 Jewett City Savings Bank has donated a battery-powered automated external defibrillator to the Griswold Public Schools. According to Kevin C. Merchant, president and CEO, the donation was made to support the school system’s fundraising campaign to acquire a minimum of four of the life-saving devices, to ensure their availability for the school population. The need for the defibrillators was brought to light by the tragic death of Larry Pontbriant, a Norwich Free Academy student, due to sudden cardiac arrest. “We encourage everyone to join in this defibrillator fundraising effort to help save a life by donating to this worthy cause,” said Merchant. The portable defibrillators cost approximately $2,000 each, and donations toward the purchase of additional units for the schools can be made by contacting Athletic Director Glenn LaBossiere at 376-7636. Jewett City Savings Bank has a long tradition of involvement with the local schools, including providing academic and community service scholarships and class marshal awards and supporting activities such as Project Safe Graduation, Drama Department productions and the Booster Club. Pictured from left to right: Yvonne Palasky, Chair, Griswold High School Parent Advisory Council; Glenn LaBossiere, Athletic Director, Griswold High School and AED fundraiser co-coordinator; Kevin Merchant, President and CEO, Jewett City Savings Bank; Dr. Mark Frizzell, Principal, Griswold High School; and Sharon DeRico, Griswold High School Health Aide and AED fundraiser co-coordinator.
 2007 giving exceeds $50,000The
Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation recently awarded $32,000 to a total
of 21 local non-profit civic and charitable groups, according to
Foundation President Kevin C. Merchant.
Established
in 2003 to reinforce, encourage, and support the Bank’s ongoing
commitment to the well-being of the communities it serves, the
Foundation has awarded more than $50,000 in grants this year alone.
Ten
local fire and ambulance companies each received $1,000 for a variety
of purposes from equipment and supplies to training programs and
materials that will enhance their efforts to provide for the safety of
local residents and property. Grant recipients included Atwood Hose
Fire Company, Voluntown Community Ambulance, A.A. Young Hose and Ladder
Co. #1, Moosup Fire Department, and Plainfield Fire Co. #1.
Also
receiving $1,000 Foundation gifts were the Central Village Fire Co. #1,
East Brooklyn Fire Department, Mortlake Fire Company, American Legion
Ambulance Fund, Inc. and Oneco Fire Company.
At
the opening of Jewett City Savings Bank’s new Dayville office earlier
this year, the following fire companies each received a $600 donation
from the Foundation: Attawaugan Fire Department, Danielson Fire
Department, Dayville Fire Company, East Killingly Fire Department,
South Killingly Fire Department and the Williamsville Fire Engine
Company.
Libraries
in Jewett City, Brooklyn, Moosup and Canterbury received a total of
$8,750 in awards from the Foundation. The Slater Library and Fanning
Annex was granted $3,000 to purchase a new copier for use by staff and
the public. The Brooklyn Town Library Association received $2,800 to
buy three laptop computers for its existing wireless network, available
free to the public. The Aldrich Free Public Library in Moosup will use
its $2,650 award to install an “Early Literacy Station” for youngsters,
and the Canterbury Public Library will use the Foundation’s gift of
$300 to educate patrons about carbon dioxide and how to reduce their
“carbon footprint” and help address the issue of global warming.
The
Foundation awarded Hospice of Southeastern Connecticut in Uncasville
the amount of $2,000 to support its Patient Care Fund, which covers
Hospice supplies and services that are not reimbursed by insurance.
The Griswold Regional Visiting Nurse Agency in Jewett City received
$2,000 to continue the use of its telehealth monitoring system. A
$3,000 gift to the St. Mary Food Pantry in Jewett City will help
purchase food during the year for the needy families of the area.
The
Thames Valley Music School in New London received a grant of $2,000 to
provide scholarships for underprivileged students to participate in the
Thames Valley Youth Symphony and string ensembles. The Friends of Camp
Quinebaug, Inc. will use its $500 gift from the Foundation for
materials to implement a more-varied recreational program for
individuals and their families.
United
Community & Family Services in Norwich received $2,500 from the
Foundation to purchase medical equipment to set up an exam room at its
new Griswold site, and United Services, Inc. in Dayville will apply its
$1,500 gift to implement a “Home and Community Safety Education”
component to its PA/PEAS programs.
