It’s only March, but it’s already been quite a year for Gary Rome. Over  the past month, the owner the Gary Rome Auto Group has been named TIME  magazine’s auto dealer of the year and a Difference Maker by BusinessWest — and for all of the same reasons. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, Rome talks with BusinessWest Editor  George O’Brien about his success in business, his work in the community  — and about a still-changing scene in auto sales, where inventories  have improved and electric vehicles are slowly gaining market share.

Suzanne Parker, executive director of Girls Inc. of the Valley, is the  guest on the next installment of BusinessTalk. In a lively discussion  with BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien, she talks about the  ambitious project to create a new home for the nonprofit in Holyoke and  the many learning experiences it has provided for Girls Inc.  administrators — and members — alike.

Business networking. It’s an art and a science, and a skill that all  those in business need to effectively market themselves and their  venture. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, Emily Leonczyk, executive vice president of the Markens Group, talks at length with BusinessWest  Associate  Publisher and Sales Manager Kate Campiti about networking and how to  thrive as people once again attend conferences, events, and business  gatherings. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a  podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Carlo Bonavita, owner of the Springfield Wine Exchange is the guest on  the next installment of BusinessTalk. In a lively discussion with BusinessWest Editor  George O’Brien, he has a lot to say about wine, the business of wine,   what buyers are looking for today, and even some thoughts on a perfect  gift for Valentine’s Day. It’s all must listening, so tune in to  BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Megan Burke says listening to the BusinessTalk podcast featuring Katie  Allan Zobel, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Western  Mass., certainly helped her when she interviewed to succeed Zobel in  that position. Now, she’s in that job, and it’s her turn to be the guest  on the podcast. She talks with BusinessWest Editor George  O’Brien about everything from her varied background to her vision for  the community foundation moving forward. It’s all must listening, so  tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Amy Jamrog is a Holyoke-based financial advisor, coach, and  consultant. And experiences in all of those roles have also inspired her  to write. Her book is called Confetti Moments: 52 Vignettes to Spark Conversation, Connect Deeply and Celebrate the Ordinary, a title that pretty much says it all. Jamrog talks with BusinessWest editor George O’Brien about  her book, what inspired it, why we all have confetti moments, and why  we should celebrate them on the next episode of BusinessTalk, a podcast  presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

As 2023 begins, there are many question marks —as well as an abundance  of cautious optimism — concerning the region and it’s economy. On the  next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor George  O’Brien and his guest, Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western  Mass Economic Development Council, sort through it all, touching on  everything from workforce issues to the prospects for needed growth and  new jobs. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast  presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and  sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College, is the guest  on the next installment of BusinessTalk. In a wide-ranging discussion   with BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien, she talks about what  might come next for her — she announced last fall that she will moving  on to the next stage of her career later this year — and what will  likely come next for the area’s community colleges, a key cog in  regional economic development efforts. It’s all must listening, so tune  in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Susan Kasa, president of Boulevard Machine in Westfield, is the guest on  the next installment of BusinessTalk, and she does a great job of  drilling down and assessing the state of the manufacturing sector in  Western Mass. and ongoing efforts to ensure that there are talented  workers in the pipeline for years — and decades — to come. It’s all must  listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

On this installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor  George O’Brien has a lively discussion with Claudia Pazmany, executive  director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. The two talk about  everything from Amherst’s strong comeback from the pandemic, which hit  its hospitality, college-town economy very hard, to the prospects for  chambers of commerce in the post-COVID world. It’s  all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by  BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by  PeoplesBank.