Great Corporate Friends

For Troubled Times

To The Editor:

In these troubled times with so many bank failures and economic chaos, it is comforting to have our sturdy Newtown Savings Bank such a presence in our town. Now it is true, like some of their larger brothers, the Newtown Savings Bank does sell some of their mortgages but, unlike them, they continue to service the accounts. Thus, when you have a problem you are able to talk to someone at the Newtown Savings Bank, and not some totally removed person half a country away. Also, our local institution has made it a policy to avoid risky loans, thus the numbers of foreclosures on their books is much less than elsewhere. When you add that to the friendly tellers such as Ann, Debbie, Kent, and Ryan who so cheerfully greet you, and bank officers like John Trentacosta, Kim Cotter, and Brian Amey, who always prove helpful, you come up with a first rate bank. As a result, Newtown Savings Bank still has plenty of money to lend to deserving businesses and individuals.

In addition, it is a bank policy to donate money to charitable organizations located in every community that has a Newtown Savings Bank branch in it. We all know about their largesse in Newtown and that is true in other towns, as well. Finally, it is a bank policy that every employee by the end of 2009 must be involved in volunteer activities in their town. Wow! We are so lucky to have the Newtown Savings Bank in our community.

There are many other great institutions in our town such as the library, the movie theatre and the hardware store, but let me just single out one other. Don Bates’ Drug Center is my idea of what a great drug store should be. Friendly, courteous service awaits all comers. And they go out of their way to get things their patrons need, often delivering the needed product after hours. A number of people I drive for FISH speak highly of the Drug Center and wouldn’t go elsewhere. Finally, Don Bates doesn’t believe in smoking, and so he stopped selling tobacco products, even though that meant a considerable lessoning of profit. Now I call that an honorable man.

In these worrisome times, it is great to have such companies as the Newtown Savings Bank and the Drug Center that we can rely on.

Sincerely,

Gordon M Williams

32 Main Street, Newtown October 12, 2008