Bank News
Great Chefs XXII Cake Challenge
April 2012
Penn Security Bank recently donated $1,500 toward the Women’s Resource Center’s Great Chefs XXII Cake Challenge. This event will take place on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel.
The cake challenge is the Women’s Resource Center’s largest fundraiser of the year. It attracts more than two dozen artists from the region and beyond to participate in the competition. Kim Morrison, well-known cake designer and Certified Master Sugar Artist, and Colette Peters, owner of Colette’s Cakes in New York City, will judge the cakes presented by premier cake artists from NEPA and the surrounding areas. They will pick the top three cakes based on criteria such as taste, creativity, and originality of design in keeping with this year’s theme, “Fun with Nursery Rhymes”, and the winners will be awarded cash prizes.
This event sells out every year and usually attracts about 400 guests. Funds generated from the event will go directly toward services at the Women’s Resource Center such as: the crisis hotline, the safe house the center offers to women and children who flee their homes, and the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center, which provides legal representation to adult victims of domestic violence.
Penn Security Bank is proud to support the Women’s Resource Center and the vital services they provide.
Penn Security helps keep seniors safe
April 2012
Thanks to Penn Security Bank, residents of St. Mary’s Villa Nursing Home in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania will live in a safer and even more secure environment. Penn Security Bank recently joined the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, Inc. (SHCPF), and is helping to protect those seniors by funding the Senior Crimestoppers Program for seniors residing in this care facility. A charter presentation of the program was presented to the residents and staff of St. Mary’s Villa on April 12, 2012.
The Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation (SHCPF) is a national organization that serves as a conduit for banks to use to fulfill their federally mandated Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements by providing aid to low and moderate income individuals in their local communities. The Foundation’s mission is to provide safe and secure living environments for our nation’s senior nursing home residents, many of whom are low to moderate income individuals, through the operation of the nationally acclaimed Senior Crimestoppers Program.
Crime against the elderly in our society is a longstanding, constant battle that can be reduced and prevented through the operation of the Senior Crimestoppers program in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Senior Crimestoppers is a coordinated set of components that work together to create a zero tolerance to crime platform in senior housing facilities. Components include personal lockboxes for the residents, cash rewards up to $1,000 paid anonymously for information about wrongdoing of any kind, and effective, on-going education and training for staff members and residents. Senior Crimestoppers has reduced all aspects of crime in participating facilities by 92%.
This program helps support one of our bank’s basic beliefs––to help make our communities better places to live and work. We congratulate St. Mary’s Villa on participating in this valued program and bringing the same sense of community values to their residents.
Penn Security breaks ground for Davis Street location
March 2012
The groundbreaking ceremony for our 13th office located at the corner of Davis Street and Birney Avenue, Scranton took place on Friday, March 23, 2012. Members of our Board of Directors, Employees and Government officials took part in the event.
The 3,500 square foot branch will include five teller windows, with one dedicated to ADA access, four offices, a conference room and an employee lounge. A Welcome Desk positioned inside the front door will allow employees to greet customers and visitors of the branch. The branch will also feature energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems. In addition, the office will offer three drive-up teller lanes, a drive-up ATM and a Night Depository.
With the opening of this new office, we are excited about the many opportunities a location in the Minooka section of Scranton has to offer. We look forward to offering the businesses and residents of this community a full range of high-quality products and services, while providing the kind of personal attention that is a strong characteristic of our bank.
Due to the warm, dry weather experienced in March, the construction project is approximately one month ahead of schedule. The new office is expected to open in late summer.
East Scranton Office renovations completed
November 2011
During 2011, renovations at our East Scranton Office completed the final phase of a five-part capital improvement plan. The masonry work on the exterior of the bank was cleaned and the stone veneer was power washed. In addition, a clear coat of preservative was placed on the floral filigrees that adorn the top of the building and five new arch top windows replaced the old energy inefficient and opaque glass windows.
A new customer drive-up window was installed, the parking lot was repaved, sidewalks were replaced and “green space” was incorporated into the project in the form of flowerbeds, ornamental trees and hedges. The drive-up window was a welcomed addition for our customers who no longer have to leave their car to conduct their business. The entire building façade was fitted with up-lighting that accents the stone and arch work on the building. The new lighting is most impressive at night and is a beacon for the renaissance that is taking place in this neighborhood.
Our customers and neighbors have welcomed the completion of all renovations. The project was managed by the bank’s Facilities Manager, Frank Schraner, with some of the work completed by the bank’s Facilities Team.
