Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – KeyBank employees stepped away from their desks and rolled up their sleeves last Tuesday as they participated in the 18th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
KEYBANK EMPLOYEES from left, Terri Brown, assistant manager of the State Street branch; Nadean Hitchcock, business sales officer for business banking; and Danielle Dyer, operations supervisor at the State Street branch, participated in the annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day May 20 in Presque Isle. Here, the employees complete a painting project at the Vera Estey House.
“KeyBank closes its offices across the country and all of the employees select a community service project to work on as a group,” said Steven Gagnon, senior vice president of business banking. “We do our part in giving back to the community and try to help some non-profits and some of those people who are less fortunate who can’t help themselves.
“Our employees are really excited about this project,” he said, “and they look forward to it every year.”
This year employees volunteered their time with the Presque Isle Historical Society.
“We asked around the community and talked to some different community leaders and this project kind of surfaced two or three times among the people we talked to,” said Gagnon, “because it is a project that is totally being funded and completed by volunteers. It’s a project that everyone could get involved with.”
Crews at the old fire station washed windows and removed old ceiling boards in preparation of future work while other employees at the Vera Estey House did some painting and yard work.
“We have employees from Houlton who traveled here for this project,” said Gagnon, “as well as employees from the surrounding communities like Caribou and Fort Fairfield.”
Over the years, local KeyBank employees have assisted Habitat Humanity in building a house in Fort Fairfield, helped people winterize their homes, and volunteered at the local food kitchen.
“It’s something we all look forward to every year,” Gagnon said. “It’s a feeling of goodwill, satisfaction, and giving back to the community. It’s not just about us, but what we’re doing to help a non-profit agency such as the Presque Isle Historical Society.”
Steve St. Pierre, business banking relationship manager, has participated in seven Neighbors Make the Difference Days.
“It’s an opportunity to get out and make a difference,” he said. “Many hands make light work. We can come into a project like this and really make a difference in four hours in an afternoon. We’ve got 20 or so employees taking part in a project, and when you step away from it after four hours of that many people working together as a team, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.
“It’s that sense of accomplishment when you walk away and can say, ‘Look, we made a difference in that place,’” said St. Pierre, who also serves as a Presque Isle Rotarian. “The Rotary Club was instrumental in raising some money to help them with their first go-around with the facelift for the building, so as a Rotarian, I recognized how important this project was.”
For Ron McArdle, financial adviser for Key Investment Services, working at the old fire station was sort of like coming home.
“I used to be a policeman here from 1972 to 1979 when the police station and fire station were housed in the same building,” he said. “I was telling some of my co-workers here today some stories about funny things that happened. Being back here brought back some fond memories.”
McArdle spent his afternoon washing windows.
“I’ve been working at KeyBank for 13 years, and this is the 13th Neighbors Make a Difference Day I’ve participated in.” he said. “It instills in everybody a sense that we’re all one community and have to help each other out.”
According to Craig Green, vice president of the Presque Isle Historical Society, KeyBank’s volunteer efforts are greatly appreciated.
“I think it’s fantastic that we’ve had the interest in the community, and certainly KeyBank has taken a great interest in the Historical Society this year,” said Green. “Their work is helping a lot. Today we’re going to do many, many hours of work compared to the work that one, two or three people would typically do on a normal Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
“Though KeyBank is a national bank, the local employees are our friends and neighbors and we appreciate them being here,” he said.
Green said the restoration of the fire station began in 2002. Once completed, the Historical Society will have a local cultural center promoting all of Aroostook County providing hands-on learning opportunities, volunteer opportunities, rotating art exhibits and historic displays, as well as a permanent home for its large, treasured collection of photographs, documents, books, and more.
“We estimated it would cost anywhere from half a million to $1 million depending on what type of construction and how much volunteerism we got,” said Green. “To date, we’ve raised just shy of $250,000, and we’ve spent probably a little more than $150,000 on the building so far.
“We’ve completed the outside of the building, which was the original intent … get it secured so we wouldn’t have to worry about the weather. The next step will be to do the structural improvements, electrical, plumbing and heating. Those items alone are going to be into the $200,000 range just for materials,” he said. “We’ll be a ways away before we get that entirely completed, but our immediate goal is to have enough done on the building so that we’ll be able to be a centerpiece for the town as we celebrate the sesquicentennial in 2009. Hopefully we’ll be able to have some events here, have some things open, and be able to say, ‘This is where we’re heading.’”
Neighbor’s Day began in 1990 when a group of employees in Alaska volunteered to clean oil-damaged beaches.
In 2006, nearly 6,000 employees from Maine to Seattle volunteered approximately 24,000 hours to help make their communities better places.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
RON McARDLE, financial adviser for Key Investment Services, washes windows at the old fire station in Presque Isle as part of the 18th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day. Each year, KeyBank branches across the country select a community service project to work on as a group with the goal of making their communities better places.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
RAKING AT THE VERA ESTEY HOUSE in Presque Isle May 20 are KeyBank employees, from left: tellers Cathy McGlinn, Rachael Willey, Maia Duda, and Becky Rouse, operations supervisor. Neighbors Make the Difference Day is a way for bank employees to give back to the community. Other local bank employees worked at the old fire station washing windows and removing old ceiling boards in preparation of future work.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
TANYA LaPOINTE, branch manager/vice president of the State Street KeyBank office, washes windows upstairs in the old fire station, which will be a future museum site of the Presque Isle Historical Society. KeyBank employees spent last Tuesday afternoon volunteering their time at the fire station and the Vera Estey building as they took part in the bank’s annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
STEVE ST. PIERRE, business banking relationship manager at KeyBank in Presque Isle, tosses old ceiling boards into a dumpster at the old fire station during the bank’s recent 18th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day, an initiative where bank employees select a community service project to work on together and try to help make their neighborhood a better place. This year, employees decided to volunteer their time and help the Presque Isle Historical Society.
