Plans are underway for Mercy Medical Center's first annual Caritas Gala on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Themed  All You Need is Love , the inaugural Gala will raise funds to expand and enhance Mercy Behavioral Health Care's Opioid Treatment and Addiction Recovery programs. The major goal of the project is to create a new inpatient step-down treatment program for post-detox services, giving individuals a better chance at long-term recovery.  Read more...

Weldon Rehabilitation Hospital, at Mercy Medical Center, has again been awarded accreditation by CARF International for its Inpatient Rehabilitation Program for Adults and Inpatient Rehabilitation Program for Children and Adolescents. The latest accreditation is the eighth consecutive three-year accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has given to Weldon Rehabilitation Hospital.  At the same time, Weldon has also gained accreditation for its Stroke Specialty Program, making it the only facility in Western Massachusetts to achieve the distinction of delivering this high level of quality stroke rehabilitation.  This is the third time that Weldon has achieved this recognition. Read more...

February After 5 Connection

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

5 - 7 pm

@ Tucker's Restaurant 

625 College Highway

Southwick, MA

Please join us for our February After 5 Connection hosted by Tucker's Restaurant and Pro Tour & Cruises.  Sponsored by Romeo & julietta Bags!

REGISTER NOW!

FREE to Chamber Members/$10 General Admission (cash or credit card)

Get whisked away to a Tropical Beach Paradise with a photo booth area with tropical props, beach give-aways and maybe even some live Caribbean music!! Bring you business cards and make connections!! Cash bar and appetizers! 50/50 Raffle to benefit 3 Citizen's Scholarships!

Lunch & Learn ~ Robert's Rules of Order: How to Run an Effective Meeting

Thursday, February 9, 2017

12 - 1:30 pm

@Storrowton Tavern

1305 Memorial Drive

West Springfield, MA

Presented in conjunction with the West of the River Chamber and the East of the River Chamber, please join us for a Lunch & Learn.  Robert's Rules of Order is the standard for facilitating discussions and group decision-making. These processes are designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to participate and to share ideas in an orderly manner. Learn how to utilize common rules and procedures for deliberation and debate in order to place the whole room on the same footing.

Guest Speaker:
Robert MacDonald
Executive Director, Work Opportunity Center, Inc.

Robert MacDonald has moderated many political debates, moderated several meetings on governmental issues, has been parliamentarian for numerous meetings and has lectured on Robert’s Rules of Order. Join us as we learn how to effectively run a productive meeting according to the Roberts Rules of Order.

Chamber Members: $35 Event Fee, includes buffet lunch
General Admission: $45

REGISTER HERE!

Please join us for our St. Patrick's Day Dinner hosted by Tekoa Country Club!  Platinum Sponsor:  Westfield Bank!

Tickets:  

$38 Single
$70 Couples
$300 Tables of 8

REGISTER NOW!

6 - 6:30 pm Cocktails and Networking
6:30 - 7:30 pm Dinner and Program
7:30 - 10:30 pm Music and Dancing

Managing Employee Appearance and Religious Accommodations in the Workplace

Friday, March 24, 2017

8:30 - 10 am

@ Holiday Inn Express  

39 Southampton Road

Westfield, MA

Managing employee appearance in the workplace can be challenging.  Generally, private employers can set whatever dress, grooming, and appearance standards that they think are appropriate for their businesses, as long as the standards are not discriminatory.  Employers, however, have an obligation to provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would create an undue burden, which sometimes means making exceptions to dress and appearance standards. 

Join Attorney Karina L. Schrengohst for a roundtable-style seminar to discuss appearance in the workplace and religious accommodations, including: 

• An overview of religious discrimination law;
• Dress and appearance standards;
• Body modification (tattoos and piercings); and
• Workplace culture, individual self-expression, and employee retention.

Free to Members/$30 for General Admission
Light refreshments served

REGISTER HERE!

Please enjoy some photographs from this past month's events...

Westfield’s Public, Educational, and Governmental cable access service is proud to announce recently added and expanded services for the community. 

Our public television has expanded to two channels for the city’s cable television subscribers.  Viewers can still watch morning Community Radio simulcasts as well as live and pre-recorded City Council, School Committee, and Planning Board meetings on the Westfield Community Programming Channel 15. If you’re looking for announcements of community events, you can now tune in the Westfield Community Bulletin Board on Comcast Cable Channel 12. 

