Rodia Elected Board Chairman

Of Visiting Nurse Services

BRIDGEPORT — The Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut has elected Robert V. Rodia of Newtown as the new chairman of the board. Mr Rodia is president and chief executive officer of Peoples Securities, Inc., of Bridgeport.

“We at VNS of Connecticut are looking forward to the dynamic leadership qualities that Mr Rodia brings to our organization,” said William F. Sullivan, Jr, president and CEO of VNS of CT. “Bob Rodia is a leader. Today when so few individuals step up to the plate and accept greater challenges, Bob Rodia has accepted a major challenge. He is taking the chairmanship at a time when home care is turbulent and VNS of CT is coming into its own as a leader in our market.”

At a recent meeting of VNS management, Mr Rodia presented his view of leadership. “Leaders do a couple of things,” he said. “They inspire and they lead by example.”

From his days growing up in Bridgeport to his current role with People’s Securities, Bob Rodia has demonstrated that his vision of leadership is one born of experience. When asked about how he became involved with VNS, Mr Rodia said, “I learned early on in life that when you achieve a measure of success for yourself, it’s important to give something back. This is a philosophy that I’ve tried to follow personally, but I should point out that People’s Bank has been instrumental in providing that opportunity. As an organization, they too have recognized the value of supporting the community in which they thrive. By affording me and others in the organization the freedom to be involved with community activities, they are setting a valuable example.”

Mr Rodia is the top executive of People’s Securities, the brokerage subsidiary of People’s Bank. He has more than 30 years of brokerage experience, primarily in the management and administrative areas of the business. Prior to joining People’s in 1983, he was employed for 16 years by Carreau, Smith, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange member firm located in Bridgeport. He served as chief operations officer and corporate treasurer, and was a member of the firm’s board of directors and senior management committee. He also was an allied member of the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr Rodia holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut, and attended graduate schools at the University of Bridgeport and American University in Washington, D.C. He also has completed professional course work at the New York Institute of Finance.

Mr Rodia is a member of the Bank Broker/Dealer Roundtable of the Securities Industry Association and has recently been elected a committee member of the National Association of Securities Dealers 11th District. He has been a member of the VNS board of directors since 1987, most recently serving as vice chairman.

Bob Rodia and his wife, Barbara, live in Newtown and are involved in the breeding and raising of future guide dogs for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program located in Yorktown Heights and Patterson, N.Y.

VNS provides home health care services to residents of nearly 50 communities in Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven counties. Last year nearly 500 VNS employees and volunteers made more than 280,000 home visits to more than 5,500 patients. Core services include skilled nursing for adults’ physical, occupational, and speech therapy; medical social work; home health aides; and the Hospice at Home program. An affiliate of St Vincent’s Health Services, VNS has been providing continuous service to those in need since 1909.

Mr Rodia succeeded Allan F. Tibbitts, who stepped down as chairman of the board after many years of leadership. Mr Tibbitts will remain a member of the board.