Meet Mark Griffin, Difference Maker

In just one short month, Mark Griffin, CEO of Windsor Federal Savings, will retire from his post at the local bank after 38 years. It's the only job he's ever had, having been hired as a manager trainee out of St. Francis College (ME) in 1974.

Since that time, Griffin who has also served as vice president of operations, treasurer, executive vice president and president, has helped the bank's asset base from $85 million in 1989 to its $397 million to date. But he has also helped continue and secure the bank's position as an institution of philanthropy in town.

Bank employees have been involved in town organizations for decades, and the bank itself has provided financial support to 70 groups, organizations and schools in Windsor, Bloomfield, Granby and East Granby. Some of those groups include local little league, Bart's Drive-In, Windsor High School, the Windsor Historical Society and the Windsor Education Foundation.

Windsor Patch recently spoke with Mark Griffin about his service to the community and Windsor Federal Saving's contributions to town.

Windsor Patch: When you look back over the 38 years you've been at Windsor Federal Savings, are there certain things that stand out in your mind?

Mark Griffin: Not one thing in particular, although the community is great, Windsor is great. There are a lot of nice people, a lot of dedicated people that are really committed to making it a great little town, and I'm happy to be a part of that.

WP: Windsor Federal is a bank that's always been involved in the community. Can you talk a little more about the role the bank plays in the communities that it's in?

MG: We're a mutual institution, which basically means we don't have any stock holders. We're owned by our depositors. We have a saying of "Neighbors helping neighbors," and it's more than a saying. We try to live up to that. There are two ways we've done it. One is many members of the staff have been heavily involved in local civic organizations, charitable organizations, and then at the same time we try to support these organizations financially.

WP: Can you tell me about the importance of giving back to the community from a business' standpoint?

MG: We feel that, as I said, we are neighbors helping neighbors. So if the community helps us, which they have to a great extent, we try and give it back and support them. It's kind of a two-way street. We've tried to live up to that "Neighbors helping neighbors," especially in the last few years when the economy has been in the down side.

A lot of non-profit organizations are finding it very difficult to raise funds and keep staff and keep their same level of programming. We've been very fortunate from a business prospective that, you know, we didn't suffer a lot of the woes that a lot of the bigger institutions had, and we've been profitable. So we figured, particularly in this time, there being a greater need by non-profits, we'd step up to the plate and help them as best we could.

WP: Has giving back always been a mission of the bank?

MG: Yes it has been… A lot of that is due to the community. It's kind of a chicken and an egg; you don't know which is which. As the community continues to support us, we are able to channel more of those funds back into the community. It's not just Windsor, there are other towns as well. You grew up in Windsor, and now you live in Bloomfield — we had a nice conversation with the woman who is head of library services in Bloomfield last night. She was very appreciative of some of the things we've done for the Prosser Library there in the center of town.

WP: Since the economy's downturn there has been an increase in negativity towards large banks. Have you seen the relationship between Windsor Federal and the community change at all?

MG: Yes, I think so. I think that people are coming back to the small banks. Technology has helped us play on the same playing field - we can offer a lot of the same products that that the big institutions can. The frustration that I hear time and time again from people is that when they go to a bigger institution, they don't know who to talk to. They've got to deal with an 800-number. They may be talking with somebody down in the Carolinas. Whereas here, they can walk into one of our branches, talk to a live person - I'm out and about in the community, talking with people in the grocery store. I kid that I could probably do as much business when I go to Bart's as I do when I'm in my office.

You know, they put a name with a face, and they're more comfortable talking to you just as a person to person. We've been very sympathetic to try and help people in these times of need. A lot of people are struggling financially. People have lost jobs. Overtime has been cut back. We've thought of everything we can to try and keep them in their houses and things like that.

WP: You were recently named the Grand Marshal of the Shad Derby Parade. What did that honor mean to you?

MG: It was great. The Shad Derby's an institution here in the Town of Windsor, I mean, it's been going on for such a long time. And the guy who was the president of the bank before me, he was involved with the people that started the Shad Derby, so we've always supported the Shad Derby. It was kind of interesting, and it was kind of fun to ride in the parade, see all the people. We got a pretty good reception - nobody threw any eggs at me or anything so it was a lot of fun. And we had Lon Pelton driving in his convertible, so that was fun too.

WP: Did you gain a new or different perspective being a part of the parade rather than being on the sidelines?

MG: Yes, we were behind the drum corps and you give the young kids and the parents behind them a lot of credit - that's a lot of work on their part. So it was kind of nice to see them and the high school band and all that stuff… I was involved with Boy Scouts for a lot of years, and the troop did march in a lot of parades, so it wasn't the firs parade for me, but it was kind of fun to be the focal point. It was a lot of fun.

WP: What does being a part of and giving back to the Windsor community mean to you?

MG: It's the nice part of the business. We do a lot of tough stuff, especially today with regulations and things of that nature, which is not a lot of fun to deal with. But the nice part of it is to be able to help people and see that our financial contributions help make Windsor a better community.