Holyoke Community College recently welcomed Elizabeth Ollson of Easthampton as manager of alumni relations and annual giving.
Ollson is a 2018 graduate of HCC and holds a bachelor’s degree in women, gender and sexuality studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
She joined HCC’s division of Institutional Advancement in November 2023.
Ollson comes to HCC from Boston College, where she was the senior associate director of annual giving programs. She previously worked at Amherst College as the Amherst Fund coordinator.
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Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris announced that Veterans Services Director Tom Belton has retired after 13 years as director. Belton submitted his retirement letter on Jan. 23.
Belton, who was nominated to serve as director by Sarno in 2011, is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He graduated from Technical High School and holds two master’s degrees from American International College. He joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and served during the Vietnam War where in 1968, he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart. He earned a meritorious promotion to sergeant in 1969 and was discharged in 1970. Belton received numerous awards, merits, medals and campaign ribbons, including the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Belton was also named the city of Springfield Veteran of the Year in 2003.
Joseph DeCaro, who served as deputy director, has replaced Belton. DeCaro, a United States Coast Guard Veteran, previously served as an Investigator for the Department of Veterans Services.
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Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle was sworn in as a member of the Unlock Housing Commission in Boston. By executive order, Gov. Maura T. Healey created the commission to empower Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Edward M. Augustus unclog housing pathways.
The Unlock Housing Commission will deliver a report covering various aspects, including analyzing legislation, regulations and practices influencing housing development. This encompasses zoning bylaws, environmental laws, building codes and permitting procedures.
The commission will also provide recommendations for legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to facilitate housing production. The swearing-in ceremony for LaChapelle took place Jan. 29 at the Statehouse.
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Market Mentors LLC, a marketing, advertising and public relations agency in Springfield, recently added two new specialists. Jack Antkowiak, a resident of Granby, Connecticut, joined the agency as a digital marketing specialist, and Western Massachusetts native Paige Auger joined as a financial administrator.
Antkowiak manages, reports on and optimizes paid digital ads and search engine optimization campaigns. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut
With a degree in business administration as well as management experience in accounting, Auger joined the Market Mentors finance team to handle accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, reconciliation and 1099 reporting. A graduate of Western New England University, she received the 2017 Lawrence H. Nath Management Award.
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Florence Bank has promoted Andre Motulski of Broad Brook, Connecticut, to the role of vice president/controller.
Motulski joined the bank’s team as assistant vice president/controller in September 2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Central Connecticut State University and is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Commissioned Risk Management Examiner.
In his new role, which he assumed in December 2023, Motulski is responsible for managing financial records, ensuring regulatory compliance and assessing risks associated with lending and investment activities.
Motulski is involved in the community, serving on the Finance Committee for Hampshire Regional YMCA in Northampton.
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Professional Drywall Construction Inc., a commercial drywall company with offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, announces Timothy Craw, of Pittsfield, has joined the company as vice president of business development and labor relations. With 45 years of construction experience in nearly every industry segment, Craw will be responsible for expanding the company’s footprint in all areas of the Atlantic states.
Most recently, Craw was a union business agent and building trades president. In his various positions over the years, he has developed and maintained relationships with union and nonunion contracts for business development and market expansion; recruited and represented union journeyman and apprentice carpenters in collective bargaining negotiations; mediated contract conflicts; and monitored federal and state public construction projects during the planning, design and bidding processes. Craw received the Carpenters Union Local 108 Steward of the Year Award in 2001 and the BCBCTC Edward M. Kennedy Award in 2016. He is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
A graduate of the U.S. Army Engineer School, Craw served six years as a sergeant in the U.S. Army.
