Dead River Company LLC, $800,000. Richard T. Coons and Linda A. Coons sold property at 222 Highland St., Great Barrington, to Douglas Escalon, $75,000. Risa Evans and Seth Evans, trustees of Yonynah Evans 2014 Revocable Trust, sold property at 7 Fern Hill Road, Great Barrington, to SASC Properties LLC, $850,000. Jeffrey N. Cohen sold property at 0 State Road, Great Barrington, to Michael S. Padovano, trustee of Michael S. Padovano Trust, and Stephanie Reubins, trustee of Stephanie Reubins Trust, $162,500. Ronald L. Hirsch and William Grey sold property at 165 Monument Valley Road, Great Barrington, to Benjamin Zane Greer and Molly Claire Sinsheimer, $592,500. T&E Real Estate Transactions LLC sold property at 74 Cottage St., Great Barrington, to Luke Pryjma & Britta Schellenberg, $605,000. David Pott and Alix Von Auenmueller sold property at 21 Brainard Ave., Great Barrington, to Steven Meis and Bethany Kieley, $1,150,000. Kimada Realty LLC sold property at 34 Rosseter St., Great Barrington, to ScrapYard3 LLC, $700,000. James E. Kimball III sold property at 26 Rossetter St., Great Barrington, to ScrapYard3 LLC, $200,000.
Robert J. and Elaine S. Feltre and Laurie J. Hoff sold property at 150 Fairview St., Lee, to George H. Fleischner, trustee, George H. Fleischner RVT, $352,500. Peter, Marc and Brian Buratto, Deborah Rufo Buratto, Jane Leprevost, and Lisa Young sold property at 175 Prospect St., Lee, to Joseph Daniel Daley and Shelby Elizabeth Love-Daley, $370,000. Bruce A. Hurlbut, trustee, Tete Hurlbut FT, sold property at 15 Joseph Ave., Lee, to Cindy L. Faggioni and Paul A. Faggioni Jr., $375,000. 865 Fairview LLC sold property at 845 Fairview St., Lee, to Paul H. and Dawn R. Face, $750,000. Leana D. Kearin and Lorn E. Miller sold property at 120 Tyringham Road, Lee, to Michael Scarpa and Cara Walker, $180,000. Conway Antonia Burbank sold property at 210 Chestnut St., Lee, to Nancy Pieropan and Noah Stone, $350,000. 865 Fairview LLC sold property at 835 Fairview St., Lee, to Paul R. and Dawn R. Face, trustees, Face FT, $175,000. Robert W. Desiata and Meiyin Yuan sold property at 60 Parkview Terrace, Lee, to Michelle Desiata, $300,000. Andrew T. and Mary Ann Boyne sold property at 35 St. Marys Ave., Lee, to George P. and Eugenia G. Romilly, trustees, George P. Romilly RVT and Eugenia G. Romilly RVT, $420,000.
Samar S. Habl sold property at 12 Meadow Lane, Lenox, to Lori J. and Donald F. Troy Jr., trustees, Donald F. Troy Jr. and Lori J. Troy RVT, $349,500. Daniel R. Lewis Sr. and Paula M. Lewis sold property at Main Road, Monterey, to MTA Planning LLC, $20,000.
Eliot Sagor sold property at 0 Main Road, Monterey, to Matthew A. Amstead and Mitchell D. Amstead, trustees of Amstead Properties Nominee Realty Trust, $43,000. Nancy K. Kalodner, trustee of Nancy K. Kalodner 2008 Revocable Trust Dated March 27, 2008, sold property at 169 Mount Hunger Road, Monterey, to Kerry Malawista and Alan Heilbron, $2,000,000. Mount Washington Raymond S. Kasevich and Elizabeth S. Kasevich sold property at 78 Mountain Road, Mount Washington, to John Casey Zollinger, trustee of John Casey Zollinger Living Trust, and Holly A. Schneier, trustee of Holly A. Schneier Revocable Trust, $1,425,000.
NEW ASHFORD J.W. Kelly’s Enterprises Inc. sold property at 31 Ingraham Road, New Ashford, to Crystal Montemoino, $200,000. J.W. Kelly’s Enterprises Inc. sold property at 268 Route 7, New Ashford, to Samantha Z. Stichman and Caleb J. Novosel, $225,000.
NEW MARLBOROUGH Silvia T. Ogilvie sold property at Canaan Valley Road aka Campbell Falls Road, New Marlborough, to Keith B. Wilkinson and Mary R. Wilkinson, $45,000.
Michael Joseph and Wendy A. Menatti sold property at 685 Marble St., Lee, to Berkshire Corp. Realty LLC, $350,000.
William Kennedy sold property at 11 Mill River-Great Barrington Road, New Marlborough, to Sarah P. Reynolds North and Hollis Reynolds North, $895,000.
David A. and Patricia B. Willette sold property at 81-83 Franklin St., North Adams, to Franklin Javiel Disla Martinez, $270,000.
