January, 2007

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REB Board of Directors Annual Meeting

The December 13, 2006 REB Board meeting was our annual meeting at which new and re-appointed Board members and Officer positions were elected. Fifteen current Board members were re-elected to the Board, and three new individuals were elected and welcomed to the Board. Two of the new members are pictured above: Thomas Creed, Senior V.P. Sovereign Bank (far left), and Craig Moore, a Consultant and former Professor and Economist from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (center). The third new member is Richard Wells, President and COO of Hampden Papers in Holyoke. Also newly added to our Board at the September 20th Board meeting were Mary Tzambazakis, Chief Financial Officer for the City of Springfield (far right), and Jan Denney, Director of the City of Springfield's Department of Elder Affairs.Welcome all!

A feature presentation was made at the Board meeting by James Bastien, President, and Bernie Glassman, Founder of the Zen Peacemakers, who spoke about their unique approach to social entrepreneurship as it relates to preparing the homeless for work. Over the course of 24 years, Mr. Glassman put together a corporation called the Greyston Mandala, which operates the Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, NY, the most famous aspect of his work which has been highlighted on the 60 Minutes and Today television shows. Greyston Mandala is devoted to rehabilitating the poor and homeless in Yonkers, providing about 75 jobs at a time for the formerly homeless and helping hundreds of homeless over the years. Others who benefited include people just out of prison, those who have been through substance abuse programs and welfare recipients. Mr. Bastien described how they are now turning their attention to Springfield to determine how they might replicate a similar effort to address the homeless situation locally. Priorities for Springfield would include human capital development for low income youth, elders, homeless, and ex-offenders; as well as neighborhood improvement through re-development of abandoned buildings. Anyone interested in how they might support this effort should contact Bill Ward, REB Executive Director, at 413-755-1357 or via email.

SPOTLIGHT ON: NURSING "STARs"

Western MA needs more college-level nurse educators! To answer that call, a new pilot program, called STAR, is seeking BSN prepared nurses and BSN students with demonstrated clinical experience and the desire to pursue a Masters or PhD at a regional academic institution. Ten individuals with a demonstrated commitment to becoming nursing faculty will receive a significant financial package to offset program tuition and fees necessary to complete a Master or PhD degree. In conjunction with regional service providers, STAR participants will receive flexible work schedules & teaching opportunities to support themselves while completing their academic program. In exchange, STAR students will consider teaching at one of the region’s academic institutions. For more information and to download a STAR application, click here! The deadline for submission is January 30th, so interested applicants still have time!

The STAR program is an initiative of Collaborating for the Advancement of Nursing: Developing Opportunities project (CAN DO), a unique collaboration between the region’s two and four year academic institutions and service providers to support BSN nurses and students to become nurse educators. The initiative is funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with additional funding provided by the MA State Office of Workforce Development.

Kelly Aiken just recently joined the REB as the Project Director for CAN DO. For more information, you can reach her at 413-755-1369, or via email. CAN DO is operated by the REB in partnership with the Davis Foundation.

SPOTLIGHT ON: PRECISION MANUFACTURERS!

At the December 13th REB Board meeting, REB Consultant David Cruise provided the Board a 6 month progress report on the Regional NetWorks (RENEW) program, a strategic initiative of the REB and the Western MA Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association to build the capacity and profile of the high technology precision machining industry in the Pioneer Valley region. A Workforce Development Report, “The Way Forward” has been released, which provides important data to assist RENEW in working with the companies to respond to their skills shortage issues. For a copy of this report, click here!

Other milestones included a precision machining enhancement skills training program which was held at Westfield Vocational Technical High School and graduated 47 current employees of manufacturing companies. Look for more programs to come soon! Also, a new website is set to go live soon that will increase communication among WMNTMA members and includes a special section focused on programs and information that will be helpful to parents and students. It's address will be www.wmntma.org once it is up and running.

Funding for RENEW comes through the John Adams Innovation Institute along with matching funds from Western MA Electric Company and their Charitable Giving Program. For more information on RENEW, contact David Cruise at 413-755-1362 or via email.

Recognition Award: Workforce Support Program of the Year – “Dress for Success”

Dress for Success is a National program that started 10 years ago in New York City and which now has 78 Chapters throughout the country. The Springfield Chapter began 7 years ago and serves almost 300 women a year with free clothing and business suits as they move from welfare to work and is totally staffed by volunteer professional women. Most of these women are clients in REB funded training and employment programs. Chair of this remarkable organization is Doreen Fadus from the Sisters of Providence Health System and who is also a REB Board member. Bill Ward, REB Executive Director (pictured on the far left), Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan and REB Board Chair Michael Niziolek (on the far right) presented an award of $10,000 to Doreen on behalf of the program, as the "Workforce Support Program of the Year". Kudos to Dress for Success!

~~ HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A PRODUCTIVE 2007 ~~