wbjournal.com | May 16, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 3
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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 2022. 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 $72.00. 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
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the sender.
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
A division of:
I N T H I S I S S U E
E
very print edition of WBJ
contains a focus section,
where we in the newsroom
dedicate at least two feature
stories and one list to a topic of
importance to the Central Massachusetts
economy, typically an industry. We set
the calendar of focus sections a year at a
time, and they make sure we are covering
a diverse range of business stories.
is edition's focus on small business
strikes close to the heart of WBJ. As a
business-to-business niche publication,
we gear all our coverage toward a very
small audience: professionals who make
hiring and spending decisions at Cen-
tral Massachusetts organizations. In the
region, this audience skews significantly
toward small business owners and execu-
tives. Oen, when we make decisions on
what topics to write about, my thoughts
focus on these small business owners and
how the news impacts them.
In his story "PPP's legacy" on page
10, Staff Writer Alexander MacDougall
examines the two-year legacy of the
COVID-induced government incentive
that provided 20,000 business loans in
Worcester County over the course of
the pandemic: the Paycheck Protection
Program. While PPP provided more than
$1.8 billion in relief for local businesses,
the disbursement of the loans was dispro-
portionate, even with adjustments in the
second round, and dependent on whether
a business had a relationship with a bank.
In the other story inside the small busi-
ness focus section, MacDougall sat down
with Jia Jia Ye, CEO and co-founder of
Springtide Child Development, which
just opened a location in Shrewsbury.
e company provides health services for
children with autism spectrum disorder
and has set up a system to differentiate
itself from the competition, by providing
well-rounded care for long-term goals.
In a separate Q&A for the Shop Talk
feature on Page 22, I talked with North-
borough entrepreneur Glenn Paradise,
who has been growing his apparel compa-
ny Dēp Slēpwear for the past four years,
slowly breaking into the market with a
hoodie designed to help people sleep.
And on page 8, Staff Writer Katherine
Hamilton touches on a topic of increasing
concern to businesses large and small:
making sure their employees have suitable
housing they can afford. Hamilton in her
"Finding workers a home" story focuses on
a unique situation faced by the Worcester
Red Sox, who for the first time were re-
quired to provide housing for their players.
While the team had the resources, other
businesses have fewer options.
– Brad Kane, editor
A focus on small business
4 Central Mass. In Brief
17 Know How
19 Movers & Shakers
20 Photo Finish
21 Opinion
W
CORRECTIONS
A Power 50 story about Bill Shaner published in the May
2 edition incorrectly said Shaner provided the only voter
guide for the 2021 Worcester City Council election. The
Worcester version of the website Patch.com also published
a voter guide for the election.
A Power 50 story about Cliff Rucker published in the May
2 edition incorrectly said the Worcester Railers attracted 1
million fans last year. In total, all of Cliff Rucker's ventures,
which include but are not limited to the Railers, attract more
than 1 million to the city. Additionally, the story incorrectly
said Off The Rails will have a 10,000-person outdoor venue,
when the 10,000-person outdoor venue is part of the
Palladium and included in the shared parking lot with Off
The Rails.
A Power 50 story about Angela Bovill in the May 2 edition
incorrectly said Ascentria Care Alliance helped resettled
nearly 800 Afghan refugees. The correct number is 600.
The story also incorrectly conflated Ascentria's Learn to
Earn program with the new neighborhood support teams for
Afghan refugees, which are separate programs.
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)
Alexander MacDougall
amacdougall@wbjournal.com
(Health care, diversity & inclusion)
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
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
