Feeney Talks With Friends

#BeAGoodFriend and check out episode #141 of #FeeneyTalksWithFriends featuring Ryan Young and Terisa Licciardi

It was great to talk with my #friends, Ryan and Terisa!

Ryan is the Bank Manager and Terisa is the Assistant Bank Manager at PeoplesBank.

We talked about:
Celebrate West Hartford (minute 1)
Hartford Boys and Girls Club (minute 7)
Terisa is the Assistant Bank Manager (minute 8:30)
Ryan is the Bank Manager (minute 11)
Ryan earned “Young Professional of the Year” by the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce (minute 13)
Chris and Katie from the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce (minute 15)
For consecutive years, PeoplesBank is an Exclusive Hole Sponsor at our Golf Tournament (minute 16.40)
PeoplesBank sponsors our parade tee shirts (minute 19)
3 Keys (sponsored by West Hartford Lock) to being a Bank Manager (minute 23)
The 4th Key is their amazing coffee machine inside the bank (minute 28)
BankAtPeoples.com (minute 30)
The PeoplesBank Team (minute 32)
Matt Bannister in the UConn Parade (minute 33)
The PeoplesBank Arena for the next 10 years (minute 34)
West Hartford Pride Festival 2025 (minute 40)
Barry Walters - podcast guest #56 (minute 42)
Dr. Tracey Wilson (minute 43)
What makes Ryan a good #friend? (minute 45)
What makes Terisa a good #friend? (minute 46.30)
Terisa and Ryan’s favorite teacher (minute 48)
Terisa and Ryan’s favorite restaurant (minute 52)
Recommendations (minute 55)

Podcast Sponsors:
DirectLine Media - www.directlinemediaproductions.com/
The Fix IV - www.thefixivtherapy.com
West Hartford Lock - www.westhartfordlock.com
Keating Agency Insurance - www.keatingagency.com
Goff Law Group - www.gofflawgroup.net
Parkville Management - www.parkvillemanagement.com
Luna Pizza - www.lunapizzawh.com/lunas-menu
PeoplesBank - www.bankatpeoples.com
Float 41 - www.float41.com
Maximum Beverage - www.maximumbev.com
Sally and Bob’s - www.sallyandbobs.com

Creators and Guests

Host

Eric Feeney

After teaching for nearly a decade at his alma mater in Waterbury, in 2014, Eric Feeney began teaching at Wolcott Elementary in West Hartford. Shortly following, Sam Sohn, the father of one of his students, passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He left behind four beautiful children and a loving wife, Nancy Wallace-Sohn. Eric saw first-hand the toll this took on the family as they navigated their way through this unthinkable tragedy. The following year, Rashad Collier Sr., another father of a student in Eric’s class, passed away in Hartford as a result of gun violence. Rashad left behind two fantastic children and a loving wife, Denise Villegas. The impact of these tragedies weighed on Eric and motivated him to build an organization that could provide assistance for similar situations. With that, Friends of Feeney was born. In 2019, Friends of Feeney Inc. became an official 501©(3) nonprofit organization, allowing more funds to be raised and expanding the range of services provided to children and families in need. Today, over a decade since Eric’s idea to build a community organization dedicated to supporting our friends in need, Friends of Feeney has burgeoned into a reputable and recognized organization capable of providing financial and resource support to numerous families and individuals across greater Hartford and beyond. Through this work, an incredible community of children and families has been recognized, who care for and appreciate each other’s kindness.

Producer

David Chmielewski

David started his video career in the early 1990s working on video crews as an independent contractor for such companies as Martha Stewart Living, IBM and Xerox. After graduating Southern Connecticut State University with the degree in Corporate Communications, David continued his video production career and accepted a position at WFSB in Hartford, CT. Within a few years the news and production studios became his charge and David designed, installed and maintained the televisions sets for the various programs at the station. At the end of 2013 David founded DirectLine Media, a video production company that specializes in creating memorable and compelling video content for businesses.

Editor

Stefania Sassano

Stefania's acting journey began as early as the fourth grade, where she took on the role of Scarlett O'Hara in a stage production of Gone With the Wind. This early experience sparked a lifelong passion for the arts. With a background in musical theater fueled by her love of music and singing, Stefania stepped into larger roles, such as Fraulein Kost in Cabaret during her sophomore year at the University of New Haven. This performance earned her a nomination for the prestigious Irene Ryan Acting Award at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival—an honor she would receive again in her junior year.

What is Feeney Talks With Friends?

Eric Feeney talks with #friends! Eric is the founder of the nonprofit organization Friends of Feeney. Their mission is to help children and families who need assistance after heartbreak and tragedy. www.friendsoffeeney.com

All right, all right.

Beanie talks with friends.

Episode 141.

We're in a special place
with some special people.

What's up? Teresa?

Hey, Eric.

What's up?

Brian? Hello, Eric, how are ya?

We're at people's Bank.

How are we doing? People's bank?

We are doing great.

We've had some big news
the last couple of weeks,

so we're excited to share everything
that's been kind of coming down the pike.

But it's been a great few weeks
to be a people's bank person,

so we're really excited.

Nice, nice. Yep.

We're on 102 LaSalle.

102 LaSalle road, right
in the heart of West Hartford Center. Yep.

Don't mind
the construction. They are open.

We are open.

We are here for business,
and so are all the restaurants.

So everyone should definitely make a point
to come down

and patronize all of the small businesses
on LaSalle road.

Right next to the post
office, in between Max Burger and Brisco.

I can't be.

It can't be better than. That.

You know how many times
you hit a brick for lunch?

We can't disclose that
because it is way too much.

We are way too often, so we we can't.

You got to give Billy a good deal.

I'm like, some financial advice,

and maybe he can give you a good deal
on some dinner. And some dinner.

Yeah, that Penny is kind of with chicken.

With chicken?
Yes. That is the best. So good.

Well, I'm
very excited to be here at people's Bank.

My name is Eric Feeney, founder
and president of Friends of Feeney.

