News from our members
The Nashua Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America has selected Martin F. Connors, Jr. to receive its Distinguished Citizen Award for 2016.
Martin Connors joined Rollstone Bank & Trust as President and Chief Operating Officer and was subsequently promoted to President & CEO in 2005. Rollstone Bank & Trust is an independent mutual savings institution with eight locations. It is a full service bank serving consumer, commercial and trust customers throughout Central Massachusetts.
Mr. Connors received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Bentley University and a Graduate School of Banking certificate with honors from the University of Wisconsin (BAI).
Mr. Connors is a certified public accountant. He is Chairman of the Board of Fitchburg State University, Director & Audit Committee Chair of SBLI of Mass., Past Campaign Chairman of United Way of North Central Massachusetts, Past Trustee & Audit Committee Chair of HealthAlliance Hospital and also Past Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce. He is Founder and Treasurer of the Bernardian Charitable Foundation and a member of various committees at both the Massachusetts Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association.
Mr. Connors is a Past Recipient of the Mount Wachusett Citizen of the Year Award and a Recipient of the St. Paul Consortium Elizabeth Ann Seton Award.
Mr. Connors and his wife Kathleen have a son and daughter, ages 24 and 18. Mr. Connors has dual citizenship – the United States and Ireland.
The Distinguished Citizen is chosen for his/her long standing commitment to our communities. Their efforts have helped improve the quality of life for thousands of people who are less fortunate. Their tireless leadership, energy and vitality have been a true inspiration to all who service within numerous charitable organizations. The values learned through the Boy Scouts are much the same as the values held by our Distinguished Citizen.
A celebratory reception will be held in his honor on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at the Double Tree by Hilton in Leominster. Proceeds from this event will benefit thousands of Boy Scouts in 33 communities throughout the region.
For ticket information please contact Nashua Valley Council Boy Scouts (978)534-3532.
Nashoba Valley Medical Center Opens Center for Pain Management
Nashoba Valley Medical Center Opens Center for Pain Management
The center is the only comprehensive one in the Nashoba Valley region to provide services to
diagnose and treat chronic pain conditions
Nashoba Valley Medical Center’s (NVMC) recently opened a new comprehensive Center for Pain Management to provide pain management services to residents living in the Nashoba Valley region. The center employs a team of pain management experts who use the most modern techniques to treat a wide range of common chronic pain successfully.
“Prior to the opening of the Center for Pain Management, our patients had to travel to Nashoba’s sister hospital, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, to receive care for pain problems,” said Salvatore Perla, president of Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “We are consistently evaluating the evolving health care needs of our patients, and the new center gives our patients accessibility to these services, close to home, which is especially important for someone experiencing chronic pain.”
NVMC’s Center for Pain Management is the only center in the Nashoba Valley region to provide services to diagnose and treat chronic pain conditions. Common chronic pain problems the center’s highly trained pain specialists treat include: arthritis; back pain; cancer-related pain; chronic neck pain; diabetes-related pain; fibromyalgia; intercostal neuralgia; ischemic-related pain; myofascial pain; neurogenic pain; osteoporosis; polymyalgia; post-operative pain; reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD); sciatica, shingles; stress-related pain and TMJ.
The center offers a wide range of services, including state-of-the-art fluoroscopic-guided spinal injections for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, medical management of pain and
related medications, interventional procedures, physical and occupational therapy, psychological support, opportunities for learning skills that minimize or prevent recurring pain, and education on specific chronic pain syndromes and treatment plans.
“Our multidisciplinary team of pain management experts work with each patient to evaluate the causes of their pain and develop a treatment plan that aims to maximize their personal potential and increase their functional capacity,” said Frederic Gerges, MD, director of the Center for Pain Management at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “We strive to improve their ability to return to the activities they once enjoyed.”
For more information about NVMC’s Center for Pain Management, visit www.nashobamed.org/pain or call 866-698-7533.
