| SPRINGFIELD Five businesses and one huge institution which have helped build Springfield and Western Massachusetts over the past many decades were recently honored as the ninth class of inductees into the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Inductees include: Baystate Health System The largest employer in Springfield has rebuilt a large section of the North End and will embark on an additional $239 million project this year. The Young Family Owners of W.F. Young Co. since the 1890s, creators of Absorbine Jr. and a huge line of high quality products for veterinary medicine. The Samble Family Owners of Belmont Laundry, an enterprise started by a husband and wife doing hand-washing in 1907 which has grown to a chain of laundries with a service area stretching from Rhode Island to Pittsfield. The Scherff Family Owners of The Student Prince (The Fort), a Springfield institution since 1935. Arthur Jacobson Founder of OMG Inc., formerly Olympic Manufacturing Group, the nation's leading manufacturer of roofing fasteners and related products, with 350 employees nationally. The Western Massachusetts Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, founded in 2000, is located in the Andrew M. Scibelli Enterprise Center at Springfield Technical Community College. Proceeds from the annual banquet (Oct. 2, at the Log Cabin) are used to fund entrepreneurship programs for area youth. |