Our mission is to help

children and families that need assistance
after heartbreak or tragedy.

And I use this podcast.

Feeney talks with friends and I talk
to wonderful people in the community

that are doing great things.

And you just had a wonderful weekend
in the community doing great things.

We did.

So we were lucky enough to spend
the entire weekend within the community.

People's Bank was the presenting sponsor
for Celebrate West Hartford.

So it's just a great opportunity
to kind of support

West Hartford, support the area,
and kind of get as involved as we can.

Yeah.

Did you both go?

Yes, I think I popped 1 million bags.

At least a million kernels were popped
over the weekend, rain or shine.

Saturday was a little bit
you know, rainy, but it didn't.

Great turnout.

For anyone. Right now.

Was it postponed at all? No, no.

They ran business as usual, rain or shine.

It was open the whole time. 30 minutes.
They shut down. Okay.

Yeah, there was thunder,
but there's a. Little bit thunder.

Lightning at one point on Saturday.

Kind of positive for about 30 minutes.

But we kept popping popcorn. We did? Yeah.

We were joking.

We were saying we were like the
the the Titanic, the band on the Titanic.

They were still playing as the ship sunk.

We were stopping popcorn as it was
thunder and lightning out.

So I love it. It was a fun day.

Was it your first time going to.

It was. Yeah, ever.

Yeah, actually. Nice when you think.

It was a good turnout.

Yeah, there was a lot of people.

It's nice to see everybody,
the community coming out.

Like,
I know. West Hartford is great for that.

It's been going for how long now?

It's been going for decades.

And then the Geissler,

she does such an amazing job
kind of organizing it all year round.

It takes an entire year
to get ready for one weekend.

And she just does such a great job.

She makes it easy

for us to come in as presenting sponsors
to just kind of plug and play.

And she just is amazing.

Yeah, the same artists come out,
it seems like year after year

two and they kind of
want to be in the same spot.

So they say, you know,
people will be able to find them.

Oh, they know like, hey, if I want to see
this person, I go right here.

Yeah, yeah, we had a booth once.

We did hugs for a donation.

It was like, oh fine. Oh that's. Nice.

That is really. Cool. Hugs. And

no good time.

Always a good time.

Yeah. It's been there for 38 years. 30.

And you guys have been the sponsor
for how long?

We have been the last couple of years
we've been the sponsor.

Last year was my first year
with people's Bank coming in.

So this is the last few years it's been

it's been a great opportunity for us,
as you know, a bank coming in.

We're headquartered in Holyoke,
Massachusetts, set.

So we're a small community mutual bank.

So being able to come into West Hartford
and kind of make as big of a splash

as we've been able to has been such,
you know, a blessing

and a great opportunity for myself
and our associates

to really kind of reinvest
in the community that we live in.

So it's it's been a great opportunity.

Cool. No.

Awesome time.

What's your favorite carnival
Carnival ride there?

I can't get on ride. It's because I'm 14.

You're too short.

Just wait. You stole my joke.
You stole my joke.

And I'm on the other end.

I'm 12 for most of I'm six foot five.

So we kind of max our admin out
on a lot of things together.

Yeah. What do you.

What did you eat
while you were there? There.

They actually had different vendors.

So I didn't have fair food.

But there is a place in Hartford
called Van Me or Van Sandwich or.

Yeah, we had by me and then,
we had spicy garlic noodles.

Wow. That's. Which was fantastic.
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a little bit of everything there is
so great Thai place that was there.

The rotary,
they always do their grill out.

So that's always a great table
to get to. Yeah.

But I mean, you can't go wrong with
the food, you know, and if you have kids,

it's a great place to kind of
go get some kids on some rides,

check out all the vendors.

They do a great job of having helpful
vendors.

You know, we're all kind of walks of life,

whether you need vinyl
siding or solar power.

Or windows.

Windows or you're just kind of looking

to find a nonprofit to give back,
you know, there's a lot of there's like.

A lot of wellness.

To out of wellness, which has been
a big thing, which is really awesome.

You know, we all kind of deserve
to give back to ourselves, which is nice.

I wonder if Jenny,

Jenny SRT was there.

She was my last guest about mental health.

She is, psychotherapy practitioner.

What is it?

Well, psycho therapist
who's lost it for a minute.

Therapist? So she was definitely there.

Purple table singing bowl.
Jenny was there.

I don't know, I didn't go,
Shout out to my wife's cousin, Patrick.

Congratulations.

He graduated from Molloy College
in Long Island.

Very proud of him. Patrick.

That was really.

It was cool to go down, but driving to
and from Long Island in one day.

No fire.

No, no, no anything in New York.

Driving is not fun.

So I missed it.

But anything else
to share about celebrate?

Are you going to
are you going to sponsor again next year?

I think so if they'll have us,
you know, we're we're definitely committed

to the community.
We're committed to that event every year.

So we always have a blast.

You know, it's it's I'm lucky to have
the team that I have because they come out

and they say, right, like,
what do you need us to do?

We have associates from all of our other
branches who want to volunteer their time.

They want to come
spend the weekend with us.

So, you know, as long as Linda
and her team allow it, you know,

I think we are definitely on board
for continuing the tradition

of being the sponsor.

We love it.

And, you know,
I don't think there's any better way

we can give back to the community. Yeah.

It's a fun week and.

There's a fun run.
Do you guys do the fun run?

No, we did not do the fun run.

When did you win
it? Theresa, what is a fun run?

They do.

They throw color on you or you just runs.

So on Sunday morning they do their five K
so a walk run five K it was oh that.

Was Sunday morning.

Sunday morning. Yeah.

So that was a little too early for me,
especially after having

you know, been at celebrate all weekend.

I actually my associate Roman
I, we spent Saturday night

at the Hartford Boys and Girls Club.

They had one of their annual events,
so we got the opportunity

to go to that after.

So that was an amazing event.

You know, be downtown Hartford, support
such a great cause.

They were to raise over half $1 million.
Wow.

