Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 14, 2025 11 EST. 1869 | MEMBER FDIC Community Banking Lives Here ™ NMLS ID #493990 Great community bank. Great community lenders. Glastonbury | Manchester | Vernon dime-bank.com • 860.859.4300 • Gerald Tavernier VP, Senior Commercial Lender Glastonbury Celeste Brouillard VP, Senior Commercial Lender Glastonbury Bill Anderson VP, Residential Loan Officer NMLS # 1867550 Vernon Pamela Hippolyte AVP, CRA/Community Lender NMLS# 507736 Manchester Dan Ursin AVP, Residential Loan Originator NMLS# 1214784 Glastonbury How it works Salecky said the shares are sold only to clients, and the number of shares sold is based on the number of customer accounts held by a client. "If you're a brand new customer coming on, and let's say you have 10,000 accounts on your system, they would be required to purchase five shares," she said. "For every 2,000 accounts, that's one share, and one share is $5,000." So, that new client with 10,000 accounts would be required to buy four shares of common stock at $20,000. "We also have preferred stock," Salecky said. "So, we have common and preferred, and that's a four- to-one ratio. So, every four shares of common stock you have, you may purchase one share of the preferred stock." For existing clients, their total customer accounts number is updated each April, and if it has changed significantly, they are required to buy additional shares. For example, she said, if a client added 3,000 new accounts, "we would then assess them two shares, because it's in increments of 2,000 and it's rounded up." COCC's 10-member board of directors, which is led by Chairman, CEO and President Richard A. Leone, consists of CEOs from client institutions. Currently, that includes Stephen L. Lewis, president and CEO of Thomaston Savings Bank, and Nicholas K. Fortson, president and CEO of CorePlus Federal Credit Union in Norwich. Lewis said his institu- tion switched to COCC 12 years ago in search of better service and client support. "The platform we happened to be on was not as modern or technolog- ically advanced as what we moved to with COCC," Lewis said. "All of the things our prior core provider wasn't doing, COCC does." Lewis said the share-purchase requirement is critical to maintaining COCC's high level of performance and service. "It's a cooperative, owned by its members, which means their long- term strategic goals revolve around clients, not around shareholders," he said. "It's your commitment to the organization and vice versa, their commitment to us." Meantime, the loyalty extends beyond COCC's customers. The company employs about 730 full- and part-time employees, and that number remained at or above 700 even during the pandemic. "We've been at that 700 mark for the past probably four or five years," Salecky said. "We've never done layoffs, and we continue to have a line of people waiting at our door to come work here." Stephen Lewis Packing for vacation? Don't forget to take us with you! Whether you're heading to the beach, mountains or just getting away for the weekend, let Bristol Health Retail Pharmacy help you stay on track with your medications. Our dedicated team will coordinate with your providers, help with refills … even check for lower-cost alternatives — so you can focus on relaxing. Choose from curbside pickup, mail or free delivery anywhere in the state. We call that packing with peace of mind! 860.506.0675 | BristolHealth.org/Pharmacy

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