RALPH CROWLEY, JR. & POLAR BEVERAGES
Ralph
is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Polar Beverages and the
Treasurer of the Wachusett Mountain ski area, two family owned businesses in
Worcester and central Massachusetts.
Polar
Beverages is the country’s largest independent soft-drink bottler and a fourth
generation family owned busines that traces its roots back to 1882. After World War II Ralph’s father and the
third generation of Crowley’s became involved in the company as it thrived
through the decades following. Ralph Sr.
remained Chairman of the company until his death in 1995. In 1992 the fourth generation of Crowley’s
took over the company, with Ralph Jr. becoming President and CEO in 1992. Under Ralph’s leadership Polar made numerous
acquisitions for the rights to manufacture and distribute many national brands
and by 1998 it had outgrown its facility and moved to its present facility on
Southbridge Street, where it continues to thrive to this day.
Ralph
and Polar have been integral parts of the Worcester Community. They are
involved in over three dozen community charities, from the American Heart
Association to the United Way. They
partnered with their Dr. Pepper Snapple counterparts to help fund playgrounds
for kids in the Worcester area, with their employees volunteering to build a
new playground at Union Hill Elementary which they finished in one day. They’ve been recognized many times over for
their committment to the Worcester area and continuously give back to their
community. Ralph also plays an important
role on a personal level, dedicating his time to worthy causes such as the
UMASS Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Directors and the Visiting
Community for the Graduate School of Management of Clark University. He has also served as the Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston Chair of the New England Advisory Council, honorary Chair of the
Special Olympics Massachusetts Winter Games and Past Chair of the President’s
Council of Assumption College. Ralph is
also a present member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Food
Association and a member of its Executive Committee.
Ralph and
his wife Joan live in Worcester and have five children.
