Silver linings: helping customers find new beginnings

Timing sure is everything. A week before the 2023 floods destroyed their apartment in Barre, VT, mother-daughter duo Margrette and Robin received a letter from us about our home loans. When both of their apartments became unlivable because of the flood damage, they remembered the attractive mortgage options listed in our mailing.

Meanwhile, they were living in a motel nearly 50 miles away. It cost thousands of dollars a week and added hours to their daily commute. It didn’t take long to decide the time was right to buy a house together—with our help.

“We went straight to Community Bank because [the] Barre [branch] is our Bank,’” Robin says. “I love our bankers and their friendly smiles. They truly care about their customers.”

Colleen Page, our Barre branch manager, is a trusted member of the local community. She knows the bank’s customers personally, knew what Margrette and Robin were going through, and was deeply committed to helping them and the entire community recover.

Robin confirms that. “I’ve been a Community Bank customer for nearly 20 years,” she says. “They really are all about the community. Their bankers are compassionate and care about our well-being.”

Margrette, Robin, and their local Community Bank mortgage loan officer, Erica Bourgon, worked together to find a property, and Erica alerted our mortgage team to be ready to close within a month.

“The whole process was seamless,” Margrette remembers. “Once we found the perfect house, everyone at Community Bank went above and beyond to move our loan application along.”

Erica recalls, “After everything they had been through with the flooding, we wanted to get them out of that expensive motel as soon as possible. So, we pushed to get the mortgage approved and closed quickly.”

In less than 30 days, Margrette and Robin moved into their new house in northern Vermont. They love having the space to cook and craft and make their house a home together. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Margrette says she’ll never be able to thank Community Bank and Erica enough for how quickly they closed the mortgage in her time of need. “We’re happy, happy, double happy, and beyond grateful for the fast turnaround,” she adds.

It’s what we do at Community Bank.

After making our $100,000 donation to the Vermont Main Street Flood Recovery Fund, Regional President Matthew Durkee said, “The destructive floods left many Vermont small businesses and communities devastated, and as a local bank, it’s our responsibility to come together and support our friends and neighbors.”

Nearly a year later, Margrette looks back on the experience and says, “I’ll be a Community Bank customer forever, because when I think of my branch, I get a feeling of home.”