HAMPSHIRE SPOTLIGHT

In This Issue

RSVP Spotlight:

Dennis Lee

Hampshire

Power’s

Busiest Month

Call to Artists!

Valley Gives

Day

The Hampshire Council of Governments Newsletter April 2016

Hampshire Web Launches Everyone knows that small towns don’t have it easy these days. At Hampshire COG, we’re more sensitive to this than most: it’s the whole reason we exist. Our programs are designed to save towns money, and to help them attain products and services they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access or afford.

With this mission in mind, we’re happy to introduce a program that will deliver affordable, sophisticated, and attractive websites to towns in need of an upgrade.

If you live in a small town you probably know what we’re talking about. Small municipal websites can be poorly organized and difficult to navigate. There’s an obvious reason for this...good websites don’t usually come cheap!

Professionally built municipal websites can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Frankly, that price just doesn’t align with the reality of small municipal budgets. Unfortunately, economizing on a website in the digital age can have significant negative consequences for a town and its residents.

These days websites are a major point of contact for municipalities. Businesses, potential residents, and events look at municipal websites for a first impression of the community. If your town lacks a cogent website, you risk losing out on business and events that draw people in.

A functional website also makes life easier for current residents and your town government! Websites allow residents to pay bills online, hold relevant discussions, advertise town events, receive emergency notifications, and more.

These things used to be expensive, but now, thanks to our partnership with Virtual Towns and Schools, of Boxborough, small municipalities can access the same quality web design that bigger cities take for granted.

We hope that municipalities throughout Massachusetts will take this opportunity to upgrade their web-based services. Please call or email Lee Frankl for more information: lfrankl@hampshirecog.org

413-584-1300 x 122

RSVP Volunteer Spotlight: Dennis Lee

Walk into Miss Florence diner on any given morning and you’ll probably run into Dennis Lee. The

retired radio personality is hard to miss, gregarious as he is. When I arrive (slightly late), he is

conversing cheerily with another diner and a waitress: a preview of what I would soon understand to

be an uncommon gift for levity.

We sit down at a booth and I start asking about his involvement with RSVP of Hampshire & Franklin

Counties. Despite his natural candor it’s a challenge to get him to talk about his own volunteering. He

plays down his own efforts and instead spends five minutes effusively telling me about the scores of

other volunteers who contribute “much more than he does.” All this, he assures me, is not done out of

modesty, but rather an acknowledgement of the hard work of others.

Finally, after a little prodding, Dennis tells me about the photography work he does for RSVP. A radio

“morning man” by trade, he sees a lot of commonality between conducting interviews and taking

photos. His secret to both: get people to relax and smile. He often does this with what he refers to as

“radio one-liners”. For example: Now’s the toughest part; you have to look at the ugly photographer!

Every year, RSVP holds an event at the Log Cabin in Holyoke to honor its volunteers who have

served over 36 hours in the previous year. Volunteers with over 4,000 lifetime hours are honored with

the President’s Award for their service. For the last four years, Dennis has been there to capture it

all—waiting for the perfect shot with the patience of a trained marksman.

Speaking of which, he also covers the annual recognition ceremony for the Veteran’s Affairs

volunteers in Florence. Anne Murray, Voluntary Services Manager at the VA of Central Western MA

Healthcare System, counts herself among Dennis’ greatest fans. “He is just so cool! I really love that

guy!” she gushes over the phone.

Some of Dennis’ photos from the RSVP Luncheon (top row) and the VA Recognition Ceremony (bottom).

Dennis is unequivocal about his appreciation for RSVP leadership. “After I do an event for Pat

and Lindsay, I walk away smiling,” he says. That praise is mirrored by Pat, who has joked with

me on a few occasions that she and Dennis are the “presidents of each other’s fan clubs.”

Our waitress comes by with our order and Dennis quips with her about my dish, the “Two-Plus-

Two” (“Why don’t they just call it four?”).

The more he speaks about photography—the merits of digital technology, the times he spent

photographing minor league baseball in Holyoke, the time he talked his way to the front row of

Circus Smirkus (the coolest pictures he’s ever taken!)—the more passionate he becomes.

Dennis is an RSVP success story: a man with a lifetime of stories and skills, putting his hobbies

to work for others and having a great time in the process. He wasn’t a professional photographer,

rather someone with a hobby and an appreciation for human interaction.

All told, the thing Dennis loves most about RSVP is its potential to create relationships between

people. It provides the kind of networking opportunities that turn a passerby into a 15 minute

conversation on Main Street. “It’s all about people…and relationships. That’s what RSVP is really

about.”

March was an especially busy month for

Hampshire Power. Over the 31 day stretch we

earned eight new customers. Six were

businesses—Roberto’s, Sylvester’s, Aquadro

and Cerruti, and Viva Fresh Pasta

of Northampton; Mount Tom’s Ice

Cream of Easthampton; and

Homeshop Properties, of Methuen.

The remaining two were municipal

accounts: the City of Pittsfield and the Town of

Charlemont.

In addition to these eight individual accounts,

Hampshire Power won the bid for the

aggregated load of the Town of Cheshire.

Beginning May 1st, residents and businesses

will begin receiving their electricity through

Hampshire Power rather than the utility.

New Salespeople

In an effort to reach more potential customers,

Hampshire Power hired two new

salespeople at the end of March.

Gary O’Grady comes to HCOG with

29 years of banking and marketing

experience, the past eight of which were

municipal-focused. He’s a sports enthusiast and

he volunteers with the Westfield Homeless Cat

Project.

Michael Cahillane, a native of Northampton,

owned Cahillane motors. He sits on the board of

Smith Vocational and is an ambassador for the

Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Hampshire Power Updates

Hampshire County Trivia Q: In what year did Hampshire County cede

control of the courts to the Commonwealth?

Send us an email with your answer and win

a $25 gift certificate to a participating

Hampshire Power business! Be sure to put

“Hampshire Trivia” in the subject line.

Contact Us

Give us a call for more

information about our

services and products.

Hampshire Council of

Governments

99 Main Street

Northampton, MA 01060

(413) 584-1300

info@hampshirecog.org

Visit us on the web at:

hampshirecog.org

hampshirepower.org

restorethecourthouse.org

hampshiresolar.org

We’re still looking for artists! The Hampshire Council of Governments is still seeking talented artists. If you have pieces you’d like to display in downtown Northampton, our hallways are your gallery!

Some helpful guidelines for artists:

√ Be talented

√ Be good with crowds

√ Have awesome work you’d like to display

√ Embody the dignity and panache of western MA

If you can pass this rigorous litmus test, contact us today to

reserve your spot!

May 3rd is Valley Gives day: a day of fundraising for non-profits within Hampshire, Franklin, and

Hampden counties. Some smaller area non-profits don’t have a sophisticated web presence and they

may have difficulty raising money for their causes. Valley Gives is all about helping them get a leg up!

As ambassadors for the event, we at Hampshire COG urge you to participate and donate to the non-

profits that help improve our lives in the valley.

Check out Valley Gives’ website to learn more!

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