Local Farmers Earn Infrastructure Project Awards
Agawam — The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation recently announced its 2020 Local Farmer Awards, where upwards of $2,500 were granted to 70 Western Massachusetts farmers who identified strategic and innovative infrastructure improvements for their farms. Highlights among efforts to increase efficiency and product quality included reducing planting time with multi-row seeders; protecting plants from frost, deer, and insect damage with row cover and netting; reducing weeding time with use of a weed mat; providing animal comfort and health monitoring with ventilation fans, a goat brush, and health thermometer; and more.
Berkshire County farms who received awards were Abode Farm CSA, Ayrhill Farms, Berkshire Wildflower Honey dba Mill River Farm, Bigfoot Farm, Brattle Farm, Caretaker Farm, Cheval Farmstead Dairy & Provisions, Colfax Farm, Dandelion Hill Farm, Full Well Farm, Gaetano’s Organic Farm, Graylight Farm, Indian Line Farm, Joshua’s Farm, M and A Farm, Moon in the Pond Farm, MX Morningstar Farm, North Plain Farm, Off the Shelf Farm, Square Roots Farm, Sub Edge Farm, Woven Roots Farm, and Woven Stars Farm.
–A.K.
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Mill Town acquires Berkshire West Athletic Club, former Lakeside Christian Camp
Pittsfield — Mill Town has acquired the former Lakeside Christian Camp, a 135-acre property located on Richmond Pond in Pittsfield, and has an agreement in place to acquire the Berkshire West Athletic Club on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield, across from Bousquet Mountain. This transaction is scheduled to close in 2020. In addition to these two properties, Mill Town also owns and operates Bousquet Mountain, which plans to re-open for business this month.
The three properties are in close proximity and offer a diversity of year-round features and amenities that include outdoor recreation, indoor athletics training, water sports, and lodging. Mill Town plans to bring these new assets under the umbrella of the “Bousquet” brand.
“We’re excited to add these two significant properties to our portfolio of key regional assets,” said Mill Town CEO Tim Burke. “Outdoor recreation is a critical differentiator for Pittsfield and the Berkshires, and we plan to cohesively connect The Camp and Berkshire West with Bousquet Mountain to create a high-quality and diverse recreational experience. This will increase and improve options for local customers and will help draw new outdoor enthusiasts to the area.”
Mill Town purchased the Bousquet Mountain ski area in May 2020. The purchase included 155 acres across four parcels, including the summit of Yokun Ridge and 22 trails. Mill Town has completed an extensive renovation of the ski operation’s mountain infrastructure and plans to enhance the base-area experience for year-round use. Adding these two new properties creates nearly 300 acres of recreational offerings.
The former Lakeside Christian Camp, which ceased operations in early 2020, includes 27 structures and 5 acres of frontage on Richmond Pond. Mill Town plans to utilize the property for a variety of concepts in 2021 while master planning for the site is completed. The property will be conducive to hiking, biking, kayaking, and canoeing, along with providing infrastructure for lodging, events, and a variety of programming. Located just four minutes from Bousquet, the property will now be known as The Camp by Bousquet.
Berkshire West Athletic Club is a multi-purpose, 40,000-square-foot facility on 13 acres across from Bousquet. With five indoor tennis courts and a covered pool, the facility offers tennis, fitness, a golf simulator, yoga, and water classes. The business will be re-branded as Bousquet Sport and will continue to offer racquet and fitness options via membership programs. Over time, Mill Town expects to offer additional programming and amenities in connection with Bousquet Mountain, including food & beverage, classes, extended trail connections, and retail space.
Mill Town expects to maintain year-round programming across the three-property campus with winter offerings including downhill skiing, snowboarding, tubing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice sports. Summer activities will focus on hiking, mountain biking, paddle sports, swimming, and other water activities.
–A.K.
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Wheeler & Taylor Insurance Gives to Food Bank of Western Mass.
Great Barrington — Wheeler & Taylor Insurance of Great Barrington and Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency of Agawam are providing major support to The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Two rounds of funding, one now and a second round in the spring, will pay for about 100,000 meals for hungry residents.
The Food Bank provides food to 165 food pantries, shelters, and meal sites in Berkshire, Franklin, Hamden, and Hampshire counties. During the pandemic, demand for food has grown exponentially. The Food Bank is serving 109,500 people a month in 2020, up 16% from 2019. The organization has distributed 11.1 million pounds of food from March through October, a 30% increase. It estimates that about one in six residents in the region, including 40,000 children, or one in four, are food-insecure.
“We’re so grateful to Wheeler & Taylor and Canary Blomstrom for their social investment in The Food Bank’s mission to feed our neighbors in need at this critical moment,” said Executive Director Andrew Morehouse.”
“Thanks to The Food Bank, thousands of people in the region are able to get enough to eat every day,” said Wheeler & Taylor Insurance President J. Scott Rote. “In this time of unprecedented need, our communities need unprecedented support, and we’re glad to do our part.”
