Company Notebook

Easthampton Savings Bank to Acquire Citizens National Bank
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Savings Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary of ESB Bancorp Inc., announced that ESB Bancorp has signed a definitive merger agreement with Citizens National Bancorp Inc., under which ESB Bancorp will acquire Citizens National Bancorp in a transaction valued at approximately $51.3 million. Citizens National Bancorp is the holding company for the Citizens National Bank, a $333 million bank located in Putnam, Conn. Following completion of the merger of ESB Bancorp and Citizens National Bancorp, the Citizens National Bank will merge with and into Easthampton Savings Bank. The transaction will expand Easthampton Savings Bank’s market presence into the Northeast Conn. and Central Mass. markets. Following completion of the transaction, ESB Bancorp will have consolidated assets of more than $1.3 billion and a branch network of 15 full-service offices. The transaction is expected to be accretive to ESB Bancorp’s earnings in the first year of combined operations. Easthampton Savings Bank will continue to be well-capitalized under applicable regulatory requirements following completion of the transaction. Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of Easthampton Savings Bank, stated, “we are very pleased to announce our acquisition of Citizens National Bank and to welcome the Citizens employees and customers into the ESB family. We are very familiar with Citizen’s market area, and we are excited to grow through an expansion into the Northeast Connecticut and Central Massachusetts markets. Given Citizens’ excellent reputation and franchise value in their market area, we expect to operate Citizens’ five branches under the Citizens trade name after the transaction is completed. That structure will allow us to remain acutely attentive to our existing customers and communities in the Pioneer Valley, while allowing us to expand and further develop Citizens’ market share.” Added David Conrad, president and CEO of the Citizens National Bank, “we believe this truly excellent opportunity to join ESB, a top-performing mutual bank, will serve our customers, employees, and communities very well.” The merger is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the shares of Citizens National Bancorp and receipt of customary regulatory approvals. The merger is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of 2015.

Elms College Garners $27,000 Grant to Expand Mobile Healthcare
CHICOPEE — The Elms College School of Nursing’s caRe vaN has received a one-year, $27,000 grant from the Raskob Foundation of Wilmington, Del. to expand its mobile healthcare project, which offers free nursing services to the homeless and underserved of Chicopee. The caRe vaN is a mobile clinic run by Br. Michael Duffy, assistant clinical professor, coordinator of the Accelerated Second Degree in Nursing Program, and conventual Franciscan friar. He and nursing students provide free healthcare services, including blood-pressure checks and monitoring, blood-sugar checks, foot care, episodic first aid, minor wound care, and patient education. Since 2013, the van has set up shop on Sundays in the former CVS parking lot of the Exchange Street plaza and on Tuesdays at Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen and Pantry. With this grant, “we’ll be able to expand mobile healthcare to the homeless. It also provides ongoing maintenance of our 1988 vintage van, which has a leaky roof and leaky window seals,” Duffy said. “We could bring on board a psychiatric nurse practitioner a couple hours a week. We also could bring on a driver, which could let us expand to a third day a week on the street.” He also plans to use grant funds for monthly visits from a podiatrist and a barber, and even for monthly laundry vouchers for the van’s clients — all of which are services greatly needed by local homeless people. “Everyone who gets their blood pressure and blood sugar checked would get $5 toward laundry,” he said. Without the grant, expanded services would have had to wait, Duffy said. “We wouldn’t be able to contemplate having a psychiatric RN on board. We’d have to be begging elsewhere for funding to fix our particularly leaky windshield — the rubber is shot.” The caRe vaN helps Elms students prepare for their future nursing careers, he added. “Long-range, healthcare is somewhat headed out of the typical hospital-based model we saw years ago. It’s much more clinic-based and accessible.” Students with experience in this kind of setting will be more marketable upon graduation, too. “It’s real hands-on work,” he said. “They’re working with folks in the community where they are. And it makes them think on their feet. The homeless are with us for a short period; it’s a transient culture, so they’re there for five to 10 minutes. How much can we get done? Can we encourage them to stay longer than just blood pressure and blood sugar?” Working in the van also helps students live the Elms College mission of empowering students to effect positive changes in the community and in the world, Duffy said, adding it “teaches them creative ways to respond to the demands of their chosen profession — nursing — and allows them advocate for people in need. They go hand in hand, no doubt about it.”

