Sand Springs Hires New Executive Director

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Sand Springs Recreational Center has hired Geraldine Shen as its new executive director.

Shen, of Williamstown, was raised in Austria and has resided in Hong Kong, Taiwan and California. Most recently, she was a senior development officer at Williams College.

"We are delighted that Ms. Shen has decided to join our organization," said Janette Kessler, president of SSRC. "She will bring her considerable expertise in the fields of education and development to the benefit of this wonderful community organization. In addition, she has ambitious plans for improving all aspects of our member/guest experience."


“I am excited to take the reins of this historic treasure and beloved gathering place,” Shen said. “My vision for the organization includes expanding our partnerships with local community organizations such as: the Williamstown Youth Center, the Williamstown Elementary School, and the Williamstown Community Pre-School, as well as reaching out to other Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont community organizations. I also hope to improve the visitor experience through dynamic programming throughout the year.”

 Sand Springs has been a jewel of the northern Berkshire region for nearly 250 years. The curative properties of the pure spring water and the bucolic setting have attracted residents and tourists for generations. One of the only thermal spas in the Northeast, the water of Sand Springs bubbles to the surface at a mean temperature of 72 degrees throughout the year. The George family purchased the property in 1950 and operated it for more than 50 years before selling it to Wampanaug Springs in 2003.  Under Wampanaug’s ownership, the facility was completely renovated and updated. Sand Springs Recreational Center purchased the facility in July 2013 and is operating it as a non-profit 501(c)(3) community organization.

For more information, contact Sand Springs at www.sandspringspool.org.

 


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Williamstown Select Board Awards ARPA Funds to Remedy Hall

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday allocated $20,000 in COVID-19-era relief funds to help a non-profit born of the pandemic era that seeks to provide relief to residents in need.
 
On a unanimous vote, the board voted to grant the American Rescue Plan Act money to support Remedy Hall, a resource center that provides "basic life necessities" and emotional support to "individuals and families experiencing great hardship."
 
The board of the non-profit approached the Select Board with a request for $12,000 in ARPA Funds to help cover some of the relief agency's startup costs, including the purchase of a vehicle to pick up donations and deliver items to clients, storage rental space and insurance.
 
The board estimates that the cost of operating Remedy Hall in its second year — including some one-time expenses — at just north of $31,500. But as board members explained on Monday night, some sources of funding are not available to Remedy Hall now but will be in the future.
 
"With the [Williamstown] Community Chest, you have to be in existence four or five years before you can qualify for funding," Carolyn Greene told the Select Board. "The same goes for state agencies that would typically be the ones to fund social service agencies.
 
"ARPA made sense because [Remedy Hall] is very much post-COVID in terms of the needs of the town becoming more evident."
 
In a seven-page letter to the town requesting the funds, the Remedy Hall board wrote that, "need is ubiquitous and we are unveiling that truth daily."
 
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