Robert P. Lamprey, CEO of Framingham Co-operative Bank, has announced the promotions of Lawrence E. Erickson, Steven M. Sousa, Joseph M. Vincent, and Michael J. Bilinsky, Jr.












Lawrence Erickson, formerly senior vice president, is now executive vice president. A Framingham resident, he has been with the Bank since January 1990. He is responsible for the strategic expansion and management of the Bank’s commercial and residential loan portfolios.

Steven Sousa has been promoted from vice president to senior vice president. He joined the Bank in 2005 as vice president of retail banking with more than 25 years of community banking experience. His responsibilities include the oversight of retail banking, electronic banking, business development and marketing, and human resources. He is a Dedham resident.

Joseph Vincent, formerly vice president and controller, was promoted to senior vice president. A Dracut resident, he came to the Bank in 1992 with experience gained from positions with COMFED Savings Bank, KPMG Peat Marwick and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In addition to his role as controller, he oversees the Bank’s technology and security.

Michael Bilinsky was promoted from assistant treasurer to assistant vice president. Bilinsky  serves as the Bank’s business development officer, building strategic relationships and partnerships with local enterprises. He also serves as manager of the Bank’s main office, he is responsible for overall branch performance and for maintaining the Bank’s high standards for customer satisfaction. A Framingham native, he is now a Marlborough resident.

A family tradition continues

On June 14th of this year, Vice President Nancy Devine – our longest-term employee — celebrated her 37th anniversary with Framingham Co-operative Bank!

In 1971, to help work her way through college as a liberal arts and sociology major at the University of Southern Maine, Nancy took over a part-time teller’s position at the Bank (at $2.22 an hour) that had been vacated by her sister Linda following Linda’s college graduation. “I saved the Bank money,” Nancy says. “They already had a nameplate saying ‘Miss Devine’ and it wasn’t being used!”

Legacy
The family legacy at the Bank actually goes further back than the Devine sisters. Their great-grandfather James Turner, a Framingham dairy owner, was a member of the Board of Directors from the 1930’s up to the time of his death in 1970.

Her own experience as a Framingham Co-operative Bank employee— coupled with Mr. Turner’s oft-expressed fondness and high regard for the Bank — made quite an impression. Nancy returned home after graduation and took a full-time teller position with the Bank.

“Mr. Atwell, the president at the time, interviewed me for the job,” she recalls. He asked me three questions: Are you honest? Are you good in math? When can you start?”

Of all the bank activities Nancy has been involved in over the years, she says that her time “on the window,” where direct interaction with customers was key, provided perhaps the greatest memories.

Community ties
The significance of that early teller experience may also be rooted in old family values of “treating the customer right.” Nancy’s mother Doris owned Devine’s Card and Gift Shop on Union Avenue in downtown Framingham for nearly 25 years, and worked with customers at the old Gilchrist’s store downtown for several years before that. Dad Harry was a customer service manager for Stop and Shop operations in Norwood, Needham and Marlborough for nearly 46 years. “When I first started at the Bank, he and I used to have discussions about which was the harder job: teller or cashier!”

Memories
Scores of Bank customers have provided Nancy with memories she cherishes.

“I met so many people — many of whom are personal friends now,” she says. “And I watched customers’ families grow through the years, and was excited to have them share their stories with me.

“Many years ago, I was the first new face one particular customer saw when he left Framingham Union Hospital following the birth of his first child: a son named Jeffrey.

“The man shared his pride and excitement with me that morning, and from then on — up to this day — he looks for me when he is in the Bank, to catch me up on Jeffrey’s milestones and accomplishments. ‘Can you believe Jeffrey is a year old today…Jeffrey started school…Jeffrey celebrated his bar mitzvah…Jeffrey is off to college…Jeffrey graduated….Jeffrey got his first job!’

“Jeffrey and his dad became like family to me,” says Nancy. “Where else are you going to find something like that? It was the same way with many of our customers — they become like family to us, and the Bank is also like a family to them.”

Nancy’s own family also gets a fair share of her attention, too, including her mother who still live in the nearby Framingham home near Learned Pond where Nancy grew up, four sisters, three nieces and a nephew.

Go Sox!
 If there’s time left over from family, you’ll find Nancy rooting for the Home Team (whether it’s the Sox, Pats or Celtics), tending the vegetable garden at her   home in Ashland, golfing or skiing, cooking, or on her weather-permitting three-mile daily walk.

