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wbjournal.com | March 4, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 11 PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT 2019 Honorees B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R F OC U S Small Business Leader of the Year Son Vo, Owner Pho Sure and Kaizen Sushi Bar & Grill Large Business Leader of the Year Jeff Robinson President & CEO Behavioral Concepts Inc. Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year Ken Bates President & CEO Open Sky Community Services Innovative Business Leader of the Year Tina M. Sbrega President & CEO GFA Federal Credit Union Family Business Leaders of the Year Curtis and Halley Stillman Owners, Still Life Farm & Lost Towns Brewing Special thanks to: Worcester Polytechnic Institute for allowing WBJ to shoot nearly all of the Business Leader of the Year and Hall of Fame photos at the new Foisie Innovation Studio. Son Vo Ken Bates Tina M. Sbrega Curtis Stillman Halley Stillman Did you hear the one about the sushi chef, the farmers and the marijuana banker? S on Vo can't wait for you to visit his latest restaurant, Chashu Ramen+Izakaya, slated to open in Downtown Worcester sometime in the first half of this year. e Central Massachusetts restaurateur has already made his mark through the Sturbridge mainstay Kaizen Sushi Bar & Grill and the busy Shrewsbury eatery Pho Sure. Now, with his tried-and- true method of putting an insane amount of detail and perfection into each of his establishments before handing them off to people he trusts, Vo is building a mini regional restaurant empire. Likewise, the other winners of Business Leaders of the Year awards have made similar bold choices on the path to success. Jeff Robinson started an autism therapy provider right as the disease was becoming more widespread. Ken Bates merged his nonprofit, doubling its size. Tina M. Sbrega became the first Massachusetts banker to serve the $1-billion state marijuana industry. Curtis & Halley Stillman turned a rundown farm into a thriving operation with produce, a brewery and potentially a distillery. Read all about these winners starting on the next page. For these bold moves and many others, WBJ will honor these Business Leaders of the Year at our April 4 event at Cyprian Keyes in West Boylston. At the same ceremony, we will honor the third class of inductees into the WBJ Hall of Fame. To read what these select few have done over the course of their careers, check them out starting on page 18. - Brad Kane, editor W Jeff Robinson Spencer Finn