Additional
grants awarded this year include $1,000 to each of the four area
hospitals in response to their annual appeal campaigns; Backus Hospital
in Norwich, Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Natchaug Hospital in
Mansfield, and Windham Hospital in Willimantic. The BackusCare project
will be receiving the second $5,000 pledge of a five-year campaign
towards improving the emergency department, surgical services for
inpatients and outpatients, medical-surgical inpatient units, and
cancer care services.
Performing
Arts of Northeast Connecticut is receiving a $1,000 grant to support
the Children’s Educational Opera Program, which will enable nearly
3,000 fifth grade students from the 26-town area to attend a live
performance. The Slater Library Corporation in Jewett City also
received a $1,000 grant in response to its annual campaign.
Kevin
C. Merchant, president and CEO of Jewett City Savings Bank, has
announced the promotions of James A. McDonald of Essex and Kevin Goyen
of East Hampton to positions of increased responsibility.
 McDonald
has been promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer,
with administrative oversight over the finance, information technology
and deposit operations functions. He joined Jewett City Savings Bank in
1999 as controller, and was named vice president and controller in 2000
and to his most recent position as vice president and treasurer in 2001.
He
began his financial services career 23 years ago with New Haven Savings
Bank, advancing to positions of increased responsibility in the areas
of accounting and operations with American National Bank, Founders
Bank, Bank of New Haven and Citizens Bank of Connecticut prior to
joining Jewett City Savings Bank.
A
graduate of Enfield (CT) High School, McDonald attended Providence
College and Southern Connecticut State University in Hamden, CT, the
New England School of Banking and the American Bankers Association
Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
 Goyen,
who was named technology manager in 2006, has been promoted to customer
information security officer. He joined Jewett City Savings Bank as
systems administrator in 1999.
He
served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years as a naval air crewman and
performed anti-submarine operations. He became a Master at Arms 1st
class during his second enlistment in the Navy. Following his military
service, he utilized computer skills gained as a hobby to land an
entry-level job as a field service technician, gaining network and
server skills and experience prior to joining the Bank.
Goyen is a graduate of Manchester (CT) Community College.
Safeguard against fraud and identity theft
Jewett
City Savings Bank has joined the Go Direct campaign sponsored by the
U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks, to help
senior citizens protect their monthly Social Security payments from
financial crime.
Go Direct urges seniors, and others receiving federal benefit payments, to switch from paper checks to direct deposit.
“Direct
deposit is safer, easier and more convenient than paper checks,” says
Kevin Merchant, president and CEO of Jewett City Savings Bank, “and it
gives seniors more control over their money.”
Merchant added that direct deposit eliminates the risk of forged checks and helps safeguard against identity theft.
“Last
year alone, almost 57,000 checks issued by the U.S. Department of the
Treasury were forged, totaling more than $54 million,” he said.
“Although paper checks make up only 20 percent of the total number of
Social Security payments, they account for more than 90 percent of
reported problems.”
The
Go Direct campaign makes switching to direct deposit easy with a
toll-free enrollment number, (800) 333-1795 and web site,
www.GoDirect.org. Switching to direct deposit is free and takes only a
few minutes.
The
bank’s customer service representatives will be happy to answer
individual questions about direct deposit of Social Security and other
payments into a Jewett City Savings Bank account, Merchant said.
Residents dreading this winter’s high cost of home heating fuel can find relief at Jewett City Savings Bank.
For
a limited time only, Jewett City Savings Bank is offering consumers the
opportunity to earn a higher return on money they put aside to pay for
energy costs this winter. The special Energy Savings Account will pay a
guaranteed rate through April 18, 2008, on accounts originally opened
by September 30, 2007, but, now extended to October 13, 2007.
“This
is a wonderful way to help offset the high cost of fuel,” said Kevin C.
Merchant, president and CEO of Jewett City Savings Bank, “and saving
systematically, in advance, also makes good sense.”
A
minimum of $100 is required to open an Energy Savings Account, and
funds can be added at any time, in any amount. Customers can make up to
six transfers (including writing three checks) from the account each
month. The account is available at all offices of Jewett City Savings
Bank.
 For the 60th
consecutive quarter, Jewett City Savings Bank has earned a 5-Star
Superior rating for financial strength from BauerFinancial, Inc., an
independent national bank research firm.
BauerFinancial
conducts a financial analysis of U.S. banks according to comprehensive
formulas used to evaluate the institution’s financial performance. The
banks are then assigned a star rating from zero to five, with five
stars being the strongest.