Christin Polastri and Candice Eicheiser, personal rep. of Neal H. Crosier, sold property at 11 Rock St., North Adams, to Craig M. Bard, $125,000. Lawrence J. Michon sold property at 86 West Main St., North Adams, to Pollen & Epstein Properties 2 LLC, $165,000. Wayne T. Wegrzyn, personal rep. of Christina M. Wegrzyn, sold property at 212 Wells Ave., North Adams, to Joseph J., Jeffrey A. and Mary Lou Levanos, $210,000. Jacob M. Coury sold property at 68-70 Beaver St., North Adams, to Cristian Montoya, $185,000. Amy K. Shapiro-Van Dusen and Courtney A. Shapiro-Van Dusen sold property at 734 East Main St., North Adams, to Lynne Pierce Tower, $220,000. Amanda Alexander sold property at 516518 Union St., North Adams, to D&B Real Estate Ventures LLC, $65,000. Matthew J Kelly, personal rep. of Sharon Marie Thomas, sold property at 92 East Quincy St., North Adams, to Percy Angress and Livia Linden, $100,000. Berkshire Broadcasting Co. Inc. sold property at 466 Curran Highway, North Adams, to Curran Memorial Properties LLC, $200,000. Thomas J. Rotolo sold property at 475-479 Union St., North Adams, to 475 Union LLC, 300,000.
OTIS Barbara E. Drosnin sold property at 1955 Algerie Road and Algerie Road, Otis, to Jason Patrick Wells and Jacy A. Barber, $462,500. Jules A. and Susan B. Titelbaum sold property at 294 Tyringham Road, Otis, to Benjamin Sharoni and Haley Melikian, $430,000. Frances Bogaty, trustee, Stanley E. and Frances Bogaty Joint RVT, sold property at Brookman Drive, Otis, to Paul and Sara Beinstein, $1,950,000.
LENOX
North Adams
Lisa C. Thomas sold property at North Main Road, Otis, to Lyn Minery and William J. O’Brien, trustees, Minery RT, $500.
Seward Realty LLC sold property at 952 Main St., Great Barrington, to 25 Avocado Street LLC, $537,500.
John R. Flynn sold property at 384 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to 600 Merrill Road LLC, $519,000.
Erica R. Boucher sold property at 584 East Main St., North Adams, to Kevin Herman Alicea, $210,000.
J. Scott Hansen sold property at 174 Long Mountain Road, Otis, to ThreeQ Holdings LLC, $1,850,000.
103 East Street LLC sold property at 103 East St., Great Barrington, to David Katz and Judith Weinman, $479,000.
Different Drummer’s Kitchen Inc. sold property at 374 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to 600 Merrill Road LLC, $850,000.
Joseph H. Segala sold property at 252R Walnut St., North Adams, to Michael S. and Patricia A. Merriam, $150,000.
Crandall Inc. sold property at 1735 East Otis Road, Otis, to NCT Storage LLC, $950,000.
HANCOCK
John Russell Flynn, personal rep. of the Estate of Mary J. Flynn, sold property at 388 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to 600 Merrill Road LLC, $166,000.
Donna Bernardi Briggs, personal rep. of Dennis Francis Bernardi, sold property at 740 Church St., North Adams, to Vanessa Rose Bettina Hooper, $167,500.
Marcia B. Hamely sold property at 58 Lincoln Road, Otis, to Yvette P. Sirker and Tim Brenner, $383,000.
Storan Inc. sold property at 11 New Lenox Road, Lenox, to 600 Merrill Road LLC, $375,000.
James K. Yartz sold property at 344-346 West Main St., North Adams, to Michelle and Joshua Hartman Sr., $25,000.
Mark J. and Dawn E. Hall sold property at Matteau Road, Peru, to Jeremy H. and Tanya S. Shepardson, $184,000.
William H. and Carolyn Corby sold property at 232 Old Stockbridge Road, Lenox, to William H., Carolyn and Kayla M. Corby, $250,000.
Timothy Voice sold property at 84-86 Holbrook St., North Adams, to Randall and Annie Straaton, $69,000.
Bruce W. and Greta E. Cullett sold property at 11 Curtin Road, Peru, to Michael Benjamin Hunt and Rachael Lynne Carkhuff, $270,000.
Sarah Slingerland sold property at 0 Alford Road, Great Barrington, to Shai S. Walker and Sabrina N. Walker, $150,000.
Jane S. Thorne sold property at 37 Corey Road, Unit 42, Hancock, to Michael Justin Madarash and Lindsay Paige Rich, $307,500.
HINSDALE Peter P. and Joni R. Berardino sold property at 22 Linden Road, Hinsdale, to Paul and Jodi Rochford, $231,000. Kimberley A. Wendling sold property at Watson Road, Hinsdale, to Von Deneb Helera Vitto, $58,000.
LANESBOROUGH Scott Williams sold property at 202 South Main St., Lanesborough, to Tylor M. and James N. Pullaro, $250,000. Rita T. Quirk sold property at 189 Narragansett Ave., Lanesborough, to Laura Ephraim and James Owens, $769,900. Perri C. Petricca, personal rep. of Basil A. Petricca; Perri C., Tina M. and Richard T. Petricca, individually and as trustees of Basil A. Petricca Trust dated June 8, 2000; and Rosaland S. and Perri C. Petricca, trustees of the Basil A. Petricca Trust, sold property at Partridge Road, Lanesborough, to Nathan G. Girard and Jeffrey M. Zocchi, $175,000. David J. Plaza and Jennifer A. Ganem, trustees of the Ganem Plaza RVT, and
Lisa M. Parise sold property at 260 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, to John D. Reber, $175,000. Michael P. Albert, trustee, MPA Sunset RT, sold property at 14 Sunset Ave., Lenox, to David A. and Kyneret Albert, $700,000. Gwendolyn J. Adam and Sharon L. Alpert sold property at 190 Hubbard St., Lenox, to Elizaveta Murray, $718,000. Christine H. Quetti, trustee, Edward M. Homich RVT, sold property at 14 Meadow Lane, Lenox, to Linda J. Lerner, trustee, Linda J. Lerner RVT of 2012, $336,000. Peter J. and Tjasa K. Sprague sold property at 102 Walker St., Lenox, to Scott R. and Isabel M. Lenihan, $350,000. HSBC Bank USA N.A., trustee, sold property at 10 Crystal St., Lenox, to K Bruder Residential LLC, $119,000.
