Bacon Wilson welcomes three law clerks

SPRINGFIELD — Bacon Wilson P.C. has announced that Jacquelyn Matthews, Queenie Miao and Sadie Woolstenhulme have been accepted into the law clerk program for the 2025-2026 school year. All three joined Bacon Wilson in May.

Bacon Wilson created the clerkship program more than 40 years ago to allow law school students to gain experience and mentoring in the legal profession.

Matthews is pursuing her Juris Doctor at Western New England University School of Law, with an expected graduation date of May 2026. In addition to her role as a law clerk at Bacon Wilson, she is an active member of the Western New England Global Justice Clinic. She has a strong interest in corporate law, and trusts and estates.

Miao is currently a Juris Doctor candidate at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, with graduation expected in May 2026. She will be completing her final year of law school remotely while working at Bacon Wilson. Before joining the firm, she gained experience as a law clerk at the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation and as a student attorney at the University of Illinois Immigration Law Clinic. Miao has a strong interest in tax law.

Woolstenhulme is a Juris Doctor candidate at Western New England University School of Law, with plans to graduate in May 2026. She is involved in law school life as a member of the Student Bar Association’s Judicial Advisory Board, the Public Interest Association and the Women’s Law Association. Woolstenhulme also serves as a senior staff member of the Western New England Law Review and a teaching assistant in criminal law, constitutional law and contracts. Before joining Bacon Wilson, she spent several years at the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and interned for a Massachusetts Trial Court judge. Her interests are in litigation and family law.

“We’re thrilled to welcome these three exceptional law students to Bacon Wilson. With their diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, they embody the strength and depth of our law clerk program,” Managing Shareholder Jeffrey Fialky said in a statement. “Their talent and dedication will continue our proud tradition of excellence, and we are fortunate to have some of the region’s brightest legal minds contributing to our work — and, most importantly, to the success of our clients.”

Celebrating 130 years this month, Bacon Wilson is one of the largest firms in the Pioneer Valley. From four locations — Springfield, Amherst, Northampton and Westfield — Bacon Wilson represents clients throughout western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. For more information, visit baconwilson.com.

Garden Cinemas participating in Art House Theater Day

GREENFIELD — The Garden Cinemas will join the Art House Convergence for the first time in celebrating Art House Theater Day on Thursday, July 24.

Art House Theater Day is an annual program that brings audiences together to celebrate all that art house theaters — and independent film — contribute to the cultural landscape. This year marks the sixth Art House Theater Day, which launched in 2016 in more than 150 cinemas across the country.

“We have worked very hard to bring art films to Franklin County and we are very excited to be included in Art House Theater Day for the first time,” Garden Cinemas co-owner Isaac Mass said in a statement.

The lineup includes a U.S. sneak preview of a dubbed version of “The Glassworker,” Pakistan’s first feature-length, hand-drawn animated film at 12:30 p.m.; a 3:15 p.m. 10th anniversary showing of Sean Baker’s 2015 film “Tangerine,” a dramedy about a transgender sex worker’s Christmas Eve dealing with a cheating lover/pimp; a 6 p.m. showing of the documentary “There is Another Way,” about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict; and a 9:15 p.m. screening of ParaAct Entertainment’s 2025 indie horror film “Stonegate,” starring Greenfield native Rowan Muzzy.

Tickets are $10.50 for adults and $8.50 for students, seniors and veterans. The price is also $8.50 for matinees (“The Glassworker” and “Tangerine”).

UMassFive, GCC and MassHire partner on Reality Fair for high schoolers

GREENFIELD — The UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, Greenfield Community College and the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board recently partnered to hold a Reality Fair at GCC for more than 70 students from Pioneer Valley Regional School, Mohawk Trail Regional School and Athol High School.

A Reality Fair is an immersive budgeting exercise for high school students, allowing them to envision their life at age 25. During the event, students chose a career they are interested in and were assigned a salary connected with that field, including their take-home pay after taxes. Using that figure, students visited booths where volunteers offered life choices on various expenses such as housing, insurance, transportation, food and retirement. Each student managed their budget with simulated checking and saving accounts and credit cards. Once students worked through their budget, they met one-on-one with a financial coach to discuss their experience and gain additional financial education and insights.

“Many students have no grasp of how complicated making spending decisions can be,” Cait Murray, community outreach manager at UMassFive, said in a statement. “A Reality Fair is a vehicle to get students thinking about the weight of their choices in life, providing an opportunity to start applying financial wellness concepts at an early age.”

This event was supported by more than 30 volunteers from partner organizations. In addition to the Reality Fair, students learned about GCC, took a campus tour and engaged in some games focusing on workforce development.

Nominations sought for Healthcare Heroes awards

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest and HealthcareNews.com are accepting nominations for the ninth annual Healthcare Heroes awards, honoring inspirational residents who are working across the region’s health care and wellness sector.

Nominations for the Healthcare Heroes Class of 2025 are due by Thursday, July 17, at businesswest.com/healthcareheroes/nominations.

The Healthcare Heroes program is presented by Elms College and sponsored by Holyoke Medical Center.

PV Squared highlighted for local commitment

GREENFIELD — PV Squared, a worker-owned solar energy cooperative, was featured by pv magazine USA, a website that focuses on developments in business and technology in the U.S. solar photovoltaics community.

The digital publication spoke with numerous small- to medium-size solar installation companies regarding how important remaining local has been to their success. The full post can be found at pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/06/23/solar-installers-find-success-remaining-loyal-to-local-communities.

Free Summer Movie Camp underway

GREENFIELD — The Garden Cinemas has partnered with Ruggeri Real Estate, Gagne Wealth Management Group and Gruber & Tripp LLC to offer its third annual Free Summer Movie Camp, which is now underway.

Through Aug. 30, the theater will show a free movie every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for children of all ages and their parents or guardians. This year, the program focuses on Dreamworks titles. The schedule for the rest of the summer is as follows:

■June 28: “The Bad Guys” (2022).

■July 5: “An American Tail” (1986).

■July 12: “Sing 2” (2022).

■July 19: “The Land Before Time” (1988).

■July 26: “Migration” (2023).

■Aug. 2: “Trolls Band Together” (2023).

■Aug. 9: “Curious George” (2006).

■Aug. 16: “Kung Fu Panda 4” (2024).

■Aug. 23: “Despicable Me 4” (2024).

■Aug. 30: “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (2022).