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.

Photo courtesy of Excelsior    Oatmeal Studios' owners Joe and Helene Massimino sold the Vermont company to Excelsior. To the right is new owner David Crane with new General Manager Joseph Gallagher.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Excelsior Printing Co. will bring its newly acquired business to the city.

The Roberts Drive printing company announced Tuesday that it purchased Oatmeal Studios of Rochester, Vt., and will bring the inventory and warehousing to the city, which could translate into local jobs.

"The founders wanted to retire. We were in negotiations for about a month and finalized the deal last week," Julianne Fruscio, Excelsior's business development and marketing coordinator, said on Tuesday.

Excelsior has been printing Oatmeal Studios' greeting cards for more than 20 years. Oatmeal's sales team will be offered positions first and unfilled jobs could be filled locally. Additionally, Excelsior hired Joseph Gallagher to be the general manager to develop even more products and expand into other markets.

"We're really hoping to develop the brand Oatmeal more," Fruscio said. "It's a new direction for us because we are now specializing in greeting cards."

Though Excelsior has the ability to do its own design work, it will continue using Oatmeal's database of freelancers to design the cards. Oatmeal also accepts submissions on a daily basis, Fruscio said.

Oatmeal Studios was founded by Helene and Joe Massimino and has been creating and distributing greeting cards and notepads for more than 30 years. The greeting cards are printed with vegetable-based inks on recycled paper. 

"We think it's a great fit," said Joe Massimino in a press release. "Excelsior has been a part of Oatmeal Studios almost from the beginning and they have a stationery pedigree of their own that will serve Oatmeal Studios’ customers well into the future."

In 2005, Excelsior separated from Crane & Co. and, in 2008, made a similar acquisition of SeedPrint. Excelsior now prints and ships seed packages while doing minimal design work.

Crane purchased the Excelsior companies — Excelsior Printing and Excelsior Process & Engraving — in 1970. Crane moved Excelsior Process & Engraving to the Robert Hardman Industrial Park in 1985 and then announced that it will close the Curran Highway location last year.

Excelsior Printing Co. on Roberts Drive was purchased by David W. Crane in 2005.

Networking events, workshops and seminars for the month of February are listed below. Got an upcoming business event? Send it to info@iberkshires.com.

The Williamstown Chamber of Commerce will host the free program "Surfing Massive Social Waves: A 2011 Look at Companies that Change Our Lives," on Tuesday, Feb. 1, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., at The Orchards, 222 Adams Road, Williamstown. The speaker will be Nancy Williams, financial advisor at True North Financial Services. A complimentary continental breakfast will be served. Reservations are required; contact the chamber at 413- 458-9077 or info@williamstownchamber.com.

Berkshire Young Professionals, a program of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, invites all young professionals living and/or working in Berkshire County to its Networking Social on Wednesday, Feb. 9, from  5 to 7 p.m. at Chocolate Springs Café, located at 55 Pittsfield/Lenox Road (Route 7), Lenox.  This event is free to BYP Membership Cardholders and $5 to nonmembers. Complimentary cookies and chocolates will be served; there will be a cash coffee/hot chocolate bar. Bring your business cards for networking and to be entered into the door prize drawing. To register, visit www.berkshirechamber.com/byp, e-mail choyt@berkshirechamber.com, or call all 413-499-4000, ext. 26.

The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business After Hours event on Thursday, Feb. 10, at Salisbury Bank, Sheffield. For more information, call 413-528-4284.

The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will host "Chamber Nite" at DeRosa Dohoney, LLP, located above Beacon Cinema, 55 North St., Suite 304, Pittsfield, on Wednesday, Feb. 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is open to chamber members and their employees, and includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Bring business cards for networking and to be entered into the door prize drawing. Registration is encouraged by Friday, Feb. 11. Register at 413- 499-4000, ext. 26, choyt@berkshirechamber.com, or www.berkshirechamber.com. 

The Williamstown Chamber of Commerce will host a networking social on Thursday, Feb. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Red Herring, Spring Street, Williamstown. The event is open to all Williamstown Chamber members and their employees. Hors d'oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available. Reservations requested to 413-458-9077 or info@williamstownchamber.com.

The Williamstown Chamber of Commerce and Berkshire Direct will hold the seminar "eCommerce and Your Business" on Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at The Orchards, Adams Road, Williamstown. The presentation will focus on conducting sales transactions online, walking through the strategies and tactics required to be successful. Reservations requested to 413-458-9077 or info@williamstownchamber.com.

The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will host the first Good News Business Salute of 2011 on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Berkshire Hills Country Club, 500 Benedict Road, Pittsfield, from 7:45 to 9 a.m.

