Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • January 19, 2015 www.wbjournal.com FOCUS A nything worth doing in the first place is usually worth repeating. When we launched our first "Best of Business" awards contest last year, we were dipping our toe into unfamiliar waters. Yet we thought it was a worthwhile idea to let our readers tell us which companies in Central Massachusetts really stood out in deliv- ering a wide variety of products and services. Well, last year's debut turned out bet- ter than we expected, so, yes, it's worth doing again. "Best of " contests are hardly a new concept for publishers. But for us, a "Best of Business" nudged us into new territory, offering our readers a chance to tell the rest of the WBJ readership who really deserves to be called "best." Since our readership is made up chiefly of business leaders, it sees things differ- ently than would a general-interest readership, which we hope adds value to the results we're sharing in this issue This year, we're recognizing the top vote getters in 39 different categories. We eliminated a few of the lowest vote-total categories from last year and came up with a couple new categories for 2015. Please let us know if you think there's a popular business product or service cat- egory that we're missing and we'll con- sider it for next year. From late October to mid-December, we collected votes through a web-based survey from more than 1,600 respon- dents, each of whom had to select a company in at least 10 of the categories listed. Again, we got what we had hoped for: a comprehensive list of win- ners that include both household names as well as several businesses that, for the most part, have been flying under our radar. Many are repeats from last year, yet there are plenty of new additions. We cross-referenced the nominations with what we know about businesses in the region, taking into account some obvious — and anticipated — "cam- paigns" on behalf of some organizations in order to come up with this year's list. To be clear, we're still honoring winners that were the beneficiaries of campaigns but we also recognize that it's of real value to our readers to list multiple top vote-getters as runners-up so that it's clear who else is really delivering in a category. Does a readers poll help reveal who several of the top players are in a category? Absolutely. Can we trust a readers poll to be an authoritative source for who you ought to be doing business with? Hardly. Yet, a "Best of " poll be a fun way to recognize many deserving area compa- nies and have their employees celebrate in that success. Our 2015 winners will be honored at our second Best of Business Awards event, which will take place Thursday, Jan. 29 at The Urban Kitchen & Bar (formerly Coral Seafood) in Worcester. To the winners: Congratulations! And enjoy your year-long bragging rights! ~ Rick Saia, Editor Who's No. 1? Survey says ... And the winners are... Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES Bank For Business Bank of America Best Business Insurance Agency Sullivan Group Best Credit Union for Business Digital Federal Credit Union Best Employee Benefits Consultant Marsh & McLennan/Protector Group Best Financial Planning/ Investment Services Provo Financial Services NONPROFITS Best College for Business Educa- tion Clark University Best Health Insurance Provider Tus Health Plan RETAILERS Best Luxury Automobile Dealership Lexus of Northborough Best Truck Dealership Lamoreux Ford HOSPITALITY/FOOD/RECREATION Best After-Work Bar Tavern in the Square Best Caterer for a Corporate Event Pepper's Fine Foods Catering Best Coffee Service for Business Good as Gold Best Exercise Facility/Fitness Center Worcester Fitness Best Public Golf Course , Best Golf Club for Corporate Outing Cyprian Keyes Golf Club Best Hotel for Business Clients, Best Venue for a Business Meeting Beechwood Hotel Best Private Golf Course Worcester Country Club Best Restaurant for a Business Breakfast Ceres Bistro at Beechwood Hotel Best Restaurant for a Business Lunch EVO Dining Best Restaurant for a Business Dinner 111 Chop House Best Venue for a Corporate Event DCU Center BUSINESS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Best Accounting Firm Stolberg, Ebbeling & Blanchette Best Advertising Agency, Best Web Design Firm Penta Communications Best Awards & Promotional Products Company Olympic Trophy Best Commercial Landscaping Company J.A.M. Landscaping Best Commercial Printer Curry Printing` Best Document Destruction Company ProShred Best Electrical Contractor Coghlin Electrical Contractors Inc. Best Internet Service Provider Charter Communications Best IT Services Company Akuity Technologies Best Law Firm for Business Bowditch & Dewey Best Limousine Service Knight's Airport Limousine Service Best Office Cleaning Company Enterprise Cleaning Corp. Best Plumber/HVAC Contractor JJ Bafaro Inc. & Heating Inc. Best Staffing Agency e Davis Cos. Best Video Production Company Skyscope Creative Best Waste Removal Company E.L. Harvey & Sons Inc.

• Cover