Letter: Jennifer Macksey for Mayor

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. 

Northern Berkshire United Way: 1990's Big Goals, Shifting Needs

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:18PM / Monday, September 07, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, we will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This part looks at the 1990s era as reported in the North Adams Transcript.

 

Northern Berkshire United Way saw its campaign goals rise to a half-million or more over the decade.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire United Way entered the 1990s with big goals — and met almost all of them. It ended the decade with the largest campaign in its history.

 

It wasn't easy; the area was still reeling from closures and layoffs, including from General Electric and Waverly Fabrics. The first campaign of the decade saw a historic $500,000 goal only meet 93 percent of its goal. 

 

"We lost tens of thousands of dollars from firms and employees that contributed last year," said Daniel Bird, board vice president told the 150 gathered for the 1990 campaign conclusion, as reported by the Transcript. "There were just fewer to give because of closings and layoffs. What we did see were tens of thousands in new and increased gifts which brought us to the high percentage of  goal, and we are grateful."

 

The agency lowered its sights to $480,000 the following year and beat that number, possibly by pulling out all the stops. The four co-chairs that year could heavily rely on prayer — the Rev. Lawrence Provenzano of St. John's, the Rev. Betty Lou Ure of First Congregational, and Lts. Cheriann and Kevin Stoops of the Salvation Army.

 

They even sang a rap song that year, with lyrics including "the United Way is in our town to help the people who are down / some are young, some are old, some are living, some are cold / but you are here to make this work, to raise the funds, you will not shirk!"

 

Mayor John Barrett III and state Rep. Daniel Bosley promised a "big splash" for the campaign with a set up photo of a "plunge" into a wading pool. (They had promised the YMCA pool but were in Boston to talk about a museum in the former Sprague complex.)

 

Provenzano thought the success was because "people knew how desperate the situation was."