Ferraro Family receives ‘Family of Year’ award

Contributing to the fabric of the church and community

By Charles F. Bennett
Turley Publications Staff Writer

WILBRAHAM – One way or another, the five members of the Ferraro Family of Wilbraham have all been involved with church and community service projects in town.
A past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 10195, and a 13-year member, Fred Ferraro and his wife Glenda, and daughters Neliana, Maricel and Isabel, were recognized by his fellow Knights at the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner in the St. Cecilia’s Parish Center Saturday night March 16.
The Ferraro’s were presented with the Family of Year Award by Fr. Joesph Sorrano. The presentation was coordinated by K of C Lector Joe DeRoy and the dinner was chaired by Donald Flannery.
The Knights of Columbus is one of the world’s largest family fraternal organizations according to its website. Families are the foundation of what the Knights do to help others and with the Family of the Year Award presented this year in Wilbraham, they recognized the importance of the Ferraro family.
Fred said he was honored that his tribe was singled out to receive the award. “Because, there are lots of families who participate in the St. Cecilia’s community,” he said.
The Ferraro’s will also be nominated for the organization’s International Family of the Year Award.
Each Ferraro family member is a leader or contributes to the fabric of the church and general community. The entire family has been involved with many charitable causes in the area including a booster of Knights of Columbus activities and fundraisers.
Fred
Fred tries to stay humble and under the radar. He is a director of retirement services at MassMutual Retirement Services and has worked for the company for 23 years. He has served as a chancellor, warden and trustee for the Knights. He is president of the New Women’s Center that he and his wife of 24 years, Glenda, founded 2 ½ years ago. The center is a crises center that aids pregnant women who need help.
Fred serves as a chaperone of youth during the March for Life trips, a chaperone for Steubenville East, a youth retreat. He is chairman of the Keep Christ in Christmas Birthday Party, past chairman of the Soccer Challenge, a director of the Survival Center Dinner, has volunteered at the Knights’ Thanksgiving and Easter Food Drives, Free Throw Contest, St. Patrick’s Dinner fundraiser, Rosary events and the Road Race for scholarships.
Fred and Glenda both serve as group leaders of Teams of our Lady that supports healthy marriages.
Glenda is a lead counselor at the New Women’s Center and an Eucharistic minister, a member of the Moms group and the Cenacle Prayer Group for Priests at St. Cecilia’s.
Neliana, 18, was a 2012 winner of the Valley Press Club Scholarship and is freshman at Quinnipiac University. When she attended Minnechaug Regional High School she was president of Celebrate Life, an altar server, volunteered at Wilbraham Public Access and is a Scout retreat leader. She is a youth member of the Girl Scouts Board of Directors.
Maricel,16, is a junior at Minnechaug. She is vice president of Celebrate Life and recently led a project to collect items for needy people in Haiti. She is an altar server and attends youth retreats. She is a youth member of the Girl Scouts Board of Directors.
Isabel, 13, volunteers for various church and Knights of Columbus projects and attends retreats.
All members of the family run stations at the Keep Christ in Christmas Birthday Party, prepare roses for the Pro-Life Rose Sale, help with raffles at fundraisers, man stations at the K of C Road Race and sell tickets to all those events.
Fred said the family philosophy is to participate in as much as they can. “The friendships you build are very good. It gives you a great feeling.”

Charles F. Bennett can be reached at cbennett@turley.com.

Should town move elections to special primary date?