The keynote speaker will be Vice President and General Manager of Mission Integration Systems, General Dynamics AIS, Michael Tweed-Kent. Gary Schiff, vice president and senior portfolio manager, TD Wealth Management, will emcee.

The cost to attend is $25 for Berkshire Chamber members and $35 for nonmembers and includes a breakfast buffet. The event is sponsored by TD Bank. To register, call 413-499-4000, ext. 26, email choyt@berkshirechamber.com, or visit www.berkshirechamber.com.

The Lenox Chamber of Commerce will host an After 5 networking event on Thursday, Feb. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Frankie's Ristorante, 80 Main St., Lenox. Complimentary light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be available; bring business cards to enter a door prize drawing. The event is free to Lenox Chamber members; register by Tuesday, Feb. 22 to 413-637-3646 or info@lenox.org.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The state's Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on Friday cleared the way for the Walmart Supercenter to move forward.

New Secretary of Energy Richard K. Sullivan signed off on the project's environmental impact report, saying it "adequately ad properly complies" with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.

The 157,000 square-foot store will be built on the city's old gravel bank at the intersection of Hodges Cross Road and Curran Memorial Highway. The property is in an industrial zone and consists of 26.7 acres. It will include two points of access, including a reconfiguration of the current jug handle at the Route 8 intersection.

The project will alter 21 acres, creating 12.2 acres of "impervious surface" and 701 parking spots.

The store has received its permits from both the city Planning Board and Conservation Commission; it still needs a federal permit for pollutant discharge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It's expected to discharge more than 10,000 gallons of waste water a day into Adams waste-water treatment plant to the south.

The developers have been grading the site and addressing prior wetlands violations and waste dumping on the property.

In his decision, posted below, Sullivan urged the company to further invest in clean technology.

"While I am pleased with the progress and impact it will have on the energy use and GHG emissions at the proposed North Adams store, I continue to urge Walmart to make a significant commitment to sustainability and the burgeoning solar industry in Massachusetts by incorporating solar PV into new buildings such as this one."

Construction is expected to take from 15 to 18 months, putting the store's opening sometime in the late summer of fall of 2012.

Walmart MEPA Certificate

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Storefront Artist Project is planning to relocate its gallery and office next month.

The nonprofit arts organization will be relocating its gallery and office from 124 Fenn St, a space it has occupied since 2006, to 31 South St. It will share its new South Street space, at the corner of Park Square, with local retailer Emporium.

Emporium, a gift shop that sells novelties, Berkshire-made artisanal goods, jewelry, fine art and Blue Q products, will be moving from its current location on upper North Street. Storefront and Emporium are expected to open to the public at their new location on Sunday, Feb. 6.

For Storefront, the move reflects the continued activity and redevelopment of North Street, as well as downtown Pittsfield’s transformation into a cultural hub.

“Although we have been an integral part of the community for almost 10 years, we are excited to have a more visible presence downtown,” said Julia Dixon, Storefront Artist Project’s director, in a statement. “Our proximity to the Colonial Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Festival, Berkshire Museum, Beacon Cinema, New Stage and other thriving businesses and institutions will bring us new vitality and strengthen the city’s cultural core.”

Maria Mingalone, chair of the Storefront Artist’s Board of Directors, is enthusiastic about the move. “Storefront is really on the move, both literally and figuratively. We are excited to have the new space and how it will bring more art to the attention to more people, something that is core to Storefront’s vision.  2011 will prove to be an exciting year for Storefront and the arts community in Pittsfield,” she said in the statement.

Storefront recently added to its Board of Directors. Lesley Ann Beck of Pittsfield and Danielle Steinmann of North Adams were elected to the board in October 2010.
 
Beck is the managing editor at Berkshire Living magazine, editor of BBQ: Berkshire Business Quarterly, and served two terms on the Pittsfield Cultural Council. A journalist for more than 25 years, Beck has been recognized with a first place award from the New England Associated Press News Executives Association. She regularly contributes stories on culture and design, as well as profiles of notable individuals in the business community, and she reviews theater and the arts for www.berkshireliving.com.

As the associate director of education at Hancock Shaker Village, Steinmann creates and manages adult and family programs, as well as curriculum and teacher professional development. She also is a visiting faculty member at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Steinmann received her master’s degree in art history and has more than 15 years of experience as an arts administrator with a focus on educational programming at institutions such as the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Storefront Artist Project has been in operation since 2002, bringing art to diverse members of the community by presenting innovative art exhibitions and installations, providing non-traditional, visually accessible studio space to artists and connecting artists with the public through education, opportunities and exposure. Its programs include storefront artist residencies, the Mentor and Intern Programs, monthly exhibitions, artist salons and Open Studios. Visit storefrontartist.org for more information.