Then there are vacations at the family cottage at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, or time spent  at Sunday River or Killington. But the vacation highlight of her life, she says, was the trip to Maui she won at a Jimmy Fund golf tournament ten years ago. And, wouldn’t you know, it was a Bank customer who had invited her to play in the Tournament in the first place!

Today, Nancy’s focus at the Bank includes helping customers open and/or manage their IRAs (individual retirement accounts) and, of course, keeping up with the customer relationships she has established over the years.

No Way!
Would she ever consider leaving her position at Framingham Co-operative Bank?

“Only if I could take all the customers with me,” she says. “We have the best customers.

“They are amazing.”

Nancy Devine — one of the people you can count on at Framingham Co-operative Bank!

Director Paul R. Romeo of Ashland retired from the Board recently after 37 years of service and countless contributions as a member of several committees during his tenure.

For over 30 years, Paul was the owner and proprietor of Romeo’s Supermarket on Union Street in Ashland, a family business started by his parents. The market closed in 1986.

An Ashland native and Ashland High School graduate, he was a member of the Ashland Finance Committee for 16 years, serving as chairman for six years. He was also Ashland’s treasurer and tax collector for nine years. Devoted to his community, Paul was proud to sponsor local Boy Scout Troop #2 and Little League, Babe Ruth and youth hockey teams in the town.

Paul is a lifetime member of The 100 Club of Massachusetts, an organization founded in 1959 to assist families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty.

He and his wife, Marie, have seven children, 13 grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. His father-in-law, Nicholas Montal of Framingham, is one of the Bank’s longest-term customers

“The day in 1971 when Mr. O’Brien (Philip R. O’Brien, then chairman of the Board) and Mr. Hickson (Charles W. Hickson, executive vice president at the time, later president and CEO) took me out to lunch and asked me to serve on the Board of Directors was one of the happiest days in my life,” Paul recalls today. “You could have knocked me over with a feather!”

He will become an Honorary Director, along with Charles W. Hickson, Richard D. Karb and Joseph F. Shay.

Current Board members are Robert P. Lamprey, chairman; Susan E. Acton, Paul V. Galvani; Mark R. Haranas; Robert J. Harrington; Clement T. Lambert; James P. Shay; and William R. Swanson.

Robert P. Lamprey, CEO of Framingham Co-operative Bank, announced today that Michael Semizoglou has joined the Bank’s commercial lending team as an assistant vice president.

Semizoglou joins the bank from Metro Credit Union, where he was an assistant vice president and commercial services officer. Previously, he served as business development and sales manager and assistant vice president with TD Banknorth, where he was a President’s Award nominee.

A Brighton resident, he is currently continuing his education at Boston’s Emmanuel College and will earn the bachelor of science degree upon completion of his studies in December.  

Semizoglou is a member of the Board of Directors and treasurer of Washington Gateway, a Boston Main Street Program dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of a 1.4 mile district in Boston’s South End/Lower Roxbury neighborhood. The Washington Gateway program — a partnership of volunteers, neighborhood organizations, real estate developers, government and businesses, has brought new businesses, storefront improvements, residential and commercial developments, preservation projects and rejuvenated open space to the community since its work began in 1997.

The Board of Directors of Framingham Co-operative Bank has elected Mark R. Haranas of Hopkinton as president and chief operating officer, according to an announcement made today by Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Board.

Haranas will assume the position on July 1. Lamprey will continue in his role as chief executive officer and Board chairman. As president and chief operating officer, Haranas will work closely with Lamprey in the overall administration of the Bank.

Haranas is a partner in the Framingham law firm of Haranas, Mayer, Jachowicz & Galvani, LLP, and has served as general counsel to the Bank for nearly two decades. The firm, which specializes in areas including real estate financing, zoning issues, workers’ compensation and family law, will continue to represent the Bank. Haranas will relinquish his role with the firm.

A Framingham native, Haranas attended Framingham public schools and Framingham High School and is a 1976 graduate of Framingham State College. He received a juris doctor degree from the New England School of Law in 1983, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar that same year. He is a member of the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts.

Elected to the Framingham Co-operative Bank Board of Directors in 2000, Haranas will remain on that Board. He also serves as a trustee of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Project Just Because, of Hopkinton.

Haranas and his wife, Susan, are the parents of three sons.

Robert P. Lamprey, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank, announced today that Brian E. Ledwith has joined the Bank as a vice president and member of the commercial lending team.

