Bank donates defıbrillator to Griswold Public Schools

	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.

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.

Jewett City Savings Bank reports a positive year at 135th Annual Meeting of Corporators
At this year’s 135th Annual Meeting of Corporators on March 26th, President and CEO Kevin C. Merchant reported a year of favorable results with notable achievements and changes for the Bank.

New faces
During the meeting, Gary Peloquin of Danielson, a corporator since 1999, was elected to the Bank’s Board of Directors. John L. Lombardi of Brooklyn, David T. Panteleakos of Woodstock, and Gabrielle Labonte of Putnam were elected as corporators of the Bank.

Gary Peloquin has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1984, and is a partner in Peloquin, Santos and Company, LLC located in Danielson. The firm offers tax preparation services to individuals, corporations, not-for-profits, estates and trusts and also provides auditing services.

Actively involved in the community, Peloquin is a member of the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Danielson Main Street, Inc., and currently serves as a member of the Board of Ethics in the Town of Brooklyn. He is a Registered Investment Advisor and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), offering retirement and estate planning as well as asset management. Peloquin is also a member of several state and national professional accounting organizations.

Peloquin has also been an instructor in accounting and real estate taxation at Quinebaug Valley Community College (QVCC), the Treasurer of the QVCC Foundation, and a recipient of the QVCC Distinguished Service Award.

John Lombardi is CEO of the Orchard Group, LLC, a consulting service for the construction industry. He is also a full time member of faculty at Quinebaug Valley Community College’s Construction Technology Department.

Lombardi serves as Chairman of United Services, Inc., as a member of Brooklyn’s Building Code Enforcement Review Board, and as a Corporator of Westcott-Wilcox Elderly Residential Housing, Inc.

David Panteleakos is the administrator and CEO of Westview Health Care Center in Dayville. He is a corporator of Day Kimball Hospital and also a member of the Day Kimball Hospital’s Philanthropic Committee.

Panteleakos is well known in northeastern Connecticut for his philanthropic work through his organization, Broadway Live Productions, LLC, which has created an entertainment and art venue in the Putnam area while donating the net proceeds of events to a variety of charitable organizations.

Gabrielle Labonte has been a practicing attorney since 1994. She has practiced in the Towns of Putnam and Killingly and has also served as Deputy Chief Clerk in Tolland Judicial District for Juvenile Matters and as the Associate General Counsel for Aetna U.S. Healthcare. In addition to her practice in estate planning and probate work, Labonte devotes her time and talent to community activities, including her service on the Board of Directors of the ARC of Quinebaug Valley, Putnam Rotary, and as a Corporator of Day Kimball Hospital.

Woven Into the Fabric of the Community
Kevin Merchant unveiled the Bank’s 2007 Annual Report – “Woven Into the Fabric of the Community” – which highlights the Bank’s commitment to serving and supporting the businesses and organizations of our local communities. Copies of the Annual Report are available at each office, or click here to download from our web site.

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Small Business Corner
Business Checking for Home-Based Businesses
Whether you are selling jewelry, providing daycare services or starting up a landscaping venture, you may be tempted to run the finances from your home-based business through your personal checking accounts.

In the article “75 Start Up Secrets,” the pros at Entrepreneur.com share tips, tricks and advice for starting a business – including how to set up your business accounting.

According to Suzanne Caplan, a Pittsburgh consultant and author of Streetwise Finance and Accounting: How to Keep Your Books and Manage Your Finances Without an MBA, a CPA, or a Ph.D, mingling your personal and business finances can confuse your bookkeeping (or bookkeeper), as well as put your business’s legal standing in jeopardy. “If you comingle your personal funds with [funds from] a corporation or an LLC, you don’t have corporate protection anymore.”

Other advice Caplan has for small businesses includes:

• Keep your finances under control
  One of the easiest ways to manage your business finances is with one of the popular small-business accounting software packages like QuickBooks or Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting. “They’re really cheap and really easy,” Caplan says. “They’ll issue your checks; they’ll do your invoicing. They’ll do everything you need to run your business and stay on track.”
• Project your cash flow
  Starting your business, you know you won’t make a profit on Day 1. By completing the exercise of projecting your cash flow (including cash-flow needs for supplies and other expenses), you’ll be able to figure out how much you have to grow your business so you can pay yourself.
• Seek professional help
  A good accountant can help keep you out of hot water at tax time. And, by buying two or three hours of time, you can have all your questions answered at a fairly low cost. “Choose a good accountant from a small firm, and buy two hours of his time,” Caplan says. “Make a list of your questions, and pay him to give you his best answers.” Suggested questions include: How do I set up my books? When do I need to file tax returns? What returns do I need to file?

Read the entire article at www.entrepreneur.com.

Keep up with Bank news at our online newsroom!
There is always something going on at Jewett City Savings Bank! Now, you can keep up-to-date with everything that’s happening – from community involvement, and Foundation updates to staff news – right at our web site. To see what’s new, or to catch up on old news, click here.