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.
D E P A R T M E N T S
A division of:
COMMERCIAL
LENDING
With experienced, local teams who have seen it all,
Middlesex Savings Bank is ready to get to know you
and your goals. Together, we can create the perfect
solution for your business.
Contact us anytime:
Charles Dwyer • 508.599.5935
cdwyer@middlesexbank.com
When you need a loan
but could use a relationship,
we're right there with you.
MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF
W
