Biz Briefs: Crissey Farm Honored for Excellence in Wedding Venues

'I do'

Crissey Farm has been named a winner of the 2018 WeddingWire Couples' Choice Award for Wedding Venue in Great Barrington, a recognition they have received five years in a row. WeddingWire Inc., the leading global online marketplace for the wedding and events industry, annually recognizes the top 5 percent of wedding professionals on WeddingWire who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The top local wedding professionals in more than 20 service categories from venues to florists are awarded the prestigious accolade.

Crissey Farm was recognized as a recipient solely based on reviews from newlyweds and their experiences working with them. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.

Eat out, shout it out

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and Shout Out Loud Productions, a not-for-profit organization committed to elimination of and education about sex trafficking, is sponsoring Dine Out nights at some of the area's favorite restaurants to raise funds for its education programs.

On select dates in January, restaurants throughout Berkshire County will host "Shout Out Loud to Dine Out" and will donate 20 percent of their profits earned from 4 to 7 p.m. to Shout Out Loud's education and training program for law enforcement, service providers and judicial leaders as they communicate, and determine the disposition for individuals who are victims of human trafficking.

Participating establishments and dates are: The Olde Heritage Tavern, 12 Housatonic St., Lenox,, Jan. 18, 4-7 p.m.; District Kitchen & Bar, 40 West St., Pittsfield, Jan. 18, 4-7 p.m.; Cafe Adam, 420 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, Jan. 18, 5-7 p.m.; Frankies Ristorante Italiano, 80 Main St., Lenox, Jan. 25, 5-8 p.m.; Public Eat + Drink, 34 Holden St., North Adams, Jan. 25, 4-7 p.m.

Bank scholarships

Berkshire Bank will honor 35 high school seniors across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for their volunteer service with Berkshire Bank Scholarships. The scholarships recognize students who excel academically, have a financial need and share in Berkshire Bank's commitment to community service. Additionally, students must attend a high school that is located in a county with a Berkshire Bank or Commerce Bank, a division of Berkshire Bank, office. The recipients will share in $52,500 of scholarship funds.
 

Giving back

Lee Bank recently announced the formalization of its Community Impact Dividend, which totaled $93,617 in 2017.  That amount is approximately 5 percent of the bank's net income. The dividend represents a commitment by the bank to strengthen the community by contributing financially to local non-profit organizations. The bank will continue to set aside 5 percent of its net income each year as a community impact dividend.

Bank President and CEO Chuck Leach said that Lee Bank has always given back to the community, and always will, and this is simply a formalization of that practice. While Lee Bank contributes to a wide spectrum of groups, events and organizations, it gives priority to organizations that provide social services to low and moderate-income residents, and those involved in economic development activities. Secondary consideration is given to organizations that provide cultural and recreational opportunities to residents of Berkshire County and do not have the ability to raise significant funds outside of Berkshire County.

In addition, Lee Bank supports the Berkshire United Way's annual campaign by matching employee contributions. In 2017, 100 percent of the bank's employees donated to the United Way.

Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing. 

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said. 

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today." 

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback. 

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director. 

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care.  Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires. 

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs. 

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said. 

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.