Priority admission for veterans at MassHire job fair

GREENFIELD — The MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center will hold a job fair at Greenfield Community College on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Early entry for veterans will be allowed at 11 a.m., while the general public will be admitted starting at 11:30.

Attending employers include Berkshire East Mountain Resort, Community Action Pioneer Valley, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, GCC, Ja’Duke Preschool, Judd Wire, Mayhew Tools, Pioneer Valley Hotel Group, Valley Medical Group, Working Fields and many more.

For more information, visit masshirefhcareers.org or call 413-774-4361.

Traprock, Veterans for Peace convene roundtable talk

GREENFIELD — Ahead of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, members of Veterans for Peace in western Massachusetts and the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice held a roundtable talk at Greenfield Community Television (GCTV).

Veterans Donovan Lee and Nick Mottern discussed their experience in the U.S. military in Jordan and the U.S. war in Vietnam, respectively, as well as their motivations for joining Veterans for Peace, and their current actions against war and weapons makers.

During the discussion, Traprock board member Pat Hynes reviewed the history of Armistice Day, established on Nov. 11 after World War I as a national day of peace. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

The roundtable discussion will be available for viewing online at gctv.org.

Community Foundation’s board of trustees sees leadership change

SPRINGFIELD — Karin George has been appointed as the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ new board of trustees chair, succeeding Paul Murphy who served as chair for four years. Additionally, the organization welcomed two new board members, Sarah Lapolice and Francia Wisnewski.

George, born in Switzerland and raised in upstate New York, has been a resident of Hampshire County for more than 25 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in art history before beginning her career in annual giving at St. Lawrence University. Over the years, she served as vice president for development at Vassar College starting in 1995 and then at Smith College, her alma mater, as vice president for advancement starting in 1998. In 2005, George joined Washburn & McGoldrick LLC, where she currently serves as a principal consultant.

Her relationship with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts began in 2009 as a scholarship reviewer. George has served as a trustee since 2013 and became vice chair in 2020. Prior to that, she served as a member and chair of the Education Committee from 2017 to 2019.

Lapolice, of West Springfield, is a certified public accountant at Burkhart, Pizzanelli P.C. Lapolice earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration from Elms College. She is now an adjunct faculty member in the accounting program at her alma mater. She has served on the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ Philanthropic Services Committee since the spring of 2023.

Wisnewski, of Montague, also joined as a trustee. She is the director of membership and community engagement at the National Association for Family Child Care. Born and raised in Colombia, Wisnewski began her career as a science teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Del Valle and a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She first engaged with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts in 2022 as a grant reviewer and Distribution Committee volunteer.

Additionally, the foundation has welcomed new volunteers to its committees. The following individuals joined the Distribution Committee: Cecil Papafio, David Rudder, Debbie DiStefano, and existing trustees Magdalena Gomez and John Davis. The following individuals joined the Philanthropic Services Committee: Kylie Brown, Ryan Ferriter and Tara Brewster.