The Boys and Girls Club of Hartford,
you know, another great opportunity.

As you know, a. Big sponsor of that, too.

We did? Yeah.
So we had some sponsorship with that.

So, you know, as we kind of grow
into the Hartford community, we are really

looking to kind of get as involved
with in the communities that we serve.

And a lot of that is giving back our time,
our resources, and really just

being the agent of change
within that area, which is really cool.

I love it.

I worked at the Greater Waterbury
Boys and Girls Club for,

I want to say 6 or 7 years.

I was the physical director,
so I was like the gym teacher,

basketball coach,
ran the basketball league so great.

I seen so many kids
grow and flourish from that program.

So I'm very sure that Hartford's
the same way. Yeah.

So you doing good? Thanks.
Keep up the good work. That's awesome.

Yeah. It was. It was a great night.

We're here at people's Bank.

Ryan young, Teresa Le Chardy.

What are we going to talk about?

First roles and responsibilities.

Well, we always say so.

I have, like, Asterix and I come over
when I have an open position available.

Just who is lucky enough to take a chance?

I had to,
you know, take her out to dinner.

I had to make her home cooked meals.

So I had her over for a Sunday.

Sunday sauce?

Yeah. And dinner.

It was definitely a courtship. Yeah.

I definitely had to court her.

So I was very lucky
when she officially applied.

And I can see it in ADP and I was like,
all right, I got I got her.

I'm going to be great.

So it was, you know, the timing
of everything just kind of went perfectly.

And you know, when I got promoted
last fall and I knew I needed a strong,

competent assistant manager,
I was like, I know, I know who I want.

So we had always kind of we previously
worked together in a different capacity,

so it was nice to keep in touch and,
you know, reach out when, you know,

I had that opportunity.

And I think she was in a place where she
was ready to kind of grow and progress.

So, you know,
we the stars kind of aligned.

And it worked out perfectly.

And at the end of the day,
I just needed a bad cop because I was

my team on the test like I am.

I am the nice guy, which is kind of good
and bad for a lot of things.

So I was like,
all right, so we got Theresa.

She will be the hammer.

So hold down
the gantlet for other groups.

So small.

But mighty.

Small but.

Mighty right
small. I'm just a big pushover.

So I was very lucky to get her.

I don't think. So.

Assistant manager. Nice.
How long have you been here? Now?

December. So almost, six months.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah,
you definitely make your presence felt

because it feels like you've been here
longer.

Yeah, at the parties,
you know, very, social and welcoming.

And you're a good friend.

You got a great hoodie on.

I do, yes.

Representing today.

So a little too hot for the winter hand.

I know, yeah I know, yeah.

I do have a hat too. Yeah, yeah,
we got all this way.

What you take on people's bank. So far.

How do you think it's going?
I think it's going well.

I the culture speaks for itself.

I think when people walk through the door,
you really feel that community feel,

It's like the. Cheers.

I'm probably dating ourselves, but
you know, where everybody knows your name.

It it does feel like that here.

And it feels like that

when you go to really any banking
center, it's not just in West Hartford

and it's the culture.

So I think that makes a big difference
for people

because you're kind of earning that trust,

you know, helping them financially,
but also just being a good friend. Do.

So yeah. Yeah.

You're like, Norm. Norm. Yeah.

Rest in peace to your way
home, George Wendt.

Yeah. Brought up cheers. Yeah.
I don't. Know.

So back to our
we got a big congratulations to Ryan.

Yes. Huge congratulations.

But first let's talk about the manager
position. Right. Yeah.

So it's almost a year now, right? Yeah.

Just about a year old last, October,
I was officially promoted

to bank center manager here
in West Hartford under sort of the the,

supports and, the support of,
my regional manager, Roma O'Dowd.

She's been a great sort of mentor
and colleague since I joined.

You know, when I came here
for my first couple interviews,

you walk through the door,
you see, you know, you're immediately

greeted by our associate, Neelam,
who has been here for years.

She is kind of the fixture here, you know,
everybody knows.

Neil, it's great to always be that person
next to Neil.

And, you know, she's.

She's fantastic.

So the moment I walked in, it was like
we said, like,

you know, we are friends with everyone
we knew.

Everybody knows.
Hey, can we get you a water?

Would you like a coffee?

Did you park in our loft
so you're not going to get a ticket,

you know,
and it just was that immediate kinship.

Friendship.

And just meeting Roma, it was almost like
we were kind of pinching ourselves

that, like, you know, we as a bank,
we win all of these awards

for our best place
to work and kind of best culture.

And, you know, when you're trying to make
a change and go somewhere else, like,

you know, you want to believe whatever
one says in the video, but it's hard.

But when I met Roma and Neil,
it was just like, wow.

Like, why didn't I,
you know, look into this sooner.

It was that immediate warmth and support
and just knowing that,

you know, we have your back
and we're not going to let you fail.

So it's been a seamless transition.

And it's been a simple one,
you know, essentially,

you know, kind of transitioning
from being center manager

when I was first hired to
then kind of taking the reins

and being the manager where you're like,
oh, gosh.

Like, you know, everything
kind of is on your shoulders in a sense.

And so it was a nice tour,

kind of a transition, knowing
I had an alum support and Roma support.

And of course, the bank has been nothing
but supportive since all of the changes.

So can't can't speak more highly.

Ryan Young doing things.

Big things. Big things. Yeah.

Ryan Young,
the young professional of the year

from the West Hartford
Chamber of Commerce.

Congratulate. Thank you.

I like to say I am the oldest
young professional and they just,

you know, had to give it to me
because I was about to age out of it.

And we're going to pull up
this purple picture right here.

Boom.

That guy.

So yeah there's Ryan.

So young professional of the year.

What a fancy picture.

There's a lot of that.

So, I'll take the picture.

It was professional headshots,
that, you know, people's bank.

You know, took care of for us.

So they were great to kind of empower us
to come and get them done

just for our professional growth
and development.

So it was a great opportunity.

