BUSINESS BRIEFS: CATA new staff and board; BSO new musicians; BCC staffing updates; BerkChique! breaks records; Rosemary Rose Finery opening; Childs+Clark Gallery merger; BFAIR selected as Big Y beneficiary; MassHire Berkshire Workforce workshop; Berkshire Bank small business support; BCC CDL License training

Community Access to the Arts adds new staff and board members

Gerat Barrington— Community Access to the Arts (CATA) announces the hiring of Kelly Rybczyk as its new Development Director and Bailey Girvan as Associate Director of Development. CATA also welcomes new board members Will Osborne, Bryan House, and Terry Coughlin.

Kelly Rybczyk has over 20 years experience in nonprofit leadership, operations, and fundraising. She comes to CATA from Project SAGE, a domestic violence prevention agency in Lakeville, C.T., where she served as Interim Executive Director and previously as Director of Operations and Director of Special Gifts and Events. Kelly has a master’s in Strategic Fundraising & Philanthropy from Bay Path University and a Certificate in Governing for Nonprofit Excellence from Harvard Business School.

Bailey Girvan comes to CATA from Norman Rockwell Museum where she has served in a variety of roles, most recently as Senior Development Officer. Bailey has a master’s in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s in American Studies and Classical Civilizations from Colby College, as well as a Certificate in Fundraising from Philanthropy Massachusetts and a Certificate in Grant Writing from the University of Southern Maine.

In their new roles at CATA, Kelly and Bailey will work with Executive Director Margaret Keller to expand CATA’s fundraising activities and oversee the organization’s donor relations program, furthering its mission to enhance the lives of people with disabilities through the arts. They will also work closely with Kate Harding, CATA’s Development Coordinator, and David Dashiell, CATA’s Development Associate.

Will Osborne is an internationally published and produced playwright, lyricist, and book author and a respected director, teacher and actor. He has enjoyed a career in professional theatre that spans five decades. His plays have been produced in theaters throughout the United States, as well as in South Africa and Korea. He has provided book and lyrics for a full-scale Broadway-style family musical which traveled to 54 cities around the country and subsequently toured Germany. He also created a musical celebrating the childhood of Louis Armstrong that has been performed in dozens of theaters around the United States. He has authored more than a dozen books for children and young adults, many co-written with his wife, Mary Pope Osborne. A graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Will is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild, SAG, AFTRA, Actors equity and is currently vocalist and lead guitarist for the popular New England rock band Lucky Bucket.

Bryan House is currently the Vice President of Youth & Community Development at 18 Degrees. He oversees the agency’s youth development and violence prevention strategies and provides leadership and direction on inclusive strategic community relations and engagement opportunities. He previously served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office. After being drafted out of Illinois State University by the Chicago Cubs Baseball organization in 1984, Bryan played seven years as a professional baseball player in the Cubs and Texas Ranger organizations. Bryan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Massachusetts.

Terry Couglin has been involved in hospitality since his very first job at age 16. For 23 years, he worked for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, ultimately as Managing Partner and Director of Operations. During his time with the group, he helped conceptualize and open four restaurants, oversaw seven different businesses and mentored hundreds of young leaders. As the head of USHG’s Community Council, he helped to raise over four million dollars for various charitable organizations. Since 2015, he has served as a board member of “The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp,” founded by the late Paul Newman. In 2019, Terry and his family moved up to Great Barrington, where they own and operate Granville House, a five guest room Bed & Breakfast.

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Boston Symphony Orchestra names three new musicians to join the BSO

Boston— The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andris Nelsons are pleased to announce the appointment of Lorna McGhee as the orchestra’s new principal flute. A native of Scotland, McGhee will occupy the Walter Piston chair, endowed in perpetuity, succeeding Elizabeth Rowe, who is stepping down at the conclusion of the Tanglewood season after 20 years with the BSO. In addition to leading the BSO’s flute section at Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and on tour, McGhee will join other first-chair string and wind players to become a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. She will be the eighth principal flute in the BSO’s history, a chair held by the late Doriot Anthony Dwyer who was named the orchestra’s first female principal player in 1952.

