Home About Archives RSS Feed

1Berkshire Looking For A Leader

Andy McKeever

PITTSFIELD, Mass — The region's major economic agents formed 1Berkshire last spring to coordinate efforts. Now they're looking for a leader to turn paper goals into action.

The organization, a unified head for the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation, the Berkshire Creative Economy Council and the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, has finished its fundraising and laying out its goals. Now to start making real impacts it needs someone to take the helm.

"This is going to be the leadership position for development and growth in the Berkshires," Paul Haklisch, current chief executive officer, said on Wednesday. "We're looking for a highly qualified executive."

Haklisch has led the organization's establishment as a volunteer. To finish the job, he needs to find his replacement. The coalition was announced in April and has been in the organizational phase for much of that time.

"My job is to help them take initiatives from paper and put them to action," Haklisch said.

Haklisch said he is not interested in taking it on full time.

The group has a list of projects to embark on, including advocating for low-impact cleanup of the Housatonic River, he said. Local officials, communities, environmental groups and agencies and GE are debating the best way to clean the river of PCBs dumped there by GE decades ago.

"Just because we haven't assumed a public profile, doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything," Haklisch said. "One of the big things we're doing is taking on a  principal advocacy role for the Rest of the River Project."

The job posting on Berkshirejobs.com lists the position's responsibilities, which include facilitating the collaboration of the four major economic forces with federal, state and local public officials, serving as spokesman, executing fundraising efforts and general oversight of the group.

The nonprofit has set its objective to promote economic growth in the county while developing "the Berkshires" brand and is funded by both public and private sources.

In April, the group announced that it would be a one-stop point to answer questions for prospective businesses and hoped to have a toll-free telephone number and website. So far, they have a minimal website presence.

Tags: 1Berkshire      

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
The Nutcracker At The Colonial Theater
McCann First Quarter Honor Roll
Pittsfield Looks to Update Zoning for ADUs
63-Year-Old Lost Postcard United With Intended Recipient
Rain Slows Growth of Butternut Fire
North Adams Warns Residents of Lead Pipe Survey Scam
Clarksburg Eyeing Tight Budget; Looking for Grant Funds
Weekend Outlook: Storytimes, Tribute Bands and Nightwood
Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?
DPAC To Perform 'Clue: On Stage'

 


Bill Schmick separates the bull from the bears in his weekly columns on investing and market wrap-ups.



Categories:
advertising (10)
agriculture (1)
arts (7)
automotive (5)
awards (16)
banking (41)
Beacon (1)
broadband (1)
business (52)
chamber (25)
closing (5)
development (23)
dining (5)
domestic animals (2)
energy (6)
entertainment (2)
federal (4)
finances (5)
food (5)
fundraiser (3)
green (2)
grocery (5)
hospitality/hotel (5)
housing (0)
insurance (3)
investment (6)
jobs (35)
labor (17)
laws (4)
Legislature (3)
manufacturing (9)
media (8)
medical (4)
networking (33)
new (22)
pricing (1)
projects (2)
promotion (6)
publishing (13)
radio (2)
real estate (8)
retail (29)
technology (13)
training (5)
transportation (1)
volunteer (1)
website (2)
wholesale (7)
workshops (6)
Archives:
Tags:
Williamstown Currency Berkshire Enterprises Tricks Of The Trade Store Opening Breakfast Baldwin Crane & Co. Social Media Nbt Bank Merger Unemployment Sales Tax Wmeco Statistics Excelsior Adams Bj's Great Barrington Unemployment Auction Winstanley Qualprint Talkberkshires Jobs Expansion Wall Street State Walmart North Adams Statistics Berkshire Chamber Of Commerce Sabic Small Business Pittsfield
Popular Entries:
Chamber Drive Nets Donation for Shelter
Pittsfield Jobless Rate at 7 Percent
State Added 12,700 Jobs in July
State Jobless Holds Steady at 7.6%
Excelsior Brings Greeting Card Co. To North Adams
Cranwell Voted Best For Meetings
Super Duper Wally World
Baldwin Brings Berkshire-style Talk to Florida
Chamber Sets Free Workshop on QR Codes
Quality Printing Buys Marketing Franchise
Recent Entries:
Biz Briefs: Mr. Tire, Tax Holiday, Business Directory
Berkshire Eagle Parent Mulling Newspaper Sales
Digitial First Puts Vermont News Buildings on the Market
Berkshire Chamber, Neal Hosting Facebook for Business Workshop
Winstanley Wins Big at Annual ADDY Awards
Eggs & Issues Event Focuses on Rail Cars, Development
State Unemployement Rate Drops Slightly
New Biotech Firm Setting Up in Pittsfield
Crane Museum Opens Retail Store
License Commission Approves River Street Package Move