By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — KeyBank officials celebrated the opening of their new Presque Isle branch last Tuesday evening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception.
The new branch, located at 774 Main St., features two drive-up teller lanes, a drive-up 24-hour ATM, four teller stations, five offices, a safe deposit vault and a conference room. The two-story building measures 8,240 square feet and replaces the bank’s former branches at 187 State St. and 1 North St. in Presque Isle and 131 Main St. in Ashland.
“We are very proud of this beautiful new facility, which we know will better serve the needs of our Presque Isle and Aroostook County customers,” said Steve Gagnon, senior vice president and market leader, Northern Maine, KeyBank. “We see our presence in the community here in Presque Isle as an essential piece of our overall commitment to the state of Maine. Places like Presque Isle are the essence of our community with a wonderful mixture of families, seniors, and small and large businesses.
“Our goal with this new branch is to create an easy to access facility that allows our clients to bank when they want, where they want and how they want,” he said. “The Presque Isle branch will provide all of the new technology our clients demand and the personal services they deserve.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by KeyBank staff and clients, as well as community and civic leaders including Aroostook Partnership for Progress President Robert Dorsey.
“It’s great to see positive growth in Aroostook County and in Presque Isle. Everybody’s been watching the progress, and it’s great to see the conversion complete, the modernization and the bright red colors to liven up the area a little bit,” said Dorsey. “KeyBank has been a great partner for Presque Isle over the years and we are truly pleased to see this example of their continued commitment to the area.”
Tanya LaPointe, Presque Isle branch manager, said the new facility is “all about convenience and technology.”
“It is handicapped accessible, has 36 onsite parking spaces, extended hours and space dedicated to providing our customers with retail, business and investment banking products and services,” she said. “We’re excited to be here at this new location, and to bring our uniquely personal style of community banking to a facility better suited for our customers.”
Other members of the Presque Isle KeyBank team include William Browning, financial adviser, Key Investment Services; personal bankers Ben Rosser and Dawn Larrabee, Robin Carter, operations leader; Ryan Jandreau, lead teller; tellers Kylie Saucier, Leah Durost, Ashley McNally and Barbara Bradbury, Cheri Doak, senior business service officer; Kathy Lajoie, business service officer; and senior relationship managers Brian Flewelling and Steven St. Pierre.
“Our staff is very experienced, dedicated and loyal,” said Gagnon. “There are six people that work in the Presque Isle facility that have over 20 years’ experience, and we have two additional people that have over 30 years’ experience, which I think is significant and speaks highly of our employees.”
Though KeyBank officials declined to say how much the new building cost, permits filed with the city indicate it was an estimated $1.5 million project.
“The facility is a big investment and one that was an easy decision to make because of the terrific number of employees, clients and businesses that we have here in The County,” said Sterling Kozlowski, president of KeyBank’s New England district. “Because we have such a great market share here, and because we derive a lot of benefit as a bank from working in The County, we wanted to make sure we had an extra special place for our customers to do business.”
Kozlowski said the new facility also allows the bank to “bring everybody together under one roof.”
“There’s an advantage to that from our customers’ viewpoint. They may come in to do a transaction but what they really need is to talk about their small business loan or maybe an international foreign exchange or private banking services, and now they’re able to do that right within the same facility,” he said. “Before the various services had been broken up between the two sites we had previously. This one-stop shopping will make it easier for our customers.”
To commemorate the opening of the local branch, KeyBank officials presented checks in the amount of $10,000 to the IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships to sponsor the volunteer tent at the Feb. 28-March 7, 2014 event, $2,500 to Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) and $1,000 to Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI).
“On behalf of the 2014 Biathlon Junior World Championship Organizing Committee and the Nordic Heritage Sport Club, I want to say it’s a tremendous honor to partner with KeyBank once again on our upcoming event,” said Jane Towle, event director. “KeyBank has always played an important role in the success of the Nordic Heritage Center throughout its history, and the support they provide is another example of their strong commitment to our region.
“We want to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank-you to KeyBank and offer them our very best wishes for continued success at their new location on Main Street in Presque Isle,” she said.
KeyBank is returning as a corporate sponsor for AMHC’s 10th annual Andy Santerre Sno-Run event, which benefits AMHC’s Sexual Assault Services.
“The beauty of this partnership [with KeyBank] is making it visible to talk about what’s happening in our community, and more importantly, what we can do as a community to meet the needs of all of our community members,” said Lorraine Chamberlain, AMHC director of outpatient and emergency services. “Specifically the Sno-Run monies are used for youth in our community because there are no other funds available. This event has become a big priority for us because we know that children are highly at risk of being sexually abused in our community and they need resources immediately available to have a healing process or to learn different ways of prevention. I want to thank KeyBank for being strong partners with us. We appreciate their willingness to help in this way.”
April Flagg, AAI executive director, said the organization is honored to be a recipient of KeyBank’s charitable giving program.
“Similar to KeyBank, our initiative has a presence and impact county-wide. Our efforts to boost the aspirations of County youth and provide greater access to higher education in northern Maine for students attending all high schools in the region will only be possible through the generosity and commitment of many individuals and business partners such as KeyBank,” said Flagg. “Not only does this partnership with KeyBank help our initiative bolster educational attainment in The County, it also further demonstrates our shared commitment to grow our region’s economy and to retain and harness the collective intellectual and creative resources that our region’s youth possess.”
“When we open a new branch, we like to celebrate by finding a way to support the local community,” said Gagnon. “The organizations and events we supported with donations do an amazing job promoting educational, economic and cultural enrichment throughout Aroostook County. Their impact is substantial, and we are proud to support them.”
The new Presque Isle branch officially opened Nov. 12, and took about six months to complete.
Lobby hours are 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Drive-up hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.
