BIC to Host TEDx Berkshires 2024

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) are hosting TEDx Berkshires 2024.  
 
TEDx Berkshires is a local, independently organized event.This year's event will be held on Thursday, OCt. 10, 2024, from 1:30 – 5:00 pm, with a reception to follow. 
 
Tickets are now available for this in-person event.
 
"Innovation usually starts with an idea, sparked in response to a need for change or a desire to improve," shares TEDx Berkshires Executive Producer Stephen Boyd, the CEO of Boyd Biomedical and Chair of the Berkshire Innovation Center.  "The TEDx Berkshires stage offers the perfect showcase to share the success of diverse ideas and the vision of the Berkshire Innovation Center. Collective wisdom always wins, and we are thrilled to promote this year's event as a growing community focused on life-long learning and exploring technology together."
 
2024 Speakers:
  • Tammy Valicenti, Licensed Psychotherapist, will present on transforming trauma with EMDR.
  • Dr. Robert Gentleman, Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard University, will present on the use of transformer models in teaching.
  • Justin McKennon, Principal Scientist, Electro Magnetic Applications, will present breaking into the world of innovation and technology in his talk Establishing Your Roots.
  • Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds, Professor of the Practice, MIT, will present her call-to-action in support of small and medium-sized manufacturers.
  • Brad Corrigan, Musician, Founder and CEO,  Love Light + Melody, will present about reimagining poverty through the lens of belonging to each other.
  • Sarah Eustis, Founder and CEO, Main Street Hospitality, will present on generational hospitality stewardship and reinvention.
  • Michelle Jungmin Bang, Award winning Eco-entrepreneur, and Author, Sun & Ssukgat, will present on discovering the gift of time through Asia's centuries-old self-care wisdom.
  • Dr. Jeff Wetzler, Author, Co-Founder of Transcend Education, will present on how to learn something from anyone (…and why to try).
  • Melissa Lavinson, Executive Director, MA Executive Office of Energy Transformation will present on the challenges and opportunities involved in the complex efforts related to meeting the Commonwealth's decarbonization goals.
This is the second year that the Berkshire Innovation Center will be the host of TEDx Berkshires.  The inaugural TEDx Berkshires was held in Lenox in 2010 and was produced by Ethan Berg, Jamie Berg, and Dr. Mark Liponis. 
 
"TEDx Berkshires has always been a fun and stimulating form of "intellectual recreation" said Ethan Berg.  "I am particularly excited the talks will be hosted in the state-of-the-art BIC facility where so much of the Berkshire community comes to turn ideas into action."
 
Tickets for TEDx Berkshires are $100 for seating in the main stage area, or $75 for seating in the auditorium, and will include a reception following the TEDx talks. 

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Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said. 

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