Duryea flood victims donation
November 2011
The Hospitality Committee of Penn Security Bank recently organized an employee collection in support of the local flood victims in Duryea. The employees were able to raise a total of $1,250 which was donated to the Nativity of our Lord Parish in Duryea. With that money, the church was able to purchase many gift certificates from Rossi’s Supermarket, who generously donated an extra 5% onto each gift certificate that was purchased.
The gift certificates, along with a letter from the Nativity of our Lord Parish, were sent out to the local flood victims in Duryea. These individuals were able to then purchase items themselves based on individual needs. Overall, we were able to help 75 Duryea residents just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to the Hospitality Committee’s donation, the bank also offered a special “Emergency Flood Loan Program” to anyone who experienced a loss as a result of the flooding.
Penn Security sponsors Family-to-Family Thanksgiving Basket Program
November 2011
Last fall, Penn Security Bank sponsored the 2011 Family-to-Family Thanksgiving Basket Program. About 650 volunteers came together at the Scranton Cultural Center on November 23, 2011, and together they were able to prepare baskets of food for approximately 3,000 families. In addition, Andrew Kettel, Executive Vice President at Penn Security Bank, and his family were chosen as the Host Family for the program. Family-to-Family has helped over 300,000 families since the Burne family started it 25 years ago, and Penn Security Bank is proud to take part in this commendable program.
21st Annual “Race for the Cure” and Team Survivor 2011
September 2011
On September 10, 2011, over 60 Penn Security Bank employees, friends and family came together to show their support in the fight against breast cancer and participated as a team in the 21st Annual Susan G. Komen NEPA Race for the Cure®. This annual 5K coed run/walk event held in downtown Scranton raises funds in support of breast cancer research and community-based outreach programs. It plays a huge part in support of finding a cure for breast cancer, as well as in educating the public on the importance of early detection.
Penn Security Bank also sponsored the Scranton Running Co’s (SRC) Team Survivor Program in 2011. Continuing with a program that they launched in 2010, the Scranton Running Co offered Team Survivor to approximately 50 breast cancer survivors in the Scranton area. SRC representatives met regularly with the survivors to coach them through the rigors of a personalized running/training program in preparation for the 21st Annual Susan G. Komen NEPA Race for the Cure®. The Scranton Running Co also supplied the breast cancer survivors with free running shoes and custom racing t-shirts; Penn Security Bank’s donation helped to alleviate the costs of providing these items to each team participant.
Overall the event was a great success, and Penn Security Bank is proud to have been a part of this very worthy fundraiser in the fight against breast cancer!
Casual Day contributions 2011
Our employees’ Casual Day Fund continued to benefit others in our local communities throughout 2011. Thanks to the generous employee participation, we were able to contribute $2,100 to seven different organizations in our area over the course of the year. Below is a list of ways that the employees’ money was able to help others in our community.
At the request of PSB employee Jennifer Wohlgemuth, we donated $200 to the Bread Basket of NEPA. The Bread Basket of NEPA Pantry System works in coordination with area churches and public agencies as a non-perishable food program to provide emergency food supplies to needy families in the area. At the request of employee Denise Cebular, we were able to help the Smithfield Elementary School in East Stroudsburg with a contribution of $200 toward their 5th graders’ field trip to several historical sites in Philadelphia. We were also able to donate $200 to Marley’s Mission at the request of employee Linda Gable. Marley’s Mission is a non-profit organization that provides equine-based therapy free of charge to children, and their families, who have experienced abuse and now suffer with depression, anxiety and other symptoms as a result of abuse.
Because it was so well received in 2010, the Committee decided to again make a donation to the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter in Clarks Summit. The Committee also decided to expand our charity into Monroe County by making a similar donation to the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe (AWSOM) Shelter in Stroudsburg. We were able to present each shelter with a monetary contribution of $250—this money went toward the Adopt-a-Cage Program at GPAS, and served to finance the care of twelve animals for one month at AWSOM. Along with the monetary contributions, we also held an employee-sponsored collection of food and necessities for the animals. From this collection, we were able to donate over three truckloads worth of items from the shelters’ Wish Lists to each shelter, including: dog and cat food (both canned and dry), rabbit and guinea pig food, aspen small animal bedding, cat litter, garbage bags, bleach, sponges and other various cleaning supplies.
Thanks to the employees’ generous contributions, we were able to make even larger donations for the 4th quarter of 2011. At the request of employee Judith Strong, we were able to donate $500 to the Moosic United Methodist Church for their food pantry. In December 2011 alone, the food pantry was able to help 67 families in the area. And at the request of employee Jennifer Wohlgemuth, we were able to donate $500 to the Friendship House—a local group, serving infants to teens with emotional, behavioral and social issues.
The Penn Security Bank employees’ Casual Day Fund has proved to be very successful since it began in 2009, and PSB employees are proud to support needy organizations in our local communities.
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