Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 24, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 7 To learn more, contact: Peter Staiti SVP, Commercial Lending Center Manager 100 Front Street, Worcester, MA | 508.769.5725 RocklandTrust.com/Worcester Member FDIC A Local Partner, Financing Businesses Across Worcester County Fitness Facility Real Estate Acquisition $4,150,000 Littleton, MA Recreational Facility Equipment & Working Capital $700,000 Worcester, MA Manufacturing Facility Equipment Purchase $250,000 Worcester, MA Restaurant Equipment & Working Capital $250,000 Whitinsville, MA Multi-Family Investment Real Estate Portfolio Refinance $1,800,000 Worcester, MA Residential Real Estate Construction 228 units $57,000,000 Worcester, MA Industrial Real Estate Construction 135,000 sq. ft. $13,545,000 Worcester, MA Retail Liquor Store Real Estate Refinance $350,000 Millbury, MA single time." Just like Barrows and Bay State Savings, Pitts is Worcester through and through. "I know just about every inch of the city," he said. "I know I can go to any part of the city and find someone I know." Trailblazer Pitts will be the first Black man and person of color to lead Bay State Savings. at means he has a connection to communities not always well served by financial institutions. Gregory Benoit, math education lecturer and assistant director for the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation at Boston University, has been friends with Pitts since they were roommates at Worcester State. Benoit told his friend to be aware of the extra criticism he can expect to receive as a Black man in a high-powered position, but Benoit said Pitts has years of experience being one of the few Black people in a room. "I feel like he's been kind of meeting these challenges very early on, like entering the business program at Worcester State, being one of the very few Black people in that program," he said. Pitts has never been one to shrink from a challenge, Benoit said. "e best thing you could do for him, and the worst thing you could do for him, is say, 'I bet you you can't do that,'" he said. For Pitts, the new position is a chance to be a role model for young people who may not have seen someone who looks like themselves in this kind of job before. "It just kind of sets a new pathway for a lot of people who maybe didn't think of this as a path for them," he said. In the weeks aer his promotion was announced on June 29, Pitts said he saw an outpouring of support, not just from his proud relatives but from people who he doesn't even know personally but are thrilled to have their community represented at the top of an important city institution. "For me to be that for a group of people is something that I take as an honor," he said. Benoit said he sees the same thing, including among young Black men in Worcester who know Pitts best by his initials, S.P. "To me, I'm like, 'How dope is it that you get to impact meaningful change in a place where you grew up, where you have lived experience,'" he said. "Young Black boys can look at him and say 'S.P. did it.'" Bay State Savings Bank's growth 0 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 '03 '05 '07 '09 '11 '13 '15 '17 '19 '21 '23 Assets (In millions of dollars) $534M Pitts worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the FDIC before coming to Bay State Savings Bank. W Note: Figures are in the first quarter of each year. Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

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