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February 2006
  Articles on this page: • Three Cheers Three Cheers APPOINTMENTS, PROMOTIONS, RECOGNITIONS & EXPANSIONS Interprint, Inc. announced the promotion and appointment of two executives to the positions of Managing Directors. Jens M. E. Bauer, formerly Chief Financial Officer, became Managing Director responsible for finance, purchasing, information technology, operations and technical support functions. Jens Bauer has held positions in Germany as Strategic Department Manager at Wrede Industrieholding GmbH & Co.KG, the shareholder of the Interprint Group, also he served as Vice President for Marketing at Interprint-Germany prior to coming to Interprint, Inc. in Pittsfield in October of 2002. Bauer holds a Master of Economics degree from the University of Bochum in Germany. William M. Hines, Jr., formerly Sales & Marketing Vice President of Interprint, became Managing Director responsible for sales, customer service, marketing, design, digital reproduction, quality, laboratories and product development. Bill Hines, Jr. has been Manager and then Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Interprint, Inc. since he joined the company in 1997. Prior to Interprint, he worked for PWA Dekor (now Munksjo Paper) as inside sales in Fitchburg, MA and then as an Area Sales Manager responsible for English speaking markets in Unterkochen, Germany. Hines holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Bridgewater College in Massachusetts. Riley, Haddad, Lombardi & Clairmont, one of Berkshire County's largest accounting firms, has changed its name to Lombardi, Clairmont & Keegan to reflect changing management responsibilities. The company recently invested more than $100,000 in renovations to its building, essentially doubling its available space. The renovations gave the company additional conference rooms, a spacious reception area and – by relocating its primary offices to the first floor – made the business more easily accessible to its clients. HospiceCare in The Berkshires, Inc. recently held its annual meeting and celebration of National HospiceCare month. Board of Directors President Ileen Cohen welcomed the attendees and recognized the service and commitment of the 2004 -2005 Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers. Ms. Florence Wald, founder of the U.S. HospiceCare movement and former Dean of the Yale University School of Nursing, was keynote speaker. Honorees for the evening included outgoing Board Members Doreen Hutchinson, William Rota, Esq., Eva Sheridan, and Seymour Schwartz. Mr. Ernie Schnesel, CPA, of North Egremont, was elected as a new Board Member, bringing the total Board of HospiceCare in The Berkshires to twenty-three. Mr. Roger Douillet received a special honor for his numerous years of dedicated service to HospiceCare, serving as the organization's consulting pharmacist. Limelight Productions, Inc. of Lee has announced that Bob Medve, project manager, is a member of the first group to become Certified Riggers under the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP). ETCP is a new industry-wide program of rigorous assessments for professional technicians. In addition to ETCP theatre rigging certification, Bob holds an MFA in Lighting/Technical Direction from Florida State University and has over 25 years of technical theatre experience. Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Berkshire Bank have announced that Wallace W. Altes, a well-known Albany area business, community and education leader, has been appointed to the Boards of Directors for both the Bancorp and the Bank. He becomes the first Albany Capital Region resident to serve as a director. Altes is currently Executive-in-Residence as the Graduate College of Union University in Schenectady, NY. He was formerly executive counsel to Sawchuck, Brown Associates, the area's largest public relations firm. From 1990-2002, Altes served as the President and CEO of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce. Berkshire Bank announced that David M. Clark has joined the bank as Assistant Vice President and Officer for the mortgage origination function in the Westfield-Springfield area. Clark comes to Berkshire Bank with 18 years of banking experience. He will be responsible for developing a staff of residential loan originators. Terrie A. Lucaroni has joined Berkshire Bank as Senior Profitability Analyst. In this position Lucaroni will be responsible for establishing and maintaining effective and efficient profitability measurement programs at the organizational, customer and product levels. She will also direct, lead and coordinate the budgeting and forecasting functions for the business lines. Valerie Brosseau has joined Berkshire Bank as branch manager, at the 1339 Memorial Drive Chicopee branch. She will be responsible for managing branch staff and daily operations as well as building relationships within the community. Lisa Lemon has been promoted to account executive/insurance sales of Berkshire Insurance Group, an affiliate of Berkshire Bank. She will be responsible for developing new clients for the agency, networking within the community and assisting clients with service needs. She is located at 138 Longmeadow Street in Longmeadow. PROGRAMS, AWARDS, GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS Hi-Tech Mold & Tool, the Pittsfield-based custom injection molding specialist, today