Coakley Speaks At MountainOne Annual Meeting

05:03PM / Tuesday, May 01, 2007

State Attorney General Martha Coakley and MountainOne Financial Partners President and CEO Stephen Crowe [submitted photo]

Williamstown - MountainOne Financial Partners, MHC, held its fifth annual meeting on April 30, 2007 at the Williams Inn in Williamstown.

MountainOne Financial Partners is an affiliation between Hoosac Bank,
Williamstown Savings Bank, Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins Insurance Agency, and True North Financial Services.

Attorney General Coakley

Featured speaker at the event was Martha Coakley, the first female attorney general in Massachusetts. Coakley is a Berkshire County native. Her father was Edward Coakley, former President of Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins.

Martha Coakley grew up in North Adams, graduated from Drury High School, and is also a Williams College graduate.

"We're honored that Attorney General Coakley was able to speak at our event," Stephen Crowe, president and CEO of MountainOne
Financial Partners, said. "With her strong Northern Berkshire roots and her family connection to Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan and Collins, it was very fitting to ask her to address our corporators."

Coakley was elected attorney general in 2006. Prior to that, she served as Middlesex District Attorney, Chief of the Child Abuse Protection Unit, Special Attorney to the Boston Organized Crime Strike Force, and Assistant District Attorney in the Lowell District Court office. She began her career as an associate at the law firm of Parker, Coulter, Daley & White, and later practiced at Goodwin Proctor, both in Boston. Coakley received a BA degree, cum laude, from Williams College in 1975, and a JD degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1979.

Corporate Overview

Crowe provided an overview of MountainOne initiatives implemented in 2006, discussed banking and interest rate trends and forecasts, and presented the company's direction for 2007. A key element will be continuing to leverage the partner affiliation, with a goal of providing comprehensive financial services to individuals and businesses for life.

"2006 was a very challenging year for community banks," said Crowe.
"Competition for loans and deposits was exacerbated by population,
demographic, and economic forces in our region that are not favorable to community banks. In addition, the inverted yield curve lowered margins as the Federal Reserve continued to raise short term interest rates through mid-year."

In December 2006, the MountainOne Financial Partners Board of Trustees voted to form a strategic partnership with South Coastal Bank, a mutual bank located in Rockland, MA. That process should conclude in mid-2007, pending regulatory approvals. Crowe noted that MountainOne will continue to explore similar opportunities, which offer the potential for growth related to business lending, as well as operational efficiencies.

Financial Report

Chief Financial Officer Donald Keagan provided a financial overview of 2006, reporting that assets reached a new high of $650 million, representing a 6% increase over the prior year. Deposits and loans also grew by 6%; year-end deposits were at $347 million and the loan portfolio balance was $283 million. MountainOne also continues to maintain a very strong capital position of nearly $60 million.

Elections

During the meeting, Steven Klass was elected as a corporator and will serve a 10-year term. Klass is Vice President for Operations at Williams College. Prior to his arrival at Williams, Klass served at both the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester. He received a B.A. with Honors in an Interdisciplinary Major from Hobart College and an M.S. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Rochester. In the community, Klass serves as a Corporator and Trustee of Northern Berkshire Healthcare, sitting on the Compensation Committee and chairing the Board's Finance
Committee; he also served on the Northern Berkshire Healthcare Task Force.

In addition, he and his family are active members of the First Baptist Church of Williamstown. He lives in Williamstown with his wife Odette and their three sons.

State law mandates that mutual savings bank corporators who are elected to 10-year terms must be depositors of the institution they serve, either at the time of their election or within 30 days thereafter. Their primary responsibilities include electing the company's trustees from the body of corporators and electing the president and other officers. They are also responsible for approving changes in the bylaws and corporate structure.

Corporators re-elected to 10-year terms include Daniel Campbell, Patricia Campbell, Thomas Elder, Marilyn Faulkner, David Fowle, Susan Gold, Bruce Grinnell, Thomas Kaegi, Felix Puccio, Leslie Reed-Evans, Denise Richardello, and Donald Trimarchi. Trustees re-elected to three-year terms include Robert Collins, Maynard Hodgdon, John Holden, Hulda Hardman-Jowett, and Bradley Svrluga.

Re-elected officers include Chairman of the Board John Merselis, Jr., President and CEO Stephen Crowe, Executive Vice-president Donald Keagan, and Clerk Richard Bullet.

Stephen Long was elected as an honorary director. Long has served as a director for Hoosac Bank since 1976 and as chairman since 2002. He was first elected a corporator in 1972 and was elected to the bank's Board of Investment in 1986. He retired from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2000, where he served as associate vice president.

Junior Board of Directors

Members of the MountainOne Financial Partners Junior Board of Directors attended their first Annual Meeting, where they received Certificates of Participation. This inaugural group, representing the five northern Berkshire high schools, included officers: Kaitlin Roy (Chairman), Alyssa Pilling (Vice Chairman), Owen Morris (Secretary), Matt LaBombard (Project Manager), Corbin Apkin (Public Relations Manager) and members: Kollin Allard, Kimberlee Guettler, Veronica Kelly, Kate Reardon, and Samantha Zeitler.

By working in partnership, the companies of MountainOne offer an extensive range of personal and business banking services, customized insurance products, and comprehensive investment management for individuals and businesses. Hoosac Bank, established in 1848, has offices in North Adams and Williamstown; Williamstown Savings Bank, founded in 1892, has an office in Williamstown; Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins Insurance Agency, founded in
1927 and celebrating its 80th year, serves personal and business customers through offices in North Adams, Williamstown, and Adams. True North Financial Services, established in 1997, is a registered broker dealer, providing investment, life insurance, retirement planning, and employee benefit services to personal and business customers through offices in North Adams, Williamstown, and Pittsfield.