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New Park Creative is proud to announce our partnership with the Connecticut Energy Expo, powered by Connecticut Power and Energy Society and Operation Fuel
This event is free to attend and showcases renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for businesses and residents. As marketing sponsor, we’re excited to showcase all the event has to offer and to support the many organizations committed to creating a clean, sustainable, and equitable energy future for our state.
If you are an energy-focused business or organization we encourage you to partner and exhibit with us!
Learn more and register today at www.goenergyexpo.com!
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PeoplesBank Makes Key Banking Center, Mortgage and Business Banking Appointments
PeoplesBank has announced the following key appointments.
Gladys L. Ortiz has been appointed as Assistant Vice President and Banking Center Manager for its new South Windsor office. Ms. Ortiz will serve both retail and business clients’ needs. She will also lead, coach and develop a team of professional banking associates and cultivate relationships with the greater South Windsor community. She has 24 years of banking experience.
“We are excited to have Gladys lead our new South Windsor team,” stated Aleda De Maria, Executive Vice President Consumer Banking and Operations at PeoplesBank. “With her strong banking and leadership experience, she is instrumental in introducing customers to the innovative banking technology we have as well as establishing meaningful community ties.”
A resident of Manchester, CT, Ms. Ortiz is Moody’s Analytics Certified, Leader’s Edge Coaching Certified and State of Connecticut Notary. She is fluent in Spanish. Ms. Ortiz serves as an ambassador for both the South Windsor and Greater Manchester Chambers of Commerce; was a panel guest at The Greater Hartford Women’s Conference; has served as a Small Business and Consumer Lending Advocate; and has conducted financial literacy trainings for various organizations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.
Peter R. Sulick has been appointed as Mortgage Sales Manager. Mr. Sulick will manage residential mortgage production as well a team of mortgage loan consultants. He has over 35 years of mortgage and banking experience.
“At a time when consumers need it the most, Peter brings an unparalleled level of experience to the mortgage market,” stated James Sherbo, Senior Vice President Consumer Lending at PeoplesBank. “There is really no one else in the regional market who possesses Peter’s depth of experience. He has seen it all – the ups and downs – and clearly knows what it takes to finance new home dreams no matter what is going on in the market.”
A resident of Colchester, CT, Mr. Sulick earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. He is a member of the board of directors of the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association, an affiliate member of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors and the Tri-County Alliance of Realtors.
Jennifer W. Yergeau has been appointed as Vice President Commercial and Institutional Banking. Ms. Yergeau manages a commercial portfolio consisting of clients located in the state of Connecticut and across all sectors, including government and nonprofits. She actively consults with clients regarding their cash management needs around all facets of their business. Ms. Yergeau has 18 years of banking experience, with 13 years dedicated to Cash Management.
“Jennifer is on the front lines of helping businesses become more efficient and effective while staying safe from fraud,” stated Frank Crinella, Executive Vice President and Chief Lender and Chief Credit Officer at PeoplesBank. “Her depth of experience alone makes her a valued and unique resource in the marketplace.”
A resident of Suffield, CT, Ms. Yergeau earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Westfield State University in Massachusetts and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in communication management from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the board of directors at Dakin Humane Society in Springfield, MA; serves as Vice President of the board of directors at the Drama Studio in Springfield, MA; is a trustee, volunteer, and long-range planning member at the Suffield Historical Society in Suffield, CT; and volunteers for Furry Friends Foster and Rescue in Monroe, CT.
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About:
PeoplesBank is a leader in innovation, corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability, and employee engagement. Our three LEED® certified offices are environmentally friendly, and we have financed more than $350 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy projects.
As the largest community bank in the market, we have a unique ability to help the communities we serve through volunteer efforts and millions of dollars in donations to charitable and civic causes.
