Happy Labor Day Weekend!
I hope all of our students, teachers, and school administrators who returned to the classroom this week had a great start to the new school year!
This week it was great to attend a number of community events, celebrations, and grand openings across the Hampden and Hampshire Senate district. Monday morning, I attended the grand opening of NOVA Home Improvement’s brand-new headquarters over in Agawam where they also celebrated their official membership to the West of the River Chamber of Commerce. I was honored to have presented them with a citation to commemorate the occasion. This week we also had two new restaurants open in our area! On Monday night I presented a citation to Beveridge’s Cocktail Lounge in Easthampton for their grand opening and on Friday I joined my friends at Tribeca Gastro Bar and Grill in Westfield for their grand opening as well. This week I also had the opportunity to recognize MiraVista Behavioral Health Center and the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts with a citation for their efforts to support adolescent mental health this summer.
Through the week I also joined community members in Easthampton, Holyoke, Springfield, and Westfield at overdose awareness and remembrance events ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day. International Overdose Awareness Day, which is held annually on the last day of August, is the world’s largest campaign to end overdoses and remember those who have died. Families continue to be forever devasted by overdoses each day in our Commonwealth despite the critical progress we have made in the last year to reduce overdose deaths. I am grateful to the organizations and community members who have helped organize these events in our region this month and am inspired by all the family members who have lost loved ones who have shared their powerful stories.
This week my team hosted office hours in Westfield on Monday, Chicopee on Tuesday, and in Southampton on Wednesday. Next week, due to the holiday, we will be hosting our Agawam office hours on Tuesday 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.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend, and don’t forget to make it out the polls on Tuesday September 3rd to participate in the State Primary.
Sincerely,
John Velis