Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 29, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 43 C O M M U N I T Y D E V E L O P M E N T P O W E R 1 0 0 Kimberly Salmon Assistant vice president of community relations The Hanover Insurance Group, in Worcester Employees: 4,600 Residence: Worcester Colleges: Newbury College, The American Women's College at Bay Path University Salmon was named to her position at Hanover in 2020, aer working for nearly a decade in a similar role as director of community relations and engagement for Fallon Health. As head of the company's charitable foundation, Salmon leads the mission to benefit communities where Hanover has a major presence, touching on academic support, job opportunities for diverse youth, and health resources. Hanover wrote $5.5 billion in premiums in 2022 and saw net income of $116 million, according to its annual report. It employs 4,600, around 1,600 locally, and has played a leading role in the local economy and community. e annual employee giving campaign raised $1.5 million for the United Way and hundreds of other nonprofit organizations across the country. Over a 10-year period, beginning in 2011, the company reported $10 million in employee giving, $17.5 million in total charitable contributions, and $1 million in scholarships. e foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations focused on education, health, workforce development and safety. While continuing to sustain local support, Salmon has been concentrating on expanding the foundation's reach, working closely with nonprofits in Michigan, where Hanover has offices. Salmon began working in the nonprofit sector more than 30 years ago; her first job was at Prospect House, a Black social services agency founded in Worcester by her aunt, Elizabeth "Betty" Price. Salmon serves the community off the job as well and has held seats on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Worcester State Foundation, the Worcester Education Collaborative, and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. - N.C. Roy Nascimento President & CEO North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, in Fitchburg Employees: 18 Colleges: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Suffolk University Sawyer Business School e North Central chamber was named 2023 national Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, a first for any Massachusetts cham- ber. e organization was chosen from 1,600 chambers across the U.S. for its econom- ic development programs serving businesses in 27 cities and towns. Leading the efforts is Nascimento, the go-to resource for professional connections in the region and one of North Central's biggest business advocates. He was hired in 2015 aer holding various chamber leadership roles in Eastern Massachusetts. "What I thought would be a short-term stepping stone turned out to be a very fulfilling career," Nascimento said. e challenges facing businesses in North Central Massachusetts are quite different from those in Eastern Massachusetts, and Nascimento and his team have dialed in on opportunities to reach underserved communities. rough its lending division called the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp, the chamber has provided more than $1.37 million in microloans and more than $100,000 in microgrants to small businesses through Central Massachusetts, with 88% percent of that financing toward minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as low-income business owners. In November, the chamber launched its Region- al Business Investment Fund, designed to provide low-cost financing for real estate projects in North Central Massachusetts struggling to get financing from traditional lenders. rough its Visit North Central Massachusetts tourism organization, the marketing of North Central as a destination led to a 39% percent increase in local visitor spend- ing in 2022, rising to $195 million. To address workforce and development issues, the chamber convened a coalition called the North Central Massachusetts Talent Com- pact. e chamber itself provided $66,000 in scholarships for students and workers to develop their skills. – E.M. Michael McDermott Executive editor Worcester Telegram & Gazette, in Worcester Employees: About 25 news staff in Central Massachusetts; parent company Gannett has 10,000 U.S. employees Residence: Warwick, Rhode Island College: Northeastern University McDermott has helped the news media in Central Massachusetts get its swagger back. Since taking over as the Telegram's executive editor in 2022, the newspaper of record in the region continues to hold police to account, has published hard-hitting stories, and been at the forefront of covering major news events like the Worcester State University shootings, major flooding in Fitchburg and Leominster in Septem- ber, and the double-murder of Chasity and Zella Nune in March. e Telegram & Gazette is in an era of modest expansion of its newsroom staff and coverage aer years of ownership changes and cuts that led to a greatly pared- down media organization. e former managing editor of e Providence Journal, McDermott le his longtime Rhode Island job for a new challenge in Worcester. He bolstered the Telegram staff with the addition of an engagement editor, a breaking news reporter, and a sportswriter. Although far from its heyday, the Telegram on its website lists 25 employees in its newsroom, the largest in the region. Among its notable coverage, the Telegram in 2023 won the New England First Amendment Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association for reporter Brad Petrishen's efforts to bring to light misconduct by Worcester police. Under McDermott, the Telegram rounds out its role as a community newspaper with coverage of high school sports, the production of the arts-focused Worcester Magazine, and the quarterly lifestyle magazine Worcester Living. One of McDemott's priorities coming into his new role was keeping the Telegram's office in downtown Worcester. As the company was paring down the two-floor lease in the Mercantile Center begun in 2012 when the newspaper had 162 employees, McDermott worked to maintain offices in the building in a new lease in 2023. - E.M. Timothy Murray President & CEO Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, in Worcester Employees: 13 Residence: Worcester Colleges: Fordham University, Western New England University School of Law A longtime inside power broker in Worcester and beyond, Murray pushes hard for economic development, with his latest efforts including the launch of a news organization and the development of a fund for workforce development. Murray started his professional career at the Worcester chamber. His first chamber job, well before becoming the head of the organization in 2013, was as a mail clerk and courier while attending St. John's High School in Shrewsbury. Aer becoming a partner in the Worcester firm Tattan, Leonard and Murray, he worked in public service as Worcester mayor and then Massachusetts lieutenant governor. Now at the chamber, Murray has channeled his drive to elevate Worcester into a multifaceted economic development approach, which bills itself as New England's largest, serving 2,100 members from 35 cities and towns. Murray has sought to meet the challenges facing the region through collaboration with city leaders. In the past year, those efforts included the September launch of the Worcester Guardian, a nonprofit news organization started with $50,000 from the chamber in what the organization said was an effort to address the decline in local journalism. In March, the chamber created an economic development and workforce training fund, which has raised $2.5 million against a $3-million goal for 2025. e fund can be used for one-time initiatives, projects, and consulting services. Rounding out Murray's most recent initiatives are a concept plan linking neighborhoods to downtown Worcester to inform public discourse on the topic; and efforts to support the regional workforce with more childcare options through the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education. - E.M.

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