by Madison Schofield, Greenfield Recorder
CHARLEMONT — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal highlighted Berkshire East Mountain Resort this week as a success story of rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neal, who represents Massachusetts’ 1st Congressional District that includes the Franklin County towns of Charlemont, Rowe, Monroe and Hawley, met with local business owners, residents and town officials at Berkshire East on Monday to discuss economic recovery after the pandemic and how lessons learned from that era can be used to support businesses today.
At the height of the pandemic, Neal said, 22 million jobs in America were lost, and unemployment spiked to 15%. Now in 2025, as businesses have reopened and jobs returned, unemployment is at 4.4%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Franklin County, the unemployment rate is just slightly better than the national average, at 4.2%
“If you consider the way that America rebounded from the pandemic, it’s so much better than the rest of the world,” Neal said.
Neal said this economic recovery was due to the efforts of Democratic leadership and policies, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, Economic Injury Disaster loans, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, and state and local fiscal recovery funds.
“Hundreds of people had their jobs saved, and that was our intent,” Neal said. “The plan was cash flow, to get money to the hands of people who really needed it.”
According to the Associated Press, the unemployment rate is expected to rise as large companies continue to announce massive layoffs across the country. In November, Verizon announced it would lay off 13,000 employees and Amazon intends to cut 14,000 jobs. UPS has already cut 48,000 jobs this year.
Neal said that what he learned from the pandemic and the economic experts he consulted with is that speedy responses are essential, and the most important thing during times of economic instability is to keep people employed. Congress wanted to reward companies that kept their staff employed during the pandemic, and the PPP loans assisted companies in keeping employees paid.
“The takeaway is speed,” Neal said. “The No. 1 suggestion is to keep people working.”
In Franklin County, 1,658 PPP loans were approved, totaling more than $137.24 million borrowed, according to the Small Business Administration. However, legislators later forgave roughly $134.78 million of those loans.
According to Small Business Administration data, Berkshire East received $813,059 in PPP loans. Other top borrowers in Franklin County were All States Materials Group ($6.9 million), Valley Medical Group ($5 million) and BETE Fog Nozzle ($2 million).
Neal also took a moment to thank host Jon Schaefer, CEO of Berkshire East, and described Berkshire East as a model for how “thoughtful leadership” can keep businesses afloat during times of economic uncertainty.
“It’s hard to imagine Franklin County without Berkshire East, without Catamount, without Zoar. It’s just impossible,” Neal said.
“As workers and businesses grapple with the reckless and chaotic policies of the current administration, it’s important to call attention to the stories like this one here at Berkshire East, reminding us of what thoughtful, responsible leadership can achieve,” Neal added in a statement. “For families like the Schaefers, the pandemic represented some of the worst moments for their business. They were looking for a partner in the federal government, and that’s precisely what we delivered.”
Schaefer said he didn’t get much sleep at the height of the pandemic, and spent his nights worrying about how he would keep the lights on and his employees paid. Federal funds helped pay employees during the pandemic.
He said approximately $12 million came into Charlemont to support several businesses in town, and now Berkshire East and its sister adventure companies, Catamount and Zoar Outdoor, are thriving.
“The ski business has grown across the United States for the last five or so years,” Schaefer said. “It’s been our race beginners and intermediates who were clogging the trails this weekend. It was awesome. There were kids everywhere.”
Charlemont Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds said federal dollars were an immense help in keeping the town afloat during the pandemic, and assisted in purchasing necessary equipment it would not have been able to afford otherwise, such as a fire engine.
She added that, in addition to federal partners, working with local businesses is key to keeping town operations going smoothly, even during emergencies. Last winter, Berkshire East was used as the base for National Grid’s Mobile Command Center while crews worked to restore power after a snowstorm took it out for more than three days. Joanne DeRose, director of community engagement with National Grid, said the support from Berkshire East helped National Grid restore power as quickly as it could.
“We had a large outage last President’s Day weekend, and Berkshire East was instrumental in helping us,” DeRose said on Monday. “They lent us some of their equipment, the snowcats, so we could access the right-of-way to get to the poles that were down. That partnership was fantastic. Berkshire East has always been a great partner with us when we need them.”
DeRose added that National Grid is working to make improvements to the Bear Swamp Substation to expand capacity and add a secondary feed, so if one goes down, National Grid has a backup.
Neal said that continued investment, not only in businesses, but in infrastructure such as energy, scientific research, health and other sectors, will be important factors in continued economic recovery and growth in Massachusetts.
“How does Massachusetts position itself to sort of weather this storm? I think you’re gonna have to push back against ill-considered cuts,” Neal said. “They’re not thought through.”
In addition to federal budget cuts, Neal said Massachusetts will need to push back against Trump administration tariffs that harm local businesses and consumers.
“I don’t think tariffs should be based on who we like and dislike in the world,” Neal said. “I think that the market ought to make those determinations.”
Neal said Berkshire East was a representation that the pandemic-era economic policies worked, and that government leaders need to remember how they helped businesses as they work to assist businesses in navigating today’s challenges.
Neal said his visit is “a reminder of what happens when that leadership disappears, resulting in workers facing higher costs, businesses facing greater economic uncertainty and rural economies like Charlemont’s being left to grapple with the fallout of shortsighted policy decisions.”
