Hi Everyone,
Happy June! Hard to believe we’re already through May. While there haven’t been too many unbearably hot days yet, I’m sure many of you are also thinking about lugging those air conditioners out of storage.
Before we turned the page on May though, we had Memorial Day weekend. I was proud to join community members for powerful Memorial Day ceremonies in Westfield, Agawam, Chicopee, West Springfield and Russell. We will never forget the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation, and it was inspiring to see so many come out to recognize this sacred day.
Our Commonwealth remains committed to our service members, and I am proud of funding the Senate included in our FY’24 budget last week for veterans. The final package includes two of my amendments that allocate $200,000 to expand outreach to women veterans specifically and $500,000 for Massachusetts General Hospital’s Home Base program to expand their trauma services for veterans across the state.
As I said last week though, there is a lot more from the Senate’s budget debate to share. After 3 days of debating amendments, I am proud that my team and I were able to secure $750,000 in local funding specifically for our district. Among other funding for Westfield, this includes $40,000 to improve the Cross Street Park and Playground, $50,000 for Baystate Noble’s Opioid Treatment Program, $50,000 for improvements to the Westfield Athenaeum, and $10,000 for programming at the Amelia Park Children’s Musuem. This funding is the result of months of meetings with leaders and organizations throughout our district. The next step is for the Senate to negotiate a final budget with the House, and I look forward to advocating for these priorities throughout that process.
With the Senate budget over, it was great to spend more time in the district this week, highlighted by graduation ceremonies for Westfield Technical Academy on Thursday and for Westfield High School on Friday. It’s also special to see our community’s hardworking students celebrate their achievements with classmates and family.
Thursday evening, I also joined community members for the Pride Flag raising at Westfield City Hall. I look forward to seeing more friendly faces at events throughout Pride Month as we celebrate the right of every person to be themselves and love the person of their choice.
This week we also celebrated the grand opening of Pioneer Valley Fiberglass Pools & Spas on Southampton Road in Westfield. It was great to attend the event and I wish the business much success.
My team held office hours at the Southampton COA this week. Next week we will be at the Agawam COA on Monday from 11AM to 12PM. If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached at john.velis@masenate.gov or at (413)572-3920. You can also find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
John Velis