On June 6, 2007, State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill honored elementary school children from across the Commonwealth for their participation in a contest highlighting the ABC’s of money management.

Treasurer Cahill hosted more than 100 students, parents, school administrators and elected officials at a ceremony in the State House’s Great Hall where he announced the winners of the Saving Makes “Cents” acrostic poem contest.

“It is never too early to start learning about the importance of saving money and responsible spending,” said Treasurer Cahill. “I would like to congratulate all of the students that participated in the contest, as well as thank the teachers that have made financial education a priority in their classrooms.”

Over 1,500 entries were received from more than 100 elementary schools throughout the state. Four students from our local area were chosen and invited to the State House to receive their savings bond and citation. Our local winners are Breanna Pelski, St. Mary’s School in Ware, Garret Laliberte, Lake Street School in Spencer; Colin Krenzul, Holland Elementary School in Holland and Sara Poindexter, Old Mill Pond School in Palmer.

Country Bank was one of the sponsors of the Saving Makes “Cents” acrostic poem contest. Currently, Country Bank organizes and runs the school banking program in 17 of our local schools. To learn more about Country Bank's $avings Makes $ense program, click here.

We were recently awarded one of three Franklin/Hampshire Workforce Development Leader Awards for 2007. The award, given annually since 2002 by the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board, or REB, is a way of highlighting area firms that have a reputation for appreciating and developing their employees.

In determining the recipients of the award, the REB looks for a community-minded, private sector company that is visible and active in community affairs. They also look to companies with a reputation for investing in its workers by developing ample in-house training, for example, or participating in public workforce development projects.

The nominations received for Country Bank noted the many employment opportunities we provide for area residents, especially women, and the fact that we provide training and excellent opportunities for advancement. Nominations also mentioned our contributions to many area private non-profit organizations in the spheres of education, social services and community development. Last but not least,our outreach to young workers was considered a strength.

We will receive a plaque from the REB at the official award ceremony to be held later this year.

Our newest branch recently opened in the Leicester Wal-Mart SuperCenter, 1620 Main Street. The new branch opened on March 14th and is our fifteenth location and our second branch in Leicester.

“The growing population of the area and the superb location convinced us that it is the right time to open another branch in town,” said Paul F. Scully, President and CEO. “This new location is all about convenience. We’re bringing the bank to where our customers shop and providing service during hours that are convenient for them. We look forward to the opening of this new branch, and providing our customers with the same quality services as we do at all of our locations.”

The official grand opening celebration was held March 20th - 24th. Customers who visited the new branch during that time received free samples from the bank’s vault- a brand new one-dollar bill! The celebration culminated on Saturday, March 24th with a grand prize drawing of a $1,000 shopping Spree which was won by Brenda Lee Bellizzi of Spencer.

The Wal-Mart location is a full-service branch, providing complete personal and business banking services. Wendie Lafreniere, who has over seven years of banking experience in the local market, serves as branch manager. Banking hours are Monday through Friday 9:00am to 7:00pm, Saturday 10:00am to 4:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am to 4pm. The in-store ATM is available during store hours from 6:00am to midnight each day.

On Saturday, March 24th, Country Bank sponsored a Child ID Safety event in conjunction with The Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety and the Molly Bish Foundation.

The event took place at Country Bank’s Leicester Wal-Mart Grand Opening where we provided ID kits and photos for over 100 children.

The Molly Bish Foundation was created by John and Magi Bish, the parents of Molly Bish who was abducted in the summer of 2000 while working at Comins Pond in Warren, MA. Her remains were found three years later, just five miles from her family’s home. Since that time, her parents have worked tirelessly to promote child safety through the Molly Bish Foundation.

The Molly Bish Foundation is devoted to promoting child safety through education and prevention. The cornerstone of the Foundation is the distribution of complimentary child identification kits that contain a current head and shoulders photograph and a professionally made set of fingerprints that can be used to help locate a missing child. To date, the Foundation has distributed ID kits to over 120,000 individuals throughout New England, and the numbers continue to grow each day.