Bank president Paul Scully said many of the towns served by the bank were affected by the tornado, and the bank and its employees want to help.
WARE – “It’s times like these that really make you understand the strength of a community” said Paul Scully, president and chief executive officer of Country Bank.
Many of the towns served by Country Bank were affected by the June 1 tornado, said Scully, in announcing how the bank and its employees moved to help their communities.
“ The immediate need was to get the emergency crews into those areas most affected and allow them to do their work and get people reconnected with their homes to assess property damage. So many people were left with severe property damage and others lost their entire homes or businesses. The bank delivered food, water and necessities to the work crews and waited to learn what next steps would help most to assist the families and businesses most impacted,” Scully said.
“Sadly, one of our own employees lost her home in Brimfield. The days following the tornado many of our staff helped her family dig through debris and salvage as much as possible, all the while trying to comfort their family and offer whatever other assistance we could,” he said. “It was a very emotional time for all of us. Now, providing home-cooked meals and emotional support is one way we are all trying to reach out to help.”
“With so many communities impacted we wanted to make sure we reached as many of our local communities as possible” said Scully.
He said Country Bank has been working closely with state and local officials to help determine the best way possible to offer financial assistance to residents.
The bank is contributing $25,000 each to the Harding Fund in Brimfield, the Monson Tornado Relief Fund and the Wilbraham Tornado Victim’s Relief Fund.
“Although we cannot replace what was lost we can try to offer whatever assistance we can. Our thoughts will continue to be with the many people who lost so much and we will continue to support our community as it rebuilds and remains strong,” Scully said.
Country Bank serves central and Western Massachusetts with 14 offices.