A lot of faith.

A lot of you know, Photoshop went on.

Look at Ryan took.

A both and it when you guys
don't see on the back as our hair

and makeup team here
that I've been here since the morning

tirelessly spackling our faces
and getting us ready to roll.

So June 25th, fourth, fourth.

The award ceremony?
Yep. The award ceremony. Yeah.

The West Hartford Chamber,
their annual dinner is the

the 24th Tuesday amazing event.

You know, if you're a chamber member,
please get your tickets.

If not, you can still go.

It's it's a great event every year.

Big shout out to Chris Conway.

And,
Kate Cobb is at the chamber. Since me

joining people's Bank, they have been
nothing but a great resource.

You know, sounding board.

They have been able to kind of uplift and
kind of empower myself and people's bank.

You know, we work really well with them
and they have such a great team,

I think, within the chamber,
where I believe

the largest single town chamber
in the state of Connecticut. Wow.

So they do an amazing job
with community outreach and making sure

that, you know, the businesses within
the chamber are supported and empowered.

Yeah, kudos to Chris and Kate.

They're wonderful people.

They're future podcast guests. Loves.

Actually,
they were supposed to be previous

podcast guests, but my daughter's softball
game got rained out and postponed

to the game day of the podcast,
and they were very flexible

and thoughtful,
and they said, we'll do it in July.

So I look forward to Chris and Kate.

Even though Chris has been on before

episode 91, he was in Hot Wings.

Oh. Wow.

How hot were the hot wings?
Like ghost pepper.

Ghost pepper? It's called the bomb.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. It's hot.

Well, nuclear the scale
like it's from hot ones.

Yeah, it's
actually we did the hot. Yeah, yeah.

Like love. That.
We did hot ones. We started off

the bomb was that.

We're signing up for that. You're
in? Yes. Deal.

Abby runs it.

It'll be our third annual one. Yes,
we have.

They are in. We're saying he does that.

Over the holidays, he was eating the raw
horseradish with his brother.

Yeah. Oh.

The spoonful. Yeah.

I saw that video.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah. I do not. Wish that I love him.

Hot ones.

There has been some funny,
funny guys I know.

I didn't know about it.

Well, I knew about it, but I was like,
oh, that's not worth watching.

I know it is.

I'm like, did the Hot Ones contest?

I'm like hooked. Yeah.

Okay. All right.

Like Conan O'Brien did one.

All of them are great.

Billie Eilish even like I'm
learning about people I wouldn't really.

Maya Rudolph, you have to watch.
That was a good one.

Yeah. I'll have to ask that.

She's great.

Yeah. No.

Thank you so much. People's Bank.

You are very thoughtful.

Speaking of thoughtful and generous,
you have been so supportive to friends.

Afeni.

You are an exclusive whole sponsor
for our golf tournament,

our fourth annual,
which I'm going to pull up a flier.

Oh, ask at the
flier. Our brand new fliers.

Color copy for you guys on hard nights.

Pay what?

We're going to put it right.

Here we go. Boom, boom.

But yeah.

So you've been, exclusive whole sponsor.

This is going to be your second year

in a row out of the four, so I can't
thank you enough.

It's going to be on Saturday,
September 13th at this country club.

You have a table.

So, yeah, feel free to come hang out.

We'll be there,
share some swag, talk to golfers.

Start. No popping popcorn? No.

No popcorn.

No popcorn allowed.

Be cool.

No, not until out.

We do not know. Open. Okay, okay.

We miss place. Now

I'm back to Holyoke, so we start.

Doesn't come out until December.

Those courses don't have this,
but you get breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Dang. All round.

Longest drive contest.

Hole in one contest, closest to the pin.

Special vendors will have a long drink
hole a whiskey hole.

School of Rock hole
will be at the hole bank.

Hole,

and it's our largest fundraiser.

The first year we raised $10,000.

Then it went to $18,000, then to 23.

Our goal is 30 this year.

So to help us reach our goal,
we had game day.

Connor from the yard goats.

He's a heck of a hole, so he'll tell you
like your shorts are too tight.

Your socks don't match
in the middle of your swing.

Oh my goodness.

And then school of Rock plays
music during your swing.

So it's really fun.
It's like the Happy Gilmore of.

Love that government and. Love.

So that's our fourth one.

Check that flier out. Check.

That's your copy, please.
You have a community center or a board.

So we do leave it right in the office
for everyone to kind of see these are.

The better golfer, Theresa or Ryan.

I would probably have to say Theresa
only because I have never played

golf in my life. I'm me.

Not many golf.

Yeah, yeah.

Many Theresa men in golf.

Yeah, yeah I'm sitting.

Yeah, yeah.

I wouldn't need to be fit for kids clubs.

I can't use regular clubs and.

My clubs are like ten feet long. Yeah.

So that. Would be a great.

Addition to being super supportive
and thoughtful and generous.

You have also sponsored our parades. Yeah.

We have you on the shirt for Memorial Day,

Saint Patrick's Day and Park Road Parade.

So thank you again.

Chrissy Kitty has been amazing.

Yeah, she's a wonderful person.
She's a good friend.

She is a good friend.

Our motto is be a good friend.

Hold the door, pick up trash,
give compliments and be charitable.

And she knocks off C early embodiment.

She actually reached out
to me, was like, hey,

you didn't fill out
for the sponsorship this year or hey.

So yeah.

Amazing person.

Thank you. Chrissy. Yes. Yeah.

She's been such a great support
down in here because we do so much.

You know, when she sees how much we do.

So it's kind of, whatever you guys need.

She's been always just so supportive,

you know,
kind of seeing the value in what we do.

And even if it is like a late submission
or something,

you know,
she always finds a way to make these,

you know, big impacts within the community
almost out of nothing.

You know, she always tends
to pull something out of a hat

and just really surprise us.

And, you know, her and Matt Bannister,
we couldn't be more grateful

to have them on our team.

You know,
they're just such a great support team.

And it's,
you know, all hands on deck with that.

