Nominations Open For BCC's 40 Under Forty Awards

08:17AM / Wednesday, October 15, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announces nominations are now open for its annual 40 Under Forty awards, which will be held Thursday, March 26, 2026.

To make a nomination, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/40-under-forty. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

40 Under Forty is an annual celebration of talented people in the Berkshires, under the age of 40, who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living and working in our community.

Nominees are eligible for this award through:

Their professional work and how it makes a difference; or
Their personal commitment to their community; or
Other efforts to improve the quality of life for those living and working the Berkshires.

Mill Town Foundation will provide each 40 Under Forty Award winner with the opportunity to re-grant $1,000 to an eligible Berkshire-based nonprofit organization.

The event is made possible by sponsorships from 1Berkshire, Mill Town Foundation, and Berkshire Community College Foundation. All proceeds from this year's 40 Under Forty event support workforce programs at BCC, addressing immediate needs and helping to build a lasting endowment.

For more information, email 40under40@berkshirecc.edu or call (413) 236-2185.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

Greylock's Gift to You

Double points on gas, groceries and more. 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.

Youth Alive & ROPE: Stepping Toward the Future

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
10:07AM / Sunday, November 16, 2025

Youth Alive step, dance and drumline participants.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Every year, the nonprofits Youth Alive and the Rites of Passage and Empowerment step toward a stronger, more equitable community.

This year marked Youth Alive's 30th anniversary and ROPE's 15th anniversary. It was no coincidence that the organizations celebrated it with multiple step performances during their fundraising dinner last Saturday at the Berkshire Innovation Center.

"Every step that they took, we knew that they were stepping further away from oppression. They were stepping further away from social injustice," said keynote speaker the Rev. Nakeida Bethel-Smith, pastor of Hood-Shaw Memorial AME Zion Church of Providence, R.I.

"They were stepping further away from all the things that we were told that we couldn't be in the community that was supposed to hug us."

Bethel-Smith is also an eligibility and outreach specialist for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance.

"It was people like Shirley Edgerton, [referred to as Misses E to her students] it was people like the late [Bishop Jerome Edgerton Sr.,] that saw their potential to step with their purpose, to step boldly into that thing and say, 'we see you, even if nobody else sees you.'

"Every time they stepped, they took their authority back. Every time they stepped, they reclaimed their voice. Every time they stepped, you knew that they were stepping with purpose. You knew that they were stepping with a mission.

View Full Story