Corry C. Buckwalter sold property at 243 Union St, Unit 306, North Adams, to Carlos A. Caicedo, $410,000. Anne E. Pecor sold property at 708 Barbour St., North Adams, to V. Peter and Dawn Vadnais, $85,000. Alexandria Sauer, personal rep. of Charles A. Sauer Jr., sold property at 272-274 Beaver St., North Adams, to Robert Scutt, $25,000. Alice A. Rollman, trustee of the Michele C. Tristany Supplemental Needs Trust, sold property at 64 Catherine St., North Adams, to Shane T. and Sarah McCracken, $195,000.
PERU
Bruce W. and Greta E. Cullett sold property at Curtin Road, Peru, to Joshua W. and Danielle C. Oldred, $15,750.
PITTSFIELD Berkshire Bank sold property at 24 North St., Pittsfield, to ACE 24 North LLC, $880,000. D. Richard and Rose M. Pocock sold property at 247 Mountain Drive, Pittsfield, to Rudolph J. and Lori A. Mazzeo, $900,000. Penny Apter, trustee, Apter Family RVT, and Robert Apter sold property at 42 Alpine Trail, Pittsfield, to Ronald and Steven Dixon, $650,000.
Michael J. Wood Jr. sold property at 495 Union St., North Adams, to William T. and Jillian R. Superneau, $159,000.
Linda A. Fairfield sold property at 50 Pine Grove Drive, Pittsfield, to Jason Keith Twomey, $306,000.
Cynthia G. Emery sold property at 77 Barth St., North Adams, to Michael Jordan
Timothy R. Daury sold property at 265 REAL ESTATE, Page 20
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Real Estate FROM PAGE 19
Williams St., Pittsfield, to Vanessa M. Traversa, $335,600. Deana M. Makdissi sold property at 12 Delaware Ave., Pittsfield, to Kaitlyn A. Rilla, $210,000. Anthony N. Marino sold property at 6-8 Cedar St., Pittsfield, to Jahyde R. Bullard, $160,000. Daric Herbert and Jennifer Querbes, personal reps. of the Estate of John L. Herbert, sold property at 76 Roselyn Drive, Pittsfield, to Ana C. and Andy B. Cambi, $290,000.
Berkshire Business Journal Donna J. Boschetti and Mark S. Lester, trustees and personal reps. of the Estate of Patricia A. Lester and Patricia A. Lester RVT, sold property at 597 Williams St., Pittsfield, to Sean and Alison Quinones Johnson, $404,000. Berkshire Bank, trustee, Robert D. Bardwell Jr. Trust, sold property at 110 East Housatonic Street and East Housatonic Street, Pittsfield, to Daniel P. and Lynn J. Powers, $139,900. DUTA Real Estate LLC sold property at 17 South Church St., Pittsfield, to Westside Legends Inc., $139,900. Elaine B. Pascetta, trustee, Pascetta FNT, sold property at 26 Unkamet Park Drive, Pittsfield, to Joseph A. Renzi, $307,500.
Rebecca L. Cook sold property at 33 Cole Ave., Pittsfield, to Michael B. Schmitz, $352,500.
Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Inc. sold property at 7 Hall Place, Pittsfield, to Brian and Fatmata Kozaczek, $125,000.
Yvette P. Sirker and Tim Brenner sold property at 29 Churchill Crest, Pittsfield, to Arthur J. Blum, $278,000.
Bradley W. Greene sold property at 43 Cromwell Ave., Pittsfield, to Kevin J. Sherman, $310,000.
Rudolph J. and Lori A. Mazzeo sold property at 15 Filomena Drive, Pittsfield, to Noe Robert Lobo and Michelle Toro, $765,000.
Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Cascade Street, Pittsfield, to Eric C. Weber, $142,500.
Bespoke Capital LLC sold property at 36-38 Plunkett St., Pittsfield, to Norberto Dominguez and Nydia Elizabeth Ramos Zamora, $306,000.
Tarisha Johnson and Allen Cooper sold property at 12 Leidhold Place, Pittsfield, to Amanda Strattman, $180,000.
City of Pittsfield sold property at Columbus Avenue, Pittsfield, to Stefen J. Kazimierczak, $200. Links LLC sold property at 63 Orchard St., Pittsfield, to Elidon Holdings LLC, $297,000. June L. Mufatti, trustee, Mufatti NT, sold property at 38 Shetland Drive, Pittsfield, to Matthew Billet and Lisa Olsen-Billet, $535,000. Noe Robert Lobo and Michelle Toro sold property at 123 Alfred Drive, Pittsfield, to Brian Underhill and Caley Van Brunt, $497,000. Susan A. Fertig, trustee, Susan A. Halpert 2013 RVT, sold property at 50 Churchill Crest, Pittsfield, to Linda T. and John W. Franchebois, $290,000.