Leominster Credit Union Spreads Warmth from Blanket and Warm Clothing Drive
Leominster Credit Union donated over 65 new blankets and 110 pieces of warm clothing, from coats to boots, to area homeless shelters and charities. LCU has participated in the Cooperative Credit Union Association’s initiative along with area Credit Unions since 2011.
LCU was one of twenty-seven Credit Unions who participated in the Cooperative Credit Union Association’s record-breaking blanket and clothing drive with a total of 825 blankets and 2000 pieces of warm clothing.
Blankets and warm clothing were distributed to the following area organizations: Clinton Senior Center, Battered Women’s Shelter in Leominster, Sterling Fire Department, Holden Senior Center, Jeremiah’s Inn, Worcester, Abby’s House, Worcester, Ginny’s Helping Hand, Leominster, Montachusett Opportunity Council, Fitchburg, Our Father’s House, Fitchburg, Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network, Leominster.
4/16 – Central MA Science Festival
Central MA Science Festival
Come experience STEAM with scientists from all over New England!
Saturday, April 16
10am-3pm
Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster
365 Lindell Ave, Leominster, MA 01453
Website: http://centralmasciencefestival.org/
Mount Wachusett Community College wins 2016 Deval Patrick Award
Mount Wachusett Community College wins 2016 Deval Patrick Award
$50,000 annual prize given for innovative school-employer partnerships
BOSTON – Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced at a Boston Foundation forum Tuesday afternoon that Mount. Wachusett Community College is the recipient of the 2016 innovation prize named for him.
“I’m particularly happy to award this year’s prize to Mount Wachusett Community College,” Patrick said, lauding the college’s manufacturing job training programs. “When I proposed changes to the way we think of community colleges, this is the type of outcome I had in mind.”
The Boston Foundation created the Deval Patrick Award for Community Colleges in 2014 to recognize progress and excellence in establishing partnerships between employers and community colleges, in the process building effective career pathways for students from one of Massachusetts’ 15 Community Colleges. The annual $50,000 award is given to a community college selected by a volunteer committee of representatives from the higher education, workforce and business communities.
“During his time as Governor of Massachusetts and since his return to private life, Deval Patrick has always demonstrated a commitment to advancing and improving educational and career opportunities for all residents of the Commonwealth, but especially to those most in need,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “In hosting and presenting the Deval Patrick Award, the Boston Foundation seeks to honor Governor Patrick’s passion and reiterate our own support for collaboration between the academic and business communities. Mt. Wachusett Community College’s unique job training programs demonstrate the high level of timely innovation called for by the Patrick Award.”
MWCC, which serves 4,700 credit students at its main campus in Gardner and satellite campuses in Devens, Leominster and Fitchburg, was selected for developing its Advanced Manufacturing Technology Programs – stackable programs in advanced manufacturing that address local employer training needs and provide for multiple entry and exit points. Interested students can take non-credit or credit classes that lead directly to employment opportunities, industry credentials, and a pathway for completing additional credit courses at the college. Over the past two years, 291 students have enrolled in the program.
“We are honored that the Boston Foundation has recognized the value of the opportunities we are offering our students,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “We are very fortunate to be working with industry partners to ensure we are providing employers with a trained and skilled workforce so that we can support and grow our regional economy.”
The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Programs offer four levels of training:
- The six-week Industrial Readiness Training (IRT) that provides skills for entry-level employees in manufacturing and addresses workplace success (soft) skills, technical content, and numeracy/literacy.
- The optional 40-hour Quality Systems Training (QST), which is offered as stand alone or in conjunction with the IRT, prepares students for American Society for Quality certification, and provides three credits for a college course. The QST employment placement rate exceeds 77%.
- The one-year certificate in Mechatronics (Automation and Robotics) and a one-year certificate in Analytical Laboratory and Quality Systems.
- And finally, the optional 2-year A.S. Degree in Manufacturing Technology – Plastics or a 2-year A.S. Degree in Biomanufacturing with a Quality concentration.
