Coming Soon to Your Mailbox
Your Chamber of Commerce is working hard for your business.
In the very near future you will receive information on two initiatives we're working on that will help attract more visitors and improve business for everyone whether or not your business is considered a "tourist" business.
1) A while back we alluded to the search for a "Big Idea" to put our area on the national map. That is now being fleshed out and will be presented shortly.
2) Last year we did some research on who comes here and why. We found a few surprises and will be sharing them with you soon. We'll also start using this information to help increase business during the slower times of the year.
So keep an eye on your mailbox and be sure to read what you receive. It'll be worth your while.
Notice for Sheffield Businesses
The Sheffield Economic Development Committee invites you to attend a business forum to discuss the Sheffield Master Plan. The meeting is on Monday, April 7th from 7 - 9 PM at the Dewey Hall in Sheffield. It will be moderated by Ted Brovitz, Master Plan Consultant. The purpose is to provide the business community with an opportunity to express your viewpoints as Sheffield plans for its future.
Things to be explored:
What are the opportunities and problems?
What is needed to nurture a healthy business environment?
The results of the community survey on business needs will be shared, your ideas and concerns will be heard, and a business-specific questionnaire will be distributed.
If you're interested but cannot attend, please call 229-0380 or e-mail fredpom@gis.net.
This message courtesy of Economic Development Committee co-chairs Don Ward III and Sharon Gregory.
Don't miss your opportunity to be heard!
We are pleased to welcome these new members.
Please keep them in mind when you need goods or services.
Jonathan Taylor Photography, P.O. Box 148, North Egremont, 01252, Jonathan Taylor, 528-8278, Photography
Great Barrington Garden Club, P.O. Box 651, Great Barrington, 01230, Diana Harwood, 528-4511, Garden Club
Auction Wrap-Up
Here is a HUGE thumbs up to the very hard working auction committee for pulling off a tremendous event on March 8th at the Egremont Country Club.
The core of the committee consisted of Committee Chair Louann Harvey of Lee Bank, with tremendous help from Will Brinker of Apple Hill Realty, Tom Levin of Tom's Toys and JWS Art Supplies, Linda Hebert of Hebert Realty and with special thanks to Jo Grossman.
Other members included Jessica Krupski of Allied Mortgage Capital, Carrie Herrington of farmhouse and Peter Levine of Edward Jones Investments.
Many more people helped the night of the auction. They include Jeff Appel of Berkshire School, Steve Cohen, Attorney, Chamber President Michael Farmer of Broken Hill Manor, Maria Fili of Blue Rider Stables, Amy Halberstadter, Gene Hannon of Catamount Ski Area, Jen Harvey of RPM Builders, Diana Harwood, Chamber staff, Christine Kelsey of Christine's B&B, Bill Knittle of The Berkshire Record, Gaetan LaChance of Broken Hill Manor, Burke LaClair, Gt.Barrington Town Manager, Bruce Marzotto of Berkshire Bank, Paul & Barb Mulholland of Troy's Travel, Nancy O'Connor of Smith, Watson & Co., Carl Seiger, Magician, Hilda Banks Shapiro of Barrington Performing Arts and Louis Caropreso, auctioneer extraordinaire.
Incredible food for the hungry bidders was donated by Aegean Breeze, Armi@Great Barrington, Baba Louie's Pizza, Bizen, Domaney's, Egremont Inn, Elm Court Inn, Four Brothers, Jo Grossman, Amy Halberstadter, Manhattan Pizza, Market Place Kitchen, Pearl's, Peppermill, Swiss Hutte, Spencer's, Union Bar & Grill and Verdura.
Thank you to everyone for helping us to exceed our goal and ultimately keep your member investment in line.
Before expenses we raised over $37,000! This could not have happened without all of the donations of merchandise and time, and without all who attended and bid. THANK YOU to ALL!
Business After Hours
Members of the Southern Berkshire Chamber, your employees and guests are invited to attend the next Business After Hours networking event on Thursday, April 10th from 5:00 to 7:30 PM.
Landmark Volunteers is located on Route 7, 800 North Main Street, Sheffield opposite the Sheffield Egremont Road. Parking will be on the West side of Route 7 (across the street).
Come and help Landmark officially christen their new space, which was recently remodeled.
There will be fabulous hors d'oeuvres and complimentary refreshments.
Bring your business cards to share ... you never know who you might want to share them with!
RSVP by Monday, April 7th to sbcoc@bcn.net or 413-528-1510.
Next month is at Jacks Grill in Housatonic on Thursday, May 22nd. NOTE LATER DATE! Then mark your calendar!
Be sure to mark these important dates in your calendar today!
Sunday, April 6th - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS ... YIPPEE!!!!! Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour.
