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Date: 3/5/2019
WEST SPRINGFIELD – In January, The Eastern States Exposition (ESE) brought on a new member to their staff. Cliff Hedges, a Longmeadow resident and former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) member, is now the organization’s director of Public Safety.
Hedges has a 31–year background working in law enforcement on the local and federal level. In 2012, Hedges retired from the FBI after 26 years, 21 of those years were working at the FBI’s Springfield Office.
Hedges is joining the ESE team from his most recent position as regional director of Compliance and Privacy at Regional Care Capella Healthcare (RCCH). At RCCH, he was the privacy and risk specialist for five hospitals. In 2018, RCCH was bought out by a new company, causing a merge, this merge encouraged Hedges to look elsewhere for employment. Hedges knew Gene Cassidy, the ESE President, through mutual friends. The two discussed a job opportunity at ESE for Hedges over lunch shortly after the RCCH merge.
“I am very pleased to welcome Cliff Hedges to the important role of director of Public Safety,” said Cassidy. “Cliff brings his career of experiences at the highest levels in U.S. law enforcement to Eastern States Exposition. This will enhance our capacity to manage The Big E and the myriad of events that take place on the grounds.”
Already, Hedges has implemented his expertise and experience at ESE. His first order of business was to seek out further training programs for his team at Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College. He is making this training mandatory for all employees on the security staff. The training will include a CPR and AED course, approaches to de-escalation, diversity training, further experience with customer service and professionalism and expanding their knowledge of risk management.
Hedges said his goal for his new position is to raise the bar of security at ESE and to make sure his security staff all feels like they are on the same page and a valued part of his staff. “I like challenges,” Hedges commented, “This is a challenge but I feel very confident.”
Hedges expressed how important it is for him to achieve that team feeling on his staff. With three daughters, Hedges had been a women’s lacrosse and field hockey coach for over 20 years. Between his background as a coach and his experience working with the FBI, he values a work environment that mirrors that of a team.
“I am a firm believer in the old saying ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,’ said Hedges. “That’s why I strive for that teamwork relationship and why this new training process is so important to me.”
Hedges shared with Reminder Publishing how thankful he is for this new job opportunity. He noted he feels as if all of his years of experience lead him to this position that is perfect for him. He stated he is grateful to everyone who not only helped him find this job, but also continue to support him as he paves his own path at ESE.
“I come into work every day and I can honestly say I have fun, this job is new every day,” Hedges said. “No day is the same…I love it! This job was what I needed.”
Hedges is anticipating the upcoming months as the planning for the 2019 Big E will begin. He is looking forward to tackling his first year as director of Public Safety for The Big E and is eager to achieve his goal of making every visitor at the Big E feel safe and secure so they can enjoy the fair.