So I. Have a Chrissy Kitty. Post.

Oh, it's only. Kitty post.

Team Spotlight Ryan Young, West
Hartford Banking Center manager

I'm honored to work alongside Brian Young,
banking center manager, people's

bank was Hartford

Ryan is one of those special people
you meet who's not only an absolute

expert in his field,
but also a generally good human being.

Man. That's good. He's a good fast. Again,
I have to brag.

Good human people.

How much did you pay in two months?

From guiding associates to finding
creative solutions for his customers?

He always got our backs.

He does it with a big smile.

Give the camera your big smile. Okay?

Shout out for my mom for my braces.

Those are some good chompers,

Everything you do at people's
Bank, our associates and our community,

your leadership and kindness

and unwavering commitment makes this team
and bank better every single day.

Next time you're West Hartford, swing
by LaSalle road for your banking needs.

And don't forget
to say hi to Ryan sidekick

Burke.

We'll put this on purpose.

Yes, my my son, Bertram Marino young,

I said. I said, which one's cuter?

Something really a top.

He's definitely
has a better beard than I do. You guys.

You know the Bowser.

Is he down now? So was when the humans.

Started to look like the dog?

No. I'm tired. I have a dog. Barkley.

I should pull up that picture, too.

I had the beard.

Well, sometimes I have the beard,
and he has a gray beard.

And I had a gray beard.
And we're like. Twins.

When Bowser's.

Both constantly in the doghouse.

Or just you. Oh.

Yeah.

We share the dog, Barkley and I.

But now and then you have some really good
comments.

Okay. Al Marino.

Oh how nice. Right.

Thank for shout out to.

He just retired. He's dead.

Good friend
Al Marino. Cher is going to miss you.

We're all going to miss.
We all going to miss South.

Ryan's a good man who's gotten to know
through the West Hartford Chamber.

And he's done hashtags
to look at Al Marino, do hashtags.

Oh, hell,
I don't have you as a hashtag guy.

He does it.

I was just Teresa, the charity
assistant baking man.

And this couldn't be any cuter.

Honestly. Honestly, it could.

It could really. Be somebody else. Oh, no.

No, the dog couldn't be any cute.

Yeah, yeah, that's for sure.
Maybe I'll put him.

Maybe I'll put my Bowser pick later.

Bother. Pick? Yeah. Bauer's about.

Also.

Yeah, the thank you's continue
our, sponsor of this podcast.

So on the intro page, you're like, right
here.

Ben Fuchs on his cover page.

You could see, oh, people's bank here of,
And then when Dave shares

in our intro page,
we have float people's Bank, Luna Pizza,

Golf lore Group, The Fix, IVC,
Sally and Bob's Maximum Beverage,

Parkville Management,
Keating Agency Insurance,

and West Hartford lock lovers.

You know when you're a good friend,
it comes back, you know.

And I think that's so important with that.

You know, the karma in the world
that if you do good things,

you know, it's going to come back
and it takes a village.

And I'm glad that I have an amazing
village here because,

you know, you give and you got
and it's just been an amazing journey.

You know, you get good, you got good.

And with West Hartford Lock,
watch what I do.

Watch what I do with West Hartford Lock.

What are three keys that make you
a great manager of this thing?

So we were kind of talking about that
collectively.

You know, I think I love to be
as collaborative as possible.

So I'm always asking my team
kind of to help me,

you know, because I need as much help
as I can get from my own team.

So kind of just

the most kind of

simple first kind of prong
to being successful

or trying to be successful,
you know, because we're all just,

you know, trying to keep our head down
and just kind of make it through

life,
is just we're customer service based job.

You know, Teresa and I, we both come
from service industry backgrounds.

You know, we didn't major in finance.

We weren't set out to be bankers,
but we kind of got there

by hook or by crook or whatever
kind of roads lead us here.

But yeah, kind of the crux of this job
is building relationships and.

And that's really important to both of us.

Yeah.

And just delivering that customer service
and just being treated

how you want to be treated
and being heard.

With, White glove service. Right.

White glove service. Yeah.

I mean, that's always kind
of been kind of part of our philosophy,

whether it's working in a restaurant,
bartending,

you know, merchandizing at a mall, it's
having that customer service,

creating those relationships,
especially in a town like West Hartford,

you know, it's all about kind of who
you know and what connections you have.

And, you know, it's.

How you feel when you're here
and when you leave

because there are so many banks
around. Yeah, right.

Even in this area.

The eternal struggle
where you walk outside, there's ten banks

within a two second walk.

So what kind of sets us aside? Yeah.

You know,
first off is our customer service.

I don't care if you're giving money away.

If you go in
and you have a bad experience,

all the money in the world doesn't matter,
you know?

So the first prong
I think for us is customer service.

You know, it's
what we live and breathe every day.

We deliver to our customers,
we deliver to our internal associates.

I think that's a big thing, too,
that when you're talking to,

you know, a different department
or someone else within the bank

that you kind of deliver
that same type of service that we do.

You know, people coming
in, the brands, you know,

we have a care
standard here at people's Bank.

And it's really kind of keeping
all of those values.

Living the values.

Living the values,
and just really kind of,

you know, being treated
how you want to treat people.

You know, it's easy and simple
when you kind of think of it like that.

Yeah.

You know, I would say, I mean,
kind of second we were kind of talking,

it's when you wake up in the morning,
do you want to come to work?

You know, and I think a lot of that
has to do with the work culture

and kind of being like, hey,
I know today may be a challenging day.

I have a lot of things
coming down the pike, but like,

I know I have Neal,
I know I have Linda, our newest

associate,
dummy, has been a great addition.

And I know that, like, you know,
if we head into a storm that I have

my team behind us, and just that work
culture makes such a big difference.

You know, it really does.

And, you know, Teresa
and I, we put in a lot of hours.

Our team puts in a lot of hours,
and we do a lot of after work events,

before work events.

