Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 24, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Fuel Your Business Growth Connect with us today! Your ambition deserves more than just a bank—it needs a partner. Our Commercial Services Team delivers expert guidance, tailored solutions, and dedicated support to help your business thrive. Let's turn your goals into success—together. Member FDIC | Member DIF 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 10 Focus on Meetings, Tourism & Golf Guide 12 List: Most popular tourist attractions 14 List: Toughest golf courses 16 List: Largest meeting venues 18 Movers & Shakers 19 Know How 20 Column: The Hustle is Real 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: American Antiquarian Society 10 The short game Smaller nine-hole, par-3 golf courses are opening in Central Mass., looking to attract novices and experts alike. 15 Remembering Robert Hawkins A Stow golf club and a nonprofit are seeking to revive the legacy of the founder of the first Black-owned golf course in New England. 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 2025. 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 $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. 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 Managing Editor, Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera- Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson 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 General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com F ive years ago, WBJ Publisher Pe- ter Stanton and I penned a letter saying diversity & inclusion is a core value of this publication. Even if sometimes flawed in practice, the principle of DEI is good and would create a stronger Central Mass. economy, as it is meant to overcome barri- ers to provide opportunities for everyone to best use their natural talents and skills. Media outlets, including WBJ, are meant to be inclusive publications where all perspectives and opinions are welcome, especially when they disagree. So, the core values of most media publications tend to be fairly basic: democracy is good, crime is bad, businesses being profitable is good. When Peter & I wrote that letter in 2020, the inclusion of DEI as a core principle seemed non-controversial. Businesses in the region and nationally were putting out statements in support of DEI principles and were beginning the work of putting them into practice, including major local employers like UMass Memorial Health, TJX Cos., Hanover Insurance Group, and UMass Chan Medical School. Fast forward five years, and DEI might be the most hot-button principle of this moment. Anti-DEI sentiment has been weaponized as a political tool; large portions of people reject certain efforts outright just because they are labeled DEI, even if they don't fully understand the con- cept. Businesses are just trying to survive, attempting to serve their employee and customer bases in the face of overwhelming political pressure. For this edition's cover story "United force" on page 8, WBJ Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo talked with the CEOs of three Central Massachusetts organizations who are very publicly sticking with their DEI initiatives: Spectrum Health Services, Fontaine Bros., and Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center. To them, de- leting or modifying their DEI efforts would cause significant harm to their businesses over the short and long term, even if they are risking millions of dollars of revenue from federal government sources. I applaud their act of public bravery. DEI remains a core value of WBJ, be- cause what was true in 2020 remains true today. Even a year ago, this being a core principle for us would have been fairly in- DEI can be good for everybody I N T H I S I S S U E nocuous, but times have certainly changed. But just because times are changing, that doesn't mean your values should. – Brad Kane, editor W CORRECTION: A story in the March 10 edition of WBJ titled "Brick & mortar: Central Mass. banks are standing behind the power of in-person banking in an increasingly digital age" incorrectly said Middlesex Savings Bank has 25 branches. The bank has 32. CORRECTION: A story in the March 10 edition of WBJ titled "Competing for world-class capital: Worcester's entrepreneurial ecosystem is attracting more investors" incorrectly claimed Jay Cahill is a Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate. In fact, Cahill attended Stonehill College in Easton and later served as part of WPI's Tech Advisor Network.

• Cover