Mountain Stream LLC sold property at Cascade Street, Pittsfield, to Victoria L. Donato and Nicholas K. Wax, $102,000. Lori McHugh sold property at 32-34 Dartmouth St., Pittsfield, to 32-34 Dartmouth Street LLC, $196,000. Nathan G. and Migdeliz Girard, trustees, Nathan and Migdeliz Girard LT, sold property at Eastbrook Lane, Northbrook Lane and Westbrook Terrace, Pittsfield, to Mass Developers LLC, $170,800. Christopher L. Blau, personal rep. of the Estate of Kelly H. Blau, sold property at 90 Dawes Ave., Pittsfield, to Craig and Tracy Olsen Crawford, trustees, Crawford Family RVT, $370,000. NAMV Investments LLC sold property at 38 Bernard Ave., Pittsfield, to Claudia Vance and Todd Cass, $295,000.
Humberto Fernandez and Lonnie Gross sold property at 97 Northumberland Road, Pittsfield, to Michael Martin and Kimberly Waid, $390,000.
Kathleen M. Huska, personal rep. of the Estate of Harold M. Knapp, sold property at 143 Elberon Ave., Pittsfield, to Sean Harte, $125,000.
Jason Adams, Alicia Alvaro and Crystal Beliveau sold property at 136 Dalton Ave., Pittsfield, to LND Investments LLC, $142,100.
Todd and Claudia Vance Cass sold property at 22 Alpine Trail, Pittsfield, to John Milton and Rosemary Theresa Stone, $585,000.
David Williams and Ana Luisa Cabrales Neal sold property at 18 Elberon Ave., Pittsfield, to Chester W.N. and Emily F. Johns, $350,000.
Walter R. Cooper Jr. sold property at 283285 Francis Ave., Pittsfield, to Kimberlee Olson and Oral Willis, $135,000.
Links LLC sold property at 19 Spring St., Pittsfield, to Cheng Wu Zhu and Li Yun Li, $175,000. Stanley L. and Nina L. Pyrzanowski sold property at 30 Onota St., Pittsfield, to Brett Amber Random, $206,000. Stuart and Paula M. Yurman sold property at 13 Cobblestone Cove, Pittsfield, to Jillian D. Cote, $230,000. Richard J. Derose sold property at Barker Road, Pittsfield, to Mark J. Barile, $96,000. Walter R. Cooper Jr. sold property at 40-42 Henry Ave., Pittsfield, to Daniel and Elvira McGonagle, $245,000. Sharon Dupont sold property at 1621 West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, to Ilyas Ozdemir, $249,000. Robert W. Kubica sold property at 1 Taconic Island, Pittsfield, to Marcelle King, $200,000.
November 2023
Romildo Faria sold property at 112-114 Union St., Pittsfield, to Rigonato Construction LLC, $203,000.
College sold property at 640 Pine Cobble Road, Williamstown, to Gwendolyn Joy Adam and Sharon Lynn Alpert, $594,000.
RICHMOND
Bahia Partners 1 LLC sold property at 857 North Hoosac Road, Williamstown, to Megan Mitchell, individually and as trustee of the Cara Anne Mitchell Third Party Special Needs Trust II-2018, $465,000.
Donald A. Bernard sold property at 308 Lenox Road, Richmond, to John Sparkman, $399,000. Michael A. Dorsel sold property at 205 Summit Road, Richmond, to Andrew H. Ross and Alex Casas, $357,500. Robert E. Cunningham and James E. Cunningham III sold property at 1712 Dublin Road, Richmond, to Travis and Sara Belleau, $309,000.
SANDISFIELD Robert E. Knox and Harriet L. Knox sold property at 195 North Plain Road, Sandisfield, to Virginia Lee Overton, $370,000.
SAVOY Alice M. Davis sold property at Loop Road, Savoy, to Lorna J. Stotz, $75,000. Frederick Schofner sold property at 41 Brier Road, Savoy, to Nicholas A. Grano III, $20,000. Gary M. and Christine A. Reeves sold property at 82 River Road, Savoy, to Scott Brandon, $220,000.
SHEFFIELD Michael Latino sold property at 1411 Salisbury Road, Sheffield, to Jeffrey Heaton and Melonie Heaton, $176,600. Ron William Walden and Elizabeth O. Fletcher sold property at 974 Berkshire School Road, Sheffield, to The Berkshire School Inc., $665,000. Sumayah Jamal, trustee of Ahmad Jamal Revocable Trust, sold property at 1194 Ashley Falls Road and 0 Rannapo Road, Sheffield, to Marley E. Freeman, $1,112,500. Wilmington Trust NA, trustee of MFRA Trust 2016-1, John J. Pollitt Jr. and Julie J. Pollitt sold property at 487 Polikoff Road, Sheffield, to TMR Realty LLC, $191,000. Jason E. Sherman sold property at 1450 Boardman St., Sheffield, to Kody D. Goddard, $100,000.
