Maureen “Mo” Freniere, deputy director of Sales at Eastern States Exposition (ESE), has been welcomed into Business West’s 40 Under Forty class of 2025. She is recognized for her salient contributions to ESE and a life committed to agriculture and bettering the broader community around her and her family business, Prospect Valley Farm of Westfield, Mass.
40 Under Forty was launched in 2007 to honor young professionals in Western Mass. for their career achievements and community service. Winners hail from a wide variety of industries, some advancing the work and reach of long-standing, established businesses and others pursuing their own entrepreneurial ventures.
As ESE’s deputy director of Sales, Freniere oversees the administrative process for all non-Fair events and manages the brick-and-mortar food and beverages service during The Big E, the fourth largest event of its kind in North America. She is responsible for growing revenue and expanding the not-for-profit’s off-season events portfolio.
Outside of the office, Freniere owns and operates Prospect Valley Farm with her brother, sister and mother. This fourth-generation farm provides the surrounding community with fresh produce, dairy goods, beef and other products. In 2024, ESE debuted its cinematic “Stories from the Farm” series to continue its mission-based Agriculture Is Our Culture initiative. Freniere’s inspiring story and advocacy for local agriculture were an obvious fit, so she and her family starred in one of the series’ installments.
In her spare time, Freniere is a member of the International Association of Fairs and Expos (IAFE), an American Milking Shorthorn Junior Society Advisor, secretary as well as vendor and concessions coordinator for the Westfield Fair Association, current president of the Hampden County Improvement League, member of ESE’s Agriculture Advisory Committee, ESE’s milking shorthorn breed representative and ESE’s judging competition superintendent. She is a longtime 4-H volunteer and serves as the Wyben 4-H Dairy Club leader. On the national scale, she is the national junior advisor for the National Milking Shorthorn Association.
Freniere once showed animals at The Big E but now cheers on the members of her family that do from the sidelines as she balances her many fairtime responsibilities. She resides in Westfield with her husband, Andy, and their children, Brody and Kinley.
Of Freniere, ESE President and CEO Gene Cassidy shared, “Maureen is imminently deserving of such recognition.” He continued, “Maureen is passionate about our community and region. She proudly represents ESE and, in tandem, Hampden County and its agriculture. All of this promotes Greater Springfield and Western Mass. as a great place to live and work and raise a family.”
Freniere recently celebrated her sixth anniversary with ESE, and the organization could not be more grateful to her for her embodiment of its mission and tireless dedication. This honor is well-deserved.