Biz Briefs: Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Hosts Downtown Pittsfield Restaurant Week

Downtown Pittsfield Restaurant Week

Downtown Pittsfield Inc. has announced Downtown Pittsfield Restaurant Week, a seven-day promotion running March 1-7. During Restaurant Week, 13 participating restaurants will serve a lunch or dinner pre-fixe for $20.20 or another amount ending with $.20 (tax and gratuity not included).

The goal of Downtown Pittsfield Restaurant Week is to highlight the numerous and diverse dining options of downtown Pittsfield and to help boost business during what is typically a slower time of the year for restaurants. DPI encourages residents to support their downtown favorites or try somewhere new. Participating restaurants include: Dottie's Coffee Lounge, Eat on North, Flavours of Malaysia, House of India, The Marketplace Café, Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Mission Restaurant, Otto's Kitchen & Comfort, Panchos Mexican Restaurant, Patrick’s Pub, That's a Wrap Café, Thrive Diner, and Tito's Mexican Grill.

New this year, dine downtown during Restaurant Week for a chance to win a basket of gift certificates. Pick up a Restaurant Week Passport at participating restaurants and purchase a Restaurant Week special to enter. Diners will receive a card punch, by restaurant staff, each time they buy a Restaurant Week special. Each punch entitles the diner one entry into the raffle (i.e., five punches equals five raffle entries). One grand prize winner will receive a basket of gift certificates for $20.20 from each participating restaurant.

For a full list of Restaurant Week promotions, visit the website or follow Downtown Pittsfield on Facebook.

SVHC 'Best Place to Work'

Southwestern Vermont Health Care has been named one of the 2020's Best Places to Work for the sixth year in a row. SVHC received the honor for the first time in 2015. It remains the only hospital in the state of Vermont to be recognized by the awards program.

This statewide program is presented by Vermont Business Magazine in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management, Vermont State Council; the Vermont Department of Commerce and Community Development; and Best Companies Group. The program surveys and identifies the best places of employment to recognize organizations that benefit the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses.

In the recent past, SVHC has earned several other prominent distinctions, including appearing on Becker's Hospital Review's national list of the "Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare" since 2016. In October 2019, Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, SVHC's skilled nursing facility, earned a deficiency-free rating from Vermont regulators, and in November 2019, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center earned an "A" for hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group. In 2017, the hospital received the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s top honor, the Magnet Prize.

Nonprofit directory

The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires has issued the second edition of its Nonprofit Resource Directory designed to make it easier for nonprofits to find business services in Berkshire County. The 68-page directory is underwritten by advertisers and mailed free to more than 300 nonprofits. A digital version is available for download online, and additional printed copies can be purchased for $10 at npcberkshires.org.

The 2020 Nonprofit Resource Directory is arranged by subject and includes accounting, banking, events, fundraising, graphic design, human resources, insurance, legal, legislators, marketing, office supplies, organizational development, print services, professional development and technology services. Subcategories within the main categories further pinpoint the specific types of services that nonprofits need such as videographers, media contacts, and grant writers.  

The NPC also fields referrals daily via phone at 413-645-3151 or email.

PearsonWallace Insurance opens office

Pearson Wallace Insurance has opened an office at 25 Henry St. in Pittsfield and 11 Amity St. Amherst. Founder Beth Pearson, a resident of Pittsfield and Amherst, said that the agency will provide quality and affordable insurance products and services to Massachusetts and New York.

Pearson Wallace currently provides personal auto, home and business insurance services. PWI opened these office with the intent of filling a gap for customers facing limited choices in choosing a local agent. Banks and big insurance retailers with headquarters in other cities and sometimes other countries are buying up the local agents, and in many cases reducing key staff, leaving the less-experienced insurance people to run the office. These big box retailers and banks are managing customers as a commodity, not as individuals.

PWI will focus on concierge insurance services, including RMV registry runs, workers comp audits, claims management and more. The office can be reached at 413-464-9390.

Public Works Award

The City of North Adams Public Works Department has been selected for the 2020 Best of North Adams Award in the Utility Companies category by the North Adams Award Program. Each year, the North Adams Award Program identifies companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the North Adams area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2020 North Adams Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the North Adams Award Program and data provided by third parties.

Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Friday, April 26, 2024

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.