WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Bay State Games presented the Berkshire Hero Award on Saturday evening to two staunch supporters of the annual Winter Games.
The 2020 recipients are Nate Cariddi from Williams College and Sue Briggs of the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce. The two recipients received their awards during the Bay State Skate Figure Skating Show, which took place at the college's Lansing Chapman Rink on Saturday.
Nate Cariddi is the groundskeeper lead at Williams with responsibilities including the ice rink. Cariddi has served as an important contact between the Bay State Games and the college. He and his crew also put in a lot of extra work and care during the figure skating competition to ensure that all participants have a first-class experience.
He has had a long association with Bay State Games as he was a member of the Summer Games West Region Baseball team when he was in high school.
Briggs is the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and has been a strong supporter of the Bay State Games for many years. She has worked to engage Williamstown businesses to support the Bay State Games through offering local discounts and putting up promotional posters in their storefronts.
She has also helped to enhance the Bay State Games participant experience by providing athletes and their families with information on Williamstown and the lodging, restaurant and attraction options in the area.
The Berkshire Hero Award was created in 2008 to recognize individuals, businesses, facilities, and organizations within Berkshire County that go above and beyond to ensure that the Bay State Winter Games are a success.
The figure skating competition was held over the weekend but the games return on Feb. 28-March 1 for masters hockey at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Ice Skating Rink in North Adams.
The Winter Games began in 1985 when then Executive Director Doug Arnot and Dalton native Carrie Crane created the Olympic-style winter sports festival. The Winter Games have been held every year since but one. The Berkshires was chosen as an ideal location for the Winter Games because of the quality of the facilities and the willingness of the region to support the event. It has grown to include nearly a thousand participating athletes from all New England states in a
wide variety of winter sports.
For a list of past Berkshire Hero recipients, click here. For results from ice skating competition, click here.
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BHS Urgent Care Opening Third Location in North Berkshire
Staff Reports
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) today announced the opening of a third Urgent Care location, with a new facility being developed at 197 Adams Road, Williamstown, inside the Williamstown Medical facility.
Berkshire Health Urgent Care North will open on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, and will be open weekdays from 11:00am to 7:00pm and weekends from 8:00am to noon.
"We are thrilled to officially open Berkshire Health Urgent Care North to patients seeking care for minor illnesses and injuries, complimenting the services provided at our highly successful Pittsfield and Lenox locations," said Darlene Rodowicz, BHS President and CEO. "The opening of Berkshire Health Urgent Care North serves as a demonstration of BHS’s commitment to providing accessible care and services for patients across North County and Southern Vermont, keeping care close to home."
Berkshire Health Urgent Care North will provide convenient, accessible care for minor illness and injuries, as well as on-site X-ray services and testing for common illnesses. Like its counterparts in Pittsfield and Lenox, the North site will also provide patients with access to BHS’s coordinated system of care, fostering collaboration across each patient’s team of providers.
"Berkshire Health Systems has consistently supported the healthcare needs of North Berkshire, from opening key services after the 2014 closing of North Adams Regional Hospital to reopening our community hospital in 2024 and now expanding access to urgent care," said Jennifer Macksey, Mayor of North Adams. "This is great news for residents across North Berkshire."
Berkshire Health Urgent Care North will accept a variety of health insurance plans, including private commercial coverage, Medicare, and MassHealth through the Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative, all of which are also accepted at the Pittsfield and Lenox Berkshire Health Urgent Care locations.
Berkshire Health Urgent Care in Pittsfield opened in September of 2015, and in Lenox earlier this year, providing care for minor illness and injury to thousands of Berkshire area residents and visitors.
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