For additional information, please contact:
Jonathan Butler, President & CEO
1Berkshire
jbutler@1berkshire.com
For Immediate Release
1Berkshire Closes Out 2024 With a Successful Annual Meeting
1Berkshire held its 2024 Annual Meeting at Barrington Stage Company (BSC) on Thursday, December 12, 2024. Over 200 attendees were present to hear about the economic development, membership, and marketing accomplishments that 1Berkshire achieved throughout this past year and to get a sneak peak into what 2025 will hold for the organization.
The meeting opened with a warm welcome from Alan Paul, BSC Artistic Director, and his remarks were followed by those from the presenting sponsor, General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS). Brenda Burdick, GDMS Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications, spoke about the company’s deep connection to the Berkshire community. Following the business portion of the Annual Meeting, Pat Begrowicz, President of Onyx Specialty Papers, introduced keynote speaker Brooke Thomson, President & CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM).
Jonathan Butler, President and CEO of 1Berkshire, started his remarks by thanking the staff of 1Berkshire for their work on current and future initiatives. He reported on the financials followed by the successes of the membership, marketing, and economic development work. He thanked the 1Berkshire investors for their continued support and referenced their loyal contributions.
Highlights from the year include:
- Membership
- Member retention is at 84%, above industry standard. Over 1,600 social media posts with over 24M impressions have been created by 1Berkshire for its member businesses. Member events such as Meetups, 1B socials, and special events have seen more than 1,400 attendees.
- Leadership Programs
- Berkshire Leadership Program graduated 25 new leaders in 2024, bringing the total alumni to more than 665 leaders. Applications are now open for the Class of 2025.
- The Youth Leadership Program has graduated 390+ from its program, and applications are currently open for the Class of 25-26.
- Economic Development
- 1Berkshire’s online employment tool, the jobs thing, reached its 1,500th job posting since its launch in 2019.
- 1Berkshire acquired an Economic Recovery Corp Fellow in a highly competitive bid; only 64 fellowships were awarded nation-wide.
- The 5-year summit of the Berkshire Blueprint was hosted in May, outlining many significant outcomes, and groundwork has been laid for the next 5 years.
- 1Berkshire became an active partner in a 4-county Western Massachusetts Economic Ecosystem.
- Marketing
- 1Berkshire reached 26M potential visitors with its Grand Central Station Explore, Soar, Restore campaign.
- Public relations continues to be successful with 30 Berkshire Branded stories in 2024 garnering 222.5M impressions.
- Member listings and ads on the Berkshires.org website garnered 1.8M impressions and are the most viewed content of its type in the region.
- Looking Ahead
- The Berkshire Transplant Retention and Engagement Program is piloting a new set of sponsorable programming that will intentionally engage recent and future transplants to the region, enabling them to become a part of the fabric of the Berkshires.
- The Business Succession and Transition Initiative is being developed as a three-fold program focused on filling the gap in our regional landscape around business succession.
- Marketing will pilot a spring Connect TV campaign across streaming services viewed by 600K in NY and Boston. The campaign will target multicultural households, supporting efforts to expand the diversity of visitors to the region.
- Butler announced that the 1Berkshire staff will move to its new headquarters to Crawford Square in downtown Pittsfield in January. He noted that an open house is in the works for early 2025.
Lori Kiely, Berkshire County Regional President for Berkshire Bank and Managing Director of the Berkshire Bank Foundation, addressed members from her role as Chair of the 1Berkshire Alliance Board of Directors. Kiely called the business meeting to order, and began by acknowledging the changing slate of directors.
The membership renewed a term of three years for each of the following Directors: John Bissell, Greylock Federal Credit Union; Barbara Guido, Adams Community Bank; Vicki Saltzmann, The Clark Art Institute; Betsy Strickler, Solastra Strategies; Colleen Taylor, Bay State Hospitality Group; Sue Kristjansson, Berkshire Gas; and Alfred Enchill, Elegant Stitches.
The membership voted in new Board Members Gina Puc, Special Assistant to the President, Williams College; Jesse Cook-Dubin, Partner, Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook; Harry Monti, President, Berkshire Life Insurance Company (Guardian); Ellen Kennedy, President, Berkshire Community College; Yina Moore, Founder and Artistic Director, Adams Theater. Each was appointed for a three-year term.
The membership renewed the following slate of officers for a two-year term: Lori Kiely (Chair), Berkshire Bank; Jonathan Butler (President), 1Berkshire; Colleen Taylor (Vice-Chair), Bay State Hospitality Group; Peter Stasiowski (Vice-Chair), Interprint; Margaret Keller (Treasurer), CATA; and Jesse Cook-Dubin (Clerk), Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook, LLP
The Annual Meeting also allowed 1Berkshire and its membership to thank outgoing Board Members for their service to the 1Berkshire Alliance Board of Directors: Riad Maher, MLCC Properties; Danielle Gonzalez, Williams College; Leigh Davis, Construct, Inc.; C. Jeffrey Cook, Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook; and Richard Pollard, Guardian Insurance.
Before closing the meeting, Kiely and 1Berkshire Director of Membership, Christine Hoyt, honored Butler’s 10 years of service as President of 1Berkshire, presenting him with a special award.The Annual Meeting was made possible through the generous support of the following sponsors: General Dynamics, Berkshire Heath Systems, Adams Community Bank, Classical Tents, Greylock Federal Credit Union, KB Accounting, Hillcrest Educational Foundation, Antil Creative, Allegrone Companies, MadMacs, and Onyx Specialty Papers.
About 1Berkshire
1Berkshire is a county-wide organization focused on economic development and promotion of the region as a preferred place to visit, to live, and to grow a business. It provides programs that connect businesses with each other and with potential customers and works to develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.