Berkshire Natural Resources Council President to Depart

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Natural Resources Council president Tad Ames will depart the organization on December 31, 2017, after more than 27 years of service, the last 16 as president.

Ames said that he has made the decision to resign from BNRC in order to make a change in his professional career and to seek new opportunities.

"I am now in my mid-50s and I've reached an age and a stage in my professional life where I have the opportunity to create one more chapter," he said. "It is not easy to leave a place and people whom I love so much, but I want to seize the opportunity to be part of another story. It's time to pass leadership to a new leader to bring fresh energy to BNRC and to the Berkshire High Road's next phase.

"I am extremely proud of everything that BNRC’s board and staff have achieved together. We are at a new high-water mark, and it's been a joy to lead this growth and accomplishment," Ames said.


During Ames's tenure at the organization, BNRC has protected, for public use and enjoyment, more than 18,000 acres, including popular reserves at the Hoosac Range, Basin Pond, Alford Springs, The Boulders, Mahanna Cobble,  Clam River, Constitution Hill, Bob's Way, and Steadman Pond.

The Council's staff has been strengthened and grown from two and a half full-time equivalents to seven and a half under Ames’s tenure.

In 2015, BNRC was awarded the Francis W. Sargent Conservation Award by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, the first time the award was presented to an organization.

Tim Crane, chairman of BNRC’s board of directors, said BNRC's search for its next president would start promptly.


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Dalton Resident Ranks Third in National Snocross Race

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Sal LeBeau on his machine with his sister, Kenna, in the black hat, and friend Brandon and his sister Alea.
DALTON, Mass. — At just 16 years old, Salvatore LaBeau is already making avalanches in the national snocross racing scene.
 
Last weekend, LaBeau raced in the Mount Zion Snocross National race in Ironwood, Mich., the first of eight races in the national circuit series. 
 
Competitions take place across national circuits, attracting racers from various regions and even internationally. 
 
Labeau rides for CT Motorsports, a team based in Upstate New York, on a 2025 Polaris 600R. 
 
This is LaBeau's first time competing on the CT Motorsports team. Years prior, he raced for a team owned by Bruce Gaspardi, owner of South Side Sales and Service in North Adams.  
 
Despite a bad first day on Friday when he fell off his snowmobile and didn't make the final, LaBeau carried on with confidence and on Saturday obtained his first national podium, placing in third for the Sport Lite class. 
 
"I'm feeling good. I'm gonna start training more when I come home, and go to the gym more. And I am really excited, because I'm in 11th right now," the Wahconah High student said. 
 
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