PeoplesBank is a mutual bank and therefore is responsible to our depositors, employees, and the community. This organizational structure allows us to focus on the long-term viability of the bank and the best interests of our customers. We currently have 20 banking centers located in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
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DAN DANILLOWICZ, KRISTIN GRAVANIS, AND MICHAEL LAGA PROMOTED TO VICE PRESIDENT
Westfield, MA— James C. Hagan, President and CEO of Westfield Bank, is pleased to announce the promotion of Dan Danillowicz, Kristin Gravanis, and Michael Laga to Vice President and Mortgage Loan Officer. They will continue to be responsible for originating residential mortgage loan applications primarily through outside business development and marketing activities in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Danillowicz, who has originated loans since 2002, joined Westfield Bank in 2019 as an Assistant Vice President and Mortgage Loan Officer. He graduated from the University of Hartford in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and has worked at various local banks and mortgage companies prior to joining Westfield Bank. He is a proud second- generation mortgage lender, and his father originated loans for Chicopee Savings Bank during the 1970s. Danillowicz resides in Burlington, CT.
Gravanis, who has originated mortgages since 2004, joined Westfield Bank in 2019 as an Assistant Vice President and Mortgage Loan Officer after spending time with other local banks and mortgage companies. Throughout her career, Gravanis has been committed to providing an outstanding experience for everyone she works with. From walking her clients through each step of the mortgage process to providing consistent, honest communication from start to finish, she helps them navigate through the mortgage process with ease.
Gravanis has been named a top mortgage loan officer in booked dollars and units for the past four years in Hampden County. She specializes in construction loans, jumbo loans, and assisting first-time homebuyers. Gravanis has been a member of the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley’s Community Service Committee for fifteen years. She resides in Wilbraham, MA.
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Laga, who has originated loans since 1998, joined Westfield Bank in 2015 as a Mortgage Loan Officer. He had a 14-year professional baseball career, spending time in the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants organizations. In 2019, he was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame. Laga graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in 1997 and spent time with a local mortgage company and Credit Union before joining Westfield Bank. He resides in Northampton, MA.
“Please join me in congratulating Dan, Kristin, and Mike on their promotion to Vice President,” said Matt Manganelli, Vice President and Retail Lending Sales Manager. “I am confident in their continued success with the Bank.”
About Westfield Bank
Westfield Bank, headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts, is a federally chartered savings bank organized in 1853 and is the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in Western Massachusetts. The Bank is a full-service community-oriented financial institution offering a complete range of commercial and retail products and services. Currently, the Bank has twenty-five branch offices, fifty-four ATMs, and an additional thirty seasonal ATMs and serves Hampden and Hampshire counties in Western Massachusetts and Hartford and Tolland counties in Northern Connecticut. The Bank’s middle market and commercial real estate lending team is based in Springfield, Massachusetts, and has a general regulatory limit on loans to one borrower of $39.7 million. As of December 31, 2022, the Bank employed 357 full and part-time employees, had $2.6 billion in total assets,
$2.0 billion in its loan portfolio, and $2.2 billion in total deposits. The Bank is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. As a member of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Bank’s deposits are insured up to the maximum FDIC insurance coverage limits. To learn more, visit the bank’s website at www.westfieldbank.com
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Marc T. Finer Joins Cummings & Lockwood
as a Principal Tax Attorney
Stamford, CT, February 27, 2023 -- Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that Marc T. Finer has recently joined the firm as a Principal Tax Attorney in the Private Clients Group and is based in the firm’s West Hartford office.
Marc will be providing his tax expertise to the firm’s Private Clients Group, which has been recognized for seven consecutive years as one of the top tier private wealth law practices in Connecticut serving high net worth individuals by Chambers High Net Worth Guide. He will also be supporting the Firm’s Corporate & Finance Group and its Family Office and Closely Held Business Group.
In this unique role, Marc will be advising individuals and families, trusts, closely held businesses, investment entities, entrepreneurs, foundations, and/or other public and private enterprises and charitable organizations with regard to a variety of tax and transactional matters.
