Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | August 22, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 3 A t the end of July, I was having coffee with Lauren Howe from the Leomin- ster public relations firm empHowered when she mentioned a friend of hers, Matt Majikas, was talking about how he had just been spraying champagne all over the roof of Polar Beverages' manufacturing facility in Worcester. Lauren's response: "Matt, did you win an award? at's a very 40 Under Forty thing to do." Spoiler alert: Yes, Matt is one of WBJ's 40 Under Forty this year. You can read about him and the other winners starting on page 15. Since 2016, we at WBJ have been break- ing each year's 40 Under Forty winners into smaller groups and taking them to locations around Central Massachusetts for fun, creative photo shoots, as part of an effort to infuse extra energy into an edition with 40 individual profiles. Before we go out on these photo shoots, I chal- lenge all the winners to a contest, where the group that takes the best photo will be showcased on the cover of one of WBJ's most-read issues of the year. In choosing the winner of this contest in prior years, we have defaulted to the team with a high amount of creative, zany enthusiasm: the group playing with lightsabers in a Worcester alley, the winners spraying champagne on Burns Bridge, the group fresh from the bar rid- ing a bicycle rickshaw in a rainstorm. All these photos made for great covers and I N T H I S I S S U E set a high-energy tone throughout the 40 Under Forty edition and awards ceremony. As you'll soon tell, this year's winners fully embraced that concept, too. Yet, one photo team went in a different direction: classic formality. is group, who took their photos at the Nuestra restaurant inside Worcester's Bull Mansion, brought their own hairdresser and makeup artist, dressed to the nines, and created a seri- ousness inside the excitement of winning these sought-aer awards. As my wife said when she saw their photos, "ey are just stunning. ose are gorgeous photos." Awards are meant to be fun, while showcasing the impressive achievements of the honorees. But the 40 Under Forty are a serious milestone as well, as most win- ners carry the award as a badge of honor throughout their professional careers. at is why I liked Team Nuestra's photos so much, as they speak to the seriousness of these people's roles in the economy and the seriousness of being honored in such a way. at's why Team Nuestra is on the cover of this magazine. – Brad Kane, editor A new vibe for the 40 Under Forty N E W S & A N A LY S I S 5 Central Mass. In Brief 7 Worcester 300 trivia contest 15 Focus on 40 Under Forty awards 41 The List: Highest-paid CEOs 42 Column: Outside the Box 43 Know How 44 Movers & Shakers 45 Opinion 46 Shop Talk: Webster First Federal Credit Union 8 SNAP income Qualifying Mass. restaurants will soon be able to accept government benefits for prepared meals, offering a new type of revenue stream and community connection. 11 A street art revolution, paused After five festivals and 200 murals, the formerly named POW! WOW! Worcester won't hold an event this summer, as it seeks funding to maintain what it's built. W A great city deserves a great team. To learn more or contact the team, visit Rockland Trust.com/Worcester Member FDIC Whether it's working capital, fraud protection, or financial planning – we've got your business covered. D E P A R T M E N T S 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 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 A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writer Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Editorial Interns Sadie Leite sleite@wbjournal.com Ellie Lester elester@wbjournal.com Contributors Giselle Rivera-Flores, Ramon L. Sandoval, Susan Shalhoub Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@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 Accountant, Sarah Ward, sward@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 CORRECTIONS A Viewpoint opinion column from the June 27 edition entitled "Airport supports Worcester's growth" incorrectly said Worcester Regional Airport serves nearly 950,000 passengers annually, which was an error inserted in the text by a WBJ editor. The correct number is the airport has served nearly 950,000 since 2010, when the Massachusetts Port Authority took over ownership. The 2022 Book of Lists, which was published on July 18, incorrectly listed the 2021 net income for Webster First Federal Credit Union as $3.3 million. The correct figure is $12.3 million, while the $3.3 million was the credit union's first quarter 2022 net income.

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