Meredith Village Savings Bank (MVSB) is celebrating the Bank’s 150th anniversary with a big birthday bash for the local community at Hesky Park in Meredith on Saturday, September 21st from 3 to 8 PM.
The celebration, which is open to everyone in the community free of charge, will kick off at 3 PM with music from John Davidson and the David Lockwood Band. Also at 3 PM, Mo the Clown will make balloon animals and various local nonprofits will serve popcorn and cotton candy. MVSB employees will be nearby to hand out giveaways, and maybe even some cash, to attendees! At 4 PM, magician Andrew Pinard will join in the fun. Free food will be available from Common Man Catering beginning at 4:30 and Hart’s Turkey Farm Catering at 5 PM. At 5:30 the No Limitz Band will begin to play. The evening will be capped off at dusk with live fireworks! A complete schedule of events and details is posted on MVSB’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/479307616238759/.
“We hope to see many familiar and new faces on September 21 at Hesky Park,” said Rick Wyman, President of MVSB. “It’s going to be a great day with an incredible line-up of fun, local performers! For the last 150 years, MVSB has been committed to making our communities better places to live for all of us. A diverse group of employees has been working together for over a year. They planned many special programs throughout this year to support local organizations and communities, including this amazing celebration!”
As part of its milestone anniversary, MVSB offered a Facebook-based contest on Valentine’s Day for the funniest wedding picture. Later that month they offered a Warming Hut for players and visitors of the Pond Hockey Tournament. In April, all employees were treated to a special 150th anniversary bottle of maple syrup. The Bank celebrated Service Providers Month in May by visiting local fire, police and sheriffs’ offices – delivering recognition plaques, t-shirts, cookies and gift cards to local restaurants. In June, at least one visitor at each branch in the Bank’s footprint were treated to $150 from President Rick Wyman – simply for stopping in or visiting a drive-up! In July, the Bank partnered with a dozen local ice-cream shops to give away free ice-cream to local community members. After the 150th celebration, additional programs will be held in November and December as well.
Chartered as a mutual savings bank on June 30th, 1869, Meredith Village Savings Bank was founded by Seneca A. Ladd, a Meredith, NH-based businessman who opened the bank as a way to instill good money management habits in his employees.
At the age of 15, Ladd began his career in the carriage construction industry, quickly moving on to operate a thriving three-story carriage business in the building that now houses the Meredith Historical Society. A decade later, and following a hunch that pianos would become a staple household instrument for the American people, he leased an idle cotton mill to produce pianos and melodeons on the site where the shops at Mill Falls Marketplace now stand. One of Ladd’s melodeons is currently displayed on the second floor of the Bank’s Main Office located at 24 NH Route 25 in Meredith.
An employer who cared deeply about his workers, Ladd observed that many employees lacked skill in managing money. He formed the bank as way to help his workers become savers, and to provide a borrowing resource for the rapidly growing community. Joining with several other associates, Ladd procured a charter from the New Hampshire Legislature to establish Meredith Village Savings Bank. Under his leadership, the Bank became a central part of the Lakes Region community.
MVSB has expanded from a one-room operation in downtown Meredith to 13 offices in Alton, Ashland, Center Harbor, Gilford, Laconia, Melvin Village, Meredith, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Wolfeboro, though many customers also use the bank’s extensive services offered through online and mobile banking. MVSB’s founding principle of being a safe depository for the savings of customers in the communities it serves continues to guide present-day operations.
As a mutual savings bank, MVSB has no stockholders; rather the Bank is an asset to the communities they serve. MVSB’s stakeholders do not live and work on Wall Street, rather they are the Bank’s local employees, customers and community members.
For over 150 years, MVSB has been serving the people, businesses, non-profits and municipalities of Central NH. MVSB and its employees are guided by the values of accountability, mutuality, excellence, respect, integrity, teamwork and stewardship. To learn more, visit any of the local branch offices, call 800.922.6872 or visit mvsb.com.
