image description — The winner of the 2026 Subaru raffle, Lynn Whittaker of Pittsfield, is announced last Saturday at the Berkshire Humane Society. The raffle is a major fundraiser for the animal shelter.

Berkshire Humane Sells Record Number of Subaru Tickets

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:40AM / Sunday, November 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Humane Society raised a record amount of funds from its 13th annual Subaru Car Raffle day this past Saturday.

The Humane Society was able to raise $81,500 from the raffle; last year, the raffle raised $70,000.

"The one thing I look at most is the money we raised is so much more this year. That's just so many more animals that we know are in need that we're going to be able to help out now," Executive Director John Perrault said.

This is the first year the society was able to sell all 2,400 raffle tickets of $100 to win a 2026 Subaru from Haddad Subaru.

"I don't think I've ever seen it as busy, as popular, and as long as I've been working and volunteering with the Berkshire Humane Society, this is the first year we've sold out of the tickets, which is exciting," said board President Laura Bykowski.

The daylong event for the raffle drawing started with a free rabies and microchip clinic, during which 67 rabies vaccines were administered and 55 microchips inserted.

"We had a very, very good turnout. And historically, when you get closer to the fall in this time of year, we don't see many and it's our fourth free one we've done this year, but they were still coming in strong," Perrault said. "So I'm very excited that we're able to help that many animals."

The shelter also waived adoption fees for the day. Two cats were able to be adopted through the event.

The collaboration for the event with Haddad Subaru started with the shelter's friend Chris Kramek, general manager at the dealership, who wanted to do something for the shelter. Their collaboration has helped the shelter raise funds and even get pets adopted, through their weekly animal sponsorship.

"Many, many years ago, my good friend Chris Kramek became the general manager at Haddad Subaru, invited me down and said 'I want to do something for your shelter, what do you want to do?’ I'm like, let's give away a car. He said, sure, let's figure out how to do that," Perrault said.

The prize was a 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Limited, Forester Premium or Outback Premium with an extended warranty and three years of free maintenance.

Perrault announced the winner, who was Lynn Whittaker of Pittsfield.

Tags: Berkshire Humane Society, fundraiser, raffle,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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