Berkshire Bank Earns Community Impact Award
ALBANY, N.Y. — Berkshire Bank was recently honored by the Stakeholders Foundation in Albany, N.Y. with the 2014 Capital Region Community Impact Award. The foundation’s annual awards honor exemplary companies for their philanthropic and volunteer work in the Capital Region. Berkshire Bank received the Corporate Volunteer of the Year award recognizing its X-TEAM employee-volunteer program. The awards were presented in a ceremony at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y. on Nov. 12. The Corporate Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Berkshire for its exemplary volunteer strategy that effectively integrated volunteerism into the company’s business culture, had a sizeable impact on the community, and served as an inspiration to others. Nearly 100% of bank employees in the Capital Region have participated in one of Berkshire’s company-supported projects over the last two years. With projects including fund-raising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and work with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Capital Region employees completed more than two dozen volunteer service projects in 2014, impacting thousands of lives and dozens of communities. Berkshire Bank’s X-TEAM provides all employees with paid time off to volunteer at company-supported projects. Bank employees help identify, select, plan, and execute all of the company’s volunteer work. This approach allows the bank to engage staff and choose volunteer opportunities that are important to local stakeholders. The program is also another way for Berkshire to give back to the community in addition to financial contributions of more than $2 million annually through its charitable foundations and corporate support.

WSU Names Presidential Search Committee
WESTFIELD — The Westfield State University board of trustees formally approved a motion at its Dec. 15 meeting naming campus and community leaders to serve as members of WSU’s presidential search advisory committee. The committee will be led by trustees Steven Marcus and Terrell Hill, who were appointed to serve as the chair and vice-chair, respectively, at the April board meeting. “The professionals selected for the presidential search committee offer a diversity of backgrounds, opinions, and experiences that will be essential when developing criteria, evaluating credentials, and identifying candidates for the university’s next president,” Marcus said. Committee members include Katheryn Bradford, director, Alumni Relations (APA); Junior Delgado, director, Career Services (APA); Evelyn Dina, SGA member, student representative; Joshua Frank, student trustee; Margot Hennessy, chair, Ethnic and Gender Studies, MSCA chapter president; Terrell Hill, trustee; Robin Jensen, chair, Foundation Board; Ron’na Lytle, administrative assistant, Ethnic and Gender Studies (AFSCME); Steven Marcus, trustee; Luis Perez, trustee; Carlton Pickron, vice president, Student Affairs (NUP); Henry Thomas, BHE representative; and Edward Welsh, associate professor, Mathematics (MSCA). The Presidential Search Committee members are responsible for selecting the university’s 20th president. The committee’s first task will be the selection of an executive search firm to assist in the process. A request for proposals (RFP) was posted nationally this fall, and four firms have responded. Marcus plans to convene the search committee in early January to review the four proposals and to select a finalist for presentation to the board at its next meeting on Feb. 5. As the search gets underway, a website will be established to to serve as the official resource for information and updates on the process.

G.M. Morisi Insurance Relocates to Longmeadow
LONGMEADOW — The G.W. Morisi Insurance Agency has moved to a new address after being in Springfield for 65 years. The current address is 175 Dwight Road, Suite 309, in Longmeadow. G.W. Morisi Insurance Agency is a full-service insurance agency that has been family-run for more than 65 years. It is a third-generation family business with extensive experience in a full range of personal lines and business insurance.
 
Q Smokin’ Good Food Opens in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — It’s been said there’s no place like home for the holidays, which was a challenge for Craig and Chris Spagnoli, co-owners of the new Q Smokin’ Good Food in Springfield. Craig and his son, Chris, recently opened the restaurant, with a menu influenced by Chris’ wife, Sarah Anne, who is originally from South Carolina. Together, they saw an opportunity to fuse southern-style barbecue with local flavor in their restaurant on State Street. “Mason Square and the surrounding community is a really vibrant, diverse area,” said Chris Spagnoli. “There are college students and professors, businesses, public schools, and a well-established community, so we want to see the local flavor start to reflect that diversity.” The menu includes authentic, southern-style barbecue made daily from old family recipes that are complimented by local, artisan craft beers, not to mention fan favorites for the kids, including the ‘little piggy’ pulled-pork sandwich and macaroni and cheese. “The holiday season is a great time to get together and enjoy a family meal,” said Sarah Anne Spagnoli. “At Q Smokin’ Good Food, we have great gifts ready just in time for the holidays. From gift certificates to catering for your holiday events, we can do it all.” Gift cards are 20% off during the holidays. Q Smokin’ Good Food is available as take-out and delivery as well as dine-in. The restaurant regularly features vintage Indian Motorcycles, as it is located directly across the street from the Indian Motorcycle Apartments that were previously the old Indian Motorcycle factory.