We are also launching a new Community Public Television website, www.westfieldtv.org. While still in the process of updating, channel programming and on-demand viewing will be available from this site, as well as live streaming. 

In addition to the updated service on cable television, a new online Community Programming streaming service is now available and accessible via the www.westfieldtv.org site.  Online viewers can check Community Bulletin Board announcements and watch the live broadcasts of Community Radio and City Council, School Committee, and Planning Board meetings. 

When emergency alerts need to be broadcast, for example school cancellations or delays, municipal closings, or weather related emergencies, they will be displayed “Ticker” style, similar to what you see on other broadcast TV channels.  This will be displayed on both Channels 12 & 15, as well as the Internet Streaming channel.

Technology Director, Lenore Bernashe explains:  “The addition of Channel 12 and internet streaming came about after an upgrade of the nearly 12-year-old programming equipment for Channel 15.  As part of the recent cable franchise renewal with Comcast, the city has added the second channel to provide the 24/7 bulletin board service and streaming capabilities for those without cable access.”

The Westfield Community Bulletin Board service on Channel 12 is open to all not-for-profit agencies in the city to announce upcoming events.  Event information can be submitted through the WestfieldTV webpage (www.westfieldtv.org) or emailed to events@westfieldtv.org.

 The Mass DOT has scheduled a meeting to obtain public input on the first phase design of the Western Avenue project.  If you have a vested interest and valuable insight, the City of Westfield and the Mas DOT are requesting your attendance.  Details are as follows.

A Design Public Hearing will be held by MassDOT to discuss the proposed Route 20 Access Improvement Project (Western Avenue) in Westfield, MA.

WHERE:         South Middle School Auditorium
                         30 West Silver Street  
                         Westfield, MA 01085

WHEN:           Tuesday, January 31, 2017 @ 7:00PM

PURPOSE:  For MassDOT to present to the public, information concerning the above referenced project, and to afford every interested resident of the area an opportunity to be heard on the project.   At the same time, the hearings afford MassDOT an additional opportunity to receive information from local sources which would be of value to the State in making its final decisions to what design should be advanced for development.

PROJECT:  The proposed project will be broken up into phases.  The first phase consists of reconstructing and widening Western Avenue from Llewellyn Drive to Lloyds Hill Road, to provide wider shoulders and added turning lanes; upgrading the traffic signals at the intersection of Western Avenue and Westwood Drive/WSU commuter parking lot; and constructing a multi-use path along Western Avenue and Lloyds Hill Road.  The drawings are available for viewing at the Westfield Engineering Department and are also available online on the City’s website through the Engineering Department’s page under active projects.

Here is a list of our committees and we welcome current and new members to get involved.  Please feel free to contact the chairpersons below if you would like to participate on a committee.

Ambassador Club
The Ambassador Club meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:45 p.m. at the Ranch Golf Club in Southwick. Chairs:  Dino Gravanis and Anne Woodson.  If you would like to join the Ambassador Club, please contact Dino Gravanis or Anne Woodson.
 
Board of Directors
The GWCC Board of Directors meets quarterly; the next meeting is Wednesday, January 25, 2017.  Your Board of Directors is listed here:  http://www.westfieldbiz.org/directors-officers.html.
  
Business & Community Affairs Committee (BCAC)
Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of the month at 8:00 am at Annino, Draper & Moore at 75 Broad Street in Westfield. Chair: Rebecca Sherer.  If you would like to join the BCAC, please contact Rebecca Sherer.
 
Events Committee
The Events Committee meets the first Wednesday of every month at 9:00 am at Air Compressor Engineering. Please contact Kate Phelon @ 413.568.1618 if you would like to be a part of this committee.  Chair:  Dawn Thomas.  If you would like to join the Events Committee, please contact Dawn Thomas.
 

Membership Committee
The Membership Committee meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:45 p.m. at  the Ranch Golf Club. Chair: Kim Betts.  If you would like to join the Membership Committee, please contact Kim Betts.

All members are encouraged to submit their news to be published at no cost! The deadline for submission is the third Thursday, 5:00 pm of every month.  Sponsorships and/or advertising is available to you in our newsletter. Please contact the Chamber office at 568.1618 for more information.

The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce serves the communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Tolland, Southwick, and Westfield.