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wbjournal.com | September 28, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher education, health care, real estate) Staff Writer, Monica Busch, mbusch@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, equality & inclusion) Editorial Interns Devina Bhalla, Riley Garand Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon, Sarah Connell Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@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 COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Operations Assistant, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.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 2020. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ I n an effort to put the renewed focus on business diversity & inclusion efforts into an historic prospective, outgoing WBJ editorial intern Devi- na Bhalla spent a good portion of the summer looking at Central Massachu- setts' ties to the institution of slavery. What she found – probably like you would find almost anywhere in the coun- try – is both before and aer Massachu- setts abolished the practice, the region's economy had direct and indirect ties to slavery. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the South and the enslaved people who made up a significant portion of its labor force were such a part of the national economy, it would have been nearly im- possible for businesses to ignore it. Central Mass. businesses, particularly those in the textile industry, bought raw materials from the South, while other businesses sold their finished goods to slave owners. e point, rather than placing the blame of this terrible institution on a handful of people and businesses, is to show slavery is part of the shared history of our region and nation. Everyone is culpable in one way or another, and we all must address how the legacy of slavery and the treat- ment of Black people since abolition have le the Black community at a disadvan- tage. As Central Mass. businesses have stepped up their diversity & inclusion ef- forts this summer in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, we must understand the history behind why these efforts are necessary and why previ- ous endeavors to address these issues have le us still in the situation we are today. I'm certain over the course of history, my ancestors probably did terrible things. ose who lived through the period of time where people were bought and sold – which, frankly, is the majority of human history – either directly or indirectly benefited from a terrible practice. And I am aware, as their descendant, I sit in a position of privilege not afforded to those who are descended from enslaved people. But I can't do anything about those who came before me; I can only control what I do now and its impact on the future. e concern about today's increased di- versity & inclusion efforts is the focus will fade once the killing of Floyd and others like him moves further away in time. If we I N T H I S I S S U E are to proceed to a place where people of all talents and backgrounds are given equal op- portunity, we must understand the history of where the disadvantages come from, and how we can overcome them. - Brad Kane, editor You can't change the past, just the future N E W S & A N A LY S I S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 18 Focus on: Banking & finance 23 The List: Top mortgage lenders 24 Know How 25 Movers & Shakers 28 Photo Finish 29 Opinion 30 Executive to Executive 20 Preparing for the coming storm Central Mass. banks are seeing far more deposits but are expecting hard times ahead. W At Webster Five, we give businesses like Chizoma's the tools they need to thrive. As a business owner you can count on us. Now and in the future. Visit web5.com or call 800.696.9401 WEBSTER • DUDLEY • OXFORD • AUBURN • WORCESTER • SHREWSBURY Member FDIC Member DIF NMLS #523049 "If I didn't have the relationship I have with the bank I'm with now, I probably wouldn't have received my PPP loan." CHIZOMA NOSIKE Owner, Acclaim Home Health Care CUSTOMER SINCE 2019 WE'RE DOING OUR PART SO THAT SMALL BUSINESSES CAN DO THEIRS. D E P A R T M E N T S A division of: The 40 Under Forty award profile in the Aug. 17 edition for Tracy Baldelli incorrectly said she ran Worcester Polytechnic Institute's senior class gift campaign for three years. She ran it for four years. The 40 Under Forty award profile in the Aug. 17 edition for Steven Schimmel gave the incorrect amount of $10,275 in legacy gifts promised to Central Massachusetts Jewish organization endowments over the course of his tenure. The correct figure is $10.3 million. The 40 Under Forty award profile in the Aug. 17 edition for Katherine E. Person incorrectly said she started at Veterans Inc. in 2014. The correct year is 2013.