wbjournal.com | August 20, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate,
higher education)
Staff Writers
Zachary Comeau,
zcomeau@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing)
Emily Micucci,
emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care)
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub
Livia Gershon
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Associate Art Director,
Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas,
mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Events & Marketing Intern
Megan Irish, events@wbjournal.com
Distribution and Database Coordinator
A Guide to STUFF, a publication
of New England Business Media
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel,
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special
issues in May, September, October, and December by New
England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester,
MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA.
Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please
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PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
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A division of:
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
M
uch like with 2017,
to make this year's 40
Under Forty read like
an engaging, cohesive
feature comprised up
of 40 different parts, we split the winners
into groups of four and took photos of
them in 10 locations around Central Mas-
sachusetts. Aer last year's theme centered
around the new Worcester, for 2018 we
focused on the idea of the region as an
emerging cultural hub.
e success of these photos comes
down to the four people in them; spe-
cifically, four complete strangers who
typically have very little experience with
photo shoots. To overcome this last year,
I encouraged all the winners to meet
beforehand to get to know each other and
brainstorm ideas for the photos. About
half the groups did, and the results spoke
for themselves, including the shining
star that became the cover of our most-
read magazine of the year – the cham-
pagne-spraying 40 Under Forty party in
front of the Worcester sign on the Burns
Bridge in Shrewsbury.
To achieve better participation this
year, I basically sent out the same email
as 2017, only I challenged all of them
to beat each other and earn the coveted
cover photo. I tried to inject more energy
into the lengthy email full of instructions
the only way I knew how, by adding lots
of ALL CAPS WORDS and exclamation
points: "TEAM APEX!!!" "TEAM TOWER
HILL!!!" "TEAM WOORIDES!!!!" "I just
know the four of you will nail it!!" I also
reached out to a couple of winners – like
Che Anderson from the City of Worces-
ter – I knew would be game for taking
fun photos and enouraged them to get
everyone excited.
e response was amazing. Groups
came up with elaborate plans, and the
most-asked question at all 10 photo shoots
was, "Did we get the cover?!"
Landing a magazine cover takes luck:
the photographer needs to capture a
well-conceived shot at the right moment,
the photo dimensions have to fit our cover
and placement of the WBJ masthead, and
all four people need to have their eyes
open and engaging expressions on their
faces. In the end, congratulations to Team
WooRides – Allison Beckler, Erica Grink-
ALL CAPS and exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!
I N T H I S I S S U E
is, Ryan Matson and Nicholas Pelletier
– for earning placement on the cover of
WBJ's most-read issue each year.
- Brad Kane, editor
(pictured with Anderson)
W
Knowledge +
Experience +
Trusted Advice.
It all adds up.
Large enough to serve the
needs of most businesses
and individuals; small
enough to offer the
personal attention you
expect and deserve.
Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, PC
Certified Public Accountants
306 Main Street, Suite 400 • Worcester, MA 01608
508.791.0901 • www.grkb.com
NEWS & ANALYSIS
DEPARTMENTS
4 Central Mass. In Brief
5 Flash Poll
16 Focus on 40 Under Forty
39 The List: Highest-paid executives
40 The Struggle is Real
41 Know How
42 Movers & Shakers
44 Photo Finish
45 Opinion
46 Shop Talk: Avra Hoffman,
BirchTree Bread Co.
8 Paying more for luxury
More high-end homes are being sold in
Central Mass.
14 An in-demand industry
Worcester has 20 proposed retail pot stores
competing for its 15 licenses.
CORRECTION: A Power 50 profile in the July 9 edition
about Michael Dundas incorrectly said Sira Naturals has a
marijuana retail operation in Newton. It is in Needham.
