Greylock Opens a South County Insurance Office

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Jessica Beham-Wehry and Jay Marion at the new Great Barrington location of Greylock Insurance Agency.
GREAT BARRINGTON - Greylock Insurance Agency has opened its sixth insurance office at 329 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington, completing the agency’s expansion throughout Berkshire County. Greylock now offers more insurance locations than any other agency in the county and is the only independent agency in the area to offer products from the three largest auto insurance carriers. The full service insurance operation in Great Barrington’s White House Square complex will offer a full array of services in auto, homeowners, life and commercial insurance.

Jay Marion, Assistant Vice President, will lead the south county operation. He is joined by Customer Services Representative Jessica Beham-Wehry, a veteran of Greylock’s Great Barrington credit union branch.

“Convenient locations, friendly and knowledgeable professionals and the best insurance products in the industry have always been our focus,” said Greylock Insurance Senior Vice President Shaun Farley. “I am happy to report Greylock Insurance continues to be the fastest growing agency in Berkshire County, more than tripling our customer base since our launch in 2004.”

Greylock Insurance has additional locations at 150 West Street and 128 South Street, both in Pittsfield; 40 Main Street in North Adams; 552 Main Street in Williamstown and 2 Park Street in Adams. The agency from north to south now fields 27 insurance professionals and handles commercial and personal lines sales as well as claims service and premium payments.

Greylock President, Angelo C. Stracuzzi said, “We want insurance locations to be just as convenient as our credit union locations. Convenience is a key part of “treating everyone better than they expect.”

Farley said, “Greylock’s  mortgage and auto loan activity – the strongest in the county – provides a steady source of referrals, and members have responded very favorably to the discount programs offered by the agency,” Farley explains that Greylock Federal Credit Union members who have their homeowners and auto insurance with the agency can receive significant discounts.

Competitive rates for automobile insurance expected to roll out April 1st may dramatically change buying habits of people in Berkshire County and throughout the state. Farley said, “Greylock customers count on us to provide them with the best service at the lowest price and our mission is to meet and exceed that challenge with each and every customer, each and every day. We are the only agency in the county that represents the three largest providers of automobile insurance in Massachusetts. Combined with our talented professionals and our office locations we are uniquely positioned to take great care of our customers.”

In 2007 Greylock Insurance purchased the insurance business of Gallup & Casey Insurance Services, Inc. Recently, Greylock Insurance Agency and Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America announced an arrangement enabling Greylock Federal Credit Union members to secure long term care insurance at a 10% permanent premium discount.

More information is available at www.greylockinsuranceagency.com

Greylock Federal Credit Union was recently rated the top credit union in the United States for total value returned to Members/Owners according to Callahan & Associates, a national credit union research and consulting firm. Greylock Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, attends school, worships or regularly conducts business in Berkshire County. Greylock Federal is wholly owned by its more than 60,000 members and Greylock offers full-service branches in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Lee, Adams, North Adams, and Williamstown. More information is available at www.greylock.org
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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street.  The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First. 

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said. 

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers. 

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center.  It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said. 

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it." 

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County. 

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle.  The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said. 

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