Celebrating

75 years

WATERFORD — Charter Oak Federal Credit Union is celebrating 75 years of service since its founding on Sept. 19, 1939, as a federally chartered credit union serving the needs of shipyard workers in Groton.

Charter Oak, which is eastern Connecticut’s largest credit union, was first known as the Groton Shipbuilders Federal Credit Union. Its 10 founding members placed $25 each inside a shoe box and used their $250 investment to create a lending institution for their fellow workers.

“Charter Oak began with a small investment and a big vision, and over the years we’ve never wavered in our commitment to serve the financial needs of all our members,” said Brian A. Orenstein, Charter Oak’s CEO. “Over these many decades, we’ve celebrated important milestones, greatly expanded our products and services, and achieved significant growth – but we’ve never lost sight of our mission to provide the best in financial services,” he said.

During its first year of service in 1939, the credit union’s assets grew to $5,000 and membership expanded to more than 400 members. In 1974, the credit union changed its name to the Electric Boat Federal Credit Union and in 1991 became Charter Oak Federal Credit Union to better reflect its growth in membership, broadening of services and expanded geographic reach.

 

 

 

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Celebrating

CorePlus Federal Credit Union and WINY Radio celebrated the area's Unsung Hereos. Courtesy photo.

 

 

PUTNAM — CorePlus Federal Credit Union recently held its fifth “Unsung Heroes Recognition” event on WINY 1350 AM Radio’s Morning Show with host “Gary O. 

Members of the listening audience call in to name an ‘unsung hero’ in their community or someone who may have had a special impact on their life so that that person might receive recognition as an “Unsung Hero”.  For every call received, CorePlus then donated $25 towards the local charity of the caller’s choice in the hero’s name.  

Calls came into the station from 7am until 9am and were answered by members of the CorePlus team; Brooklyn Service Manager Meg Popiak, Putnam Service Manager Elizabeth Zachow, Putnam Assistant Service Manager LisaBeth Adamick, Brooklyn Assistant Service Manager Ashley Thorstenson, and Director of Marketing, Susan Dombrowski.  162 callers named their unsung heroes, and $4050 total was donated to dozens of local non-profit and charitable organizations.  

Each caller was asked to explain why the person named was their hero and then each hero was recognized “on the air” by Nicholas Fortson, president and CEO of CorePlus Credit Union and host Gary Osbrey.  In addition to the names of the “hero’s”, listeners also were told the caller’s name and why the hero was being recognized.   All of the stories were truly from the heart, and provided genuine recognition of the many unsung heroes in our community, including veterans, cancer survivors, senior center and food pantry organizers and religious leaders and family members to name a few.  

Through the “Unsung Hero Recognition” campaign, CorePlus has donated more than $17,500 to local charities over the past five years, honoring over 700 local heroes. 

 

POMFRET CENTER — Weiss & Hale Financial, LLC. Recently announced that James Zahansky has been named senior vice president.

“We are thrilled to welcome James Zahansky as the newest team member at Weiss & Hale Financial. Jim will be taking on the senior vice president  position this month and joining the team of Jim Weiss, Laurence Hale, Heather O’Rourke, Deirdre Childs & Tammy Hollingworth. Jim’s experience and knowledge are a great addition to our practice and will certainly enhance our ability to address client and community needs for wealth management and retirement income planning. He developed strong skill sets in strategy, leadership, and interpersonal dynamics throughout his career and regards one’s character as their defining quality. He will be an excellent addition to our team, ” said Laurence N. Hale, managing partner at Weiss & Hale Financial. 

Zahansky is transitioning to this pivotal role in the practice and to the financial services industry after 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry where he developed and implemented marketing and sales strategies, and tactics for major US pharmaceutical brands. After a period of training and finalization of licensure, he said he looks forward to working with clients to help them build strategies and solutions to meet their financial goals and is thrilled to be a part of the Commonwealth Financial Network team as well.

Prior to joining Weiss and Hale Financial, he was vice president, Marketing at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was responsible for the company’s respiratory product portfolio. He graduated cum laude from Bryant University with a degree in Business Administration. He grew up in northeastern Connecticut. He leads the Frog Rock Youth Basketball Association as president and has coached teams in basketball, Little League baseball and youth soccer leagues as well as remaining active on several volunteer boards in the region.