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Great Barrington – Community Health Programs named Eric Brun of Great Barrington to the board. Brian Drake was elected Board President at the annual Board Reorganization. Celia Clancy was elected Vice President. Alison Holmes will remain secretary of the board. Chuck Leach will continue as the board’s treasurer.
Community Health Programs, Inc. Berkshires of Western is a multi-based healthcare network serving approximately 30,000 regional residents with comprehensive medical and dental services at multiple practice locations.
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Pittsfield – Brian House has joined 18 Degrees, Family Services for Western Mass. as vice president of youth development. In this role, House will lead Pittsfield Community Relations and North Adams; West Main Connection, two service stations that provide young people with safer, healthier and more prosperous life paths. House also oversees programs that give 18-year-olds the opportunity to reach their potential.
18 Degrees promotes the well-being and resilience of children, youth, adults and families. They provide education, parenting skills and support, prevention and intervention, advocacy and life skills in a variety of programs serving youth, adults and families.
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Salisbury, Conn – Salisbury Congregation, UCC, welcomes David Baranowski as Music Director. He succeeds Dr. Samuel Lord Calkey, who served as interim director of music for two years and has begun to focus on his music career and teaching interests. In addition to leading the church’s music programs, directing the choir, and providing music in the worship service, David continues the tradition of “meeting house music and meditation” on the first Friday of every month from 12-12:30 p.m.
Baranowski had a long and distinguished career in the music industry. For the past eighteen years he has toured internationally with rock icon Rich Blackmore as keyboardist and vocalist. David lives in Danbury with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Vincent.
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Annandale-on-Hudson, NY – Peter L. Oficial, associate professor of literature and director of the American Studies Program at Bard College, has won a $50,000 Rabkin Award for his work in visual arts journalism. L’Official is one of eight visual arts journalists to receive a Rabkin Award from the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation.
Peter L. Official (he/him) is a literary and American studies writer, art critic, and educator from The Bronx, NY. He is Associate Professor of Literature and Director of the American Studies Program at Annandale-Hudson, NY, where he teaches courses in African American Literature and Culture, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century American Literature, and How. The visual arts interact with literature, space and architecture. He is also the project coordinator for “Rethinking Space: Bard-Mahikantuk” sponsored by the Mellon Foundation’s “Humanity for All Times” initiative. He is the author of L’Official. Urban Legend: The South Bronx in Representation and DestructionIn the year Published by Harvard University Press in 2020, as well as numerous articles published in publications such as The New Yorker.
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Burlington, Vt. — The University of Vermont has announced the appointment of Polly Erickson, PhD, as executive director of the Food Systems Research Center, a collaboration between UVM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. An internationally recognized expert in agricultural development and sustainability, Erickson will oversee operations and provide critical leadership as the center grows into a hub for local and regional food systems research across the Northeast.
Erickson’s Ph.D. in Soil Science, an MS in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in History from Swarthmore College. She brings to the research center extensive leadership and management skills, as well as expertise in the impacts of climate change on agriculture, natural resource management, disease and social equity. Erickson is recognized as an early pioneer in the field of food systems studies and is a seminal scholar using interdisciplinary approaches to address complex food systems issues in the context of global environmental change.
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Great Barrington – Sophia Blestos has been named human resources director for five South County cities. Supported by state aid for the first year, the Bletsos position will be shared between Greater Barrington, Sheffield, New Marlboro, Monterey and West Stockbridge. It is primarily located at the Great Barrington City Hall. In her joint position, she will be responsible for establishing and refining best practices in all aspects of HR management across the five cities.
Blessos earned two degrees from Springfield College: a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management with minors in art and environmental studies.
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Pittsfield — The Berkshire County Historical Society was selected by local Big Y store leadership as a non-beneficiary in the Big Y Community Bag program in August.
The Big Y Community Bag Program is designed to give back to the local community with every reusable bag purchased. For every $2.50 reusable Big Y Community Bag sold, the nonprofit donates $1 to the store where it was purchased. This program provides a way for consumers to give back as part of their normal weekly routine. For more information about the Big Y Community Bag program, please visit bigy.bags4mycause.com.
The Berkshire County Historical Society is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to collecting, preserving, and disseminating the history of Berkshire County in western Massachusetts. Additionally, the Berkshire County Historical Society is committed to preserving and interpreting Arrowhead, home of author Herman Melville, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The Berkshire County Historical Society offers Arrowhead tours and programs devoted to the history of western Massachusetts and the life and writings of Herman Melville. For information on visiting, go to berkshirehistory.org.
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Enfield, Conn – Polish pottery importer Janell Imports and Manufacture USA boutique stores announced that they have donated more than $40,000 so far to a relief account for Ukrainian refugees, along with their loyal customers. Beginning in March, Manufacture USA pledged 10 percent of online and in-store sales to support Ukrainians who fled their beloved country, giving customers the option to donate at checkout. Leaders in the Polish city of Boleshwaic set up a fund for Manufacture USA to put money directly into the account. The funds provide emergency assistance to Ukrainian refugees in need of food, shelter, clothing, medicine and personal hygiene products. Bolesławiec is the birthplace of the president and founder of Genel Imports, Elle Soss-English. For more information about the company’s humanitarian efforts, visit manufakturusa.com/pages/humanitarian-assistance.
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Ludlow — The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) has selected two students from Mount Greylock Regional High School to receive $1,000 scholarships. Scholarships are awarded to eligible seniors who plan to attend a two- or four-year college or trade school program. This year’s scholarship recipients are Maisie Dufour and Rosario Larios Sontay.
Dufour plans to study communications at Michigan State University. While attending Mount Greylock, she served as secretary of the National Honor Society and was the recipient of the Smith College Book Award. She was also a member of the Yearbook Club, the Youth Environmental Protection Group, and the Record, Education and Vote Club.
Larios Sontai will attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall and major in business. While in high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society and participated in the soccer, basketball, and tennis teams. She has also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and the Berkshire Humane Society.
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Pittsfield — Berkshire United Way announced $1,029,500 in renewals for 40 programs across 24 community partners. This funding will last for one year, from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2023, and will continue to support BUW’s three key areas of community impact: early childhood development, positive youth development, and economic prosperity. Learn more about 40’s programs. This grant helps support programs like Central Berkshire’s Habitat for Humanity Community Explorer Program that connects marginalized residents with resources that allow them to remain economically resilient.
A new round of funding requests will be announced in early 2023, but consider contributing to BUW’s fundraising campaign to help increase investments in quality and impactful programs. Donate at www.berkshireunitedway.org/donate.
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