Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/848278
4 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2017 | wbjournal.com I n late June, I flew to Dallas to attend the annual con- ference of the Alliance of Area Business Publishers, the industry association for business-to-business journals like the Worcester Business Journal. During a breakout session with a couple dozen other B2B editors, a handful of newsroom leaders bemoaned their annual Book of Lists fea- ture, saying the annual special edition had gotten stale and readers and advertiser interest was waning. I didn't say anything during the session – partially because I didn't want to sound like I was bragging, and partially because lunch was next and I didn't want to conversation to run too long – but the opposite is true at WBJ. WBJ's adver- tising sales in Book of Lists hit a record high last year, and the reader response to the publication and the lists themselves was much stronger. I intended to discuss with those editors over lunch – which, unfortunately, was not comprised of more Texas BBQ – how the secret to our success was understanding the changes in the Central Massachusetts economy and featur- ing lists reflecting those changes. The 44 lists contained in this issue are not the same lists WBJ published in its first Book of Lists more than two decades ago. They are not even the same lists we published last year. The Central Massachusetts economy changes every year, and the raw market intelligence our readers need to thrive changes with it. Last year, we did a bigger overhaul, adding lists on incubators, breweries, commercial contractors, caterers, urgent care centers and architectural firms. This year was less drastic, with new lists on addiction treatment, minority-owned business, state employee salaries and private ambulance services. For next year, we are already planning for more changes, particularly around how digital services have changed. While publishing a special edition full of data might seem counterintuitive in an age where people have access to more information than ever sitting in a device in their pocket, the power of the Book of Lists is to provide you with exactly the information you need exactly when you need it. That is why we changed our lists this year, and why we will change them next year. -Brad Kane, editor C O N T E N T S Modern lists for a modern economy BANKING & FINANCE ....................................... 15 Banks* .......................................................... 16 Credit unions ................................................. 20 Mergers and acquisitions* .............................. 22 SBA lenders* .................................................. 25 SBA loans* .................................................... 28 HEALTH CARE ................................................... 31 Urgent care centers ........................................ 32 Physician groups ............................................ 34 Hospitals* ...................................................... 36 Health insurers................................................ 38 Addiction treatment centers ............................. 39 Private ambulance services** .......................... 43 EDUCATION ....................................................... 45 Colleges and universities ................................ 46 Private schools* .............................................. 50 REAL ESTATE .................................................... 53 Commercial leases* ....................................... 54 Commercial sales* .......................................... 57 Top taxpayers ................................................. 59 Architectural firms ........................................... 60 Green buildings .............................................. 63 Commercial contractors* ................................ 64 MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY .................. 69 Biomedical companies ................................... 70 Clean energy companies ................................. 72 Manufacturers* ............................................... 73 TOURISM & HOSPITALITY ................................ 81 Golf courses* .................................................. 82 Hotels* ........................................................... 85 Meeting facilities* ........................................... 89 Tourist attractions* .......................................... 95 Independent caterers* ..................................... 96 Breweries ....................................................... 97 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ............................. 101 Insurance agencies* ...................................... 102 Accounting firms* ......................................... 104 IT services providers ..................................... 107 Law firms* .................................................... 109 COMMUNICATIONS ......................................... 112 Web design firms* ........................................ 113 Advertising and public relations firms* .......... 114 GENERAL INTEREST ....................................... 118 Central Mass. 100 ........................................ 119 Chambers of commerce ................................ 126 Highest paid state employees** ..................... 127 Highest-paid CEOs ........................................ 128 Highest-paid nonprofit executives* ................. 129 Human service nonprofits .............................. 131 Private foundations ....................................... 132 Woman-owned businesses* ......................... 133 Incubators ................................................... 137 Minority-owned businesses* ** ...................... 139 * see digital version for longer list ** debut list (INDEX BY INDUSTRY CATEGORY) Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063- 6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. 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 $49.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. A division of: Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsi- bility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Digital Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, higher education) Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Sales & Events Intern Eric Goudreau, egoudreau@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@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 President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com