ORANGE — It’s time to get down to business.
Friday, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Orange Innovation Center, 131 West Main St., LaunchSpace is hosting “Building Blocks for Community Development,” an event focusing on the town’s business community, and featuring local legislators.
According to organizer Brianna Drohen, “The event will highlight positive changes being made in the business community in downtown Orange and around the area, and legislators will encourage ways to keep momentum going.”
Beginning at 4:30 p.m., state Sens. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, and state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, will talk briefly and update the public on state legislation.
“The focus for these brief statements will outline positive trends in the current economy and concerns about community development, education, small business assistance and development in small towns and rural areas of the region,” Drohen said.
There will be time for questions for the legislators, who will cap off their statements by saying how North Quabbin residents can help them.
Following the talk, there will be a tour of LaunchSpace, a new makerspace. According to Drohen, president and co-founder of LaunchSpace, the organization offers a three-tiered approach to business and workforce development, beginning with providing “a set of shop spaces where members can express themselves and get to know one another through a variety of making, such as IT and robotics, wood and metal working, and other artistic and industrial skills.”
LaunchSpace has partnered with Mount Wachusett Community College and Greenfield Community College to provide workforce development classes and programs, which are “tier two” of the LaunchSpace model.
“LaunchSpace will be opening its doors for tours and member registration this fall, and we plan to have a grand opening in the beginning of 2020,” Drohen said. “We are looking for our initial 25 members to join with a discounted annual membership during the month of October and be a part of continuing to design and build the space.”
The third tier, Drohen said, will be “business creation and incubation,” with participants gaining access to equipment and space, as well as consulting, financial education and marketing services.
Finger foods and desserts will be provided by various local kitchens for the event, and Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op, a co-host, will offer refreshments. According to Pat Larson, a member of Quabbin Harvest’s board of directors, Quabbin Harvest itself started out at the Orange Innovation Center, which is home to around 40 small businesses and organizations.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.