Letter: Jennifer Macksey for Mayor

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To the Editor:

I am writing to encourage you to cast your vote for Jennifer Macksey as the next mayor of North Adams. I have worked very closely with Jennifer in matters of the Northern Berkshire School Union. Jennifer's success rate for improving our schools has been 100 percent.

I am the chairperson for the Northern Berkshire School Union's joint school committees. Jennifer was hired as business manager for NBSU with her main goal to write grants for the five town school districts. Jennifer went way above and beyond finding grant money for all of the schools. To Jennifer's position as business manager, assistant superintendent was added to her job description as she was able to receive building grants and then proceeded to oversee the projects from bids to final completion. Jennifer has done an amazing job working with all five towns in the NBSU. Jennifer is always there with answers and suggestions to improve all of the school communities.

On the business manager side of her job, Jennifer has been able to organize all of the individual budgets for each school and was able to set up an account so each of the shared employees did not have to receive five different checks from five different towns that belong to the NBSU. Jennifer's accounting skills have enabled the towns to file end of year reports for their schools. Jennifer has always met all grant deadlines and has made sure that all NBSU bills are paid in a timely fashion.

Leadership and compassion are two words that I would use to describe Jennifer. Jennifer has the ability to evaluate situations and she has incredible skills with which to make professional decisions. Jennifer has strong, effective, decision making skills. Jennifer has a passion for service.

Jennifer has been personally connected to North Adams her entire life. She has been a resident of North Adams, an employee in the City of North Adams, an employee in MCLA, vice president of Southern Vermont College and is currently the assistant superintendent/business manager of the Northern Berkshire School Union, which serves five towns and four schools. Jennifer has the best interests for the City of North Adams in her decision to be mayor of North Adams.

Judith Oleson
Florida, Mass. 

Judith Oleson is chair of the Abbott Memorial School Committee and the Northern Berkshire School Union Committee. 

 

 

 

 

 


Tags: election 2021,   letters to the editor,   


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Myotherapy Practice Opens in North Adams

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Holistic Myotherapy in Greylock Works offers a calming area for clients to discuss their treatment and problems.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A new mind and body therapist has opened for business in Greylock Works.

Owner of Holistic Myotherapy, Georgette Yannetti, started her muscle therapy practice in her native Brooklyn, N.Y., to help those with spinal problems like herself.

"I started my practice in Brooklyn in 2015 specifically to help teenagers with spinal deformities, scoliosis, because I myself struggle with that since I was an adolescent, I had four spinal surgeries and was disabled," she said. 

Yannetti worked as a massage therapist at the Greenwich Hotel and started doing myotherapy as a side project until it took off and she could focus on it full time. 

Myotherapy is a deep-tissue massage and stretching treatment that focuses on muscle and joint pain.

"The practice just took off, and it wasn't just for scoliosis," she said. "It branched out to other spinal deformities and just other kind of people suffering with other kind of disabilities, and not even just physical disabilities, but psychological, you know, anxiety, depression, anything that people really needed space to be held for."

She explained her process as building a connection with clients and being able to talk with her about their problems before they get on the table.

"It needs to be more than just like, well, you're gonna get undressed and now I'm gonna touch you for like 60 minutes. To go from I don't know you to now get on the table — you can't, there needs to be more," Yannetti said. "So I provided this seating area and tea and like a little bit of connection. So even though I'm not a psychotherapist, I mean, I am very clear with people, like I'm not your therapist ... but I provide the space for people to also share more about themselves, what's happening."

She said she couldn't find the type of service she is now giving and wanted for herself.

"I basically started my practice, and I was like, when I receive body work, this is what this is the kind of work that I would want because this is what I need when I'm receiving body work because of my trauma, and I can't find that," she said. 

Yannetti moved to Berkshire County earlier this year because she had always enjoyed visiting the area, saying this was her preferred vacation spot and even came here for her honeymoon.

"I've been visiting consistently for the past 10 years, specifically to Berkshire County, just because I love it here. It's been a safe space for me. I never wanted to leave," she said. "Every time I came, I was always like, I don't want to leave, and that said something to me. Whenever I had the opportunity to travel, if it wasn't internationally, I was like, I want to go to the Berkshires." 

She was looking online one day and found a house, and her husband agreed it was their perfect place. On a whim they decided to buy it and move out here. While she was not initially planning to restart her practice, she decided to do a free class with Greylock Yoga and fell in love with the renovated mill building. She immediately asked about a space for rent and signed the lease in early June.

She held her soft opening on July 1.

She hopes her clients know this is a safe space where she will support them.

"That I'm here to support them in whatever their process is. That this is a safe space. A lot of people release emotionally in here, because the body stores emotion. A lot of people are still learning that."

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