Town Clerks cope with election schedules

By Charles F. Bennett
Turley Publications Staff Writer

REGION – In a case of national affairs intruding on local communities, information has surfaced with the announcement that a South Boston legislator, Cong. Stephen Lynch (D-Massachusetts) will challenge Cong. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) of Malden, forcing a special primary election for U. S. Senator proposed for April 30.
Markey and Lynch will compete in the Democratic ballot to fill the seat recently held by new Secretary of State John Kerry who was appointed by President Obama last week. On the Republican side, as the Times goes to press, former Sen. Scott Brown said he would not run for the seat. After the primary, the special election for Kerry’s Senate seat will likely be held June 25.
The entrance of candidate Lynch reverberates down to the Hampden and Wilbraham town clerks who have learned that a bill was filed by Mass. Secretary of State William Galvin to allow boards of selectmen to move town elections, originally scheduled close to the date, to the same day as the April 30 primary.
Hampden Town Clerk Eva Wiseman thinks it’s a good idea. Wilbraham Town Clerk Beverly Litchfield does not.
Hampden
Wiseman said the regular town election has long been scheduled for Monday, May 6. “That’s less than week after this new April 30 special primary,” said Wiseman. It would cost the town extra funds to hold two elections that close together, she said. “If the elections were separate, we would have to pay two separate groups of poll workers. That would be costly, and would mean setting up and taking down the voting machines in the Town House twice. We can’t just leave the machines set up for a week. Groups like the Scouts use the Town House for other things,” she said.
Wiseman said if the Legislature approves the combining of the elections it would next go to the Hampden Board of Selectmen who will have the choice to combine them or not. Wiseman sent a letter to the selectmen Jan. 31 recommending they combine the town election with the primary. “I would strongly urge the Selectmen to approve making that change for 2013. The Annual Town Election, scheduled for May 6th, would otherwise be less than a week after the special primary. The financial benefits, reduced staffing issues and logistics of combining the two would certainly make it the most sensible action to take,” she wrote.
Wiseman said she would keep the selectmen informed about the official legislative decision.
Wilbraham
Wilbraham Town Clerk Beverly Litchfield said the town elections, May 18, won’t be held so close to the April 30 primary as the Hampden one and she would prefer to keep them separate. “We wouldn’t save much money in combining them. If the primary was held the same day as our town elections, we would still have to have two print two separate ballots and have separate check-in and check-out tables. Turnouts for primary elections are very low. It would be better to have our own election (May 18). It would be a much cleaner election,” said Litchfield.
The office of state Rep. Angelo Puppolo in Wilbraham provided the Times with a copy of the primary bill filed by Galvin and co-sponsored by Rep. Angelo M. Scaccia of the 14th Suffolk District.
The bill, House Docket No. 3295 was filed Jan. 18 as an act to administer special state primaries in only the year 2013. A brief reading of the bill notes that, if the date for holding a preliminary or town election or annual town meeting falls within 30 days before or after the date set for a special primary or election, the town council – in the case of Wilbraham or Hampden, their boards of selectmen – after consulting with the town clerks of the towns, may change the election as long as it takes place before June 30. But the selectmen must approve the change at least 35 days before the election would be re-scheduled for.

Charles F. Bennett can be reached at cbennett@turley.com.

Our school administrators are 100 percent focused on the kids

By Mary Marek Holman
Guest Columnist

The incident in Newtown obviously has touched all of our hearts; however, for me, it also reminded me of another tragedy/crisis in our recent past, September 11.
I was a teacher at Wilbraham Memorial School at the time and I would like to take this opportunity to share with the town how our town, school administration, and police force responded to that crisis because I am not sure if they have ever really been recognized for their efforts that day and I think in light of recent events, our residents would feel reassured by the town’s response in a similar crisis.
As soon as the town realized there was a “situation” that day (remember at first, we all thought it was just one plane that accidentally hit the tower; it was not until the second plane hit that the country suspected we were under attack), a swift discussion took place: Do we close the schools? Send the kids home? It was decided not, as many parents were at work and we would be sending kids home to empty homes (an unsecure location).
Safest Place
The schools were deemed the safest place for them to be under the circumstances (as the buildings were designated shelters etc, we just treated it like an emergency shelter situation). At the time, there was still speculation that there were planes in the air, that one may be heading for Westover, that terrorists may attack the schools. It was like Pearl Harbor, I imagine; nobody knew what was happening for sure, but we were hoping we would not be hit.
Immediately, the police came up and surrounded our building; we had placed the school in lockdown and locked all doors and windows but the police were there to physically surround the building and posted themselves at all doors, road blocked the entryway etc. Although we were, in effect, under attack, I never felt safer; our administration and Police Department took swift action and immediately responded securing our locations town wide. No one could have gotten through to any of the schools.
I just wanted to share that memory with the town at this time because although it was a terrible, terrible day, and the events in Newtown no less terrible, I want our town and residents to feel secure, knowing that we have an effective administration and a police force that responds immediately and comprehensively to any and all potential threats.
In addition to being a former educator here, I am also a mom with a son in the schools here, so sending him back to school this week was a little anxiety producing, as it was for many moms post-Newtown I assume; but remembering 9/11, I was reassured the town had it covered. As before, administration took swift action, this time posting help online and reaching out to let us know they would be there for the kids if they needed help and invited us to contact them with any questions (how lucky are we to have gone from one excellent superintendent to another?
It was Dr. G at the time of Sept. 11, now we have the amazingly effective and affable Marty O’Shea, the best principals and vice principals in the state. How could we get luckier than Mr. Hale? Mrs. C? Deb Thompson? Mr. Roy? Mr. Handzel? And all our other wonderful leaders? Not to mention each and every teacher and staff person to our lunch ladies and maintenance engineers?
From the inside, I can assure you every last one of them is 100 percent focused on the kids and keeping all our kids safe and smart. So while we may all be in mourning for the horrible tragedy in Newtown, please take heart that our town is, and always has been, an effective and safe place to be. The entire school system and police department unfortunately had a dry run akin to the recent tragedy when it took on the 9/11 crisis and I know, and want to share with all of you, that they performed not only effectively but admirably.
Take heart that they all value, protect and serve our children as much as their very own! Our hearts go out to Newtown and while no one can prevent all tragedies, please be assured that the Wilbraham School System and Police Department are always on guard protecting and enriching our children’s lives. Thank you to both!

