Hello Everyone,
October has absolutely flown by. I can’t believe that we’re almost at the end. I feel like I say this every year, but the New England foliage was just ablaze these last couple weeks. I may be biased but I think Western Massachusetts is one of the most beautiful areas of our country, especially during this time of year.
This past Tuesday at Hanscom Air Force Base Governor Baker signed the SPEED Act during a ceremony with members of the National Guard and military families throughout the Commonwealth. As the sponsor of the bill, I was honored to be a part of the ceremony and receive the Governor’s first pen from the signing. This law eases the burden of often moving military families in a few ways, including expediting the state licensure process for military spouses to ensure they can continue their careers and allowing children of service members to enroll ahead of time or virtually when they change school districts. The law also expands benefits for Veterans and Guard members and expands the way that the Commonweath recognizes service members in general. I’m very proud to have gotten this legislation signed into law. I’d like to thank all those who helped along the way and also all of our service members for whom this bill was written and who continue to protect and serve our country every day.
On Thursday I was able to present the Agawam Little League with $25,000 in funding that my office was able to secure for the upcoming fiscal year. This money will go directly to facilities improvements and the purchase of new equipment, including a new scoreboard at Borgatti park! This such a deserving group and I can’t wait to see a game this spring.
I also presented a citation this week to Assistant District Attorney Magali Montes who is retiring from the Holyoke District Court. We surprised her at the District Court’s diversity luncheon on Thursday to honor her in front of all her colleagues. We are grateful for her many years of service and she will be greatly missed.
This week was jam packed with Council on Aging office hours. On Monday, we held office hours in Westfield from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. On Tuesday, we were in Russell from 11:30am to 12:30pm. On Wednesday, we were in Southampton from 10:00am to 11:00pm. Next week, we will be in Southwick on Wednesday from 11:00 am to 12:00pm. Feel free to stop by with any questions or concerns. Hope to see you there.
As always, if there is anything I can do to assist you, please never hesitate to reach out to my office. I can be reached at my email: john.velis@masenate.gov or by phone: (413) 572-3920 and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com where you can also sign up for my newsletter!
And last but not least, I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!
Sincerely,
John Velis