STOCKBRIDGE
Paul Jacobs, personal rep. of Isabel F. Jacobs, sold property at 300 Sweetbrook Road, Williamstown, to Charles H. Hopton, $755,000. Gene R. Cohen and Donna L. Cox sold property at 114 South Hemlock Lane, Williamstown, to Henry and Ann Jakiela, $270,000. Michael A. and Kathleen A. Zepka, trustees of the Zepka Family NT, sold property at 0 Mason St., Williamstown, to James and Elyse Christensen, $77,000. Thomas G. Elder sold property at 137 Berkshire Drive, Williamstown, to Kerrie C. Dent, 432,000. Toby A. Mason and Darcy M. Westall, trustees of the Mason Family NT, sold property at Northwest Hill Road, Williamstown, to Aida Bicaj, $630,000. Peter H. and Laurie J. Thomsen sold property at 45 Old Farm Way, Williamstown, to Sarah Austell Cart, trustee of the Sarah Austell Cart FT, $2,699,300. Sandra B. Rhodes sold property at 321 New Ashford Road, Williamstown, to Amy Russell, $435,250. 160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St., Unit 312, Williamstown, to Martin C. Mitsoff and Brece V. Honeycutt, $675,000. Judith E. Weber sold property at 156 Ide Road, Williamstown, to W. Clinton and Kathryn M. Kendall, $1,675,000. Adam Patrick and Samantha Lyn Kaftan sold property at 189 Stratton Road, Unit 3-G3, Williamstown, to Andrzej Lau and Eulalla Karwowska-Lau, $220,000. Mitchell Friedman and Laurel Ann Newbound, trustees of the Friedman-Newbound Trust, sold property off Sloan Road, Williamstown, to Christopher S. Newbound and Amy Alden Herring, $248,000.
Edmund A. Grossman sold property at 200 Old Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, to Robert A. Schubert and Audrey Shachnow, $1,100,000.
Timothy M. and Nicole M. Carter sold property at 15 Orchard Lane, Williamstown, to Dennis R. and Camille M. Yanowski, $344,900.
Linda S. Olson, trustee, Linda S. Olson LT, sold property at 12 Beachwood Drive, Stockbridge, to David Eli Stern and Nancy Ann Kasten, $600,000.
Michael C. and Cynthia D. Payne sold property at 762 Main St., Williamstown, to Eric J. Hotaling and Susan P. Hoellrich, $635,000.
555 East Street Realty LLC sold property at 32 Madison Ave., Pittsfield, to Jorge E. Rivadeneyra Arevalo and Paloma G. Velasquez Chumacero, $195,000.
Carol Andrea Whitcomb, trustee Carol A. Whitcomb 2006 RVT, sold property at 3 Lakeview Drive, Stockbridge, to Edward Steve Lichtenberg and Betsy Suzanne Aubrey, $1,800,000.
Paula J. Cicarelli, personal rep. of Lydia Leslie Cicarelli, sold property at Potter Road, Williamstown, to Greylock Land LLC, $185,000.
Gary A. Cannon, individually and personal rep. of the Estate of Priscilla L. Cannon, sold property at 10-12 Stoddard Ave., Pittsfield, to DUFRAYNE LLC, $29,133.
Michael A. and Jean S. Shirley sold property at 13 Cherry Hill Road, Stockbridge, to Andrew M. Ebert and Nance E. LevineEbert, $562,500.
Ian Patrick James Bouthillette sold property at 56 Cole Ave., Pittsfield, to Jeffrey Alejandro Fajardo and Isabel Fallon, $250,000.
Mark A. and Theresa McCormick-Goodhart sold property at 11 Mahkeenac Heights Road, Stockbridge, to Daniel J. Kim, $525,500.
Kevin J. and Tammi L. Sherman sold property at 22 Kathy Way, Pittsfield, to Raghunandan Ghimire and Manita Chapagain, $627,500.
Richard Murray and Rachel Bookspan Sobel sold property at 3 Indian Road, Stockbridge, to Rendall E. Howell and Nancy E. Hill, $425,000.
John P. and Sally A. Harris sold property at 65-67 Dalton Ave., Pittsfield, to Jason Donaldson, trustee, Coalie RT, $80,000.
TYRINGHAM
Marissa L. Hatch sold property at 539 Elm St., Pittsfield, to Paul Bock, $303,900.
Berkshire Mountain Hospitality LLC sold property at 1526 North St., Pittsfield, to Adam Christian Petricca, $385,000.
Sean K. Flanders sold property at 61 Elberon Ave., Pittsfield, to Taylor B. Woodward, $271,900.
Lawrence W. Keefner III sold property at 37 King St., Pittsfield, to Anthony D. Bushika and Katherine F. Miller, $194,000.
Robert P. Lysobey sold property at 176 Newell St., Pittsfield, to LND Investments LLC, $10,000.
Gerald T. Talis sold property at 112 Lucia Drive, Pittsfield, to Cameron M. Zinchuk, $337,000.
Oanh H. Nguyen sold property at 98 Benedict Road, Pittsfield, to Juliano Cesar Roldao, $250,000.
Adam A. Jenks sold property at 19 Allengate Ave., Pittsfield, to Benjamin Cronze, $250,000.
Marguerite P. Braun sold property at 295 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, to Tracey A. Spencer, $545,000.
William and Trysta DeSantis sold property at 71 Goose Pond Road, Tyringham, to Benjamin P. and Bonita A. Davis, $955,000.