Mary Marek Holman of Wilbraham, a parent of a Minnechaug Class of 2015 student, is a former fifth grade educator at Memorial School, who has retired due to illness.

Minnechaug and Academy students get involved with Wilbraham’s 250th anniversary

TIMES photo by Charles F. Bennett

Michael Gaziano (left) and Brian McCarthy set up their equipment at an interview at the Times for their original film “Wilbraham, Our Story”.

Student Ambassadors bring youthful creativity to celebration
By Patricia O’Connor
Special to the Times

WILBRAHAM – If the 250th Anniversary of Wilbraham Youth Ambassadors are any indication the future of the town is in good hands.
For the past several months, a small, dedicated group of students from Minnechaug Regional High School and Wilbraham & Monson Academy have been hard at work creating Wilbraham- centered projects for the town’s 250th anniversary celebration.
Some of these works will be highlighted during the First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve. Others will be showcased at 250th events throughout 2013. Projects vary widely and are based on the students’ personal interests and talents. This was indeed the very basis for the creation of the Ambassador program; an avenue to highlight the talents of our young people. Wilbraham’s got talent and the 250th Planning Committee is committed to showcasing that talent.
Young Filmmakers
Displaying their filmmaking talents at the Brooks Room on New Year’s Eve will be two seniors, Brian McCarthy and Michael Gaziano. Brian and Michael have created films in the past and hopefully will continue. They, with the help of a crew of fellow students, have created an original film entitled “Wilbraham, Our Story”.
The short documentary opens with stunning views of Wilbraham, past and present. The images are shot over powerful dialog. It then concludes with first-hand accounts of the last 50 years presented by Wilbraham residents who remember those years well.
Diana Gerberich, president of the Key Club, will head up the Ye Old Bake Sale at the United Church on First Night. Diana will preside over the sale sporting a colonial style costume. Her recipes are old time favorites gathered from various sources including an internet search. Diana has garnered help with the baking from a group of her classmates, including Ambassadors, Dakota Robinson and Chris Ingerson. Diana will also perform with the Minnechaug Jazz Band at the WMA Chapel. Finally, the lights at Gazebo Park and beautification of Veteran’s War Memorial will be another of her contribution to our 2013 town celebration. The latter is part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
Choreographed
Minnechaug sophomore, Samantha Peck-Dionne will share her love of dance when she presents an original piece “Dance Through Time”. Samantha has been dancing since she was very young and now attends the Dance Studio of Wilbraham. She has recently begun competing in local competitions with their senior team. Her performance will incorporate the styles of dance enjoyed by teens over the last 50 years.
Samantha has chosen a medley popular music from each decade of the last five. This dance has been choreographed with the help of her dance instructor, Lisa Bruckner, and will be performed in the Brooks Room on First Night.
Junior, Chris Ingerson has partnered with Carol Gauthier, art teacher at Mile Tree School. Chris will use his photographic skills to take photos of locations around town. Gauthier will then use Chris’ photographs as inspiration for her young students to create original works of art. Watch for these works to be displayed sometime this spring.
Carolyn Cross, a Wilbraham & Monson Academy student, will have a booth at the Wilbraham Library. The focus of her project will be the history of WMA. You can learn all about the school from Carolyn. She will also be participating in tours of the WMA campus to be held in the spring. Megan Wells, another WMA student and a musician, will be presenting her project at a later date in 2013. She has written an original piece of music, entitled, “Rainbow”. Megan has gathered a group of friends and formed a band to help her with her presentation.
Finally, new to the Ambassador program are sophomores, Dakota Robinson, Marissa Falcetti, and Bridget Lawler who are still exploring possibilities for their project. Dakota is the sophomore class vice-president. Marissa will be singing with the Minnechaug Madrigal Singers in the WMA Chapel on First Night. She hails from a long line of musical talent. Dakota, Marrisa and Bridget have been friends since elementary school.
Get Involved
Wilbraham’s last birthday celebration took place in 1963. Don’t wait for the next celebration in 2063 to participate. Join the fun now. We welcome more Ambassadors. Come show us your talent; write a song, paint a picture of your favorite spot in town, partner with a younger class, organize an event and let the 250th steering committee showcase your work.
Ambassador applications can be found on the student/parent page of the Minnechaug website, or the Town of Wilbraham website (under the 250th link). For more information contact Roberta Albano 596-4566 or Pat O’Connor 596-7236.

