Western Mass Business Show on 8.22.26 – Dawn Creighton/Liberty Bank

Join us as we hear from Dawn Creighton the Community Outreach Officer at Liberty Bank about the ways that Liberty shows itself to be Community Kind. Liberty Bank was founded in 1825 as a mutual bank in Middletown Connecticut. They have 50 branches in Connecticut and Massachusetts with 9 billion in assets. They have been named a top workplace in Connecticut and most recently they have opened their first branch in Massachusetts in East Longmeadow at 94 Shaker Rd. Dawn has worked for the bank for three years and is so glad that she does. As the community outreach officer, she gets to oversee programs like the academy for small business and finding your path to financial freedom through Liberty Bank’s Academy for financial wellness. Tune in to hear how you can join her in one of their many tuition free resources for entrepreneurs and local business owners. Her partnerships with organizations like MSBDC and Common Capital, and the Sphere have proved their success in teaching tools around credit building, budgeting, saving money, and overall financial literacy. Thank you so much for coming on Dawn and to our listeners for listening.

Western Mass Business Show on 8.8.26 – Easthampton Neighbors

Join us as we hear from Mary McCarthy and Sharon Tilbe, who are the President of the Board and the Volunteer Coordinator respectively at Easthampton Neighbors. They serve 55+ in the Easthampton community who need a little help from their friends to get by. With so many people aging in place it is important to have safety nets like EN so that people can get to appointments, the grocery store, have a small repair done, get computer assistance, or just have a friendly face to check in on them. The village-to-village network has taken off across the state and county with many nonprofits like EN right here in the 413. Listen in on how you can help with becomming a member, volunteer, or board member. Save the date for the Cow Plop Derby on 9/13 at Fletchers Farm in Southampton, MA. Sounds like a fun time for everyone. Thanks for listening to the WMBS.

www.easthamptonneighbors.com

Western Mass Business Show on 8.1.26 – Tides for Reproductive Freedom

Join us as we meet Feyla McNamara, Co-founder and Co-executive director and Dale Gaddes, Director of Development for Tides for Reproductive Freedom. Founded in 2018, and staffed up in 2023, Tides as an abortion fund led by people who have had abortions and queer folks. Tune in as we learn what an abortion fund is and how this small grassroots network can help over 700 people last year alone. We discussed how hard it is to do the work in these times but how in these times the work is the most essential effort that they produce for humanity. How Roe was not the ceiling, but the floor and the rebuilding must be done better and for more people in the future. For more information about Tides please visit www.tidesforchange.org. Thank you for listening.

Western Mass Business Show on 7.4.26 – Easthampton Council On Aging

Join us as we have a robust conversation about the Easthampton Council on aging and enrichment center. We are joined by their Director Cynthia Tarail. She talks about how their programming is a two-way street and how they invite contribution, engagement, and leadership into everything that they do. A participant at the center Ron Contois talks about his experience of coming back to Easthampton and finding community at the center. We are also joined by Katya Shapiro, the Easthampton Public Library Director and Tom Geryk the veteran’s agent for Easthampton and Westhampton. Listen as we hear how they partner together and work concurrently to support the residents of the greater Easthampton area. Thank you for listening. 

Western Mass Business Show on 6.27.26 – Downtown Amherst Foundation/The Drake

Join us as we speak to Claudia Pazmany Executive Director of the Downtown Amherst Foundation aka the Drake. Many know Claudia from her roles around the region including ED of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce and Development Director at the MLK Center in Springfield. She is joined by Gabrielle Gould, Founder and President of the Board at the Downtown Amherst Foundation and families face around the greater Amherst area in her past role as ED of the Amherst BID. The Drake has been a huge economic driver for downtown Amherst since it’s inception in April of 2022. Learn how ticketed events add to the vibrancy and economic development of a town and how partnership is the way we must move forward together. We are also joined by Lincoln Allen, Manager of the Drake and Chris Freeman, ED of the Iron Horse in Northampton. Miles for Music is an 8.1 mile run from the Drake to the Iron Horse on September 13th to coincide with the Taste of Northampton. Be a part of the action and sign up early at runreg.com or go to www.thedrakeamherst.org for more information. Thanks for listening.

