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FSB’s Jack Ellrich, Stephen and Kathy Boivin and Shanna Dorey at Celebrations Unlimited, Farmington’s new party supply store
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When Kathy Boivin and Shanna Dorey decided to take the plunge into opening Celebrations Unlimited, the easiest part was deciding where to go for financing.
“I really like that Franklin Savings Bank is a small, hometown bank. I go in and they all know me,” said Shanna. “It’s a banker and a friend,” added Kathy.
Stephen Boivin, Kathy’s husband who owns the building, said he has called on Franklin Lender Jack Ellrich for every project he’s ever done. “He makes it easy.”
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Tim DeMillo and Mary Howes with Jay Branch Manager Lorna Niedner
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Howie’s Welding and Fabrication Inc. didn’t always bank with Franklin. When the Jay company was smaller and needed to build an addition to grow the business, their old banker wouldn’t fund it. They were pleased to find Franklin was willing to invest in Howie’s. As the business has grown, so has the relationship with Franklin Savings Bank.
“Franklin Savings is like a partner with us, like family,” says Mary Howes, president of Howie's Welding, who runs the company with her husband and operations manager, Tim DeMillo.
But the value of a good banker goes beyond helping a company grow when times are good. Business can be cyclical and sometimes there are slow periods. “It is feast or famine. Franklin has always helped us through the slow spells,” says Mary.
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Subway owners Pete and Carla Dougeneck with Skowhegan Branch Manager Sally Dwyer
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Why bank at Franklin?
"Franklin was the bank that listened to the little guy," says Pete Dougeneck, who runs the Skowhegan Subway restaurant with his wife Carla and three children. Pete and Carla searched to find a town that was growing but still had traditional values. Skowhegan fit the bill.
"The big banks found it hard to believe we could give up big city business for small town Skowhegan." Franklin's Commercial Lending VP Mike Mansir and Skowhegan Branch Manager Sally Dwyer understood. "I knew right then and there it was going to be a pleasure. It's all about family to us," said Pete.
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Franklin Customer Service VP Dee LaPlant with Judy Rawlings of SAVES
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Why bank at Franklin?
It came up at a SAVES board meeting. One member asked, "Why don't we bank locally?" Once upon a time, the bank that served Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services Inc. in Farmington was local. But it had long since sold out to a larger out of state financial institution.
So Judy Rawlings, Executive Director at SAVES, switched the nonprofit organization's deposit and line of credit accounts to the Hometown Bank. "We're a small organization. Our business isn't going to make a big difference to Franklin Savings Bank, but we try to do as much local business as possible," says Rawlings.
"Everyone at Franklin was great. It was easy to make the switch."
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Karen and Robert Thorndike with FSB Commercial Lender, Vice President Mike Mansir.
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Bob and Karen Thorndike have plenty to do running Thorndike and Sons excavating and trucking, Maine-ly Trees logging and woodlot management and their 120-head family Angus farm in Phillips. They don't need headaches from their bank.
That's why they bank at Franklin Savings Bank. They had been with another bank that had changed hands a few times. Their financials were good but Bob was told the bank wanted larger or smaller businesses and he had 30 days to pay off his loans. “I was in between what they wanted to deal with.”Another bank told Bob his business was welcome as long as times are good. “You never know what’s coming at you in this business, weather, market conditions... Sometimes in the spring, we go three months without working. We need a bank that’s here for us when we aren’t making money.”Things were different at Franklin. “They said, ‘If you’re here for us in the good times, we’ll be here for you in the bad times.’ If you’re having hard times, you need a bank that will work with you and Franklin Savings Bank always has.”
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Matthew, Linda and Jim Timberlake with Franklin's Lorna Niedner
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Sometimes you need something and you need it quick.
Once upon a time, while on a business trip in Detroit, Matt Timberlake needed to buy an expensive vacuum truck. At the time, the family industrial cleaning business, Ted Berry Co. in Livermore, used to bank with another bank, but that bank wouldn't return their calls.
Back home, Jim Timberlake called Franklin Savings Bank and received the backing needed to make the purchase quickly. The Timberlakes switched all their accounts to their Hometown Banker and have been happy ever since."It's not an everyday thing, but sometimes you need a quick response," says Linda Timberlake, whose father started the business in 1972. "When I need money and I need it now, I don't want to jump through too many hoops."
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Commercial Lender Mike Mansir with Kevin Vining
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As far as Kevin Vining is concerned, Mike Mansir is Franklin Savings Bank’s Best Asset.
With Mike’s help, he bought E.L. Vining & Son from his father 22 years ago. Since then, it’s grown 32 times in size. The Farmington contractor now employs between 60 and 70 people.“He’s always been great to deal with, through good times and bad. That’s what makes a great relationship, knowing you can count on him regardless,” says Kevin.
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Tom Puiia chats with Franklin's Rumford-Mexico Branch Manager Diane Perry and Commercial Lender Rich Allen.
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The Lumber business has been a major part of the Puiia family since 1952, when Tom Puiia's parents, Nick and Dot, built their Rumford lumber yard. Much has changed since then. The Rumford yard is gone and, since 2004, Tom has been running a new yard and store in Mexico. Where did he go for financing? Franklin Savings Bank, of course.
"Why would anyone bank anywhere else?" says Tom, owner of Puiia Lumber Co. Inc. "I've always banked with Franklin, ever since I started working for my father in the 1970s. It's a fun place to go. I usually know everybody."
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