John Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, was presented the Hooplandia Leadership Award at this years tournament. Mark Cress of Bulkley Richardson, the sponsor of the award, presented Doleva with this honor at a midday reception on during the event.
Doleva is a member of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau and the founding member of the GSCVB’s Sports Commission. He has been a major proponent for the Hoophall Classic and Hooplandia, since its inception. He lends his time outside of the workplace to Link to Libraries, as a director on the board at the Greater Springfield YMCA, Springfield College, the Red Cross of Pioneer Valley, the Springfield Rescue Mission homeless shelter and more.
*****************************************************************
The town of Ludlow announces Select Board Member James Gennette has been named the town’s energy coordinator.
Gennette was named Ludlow’s Energy Coordinator on April 1. This position was established in response to the state’s efforts to reach its 2050 zero-carbon initiatives. Gennette volunteered for the position to help get the program established while saving the town labor costs.
Currently, the Ludlow Select Board serves as the Town’s Energy Commission, and voted to appoint Gennette to the position.
In this new role, Gennette will be responsible for reviewing municipal energy-saving practices, pursuing grants and initiatives that meet the state’s energy goals for 2050. His goal for this new position is to identify energy usage improvements and practices that can be implemented quickly without incurring costs to residents.
Gennette has served on the board of directors as the Ludlow representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electrical Company for over two years.
He also initiated and collaborated on the town’s Aggregation Plan and the new Aggregate Electric program, Ludlow Power Choice.
This is a two-year term position that will end in June 2027.
*********************************************************************************
Florence Bank recently presented the 2025 President’s Award to three staff members.
Established in 1995, the President’s Award recognizes outstanding performance, customer service and overall contribution to the bank. Those named are nominated by their colleagues at the bank.
This year’s award recognizes Brennan LaFlamme of Westfield, an IRA specialist in the bank’s main office in Florence; Bill Olejarz of Longmeadow, an information security risk analyst, also in the main office; and Katherine Ravenelle of Southampton, teller operations manager in West Springfield.
LaFlamme has six years of industry experience and has served as a teller supervisor and customer service specialist. Responsible for maintaining all IRA accounts and keeping up to date on regulations, he provides IRA trainings for customers and staff. Currently working toward a degree in cybersecurity at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, LaFlamme serves as a board member for the Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Holyoke.
Olejarz assesses cybersecurity risk to help protect sensitive data and systems, reviews vendor security and works with departments to support compliance and ensure security controls are in place to reduce threats. He holds a master’s degree in cybersecurity management from Bay Path University, a bachelor’s in business administration from Western New England University and an associate degree in computer information systems from Springfield Technical Community College.
Ravenelle has 13 years of banking experience. She manages teller line operations to ensure quality service is provided while adhering to policies, procedures and security. She handles customer transactions, account openings and account servicing.
*************************************************************
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
