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EDC March 08 Newsletter03/27/2008 Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts MonthlyUpdates/www.westernmassedc.com
Westover Welcomes Flights to Florida and New Amenities Last Week, Skybus airlines and Westover Metropolitan Airport announced the beginning of direct daily service to St. Augustine (northeast Florida) and Punta Gorda (southwest Florida,) beginning June 1. These newest additions to the low-cost airline's Chicopee services will make a total of four daily flights for the local airport, including the Greensboro, N.C. destination implemented in January, and service to Skybus' hub in Columbus, Ohio, which debuted last July. (Due to rising fuel costs, Skybus' second daily flight to Columbus, Ohio, will be discontinued as of April 15.) The airline's ten $10 seats offered on each of its flights were nearly sold out soon after tickets went on sale for the round-trip Florida flights, March 19. In response to the overwhelming success of Skybus, Westover's first commercial air service in 20 years, amenities are being added to accommodate the facility's average of 100 passengers per flight. Avis, Hertz and Enterprise rental agencies have recently adopted full-time availability for their locations within Westover's passenger terminal. In addition to other planned improvements, airport officials may also add a concession stand in June. For more information about Skybus Airlines, or to book a flight, visit www.skybus.com. Springfield is Open for Business: 2008 Developer Conference slated for April 3 The City of Springfield's Planning and Economic Department and MassDevelopment have joined forces with development entities throughout the region for an event to be held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 8:30 - 11:30, Thursday, April 3. Chief Executive Officers, Senior Executives from companies with an ownership interest in real estate, developers and other investors are invited to hear presentations from Mayor Domenic Sarno, Robert L. Culver, President & CEO of MassDevelopment, Allan Blair, President & CEO of the Western Massachusetts EDC, Russell Denver, President of the ACCGS, David Panagore, Springfield's Chief Development Officer and more. Following the presentations, which will focus on key properties and development within Springfield, participants will visit several priority development sites via a guided bus tour. Stops will include the former York Street Jail site, the Smith and Wesson Industrial Park, the State Street Corridor, Court Square, the Sovereign Bank office tower and the River's Landing development. Samalid Hogan, project manager for the Springfield Department of Planning and Economic Development, described the purpose of this event as bringing attention to all of the city's assets and opportunities for business. There is no charge to attend the conference, however, space is limited and registration is required by March 28. For more information, visit www.springfieldcityhall.com/planning/conference. GSCVB Works to Make Division II Championship Events a Slam Dunk The GSCVB has been working closely with the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship committee to make this year's series, held March 24 - 29, a great success. Bureau President Mary Kay Wydra is chairperson of the Division II Hospitality Committee, in addition to serving as a member of the executive committee that is coordinating the event. On March 18, Mary Kay joined other committee members in holding a pep rally at Theodores' Booze, Blues & BBQ in Springfield to kick off the events. It was well-attended and covered by several media outlets. This year's championship, which will be take place at the MassMutual Center, is expected to generate an estimated conservative economic impact of $1.5-$2 million for the Pioneer Valley. Local hotels, restaurants and attractions have been gearing up to greet our out-of-town visitors. The series features an action-packed schedule, culminating in a championship game to be broadcast nationwide on CBS-TV on Saturday, March 29 at 2:30p.m. This is bound to provide significant publicity for the region. For further information or to buy tickets, visit www.gotod2.com and check out the latest news. Eastern States Exposition to host American Truck Historical Society in 2012 In other GSCVB news, the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) has chosen the Eastern States Exposition as the host site for its 2012 National Convention, following a presentation by Bureau President Mary Kay Wydra and Eastern States Exposition Events Coordinator Jessica Castro. The pair recently traveled to Kansas City, MO to attend an ATHS board meeting and propose that the group hold their convention in the Pioneer Valley. A vote was taken and the decision was announced immediately following the presentation. The 2012 convention will take place May 31 - June 2. The ATHS is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of trucks, the trucking industry and its pioneers. It has over 24,000 members in the United States, Australia, Canada and 20 other counties worldwide. For more information, contact Lee Chambers at (413) 755-1345 or lee@valleyvisitor.com SBID Beautification Plan Adds More Trees on Downtown Streets Springtime is almost here and beautification plans at the Springfield Business Improvement District (BID) are underway. These include the planting of trees on Lyman, Dwight, Taylor, Chestnut and Bridge Streets in downtown Springfield during the week of April 28. The trees, which will be planted with the assistance of volunteers from the Wilbraham United Church for Neighborhoods, are part of the BID's aggressive "Spruce It Up" beautification plan. The BID works to continue to improve the image and business atmosphere of downtown Springfield through a four-pillared program: Clean It Up, Spruce It Up, Liven It Up and Sell It! For more information, contact the Springfield Business Improvement District at (413) 781-1591 or visit SpringfieldDowntown.com, a dynamic new website featuring an up to date calendar that showcases "what's happening" downtown, as well as a searchable database of downtown Springfield restaurants, clubs, bars and service providers. RTC's April 11 All-Day TEC Event Becomes 3-Part Series In response to suggestions from our RTC TEC members, the one-day TEC event being held April 11 has been reformatted into a 3-part series, running 8-11 a.m., titled "IT-Enabled Business Opportunities." The first event of the series will be held on the originally scheduled day of April 11 at Baystate Health Education Center, 361 Whitney Avenue, Holyoke and is titled, "Breaking In: Exploring Industry Sectors." Keynote Speaker Paul Gillin is an award-winning writer, former editor-in-chief of Computerworld and founding editor-in-chief of TechTarget. Mr. Gillin will also be signing copies of his latest book, The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media. Moderator Paul Silva of Angel Catalyst will oversee a panel of established industry giants and heavy IT users in our region: Comcast, Baystate Health, MassMutual, Court Square Group and Inherent (founder & former CEO). The needs and inefficiencies of the financial services, insurance, biotechnology, health services and utilities industries, will be discussed, along with the new IT being utilized. Through this event, we hope to expose attendees to new business opportunities. The cost is $15 for RTC members and $50 for non-members. The first 40 people to register will receive a free copy of Mr. Gillin's book. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Suzanne Parker at (413) 755-1301 or sparker@rtccentral.com
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© 2008 Western Massachusetts Economic Development 1441 Main Street Springfield MA 01103 |
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