MountainOne Holds 176th Annual Meeting

11:19AM / Saturday, June 07, 2025Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — MountainOne held its 176th Annual Meeting on April 7, 2025, bringing together Corporators, Trustees, Officers, Employees, and Community Partners to reflect on another year, and set the stage for 2025.

The meeting began with a welcome from Board of Trustees Chair Daniel Bosley, followed by financial highlights shared by Steve Owens, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Information Officer.

Owens reported that MountainOne ended 2024 ahead of budget, with financial results that surpassed many local and national peers. While elevated interest rates and an inverted yield curve presented challenges across the industry, MountainOne remained resilient, bolstered by strong non-interest income, continued loan growth, and disciplined expense management. Owens highlighted MountainOne's significant investment in its people, operations, and communities. Charitable giving more than doubled in 2024, with multi-year commitments to organizations like MCLA and Mass MoCA underscoring MountainOne's commitment to the region.

Jonathan Denmark, Executive Vice President of MountainOne Bank and President and Chief Operating Officer of MountainOne Insurance, highlighted another year of expansion and strategic investment for the insurance division. In 2024, MountainOne Insurance completed acquisitions of G.W. Morisi Insurance Agency and McClure Insurance Agency, expanding its presence to the Pioneer Valley. Denmark also spoke to a challenging but stabilizing insurance environment, noting volatility in the home and auto market while expressing optimism for what's to come.

Jill Amato, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Community Banking Officer, shared updates on the evolution of MountainOne's award-winning brand campaign, which earned eight industry awards in 2024 alone. Amato also announced the release of "Something to Save," the second in a series of children's storybooks featuring Mo the MountainOne Spokesgoat. The storybook series is aimed at promoting early financial literacy and life skills. Storybook events and classroom visits featuring "Something to Save" as well as the first book of the series, “How to Climb a Mountain,” are planned for spring 2025 across the Berkshires and South Shore.

Robert Fraser, President and CEO of MountainOne, provided the annual CEO address, which included an update on the proposed Mutual Holding Company merger between MountainOne Financial, MHC, and Mechanics Bancorp, MHC. The merger of equals will bring together two strong, like-minded community institutions. Fraser shared the combined holding company structure, key benefits and provisions, emphasizing the company's commitment to mutuality. The merger is slated for a Corporator vote in May, followed by a regulatory review later in the year.

Fraser concluded the meeting by recognizing Mountaineers celebrating promotions, milestone anniversaries, and those who have graduated from MountainOne's Emerging Leaders Program, underscoring the company's commitment to professional development and internal growth.

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North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

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