The BSO also announces that it has appointed Josh Baker as its new associate principal bassoon (and principal bassoon of the Boston Pops) and Toby Grace as a new member of the percussion section. Both Baker, who joins after five years with the Florida Orchestra, and Grace were Fellows at the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO’s prestigious summer program that has trained emerging orchestral talent from around the world since its founding by Serge Koussevitzky in 1940.

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Berkshire Community College announces new staff, promotions, and title changes 

Pittsfield— Berkshire Community College (BCC) announces the addition of three staff members, two promotions, and two title changes.

Kelsey Breault joins BCC’s Business Office as Payroll Manager. She is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, where she earned a master’s degree in Accounting and Organizational Leadership. She most recently worked at Miraval of the Berkshires in Human Resources and Payroll. Born in Pittsfield, Breault returned to the area after moving back from New Hampshire, where she lived for a few years after graduating college.

Robert Kuhn joins BCC as Director of Development. He most recently served as the Legacy of Equality Society Officer at Equity Florida Institute, where he specialized in legacy giving and contributed to policy development initiatives. Prior to this role, he was the Community Outreach and Education Coordinator for Women’s Support Services in Sharon, C.T. Kuhn’s experience also includes consulting to international corporations on enterprise sustainability, acting as CEO for a domestic manufacturer and serving as a corporate lawyer in a large New York City law firm. Kuhn, who holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a JD from Georgetown University, recently relocated from Florida to Connecticut.

Christopher Williams joins BCC as Maintainer I. Williams has been a part of BCC’s campus safety and security team twice, once in 2018 and again in 2023. Previously, he was an employee for Unistress Corp., where he performed casts for production, working on various projects such as building concrete pieces for an air traffic control tower.

Matthew Muller has been promoted to permanent Dean of Humanities, Behavioral & Social Sciences. He had been serving as Interim Dean of Humanities, Behavioral & Social Sciences since August 2022. Muller has been with BCC since June 2013.

Marion Wolf is now BCC’s Budget Director. Previously a Business Analyst, she has been with BCC since July 2007. Sheaden Callahan is now the Interim Administrative Assistant for Student Engagement/Dean of Students. Previously, she was Clerk IV, SUCCESS. Callahan has been with BCC since January 2023. Nicholas Kline is temporarily filling the Building Maintenance Supervisor II position until it is permanently filled. Previously a Building Maintenance Supervisor I, he has been with BCC since June 2017.

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BerkChique! 2024 at Ventfort Hall breaks all previous records

Lenox— BerkChique! 2024 was a huge success, raising over $65,000 for Ventfort Hall and four other local non-profits (Berkshire Art Center, Berkshire Humane Society, Community Access to the Arts, and WAM Theatre).  BerkChique! 2024 broke all previous records for the event, for attendance, for donations, for media coverage, and for sales.

BerkChique! could not happen without the generous support of donors, volunteers, sponsors, press, and shoppers. BerkChique! brought hundreds of new visitors to Ventfort Hall, and attention to our work of restoring this Gilded Age Cottage. The funds raised are urgently needed for ongoing restoration.

To stay informed about all things BerkChique!, visit their website: https://berkchique.org/.

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Eclectic new jewelry shop Rosemary Rose Finery has opened in Salisbury, C.T.

Salisbury, C.T.— Rosemary Rose Finery has opened in Salisbury, C.T., located at 19 Main Street. The eclectic new jewelry shop will feature modern fine jewelry, vintage and costume jewelry, along with an array of artful objects for the home and heart.

Rosemary Rose Finery will have custom design options including alternative bridal options. They will also offer a variety of small batch apothecary products, such as locally made perfumes and plant-based products. With community gatherings in mind, plant education classes will be offered once a month highlighting seasonal medicinal plants by community herbalists. Local artist talks will be happening monthly as well, with more events and gatherings to be announced in the future.

Owner Jessica DeCarlo, a Brooklyn-based jeweler for over 16 years, captured national news attention with her jewelry on The Today Show. 

