Letter: Vote on May 11

To the Editor:

I am excited to endorse Albert Cummings for Select Board. I have known Albert for decades. I've watched him grow his business from building small additions and renovations to award winning residential and commercial masterpieces. Similarly, I have seen his music career evolve from playing the banjo on Community Auditions, to singing and playing guitar around a campfire, to sharing a stage with some of the greatest blues artists who ever walked the earth. Albert's success in these areas come from a strong work ethic, great people skills, a willingness to always learn new ideas while not casting aside those ideas that are time tested and proven, and the attitude that a job worth doing is worth doing right. These are skills and attributes that will serve our town well.

Albert approaches people, ideas, issues, and opportunities with an open mind. He possesses an uncanny ability to engage with people, put them at ease, and allow them to be heard and has the experience of making tough decisions.

I encourage everyone to vote on May 11.

Jay Merselis
Williamstown, Mass.

Mount Greylock Regional Class of 2026 'Embraced the Unexpected'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
04:38PM / Saturday, June 06, 2026

Speaker William Apotsos says the class took the red pill, embracing the unexpected; classmate Madison Powell tells them they're still becoming the people they will be. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional School sent 67 graduates off with diplomas and a cap toss on Saturday. 

 

The seniors queued up to enter the school gym with "Pomp and Circumstance" and scattered out the doors to "Choose Joy." 

 

It was the choices to be present that had gotten the Mounties to this day, said William Apotsos, whom the class had selected as their graduating speaker. "They didn't just decide to be present, they refused to be absent."

 

When one little girl had thanked him for being there to referee a youth soccer game, it drove "home the importance of not only being present but refusing to be absent," he said. 

 

Being present had been difficult in the transition between remote learning during the pandemic and returning to the school, when the class had to figure out how to be present together — physically, mentally and socially. 

 

"There is always the safe route. Stick to what you know, stick around people you know, and never really leave your metaphorical shell that you built up over your time at home. ... Then there was the more dangerous: put yourself out there, embrace your impact option,"  Apotsos said. 

 

"It's very much a red pill and blue pill situation, and what I am most proud of, that pretty much every single person on this stage took the red pill. They chose to embrace the unexpected and decide that they wouldn't let a couple years of isolation determine who they were going to be."