Q&A With John W.S. Creedon Jr. Of Creedon & Co.

John W.S. Creedon Jr. Vice President, Creedon & Co., Worcester

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By Rick Saia

He recently made news as the owner of the new Worcester franchise in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League that will begin play at The College of the Holy Cross next June. But John Creedon has also made his mark as an attorney at Fletcher Tilton and as a vice president for the family business, begun by his father 28 years ago as a small diner in the Quinsigamond Village section of Worcester.

What piqued your interest in launching a baseball franchise?

Creedon & Co.'s core business is catering, equipment rental, so we felt like we can bring some efficiencies to bear on a summer baseball team, in terms of running concessions and providing infrastructure in and around the ballpark to enhance the fan experience. Beyond that, my family and I are all baseball fans. I think it's a great game, I think it presents a great option for affordable family entertainment. I think it enhances the community of Worcester itself.

Tell me about Creedon & Co.'s investment in being green.

My dad likes to say that we've been green since he founded the company. Then we just kind of went solar in last couple of years. On the one side, green has been the company color since it was founded. On the environmental side, we made the investment to go solar here with our facility. Almost the entire roof (of the company building) is covered with solar panels, so we're completely self-sustaining with solar energy.

It seems you find it important to give back to the community. What's the most important payoff for doing some of the things you've done?

Being a good corporate citizen is important and I look at some of the companies in and around Worcester and some of the people that I admire and want to emulate, and they're great corporate citizens. With the company, there's a lot of pressure, but you have a team of folks that are relying on you for their paycheck and their livelihood to raise their families. It's an opportunity to build a culture within the company and I think it's important for us as a company to demonstrate to our employees (and others) that we're committed to Worcester.

I'm a believer in karma: Whenever you give back, it comes back to you tenfold.

What's the most important thing a business such as yours must keep in mind today in order to grow?

We try to innovate where we can; we're constantly trying to stay fresh in the kitchen, come up with new ideas. We've got some great all-stars in our kitchen who generate seasonal menus and are constantly trying to experiment and have fun with new ideas. On the tent side, we try to stay cutting edge as well.

When you're looking to hire a new team member, what are the two or three chief qualities you're looking for?

We hire for attitude and work ethic. We can teach the skills, but if you come to the table with the right attitude — a can-do, positive, upbeat attitude — and have a work ethic that's second to none, we can develop anybody from there.

How does your work as a lawyer prepare you for this line of work and running a baseball franchise?

It was having grown up in a family business that really drove me to law school. Just seeing (my father) go through business … I saw experiences with contracts and torts and eminent domain. To me, the law was just this ever-present, looming force ... I wanted to become as proficient and sophisticated as I could with that, to be able to speak that language and be able to have that understanding and then bring it back to the business side of things. With baseball, there's legal knowledge and experience, but having been able to practice with a terrific firm here in Worcester … I'd like to believe that I can analyze a situation and try to problem-solve through it in an effective, compelling way.

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