RSVP Lifetime Achievement Award

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Berkshire County has announced that longtime volunteer, Bertha Lawrence, is the recipient of the group's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, designed to recognize extraordinary feats of service.
 
"Bertha Lawrence is a person whose empathy and commitment to service has enriched the lives of so many in the Berkshires," said Jeff Thompson, president of the RSVP Board. "She is really someone special and it's our pleasure to honor her many years of outstanding service with this new recognition."
 
For nearly 50 years, Lawrence has been an active volunteer in the community. RSVP Director Jeff Roucoulet recalled some of Lawrence's achievements over the years.
 
"Bertha started with RSVP in 1974, two years after its founding. She has logged in 5,461 volunteer hours over the decades, including 21 years with AARP's 55 Alive Program, an elder driver re-education program. She also served 18 years on the RSVP Board and was the co- recipient of our Volunteer of the Year Award in 2011. Bertha's contributions to this community over the years are an inspiration to us all. She not only enriched the numerous programs to which she was connected, she also impacted and inspired the people with whom she worked. We were all blessed to have her on board. Thank you, Bertha."
 
Lawrence, who is married to a career army officer, Lt. Col. Herbert Lawrence, lived in numerous places including Oklahoma, Texas, Germany, and Okinawa, Japan, before settling in Berkshire County in 1974.
 
She earned an associate's degree from Berkshire Community College and a master's from Antioch College. Lawrence joined Elder Services of Berkshire County as an area office supervisor and, prior to retiring, served as home care program manager, overseeing one of the agency's largest programs at the time.
 
In addition to her volunteer work with RSVP, Lawrence served two five-year terms as a trustee of Berkshire Community College, first appointed by Gov. Michael Dukakis, and later by Gov. Bill Weld. She also served as president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the PEO Sisterhood, a women's philanthropic and educational organization with members in the U.S. and Canada, and served on the boards of Elder Services and the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires.
 

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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