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Mary Childs and Lauren Clark partner to create the Childs+Clark Gallery

Great Barrington— After ten years of creating a series of exciting events together, Mary Childs and Lauren Clark are partnering to create the Childs+Clark Gallery, a compelling new space for contemporary art in glass, painting, and sculpture.

With over 30 years of experience each as curators, gallerists and fine arts professionals, Childs and Clark are focusing a keen eye on this natural merger to bring a new, engaging take on the gallery experience. The new exhibition space will feature recognized names in contemporary glass, vibrant painting, and dynamic sculpture from both regional and internationally acclaimed artists.

Childs+Clark Gallery is located at 684 Main Street, Unit 1, in Great Barrington, right next to Lauren Clark Fine Art,  Framing on the Edge, and Bizalion’s Fine Food.

Events begin on May 25th. For more information, call 413-429-1945 or 413-645-3450. The gallery’s website, www.Childs+ClarkGallery.com, will be live soon.

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BFAIR celebrates selection as a Big Y Community Bag Program beneficiary

North Adams— BFAIR has been selected as a beneficiary of the Big Y Community Bag Program for May.

The Big Y Community Bag Program makes it easy for shoppers to support their communities and environment by buying durable, reusable shopping bags. Donations from this program support groups focused on education, civic, health & wellness, hunger relief and military/veterans’ organizations.

BFAIR was selected as the May beneficiary of the Big Y Program located at 45 Veterans Memorial Drive, North Adams. BFAIR will receive a $1 donation every time the $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at this location during May.

For more information on the Big Y Community Bag Program, visit https://bigy.2givelocal.com/program/community-bag/

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MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board presents ‘Working with High School Interns’

Pittsfield— The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board will lead a session for employers and organizations interested in working with high school interns on Wednesday May 15th from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA.)

The workshop will provide tips, guidance, and strategies for providing internships to high school students. It is open to professionals interested in starting an internship at their company or looking to enhance their current internship program.

To register for this event email Kat@masshireberkshire.com or call 413-442-7177 x 155.

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Berkshire Bank expands efforts to support small businesses for the long run

Boston— Berkshire Bank has joined an effort by the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Office to help support small businesses through Investing For the Long-Term Initiative (Invest MA,) the state’s new program to provide small businesses enhanced access to capital.

Invest MA aims to promote small business growth by providing creditworthy enterprises in Massachusetts with greater access to bank loans. The program shifts $500 million in state cash deposits under the control of the Treasurer to Massachusetts banks like Berkshire that are committed to expanding their small business lending in the Commonwealth.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, accounting for more than 85% of all businesses in Massachusetts,” said Denise Thompson, senior vice president and director of Small Business Credit & Operations at Berkshire Bank. “We’re committed to helping those businesses create the jobs and new opportunities that contribute to the vibrancy and success of their communities.”

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Berkshire Community College (BCC) to offer CDL license training with trucker drivers in high demand

Pittsfield— According to an American Trucking Association survey, more than 400,000 new truck drivers are needed every year. The Workforce Development and Community Education Department at Berkshire Community College (BCC), in partnership with United Tractor Trailer School of Holyoke, Massachusetts, is helping to fill this need by offering two sessions of Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training.

Professional instructors help students gain the skills necessary to enter the rapidly growing industry of trucking, in a highly motivated and positive hands-on atmosphere. Training comprises a total of 60 hours of instruction in the classroom, the field, and on the road. A road test will be conducted at the end of the training session.

Session 1: Monday, May 20th through Friday, May 24th, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This session is free for students who qualify for a scholarship. Space is limited, and registration is required. For more information or to register, email workforce@berkshirecc.edu. This class is expected to fill quickly.

Session 2: Monday, June 3rd through Friday, June 7th, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fee for this session is $3,600, plus $150 for the road test. For more information or to register, email workforce@berkshirecc.edu.

Training sessions will be held at the Berkshire Mall parking lot in Lanesborough, with the exception of the first class, which will take place in a classroom at BCC.

Students must be Massachusetts residents who are 18 years or older with a valid driver’s license. In addition, students must have both a learner’s permit and a Department of Transportation physical prior to class start date.