Source: Union-News (Springfield, MA)
Author: RICHARD NADOLSKI
GOSHEN, MA – The Williamsburg and Haydenville Business Association has made its maiden charitable contribution – a $450 check to the Goshen Fire Department ambulance fund.
Association President David Majercik presented the check Monday to Goshen Fire Chief Francis Dresser that will be used to pay for capital expenses associated with the operation of the department’s 2-year-old ambulance.
“It’s a totally free service and these contributions are what makes it that way,” Majercik said.
He is eager to create an active business association in town and a fund drive is one way to do it. The business association, the first such organization in town, has grown to 50 members since its inception last fall, he said.
“We’re trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and we’re all trying to work together to help each other,” Majercik said.
Among the primary concerns of the association is to create a positive image of the town’s business climate through advertising and civic involvement that would encourage more investment and tourism.
While the overall economy of the hilltowns has been suffering along with the rest of the state, Majercik said his own business, The Williamsburg General Store, has not followed suit.
“As a matter of fact, we are happy to be a beacon in the night,” with improved business, he said.
While certainly a local fixture, the store benefits largely from tourism.
He said the store has been drawing a lot of people from within a 30-mile radius that reaches into Connecticut, but he also has noticed a strong showing from Australia and New Zealand.
He speculated that the “Spirit of Massachusetts” campaign by the state Office of Tourism may be drawing tourists, while the recession also may be keeping people closer to home rather than on expensive vacations.
“More people are not going anywhere big but are discovering their own back yard. Happily, we’re a part of it,” he said.
Dresser said the money will go toward helping pay for such items as a $10,000 paramedic heart monitor. Also, each ambulance attendant is required to have a hepatitis B inoculation which costs the ambulance service $125 each.
There is also the constant updating of qualifications. One emergency medical technician recently finished his intermediate training costing $800, while two more are waiting in the wings to do theirs.