New brand bringing together the flavors of lemonade and seltzer set to roll out across New England

Wachusett Brewing Company is putting a refreshing twist in to the fast-growing hard seltzer category with the launch of Country Hard Seltzer, an exciting fusion of flavored lemonades and seltzer, just in time for the summer season.

“Everyone has been really excited about this one” said Christian McMahan, President of Wachusett Brewing Company. “So many people know us for the quality of our fruit beer portfolio, so taking that knowledge and translating that to a line of delicious fruit flavored lemonades combined with the refreshing taste of seltzer was a natural extension for us”

Country Hard Seltzer will feature four different flavors: Blueberry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade and Lime Lemonade. The brand will release a 12pk variety pack featuring the four flavors together.

For more information about Country Hard Seltzer, visit http://www.countryhardseltzer.com

About Wachusett Brewing Company

Celebrating 25 years in 2019, WBC produces a diverse, award-winning line of beers ranging from their best-selling Blueberry Ale to their highly-rated Wally New England IPA series. WBC was named of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the US in 2019.

BOSTON – The Small Business Administration (SBA) has named Cleartech Group the 2020 Minority Owned Small Business of the Year for Massachusetts.

Cleartech Group earned the recognition for tremendous growth in revenue and outstanding community service.  Serving clientele throughout Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, Cleartech provides consulting and managed IT business solutions for small and mid-sized firms.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Tony Fields for his service in the United States Military,” said SBA Massachusetts District Director, Robert Nelson. “It is an honor to recognize Mr. Fields for contributions both to his country and his community.  He has notably demonstrated an ability to adapt to a changing marketplace and grow his business with relationships and commitment to his community.”

Tony began his entrepreneurial career in 2004 when he opened a computer repair franchise in Leominster, MA.  For the next decade, he operated his business while balancing raising a young family and serving his community in the Leominster/Fitchburg area.   With steady growth and an increased demand for managed IT services, Fields could see an expansion and new focus were necessary. In 2017, Fields left the franchise and founded Cleartech Group.   He moved the company from a 900 sq. ft. service center to a 2,300 sq. ft. office space.  The risk paid off as Cleartech Group increased revenue by 40% from 2018 to the end of 2019.

“We recognize how vital technology is to business success and provide the right solutions catered to our clients.” said Tony Fields, President of Cleartech Group. “My team is instrumental in supporting our clients’ ever-changing needs, especially in today’s unprecedented environment.”

Mr. Fields actively participates in the Nashoba and North Central Massachusetts Chambers of Commerce and co-founded the still-thriving Leominster chapter of Business Network International in 2004.  He also contributes time and support to his community with organizations including: LUK, Inc., First Robotics Lego League, Mass STEM, Ayer Shirley Girls’ High School Basketball, and the Boys and Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster.

Tony Fields completed both the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program and the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative in 2018 and has utilized counseling services provided by the Veteran’s Business Outreach Center of New England. He is currently participating in EO Accelerator, a program facilitated by the peer-to-peer network, Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

The company was nominated by Alison Berglund, Founder/Coach at Encore Age LLC.

 

Many members of the community have reached out in recent weeks with kind words and expressions of thanks to our dedicated staff as we work to battle COVID-19. Please know that your support means the world to us.  

Others have reached out with concerns on how our regional approach to battling COVID-19 – which reaches beyond the walls of our hospital – might impact the local community. So, I wanted to provide you with the facts. 

What We Did 

As many know, we temporarily suspended inpatient intensive care admissions at Nashoba Valley Medical Center and redeployed resources to communities experiencing increased need as a result of COVID-19. Other services, including the Emergency Department, remain open. In addition, experienced critical care nurses continue to be available at Nashoba Valley Medical Center 24/7 to treat and stabilize anyone in need of immediate intensive care services. We plan to resume normal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services at Nashoba Valley Medical Center when the statewide declaration of emergency is resolved. 

Why We Did It

The year-to-date average daily census in the ICU at Nashoba Valley Medical Center is three patients. As COVID-19 cases have surged across the Commonwealth – and to best care for all patients we serve – we have assembled teams, including critical care staff to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, to maximize the effect these highly-trained providers could have on patient outcomes, including those from Nashoba Valley Medical Center. 

By doing so, we were able to create both COVID positive and COVID negative ICU locations at Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, further reducing the potential for cross-contamination of patients and staff.

Our chief medical officer, Joseph Weinstein, MD, recently addressed why this was the right step in caring for our community’s health. He said: “We saw early on in other geographies that traditional models of care delivery were ineffective in battling the surge of COVID-19. We needed to learn the lessons from Italy and China. And we needed to move fast. Significantly lower infection and mortality rates were achieved in places like Germany and South Korea, where hospitals clustered COVID-19 patients in isolated locations, thus lessening the chance of infection for other patients and staff.”

We Are Here for You

Our mission is to best serve the health needs of our community. Nashoba Valley Medical Center is open and continues to serve the needs of the local community with its 24/7 Emergency Department and medical/surgical beds.

We are able to respond to any case that comes through our door or medical need that arises within our facility. In addition to ICU nurses, we have 24/7 physician coverage in our Emergency Department and our inpatient units. We also have more than adequate resources to care for our patients, including personal protective equipment (PPE), medications, ventilators, defibrillators and medical expertise. 

Again, thank you for your support in during this very difficult time. 

With Gratitude, 

Korry Dow
President
Nashoba Valley Medical Center