WEST STOCKBRIDGE Sandra J. Bink-Lyon sold property at 17 Iron Mine Road, West Stockbridge, to Gary Sacon and Helen Sacon, $767,000.
WILLIAMSTOWN TGC Heritage LLC sold property at 165 Sweet Farm Road, Williamstown, to Thomas E. Sheldon, trustee of the Thomas E. Sheldon 2020 Trust, and Virginia C. Sheldon, trustee of the Virginia C. Sheldon 2020 Trust, $275,000. The President and Trustees of Williams
Joseph P. and Isabel W. Colonna sold property at 45 Buxton Hill Road, Williamstown, to Jeffrey D. and Linda A. Holmes, $682,500.
WINDSOR Heather Delaney Reese, trustee of Super Mega Trust, sold property at 0 Pierce Road, Windsor, to Sosanna Herman Dunphy and Kaethe B. Sobel Armitage, $44,900. Jay Gaudette sold property at 1578 Savoy Hollow Road, Windsor, to Tamarack Hollow Nature and Culture Center Inc., $95,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society, trustee, sold property at 1430 Old Route 9, Windsor, to Gleb and Ann Jerebtsov, $75,000. Scott D. and Kathleen M. Lee sold property at 140 Hill Cemetery Road, Windsor, to Jacob L. and Kelsey N. Brown, $540,000. FT — Family Trust LLC — Limited Partnership LT — Life Trust NT — Nominee Trust RET — Real Estate Trust RT — Realty Trust RVT — Revocable Trust The real estate transactions are provided by the Middle Berkshire, North Berkshire and South Berkshire Registry of Deeds offices.
November 2023
Berkshire Business Journal
People in the Berkshires Erin Hanson, Garth Klimchuk and Jacqueline Parker Togut were all recently elected to two-year terms on the Berkshire Museum’s board of trustees. Jeff Belair was also elected president at the Hanson board’s annual meeting. With the addition of the three new members, the board now has 19 members who serve alongside three lifetime trustees. Hanson has 25 years of experience in corKlimchuk porate communications and consumer marketing for some of the world’s most respected companies. She is currently a senior vice president at The Harris Agency, where she specializes in brand strategy and reputation Parker Togut management for a host of business-to-business and technology companies. She also served as a partner for 10 years at Hunter, a creative communications and marketing agency in New York City. Hanson moved permanently to her husband’s hometown of Richmond in 2021. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cornell University and sits on the board of the Cornell Club of the Berkshires. Klimchuk is the founder and managing partner of NorthRenew Energy LLC, a joint venture partnership with GE Vernova (General Electric Co.’s energy business), which focuses on the development, construction and operations of utility-scale wind and solar projects in the United States. Klimchuk, who has been a part of the Berkshire community since 1985, holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Brown University, a master’s degree in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Penn’s Wharton School of Business. He lives in Becket. Parker Togut began her career as a Ford model at age 15 before moving to the business side of fashion handling public relations for Halston, Arnold Scassi, Prêt à Porter for North America, and Christian Dior, where she was made director.
She holds degrees in Russian-area studies and political science and has done work for both The Rand Corp. and The Foundation for Florida’s Future, a progressive think tank that deals with young children and education. Parker Togut currently heads up her own interior design business, JPT Design Associates, LLC, and lives with her family in New York, Palm Beach, Fla. and the Berkshires. Helen Charbonneau has been elected president of the board of directors of the Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum. Five new members — Rick Ryer, John Block, Claire Shomphe, Ryer Molly Tabachnikov and Courtney Smith — have been appointed to the board. Ryer has also been elected treasurer. Charbonneau joined Ventfort Hall as a volunteer four years ago. Most of her working life has Block been spent in libraries as a reference librarian, supervisor of cataloging. For the last 14 years of her career she served as the IT Director of the Wellesley Free Library in Wellesley. She retired five years ago and moved to the Berkshires. Shomphe She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a master’s degree in library service from Columbia University. Ryer, who chairs Ventfort Hall’s building Tabachnikov and grounds committee, is retired from Berkshire Gas Co., where he was a team leader for key accounts. The Pittsfield resident also volunteers at Hancock Shaker Village. Block, a resident of Pittsfield, is also a memCourtney Smith ber of Ventfort Hall’s building and grounds committee. He spent his career in sales management and consulting for the food
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service industry. Shomphe also lives in Pittsfield and is a member of the building and grounds committee. She is an avid home restoration expert and a local Realtor with Housatonic Real Estate. Tabachnikov, who lives in Lanesborough, is a volunteer docent. She spent her career as an English teacher and now writes poetry and science fiction novels. Smith, who resides in Lenox, is a mortgage officer at Adams Community Bank and has several years of experience with events coordination. Longtime faculty member Kristin Grippo has been named community engagement director at Berkshire Art Center, formerly IS183 Art School. Three new members have also joined the Grippo board of directors: Milena Cerna, David Gilbert and Cheryl Mirer. Having taught children for over 20 years, Grippo has been a faculty educator with Berkshire Art Center Cerna for nearly a decade. She holds degrees in elementary education, literacy, and art history, and has pursued infinite creative endeavors from a young age. Cerna has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in Gilbert global finance, technology and higher education markets. She has held senior leadership positions in marketing, financial management, and strategy development for a number of companies and universities. Mirer The Great Barrington resident holds an MBA in finance and marketing from Columbia University and serves as an elected member of Great Barrington’s Finance Committee. Gilbert is an interior designer and avid art collector who holds a law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and fine arts from the New York School of Interior Design. Mirer, who grew up in Burlington, Conn., and now lives in Otis, is a painter, printmaker and mixed media artist who