Thursday, April 10th - Board of Directors meeting - Berkshire Bank - 11:45 AM.
Thursday, April 10th - Business After Hours at Landmark Volunteers, 5:00 - 7:30. Please register at sbcoc@bcn.net or 413-528-1510. Note earlier start time for this month only.
Sunday, April 13th - Palm Sunday
Tuesday, April 15th - Income Tax Day
Wednesday, April 16th - Passover begins at sundown
Wednesday, April 16 - Full Moon
Friday, April 18th - Good Friday
Sunday, April 20th - Easter Sunday
Monday, April 21st - Patriot's Day
Tuesday, April 22nd - Earth Day
Wednesday, April 23rd - Administrative Professionals Day
Friday, April 25th - National Arbor Day - Plant a TREE!
Saturday, April 26th - International Goof Off Day
Saturday, May 3rd - 4th Annual Trash Walk. See details.
Community NotesMore Auction Thank Yous:
Even though he was away in sunny, warm Mexico for the auction, Richard Stanley was a tremendous help. His donation of advertising space for the event at the Triplex Cinema helped us get the word out. And for all volunteers and food donors, if you want to see your name on the big screen, go see a movie! Richard has donated slides for the Chamber to say thank you in a big way.
Another HUGE Thank You goes to Dave Winchester, Nick Diller, Fred Schane and all the staff at WSBS Radio. They hosted the 5th annual live, on-the-air Radio Auction on the day before the big event and, as always, it was great fun! We also raised more money with this event than ever before, and were able to give some valuable air time to the donors of the items we auctioned that day.
As a result of our successes, the Chamber has made a donation to Barrington Performing Arts in the person of Hilda Banks Shapiro. Each year Hilda puts together a wonderful program of entertainment as part of Winterfest and this year was no exception. Her promotion of young local talent is a wonderful thing and the Chamber is happy to be able to help support her efforts. Be sure to keep an eye on other offerings from Barrington Performing Arts and support them with your attendance. Hilda - keep up the great work!
Correction:
Last month we mentioned the need for help in serving food at St. Peter's Center on Thursday nights. We mistakenly called the coordinating organization The People's Pantry. The correct name is Breaking Bread Kitchen.
If you'd like to get involved and help people in your community, please call Mel Greenberg of Alford Farm Realty at 528-4201.
The Western Massachusetts Food Bank invites Chamber members to its second annual Chamber Open House reception at its Hatfield warehouse on Thursday, May 22, 2003 from 5 - 7 PM. This is a great opportunity to meet members from other regional chambers and learn how The Food Bank distributes more than 6 million pounds of food a year and also learn about hunger and poverty in western Massachusetts and what community members can do to help.
The Food Bank of Western Mass. (www.foodbankwma.org) distributes to a network of 420 local soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and other social service agencies in the four counties of western Massachusetts.
Complimentary appetizers, desserts, beer and wine will be served and there will be live music at the event. Reservations are requested. Call The Food Bank at 413-247-9738 or email fern@foodbankwma.org. The Food Bank is at 97 North Hatfield Road, off Routes 5 & 10 in Hatfield.
4th Annual Trash Walk
Mama's Earth, with a little help from the Southern Berkshire Chamber and the Town of Great Barring-ton, plans to sponsor the 4th annual Great Barrington/Housatonic Trash Walk on Saturday, May 3rd.
Past participants will be receiving sign-up forms in the mail. The Chamber Visitor's Center will be a drop off point for sign-ups and a pick-up place for garbage bags after April 15th.
It's easy, fun and very rewarding to participate. Last year over 30 sites were adopted and a HUGE amount of trash picked up. The Town of Great Barrington supplies heavy duty bags for trash, and clear ones for recycling bottles and cans. Your registration specifies where you or your team will be working and the very appreciative town DPW knows where to pick up the bags on Monday, May 5th.
Last year a couple people from neighboring towns coordinated a similar event in their towns and that is being encouraged again. The more trash that is picked up in our area, the better things will look for all of us!
If you've never been a part of this great event and would like to be, give Carolyn Grogan of Mama's Earth a call at 274-3404.
"The Chamber of Commerce: Doing things people think just happen."
Make a point to patronize the businesses that advertise in the paper version of this newsletter. They are:
All Caring Animal Center
Bill's Pharmacy
Kwik Print
Prospect Marketing
Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 810, Great Barrington, MA 01230-0810
413-528-4284, fax 413-528-2200
Sharon Palma, Executive Director
sbcoc@bcn.net
Diana Harwood, Admin. Assistant
www.greatbarrington.org
Visitor's Center: 362 Main Street
413-528-1510, fax 413-528-6062
Lodging hotline 528-4006
Joy Lyon, Manager
vcenter@bcn.net
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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