And we couldn't do it without our team
and having that working culture that,

you know, we're empowered to get out
and to attend these events

and make time for it because we all see
the value in it, you know?

So being empowered,
I think we say empowered

a lot here at people's Bank,
because we do empower ourselves

and our associates to really do
the things that kind of spark joy,

and that will kind of better
the communities that we serve us.

So it's all about our empowerment here.

And then I think kind of lastly, what's,
you know, all three are important.

But I think for being locals
here in the area,

the desire to give back to your community
and kind of,

you know, be a good friend and not just,

you know, go home and shut your door
and kind of realize that, you.

Know, work doesn't like
we don't just shut the door and go home.

We're still in the community.

We're still a community that. But.

You know,
I've had people that say, you know,

they're challenging, like living
and working within the same town.

And I, you know, I think I love it,
you know, I love West Hartford.

I grew up in, a West Hartford

type town north of Boston
and Massachusetts.

And coming here
has just been kind of like a coming home.

You know, everyone's so welcoming
and just the community is so great,

and we're given the opportunity
to make a big impact

that as bankers,
you're really not often able to do.

You know, it's
much more kind of rigid and boring.

Yeah.

I did notice that banking this
these days are totally different

than back in the day.

Oh yeah.

I didn't know who my bankers were, were
nice to me.

I went in cash, my check I left right.

Did you guys, like,
consider you guys friends the.

We're in an opportunity.

Like we're given that opportunity
to get out into the community

and just put our money and opportunities

where our mouth is
and just, you know, be a presence.

And I think that makes a big difference
when you have ten

different options
to to bank with fourth key.

If I have to add one, the coffee machine.

Yes. The coffee shout.

Out to the coffee machine. It's
absolutely amazing.

I joke it's like NASA, you press a button
French vanilla, it's press.

And you want coffee?

Expreso hot cocoa.

Steffen, you want something?

No. Not yet. And I will get you some.

What's your what's your drink of choice?

I'm pretty generic,
so I usually kind of toggle back

and forth
between decaf coffee and hot tea.

Decaf coffee.

What's the point of that?

I know, I know, all the coffee haters
are gonna hate me or all the coffees.

And that sounds fun.

But what a snooze fest, right?

I'm not a boring, but I promise.

You're not.

Right. What's fun?

I switched a mushroom coffee.

Is that here?

No. Not yet.
My wife loves that, actually.

Yeah, like it's good for your brain.

Like six different.

Yeah. Logan. My,
I tried it. It's really. Good.

It's really got a real.

Unique taste, but you get used to it.

Oh, well,
I love mushroom. I like. Oh, yeah.

No matter.

What. Brand do you use? Rice. Okay.

I think we use that one too.

Very cool. Yeah, well that's her.

So I mean, so if it's here, I'm doing
the green tea like I

do, I do use it and it comes out of that,
that we have the hot water.

Roger. Yeah. That's right.

Yeah.

So we, we definitely encourage
your viewers to come and check out.

We also have hot chocolate for kids
too. It's not just a coffee machine.

So adults like hot chocolate.

I know, but bring the kids.

Like my bring them Saturday morning
when I need to mail stuff out.

Like beat someone, buy swag, I park here.

Yeah, come.

And go to the post office,
get my drink first.

Yeah, because the line is usually long.

Yeah. You need. A coffee?
I had it my friends, my peeps.

Hang out,
go to the post office, mail my thing.

Oh it's amazing.

So I highly suggest if you have the mail
letter, come get a coffee for me.

I love it. Meet
my people's down at people's Bank. Yeah.

They're good.

There's one.

Or two LaSalle. 1 or 2 LaSalle road.

Then go over and see Luann and Dan
at the post office.

Yeah. Wow. Great. Oh, yeah.
We got office.

I love those are good friends.
Those are our good friends.

You know, you gotta get in with the people
locally, you know?

Yeah.

They're always
they're good supporters of us.

People's bank. Yeah. 1 or 2

we'll sell.

Oh bank at people's dot
com 86023183 6:05 a.m.

I correct.

You are correct.

I. Check them out bank at people's.

Now how come you don't.

How come you not people's bank.com.

Because. So yeah. What happened.

There was a long opportunity.

So we were given that opportunity.

So kind of our it's a great teaching

a teachable moment
as my partner would say, is that, you

know, 100 years ago there was the people's
Bank out of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

They through all bank mergers,
all of that jazz,

merged with United Bank
to become People's United Bank.

And then maybe 4 or 5 years ago
at this point, Marty, from upstate

New York came in.

They gobbled up everything,
and they all became, M-A Bank.

So we're lucky, you know, we're a small,
mutually held community bank.

We've been around since 1885.

We're headquartered in Holyoke,
Massachusetts.

So big shout out Holyoke, mass.

And we're, you know, we're one of those

last true kind of community banks
where we really are

kind of smaller in that sense,
where we really can make a big impact.

So when those mergers
happened, you know, that,

what is that?

The the web address became available,
you know, and from kind of

what I've heard in the past,
because it makes sense. Why is it.

You can talk and explain matters here.

Let me.

Yeah. Go let me go.

So it was we were given the opportunity.

But you know we're always trying to pivot
and kind of get out

of that sort of connotation of people's
bank, People's United Bank.

So we've they've kind of pivoted
and it's bank at people's dot com,

which is a really great, web address
that brings you to our beautiful website.

And because there's no space
between bank and people.

Yeah, we we've removed the space
between the bank and the people.

So it's, bank of people's dot
com people's bank.

One word

which we think is really important
because there's like this said, no space

in between banking and people.

Oh well done.

No space in between banking or people.

Did you make that up?

I did not I will take credit for it.

You make that up.

She might have Neelam.

Neil.

I mean, yeah, I'm a big pusher of it,

you know, she's always,
you know, bank of peoples.com.

Neelam love her name.
My daughter's name is Neil.

Oh, okay. Very cool.

So Neil and Neil, we talk all the time
about the great name we had.

Brahma, good peoples. Linda, Linda. We.

Have a great team.

