Rotary Club of Pittsfield Awards

02:18PM / Saturday, June 18, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — John Murphy, president of the Rotary Club of Pittsfield announced the following award recipients for the Pittsfield Club.

Kelly Marion is the 46th recipient to be awarded as a Pittsfield Paul Harris Fellow. This is the Club's most prestigious award and is given to a Pittsfield Rotary Club member who exemplifies the spirit and ideals of Rotary in service, involvement, and contribution to both the Club and the Community, according to a press release. The Rotarian is selected by the former recipients of the award who make up the Club's Paul Harris Committee. The recipient receives their fellowship award with the Club contributing $1,000 to the Rotary International Foundation in the awardee's name.

Joan DiMartino is the 39th recipient of the Donald G. Butler Award. The award was established in 1983 to honor a Rotarian who best represents those ideals of service which were exemplified by Butler in his lifetime. The recipient is chosen by the Club President.

Dr. David B. Kagan Award recipients have made significant contributions to their community through volunteer activities. Ed Forfa and John Hudnall, Committee Co-Chairs honored Judith Forest and Chris Keegan. Their activities have created lasting change in the lives of individuals and families in the community; volunteer activities that have made this community a better place to live, work and raise a family, according to a press release.

John Hudnall, Chair of Rotary Student Scholarships, presented scholarships to Brooklyn Gleason and Makayla Canino, Taconic High School and Carlos Vizcardo Benites, Berkshire Community College. Two students were unable to make the presentation, Shelby Reynolds, Berkshire Community College and Sophia Santos, Pittsfield High School.

John O'Brien, Chair of the Paul Harris, Nash, Lyons Scholarships, presented scholarships the Paul Harris Scholarship to Brielle Elyse Winters from Taconic High School, the Nash Family Scholarship to Nerline Koffi, also from Taconic High School and the Lyon Family Scholarship to Sean Duffy from Pittsfield High School.

Gwen Davis, Chair of the Gene Case Memorial Scholarship, presented the scholarship to Onella McCoy who attended Taconic High School.

For more information on the Rotary Club of Pittsfield, visit their website at www.pittsfieldrotary.org.

Tags: Rotary,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Breathing Room

0% APY for 12 months balance transfer offer. Apply today! Click to learn more. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lanesborough Hopes for Continued Talks on Mall Sale

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:41PM / Wednesday, November 11, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board is optimistic that talks for the Berkshire Mall sale will continue.

Chair Deborah Maynard and Vice Chair Juli Baker were to meet with mall owner JMJ Holdings, the Baker Hill Road District, and proposed buyer Cypress Equities on Tuesday to discuss next steps. As of Wednesday, iBerkshires had received a "we are optimistic" from Maynard on the talks. The Berkshire Eagle reported a response from a Cypress representative saying talks will continue.

Baker had updated the Select Board on Monday about the status of the sale and the efforts being undertaken by the renamed Baker Hill Business District.

Cypress Equities pulled out of a purchase-and sale-agreement with mall owner JMJ last week for the following reasons.

Not enough water service/pressure to the property to support redevelopment without constructing costly water tanks.
The current septic system and former treatment facility is not acceptable for a project of the scale and magnitude proposed.
There is existing asbestos and bad soil from the treatment system that needs to be remediated off site.
And the current structure and tax assessment of the Baker Hill Road District.

Baker has been working with what is now being called the Baker Hill Business District and said she and the district members are happy that Cypress has decided to leave the door open to more discussions and that they have been working hard to try and address the company's needs.

Last month, the town had asked state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III to support the state Department of Transportation taking over the Connector Road, funding for a mall connection to Pittsfield's wastewater treatment plant and a connection to the town's water main.

Baker said an amendment has been drafted to cap the district's taxes to not grow more than 2.5 percent a year. She noted that, historically, taxes have not grown by more than one percent per year, so it won't be difficult to meet that cap.

View Full Story