Berkshire Community College Welcomes New Staff Members

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College has announced the addition of five new staff members: Meghan Callaghan, Jennifer Filippi, Erin Lynn, Matthew Palardy and Seth T. Tuper. 

Callaghan joins BCC as Dean of Teaching and Learning. She will lead the Division of Teaching and Learning Innovation. She arrives from Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), where she worked in several roles over the past 13 years. Her responsibilities included coordinating the Office of Community Engagement, expanding outcome and assessment work into the co-curricular, serving as BHCC’s Massachusetts Community College Council union president, being a founding member of the Center of Equity and Cultural Wealth and, most recently, serving as the Associate Director of Academic Innovation and Distance Education.

She received a master of arts degree in Critical and Creative Thinking from UMASS Boston and a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. She will be relocating to the Berkshires with her partner and two aging cats after living in the Boston area for the past 15 years.  

Filippi joins BCC as an Accountant in the Business Office. Filippi was most recently an assistant accountant for the Town of Dalton and has more than ten years of accounting-related experience, including payroll, billing, accounts payable, bank reconciliations, collections, purchase orders and various reconciliations.

Filippi is also familiar with the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System (MMARS) through her experience working at the Dalton and Pittsfield town halls. Currently a student at BCC, she anticipates graduating in December 2022 with a major in business management and continue on to MCLA to obtain her accounting degree. 

Lynn joins BCC as Director of Academic Operations. With nearly 18 years of experience in student affairs, she most recently served as an academic learning specialist at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM).

Lynn began her career at Arkansas State University, working first as an administrative assistant, then as an academic advisor and finally as student outreach coordinator. She then moved to New York to be the Director of Retention and Student Success at LIM College prior to her position at NYCPM.

Lynn earned a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts degree in sociology, an education specialist degree in community college administration and, in 2021, was awarded a doctor of education in educational leadership. She is moving to the area with her fiancé Alan and her dog Lea, and she has an adult son in graduate school in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Palardy joins BCC as Tutorial Assistant after 11 years as a community tutor at BCC specializing in humanities and social sciences. During that time, he developed innovative ways to impart academic, organizational and research skills to BCC students and was named BCC’s Tutor of the Year in 2014.

Parlady has also worked as a private tutor for students in high schools and in other colleges, homeschooled students and taught English-language learners. Palardy is currently completing a master of arts degree in philosophy through St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry while regularizing a bachelor’s degree by testing equivalency through Excelsior College. He serves as a liturgist for Traditional Latin Mass communities in the Diocese of Albany and a coordinator of international discussion groups concerning philosophy, politics, religion and culture. 

Tuper, a lifelong resident of Berkshire County, joins BCC as Institutional Security Officer. Tuper graduated from St. Joseph Central High School in Pittsfield in 2003 and attended Castleton State College from 2003–2007; he continues to work on completing his bachelor of arts degree in psychology.

tuper is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, with 14 years in the Massachusetts Army National Guard and four state activations for emergencies. Tuper has more than 20 years of experience in emergency services, with the last 10 years specifically dedicated to the security field.


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Texas-Style Barbecue Opens for Lunch, Takeout in Downtown Pittsfield

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — FireKing BBQ is making it easier to find its smoked ribs — they're in the Clocktower Building in downtown Pittsfield.

Owner Ethan Sumner has been operating as a catering service for more than a decade, with a mobile smoker for his award-winning barbecue.

"We specialize in low and slow cooking as well as grilling over charcoal and hardwoods," he said. "We love using cherry wood, apple wood, and a little kiss of hickory wood in all of our cooking. Most of our cooking, I should say. And we don't use any propane. I'm a purist in that sense. I love cooking over open flame and hot coals."

He works alongside Robear Robespierre, who helps with Sumner's sales and distribution.

Sumner said he spends hours cooking his meat, like his baby back ribs that won him first place in the 2019 Grillsdale competition in New York State. It takes him about six hours, two of them smoking at 250 degrees, to cook the ribs.

He said he wanted a space to be able to keep up with demand. Business dropped off every winter because people think of barbecue as outdoor food, and while he will cook outside even in negative temperatures, an indoor space lets him serve year-round, including football season and the Super Bowl.

He is now located at 75 South Church St. and he is no stranger to the building. Sumner had run the publication Berkshire's Best: Buys, Business, and Beyond out of the building so he knew its possibilities.

"It's funny how I've come full circle here back into the building. So I've always kind of seen this space. But I was never into culinary then. I was into publishing. So this is 13 years in the making, and I had my paper for 13 years, which again, is coincidental," he said. "So I just really like this space. It's modern. It's nice. It's clean, and that's how my food is. It's clean. It's fresh, and it's local, just like me." 

Sumner is originally from New York City and made his way to Great Barrington with his family. One of the inspirations behind his business was his father, who loved to grill outside.

"Even when we lived in New York City, he would go on the terrace of our 36-story apartment building on the third floor there was a terrace, and he would always cook on a Weber charcoal grill with charcoal, and I always was fascinated by that. And he always loved cooking outside, and he loved cooking over charcoal. And he would always make this mustard and tea leaf steak," he said. "That was a standout. It was a family favorite of ours and I could always taste the difference between something that was cooked [with charcoal]. Even when I was 7 years old I could, I always craved that certain taste that you could only get from charcoal." 

He wants customers to know he cares about his food and its quality, making sure he gets the best ingredients for his dishes.

"I want them to know that. I'm a barbecue guy, but I also offer so much more. I consider myself somebody who loves cooking over open flame, smoking meats, but I also love using fresh ingredients to create deli sandwiches and fresh salads," Sumner said. "So I want people to associate FireKing with quality. I also want to point out that I get a lot of my meat from Mazzeo's meat market. So I don't sacrifice quality, which I think is half the battle in doing what I do is getting quality meats and produce."

He hopes customer will find the eatery a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy their lunch and hangout, or grab a sandwich and go. 

"They could grab a pulled pork sandwich in about a minute and a half flat and be out of here if they want to. So there's no pressure," he said. "I love the community. I love talking to people here. Everyone in this community has been super kind and gracious, and I appreciate them. And I want to give back what they've given me."

He also plans to have DoorDash and barbecue pickup packages for families, and to have vacuum-sealed, pre-cooked smoked ribs with reheating instructions, also available for local pickup.

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