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Local Students Learn about Life After High School at Reality Fair

2 weeks ago | businesswest.com | Joseph Bednar

HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, Greenfield Community College (GCC), and MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board recently partnered to hold a Reality Fair for more than 70 students from Pioneer, Mohawk, and Athol high schools. Reality Fair is an immersive budgeting exercise for high school students, allowing them to envision their life at age 25.
New DNA Director Prioritizes Collaboration

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | Joseph Bednar

Community SpotlightAndrea Monson came to her new role as executive director of the Northampton Downtown Assoc. (DNA) in a roundabout way, but found it to be an intriguing fit during an uncertain time for the city and its downtown, which will soon undergo a major — and not universally loved — redevelopment project.
Ayanna Crawford’s Life Is About Elevating Others

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | Joseph Bednar

More Than WordsFor the past three years, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra has presented its Fearless Women Awards to area women who embody bravery, advocacy, passion, perseverance, and authenticity. Ayanna Crawford certainly represents all five qualities, which explains why the SSO included her among its class of 2025. But she also finds the honor humbling, recalling a recent conversation with SSO President and CEO Paul Lambert.
At American Dream Landscape Design, Entrepreneurship Comes Naturally

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | Joseph Bednar

Sisters at WorkThe name says it all. The word ‘dream’ in particular. It’s the culmination of a dream of two sisters, who grew up on a tree farm, to co-found a business centered on a passion for nature they both share. Now, just a year after launching American Dream Landscape Design from her home in East Longmeadow, Rachel Begley said she and her sister, Abigail, have built a steady pipeline of projects, largely through word of mouth.
Workforce Shortages Hamper Healthcare Sector

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | Joseph Bednar

Critical GapsWhen Beverly Fein surveys the nursing landscape at Holyoke Medical Center, she sees both positives and challenges, and the difference is generational. Take new nursing graduates, for example; the hospital hired more than 25 of them last year. “Many of them do their clinicals here. They have a good foundation working for us. They like the environment.
A Picture of Progress Is Taking Shape on Worthington Street

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | George O'Brien

Filling in the CanvasRaipher Pellegrino paused at the huge, curved second-floor window facing the corner of Worthington and Dwight streets. “How’s that for a view?” he asked rhetorically, noting that it’s been quite some time since anyone — other than those he’s had out for tours — has looked out that window, some recent history he intends to change.
Amelia Holstrom - BusinessWest

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | George O'Brien

Partner, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.Amelia Holstrom won’t ever have any trouble remembering when she joined the 40 Under Forty club. It was near the time her first child was born. Make that very near. Indeed, the day after Holstrom posed for her 40 Under Forty photo — “they told me to bring a prop; I said, ‘isn’t my stomach enough of a prop?’” — she was in labor. She recalls being in the hospital after delivery and facing a deadline to pick a walk-up song for the gala.
Orlando Ramos - BusinessWest

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | George O'Brien

State Representative, 9th Hampden DistrictOrlando Ramos has a small classic car collection. He once had four vehicles, but recently sold a 1974 Corvette. He still has a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo, a 1989 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z, and a 1991 Ford Escort, and shows them all at area shows.
James Krupienski

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | George O'Brien

Partner, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.It’s called Krupienski’s Korner. That the name of the … let’s call it gathering spot in the break room at the accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka. Jim Krupienski is host and unofficial bartender at the Korner on Friday afternoons just after 5 during tax season. He said tax preparers and others at the firm can get a libation if they are so inclined, but also, and more importantly, a much-needed reprieve from the pressures that build as April 15 approaches.
Ryan McCollum - BusinessWest

3 weeks ago | businesswest.com | George O'Brien

Owner, RMC StrategiesRyan McCollum says he likes to have the circles in his life intersect. And by circles, he means people who are in his life for various reasons — clients, friends, colleagues, elected officials — and causes and agencies he supports, everything from early childhood education provider Square One to the game of golf, especially for populations not generally associated with it.