Happy September everyone,
This past Monday marked the passage of Labor Day and with it for many the end of summer. After a good one, it’s time to get back in the swing of things.
My team and I have been all over the district this week. I started off my week with my monthly office hours at the Agawam Senior center where both I and my staff met and chatted with many of our seniors in Agawam. Getting out into the community and meeting those I have the honor of representing is one of my favorite duties as an elected official and the group down in Agawam is always such a wonderful crowd.
Wednesday, I started off my day with a tour of the Holyoke Farmers’ Market. This is such great event that is held twice a week to provide the opportunity to purchase healthy locally grown produce. I also used this opportunity to discuss the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) with both local farmers and consumers. HIP allows our underserved communities to access healthy and nutritious foods that are sometimes inaccessible while supporting our local farmers in the process. Thank you to the Farmers Market for having me and for all the work they do in the community.
Wednesday also marked the start of Glendi here in Western Massachusetts. Glendi is a three-day festival celebrating Greek culture, and of course includes a lot of food and dancing! As a proud American of Greek descent, this is one of my favorite festivals here in the Greater Springfield area. I was proud to join many of my fellow Greek Americans at the flag raising at Springfield City Hall and can’t wait to make it over to this weekend’s festivities at the Greek Cultural Center. Yiamas!
Thursday, Major General Gary Keefe and I had the unique honor of hosting the Paraguayan Minister of Defense, Oscar Luis González, at the State House. In 2001, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Republic of Paraguay entered into a partnership via the State Partnership Program, a program which promotes long-term, enduring, and mutually beneficial security relationships with allied nations around the world. I’m looking forward to all that our two peoples can accomplish together.
This week my team hosted office hours in Agawam on Tuesday. Next week, we will be hosting Chicopee Office hours on Tuesday September 10th from 10:00am to 11:00am at the COA and on Wednesday September 11th, we will be hosting office hours at the West Springfield COA from 11:00am to 12:00pm If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
John Velis