6 | LEGAL BEEF OVER BACON September 12, 2016 | VOL. 52, No. 37
YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS
15 | HOME DESIGN westfaironline.com
THE WORKPLACE CREATING A PATH TO RETAIL CAREER SUCCESS BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
shareholders, so we don’t have to focus on net income or quarterly reports. That gives us the flexibility to work with our customers and within the community in a more flexible manner.” Still headquartered in Stamford, the bank formally began life as the Stamford Savings Bank on Sept. 20, 1851, when one Hezekiah Satterlee opened Account Number 1 with $5. In addition to individuals, Stamford Savings also specialized in making loans for the construction and purchase of homes; profits were paid to depositors in dividends or held in reserve, a practice that has remained virtually
Backed by a grant received from The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership made possible by the Walmart Foundation, The WorkPlace is rolling out its Retail Career Academy, offering training and support for career pathways in retail as well as job search and placement services. The initiative will receive $400,000 per year for two years. According to WorkPlace President and CEO Joe Carbone, the academy is designed to not only help unemployed and underemployed workers return to employment but also to aid Connecticut retailers in finding skilled workers who can be set upon career paths with their companies. “We want to help an employee move upwards, to keep a good job and build a career,” Carbone said. “The benefit for employers – which they don’t always realize in retail – is that they can actually save money in the long run in terms of training and hiring costs by retaining employees. The vast majority of employers don’t think that way yet. Preparing the core of their work force to stick and stay is not at the top of their to-do list.” Carbone said the situation boils down to simple math. “At Wendy’s they go through the time and expense of training employees, who three weeks
» Bank, page 6
» Career, page 6
From $5 to $310M: First County Bank turns 165 Cutting the ribbon on First County Bank’s new executive offices at 3001 Summer St. are, from left, Darrel Harvey, co-CEO, The Ashforth Co.; Stamford Mayor David Martin; Reyno A. Giallongo Jr., First County Bank chairman and CEO; Robert J. Granata, FCB president and COO, and Peter C. Rugen, FCB senior vice president and chief administrative officer.
BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
A
trip in the wayback machine to 1851 would find the publication of Moby-Dick, the opening of the first-ever YMCA and a Whig — Millard Fillmore —in the White House.
But it also marked the beginning of what is now known as First County Bank (FCB), which is observing its 165th anniversary by doubling down on its service as one of the county’s leading mutual savings banks and the continuing community outreach of its philanthropic First County Bank Foundation, established in 2001 as part of its 150th anniversary.
The FCB of today “is very solid,” said Reyno Giallongo, chairman and CFO of the bank and president of the foundation. “We’re continuing to make very robust progress to our several constituencies — our employees, our community and most importantly our customers. We have a great management team in place, and I have the best job in the world.” Giallongo said that FCB’s life as a mutual savings bank — the type of financial institution set up specifically to be operated for the benefit of its depositors — has been key to its longevity. “It allows us to take the long view,” he said. “We have no