Patricia O’Connor is co-chair with Roberta Albano of the 250th Anniversary Student Ambassador Committee.

Question of the Week

Minnechaug sophomores take early career steps

Mock interviews held to prepare for the ‘world of work’

By Angela Carbone
Turley Publications Correspondent

WILBRAHAM – The auditorium of the new Minnechaug Regional High School became a business “casting call” of sorts on Friday, Dec. 7 when the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce held its annual Career Readiness Program. Sophomores waited for their names to be called to a mock interview; local businessmen and business women gave each of the 69 students a taste of entering the world of work.
Kalyn Burke, of New England Promotional Marketing, greeted student Hajra Yusuf with a smile and a handshake. Burke asked questions and encouraged Yusuf to expand upon her answers.
A Minnechaug graduate herself, Burke said she has been part of the mock interviews in the past and was glad to volunteer again. “I’m hoping the students get some real life experience out of this. In the digital age, learning to present yourself is very important,” she said.
Feedback
Lori Kuhn, a group manager at Massachusetts Mutual in Springfield, said the mock interview event is a great program. “Every interviewer does things a little differently. I give feedback right off the start.” Other interviewers waited until the end of the interview to give pointers on improving job-seeking skills. Kuhn stressed making eye contact immediately, offering a handshake, and sharpening responses to questions. “I had one student say last year he wasn’t interested in washing dishes. I told him: Never say you’re not interested to an interviewer,” Kuhn said.
Many students had already learned the lesson of first impressions being lasting impressions. They came prepared by dressing for the part, and all had questions to ask of the interviewer.
Wearing a shirt and tie, student Jack Callahan, said he welcomed the chance to see what a job interview was like. “We learn how to get a feel for it,” he said. One thing he learned was to answer more decisively, he said. “I had a lot of long pauses.” Still, he thought the interview went well. “I wasn’t nervous. I feel like I have good people skills.”
Arno Cai, of Wilbraham, said he already works, but in his family’s business. The interview was valuable experience, he said. “It felt real,” Cai said. “The questions were serious. In the end, I felt it was a good experience. It teaches us what to expect.”
Well-Prepared
Erik J. Skar, insurance agent with the MassMutual Financial Group, advised some students to dress more conservatively for interviews, but said the students were well-prepared and poised. “They had really good eye contact. That’s a huge thing in an interview and it’s one of the things I look for,” he said.
Sophomore Sydni Gamble, of Wilbraham, said she had indicated she wanted to interview as a sales associate for American Eagle, but she hopes to become a dental hygienist. She, too, rated the interview as an important learning tool. “I was nervous, of course, but (the interviewer) was very nice. It did go smoothly, better than I thought it would,” she said.
Student Stephanie Opal interviewed with Jules Gaudreau, of the Gaudreau Group. “I wasn’t really nervous,” Opal said after the brief interview concluded. “I think I made good eye contact.”
Gaudreau was impressed with the Minnechaug students. He had recently conducted interviews for a real opening with his company. Several of the young women he interviewed at the mock event, even at a young age, presented themselves as more viable candidates, he said.
Terry Nelson, former Wilbraham selectman and retired human resources specialist at Monsanto, has volunteered several times to conduct interviews. Nelson now runs his own consulting business. “I’m always impressed by these students,” Nelson said. “I think they are well prepared. They know the value of their experience. Even if it’s babysitting, they recognize that it shows responsibility and the ability to lead children.”
Minnechaug business teacher and Key Club adviser, Katie L. Hastings, helped organize the event. Hastings made sure every student had an opportunity to experience the interview.
Elissa M. Langevin, vice president and branch manager of Florence Savings Bank, said the chamber’s Career Readiness program is designed to teach high school students the skills they need in order to go out in search of their first jobs. The mock interviews are the culmination of a week of work in which students learn how to complete a job application, write a resume, and compile a list of personal references.

