Greylock President to Retire in 2015

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Greylock Federal President & CEO Marilyn L. Sperling has announced her plans to retire at the end of 2015.

Sperling said the timing of her announcement was intended to enable the Board of Directors to plan an orderly and effective search for a replacement.

“The credit union is in a very strong financial position; we continue to enjoy strong market share; and the caliber of our employees and their work ethic is the best it has ever been,” Sperling said. “The next CEO will be leading from a very solid foundation.”  

Greylock Board Chairman Jerry Burke praised Marilyn’s leadership over the past four years.

“During the transition in 2010 we were fortunate to have a highly capable leader in Marilyn who was fully prepared to step into the role of CEO,” Burke said. “She has skillfully steered Greylock through the Great Recession. I am happy to say we are on the other side of those challenges now.  I am sure that in her final year as CEO we will have opportunities to reflect on her considerable contributions to this institution and to this community.”

Burke acknowledged that the 2015 retirement was long planned.



“When we asked Marilyn to take on the role of CEO, she was very up front about her plans to retire in 2015,” Burke said. “We would love to see her continue her successes here at Greylock but we respect her plans and appreciate the ample notice she has provided.”

Burke said he has established a Search Committee headed by long-time Board member and former Chair Sheila Labarbera. The committee will oversee a comprehensive CEO selection process, evaluating internal candidates, candidates from the local market and from around the country. To facilitate the process the committee has retained the services of D. Hilton Associates, a well-respected consulting firm that has conducted more than 3,000 successful credit union executive searches. D. Hilton is considered the top recruiter for CEO searches among credit unions close to Greylock in asset size.

Sperling has established a distinguished 40-year career as a financial services professional in Berkshire County. Long recognized as the foremost real estate lender in the region, she established Greylock Federal Credit Union as the top mortgage lender in Berkshire County. In 2003, Sperling was named Greylock’s first woman senior vice president and held responsibility for Greylock's entire branch network. She was named president and CEO in 2010.

In 2011 she was named a “Woman of Achievement” by Berkshire Business and Professional Women. In 2014 she was named a “Woman of FIRE” by Banker & Tradesman magazine, recognized as a key female leader in the local FIRE (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) sector. In the same year she received the “Community Leader Award” from Berkshire County Kid’s Place.

Sperling is also recognized as a mentor for women in business, supporting the career development of hundreds of other banking professionals during her career. She was honored with the “She Knows Where She’s Going” Award by the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center (then Girls Inc.) in 1998. She serves on the boards of the Berkshire Business Roundtable; Berkshire Health Systems; Massachusetts Credit Union League; Pittsfield Boys & Girls Club; and is a member of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Advisory Council.

Sperling lives in Pittsfield with her husband, Steve. She has one son who lives in South Carolina, and a grandson.

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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