According to Laura Weintraub Beck, Cummings & Lockwood’s Chairman and Managing Director, “Marc will be a valuable addition to the Firm. He brings over 25 years of legal and accounting experience in federal, state and local tax planning, tax controversy and tax compliance matters, and in a wide range of commercial transactions. His skills and experience will be important assets in assisting us to develop sophisticated solutions to the oftentimes complex tax and business issues facing our clients. Marc represents the third Principal to have joined Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group this past year to expand our estate and tax planning expertise.”
About Cummings & Lockwood
Founded in 1909, Cummings & Lockwood provides sophisticated legal counsel to individuals, families, family offices, closely held businesses, charitable entities and other commercial enterprises in the areas of trusts and estates, corporate and finance, litigation and arbitration, and commercial and residential real estate.
The firm has over 200 attorneys, fiduciary accountants, paralegals and staff, as well as six offices located in Stamford, Greenwich and West Hartford, Connecticut, and in Naples, Bonita Springs and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. While many of our clients reside in Connecticut, New York and Florida, we have clients in nearly all 50 U.S. states and in over 25 countries around the world.
For more information, please visit our website at www.cl-law.com
Connecticut Foodshare Elects New Board Members
Wallingford, Conn. February 14, 2023 - Connecticut Foodshare has elected four local and national leaders to its Board of Directors. “With the recent launch of our Community Impact Plan, these new members of the Board will be instrumental in helping to implement the building blocks for the future of this organization. We are excited to welcome them and look forward to their leadership and partnership these next few years as we continue to strengthen our foundation to better serve our neighbors,” said Jason Jakubowski, President and CEO of Connecticut Foodshare.
Jennifer Brogan is the Director of External Communications & Community Relations for Stop & Shop in Quincy, MA. She has held this role since 2018. Jennifer oversees all public relations initiatives for the brand and its 400 plus store locations. Over 90 of those locations are in Connecticut. Jennifer developed a new charitable giving strategy for the Stop & Shop brand to drive increased community engagement and customer awareness around Stop & Shop’s commitment to the communities it serves. Stop & Shop has been a strong supporter of the food bank for many years and is the presenting sponsor of the Connecticut Foodshare Walk Against Hunger. Jennifer lives in Brookline, MA with her husband and daughter and is an alumna of Connecticut College.
Jered Bruzas is the Chief Impact Officer of United Way of Greater Waterbury. Jered has worked in the greater Waterbury community for over a decade. Early in his career he was a case manager at Saint Vincent DePaul Mission Shelter, Inc., the largest shelter in Connecticut and a partner program of Connecticut Foodshare. He has collaborated directly with clients on housing, money management, evaluation of treatments, job placement, food insecurity, and connecting people to other services. Jered’s experience is a blend of leadership and collaborating with people who need help. Jered serves on numerous boards and committees throughout the state focused on expanding resources in our communities.
Jamie McDonald is co-owner of Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ, a Navy veteran, and a former UTC engineer. Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ is located in Connecticut as well as Asheville, North Carolina. Jamie has assisted disaster-relief, community-building and charitable actions in Connecticut and nationally - most recently helping to feed refugees from Ukraine in partnership with World Central Kitchen. Jamie is also involved in Linked4Life, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about mental health issues and suicide prevention.
Kayla Reasco is Vice President of Public Affairs for Intersect Public Solutions, a public relations firm based in Hartford, Connecticut. Prior to joining Intersect she has worked in government and politics at the federal, state, and local levels for the past 10 years. She has worked with leaders on both sides of the aisle, helping to develop policy, cultivate relationships, and manage public-facing events and messaging. Kayla has worked and partnered with Connecticut Foodshare during her time serving as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Hartford and previously as Outreach Director for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, Outreach Assistant to U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. Kayla lives in Groton, with her husband and dog.