We Matt Bannister,
we. Have an amazing team.

I couldn't be more more blessed
and supported by them.

And we like to say, you know, I am so
lucky to have a team that is women leads.

You know,
I have an amazing team of women here,

mostly minority as well.

So it's we it's a great representation
of the area, great

representation
of what West Hartford is nowadays.

You know, it's a it's
a melting pot of melting pot of cultures

and shared experiences.

So I'm lucky to have all of these amazing,

brilliant,
smart women by my side every single day.

Good people, good peoples.

So we talked about, oh, Matt Bannister
also walked in the UConn parade.

Yeah. Did you guys do that there?

We did not walk into that. You Matt.

How did Matt get in there?

Can you call me next time?

Matt. Matt.

Come give us a ring.
I spoke to him a little bit earlier.

He's like,
just don't go off the rails on this.

He said, all right,
now I'm going to shave my head.

We want buffalo scraps, you know.

Like you say, good walk in the parade.
Ryan.

What? Matt and.

I. We're going to sign you up.

We'll send an email.
You heard he here. Matt banister.

When they win again, when I can walk.
Yeah.

Ryan said it's okay.

All right. Thanks, Matt.

Well, well, either starter finish
at the new people's Bank arena downtown.

Ooh. Glad you brought that up.
That's huge.

Congratulations.
Thank you. It's been kind of nice.

Got courtside seats yet? Yeah.

I think we're gonna have, like, names
with our plaque seats with Teresa.

Nice name on them.

I'm a block. We're going to be in a.

Yeah, yeah. Bank arena.

Do you know about that? Before
it was announced. We can't talk about.

Oh, come on, give us give us an exclusive.

So we always say, you know, it's
a very tall ladder and I'm in position.

I'm on the first rung of the ladder,
so I, I'm usually the last one to find out

which is good
because I can't keep a secret.

So Theresa knows. Roman knows.

Don't tell Ryan.

It's great
if you want it to stay a secret.

So I was told
I had to show up downtown Hartford

at the former
Excel Arena for just something.

So I got there and lo
and behold, a ribbon cutting.

And it was ours.

It was.

Oh, it was our unveiling.

That's amazing.

It's exciting, you know, and.

I think amazing opportunity for. Us.

It is, you know,
and as we grow into Connecticut,

we've had a commercial presence

in the Hartford County region
for the last 20 years.

So kind of the last piece of the pie was
getting our retail kind of in the area.

And so we've made a huge commitment
to Hartford,

downtown Hartford, with this,
naming of the people's Bank arena.

So we couldn't be more excited.

You know, and I think as a bank
based out of Massachusetts

coming into Hartford, we've been embraced,
we've been empowered,

and it's just really a big commitment
from us and our executive leadership

team that, you know, we believe in
Hartford, we believe in Connecticut.

And we're excited to make a big splash.

And, Let me know when you get the suite.

Yes, we will get you to
this three rows max.

Yeah. Billy Joel, come on.

We got some good people coming.
Yeah, well.

So we have wrestling. Wrestling?

What are they?

Ali is coming for Andre. Bo. Charlie?

Yeah.

You got to get to.

Give that to him for.

The the monster. Truck monster trophy.

That fun? Fun? Yeah.

We're head.

That was, like, super loud. Really?

It's fun though.

Yeah, yeah.

People's bank arena.

That is amazing.
Congratulations. That's exciting.

I know, you know,
they're doing a big renovation to it.

I think it's going to be a great draw
for Hartford.

You know, in addition to Pratt Street
and, Duncan Stadium, you know

Hartford, it's it's kind of.

How much do you think the sponsorship
you got?

Numbers don't.

Have any.

Well, the only number I have
is as a ten year commitment.

So, you know, committed
at least for the next ten years,

to be having this impact,
within the community.

So we're excited and we will be having
some sort of a physical presence

with some sort of banking center,

kind of a setup within downtown
Hartford also,

you know, so we're more than just kind
of slapping our names up.

We're going to have a physical presence
down there to help the community.

You know,

we have a lot of unique banking products
that you don't see within banking.

You know,
we do a lot of fee free accounts.

We keep it kind of some of our slogan is,
real simple banking, you know, so

we're not in kind of the business to fill
you up the wazoo, make it challenging.

We're able to really kind of meet
our customers with their wants and needs,

and we see it.

And, you know, we're live
in kind of the culture that we breathe.

So you said there will be a bank
presence. Yeah.

So we. Are, you know, a street or aware.

Don't know yet.

They're not selling me.

They don't tell me anything.

You know, I, I tend to tell a few people.

So we will be having some sort of,
kind of a hybrid brick and mortar downtown

for residents in the area to come and,
you know, be a part of people's Bank.

So we're excited for that presence.

It's it's really important to have
a presence in a, in a capital city.

And I think as a lot of banks
are moving out of Hartford,

you know, we've seen a great opportunity
to pick up that slack and say, hey,

you know, we're here, we're committed,
and we're ready to make an impact.

Yeah, great big things.

You hosted Celebrate sponsored celebrate

young professional
about to have your year anniversary.

Yeah we're coming up man.

Sponsoring what's what's better
Theresa having her year anniversary.

We're getting people's bank arena.

You know what I mean?

Selfishly, for me
and is having Theresa here

because it was a lot of back and forth,
a lot of meals.

I had to, commitment issues.

But I'm here now.

Yeah. So now she's committed to me.

I have and committed to, people's Bank.

So we're excited for that.

And, you know,

on the gratuitous side, we're excited for,
you know, people's Bank arena.

Yeah.

Now, will you still have sponsorship money
for guys like Friends of Feeney

and nonprofits?

You know, the little guys, of course.

You know,
and I think what is kind of a testament

to Christy and Matt
and kind of the philosophy within,

and the culture and within people's Bank
is that we're not kind of that flashy

will sponsor you a year, you know, kind of
wave a check around and make it look.

Like a people's bank arena
and then not give back to the community.

