2010 SFABA Fall Breakfast offers an exciting glimpse of current projects and future events
From 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday, October 29, businesses from across the region united at Trinity Church for home-cooked food and warm conversation during the 2010 SFABA Fall Breakfast. The Trinity Church Men’s Club prepared the food, serving a classic breakfast of pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, and home-fries. With 74 people registered for the event, the basement of the church was packed with people enjoying their breakfast and each other’s company.
After a welcome from Karen Fairbrother, SFABA President, Headmaster Todd Sumner spoke on behalf of The Academy at Charlemont (
http://www.charlemont.org/), which sponsored the breakfast. The Academy is currently celebrating its thirtieth anniversary year. Its school government is modeled on the New England town meeting, and it strives to teach its students the civility necessary for being good neighbors and citizens. The Academy reveals its neighborly character in the fact that it sponsors 18 of the 52 community meals a year at Trinity.
Next, Amy Donovan spoke about the SFABA Compost Program, of which she is the director. She promoted the compost dumpster (located behind Keystone Market), which recycles all food waste and paper. The contents of the dumpster go to Martin’s Farm in Greenfield (
http://www.martinsfarmrecycling.com/), and the recycling there helps reduce the landfills and thereby curb climate change. Thanks to the Compost Program, all food and paper waste from the breakfast was composted.
Joanne Glier of the Franklin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (
http://www.fchra.org/) talked about the Housing Consumer Education Center, which offers six first-time home-buyers’ workshops a year, and the Credit for Life program, which teaches high school students how to keep a responsible budget. The program has helped Greenfield High School seniors by teaching how to budget money for short-term goals (such as prom) and by holding a fair in which students make mock purchases at booths (represented by local businesses) to see if they can stay within their long-term budget. The program has been expanded to include juniors and seniors at Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
After Ted Guglielmo of Hogan Communications explained SFABA member benefits, which include business cards and discounts, Senator Stan Rosenberg talked about the projects close to his heart. He promoted Wired West (
http://wired-west.net/), an initiative to bring high-speed internet access to Western Massachusetts, as well as his proposal to protect regional school transportation during recessions. Also, he is working on finding revenue sources for visitors’ centers and ensuring the safety of the Bridge of Flowers.
The breakfast closed with music from Red Piano Project, which played variations on Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” Coldplay’s “Amsterdam,” The Beatles’ “Let it Be,” and Radiohead’s “Exit Music (For a Film),” among others.
