Hi everyone,
With the end of October right around the corner, I hope everyone has been enjoying the fall weather and finding time to spend with family and friends. I look forward to seeing many of you at Stanley Park today for my office’s free Pumpkin Giveaway, which I am pleased be organizing for the first time this fall season!
With the fall comes the school year, and more school projects! Westfield High School student Giovanni Santaniello recently presented his science fair research on using mushrooms to help break down plastics at the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair’s State House Day. It’s exciting to see students across our district using their creativity and curiosity to tackle real-world challenges and help build a brighter future! Thanks for coming to the State House Giovanni!
It was also a busy week in the district, including on Wednesday when I had the pleasure of joining Freedom Credit Union for its Lunch & Learn. It was great to connect with local business leaders from Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut and hear more about the work happening throughout our region.
Thursday brought me back to Westfield, where I joined Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski for his podcast. We discussed local school funding, cellphones in schools, student well-being, and several other important topics affecting our students and families. If you haven’t had a chance to listen, I encourage you to check it out! Afterwards, I joined the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce for its Legislative Luncheon. I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with our local business community and hear what’s on the minds of those who help keep our region moving forward.
Continuing with the fall festivities, my office was pleased to participate in the City of Chicopee’s SPOOKtacular event on Thursday evening. It was great to hand out candy, connect with families, and see all the creative costumes. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make it such a fun night!
On Friday, I was honored to attend the ribbon cutting for Wayfinders’ Essex Village in Holyoke. The opening of 41 affordable housing units in the Churchill neighborhood is an important step in expanding housing opportunities for local residents. It was great to celebrate this milestone and see this project come to life.
In addition to my office’s event at Stanley Park today, this weekend brings two important awareness events in our community with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk in Agawam, and the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Holyoke. I am honored to participate and speak at both events this weekend to help raise awareness and am grateful to all who continue to work on these important causes. This week, Team Velis hosted office hours in Easthampton & Holyoke. Next week, we’ll be at the Westfield Council on Aging on Monday from 12:30–1:30 p.m., the Russell Council on Aging on Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and Southampton Council on Aging Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. If you’re unable to attend, please feel free to reach out by email at john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone at (413) 572-3920, or online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
John Velis