County Business Leaders to Attend U.S. Chamber Business Seminar

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Michael Supranowicz, President and CEO of Berkshire Chamber of Commerce; June Roy-Martin, Manager, Communications, HR & Business Development for Quality Printing Company; and Heather Boulger, the Executive Director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board were selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce to attend the Business LEADs Institute, a three-day seminar in Washington, D.C on June 1 – 3.

Selected for their leadership in the community, Supranowicz, Roy-Martin, and Boulger will join 32 other business leaders from around the nation to learn how the business community can utilize its assets to drive positive transformation in communities across America in education and workforce training.

“Educating and training Americans for the jobs of the 21st century is essential to long-term economic growth in this country,” said Arthur J. Rothkopf, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “This program will allow the business community to play an active role in improving student success and the United State’s ability to compete globally.”

The seminar, part of a $2.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is the first of five Business LEADs Institutes which will develop and train a network of business leaders on education issues, network organization, and communications to empower them to be effective advocates for improving America’s education system.

“These three individuals have proven to be deeply committed to the success of the Berkshire business community and its citizens,” said Rothkopf. “The Business LEADs program will provide leaders like Mike, June and Heather with the knowledge and resources to help prepare the next generation of young people for a rapidly changing world.”

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is the non profit, non partisan, 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ICW promotes the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America's greatest economic resource, its workforce.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.


About Berkshire Chamber of Commerce

The Berkshire Chamber was established to identify and serve the needs and interests of the Berkshire business community, creating an environment conducive to the growth and sustainability of business. The Berkshire Chamber is a proud recipient of a U.S. Chamber 4-Star Accreditation.

About Quality Printing Company

Quality Printing Company has been in business since 1963 and offers state-of-the-art marketing services in digital and commercial printing to businesses in the Berkshires and throughout the Northeast. It also offers complete digital pre-press, bindery, fulfillment and mailing services.

About the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board

The Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Inc. is a private-sector driven Board of Directors which brokers relationships between business and providers of education/training programs, implements youth programs, conducts labor market analysis, and sets policy concerning management and allocation of federal and state workforce development resources to best serve job seekers and employers in Berkshire County.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dalton Voters to Decide Moveable ADUs at Special Town Meeting

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — It's time for voters to decide if they want to permit mobile accessory dwelling units in town and a special town meeting has been set to do just that. 
 
For more than two years, Amy Turnbull has been advocating to amend the town's current bylaws to allow mobile tiny homes but has met obstacles delaying the effort.  
 
On Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m., voters will convene at Wahconah Regional High School to decide on the topic, and four other items centered around funding for the Clean Air Committee and the town's Department of Public Works roof repair project. 
 
Turnbull initially presented this item at the annual town meeting but it was "tabled" so a public hearing could be held. 
 
Like many meetings before, this hearing resulted in little movement as the Planning Board decided to neither support or oppose the proposed bylaw.  
 
During the signing of the warrant, Select Board member John Boyle expressed his hesitation about placing this item on a special town meeting warrant, citing historically low attendance at such meetings.
 
"It's very important and going to be a very controversial thing … Important issues should be at an annual town meeting," he said. 
 
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