Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • June 22, 2015 www.wbjournal.com FOCUS Worcester W hen it comes to the kind of big, splashy headlines that city leaders like to cut out and frame, the last few months have been a bit of a bust for Worcester. The authors of Boston's controversial bid to host the Olympics have remained cool to the idea of including Worcester in their plans. A possible play to bring the Pawtucket Red Sox to town has gone nowhere. A March report by Boston-based consulting group MassInsight that offers suggestions for the state's innovation economy didn't bother mentioning Worcester, and a round of grants from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced in May didn't include any companies located in the city. Despite recent snubs, Worcester leaders affirm the city is making strides in charting its own economic course – and boosting its image Out of Boston's shadow? BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal But that doesn't seem to bother Tim Murray, presi- dent and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. The former lieutenant governor said the big picture is that Worcester's image is on an upward trajectory throughout the state and beyond. "I think Worcester's image is changing for the positive," he said. "I think there was oftentimes a stereotype or media-driven narrative, from Boston media and to a lesser extent the national media, that Worcester was this gritty old industrial town. I think what was really lacking in that type of stereotype was that our economy has become incredibly diverse." Murray, who helped boost the city's visibility when, as mayor, he campaigned for lieutenant gover- nor in 2006 and served until 2013, said the city's col- leges and hospitals complement its manufacturing economy, encouraging the development of new high- tech products. While Boston grew Worcester has long had a bit of a chip on its shoulder compared with its much-larger near- neighbor to the east. Starting in the 1970s, Boston grew into a thriving financial center and, later, a technology hub, while Worcester continued to decline from its 19th- and early 20th-century hey- day as a manufacturing center. >> Continued on Page 15 I M A G E : D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; W O R C E S T E R B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L I L L U S T R A T I O N

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