image description — Attending seniors were given MCLA gift bags.

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MCLA Salutes County's Adams Scholars

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
11:08PM / Sunday, December 02, 2012Print Story | Email Story

Adams Scholars are applauded at Saturday morning's reception at MCLA.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly two dozen seniors from Berkshire County high schools got some advice on Saturday about taking opportunities as they come.

Go with the flow, advised Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts junior Joshua Mclean. "Just take the opportunities as they come to you."

The students and their parents were guests at the annual reception given by MCLA to recognize the seniors academic achievements in earning John and Abigail Adams Scholarships.

"I remember sitting in the exact same seats three years ago," Mclean, now an environmental studies major, told those who had traveled that snowy morning to Murdock Hall.

The college began the annual receptions several years ago both the recognize the student achievement and to encourage local students to consider the state's higher education systme.

Adams Scholars must score advanced and proficient on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests and be in the top 25 percent of their graduating class. Tuition is waved for up to four years at state schools for Adams Scholars.

Harvard have a fancy name, said state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, "but you can get just as good an education in our college system."

The Lenox Democrat, dean of the Berkshire delegation, was joined by Reps. Gailanne Cariddi of North Adams and Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, and Mayor Richard Alcombright in congratulating the those students in attendance.

Some 320 seniors in Berkshire County qualified for the Adams Scholarships.

Proud parents snapped photos as the seniors posed with the school and state officials.

"I'm very proud of her," said Anna Berti of her daughter Christianna, currently a student at Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School. "She worked very hard to get that award."

The Bertis were on their way to a workshop on financial aid being offered by the college. Christianna Berti was't sure where she was going yet but she knew — or was at least pretty sure at this point — that she wanted to work in costume design.

"I'm going in undecided," she said. "I'll do two years of general studies and get those classes out of the way. ... Then I'll decide."

Aliza Ahlen of Taconic High School knew she was going to take advantage of the scholarship by attending the University of Massachusett's equine and farm programs with the goal of becoming a large animal veterinarian.

"Every little bit helps when you have to go to school for the next eight years," said the 4-Her.

"We're very proud of her, she's worked very hard," said her mother, Koren Ahlen.

More students weren't quite sure of the educational paths yet, with only scattering of hands going up indicating they had applied to colleges.

College President Mary Grant told them they couldn't go wrong with a liberal arts education.

"It really helps to shape your future because we don't know what the future may hold."

The students who had RSVP'd the reception were presented with small certificates acknowledging their scholarships. Not all the students listed attended.

Aliza Ahlen, Taconic High School; Jaclyn Aubin, Drury High School; Katherine Bernal, Pittsfield High School; Christianna Berti, Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School; Timonty Brames, McCann Technical School; Marinna Burzimati, McCann Tech; Kaitiin Cook, Wahconah regional High School; Dean Covert, BArT; Naomi Day, Mount Greylock Regional High School; Makala Dean, Mount Greylock; Emily Eastman, Drury; Emma Gregory, Drury; Jared Grise, Pittsfield; Molly Howe, Drury; Skyler Jones, Mount Greylock; Micayla Kolis, Hoosac Valley High School; Ian Kuttner, Mount Greylock; John LeClair, McCann; Joshua Majunder, Mount Greylock; Nathan Majunder, Mount Greylock; Casey McKeever, BArT; Courtney McKeever, BArT; Brooke Moore, Pittsfield; Matthew Nesti, Pittsfield; Deanna Nesti, Pittsfield; Helen Overstreet, Mount Greylock; Amanda Ramsdell, Drury; Sarah Royal, Drury; Victoria Torres, Pittsfield; Monica Vogel, Pittsfield; Rachel Ward, Taconic; Jake McNicol, BArT; and Shannon Moon, Taconic.

Tags: MCLA, scholarships,

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Pittsfield's This and That Sports Celebrating Six Years

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:34PM / Friday, October 23, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — This and That Sports is celebrating its sixth birthday with a party.

Owner Reggie Davis opened the collectables and card store at 128 Fenn St., pursuing a hobby he has had since he was a teenager.

He started with small card shows and later collected a broad range of items, including sports memorabilia, autographs, Beanie Babies, and Matchbox cars.

"It's been a long time, and it's not just cards. I mean, I collect everything. I love sports memorabilia, autographs," he said.

Originally from Great Barrington, he moved to Connecticut and operated a collectibles store there from 2004 to 2014 before moving back to Berkshire County. He worked for FedEx before opening the new store in 2020.

For the first six months, he balanced the store with his career with FedEx, with help from his wife, Crystal, who worked around her own overnight hospital shifts. He left FedEx to focus on the store full time and works with his son, Bret.

He said it is more than a job and he is happy to open his doors to the collecting community.

"It's like something that I looked at as a pleasure business. It wasn't about the money. It was more like bringing the collecting part of the hobby to Berkshire County," he said.

Davis said he misses live baseball in Pittsfield, recalling Pittsfield Mets games. He said collecting brings him closer to that feeling of watching a local team when he was younger.

"I've always remembered growing up as a kid of the Pittsfield Mets and then the Pittsfield Suns and baseball being here and I was a big sports person, I played a lot of sports, and it's kind of sad and I think I want to continue the sports collecting part, the hobby. You can't go to a baseball game here unless it's like a high school game. So it's kind of continuing the collecting part of the hobby without the actual sports being here," he said.

Davis said the store's customers have become friends. He added that he likes to see the younger generation open packs of cards.

"The amazing part about it is not just the kids, but the customers. Like, I have customers that've been coming in for four, five, six [years] even new ones that just started coming in like a month ago," he said. "We've been out to dinner with these people. We travel. Customers have become friends, even close friends, which is nice."

He said one of the most challenging parts of the business has been to keep everything in stock especially with the surge in popularity of Pokemon cards.

"We have people that stop in all the time, and they're like wow you got a great selection of Pokemon, you have a big selection, and I think that's you know we have distribution for sports and Pokemon, but it sells so quick," he said. "I think the hardest thing is to be able to keep product on the shelf."

Not only does he sell collectibles, but he also purchased a card grading company called Revolutionary Card Grading that he opened next door. The company, based in Georgia, produces specialized color-matched designs but card grading and customer submissions are now handled locally since taking full ownership of the company last year.

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