Question of the Week

Wilbraham tax rate goes up

WILBRAHAM – The Wilbraham Board of Assessors announced last week that the real estate and personal property tax rate for fiscal 2013 has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue at $19.66 per $1,000 of assessment.

The new rate is an increase of $1.61 over that of the previous year.

The single rate of $19.66 applies to all classes of real property, commercial and industrial as well as residential. ThE Board of Selectmen approved the rate at the Classification Hearing Nov. 5.

The FY 2013 tax rate is based on the appropriation of $39,245,044 plus other amounts to be raised, which total $453,918. The estimated available funds are $8,522,639 resulting in a levy of $31,530,401 to be raised from real and personal property valued at $1,595,024,200. This value includes an increase of $20,766,206 in new growth for FY13 resulting in $374,830 new tax dollars, said the Assessors.

The rate increase is a result of the Annual Town Meeting appropriation, the school department exclusion and lower market values as of Jan. 1, 2012. Tax bills will be mailed out at the end of December and payments as well as applications for the abatements are due by Feb. 1, 2013.

 

Imagining what Wilbraham will look like in the future

A living, breathing sounding board

By Charles F. Bennett

Turley Publications Staff Writer

 

WILBRAHAM – Vision Task Force Chairman Chuck Phillips says people who like the town of Wilbraham to stay the way it is shouldn’t sit still. “If you are a longtime resident or recently moved here and are happy with the lifestyle of the town as it is, you can’t sit still; come to our ‘Imagine Wilbraham Day’ event and ‘mouth off,’ ” said Phillips last week.

So, the Task Force is hoping people won’t sit still on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to noon when the volunteer visioning organization will hold “Imagine Wilbraham Day” in the cafeteria of the new Minnechaug Regional High School.

Phillips, also a member of the Open Space and Recreation Committee, said their goal is to compile as much information as they can about how Wilbraham wants to see itself in the future.

The Task Force was asked by the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board, to cut as wide a swath of the population as it can in its quest to lay a path for the town’s future, planning wise. Information they are gathering will be given to the Planning Board to help in drawing up the next zoning Master Plan.

Philips described their aim another way: “We want to come up with a coordinated document to give to the Planning Board about what people are thinking about.” Besides commentary provided by residents, they will contribute trending material from the latest Census and information from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

In addition to meeting with as many town groups as they can like the Wilbraham Community Association, Rotary Club, the Boston Road Business Association and senior citizens groups and through guest columns in the Times, they also asked everyone to take a survey online that helps take the pulse of the community. The web survey is still going on at www.imaginewilbraham.us. So far they have received over 460 responses but want more.

Apathy?

Philips said he knows that the biggest enemy of asking for feedback is apathy. “It is difficult. If people are contented they don’t respond very well to a survey that asks ‘where do you want to be in 10 or 20 years?’ But, if you want Wilbraham to stay the same – and that’s why you live here – you have to work at it. There are certain things you can do to tell the Planning Board what direction you want to see the town go in,” he said.

To provide a living, breathing sounding board the Task Force came up with the idea to hold a mass group event at the new Minnechaug cafeteria to provide fertile ground for people to interact.

Phillips said the Dec. 8 event will be set up in a user-friendly way, working with Minnechaug staff to create booth-like stations. Every age is invited. It is a community-driven process. Students will be involved like the Minnechaug Key Club and there will be students creating a mural in the middle of it all. Visions will be created by several means, he said. There will be open discussions and brainstorming on business, education, housing, land and farms, lifestyle recreation and services provided by the town.

Video Booth

There will be a video booth where people’s opinions and/or complaints will be recorded. There are no restrictions on how much time people spend at Imagine Wilbraham Day. In fact, said Phillips, you can bring the kids and stay 10 minutes or all three hours.

