MassMutual Honored with Green Enterprise IT Award

SPRINGFIELD — The MassMutual Financial Group was recently recognized as a 2009 Green Enterprise IT Award winner by the Uptime Institute. MassMutual won in the category of ‘Data Center Energy Efficiency Improvement: Joint IT and Facilities.’ The award notes MassMutual’s work in creating a green, energy-efficient, and cutting-edge data center through collaboration between the company’s IT and Facilities departments. Through the project, MassMutual has realized a savings of more than $3.1 million and roughly 8.1 million kilowatt hours of energy. The Uptime Institute’s Symposium 2009 drew applicants from more than 40 companies in 10 industrial categories to present their innovations in lean, clean, and green enterprise computing. For more information on all of the winners, visit www.uptimeinstitute.org.

Easthampton Savings Supports Library

EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Savings Bank has made its first donation of $8,000 to Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library. Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library has raised sufficient funding to begin the Town Center Project, which will convert the Parsonage, a historic building in the center of Westhampton, into a library. The project is expected to be completed next year. The bank has pledged to donate a total of $25,000 to the Westhampton Town Center Library Project over three years.

Quality Printing Receives Award

PITTSFIELD — Quality Printing Co. Inc. has won a Silver Award in the 2009 National Calendar Awards for its 2009 A Closer Look at the Berkshires calendar, printed on a Komori six-color press. The award was given in the wall-calendar promotional division, with judging centered on the quality of artwork, photography, and graphics. The calendar is a 25th-anniversary edition and features a four-color process with silver metallic ink and an overall satin coat. Full-color images depicted for each month are from the company’s annual photography and art contest. The Calendar Marketing Assoc. of Wheaton, Ill., sponsors the awards contest each year.

Goodwill Moving to Page Boulevard

SPRINGFIELD — The Goodwill Industries facility on Dorset Street will soon become the future site of the Martin Luther King Charter School of Excellence as Goodwill moves its operations to 1125 Page Boulevard. For more than 40 years, Goodwill has used the Dorset Street site as a training and employment center for the disabled and disadvantaged and as a donation collection site.

Chamber of Commerce Fills Backpacks

SOUTH HADLEY and GRANBY — The Helping Hand Committee of the South Hadley & Granby Chamber of Commerce concluded its Spring Fill a Backpack Drive by recently delivering 20 cartons of school supplies to the Plains School in South Hadley and the West Street School in Granby. In the fall, youngsters will hopefully have enough school supplies so that teachers and parents should not have to be asked to provide them out of pocket, according to Mary Sudyka, chair of the Helping Hand Committee. The success of the drive was made possible by donors including Chicopee Savings Bank, Easthampton Savings Bank, Florence Savings Bank, Paul Boudreau, Gary Smith, Ira Brezinsky, The Egg & I, Bruce Pratt, Avery Dennison, Family Cuts, and Old Towne Garage. The South Hadley School administration staff, and Michael Quesnel and Debbie Buckley of the Granby School Committee also made donations to the cause.

SPHS Launches MercyPlus.Com

SPRINGFIELD — The Internet has become an important tool for consumers in recent years, as they research products and price before making a purchase. This new way of shopping, called ‘E-commerce,’ has experienced rapid growth in all sectors of the retail industry, including the purchase of health care-related items. To best position for this trend, the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) has launched MercyPlus, a new online store that offers a wide range of health care and wellness products including specialized medical equipment and supplies, nutrition supplements, health-related books and videos, and fitness training devices. “When consumers shop for health care-related items, they want high-quality products from a trusted source,” said Mark Fulco, senior vice president of Strategy and Marketing for SPHS. “The products available through MercyPlus meet those needs, with the added benefit of shopping in the comfort and convenience of their own home. As an online hospital store, MercyPlus extends the SPHS continuum of care while furthering our ongoing relationships with patients and the community at large.” Visitors to the mercyplus.com Web site are able to browse through categories to find available products. These categories include ‘Aids for Daily Living,’ ‘Heart Health,’ ‘Mom and Baby,’ ‘Cancer Care,’ ‘Orthopedics and Therapy,’ and ‘Wellness.’ Visitors are also able to ‘Shop by Condition’ for books that provide information and products to ease the symptoms of specific medical conditions like allergies, diabetes, and sleep disorders. The Web store features special sections with products for employees, such as uniform scrubs, lab coats, protective eyewear, caps, and masks. MercyPlus shoppers may also take advantage of a loyalty program, with ‘reward’ points based on the individual’s retail purchases. These points accrue with each purchase and can be redeemed for merchandise discounts and special offers. SPHS employees are also encouraged to use their flexible spending accounts when shopping on the MercyPlus Web site.