Ledwith has more than 17 years of experience in commercial and real estate investment lending. Most recently, he was vice president/senior retail lending officer and commercial lending officer at Benjamin Franklin Bank. Previously, he served as vice president/senior loan officer with Medway Cooperative Bank. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and graduated with honors from the National School of Banking.

A Franklin resident, Ledwith is active in Franklin youth sports, including hockey, baseball and soccer. He will be located at the Bank’s Loan Center at 160 Cochituate Road in Framingham.

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, June, 2007 … Robert P. Lamprey, president and CEO of Framingham Co-operative Bank, has announced the promotion of Rachel Stewart of Milford to assistant vice president.

Stewart will continue with her current responsibilities, which include marketing, public relations and business development, as well as managing the Bank’s  active customer relationship program, Club Advantage. She is also administrative director of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation.

Stewart joined Framingham Co-operative Bank in 1999, with more than two decades of banking experience. Her financial services background includes managing retirement accounts and SBLI Insurance sales, and she holds both Insurance and Long Term Care licenses. During her 13-year association with MetroWest Bank (now TD Banknorth), she managed the Bank’s retirement, insurance, and safe deposit departments and also its relationship banking program.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Bridgewater State College and high honors graduate of the Banking School of Finance. Early in her career, she was a teacher in the Milford Public School system.

Stewart was a member of the Bankers’ Educational Forum, and has served twice as president of the Worcester Central Chapter and also as president of the state chapter. She has served four terms as president of the Massachusetts Retirement Consortium, and is a three-time president of the New England Safe Deposit Association (NESDA). She has also a member of the Board of ABA Bank Marketing - New England Chapter and currently serves as co-chair of membership.

Framingham Co-operative Bank is a state-chartered institution established in 1889. The Bank has full-service offices in Framingham at 828 Concord Street and One Lincoln Street and a Loan Center at 160 Cochituate Road, and offers online banking services at framinghambank.com. The Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a member of the Share Insurance Fund (SIF).

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, May 29, 2007 … In 1976, a local high school graduate accepted a job as a teller at the Howard Street branch of Framingham Co-operative Bank, in downtown Framingham. That branch is no longer there, but Gail Bennett is still a Framingham Co-operative Bank employee, some 30 years later.
Bennett, a lifelong Framingham resident, was honored by the Bank for her three decades of service at its recent Employee Awards Night.

Early in her banking career, Bennett was promoted from teller to Consumer Loan Assistant, and moved to the Bank’s Concord Street office. Over the years, she added training new employees and processing and closing residential mortgages to her resume. Today, she remains with the Loan Department, where she recently took over responsibility for collections.

“Gail is an inspiration for all of our employees,” said Robert P. Lamprey, president and CEO. “I commend and appreciate her dedication and commitment to the Bank, and look forward to working with her in the years to come.”

Framingham Co-operative Bank is a state-chartered institution established in 1889. The Bank has full-service offices in Framingham at 828 Concord Street and One Lincoln Street and a Loan Center at 160 Cochituate Road, and offers online banking services at framinghambank.com. The Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a member of the Share Insurance Fund (SIF).

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, May 29, 2007 Lisa Rohmer of Ashland has been appointed as a member of the Framingham Fair Housing Committee. The appointment by the Framingham Board of Selectmen is effective through June 30, 2007, at which time Rohmer can request reappointment for a three-year term. She was sworn in by Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey.
Rohmer is vice president of residential lending at Framingham Co-operative Bank. She has more than 23 years of residential and retail lending experience.

The Fair Housing Committee is a town-appointed group of individuals who reside and/or work in Framingham. Its mission is to promote fair and open access to housing opportunities for all segments of the community. The Committee sponsors Framingham’s annual First Time Homebuyer Fair, which Rohmer has helped organize and facilitate for the past three years She also serves as a course instructor for First Time Homebuyer seminars.

A graduate of Trinity College in Washington DC and the Massachusetts Bankers Association management course, Rohmer has also completed a number of banking programs and participated in a variety of financial services workshops and educational sessions.

She has been with Framingham Co-operative Bank since 1994.

Framingham Co-operative Bank is a state-chartered institution established in 1889. The Bank has full-service offices in Framingham at 828 Concord Street and One Lincoln Street and a Loan Center at 160 Cochituate Road, and offers online banking services at framinghambank.com. The Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a member of the Share Insurance Fund (SIF).




Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey (left)
and Lisa Rohmer of Framingham Co-operative Bank.