Refreshments and door prizes will be donated by local businesses.

Members of the Vision Task Force come from a diverse background of interests: agriculture, real estate, business, architecture, marketing communications and business consultants, public administration and facilitators.

Members are Carol Albano, Dr. Stephen Brand, Susan Burk, Edna Colcord, Karen Wilson Furst, Chris Novelli (AIA), Chuck Phillips, Nancy Ross and Dave Sanders.

“Wilbraham awaits your vision; we look forward to your valued responses,” said Phillips. To attend, the Task Force is asking residents to RSVP at imaginewilbraham@gmail.com.

 

Charles F. Bennett can be reached at cbennett@turley.com.

 

School Committee decides to put Memorial Funds into stabilization account

But Wilbraham selectmen were hoping for a discussion first

 

By Janet Wise

Turley Publications Correspondent

 

WILBRAHAM – The issue bubbling around the lease of Cathedral High School’s lease of the Wilbraham-owned Memorial School, but handled by the School Committee, has still not come to full satisfaction.

When informed of the school committee’s decision regarding the income from the lease of the Memorial School, Wilbraham Selectman Chairman Bob Boilard said, “At the end of the day, the decision is theirs (the school committee’s), but I was hoping we’d have some discussion before a decision was made.”

Boilard was referring to the fact that the Aug. 28 Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee meeting agenda originally included an item to discuss the income from the lease of the Memorial School with the Wilbraham and Hampden Selectmen.

Instead of a discussion, though, the school committee made public what they had already decided and voted on in a prior executive session: To place all net income from the Memorial School into a Minnechaug Regional High School Capital Stabilization fund. That would mean that indirectly Hampden would benefit partially from the lease of the Wilbraham-owned and expensive-to-maintain Memorial School building.

The expected discussion with the selectmen did not take place because the School Committee posted the discussion as an executive session, closed to the public and press, then at the last minute made it an open meeting. The selectman, Boilard, James Thompson and Robert Russell, were opposed to the move and instead requested that it be postponed to an open meeting on another date.

The proposed stabilization fund, which is not to exceed five percent of the school committee’s operating budget, is to be mutually shared by the two towns and would require a two-thirds vote by the school committee in order to withdraw and take money out for any purpose. 

School committee member Peter Salerno emphasized that the funds can only be used for “…purposes that are bondable. They cannot be used for operating expenses. Anything like a capital expenditure, which is the intention here, is bondable or financeable.”

The fund must first be established by the School Committee and then both towns. The School Committee intends to ask each town’s Board of Selectmen to put an item on the warrant at the next town meeting to establish the stabilization fund. A stabilization fund extends the useful life or adds value to a building, as opposed to a maintenance fund, which is used for routine repairs. This fund will be used exclusively for Minnechaug; as School Committee Chairman D. John McCarthy said, “We want to protect the future of this building.  It’s brand new, but down the road, things will be needed.”

  Chamber Donation

In other news the School Committee accepted a generous donation by the East of the River 5 Town Chamber of Commerce to the Minnechaug business program.

Lou Curto, chairman of the Board of the East of the River Chamber, originally the Wilbraham-Hampden Chamber, along with member Dennis Lopata, said their organization’s annual golf tournament is traditionally held at the end of September or early October.

The tournament, one of the longest running golf tournaments as a chamber in the area, typically raises money to support scholarships and the entrepreneurship program at Minnechaug. 

At the meeting, Curto announced a donation in excess of $20,000 to go to the business program at Minnechaug.

Curto told the committee that Minnechaug’s entrepreneurship program is a model for other chambers of commerce in the area to get some of their educational institutions involved. “In order to keep business in this area, you need to grow it from your younger generations and that’s exactly what Minnechaug has been doing,” said Curto.

Schools Superintendent Marty O’Shea applauded the chamber: “They are putting their time where their money is,” indicating that going back many years, its members have not only acted as judges of business plans for the entrepreneurship program, but have helped Minnechaug conduct mock interviews for every sophomore at the school.

This year’s golf tournament will be held at the Country Club of Wilbraham on Sept. 28, and one of the raffle prizes will include tickets to a New England Patriots game on Columbus Day weekend.

 

Correspondent Janet Wise can be reached at j_mac4@hotmail.com.