What could be more appropriate than a tried and true Framingham native at the helm of a tried and true Framingham institution? That’s exactly what happened on July 1st of this year when Mark Haranas became President of Framingham Co-operative Bank, nineteen years to the day after he first stepped foot into the local institution as the Bank’s new attorney. He may have been new to the Bank at the time, but he was certainly no stranger to Framingham. 

A real “Townie”
Mark was raised on the south side of Framingham, near the current Memorial House, formerly Memorial School. He was one of three siblings whose dad, Peter, a retired state police officer, died when Mark was only 13. Mark’s mother, Ellen, worked full-time at Bates News on Howard Street, and later for the Town of Framingham, to raise the family. Mark chipped in with his paper route — mornings, evenings and Sundays included.
    A genuine home-towner, Mark attended Memorial School, Lincoln Junior High School, Framingham South High School, and Framingham State College, where he majored in political science and history and earned a degree in 1976. Following graduation, he married the former Susan Smith, who is also a Framingham native. Susan went on to earn a nursing degree at Framingham Union Hospital School of Nursing, and Mark stuck close to home to take a job with the Framingham Board of Assessors and then became the Town’s Animal Control Officer, supervising a staff of seven, while applying for law school.

Back home
He paid his way through New England School of Law with the help of bank loans and a night job with UPS. After he received the juris doctor degree in 1983 and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar, it was back to Framingham — of course! — to practice.
    He joined the Framingham law firm of Sullivan & Sullivan, and serviced the former Framingham Savings Bank, for which the firm was general counsel at the time. He later joined and became a partner in the firm of Hargraves, Karb, Wilcox and Galvani, LLP, the general counsel to Framingham Co-operative Bank and served as the Bank’s attorney until accepting the position as president. He resigned from the firm and the successor firm (now Mayer, Antonellis, Jachowicz & Galvani) is still general counsel to the Bank. Mark’s oldest son, Peter, also an attorney, now carries on the Haranas tradition at his former firm.

Career change
Mark says that the opportunity to lead the Bank was one to which he couldn’t say “No.”
    “I have so much respect for former presidents Charlie Hickson and Bob Lamprey (still CEO and board chairman) that I couldn’t pass up the chance to learn about the business from a different perspective, and I knew I couldn’t learn from a better mentor than Bob Lamprey. “I have always told my children, to be flexible and open to change,” Mark says. “How could I not do the same?”
    Mark considers that he has always worked in service-related endeavors, and that his new role at Framingham Co-operative Bank is no exception. “Our mission is to serve the community, and we do it exceptionally well.”
    Driven by “a service mentality,” he has traditionally been one of the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night — Saturdays included. His idea of “a good day” is being able to solve problems and help others. “There is a great deal of satisfaction in that,” he says.

Nearby
The Haranas family now lives in nearby Hopkinton, where Mark was involved in coaching youth basketball and lacrosse when their children were younger. Mark and Susan’s middle son, Jim, started his first job this year as an English teacher at Charlton Regional Vocational School. Son Mark is a senior at UMass Amherst, where he is majoring in journalism.
    Elected to the Bank’s Board of Directors in 2000, Mark will continue to serve as a director and as a trustee of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation.
    His immediate plans are to help ensure that the Bank remains conservative and stays profitable. “We’ve been here since 1889; we know we’ve been doing it right, and we’ll keep doing it right.”
    Also in Mark’s future is a holiday trip to a destination where he and his wife can spend time scuba diving — a favorite activity. It’s a safe bet that he will be the first to arrive and the last to leave!