May Updates from the Spirit of Springfield

Celebrating Springfield's Biggest, Best and Brightest!

The countdown to the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast has begun! The interest to participate, support, be a part of, and attend has been tremendous. With help from American Medical Response, we will be packing up and delivering close to 80,000 free tickets to area schools for distribution to their students.

This marks the ninth year that MGM Springfield has been the event’s sponsor. Their community support has been tremendous even before they opened their doors.

I hope you will join on us Saturday, May 14th from 8am to 11am on Main Street to celebrate Springfield’s spirit and birthday.

-- Judy Matt

President

World's Largest Pancake Breakfast

The World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast is more than just a pile of pancakes. It is a party! There is great food that includes pancakes, bacon, milk, juice and coffee. This year’s menu even includes samples of iced coffee and Munchkins from Dunkin’, cheese from Cabot Creamery Co-operative, and something special from the Place 2 Be.

On Saturday, May 14th from 8am to 11am, there will be live entertainment including the Sci Tech High School Band, dancing, and singing. There will be displays and demonstrations. Visitors can get up close to equipment from the Springfield Police and Fire Departments, and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. The Massachusetts Army National Guard has an obstacle course for the kids. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will host a cast clinic.

TD Bank and WWLP-22News will have prize wheels. Monson Savings Bank will challenge guests to cornhole games and Jenga. Western Mass News will be handing out hip packs.

Learn more at spiritofspringfield.org.

Free Pancake Breakfast Tickets

Students from throughout Western Massachusetts will dine for free at the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, May 14th. The Spirit of Springfield reached out to area mayor’s, superintendents, and heads of schools to offer complimentary tickets to the students. The response was overwhelming. Requests came from both sides of the Connecticut River including Agawam and West Springfield, East Longmeadow, charter schools, private schools, and daycares.

This put the print shop at Mercy Medical Center into overdrive! They spent days printing, cutting, and packaging 80,000 tickets and fliers. After being carefully counted for each request, the tickets were loaded into American Medical Response (AMR) vehicles for safe transport to each school.

Pancake Breakfast Welcomes New Sponsors

2022 marks the ninth year at MGM Springfield is sponsoring the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast. It is the first year, the Spirit of Springfield is receiving additional support from Monson Savings Bank and TD Bank.

Monson Savings Bank is sponsoring the myriad of activities taking place in Court Square. TD Bank is bringing their own flare and “TD,” the bank’s mascot, to the corner of Main Street and Harrison Avenue.

“We are honored to help support the Pancake Breakfast, one of Springfield’s longest standing traditions and an event that brings the community together to have fun,” said Dan Moriarty, President and CEO of Monson Savings Bank. “Many of us here at Monson Savings grew up attending the Pancake Breakfast every year with our families so we are excited to sponsor and volunteer at the event this year. We are proud to be a part of the Springfield community. Not only do we serve here – we work here, and many of us live in Springfield and the surrounding towns. It is events like this that unite us as a community and as friends.”

GOTTA GOLF!

The Spirit of Springfield Golf Committee, with John Hesslein as the chair, has been hard at work to organize a fun-filled day at Franconia Golf Course and raise money to support the Spirit of Springfield. Charlie Arment Trucking was the first to lend their support as the tournament’s Eagle Sponsor.

Gleason-Johndrow Landscaping is making the tournament a little more interesting by offering a $25,000 prize for the first player to make a hole-in-one from the tee for hole #8. There will be an air gun to boast a shot on to the green at hole #6, as well as prizes for longest drive and closest to the pin.

The Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, American Medical Response, and ProPark are Community Spirit Sponsors, and there are numerous tee sponsors including 90 Meat Outlet, CDM Smith, People’s United Bank, Tom Manzi from Wells Fargo, and WWLP-22News.

Every player will receive a golf glove with a Spirit of Springfield tee marker, lunch on the course, and a $25 gift card for a Springfield restaurant compliment of the Springfield Business Improvement District.

Max Stasiuk Update

For more than a month, the Spirit of Springfield has been selling a children’s book, “Little Frog and Bright Lights,” to support the Ukrainian illustrator and his family. To-date, we have sold over 700 books and raised over $9,000 from the sale of the books and donations. The goal is to be able to continue to provide Max and his family with funds so that they are able to stay safe.

Max’s brother and brother-in-law have both recently been drafted. Max fears he will be drafted soon. This will eliminate his ability to work and make money to support his family and extended family. Without a work visa, his wife, Olena, is unable to work in Italy where she is a refugee with her children and aunt.

Andy Jensen, JX2 Productions, has donated a full-page advertisement in BusinessWest to help promote the sale of the books to businesses that could purchase large quantities to share with employees, schools, libraries, and young readers.

Books are available for order online at spiritofspringfield.org. $10 for each book sold goes directly to Max and his family.

In this Issue

World's Largest

Pancake Breakfast

Free Pancake

Breakfast Tickets

Pancake Breakfast Welcomes New Sponsors

Gotta Golf!

Max Stasiuk Update

Guest Column

Chris Kelley

MGM Springfield

Spirit of Springfield

Golf Classic

Guest Column

Chris Kelley

President & COO

MGM Springfield

I’m honored to serve as this year’s Chair of the Spirit of Springfield’s World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast, an event I personally have been looking forward to all year. Now more than ever, our community is looking for ways to once again gather and the Spirit of Springfield is delivering at a time when it matters most.

Growing up in the region, I understand how important this event is in bringing friends and family together. This year promises to be bigger than ever as the community sits down to a breakfast feast that will wind its way through the heart of our city along Main Street.

I’d like to express my gratitude to the hundreds of volunteers, many of whom will be up before dawn, for making the magic happen. Without your support this event would not be possible. Thank you to all who are donating their time on May 14 to help create memories sure to last a lifetime.

MGM Springfield is incredibly proud to support the Spirit of Springfield in creating such unforgettable events like the Pancake Breakfast. It is a partnership we have valued since before opening our resort in 2018. When great partners come together, positive things can happen. But when an entire community comes together, that is when extraordinary things happen, and that’s what this event is all about. Thank you for the honor of being part of this special day.