Four Members Elected to BCC Board of Trustees

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four new members have been elected to the Berkshire Community College (BCC) Board of Trustees. 
 
The board is composed of area residents appointed by the governor of Massachusetts.  
 
Suzanne Bateman, student trustee, is a non-traditional student at BCC, a mother of four and a grandmother of nine. Since 2015, she has owned and operated Autumn's Bistro, a restaurant and special events operator. Previously, she owned and operated Pepe's Kitchen and was a transportation coordinator for Ace Cab Company. A graduate of August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, she is now a business administration student at BCC, where she is active in the Student Government Association. 
 
Jason Cuyler?is Executive Director of Second Street Second Chances, a nonprofit under the direction of the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office that connects formerly incarcerated people of Berkshire County with the tools, programs and support they need for reentry into their community. He is licensed social worker who has been a case management coordinator for the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office for 20 years, where he also serves as the office's certified High School Equivalency Test (HiSET)?proctor and lead certified application counselor. Cuyler is a board member of Hillcrest Educational Centers, Berkshire United Way and The Christian Center, as well as a member of the Berkshire County District Attorney's Domestic Violence High Risk Team. He holds a criminal justice certificate and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 
 
Harry “Chip” Moore III is Executive Vice President at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he was previously Vice President/Controller. A native of Washington, Massachusetts, he began his financial career in the Berkshires in 1990 as a tax consultant for H&R Block in Pittsfield. He then joined Adams Cooperative Bank, where he remained for 17 years, rising to the position of Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer. Moore also served as Vice President/Controller at Greylock Federal Credit Union before joining the Pittsfield Coop. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Westfield State College, a master's degree in executive bank management from Babson College, a diploma from the National School of Banking, and a master's in business administration from the University of Maryland (Adelphi). Moore is a past board member of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, past treasurer of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, past treasurer of the American Red Cross (Berkshire County Chapter) and past board member of the Visiting Nurses Association of Northern Berkshires and North Adams Regional Hospital. 
 
Jennifer Vrabel is Executive Director of Communications, Planning, and Development at Berkshire Health Systems. Previously, she was Director of Development at Berkshire Medical Center, Executive Director of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire and Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Williams College. She is a board member of Downtown, Inc. and is active with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pittsfield. Vrabel earned a bachelor of arts degree in art history from Williams College. She was an honoree of BCC's 40 Under Forty awards in 2022 and was also named to Berkshire Magazine's Berkshire Top 25 list in 2018. 

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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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