Hello everyone,
We hope you all had a great week! To all those participating in this morning’s Westfield Little League Opening Day we hope you have a fun beginning to your season; Play Ball!
Our district was alive with celebrations this week! Team Velis had the chance to attend four ribbon cutting events in Westfield, West Springfield, and Southampton. Whenever a new business chooses to establish itself in our area, the Senator and our team are delighted to mark the occasion and offer support from our office. Congratulations to JMR Staffing, Priority Skin Boutique, Applied Mortgage, and Chique Boutique for opening their doors and becoming part of our district!
On the topic of special events, MassHire Holyoke marked its 30th anniversary this week, celebrating three decades of bolstering the workforce across Hampden County. Thanks to the commitment of MassHire Holyoke’s staff over the years, the organization has assisted over 200,000 community members with job training and employment services. Congratulations to MassHire Holyoke, we are wishing you another thirty years of success!
Over at the State House, Caitlyn and Gabe have been working diligently to get our office prepared and ready for a busy month ahead focused on the Senate Budget. With the House of Representatives having passed their version of the FY’27 budget this week, all of us on Team Velis are eager for it to make its way to Senate and for all work that is to come to help ensure Western Massachusetts and our district receives its fair share of investments next fiscal year.
Speaking of securing funds for the district, this week several cities and towns in our district were awarded funding for fire safety programs. This includes funding for the Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program, which sends firefighter-educators into schools to deliver clear, consistent lessons to young people, as well as the Senior SAFE program which is geared toward older adults. We are truly excited to see these investments in action and look forward to the positive impact they will have in keeping our communities safe.
This week, Team Velis hosted office hours in Westfield, Russell, and Southampton. Next week we will be hosting office hours at the Agawam Council on Aging on Monday from 11:00am to 12:00pm. If you are unable to make office hours, please remember that you can reach us by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
Team Velis