Worcester Business Journal

May 24, 2021

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wbjournal.com | May 24, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writer, Monica Busch, mbusch@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, equality & inclusion) Editorial Interns Amy Thai, athai@wbjournal.com Sharon Boateng, sboateng@wbjournal.com Devan Greevy, dgreevy@wbjournal.com Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon 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@ 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 T he immediate aermath of the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, on May 25, 2020, brought plenty of pledges from Central Mass. business leaders to work to address institutional racism in society, as well as examine their own cul- tures relative to diversity and inclusion. A year later, some of those pledges turned out to be just talk of the moment, others yielded some surface-level exam- inations, while the rest began the hard work of creating foundational, lasting change. Progress has been slow, but more than 400 years of institutional racism in America were never going to be fixed in one year anway. e legacy to this point from Floyd's murder has been the level of public consciousness about racism has been raised, and people are more freely discussing the problems and solutions. WBJ was one of those many Central Mass. companies who made a pledge following Floyd's murder, when Publisher Peter Stanton and I released a letter saying one of the foundational beliefs of WBJ is the Central Mass. economy best thrives when all its people are given equal rights and opportunities, in order to best use their talents to serve the community. In the year since, we've tried to elevate the voices of more people of color in WBJ's content, celebrate diversity & inclusion achievements, challenge traditional think- ing, and shine a light on problems. Our coverage has hardly been transformative, but I feel we are on the right path and heading toward a better future. e two in-depth "Rich dreams, poor dreams" stories in this edition are part of that effort, and perhaps the most ambi- tious racial discrimination investigation we've undertaken in the last year. is five-month effort, done in partnership with the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, scratches the surface as to why the discrimination in the mortgage lending system has kept communities of color in a cycle of disadvantages. e problem is complex, as are the solutions. Floyd's murder may turn out to be an inflection point in America's race relations, similar to that of Rosa Parks' refusal in 1955 to move to the back of an Alabama bus. In order for that to be the I N T H I S I S S U E case, we must remember the way we felt a year ago and the overly ambitious way we pledged to fix institutional racism, and then carry those thoughts and feelings forward in perpetuity. – Brad Kane, editor In the year since George Floyd's murder N E W S & A N A LY S I S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 14 Focus on Small business 16 The List: Top SBA 7(a) loan lenders 17 Column: The Hustle is Real 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 22 Photo Finish 23 Opinion 24 Shop Talk: Commonwealth Fusion Systems 14 Leominster business owner emphasizes consistency Erica Grinkis, owner of the Gazbar and Central Cup, said getting through the coronavirus pandemic required a steady hand. 23 Phishing is the worst thing for your business In the Viewpoint opinion column, Michele Drolet urges local companies to avoid the fate of the Colonial Pipeline and protect themselves from ransomware. 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