Berkshire Bank opens East Greenbush branch

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Berkshire Bank has opened a full-service branch at 602 Columbia Turnpike, East Greenbush, New York. The Bank completely renovated the building which formerly housed a Resnick's Mattress store and transformed it into a state-of-the-art branch facility with drive-thru lanes, at which it offers a complete line of financial products and services, including personal and business checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRAs, an ATM, safe deposit boxes, residential and commercial mortgages, auto loans and a wide variety of other types of commercial and consumer loans, home equity loans, retirement products and wealth and investment management. "Berkshire Bank now has five branches and six ATMs in the Albany Capital Region and a total of 26 branches and 35 ATMs throughout our two regions of Western Massachusetts and Northeastern New York," said Michael P. Daly, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We opened our Delmar branch just one week ago and expect to open our Guilderland branch next month. In addition, I'm pleased to announce that we have received regulatory approvals for two full-service branches in Halfmoon and in Colonie, which we expect to open in the 4th quarter of this year. We continue to believe that the Albany Capital Region is a great place to do business and we're obviously delighted that we are now a part of East Greenbush." Sandra L. Fromma is Manager of the East Greenbush branch. Fromma earned an associates degree in business management from Bryant & Stratton College and joined Berkshire Bank in May 2005 as branch manager in Lee, Massachusetts. Prior to that, she was a branch manager with Charter One Bank in Albany for four years and a relationship associate with Key Bank in West Sand Lake for a year. She also held several positions in the mortgage banking industry. Fromma resides in Nassau, New York. She is in the process of becoming a member of the Ambassador's Committee for the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce and is an Assistant Girl Scout leader. Dawn Marie Fountain, a resident of Clifton Park, is the Assistant Branch Manager. Fountain is a senior in the Marketing and Management program at Siena College. Her prior banking experience includes four years with Charter One Bank where she was a Financial Services Representative in the Clifton Park branches and specialized in CDs, IRAs and consumer loans. Fountain is active in several community functions, including the annual Making Strides For Breast Cancer campaign. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Berkshire Bank. Established in 1846, Berkshire Bank is one of Massachusetts' oldest and largest independent banks and the largest banking institution based in Western Massachusetts. The Bank is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts with branches serving communities throughout Western Massachusetts and Northeastern New York. The Bank is transitioning into a regional bank and is positioning itself as the financial institution of choice in its retail and commercial markets, delivering exceptional customer service and a broad array of competitively priced deposit, loan, insurance, wealth management and trust services, and investment products. For more information on Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. or Berkshire Bank, visit www.berkshirebank.com or call 800-773-5601.
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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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