Bank
president Kevin C. Merchant stated that this most recent award places
Jewett City Savings Bank in an elite group of banks considered
“Exceptional Performance Banks” by the rating firm. Jewett
City Savings Bank is a mutual savings bank operating full-service
offices in Jewett City, Brooklyn, Central Village, and Dayville.
Established in 1873, the Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Based
in Coral Gables, Florida, BauerFinancial, Inc. is the nation’s leading
independent bank rating firm. It has been reporting on and analyzing
the performance of US banks, thrifts and credit unions since 1983.
 Kevin
C. Merchant, a native of Norwich, has assumed the position of president
and chief executive officer of Jewett City Savings Bank following the
June 30 retirement of Reino E. Horstmeyer.
Merchant
has over three decades of financial services experience, and has spent
the past 26 years with Jewett City Savings Bank. He joined the Bank in
1981 as an assistant vice president, and was promoted to vice president
two years later. He was named senior vice president in 2000.
“Kevin
is a very talented banker,” Horstmeyer said of his successor. “He is
well respected by his colleagues, and will bring a new enthusiasm and
vision to the position.”
A
graduate of Norwich Free Academy, Merchant went on to study at Central
CT State University in New Britain, earning a bachelor’s degree in
administrative sciences. He is a member of Jewett City Businessmen’s
Club and several banking organizations and local chambers of commerce.
Until recently, he was also actively involved with his daughters,
Kristen and Lindsay, in their youth basketball and softball activities
and coached the Connecticut Green Devils AAU fastpitch softball team.
Merchant lives in Sterling with his wife, Lori, and stepchildren Ariel and Zachary.
 Reino
E. Horstmeyer, president and CEO of Jewett City Savings Bank,
announced today that Brandy S. Landry of Danielson has been named
branch manager/business development officer for the Bank’s newest
full-service office, located at 560 Hartford Pike in Dayville.
Landry
joins Jewett City Savings Bank from Citizens Bank in Colchester, where
she was manager/business banking officer. She began her banking career
at age 18 as a teller at Savings Bank of Manchester, joining Citizens
Bank in 1999 as assistant manager at the Plainfield office. Her experience also includes branch management with Westbank in Putnam/Danielson.
An
honor roll graduate of Putnam High School, Landry studied business at
Quinebaug Valley Community-Technical College. She is a member of the
BNI Group and the Chamber of Commerce.
Richard
Duda, a member of the Jewett City Savings Bank Board of Directors since
1982, retired from that post at the Bank’s 134th Annual Meeting of
Corporators on March 28 at the Jacques Cartier Club in Jewett City.
Duda,
a Jewett City resident, served as chairman of the Board from 1998 -
2004 after serving as vice chairman for the prior five years. He was a
longstanding member of the nominating and audit committees during his
tenure, and also served on the bylaws, benefits, executive, investment
and long range planning committees.
“Attorney
Duda has provided wise counsel and guidance to the Board and its
committees, and has left his imprint on many of our decisions and who
we are today,” said Reino E. Hortsmeyer, president and CEO of Jewett
City Savings Bank.
Horstmeyer
cited Duda’s many contributions during his tenure, including his
involvement and counsel in areas such as land acquisition and
conveyance, branch and office construction and renovations, office
consolidations, the introduction of banking technology, the creation of
the Griswold High School scholarship trust, and the establishment of
the Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation.
“Richard’s
association with the Bank as a Director, and his insights as Bank
counsel, have been extremely beneficial,” said Horstmeyer. “His
perspectives, his caring about the Bank and the community, and his
attention to detail have effectively guided us in our deliberations and
decisions.
“During
his 25 years on the Board, the Bank has done many things of which we
can be proud, and which have improved the quality of life in the
communities we serve,” added Horstmeyer.
Diane
L. Manning of Jewett City was elected to the Board of Directors of
Jewett City Savings Bank at the 134th Annual Meeting of Corporators
held on March 28 at the Jacques Cartier Club in Jewett City. Manning
has been a Corporator of the Bank since 2004.
She
was elected to serve the remainder of the term of Director Richard Duda
of Jewett City, who retired recently after 25 years of service to the
Bank.
Manning
is president and CEO of United Services, Inc. in Dayville, a social and
mental health services provider with 250 employees at 16 sites
throughout Northeastern Connecticut and an annual operating budget of
$13.4 million
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