Several other speakers addressed the audience at the Patrick Award forum Tuesday, including Grogan; Massachusetts Secretary of Labor Ronald L. Walker II; Joseph Fuller, Harvard Business School professor of Management Practice; Lane Glenn, President of North Essex Community College and president of the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office Council of Presidents; Bob LePage and Jeff Hayden from the Springfield Technical Community College/Holyoke Community College partnership – past winners of the Patrick Award; and Elizabeth Pauley, Boston Foundation Senior Director of Education to Career.
Walker gave a talk titled, “The Economic Imperative,” followed by Fuller’s presentation, “Addressing the Job Skills Mismatch.” Fuller and Walker then discussed job creation together.
MWCC Trustees Appoint Committee to Find President Asquino’s Successor
The search for Mount Wachusett Community College’s third president in 53 years has officially begun.
MWCC’s Board of Trustees has named a Presidential Search Committee to find the successor to Daniel M. Asquino, who announced last month that he will retire in January 2017 after 30 years at the helm of the college and 47 years of service in Massachusetts public higher education.
“Under Dr. Asquino’s astute leadership, Mount Wachusett Community College has become known for excellence in academics, workforce training, K-12 and community partnerships, student support services, civic engagement and sustainability,” said Trustee Richard A. Cella, who will chair the search committee.
“I am confident we’ll attract outstanding candidates for this position, given MWCC’s reputation as an innovative institution with an extraordinarily strong endowment for a community college,” said Mr. Cella, an attorney in Leominster and Gardner.
“Mount Wachusett Community College has grown exponentially over the past three decades under President Asquino’s bold leadership,” said Board of Trustees Chair Tina Sbrega, who will also serve on the committee.
The college serves nearly 12,000 credit and noncredit students at its main campus in Gardner, satellite campuses in Devens, Leominster and Fitchburg, and online, said Sbrega, president and CEO of GFA Federal Credit Union. “Our programs now include more than 70 academic degree and certificate options, tailored to our specific workforce needs.”
The nationwide search, conducted under the guidance of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, will be an open and transparent process that will involve the entire college community, Ms. Sbrega said. The committee plans to hire an executive search firm to coordinate the process, and anticipates it will present a recommendation to the Board of Higher Education for approval by late fall.
Dr. Asquino, currently the longest serving president among Massachusetts’ public institutions of higher education, was appointed in August, 1987. He succeeded the college’s first president, Arthur F. Haley, who was appointed when MWCC was established in 1963.
“Over the next 10 months, we will work together to address all of the challenges and opportunities for Mount Wachusett Community College, with a goal of a seamless transition to work at least one month with the new president,” Dr. Asquino said.
In addition to Attorney Cella and Ms. Sbrega, other committee members include: Trustees Scott Howard, executive vice president of business development of Bemis Associates, Suzanne Farias, general manager of the Double Tree by Hilton in Leominster, and Joana Dos Santos executive director of the United Neighbors of Fitchburg/Cleghorn Neighborhood Center; business and community leader Jim Garrison, former board chair and current member of the MWCC Foundation; MWCC Foundation board Chair Ray Martino and foundation member Chuck Bowles; state Board of Higher Education member Patricia Marshall; Gardner Superintendent of Schools Denise Clemons; Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella; business Professor Elmer Eubanks; Financial Aid Director Kelly Morrissey; Shaunti Phillips, senior outreach specialist; Cheryl Oliveri, staff assistant in the Planning, Development & Institutional Research department; Carla Morrissey, library assistant and circulation supervisor; Student Government Association President Cathy Teague; and ex-officio member Diane Ruksnaitis, vice president of human resources & payroll and affirmative action officer.
“There really are no words to express the gratitude and appreciation for all President Asquino has done,” Ms. Sbrega said. “Dan is synonymous with words like tireless and innovative and creative. These are going to be very difficult shoes to fill, so rather than fill them, we’ll have to find new shoes.”
