Adams Man Named Hayden Award Winner
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Longtime Northern Berkshire businessman Bernard A. Pinsonnault of Adams will be presented with the 2009 Francis H. Hayden Memorial Award at the annual meeting of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.Pinsonnault is owner and president of Smith Brothers-McAndrews Insurance Agency Inc. He was nominated for the Hayden Award by Ellen Kennedy and Mark Gold, a 1988 recipient.
"Whether he is involved in service to an organization to which he has been committed for decades or spearheading a one-time project, Bernie Pinsonnault gives his all," said Kennedy and Gold, in a statement. "Bernie deserves to join the ranks of the men and women who, by their volunteerism and community involvement, improve the quality of life in Northern Berkshire County and have been recognized by the Francis H. Hayden Award."
The Hayden Award was established in May 1968 to honor the memory of Francis H. Hayden, a two-term president of the Northern Berkshire Chamber who made significant contributions to the community as president and through his involvement with several other organizations.
Candidates are judged on the basis of volunteer efforts rather than any measure of success in the field in which they normally are employed or the accomplishments or successes by an individual's membership in one organization. The award is given annually to a person who has volunteered time, made personal sacrifices, and shown leadership resulting in significant contributions to the economic, social and cultural improvements of any or all of the communities of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, New Ashford, North Adams, Savoy and Williamstown.
Over the years, Pinsonnault's volunteer contributions to the community have included service to youth, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, economic development initiatives and his town. He's been an assistant basketball coach for the Adams Police Athletic League; treasurer and board member for Adams Little League; coach and board member for the Adams Youth Soccer League; a member of Keeping Music Alive, raising funds to replace the sound system in Hoosac Valley High School's auditorium, and raising funds for and building the Adams playground Wacky World.
He is passionate about education and has served as a board member, treasurer and chairman of the Endowment Committee of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation Inc., of which he is currently vice chairman. Pinsonnault is a founding member and current chairman of the Adams-Cheshire Educational Partnership Fund, which helps the district's schools enhance their curriculum in ways the budget cannot support.
In the realm of economic development, he has served on the Greylock Glen Advisory Council and Adams Downtown Development Committee. As a board member of Berkshire Fund Inc., he contributed the concept for the successful Good Samaritan Home Ownership Program. He has also been a trustee of South Adams Saving Bank since 1997.
Pinsonnault is also active in Adams' civic life, being a longtime Precinct 5 town meeting representative and the fifth member and chairman of the Town of Adams Retirement Board. He can be counted on to serve on the team that verifies results on election nights and recently accepted a call to serve on an Adams Town Charter Review Committee. He also has volunteered for the Campaign and Allocations Committees for the Northern Berkshire United Way and is a longtime member of the Adams Lions Club.
He began a career in banking at the former City Savings Bank, now Legacy Banks, then joined Adams Co-Operative Bank, which he left after 16 years to join the insurance agency of which he is now sole owner.
The Hayden Award has been presented annually since 1969. The first recipient was Donald Thurston. Among the most recent recipients are George Fairs, Mary and Henry Flint, Eric Rudd, George Kennedy, Susan and Thomas Aceto, Donald R. Dubendorf, Joseph Thompson, Marci and Sandy Plumb, John DeRosa, Bruce Grinnell, Hulda Hardman-Jowett, Stephen A. Green and last year's winner, Stephen Pagnotta.
The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will present the award at the annual meeting on Friday, Dec. 11, beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza in Pittsfield. Tickets are $25 each and are still available at www.berkshirechamber.com or by calling 413-499-4000.