holds a bachelor’s degree in art and art history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in arts administration from Boston University. A former executive director of Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Mirer is currently an enrollment counselor at Berkshire Community College. Berkshire County Arc has named Elizabeth Buratto director of NuOpps and Molly Hudlin director of the Center for Development. Nu-Opps is a day habilitation program for individuals with brain Burratto injuries. The Center for Development serves individuals with developmental disabilities. Buratto began working for BCArc 10 years ago as a habilitation specialist, then became a case manager before Hudlin becoming the program manager of Nu-Opps, the position she most recently held. In her new position, Buratto will oversee the entire program, which serves 30 clients. She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Bay Path University in Longmeadow, and an associate degree in American Sign Language. Hudlin began working at BCArc nine years ago as a case manager. Prior to her promotion to director of the Center for Development, she served as its assistant director. As director, she will oversee the program and its 50 clients, and take on a larger administrative role. Hudlin holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from Lasell University in Newton. Brad Felix has joined Adams Community Bank as its new vice president of commercial lending. Felix will be instrumental in continuing to grow the bank’s commercial lending portfolio Felix by working closely with businesses of all sizes to provide tailored financial solutions that drive growth and prosperity in the Berkshire County community. He brings over 17 years of experience in commercial lending, credit analysis, and relationship management to the bank team. Felix holds a bachelor’s degree busi-
CALENDAR, Page 22
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Berkshire Business Journal
Calendar FROM PAGE 21
ness administration from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, is a member of the Pittsfield Rotary Club and served on the Rotary Foundation board and benevolence committee. He also currently serves as a corporator for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation, and has been a past member of the Berkshire Leadership Program, Northern Berkshire Relay for Life, and Berkshire Young Professionals, among others. He is a past graduate of the Berkshire Leadership Program and a past recipient of 1Berkshire’s Berkshire Trendsetter Awards. Joseph Maffuccio II recently joined Pittsfield Cooperative Bank as vice president, branch administration. Maffuccio joins the Co-op after a 16-year career with Greylock Federal Credit Union, Maffuccio where he held several retail, market and business development supervisory and manager positions, most recently as vice president, market manager. Maffuccio holds a bachelor of science degree from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The Pittsfield resident is the past president of Tyler Street Business Group and currently coaches Pittsfield youth sports. Lauren Russo of Berkshire Money Management has become a certified financial planner professional. Russo is the third member of BMM’s current advising and Russo planning team to become a certified financial planner professional and the first female member of the firm to do so. A member of BMM’s financial plan-
ning team since becoming a financial adviser in 2018, Russo is also a registered investment adviser, a financial paraplanner qualified professional, a certified exit planning adviser and a certified value builder. Raised in Pittsfield, Russo holds a bachelor’s degree in resource economics with a concentration in managerial economics and a minor in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Russo and registered investment advisers Holly Simeone and Angela Elzner will continue to host open hours sessions at BMM’s main office at 161 Main St. in Dalton. Everyone in the community, regardless of age or income, is invited to attend these sessions. BMM will be holding open hours events in Dalton from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 16 and Nov. 30. Jewish Federation of the Berkshires has appointed Susan Levine as the new food service director for its Connecting with Community kosher meals program that provides free nutritious Levine meals for the community. She replaces Cindy Bell-Deane, who headed the federation’s kosher meals program for 25 years. The program is run in conjunction with Elder Services of the Berkshires. A native of Riverdale, N.Y., who has lived in the Berkshire region for 20 years, Levine received a culinary arts degree at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School in lower Manhattan before interning at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz. There, she learned healthy ways of using her culinary skills, which she applied during a long career in catering and corporate dining that includes a recent stint working at the executive mansion in Albany, N.Y. Levine first learned about the federation’s kosher meals program when her parents stayed at her home in New Lebanon, N.Y., and attended federation-sponsored programs and lunches at Knesset Israel in Pittsfield.