–A.K.
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Greylock Donates to Food Bank of Western Mass., Promotes Beron; Collins Earns Designation
Pittsfield — Greylock Federal Credit Union has donated $20,000 to The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts for its emergency food delivery program in Berkshire County.
“Hunger is always a leading community concern,” said Greylock Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer JamieEllen Moncecchi. “But the longer this pandemic goes on, the more critical it is that we all do our part to help our neighbors. Greylock hopes that this donation will inspire others to dig a little deeper this year.”
Feeding America, the national network of food banks, said Berkshire County expects to see a 52% rise in food insecurity compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. “We can’t thank Greylock enough for this donation and for helping spread the word,” said The Food Bank’s Executive Director Andrew Morehouse. “These funds will help support our eight Brown Bag: Food for Elders sites in the Berkshires and our Mobile Food Bank sites in Adams, Dalton, Great Barrington, and North Adams, all in collaboration with our local partners.”
In addition, Greylock recently gave six unsuspecting non-profits each a $10,000 boost. The Credit Union recognized the elevated level of need during the holiday season and the added hardship created by the pandemic. In response, it donated an additional $60,000 in community support toward mental health, affordable housing, domestic violence, immigration, and communities of color.
“We are so thankful to have these organizations that support our neighbors through these difficult times,” said Greylock Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer JamieEllen Moncecchi. “The spirit of giving is strong in the Berkshires and I hope everyone will consider an additional gift to their favorite community resource during this season of light and joy.”
The organizations receiving funds were Elizabeth Freemen Center, Louison House, Construct, Brien Center, Berkshire Immigrant Center, and Berkshire County Branch of the NAACP. These gifts were in addition to other funding Greylock has granted throughout the year.
In addition, Greylock announced the promotion of Rebecca Beron to branch manager at their Merrill Road, Pittsfield location. As a branch manager, she oversees daily operations and supports the team in meeting member needs.
“Rebecca is not just a great leader, but a great person,” said Peter Mirante, senior vice president of Branch Administration. “Greylock is honored to be a partner in her career.”
Beron joined Greylock in 2008 as a teller in the Lee branch and held positions of increasing responsibility, leading to assistant branch manager under recently retired Branch Manager Mary Rinaldi. Beron attended local schools and resides in Pittsfield with her husband Harry. She serves on the Junior League of Berkshire County and is the immediate past president and current membership chair. She also serves on the homebuyer selection committee of the Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity and is an intake volunteer for the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Greylock also announced that Director of Employee Training and Development Donna Collins has graduated from the National Credit Union Foundation’s Credit Union Development Educators’ (DE) training program.
“Greylock encourages employees to grow as professionals as well as individuals,” says Greylock Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer JamieEllen Moncecchi. “Donna always leads by example and we are very proud of her accomplishments as a leader in the training and development field and a truly thoughtful member of the Greylock family.”
The DE Training was held virtually and included staff from credit unions across the U.S. The program provided lessons in credit union structure, purpose, and the “why” that differentiates credit unions from other financial institutions.
–A.K.
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Chris S. Dodig and Brigid Hennessey Recognized as Massachusetts Super Lawyers
Berkshire County & Bennington, Vt. — Donovan O’Connor & Dodig, LLP has announced that attorneys Chris S. Dodig and Brigid Hennessey have again been recognized by Super Lawyers in Massachusetts. Dodig was recognized for his handling of medical malpractice cases, and Hennessey for her work in family law.
Super Lawyers recognizes outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The annual selections process includes independent research, peer nomination, and peer evaluations. Each year, the Super Lawyers list recognizes no more than 5% of the attorneys in each state.
–A.K.
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Bennington College Awards Grants to Address Food Insecurity
Bennington — Bennington College has awarded a total of $20,000 in grants to local organizations to implement and support seven community-proposed initiatives that explore and expand food systems in Bennington County.
Project proposals from Bennington Community Garden; Bennington Housing Authority; Meals on Wheels of Bennington County; Merck Forest, Northshire Grown Direct, and Southshire Grown Direct; Paran Recreations; Shires Housing; and Sunrise Family Resource Center were selected among applications from community members to Bennington College’s Community Resource and Strategy Fund. This fund supports catalyzing, collaborative projects that further understanding of local food systems and leverage innovative solutions to address food insecurity in the county.
This is the second year the Community Resource and Strategy Fund has supported local initiatives, with an increase of both funding and the number of projects supported. Applications for the next cycle of the Community Resource and Strategy Fund will be accepted beginning in October 2021.
“We are pleased that we were able to support such important projects from community organizations in Bennington during the challenging time of this pandemic,” said Susan Sgorbati, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College. “Food insecurity continues to grow and demands a response from all of us to look out for our neighbors and find sustainable ways to maintain the health and well-being of our community.”
–A.K.