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ABOUT CONNECTICUT FOODSHARE
Connecticut Foodshare is the food bank serving the people of Connecticut and a member of the national Feeding America network. Last year, Connecticut Foodshare distributed enough food to provide nearly 39 million meals through a network of more than 650 food pantries, community kitchens, and mobile food distribution sites, while also working on long-term solutions to food insecurity. Thousands of volunteers help power the work of Connecticut Foodshare, and last year, they gave nearly 47,000 hours of service. To learn more visit www.ctfoodshare.org
Media contact:
Connecticut Foodshare
Monica Obrebski, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Phone: 860.856.4319
mobrebski@ctfoodshare.org
PeoplesBank Set New $2.3 MM Record for 2022 Donations
For a second year in a row, PeoplesBank set a new annual record for donations to civic and charitable causes. The bank tallied $2.3 million for in donations for 2022, which is $1 million dollars more than last year’s record. Since 2011, the bank has donated well over $13 million to area causes.
“Supporting the community is essentially what we were set up to do,” explains Tom Senecal, President and CEO of PeoplesBank. “We are a mutual bank, chartered to serve our customers and the communities they live in. As a mutual bank, we do not have stockholders who would divert profits. Therefore, we are able to significantly support nonprofits and other community causes.”
Mr. Senecal added that, as a large regional employer whose values include community service, PeoplesBank is able to increase its support to the community and social service organizations through volunteerism. “We have a lot of talent in our organization and because of that we have a significant presence on area nonprofit boards of directors. We also look for opportunities to roll up our sleeves and serve, and we spend thousands of hours each year doing that.”
“PeoplesBank has been so amazing,” stated Hannah Bush, Company Manager for Ballet Hartford. “They welcomed us right into their facility and sat down with me as I explained Ballet Hartford and shared our heart, and they are behind us, asking how they can help.” Ballet Hartford produces programs that incorporate historical, classical ballet and new, artistically diverse choreographic works, providing their audiences with performances that both uphold tradition and celebrate innovation.
Chris Nikolis of Suffield Little League and Suffield PMC Kids Ride has experienced the depth of PeoplesBank’s support firsthand: “If you go to any event in town, whether it’s Suffield Little League or Suffield on the Green, you are going to see the PeoplesBank logo as a proud sponsor.”
From the start, Kate Shafer, Director of Development, Hands on Hartford, was impressed by the commitment PeoplesBank made when it opened its West Hartford Banking Center. “We have a new relationship with PeoplesBank, and I am just completely blown away by the support that they have given us.”
More information on PeoplesBank Corporate Responsibility and how to apply for a donation can be found at bankatpeoples.com/support.
About:
PeoplesBank is a leader in innovation, corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability, and employee engagement. Our three LEED® certified offices are environmentally friendly, and we have financed more than $188 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy projects.
As the largest community bank in the market, we have a unique ability to help the communities we serve through volunteer efforts and millions of dollars in donations to charitable and civic causes.
PeoplesBank is a mutual bank and therefore is responsible to our depositors, employees, and the community. This organizational structure allows us to focus on the long-term viability of the bank and the best interests of our customers. We currently have 20 banking centers located in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Media Contact
GCAi for PeoplesBank
Mary Cate Mannion, 413.736.2245
mcmannion@gcaionline.com###
Bergenn Financial Group Opens Doors in West Hartford Center
West Hartford, CT: Eric Bergenn of West Hartford, CT has launched Bergenn Financial Group to serve local families and businesses with financial planning and investment management services. Bergenn Financial Group is located at 45 South Main Street, suite 203. Eric has been a Financial Advisor for about 10 years and has spent the last 4 with New England Financial Group in West Hartford Center.
“I’m excited to build on my longstanding business relationships in town and to offer an experience tailored to better serve my existing clients and others who may be seeking advice in West Hartford and the surrounding areas,” said Eric Bergenn – Financial Advisor, Founder, and President of Bergenn Financial Group. “Although I’ll miss working with some great people at New England Financial Group & Baystate Financial, I’m really excited to be able to build something that I think will benefit my clients and the community.”
Bergenn Financial Group is committed to being involved in the local community by joining the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the West Hartford Center Business Association, and supporting other local businesses and causes.
For more information, please contact:
Eric Bergenn
860-544-5729
For more information on Bergenn Financial Group: