www.wbjournal.com August 31, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 3
I used to read the Major League Baseball
standings with more intensity than I would
the movements of the U.S. stock markets.
But then, many of us were young and
foolish, weren't we? In 1987, when the Dow
Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 23 per-
cent, my boss asked me: "How's your port-
folio?" I answered, "Nonexistent, because I'm not in the market!"
Twenty years later and wiser (the latter is open to debate), I
cared much more as the market plunged 20 percent after the
financial crisis that precipitated the Great Recession. Within the
past two weeks, as the Dow shed 10 percent, largely in response
to economic conditions in China, I brushed it off as just another
blip in an otherwise healthy economy.
Yet more importantly, it underscores our vulnerability in an
increasingly global economy, and where there are downturns,
there's another location that may well be turning upward. It's the
current nature of business, facilitated, of course, by technology
and the growth of free trade.
Many, if not most, financial advisers will tell you to diversify
your investment portfolio today. If you sell globally, it's incum-
bent that your business take that same approach. After all, with
the bad memories of the Great Recession behind us, everyone
needs to do what they can to protect their assets.
Then you might enjoy reading the baseball standings.
~ Rick Saia (rsaia@wbjournal.com)
This Week In The WBJ
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-
6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year,
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www.wbjournal.com
A division of:
WBJ on the Web
From news to information about events and awards, we have it all at WBJournal.com.
Call for nominations:
Top Workplaces awards
For the fourth straight year, we'll be honoring
companies that take an extra step or two in
their workplace practices. Is your company one
of them? Fill out a brief questionnaire today at
www.wbjournal.com/topworkplaces2015 to be considered for this
year's Central Massachusetts Top Workplaces awards. Submission
deadline is Friday, Sept. 18.
NEWS & ANALYSIS
7 Home sales up, so is bank activity
A rise in home sales is keeping Central Massachusetts banks busy with
new mortgage business. How long will it last? And how strong will the
market for refinancing be in the months ahead?
40 Under Forty: Read about
them today, meet them later
This issue unveils our 16th annual class of 40 up-and-
coming business leaders in Central Massachusetts under the
age of 40. Join us Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Mechanics Hall
in downtown Worcester when we honor them. Register at
www.wbjournal.com/40underforty.
Lessons from stock market selloffs
10
DEPARTMENTS
36 Accolades & Honors
4 Briefing
41 Editorial
40 Flash Poll
36 Fresh Beginnings
38 Incorporations
35 Knowhow
39 Movers & Shakers
37 Networking/Events
42 Photo Finish
5 Real Deals
8 Ticker
41 Viewpoint
ON PAGE ONE
The new approach to tourism
The new Worcester Regional Visitors and Tourism Corp. is seen as a potential
boost for the Central Massachusetts tourism industry, spreading from the city to
the rural reaches of the region.
Are solar subsidies still necessary?
Massachusetts has been a leader in the growth of solar energy. But some are
asking whether the solar installation industry still needs state and federal
government incentives. Gov. Charlie Baker's recent announcement of
continued support was applauded by advocates.
Editor, Rick Saia, rsaia@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com
(Banking & Finance, Real Estate,
Manufacturing, Technology)
Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com
(Health Care)
Staff Writer/Copy Editor
Carol McDonald, cmcdonald@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com
Livia Gershon
Alanna Moriarty, amoriarty@wbjournal.com
Christina P. O'Neill
Research Director, Roger Magnus
rmagnus@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin
hmartin@wbjournal.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Manager of Video/Multimedia Services,
Matthew Volpini
mvolpini@nebusinessmedia.com
Director, Major Accounts
Bonnie Leroux, bleroux@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Accounts Manager
Rena Barbieri, rbarbieri@wbjournal.com
Custom Publishing Project Manager
Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Controller, Mary Rogers
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Kim Vautour
kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
2012TOP
WORKPLACES
Worcester Business Journal's
Worcester Business Journal's
2015TOP
WORKPLACES
2012TOP
WORKPLACES
Worcester Business Journal's
2012
Worcester Business Journal's
SHOP TALK
8 Q&A with Mary Lou Retelle, president of Anna Maria College, in Paxton
THE LIST
32 Top human service nonprofits in Central Massachusetts
40 Under Forty
FOCUS
Meet another group of
up-and-coming leaders in
Central Massachusetts, the
members of our 16th annual
class of 40 Under Forty.
