Wilbraham

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Buffalo-based Ares Transportation was acquired in August 2025 by Beacon Mobility of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, which operates a network of 29 companies across 25 states.

At the time of the deal, Ares had grown from 15 vehicles and 18 employees to more than 100 vehicles and 120 employees.

Minutemen Press, Williamsville, and Cabadoodle Printing of Buffalo announced a merger July 3, 2025, that they will, say, benefit both companies and their clients.

Former New York City firefighter John Morris was at Ground Zero on the day of the attacks, and he's presenting a piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center as a memorial.

And in Wilbraham, in Hampton County, 9/11 victim Eric Thorpe, who was known as Rick, is honored in perpetuity through the counseling center that bears his name.

It's called Rick's Place.

Later this hour, we'll learn about the work Rick's Place does to support children and families who are dealing with grief.

Each person is profiled on the website massfund.org. And as you read the notes and biographies there, you notice that many 9/11 victims have been remembered with memorials, scholarships in their names, events that promote causes they cared about.

One name in particular is recognizable for many people in Hampden County.

That's Rick Thorp, the namesake of the grief counseling center Rick's Place in the town of Wilbraham.

Bill Scattolini was a childhood friend of Thorp and now chairs the board of Rick's Place.

original.

From Wilbraham, Massachusetts.

Do you know the city? Wilbraham?

Okay.

No, I don't even know that you're pronouncing it right, but okay.

So we started school in July and that year, uh, I'm missing a lot of AU cause we got school and all this.

So, uh, and then kind of at the same time, uh, a coach that was at Wilbraham and Munson, Chris Sparks, he kind of, he reached out to my dad.

Uh, we met around this time and then, uh, we were trying to figure out how to get me into the prep school.

Uh, if I had to do my sophomore year, if there was a chance I could do it the freshman year and what ended up happening, uh, They found some financial aid money, you know,

What was that to keep your mental like, all right, no, I've still got a goal in mind?

Chasing a top-ranking spot, knowing that, leaving the prep school.

When I was at Wilbraham, we had...

There's probably four pro guys that's currently playing pro