Half-day Business Expo in Dalton on August 9

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Entrepreneurship for All Berkshire County is coordinating a half-day Business Resource Expo on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the Stationery Factory in Dalton from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

A collaborative effort of EforAll, 1Berkshire, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp. and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, the event will feature booths from more than 25 organizations that support small business, panel discussions and plenty of opportunities for networking. The event is free and open to the public.   

Business owners and managers will be able to connect with organizations and programs that have resources to help them – whether with technical assistance, funding or grant programs, marketing or other advice or support. The program will be valuable for existing businesses, would-be entrepreneurs and solo service providers and consultants.

Participants will be able to access experts through a series of panel discussions led by regional experts:

  • "Which organization can help me with what?" moderated by Ben Lamb of 1Berkshire.

  • "Fueling Your Business: Where’s the Money?" moderated by Raymond Lanza-Weil of Common Capital

  • "How can I find more customers ... What marketing works?" moderated by Noah Cook-Dubin of Kanoa Consulting

A networking area will be open throughout the event for one-on-one conversations and meetings. The list of exhibitors, as of July 11, includes:

EforAll, Berkshire County, 1Berkshire, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp., Berkshire Innovation Center, TD Bank, Mountain One, Mass Health Connector, Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Berkshire Bank, Adams Community Bank, CDC of Southern Berkshire, Common Capital, North Adams Chamber Franklin County CDC, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Schumacher Center, Lever Inc., Berkshire Community College, Berkshire Eagle, MassHire, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, Forge, Berkshire Immigrant Center, Mass Development, Berkshire Black Economic Council, Aligned Workplace, Center for Women & Enterprise.
 
Those interested can register for the event at http://bcbizexpo.com
 

Tags: Business Resource Expo,   EforAll,   

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Pittsfield Schools Consider Enhanced Bus Surveillance

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Pittsfield Public Schools are considering a couple of companies for enhanced bus safety surveillance after a spring pilot. 

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland reported that they have met with BusPatrol and Gatekeeper Systems, which offer automated stop-arm enforcement and video surveillance.

It is illegal for drivers to pass a school bus when the red warning lights are flashing, and the stop-sign arm is extended.  This protects children exiting and entering the school bus. 

A stop-arm camera pilot program was conducted in May. 

"We currently have a four-camera system on the interior of the bus, so Gatekeeper is sort of better as far as functionality. It's a little more of an upfront investment," Howland told the School Committee last week. 

"BusPatrol works where you basically have an installation of the cameras, and then as tickets are issued to people, you sort of regain your investment, so it's two different sort of cost profiles."

Gatekeeper would cost about $100,000 to purchase, while BusPatrol has no upfront cost and a monthly charge. 

PPS is interested in putting cameras in all of its buses, about 30.  Howland said that Gatekeeper has a little more robust system that fits into our current system, and Mayor Peter Marchetti reported that the company with no upfront cost helps secure a grant for implementation: $1,200 per camera and $250 a month per bus. 

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