wbjournal.com | April 4, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly,
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
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I N T H I S I S S U E
I
n the previous print edition of
WBJ, I published the story with my
poorly written headline "Infiltrating
Worcester's inner circle". Initially
pitched as a story about the unoffi-
cial gatherings of the region's powerbro-
kers, the completed article turned into an
optimistic portrayal of civic engagement,
encouraging WBJ readers to join in the
discussions shaping the region by reach-
ing out to the leaders of these gatherings.
While the story is reflective of the real-
ity faced by people who want to join civic
discussion, what was missed in my editing
and publishing was the very obvious fact
that underrepresented groups – people of
color, women, LGBTQ+ and others – are
still struggling to be heard within circles
of power, despite what the people within
them may say. e story conflated groups
like Worcester Together, which is actively
trying to be inclusive and serve disadvan-
taged populations, with those organiza-
tions who have been exclusionary. e
reaction from marginalized groups to the
article was visceral and completely justi-
fied. For that, I sincerely apologize.
e positive side of all this is the com-
munity began to have more eye-opening
discussions about how certain people have
been excluded by those in power, which
helped to enlighten the previously igno-
rant, including me. I firmly believe the
economy cannot achieve its full potential
until people of all talents and backgrounds
are given equal opportunity, and that
value has shaped WBJ's content since the
police murder of George Floyd. ese
are important conversations, and WBJ is
committed to having them, continuing in
this edition.
On page 28, business owner Dani
Babineau in her "What Worcester's
elite fail to understand about inclusion"
opinion column dispels the notion that
powerbrokers can just hang an "All Are
Welcome" sign and expect marginalized
groups to come flocking. On page 8, WBJ
correspondent Giselle Rivera-Flores de-
tails in her article "Unheard by the inner
circle" the story of four professionals who
still feel like outsiders, despite attempts
to be heard inside Worcester's power
structure. ese are powerful voices who
are speaking up despite fear of retribution,
and I applaud their bravery.
Lastly, on page 10, Staff Writer Katherine
Hamilton in her "Continuing the fight for
diversity" story concludes her deep dive
into the problems plaguing chief diver-
sity officers' ability to make meaningful
change in the region's businesses and power
structure, despite the commitments made
two years ago aer Floyd's murder. Some
progress has been made, but we still have a
long way to go.
– Brad Kane, editor
Moving the conversation forward
4 Central Mass. In Brief
5
Worcester 300 trivia contest
6 Feature: CENTRO's $1M award
14 Focus on Manufacturing Excellence
Awards
23 The List: Largest local manufacturers
24 Column: Outside the Box
25 Know How
27 Movers & Shakers
28 Opinion
30 Shop Talk: Edward M. Kennedy
Community Health Center
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Member FDIC
Rockland Trust proudly
welcomes Eric Goodwine!
For more information, contact:
Eric Goodwine
Eric.Goodwine@RocklandTrust.com
508.361.3865
Or visit:
RocklandTrust.com/Worcester
VP, Commercial Lending
W
CORRECTIONS
e Movers & Shakers column in the March 21
edition misspelled the name of Mirick O'Connell
partner Lisa Neeley.
A story in the March 7 edition on the WBJ
Hall of Fame Class of 2022 entitled "Ani & Amar
Kapur have found success together for 50 years"
contained multiple errors. Ani Kapur was born
in Turkey, not Armenia. e proper name of one
of their two companies is Atech Turbine Com-
ponents, not Atech Turbine. International sales
comprise 50% of the company's sales, not 35%.
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Senior Staff Writer,
Monica Benevides,
mbenevides@wbjournal.com
(Health care, diversity & inclusion)
Staff Writers
Katherine Hamilton
khamilton@wbjournal.com
(Real estate, higher education)
Sloane M. Perron
perron@wbjournal.com
(Banking & finance, manufacturing)
Editorial Intern
Anthony Buscarino
abuscarino@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Sarah Connell
Sanders, Giselle Rivera-Flores
Photographers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote
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
