1. HAMPSHIRE SPOTLIGHT
In This Issue
 RSVP Spotlight:
Dennis Lee
 Hampshire
Power’s
Busiest Month
 Call to Artists!
 Valley Gives
Day
The Hampshire Council of Governments Newsletter April 2016
Hampshire Web Launches
Everyone knows that small towns don’t have it easy these days. At Hampshire COG, we’re
more sensitive to this than most: it’s the whole reason we exist. Our programs are designed to
save towns money, and to help them attain products and services they wouldn’t otherwise be
able to access or afford.
With this mission in mind, we’re happy to introduce a program that will deliver affordable,
sophisticated, and attractive websites to towns in need of an upgrade.
If you live in a small town you probably know what we’re talking about. Small municipal
websites can be poorly organized and difficult to navigate. There’s an obvious reason for
this...good websites don’t usually come cheap!
Professionally built municipal websites can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Frankly, that
price just doesn’t align with the reality of small municipal budgets. Unfortunately, economizing
on a website in the digital age can have significant negative consequences for a town and its
residents.
These days websites are a major point of contact for municipalities. Businesses, potential
residents, and events look at municipal websites for a first impression of the community. If
your town lacks a cogent website, you risk losing out on business and events that draw
people in.
A functional website also makes life easier for current residents and your town government!
Websites allow residents to pay bills online, hold relevant discussions, advertise town events,
receive emergency notifications, and more.
These things used to be expensive, but now, thanks to our
partnership with Virtual Towns and Schools, of Boxborough, small
municipalities can access the same quality web design that bigger
cities take for granted.
We hope that municipalities throughout Massachusetts will take
this opportunity to upgrade their web-based services. Please call
or email Lee Frankl for more information:
lfrankl@hampshirecog.org
413-584-1300 x 122

2. RSVP Volunteer Spotlight: Dennis Lee
Walk into Miss Florence diner on any given morning and you’ll probably run into Dennis Lee. The
retired radio personality is hard to miss, gregarious as he is. When I arrive (slightly late), he is
conversing cheerily with another diner and a waitress: a preview of what I would soon understand to
be an uncommon gift for levity.
We sit down at a booth and I start asking about his involvement with RSVP of Hampshire & Franklin
Counties. Despite his natural candor it’s a challenge to get him to talk about his own volunteering. He
plays down his own efforts and instead spends five minutes effusively telling me about the scores of
other volunteers who contribute “much more than he does.” All this, he assures me, is not done out of
modesty, but rather an acknowledgement of the hard work of others.
Finally, after a little prodding, Dennis tells me about the photography work he does for RSVP. A radio
“morning man” by trade, he sees a lot of commonality between conducting interviews and taking
photos. His secret to both: get people to relax and smile. He often does this with what he refers to as
“radio one-liners”. For example: Now’s the toughest part; you have to look at the ugly photographer!
Every year, RSVP holds an event at the Log Cabin in Holyoke to honor its volunteers who have
served over 36 hours in the previous year. Volunteers with over 4,000 lifetime hours are honored with
the President’s Award for their service. For the last four years, Dennis has been there to capture it
all—waiting for the perfect shot with the patience of a trained marksman.
Speaking of which, he also covers the annual recognition ceremony for the Veteran’s Affairs
volunteers in Florence. Anne Murray, Voluntary Services Manager at the VA of Central Western MA
Healthcare System, counts herself among Dennis’ greatest fans. “He is just so cool! I really love that
guy!” she gushes over the phone.
Some of Dennis’ photos from the RSVP Luncheon (top row) and the VA Recognition Ceremony (bottom).

3. Dennis is unequivocal about his appreciation for RSVP leadership. “After I do an event for Pat
and Lindsay, I walk away smiling,” he says. That praise is mirrored by Pat, who has joked with
me on a few occasions that she and Dennis are the “presidents of each other’s fan clubs.”
Our waitress comes by with our order and Dennis quips with her about my dish, the “Two-Plus-
Two” (“Why don’t they just call it four?”).
The more he speaks about photography—the merits of digital technology, the times he spent
photographing minor league baseball in Holyoke, the time he talked his way to the front row of
Circus Smirkus (the coolest pictures he’s ever taken!)—the more passionate he becomes.
Dennis is an RSVP success story: a man with a lifetime of stories and skills, putting his hobbies
to work for others and having a great time in the process. He wasn’t a professional photographer,
rather someone with a hobby and an appreciation for human interaction.
All told, the thing Dennis loves most about RSVP is its potential to create relationships between
people. It provides the kind of networking opportunities that turn a passerby into a 15 minute
conversation on Main Street. “It’s all about people…and relationships. That’s what RSVP is really
about.”
March was an especially busy month for
Hampshire Power. Over the 31 day stretch we
earned eight new customers. Six were
businesses—Roberto’s, Sylvester’s, Aquadro
and Cerruti, and Viva Fresh Pasta
of Northampton; Mount Tom’s Ice
Cream of Easthampton; and
Homeshop Properties, of Methuen.
The remaining two were municipal
accounts: the City of Pittsfield and the Town of
Charlemont.
In addition to these eight individual accounts,
Hampshire Power won the bid for the
aggregated load of the Town of Cheshire.
Beginning May 1st, residents and businesses
will begin receiving their electricity through
Hampshire Power rather than the utility.
New Salespeople
In an effort to reach more potential customers,
Hampshire Power hired two new
salespeople at the end of March.
Gary O’Grady comes to HCOG with
29 years of banking and marketing
experience, the past eight of which were
municipal-focused. He’s a sports enthusiast and
he volunteers with the Westfield Homeless Cat
Project.
Michael Cahillane, a native of Northampton,
owned Cahillane motors. He sits on the board of
Smith Vocational and is an ambassador for the
Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hampshire Power Updates
Hampshire County Trivia
Q: In what year did Hampshire County cede
control of the courts to the Commonwealth?
Send us an email with your answer and win
a $25 gift certificate to a participating
Hampshire Power business! Be sure to put
“Hampshire Trivia” in the subject line.

4. Contact Us
Give us a call for more
information about our
services and products.
Hampshire Council of
Governments
99 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-1300
info@hampshirecog.org
Visit us on the web at:
hampshirecog.org
hampshirepower.org
restorethecourthouse.org
hampshiresolar.org
We’re still looking for artists!
The Hampshire Council of Governments is still seeking talented
artists. If you have pieces you’d like to display in downtown
Northampton, our hallways are your gallery!
Some helpful guidelines for artists:
√ Be talented
√ Be good with crowds
√ Have awesome work you’d like to display
√ Embody the dignity and panache of western MA
If you can pass this rigorous litmus test, contact us today to
reserve your spot!
May 3rd is Valley Gives day: a day of fundraising for non-profits within Hampshire, Franklin, and
Hampden counties. Some smaller area non-profits don’t have a sophisticated web presence and they
may have difficulty raising money for their causes. Valley Gives is all about helping them get a leg up!
As ambassadors for the event, we at Hampshire COG urge you to participate and donate to the non-
profits that help improve our lives in the valley.
Check out Valley Gives’ website to learn more!
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