November 2023
Deisy Escobar has been appointed the Literacy Network’s first-generation college coordinator. In this newly created role, Escobar will serve as a community ambassador for LitNet Escobar by helping to develop programming, outreach, and partnerships centered around supporting and educating first-generation college applicants and their families about the college application process and related opportunities. With Escobar’s support, LitNet hopes to launch its first First-Generation College-Goer Fair in spring 2024. Escobar, a second-generation immigrant and first-year student at Westfield State University, graduated from Mount Everett Regional High School in June of this year. The daughter of Mexican and Colombian immigrants, Escobar is Spanish-English bilingual and has served as a LitNet volunteer tutor since 2021. She has independently hosted a bilingual workshop for first-time college goers and co-hosts the radio show Mundo Latino with her mother, Martha Escobar. Allison Schmitt has been promoted to executive director of Entrepreneurship for All Berkshire County. She replaces Deborah Gallant, who had served in that role since EforAll came to the Berkshires Schmitt in 2019. Schmitt, a Cummington resident, had served as EforAll Berkshire County’s program manager since 2021. Before joining EforAll, the lifelong resident of Western Massachusetts had served as interim campus director and dean of academic affairs for Mildred Elley. Schmitt holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hollins University in Virginia; and a master’s degree from
economic incentives
u Already approved zoning
CALENDAR, Page 22
to the William Stanley Business Park
u Generous state and local
Meghan Smith has been named the inaugural dean of teaching and learning at Miss Hall’s School. Smith will provide direction for academic life at the school, convening Meghan Smith department chairs and faculty to spearhead a transformative academic program that develops vision, voice, interpersonal efficacy, and gumption in students. Before joining Miss Hall’s, Smith had worked since 2005 at Lawrence Academy in Groton, serving in several roles, including Latin, history and English instructor; language department chair; director of the ninth grade interdisciplinary program; and director of DEI professional growth and practice. Smith holds a master’s degree in ed-
IT’S TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE from 1.1 to 16.5 acres
Sarah Porter-Liddell has been named dean of students and equitable community, a new position, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The aim for this position is to best serve Porter-Liddell all students by more intentionally including the work of diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of student life and the Office of Campus Life. She had served as the dean of equity and inclusion at Simon’s Rock the past three years Porter-Liddell has also been selected as one of the inaugural recipients of the Smart Energy DEI Impact Awards as a Catalyst for Change. As a recipient, Porter-Liddell has demonstrated a strong commitment toward equity and inclusion through her research and work. She recently published her first book, “A Black Girl with the Blues,” with Dorrance Publishing Co.
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ucation in curriculum and instruction from Boston College; a master’s in fine arts degree in poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts; and a bachelor’s degree in classics, with a concentration in music, from the University of Dallas. She is also certified in teaching mindfulness. Medical oncologist Dr. James Kalmuk has joined the Dartmouth Cancer Center at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. Kalmuk holds a master’s degree in interdisciplinary science from Kalmuk Roswell Park Cancer Institute and attended medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y. He completed his residency in internal medicine and oncology fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C. Kalmuk has been active in oncology research and has presented and published his work extensively. Rob Nichols has joined Berkshire Bank as senior vice president, business bank team leader. Nichols, who has over 33 years of experience in commercial banking, will lead the sales team for business banking within Berkshire County, central and eastern New York and southern Vermont.
Berkshire Business Journal His extensive background covers a wide range of corporate and commercial banking leadership and management positions, including overseeing business banking departments at Citizens and First Niagara banks. Most recently, he served as the chief credit officer for a community bank. Nichols resides in the Albany, N.Y., region. Active in the community, Nichols is currently a member of the executive committee and treasurer for the Capital District YMCA. He also serves as a member of the board for the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce. He teaches entrepreneurship finance at Siena College. Meg Sanders, the CEO and co-founder of Canna Provisions in Lee, is one of 75 people in the cannabis industry who have been named recipients of the 2023 Notable Leaders in Cannabis awards by Green Market Sanders Report, which covers the financial and business side of the legal cannabis industry. The 75 Notable Leaders in Cannabis have all demonstrated a willingness to effect meaningful change in a dynamic industry, according to the report. Canna Provisions, which is based in Holyoke, has been named “Best Recreational Dispensary in MA” by Chronogram Magazine for three consecutive years. Sanders was named 2022 Cannabis Businessperson of the Year at the 2022 NECANN Awards in Boston, and has been recognized in various outlets over the years as a trailblazer in the
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industry, from High Times, to Skunk Magazine, to Women in Weed magazine, and more. As of 2022, Canna Provisions was the ninth-largest independent cannabis company in Massachusetts. Lia Palermo has joined Balance Rock Investment Group as client services administrator. In this role, Palermo will work in client relations, including processing account Palermo openings and closings, maintaining client information, Qualified Plan processing, and working with outside representatives and business professionals to coordinate clients’ specific needs as they arise. She will also provide administrative support to the Operations Manager and advisors and assist with special projects. She most recently served as digital marketing and social media coordinator for Cornell Cooperative Extension, an agriculturally focused nonprofit in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. while simultaneously freelancing as a special media specialist for a realty company. Prior to CCE, Palermo worked in a number of administrative and managerial roles in the hospitality, health, and trade industries, where she was responsible for daily business operations, billing, customer service, and much more. Palermo holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from LeMoyne College and a new manager certificate from Siena College.
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Ilana Steinhauer, the executive director of Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires, was recently chosen to receive the 2023 Charles Kusik Award by the Berkshire Regional Steinhauer Planning Commission. Steinhauer has led VIM Berkshires as executive director and director of medical services since 2014. Under her leadership, the organization has increasingly considered the social determinants of health (housing, education, food security, employment, childcare, etc.) as key components of an individual or family’s health. The Charles Kusik Award was instituted to recognize projects, groups, or individuals who have made outstanding contributions to planning in Berkshire County. BRPC inaugurated the award in 1996 to honor Kusik, a Richmond resident, who, for over three decades, placed his expert imprint on the zoning bylaws of nearly every town in the Berkshires as a volunteer “citizen planner.” A native of Westchester County, N.Y., Steinhauer majored in religion at Wesleyan University before obtaining a master’s degree. Former state Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito shared the Kusik Award in 2022. More information about Kusik and past recipients of the award named in his honor can be found at berkshireplanning.org/about/kusik-award/.
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