Biz Briefs: Red Lion Inn Partners with Stash Hotel Rewards

New partnership

The Red Lion Inn is partnering with with Stash Hotel Rewards, the largest loyalty program for independent hotels in the United States. Guests at The Red Lion Inn are now able to earn points toward free nights at more than 150 independent hotels across the country. And Stash members can earn and redeem points to stay at one of the most quintessential Berkshires hotels in Stockbridge.

"Aside from being able to offer our guests rewards points for their stays, we wanted a loyalty program with a unique portfolio and a devoted following," said Sarah Eustis, CEO of Main Street Hospitality, which owns and manages the inn. "Stash's network of community oriented, independent properties puts us in great company, and the program’s dedicated members allow us to share loyal guests between hotels."

Guests of The Inn can join Stash for free online. at http://www.stashrewards.com/. Stash members earn five points for each dollar spent on eligible room rates and can redeem them at great independent hotels across North America, including the Caribbean and Hawaii. Stash points never expire, and redemption is simple, without blackout dates or category restrictions found in many chain programs. Stash partner hotels also provide members with exclusive travel deals.

Car raffle

Berkshire Humane Society and Haddad Subaru will host their sixth annual Subaru Car Raffle drawing on Saturday, Oct. 27. This year, the winning ticket will be drawn for a 2019 Outback with a package value approximated at $33,000. The drawing is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the dealership in Pittsfield. Live 95.9 will broadcast live from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and adoptable animals will also visit the dealership during this time.

Tickets are still on sale and may be purchased up until noon on October 27 at the main shelter and up until 1 p.m. at Haddad Subaru. Tickets are one for $40 or three for $100. The winner does not need to be present to win. The raffle is limited to 2,100 tickets; to date, approximately 1,100 tickets have been sold. Between now and Saturday, October 27, tickets may be purchased at the following locations: BHS (214 Barker Road, Pittsfield), Bark N' Cat (28 Holden St., North Adams), Bartlett's Orchard (575 Swamp Road, Richmond), Catwalk Boutique (325 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington), Chez Pet (55 Pittsfield Road, # 4B, Lenox), Haddad Subaru (652 East St., Pittsfield), and Purradise (301 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington).

“The Berkshire Humane Society is in need of our local support as a community more than ever. The work they are doing now and in the future really demands our full support. The 6th annual raffle is just one way Haddad likes to contribute to our local community. The culture Subaru envelopes around “Share the Love” and pets is an amazing one. All of our staff believes, supports, and even participates in the BHS’s yearlong goal. We are here to help pay the bills and spread the word on what the BHS strives to accomplish every day. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in John, we go way back and continue to grow our relationship with the BHS and Haddad Subaru. I really have a soft spot for these animals, so whatever we have to do in order to provide them safe shelter, we will,” said Chris Kramek, General Manager of Haddad Subaru.

Lemonis visit

Berkshire Money Management is hosting a fireside chat with Marcus Lemonis, serial entrepreneur and celebrity host of CNBC's "The Profit" on Nov. 7 at the firm’s headquarters, the Model Farm on 161 Main St. in Dalton. Cocktails begin at 3:30 p.m. Lemonis will speak at 4:30 p.m., addressing local business owners and economic leaders about looking towards the future of their companies; and knowing what to do.

Nonprofit discussion

The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires presents its first roundtable discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on the topic of "organizational partnering." Participants will meet from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Berkshire Athenaeum on Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield and are encouraged to bring lunch. Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum will provide refreshments. This event is free to Berkshire nonprofits but participants must register online or by calling 413-645-3151.

An NPC survey in 2017 showed that most Berkshire nonprofits are partnering in one form or another and that the majority want to do more. Discussion will focus on models of collaboration, best practices, and pitfalls. Panelists include Jeff Gagnon,program manager at Community Access to the Arts; Alex Reczkowski, library director/Berkshire Athenaeum; Christa Collier, executive director of Northern Berkshire United Way; and Randy Kinnas, executive director of the Berkshire Family YMCA. Alisa Costa of Pittsfield Working Cities will moderate the discussion.

Training grants

Excelsior Integrated and Porchlight Homecare, two Southern Berkshire businesses located in Lee, Mass., have received a two-year training grant from the Workforce Training Fund Program.