Yeah. So,
I mean, we're we're committed to it.

And, you know, we love to work
with the same nonprofits year after year.

We love to see that grow.

And, you know,

if we've supported you one year, we
we love to be continued supporters of it.

You know, it's not just,

All right, next year,
on to the new next flashy nonprofit

that people are talking about.

You know, we're invested
in what we contribute to

and support and, participate in.

So don't you worry.

Are you going to
we will still be here supporting you

ever.

You need to allow us to say the country.

Will always be a good friend.

Thank you, thank you. Yeah.

Some events so those are past events.

Some events coming up. Pride event.

And you want to talk about that. And,
Tracy's run. Yep.

Tracy's ride.

It's Tracy's
ride is coming up this Thursday.

What is today? Today's the 10th.

So this Thursday, the 12th at the bicycle
is where we are kind of starting off.

And it is just a great remembrance
charity run.

So if you're around in that area,
this Thursday, please come check us out.

Myself and the rest of the board of West
Hartford Pride will be there,

and we are gearing up for the 2025,

Pride Festival,
which will be Saturday, June 21st.

We are doing a rally at Town Hall at 1030,
and then the actual festival

itself, goes from noon to 6 p.m.

at 50 South Main row, our street vendor.

So Main

Street, Main Street, right at Town Hall.

So if you're in the neighborhoods,
please come check us out.

We'll have lots of vendors,
lots of supports.

And it's just it's it's an amazing event.

Every year I'm lucky to be able
to, be a part of it.

And it's definitely something
that now more than ever,

you know, we need people to come together,

be good friends, be there for each other,
and just support the community.

Yeah, we had a booth, 20, 21.

We made these shirts, as you can see.

The elaboration. Friends of Feeney, West
Hartford Pride.

Be a good friend in the rainbow
colors. Love it.

Like you said, you can help me sell a few.
You like.

You see, Ryan, they're only 20 bucks.

What?

All these colors.
We. We did have to sell them for 25.

But if you're a friend of Ryan, 20.
But come on.

Good afternoon and see us now.

It was great.

I have some pictures.

We had a wonderful.

We had, a raffle.

We had pride, legos, pride, bracelets,
a pride flag.

It was a great raffle.

We had a a little booth,
I don't know where's,

there's Berry and some people call.

Out, shout out to Mary and Johanna.

I love that.

We had some.

Oh, there's a raffle.
There's some people were just.

Thank you for that support. Yeah,
it was 2021.

I feel like we haven't done in a while
because it's the day

after the last day of school
and it's just a lot.

And sometimes we travel.

We've been going to Lake George
right after,

but, there's my good peeps,
all my good friends.

It was a great time.

Barry, Barry, Walter's amazing person,
episode 56.

He is the president of the.

Yeah, so he is he runs, West Hartford
Pride with, his co-chair, Joanna.

So they do. It's just an amazing work.

I don't know how they find the time
to do it.

On top of all of the other

selfless community stuff
that they're involved with.

So thank you guys for kind of bearing
that burden of getting everything

kind of up and running.

But, you know, it's it's a labor of love.

And you can really tell that Joe and Barry
really love what they do.

And yeah,
you know. Shout out to John Barry.

Shout out to Joe and Barry.

Go back
and watch 56 with Barry. Barry's great.

When will this when will this podcast air?

Maybe two. Weeks. Two weeks ago.

When I say June 21st,
we didn't try to get it out.

I would normally do a plug for volunteers.

We're still,
you know, actively looking for volunteers.

But no worries, you can always hit us back
for, 2026.

So they'll be looking
for volunteers on as well.

And then June is pride month.

And then June is pride month. Yes.

Or excited.

And then shout out, we talked about Tracy
Wilson, a doctor Tracy Wilson's book,

Amazing Person near and dear,
a role model.

Just you know,
she was a teacher for 38 years.

I'm in my 21st year, so,
God bless her thinking about her.

She taught at Conard for out of the 38,
I think 36, all at Conard,

she created a program,
African-American studies,

that's been going on since,
she celebrated.

We have a nice picture.

We celebrated West Hartford's
teacher union.

I wouldn't mind
putting a picture of Doctor Tracy.

Let's see Eric Feeney in the middle
and Best Buy right here.

West Hartford icon. Icon and legend.

She wrote this book.

She's a she was our town historian,

and I had her host
a trivia event at the 100th podcast.

So I'm so honored that she was there.

It was, Park Road Association
versus West Hartford Chamber of Commerce.

So Tracy did West Hartford history.

So it was amazing.

And this is like going to
but she had signed this for me.

I love that.

There you represent so much
what makes Hartford a great community.

Read page 178. Best regards, Tracy Wilson.

So like if you put the ones that way.

Once every. Day is a.

Is it going to be a high school
mugshot of you.

Walk.

It's school
where I teach at fast point facts.

And walk a park where I,
you know, spend a lot of time

walking my dog or sledding or playing
pickleball basketball.

So she told me to turn to her so
she knows it was really important to me.

So it's like I'll treasure this forever.

I love. That, yeah.

I'm Tracy Wilson, thinking of you always.

I know I'm
so honored and proud to have this.

And so honored
that she was on episode 100.

So, thinking of you, Tracy and I.

I really want to do this 9.59.5 on a bike.

Yeah, it's a long I mean, I wanna I think.

I could do it, I think to honor.

Yeah. On a. Bike.
Absolutely can do it. On a bike. Right.

Do you like a basket?
I could say it's on and I can do it.

Oh, you do.

Yeah I mean stationary.

But if I.

Get pegs will you sit on the front
and you write on the back.

What a motley crew that would be.

What about a. Side to the basket
like. Eating.

There's a side car
like a side by the side. Best I.

Want to be on the side. Burton.
The side that.

Well that's true. That's true. Yeah.

Cute little. Helmet.

Yeah, I got a cat.

It looks so cool with the helmet on.

Love you. Could definitely do a 9.5.

Yeah. Oh, speaking of. So, we always do

three keys.

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