announced that it would supply high-strength engineered plastic injection molded valves to Hamilton Sundstrand for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Hi-Tech estimates the value of the work over the life of the program at $11 million, its largest aerospace award ever. Hi-Tech competed with other companies from around the world and secured the win with its expertise and innovation by utilizing new engineered resins to reduce weight and the cost to build and maintain the product. Hi-Tech will build and deliver approximately 18 different valves per aircraft to operate what will be one of the most sophisticated environmental control systems on a commercial airline. EPOCH Assisted Living of Melbourne is currently displaying the works of Pittsfield artist Scott Taylor and his artwork will be on display in the art gallery at EPOCH Assisted Living at Melbourne throughout February. Scott describes his work as a mixture of Impressionist, Expressionist, and Representational. Although he works primarily in watercolors, he has also experimented with painting on canvas with acrylic and pastels. Part of EPOCH Assisted Living at Melbourne's programming for its residents, this display is open to the public. Chris "Mad Dog" Russo of WFAN (660 AM in New York City) was on hand for the grand opening of Darrow School's new fitness center on January 28. Russo, a 1978 graduate of the School, was the lead donor for the project. Darrow’s fitness facility originally was a wrestling room, and then a modest fitness center. With a lead gift from Russo, the space was extensively remodeled to provide a state-of-the-art facility. Included are more than $25,000 of strength and cardiovascular equipment and rubber flooring made of recycled materials in keeping with the School’s commitment to sustainability. Berkshire Management Association will present "Best Practices in Customer Service", a roundtable discussion facilitated by Timothy Coe, DI Administration and Call Center Manager at Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at 5:30 PM at Mazzeo's Ristorante. The evening will feature ideas, experiences and strategic tools proven successful for developing and managing a service operation that meets and exceeds your customers’ expectations. To inquire about becoming a BMA member or to reserve a space for the presentation, please contact Timothy Coe, BMA President, at (413) 395-4254 or timothy_coe@berkshirelife.com. The Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation is currently accepting applications from programs, services and special initiatives that address the many needs that arise when individuals residing in Berkshire County have a physical or developmental disability. A Board of Trustees will review applications through the winter and award grants by early summer. The Foundation maintains an annual giving target of at least $100,000. The deadline for grant requests is February 28. Applicants must be non-profit agencies with tax-exempt status. Applications may be obtained by contacting Laura Rotenberg, president of the Board of Trustees, at Berkshire Life, 700 South Street, Pittsfield. The Recruiting Crisis in the Berkshires, an interactive roundtable discussion sponsored by the Training Alliance of the Berkshires, will be held on Friday, February 17 from 8:00 – 9:00 AM in the training room at Legacy Banks, 99 North Street, Pittsfield. Panelists Heather Boulger of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Bill Mulholland of Berkshire Community College's Workforce Development initiative, and Meredith Wise of the Employers Association of the Northeast will lead a discussion on how local employers can increase their candidate pool with qualified individuals. Space is limited, so please register by February 10 to chantal.leven@legacybanks.com. Berkshire Center for Families and Children has kicked off its 2005-2006 Friends Drive, hoping to raise $30,000 to support its innovative community-based programs for at-risk families and children. After a 10-year hiatus, Berkshire Center has been re-licensed as an adoption agency with the capacity to complete adoptions for foster families. In addition, Berkshire Center is a partner in the Treehouse Foundation's efforts to create an intergenerational adoption community in Easthampton that will open in summer 2006. Berkshire Center has also recently taken on the role of lead agency for Family Networks, a new program of the Department of Social Services in Berkshire County and in Franklin/Hampshire counties. In Family Networks, Berkshire Center is partnering with DSS to reorganize and administer a broad range of services designed to support lasting family relationships and community connections for children served by DSS. Berkshire Entrepreneurs Network (BEN) will present the seminar "I Hate To Sell, But I Have To Sell - 2006" on February 16 at Asters in Pittsfield from 5:30 – 7:30 PM. This lively seminar is intended for business people who didn't choose sales as a career. Participants will learn new skills and attitudes that will help them achieve their business goals. This seminar will be conducted by Will Ryan of Systems Sales Support. Meetings are open to members and anyone who is interested in attending. There is no charge for first-time guests. Those planning to attend should RSVP as soon as possible to www.BerkshireEntrepreneursNetwork.org. Members pay $5 if they RSVP; $10 for non-members and members who do not RSVP. ARTS & CULTURE Shakespeare & Company's 2006 annual Spring Tour of Shakespeare brings Hamlet to schools and theatres throughout New England and New York as it hits the road from February 6 through May 12. Hamlet is supported by a $45,000 Shakespeare for a New Generation grant from the National Endowment of the Arts – one of the newest major arts-in-education initiatives sponsored by the Endowment. This recent grant marks a $20,000 increase over last year’s funding to the Company and has further allowed it to provide matching grants for additional schools who would not have been able to afford to participate in the tour. The tour addresses the growing need for arts experiences for children-at-risk in rural areas where economic stresses, municipal cutbacks, and the elimination of school and state arts programming limit opportunities for young people. Public performances of the tour will include a stop at Shakespeare & Company’s home in Lenox on March 23, 24 and April 3. For tickets and information please contact Joanne Deutch at (413) 637-1199 or visit www.shakespeare.org. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute's winter concert series "From Woodstock to Somewhere Near There..." will rock the Clark’s auditorium with three concerts featuring Richie Havens, Jess Klein, and Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Klein will kick off the "From Woodstock to Somewhere Near There..." series in style with an exhilarating mix of soul and rock on Saturday, February 25. Tickets are $18 ($12 for members). Richie Havens with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music will take to take the stage on Saturday, March 18. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members). The series closes with Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on Saturday, April 1. Tickets are $18 ($12 for members). To order tickets, call the Clark’s box office at (413) 458-0524. Concerts begin at 8:00 PM. Pop-culture meets fine art masterpieces during Paper Trails: 100 Great Drawings, Prints, and Photographs from the Clark, an engaging exhibition of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute's greatest works on paper. Paper Trails runs February 19 through April 30, 2006. This exhibition is a continuation of the Clark’s 50th anniversary celebration in which the permanent collection is viewed in new and innovative ways. Paper Trails draws surprising connections between seemingly unrelated works in the manner of the popular theory "Six Degrees of Separation." Visitors will follow a continuous thread from the first image to the last, discovering not only what ties one work to the next but reflecting on the web-like associations that link the works of artists from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Festivities planned in conjunction with Paper Trails include: "Sterling Turns Gold," an opening party on February 18; an opening lecture on February 19 by Ganz, “100 Degrees of Separation: Creating the Paper Trails;” a lecture by Boston College professor Jonathan Bloom on the history of paper on March 5; and a closing lecture by Michael Cassin, the Clark’s curator of education, on April 30. For more information, call (413) 458-2303 or visit www.clarkart.edu. The Berkshire Museum will present the interactive exhibition In the Dark now through May 21, 2006. The exhibition organized by the Cincinnati Museum Center explores the intriguing elements of the world's dark environments, from the nighttime world to underground ecosystems, from dark caves to the deep sea. Life-size dioramas, interactive games and experiments, specimens, and models will surround visitors with the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of dark ecosystems. In the Dark explores the nocturnal world by recreating nighttime environments: a forest in the Great Smoky Mountains and the Sonoran Desert. In the Dark also explores the world that lurks just below the surface of the earth, and the complex relationships among the underground ecosystems and the plants, animals, and humans above ground. While many of the ecosystems seen in In the Dark are rarely seen by human eyes, the exhibit area "Darkness and Humans" recreates an urban duplex and examines the effect of humans on dark environments, in the past and today. For more information, contact the Berkshire Museum at (413) 443-7171, ext. 10, or visit berkshiremuseum.org. Williams College Museum of Art has unveiled bold new work by contemporary artist Lalla Essaydi in which she challenges the worldview of 19th-century French painter, Jean-Léon Gérôme. TRANSGRESSIONS: Lalla Essaydi Confronts Jean-Léon Gérôme, which runs through May 14, 2006, juxtaposes Gérôme's iconic painting The Slave Market, loaned by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, with four paintings by Essaydi. Together, the works in this installation form a dialogue across space, time, and cultures. Admission to the Williams College Museum of Art is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information contact (413) 597-2429 or visit www.wcma.org. n Three Cheers information is published on a first come, first served basis as space allows. The Chamber reserves the right to edit all copy. Only Chamber members may submit material and must be sent on or before the 15th of each month. Information should be sent via e-mail to Stephanie French at sfrench@berkshirechamber.com.  RETURN TO TOP |
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