BusinessTalk

Chris Thompson, who already boasted a robust background in the sports business, namely hockey, took a big swing in 2019 when he and a partner launched the Westfield Starfires, a franchise in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. It’s been a home run all around, as the team gets set to begin its seventh season at Bullens Field next month. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Chris, now sole owner...

Jacob Robinson came from a deep background in economic and community development when he took the reins a year ago at the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. Since then, he’s seen new shops and restaurants open, helped develop and expand community events and programs that benefit small businesses, and worked with community partners to grow the economies of the chamber’s seven towns. On the next epis...

The Better Business Bureau has long promised value for both businesses and consumers: for companies, a reputation boost and access to member benefits, and for the public, trustworthy information and a host of consumer-protection resources. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Megan MacBride, director of Marketing & Communications with the Better Business Bureau of Central New England, talks wi...

In the eight years since LaunchSpace was … well, launched from the Orange Innovation Center, it has grown its impact while staying true to its mission of supporting economic development in some intriguing, interconnected ways, including supporting craftspeople with workspaces, operating a training center and partnering with local educational leaders, and providing incubator space and resources for...

The mission of Girls Inc. is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. But Girls Inc. of the Valley has certainly displayed those characteristics in other ways, including building out and opening a new, dynamic headquarters two years ago and expanding upon programs that immerse girls in STEM studies, career preparation, skills to overcome challenges and achieve mental wellness, and much...

Emma deVillier was just 19 when she launched her own event-planning business. Today, six years later, she creates both impactful moments and lasting memories with weddings, showers, parties of all kinds, and corporate events, with a growing list of major clients in and well beyond Western Mass. It’s the kind of success story born from being attuned to details small and large, and passionate about...

DJ Tucker understands the value of the Children’s Museum at Holyoke — after all, he grew up in the city and spent a lot of time there as a kid. Today, as the museum’s executive director, he has a much deeper understanding of its ties to the community, corporate supporters, and the families and kids who benefit from all that educational, interactive fun.  For the next episode of BusinessTalk, Tucke...

In 1996, BusinessWest created its Top Entrepreneur award to pay homage to this region’s rich history of entrepreneurship and to recognize those that continue that tradition. The winners for 2024 are John and Chris DeVoie, founders and owners of the growing chain of Hot Table panini restaurants. For the next episode of BusinessTalk, contributing writer George O’Brien talks with the DeVoies about ho...

More than six years into legal cannabis sales in Massachusetts, the landscape is more challenging than ever for business operators, who are contending with a competition-driven squeeze on prices and profits, a continued disconnect between state and federal laws, and questions about the future of this maturing sector. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar welcomes Cann...

Kathy Martin crafted an impressive career in higher education before pivoting, in the fall of 2023, to the world of senior living as president and CEO of Glenmeadow, a venerable Longmeadow facility that specializes in independent living, assisted living, and at-home care. It’s been an intriguing career change that gives this lifelong learner the chance to impact a much different demographic than c...

Corporate responsibility. There’s a lot that goes into that two-word phrase — everything from writing checks to nonprofits to volunteerism within the community to the companies on a venture’s vendor list. And all of this makes a statement, according to Matt Bannister, senior vice president of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, who talks about this broad subject wi...

Through Mick Corduff’s long association with the Log Cabin, Delaney House, and D. Hotel Spa, the respected family of hospitality businesses in Holyoke, he has gleaned plenty about what customers want. Over the past year-plus, since taking the reins of the properties, he has continued to learn, bringing fresh ideas and some intriguing growth plans to the company. On the next episode of BusinessTalk...

Association management — and, by extension, what the Markens Group does — can be a bit of a mystery, until Emily Leonczyk explains the many ways her company helps business associations and chambers of commerce navigate everything from strategic planning and event support to accounting, marketing, and communications — and much more. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Leonczyk, executive vice pres...

It’s hard to imagine anyone not having seen or used an Excel Dryer product, but there’s still plenty of opportunity for growth, says Bill Gagnon, executive vice president and COO at the East Longmeadow-based manufacturer and maker of the powerful, high-efficiency XLERATOR. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Gagnon talks to BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar about Excel’s latest product advancements,...

Forty-five years ago, Ace Precision Inc. was born in a small building in Agawam. Today, in a much larger facility, it meets the precision machining needs of clients across the aerospace, defense, and commercial spectrum. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Plant Manager Sadiq Elias talks to BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar about that evolution, career opportunities in manufacturing, and much more....

A former competitive dancer who later found a passion — and skill — for DJing, Nicole Nell has forged an intriguing career, both as DJ Nicki Nell and as president of Visual Sound Productions, an award-winning, multi-operational production company. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, Nicole talks to  BusinessWest  Editor Joe Bednar about all of that, as well as her exciting project to renovate a h...

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (PVRC) has achieved its mission of connecting Springfield-area residents with the Connecticut River through a robust slate of rowing, kayaking, dragon boating, and other activities — and changing the narrative around the river itself. On the next episode of BusinessTalk,  BusinessWest  Editor Joe Bednar talks with PVRC Executive...

Dave Hayes was fascinated by storms in his youth, and even more intrigued by the weather forecasts he saw on TV, and how they were quickly mirrored by the skies above him. That passion never went away, and he eventually began sharing it with the world — with surprising results. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest  Editor Joe Bednar talks with the man known online as Dave Hayes the We...

Darby O’Brien is the dean among the local marketing and public relations professionals, and he speaks with more than 40 years of experience in that field. He’s also famous for speaking his mind, being candid any subject you want to talk about, and not caring if he ruffles any feathers while doing so. Sounds like an intriguing guest for BusinessTalk. And he is. Indeed, in a candid talk with Busines...

Since its inception in 1976, the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) has been on the cutting edge of big issues like energy efficiency, waste reduction, and, more recently, decarbonization. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor Joe Bednar talks with Ashley Muspratt, president and CEO of the Florence-based Center for EcoTechnology, and Emily Gaylord, the organization’s director of Com...

Downtown Northampton has long been a neighborhood in flux — from its renaissance in the 1990s to its reputation as a trendsetter and tourism draw; from its resilience during the pandemic to the construction and road redesign beginning next year. As executive director of the Northampton Downtown Assoc., Jillian Duclos leads a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the cultural and economic v...

If she could redo her 20s, Kara Bombard says she would have become involved with the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield much earlier than she did, because the relationships she has built at YPS — which she currently serves as president — have proven valuable. On the next episode of BusinessTalk,  BusinessWest  Editor Joe Bednar talks with Bombard about her work at YPS and why the or...

Franklin County Community Development Corp. (FCCDC) boasts a long history of stimulating the region’s economy in myriad ways, in particular providing business-development education, access to capital, and commercial office and manufacturing space, and it has done so through a robust array of programs. On the next episode of BusinessTalk,  BusinessWest  Editor Joe Bednar talks with FCCDC Executive...

It’s called 52 Sumner. That’s a street address in Springfield, but it’s also an intriguing new addition to the arts landscape in Western Mass. — an event space created in the former Faith United Church, one that opened its doors in January and is off to a very fast start. On the next episode of BusinessTalk, George O’Brien, contributing writer at BusinessWest , talks with Angela Park, president of...

Tara Brewster has come a long way from her years in the world of men’s clothing. Over the past several years as vice president of Business Development and director of Philanthropy at Greenfield Savings Bank — a role in which no two days are the same, she says — Brewster has only grown her heart for the business community (which she also expresses as host of the Western Mass Business Show on WHMP)...