Excelsior Integrated, Inc. was awarded $48,750 to train 20 employees and anticipates adding four jobs by 2020. The company works to help product entrepreneurs, ecommerce merchants, retailers, and marketing teams outsource and automate their fulfillment operations. Porchlight VNA/ Homecare was awarded $22,504 to train 20 employees and anticipates adding 15 jobs by 2020. Porchlight provides all home health needs, such as skilled nursing, 25-hour care, social work, and therapies for all of Berkshire, Hampden and Hampshire counties.

Awarded by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, in partnership with Commonwealth Corporation, the Workforce Training Fund Program invests to help local Massachusetts companies create new jobs, increase skills and opportunities for workers, and improve overall productivity and competitiveness for businesses in the commonwealth. EOLWD and Commonwealth Corporation review and award training grants of up to $250,000 to Massachusetts businesses to fund training for current and newly hired employees. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the year.

NAMI Raises Sugar With 10th Annual Cupcake Wars

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:09PM / Saturday, April 25, 2026

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. To contact the Crisis Text Line, text HELLO to 741741. More information on crisis hotlines in Massachusetts can be found here. 

Whitney's Farm baker Jenn Carchedi holds her awards for People's Choice and Best Tasting.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Berkshire County held its 10th annual cupcake wars fundraiser Thursday night at the Country Club of Pittsfield.

The event brought local bakeries and others together to raise money for the organization while enjoying a friendly competition of cupcake tasting.

Local bakeries Odd Bird Farm, Canyon Ranch, Whitney's Farm and Garden, and Monarch butterfly bakery each created a certain flavor of cupcake and presented their goods to the theme of "Backyard Barbecue." When Sweet Confections bakery had to drop out because to health reasons, NAMI introduced a mystery baker which turned out to be Big Y supermarket.

The funds raised Thursday night through auctions of donated items, the cupcakes, raffles, and more will go toward the youth mental health wellness fair, peer and family support groups, and more. 

During the event, the board members mentioned the many ways the funds have been used, stating that they were able to host their first wellness fair that brought in more than 250 people because of the funds raised from last year and plan to again this year on July 11. 

"We're really trying to gear towards the teen community, because there's such a stigma with mental illness, and they sometimes are hesitant to come forward and admit they have a problem, so they try to self medicate and then get themselves into a worse situation," said NAMI President Ruth Healy.

"We're really trying to focus on that group, and that's going to be the focus of our youth mental health wellness fair is more the teen community. So every penny that we raise helps us to do more programming, and the more we can do, the more people recognize that we're there to help and that there is hope."

They mentioned they are now able to host twice monthly peer and family support groups at no cost for individuals and families with local training facilitators. They also are now able to partner with Berkshire Medical Center to perform citizenship monitoring where they have volunteers go to different behavioral mental health units to listen to patients and staff to provide service suggestions to help make the unit more effective. Lastly, they also spoke of how they now have a physical office space, and that they were able to attend the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention as part of the panel discussion to help offer resources and have also been able to have gift bags for patients at BMC Jones 2 and 3.

Healy said they are also hoping to expand into the schools in the county and bring programming and resources to them.

She said the programs they raise money for are important in reaching someone with mental issues sooner.

"To share the importance of recognizing, maybe an emerging diagnosis of a mental health condition in their family member or themselves, that maybe they could get help before the situation becomes so dire that they're thinking about suicide as a solution, the sooner we can reach somebody, the better the outcome," she said.

The cupcakes were judged by Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Managing Director Rebecca Brien, Pittsfield High culinary teacher Todd Eddy, and Lindsay Cornwell, executive director Second Street Second Chances.

The 100 guests got miniature versions of the cupcakes to decide the Peoples' Choice award.

The winners were:

• Best Tasting: Whitney's Farm (Honey buttermilk cornbread cupcakes)
• Best Presentation: Odd Bird Farm Bakery (Blueberry lemon cupcakes)
• Best Presentation of Theme: Canyon Ranch (Strawberry shortcake)
• People's Choice: Whitney's Farm

Jenn Carchedi has been the baker at Whitney's for six years and this was her third time participating in an event she cares deeply about.

"It meant a lot. Because personally, for me, mental health awareness is really important. I feel like coming together as a community, and Whitney's Farm is more like a community kind of place," she said