Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 10, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS Kate Sharry sells Auburn business to Illinois firm Group Benefits Strategies, a business consulting firm in Auburn, has been bought by an Illinois insurance broker- age and risk management firm. e longtime Central Massachusetts company will main- tain its local offices under the oversight of the Northeast re- gional operations of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a publicly traded company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GBS helps busi- nesses and municipalities with employ- ee health insurance, benefits, audits and claims. It is Massachusetts' largest municipal health insurance consultant, said Kate Sharry, who had been the president of Group Benefits Strategies. Sharry first joined GBS in 1994, a year aer its founding, and bought the company from her father, Jack, in 2012. Sharry and her team will stay on with the company. Social media can ban marijuana posts Facebook and Instagram, citing policies against promoting the sale of drugs, have shut down social pages for marijuana companies in the Massachusetts, including Cultivate in Leicester, Curaleaf in Oxford, Sira Naturals in Milford and CommCan in Millis. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said social media should be allowed to prevent those types of posts. F L AS H P O L L Should Facebook and Instagram help marijuana businesses promote their products? 5% COMMENTS: "I did not vote to open the barn door on this issue. But now that the barn door is open, these businesses are the same as a liquor store." Yes. Massachusetts cannabis firms should have the same rights as other legal businesses. 40% YWCA has raised $4M for 57-year-old renovation e YWCA of Central Massachusetts has surpassed the halfway point of its $7.5-million capital campaign to fund a $23.4-million renovation of the compa- ny's Salem Square facility in Worcester. e project would be the first major renovation of the building in its 57-year history. e YWCA has completed just one partial renovation since it opened its doors in 1961. To date, the organization has raised $4.13 million. Millbury man to build $14M Worcester facility A self-storage facility totaling 180,000 square feet is being proposed for Route 20 in Worcester id expected to cost $13 to $14 million. e project, called 210 Self Storage Worcester, would be built at 210 Southwest Cutoff. Eddie Santon, the owner of the project, said he hopes to start construction in March and finish construction by March 2020. Santon owns Millbury Self Storage and Santon Plumbing & Heating in Millbury. Continued on next page No. Cannabis is still illegal federally and social media guidelines should follow suit. 30% No. Facebook and Instagram are allowed to set and enforce their own terms and conditions. 22% Kate Sharry, president, Group Benefits Strategies "It should never have been made legal. The idea that anything goes to obtain a profit and promote business in this state will come back to bite us. It is a sad state of affairs when we overlook the good of all for a profit." Yes. More states legalize it every year and social media platforms should be ahead of that curve.

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