When the Smith College community was asked (via Bidwell ID and marketing consultant Bruce Putterman) to describe what makes Smith, its students, and its student-athletes unique, the response was consistent: determination, confidence, spirit, pride, and sisterhood. Close collaboration between the college and Bidwell ID resulted in the new visual identity that captures these distinctive qualities, visibly promotes enthusiasm for Smith’s intercollegiate and club teams, and broadly generates school spirit.

John is having a showing of his paintings—his first in a decade—at the Forbes Library in Northampton, MA this  January. The exhibition, called Monique’s World: Paintings of Mali, features work centered on the people and places of this West African nation where John served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. A portion of the art sales proceeds will fund a health clinic and education in Mali. For gallery information, go to www.forbeslibrary.org/events/gallery.shtml. To find out more about Monique, go to www.moniquemangorains.com.

Lilly’s artwork can be seen at wünderarts gallery in Amherst, MA in the show entitled small08. The exhibit runs through December and features a host of New England artists. All the work is easy on the eyes, easy to carry, and nicely priced for the holidays. For more information, go to www.wunderarts.com.

Bidwell ID recently co-sponsored “Liz Walker’s Journey,” a benefit dinner for Mass Humanities that took place at Boston College. Liz Walker, the featured speaker for the event, is host and executive producer of WBZ 4’s “Sunday with Liz Walker,” a half hour newsmagazine which focuses on the power of community. An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a 2005 graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Walker has chosen to combine her communication skills with her spiritual passion to serve the world. Walker has been a television news journalist for 32 years, anchoring WBZ Television’s evening newscasts for almost 20 years before stepping down to enter seminary and begin the ordination process. More about her life and work can be found at: lizwalkerjourneyproductions.org.

The event was a prelude to Mass Humanities’ fifth annual fall symposium, “One Nation Under God? The Role of Religion in American Public.”

Many of us at Bidwell ID were lucky to attend the dinner. Reverend Walker got us all fired up about such things as hope, education, and community service. We are proud to be affiliated with Mass Humanities and its challenging and important work.

Maureen Scanlon walked in the Rays of Hope: Walk Towards the Cure of Breast Cancer, held October 26, in Springfield Mass. She joined her friend, lettering artist Mary Lawler, captain of the 7-member team “The Queen’s Council”, to raise almost $2,000. 15,000 women and men participated in this annual event, sponsored by Baystate Health Systems. Pledges are still being counted, but conservative numbers indicate that they raised over $725,000. Bidwell ID was one of Maureen’s many generous sponsors.