Western Mass Business Show on 6.13.26 – Zoar Outdoor

Join us as we hear from Mo Bergmann Perez, General Manager, and Brigid O’Riordan, Core Resources Coordinator, from Zoar Outdoor and Zoar Paddlesports in Charlemont, MA. Both women are long time employees and committed to the Zoar Core Values of Enhancing Lives, Acting with Integrity, Building Positive Relationships, Promoting Teamwork, Embracing Change, Valuing Growth, Taking Ownership, and Planning Thoughtfully. This business is one of many under the Berkshire East/Catamount/Burke Mountain groups and a key piece of the regional outdoor tourism economy for Franklin County. Zoar Outdoor especially relies on a partnership with the FERC and an agreement with Brooksfield and Great River Hydro for the water releases they guarantee for the Gap and the Dryway water levels to rise enough to be able to enjoy the water sports and activities that the business relies on. Listen in as we talk about the history of the land, how many offerings they have to engage customers and upcoming events this summer. Thanks for coming on Mo and Brigid.

www.zoaroutdoor.com

Western Mass Business Show on 6.6.26 – Mary Yun

Join us as we speak with Mary Yun who is the Executive Director of Click Workspace at 9 1/2 market Street in downtown Northampton. Click is celebrating 10 years on Market Street. Tune in as we talk about what it means to cowork in pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post pandemic life. How do we work? Why Click? Why coworking space? Why Northampton? How did Click come to be? Mary has a background as an architect and designer. Bringing this eye for quality of spatial relationships to light, materials, and color for over 28 years Click Workspace has benefited from her eye for detail. Click as a coworking space, gallery space, and community event space has been a very successful concept. They will be celebrating their 10 years on June 12th from 6 to 8 PM with an large scale event at 9 1/2 Market Street. To find out more please go to www.clickworkspace.org or www.maryyunstudio.com.

Western Mass Business Show on 5.30.26 – Friends of Forbes Library

Join us as we listen to some of the Friends of Forbes Library speak about their love of Forbes and the spaces that it creates for people. Jody Rosenbloom, is the Garden Tour Committee Chair, JoEllen Mackenzie, is the President of the FOF Library Board of Directors, and Alex Kessler, is the Garden Tour Committee Member and Coordinator of the Garden search process. What is the Garden Tour? Well, only the most successful fundraiser that the FOF runs every year, coming up on June 13th, 10AM-4PM. For 46 years the Friends have been supporting the needs of the library through memberships and donations at events like the Garden Tour. Your participation helps the library thrive. Go to www.friends.forbeslibrary.org to purchase tickets or find out more about the Friends of the upcoming Garden Tour. Thanks for listening.

Western Mass Business Show on 5.23.26 – John Bidwell Chief Development Officer at Way Finders

Join us as we speak to John Bidwell about his many roles professionally and what experiences shaped him as a human. From owning a small business to being a regional leader in larger companies spanning for and non-profit roles John has seemingly done it all with grace and ease. What does it mean to reinvent yourself and why should leap of faiths be something that we embrace rather than run from? What does purpose and leadership look like for you and how can you forge your own path of joy and mission. As a Peace Corps volunteer and author John has been in partnership with his wife Kris for many years and encourages us to all find our edge and walk the line (which is not straight) to our own edges where we can live our best lives. Thank you for listening.

Western Mass Business Show on 5.16.26 – Paradise City Arts

Join us as we hear from the new owners of Paradise City Arts, Elana Churnick Kritz and Mariah Swanson. They are not strangers to the arts and have developed quite a name for themselves in the art world before taking over the helm at PCA. A 30-year legacy is a hard ship to Captain, but they are taking it in stride and as a team. Please attend PCA on May 23-25 at the 3 County Fairgrounds, go to www.paradisecityarts.com for more information, times, food, and music schledue. Tune in for the surprise news, artist line up, and new showstoppers. Thank you for joining us in the excitement and fun of our local arts, business, and non-profit community.