A dynamic new vision, strategy and implementation plan for future economic development in the Berkshires – Berkshire Blueprint – was touted this week by Tyler Fairbank, the president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation.
The Berkshire Blueprint consists of two projects, explained Fairbank. The Berkshire Strategy Project will evaluate the entire regional economy, as well as select industry clusters; the Creative Economy Strategy Project will focus on the “creative cluster†comprised of non-profit institutions, individual artists and commercial businesses that produce and distribute creative products and services.
The two projects, conducted as separate efforts, will intersect and be linked together throughout the process. The conclusions will be woven together into one comprehensive regional economic strategy: the Berkshire Blueprint. “This approach will provide the Berkshires with the best of traditional regional economic development methodology while also integrating a new ‘creative economy’ thrust,†said Michael Daly, president of Berkshire Bank and chair of the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee. “Most importantly, the Berkshire Blueprint is not simply a study, but rather leads to an implementation plan for economic growth. This is the result of having collaboration from one end of the county to the other.â€
Monitor Group, an international consulting firm, will provide the professional services for the Berkshire Strategy Project. J. Williar Dunlaevy, president of Legacy Banks, is chairing the Berkshire Strategy Project with the Steering Committee being chaired by Gene Dellea, Berkshire Health Systems; Rich Vinette, Lee Community Development Corporation; and John DeRosa, Freedman, DeRosa and Rondeau.
Mt. Auburn Associates, a leading consulting company in the “creative economy†arena, will provide the professional services for the Creative Economy Strategy Project. Michael Conforti, Executive Director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, is chairing the Creative Economy Project with the Steering Committee being chaired by Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell Museum and Ellen Spear, Hancock Shaker Village.
The region will benefit from more than $1 million in planning, organizing and implementation activities for the Berkshire Blueprint project. The John Adams Innovation Institute, the economic development arm of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, has invested $300,000 in grant money. About $450,000 is being provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. The remainder will be provided through in-kind contributions and private and public regional resources.
“Our investment in Berkshire Blueprint has leveraged about $450,000 in federal funds,†said Patrick Larkin, the director of the John Adams Innovation Institute. “It has also united the work of two of the nation’s top economic research groups -- Monitor Group and Mt. Auburn -- to create a collaborative, unified economic development strategy for the entire Berkshire region.â€
Both projects will simultaneously collect qualitative and quantitative data using the steering committees as a regional interface. As the project materials emerge, they will be available on the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation’s web site. The projects will formulate a new vision, strategies, and an implementation plan for future growth. The target delivery date is October 31, 2006.
“The Berkshire Blueprint Project will fill the need for a regional economic development strategic plan,†Fairbank commented. “The Berkshires must change and grow with the economy of the 21st century. I want to emphasize that this is not another study. We have been saturated with studies in the past. This is an implementation plan, through the Berkshire Blueprint project, for our future, and the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation is in place to facilitate and execute the plan.â€
Created through the collaboration of several key partners, the Berkshire Economic Development Corp. is the lead business development organization for Berkshire County and services the economic development needs of the entire region. The BEDC accomplishes this by facilitating, coordinating and leading countywide development efforts to attract and retain high quality employers and employees, to strengthen the economy of the Berkshires, and act as a catalyst for new endeavors.
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Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships
Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal.
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter.
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics.
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year. After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree.
Mount Greylock Regional School seventh-grader Scarlett Foley Sunday beat two opponents from Division 2 Longmeadow to capture the Western Mass Tennis Individuals Championship. click for more
Qwanell Bradley scored 33 points, and Adan Wicks added 29 as the Hoosac Valley boys basketball team won a Division 5 State Championship on Sunday. click for more
Adan Wicks scored 38 points, and the eighth-seeded Hoosac Valley basketball team Saturday rallied from a nine-point first-half deficit to earn a 76-67 win over top-seeded Drury in the Division 5 State Quarter-Finals. click for more
Caprese Conyers scored 22 points, and Kyana Summers had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with eight assists as Pittsfield got back to the state semi-finals for the second year in a row. click for more
