wbjournal.com | January 11, 2021 | 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 Intern
Aliya Larkin, alarkin@wbjournal.com
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 2021. 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
$60.00. For more information, please email wbjournal@
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845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark
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Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for
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Worcester Business Journal
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www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
T
ypically, the handful of
awards-centric editions
WBJ publishes each year are
among my favorites, as it
gives us a chance to celebrate
people and companies who are making
peak contributions to the Central Mas-
sachusetts business community in fun,
creative and meaningful ways.
WBJ's awards certainly still were all
those things during the coronavirus
pandemic, as even social distancing
couldn't erase the meaning behind Out-
standing Women in Business, 40 Under
Forty, and the Manufacturing Excellence
Awards. Yet, like everything else in these
accursed past 10 months, the volume
was turned down. Not being able to
meet and celebrate with award winners
in person at WBJ events was part of
that. Mostly, though, in a year filled with
disease and death, my perception on
the importance of everything had to be
readjusted.
is edition continues WBJ's tradi-
tion of starting off the year with the
announcement of our Best of Business
winners, a group of 52 companies and
individuals who were the top vote getters
in a survey of WBJ readership. It may
seem odd to honor any Best of Business
given the shocks the Central Massachu-
setts economy has taken in the past year
(46% drop in small business revenue,
unemployment still hovering around
7%), but it may be the best time to honor
this group of overachievers as well.
Businesses have thrived during the
coronavirus pandemic: some were in in-
dustries aided by the shis the pandemic
caused (grocery stores, for example);
others were in hard-hit industries but
managed to stay strong thanks to inno-
vation and adeptness. ose companies
provided examples to follow, as we all
encountered bumpy roads. Many of
those Best of Businesses are profiled in
the awards section starting on page 12.
e new year brings hope and poten-
tially an end to the pandemic, if enough
vaccines are administered and people are
comfortable resuming their pre-coro-
navirus ways of life. But the companies
who stood out during the pandemic
I N T H I S I S S U E
bring hope, too. No matter how rough the
economy gets, there is always an opportu-
nity to shine.
– Brad Kane, editor
It is an odd time for any Best Of awards
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
12 Focus on 2021 Best of Business
awards
28 The List: Largest labor unions
29 Column: Outside the Box
30 Know How
32 Movers & Shakers
32 Photo Finish
33 Opinion
34 Shop Talk: Crust Bakeshop
6 Veteran cannabis
Southbridge's first would-be marijuana
company is opening with military veterans in
mind, led by the grandson of a famous soldier.
33 Consider your workforce's
financial wellness
Opinion columnist Johan Romero Luna
says businesses should help their employees
avoid financial pitfalls and achieve their long-
term monetary goals.
D E P A R T M E N T S
A division of:
W
Thank you for voting us 2021
CREDIT UNION
BEST OF
BUSINESS
Michelle & Jonathan,
JMS Electric, LLC
"DCU was absolutely
phenomenal with the PPP
application and process. As small
business owners, we were
concerned and anxious about the
process, but DCU's response and
effort reassured us and far
exceeded our expectations."
Insured by NCUA | dcu.org | membership required