4/19 – 2016 Retailer Summit: Change or Close, No More Choices
This April 19th Westborough, MA Retailer Summit will reinforce that brick-and-mortar will remain the dominant revenue-generating channel. But you’ll need to identify and respond to the shoppers’ needs. Learn what you need to do as a retailer to stay relevant to your customers and be a profitable, vital retail business. CLICK HERE to Register
DCR Announces Unique Opportunity to Reuse Four Historic Properties Located across Massachusetts
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for four historic properties located across the Commonwealth that have been made available as part of the agency’s Historic Curatorship Program. The program offers the unique opportunity for private entities seeking to partner with the state to rehabilitate, reuse and maintain a historic property in exchange of a permit or long term lease. The properties include the 1847 Gatehouse at Lake Cochituate State Park in Wayland, the c. 1800 Farmhouse and Barn at Lake Wyola State Park in Shutesbury, the 1903 Superintendent’s House at Mt. Wachusett State Reservation in Princeton*, and the 1903 Officer’s Quarters at Ft. Revere in Hull.
“The Historic Curatorship Program demonstrates an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to preserving the history and culture of our park system,” said DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. “These four properties are significant to the agency, their local communities, and the Commonwealth. Lack of an active use and damage caused by vandalism and the elements threaten these important resources, and through the Historic Curatorship Program, DCR hopes to find partners with the right combination of expertise, resources and passion to bring these landmarks back to life.”
DCR is not calling for formal proposals at this time, but is issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to present the four properties and the program to the general public, gauge general interest in the potential opportunity, and collect information to guide the development of formal Requests for Proposals. DCR looks to use this solicitation to identify creative reuses that will provide, first and foremost, for the preservation of the historic resource, but also encourages creative ideas that balance practical concerns with historic preservation standards. While the program requires public access to the property twice a year, DCR encourages reuse ideas that include other public benefits beyond the twice annual requirement.
Responses to the RFEI are due on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 by 3:00PM.
The properties represent a broad range of architecture, significance, and settings: The Greek Revival Cochituate Gatehouse is a small granite structure that marked the starting point of Boston’s pioneering regional water system; the Shingle-style Wachusett Superintendent’s House was one of the first buildings built by the State for park use and sits in the shadow of one of Massachusetts’ iconic peaks; the Queen Anne Officer’s Quarters at Ft. Revere was part of a nationwide military construction program designed to fortify America’s coasts; and the Federal-inspired Farmhouse and Barn at Lake Wyola served travelers and guests as a nineteenth century inn, and later as a vacation resort.
The RFEI describes the submission requirements and provides information on the properties and the program, including an estimate of rehabilitation costs that would fall under the responsibility of a future user. Responses to the RFEI should briefly describe the respondent’s proposed reuse concept, experience, and feasibility plan. Respondents will be added to the mailing list in anticipation of the release of a formal Request for Proposals.
Established in 1994, the Historic Curatorship Program matches some of the Commonwealth’s significant historic resources with outside partners interested in providing rehabilitating and maintenance services in exchange for a long-term lease. Since the program’s inception, over $16 million in private funds has been leveraged toward the preservation of some of the state’s unused but significant historic properties. This total represents $7 of private funding for every $1 of state funds invested. The program has become a national model, inspiring other government entities to add this innovative public-private partnership to their preservation toolbox.
To date, nineteen properties have been preserved under the program, from the mountains of Berkshire County to the urban streets of Dorchester, from the banks of the Merrimack River to the shores of Cape Cod. Current uses for the properties include single-family homes, artist lofts, nonprofit groups, and events and lodging facilities. Successful curators are able to leverage their own ‘sweat equity’ towards the preservation and management work.
For electronic copies of the RFEI, as well as more details on the Historic Curatorship Program, visit DCR’s website. For hard copies of the documents or more information on the program, send an e-mail to HCP.Requests@state.ma.us, call 617-626-1361, or write to Historic Curatorship Program, Department of Conservation and Recreation, 7th floor, 251 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02114.
*Estimated baseline project costs for the 1903 Superintendent’s House at Mt. Wachusett State Reservation are $400-500K with a 30-40 year building lease. The cost of the historic renovations will replace payments for the lease.