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V O L . X X I I I N O. X I X A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 1 7 20 G R E AT E R B A N G O R F O C U S excited about Bangor as we are," says Tanya Emery, the city's community and economic development direc- tor. "It's a great sign." She adds that Montgomery-Rice "is very personally invested in making sure that the com- mitment to Bangor is backed up, not just that we share a name." As for his own assessment of Bangor's economic health, Montgomery-Rice says the city has "come a long way" in the past decade and a half. He looks for- ward to having all sta on one campus, where all o ces will be the same size with no pecking order, to foster better communication among project teams. e smaller building, to be ready next June, will mainly house employees who interact directly with customers, includ- ing wealth-management clients, while the larger one, slated for early , will house back-o ce workers, including those working in payroll and tax services and technical operations, all of whom will relocate from the Maine Business Enterprise Park. After the move, South Street will be renamed Hamlin Way, after the bank's founding president, Elijah Hamlin (brother of Hannibal Hamlin, a U.S. senator from Maine and Abraham Lincoln's rst vice president). e campus will also have a gym, basement café, bike storage and a walking path down to the riv- erbank, already a draw for lunch- time food trucks. "Having the right culture is really important. We want people to want to work here," says Montgomery-Rice. He says that while nding tal- ent today isn't easy, it's not an insur- mountable obstacle: "We nd people everywhere, whether through con- tacts at other banks, non-traditional employers, from area universities or other Maine businesses ... It's a constant focus for us, and if it wasn't constant we'd have a problem." He boils the bank's growth strategy down to hiring the right employees, making sure they're happy and provid- ing "awesome" customer service and supporting the community. Different paths Of the top three Maine-based banks, Bangor Savings is the only one opting for organic growth over acquisitions. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, owned by Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE: BHB), in January snapped up Lake Sunapee Bank Group of Newport, N.H., in a million all-stock deal that gave it a presence in Vermont and New Hampshire and more than doubled its assets, to . billion. Market-leading Camden National Bank (NASDAQ: CAC) bought the Bank of Maine in October for million in cash and stock to extend its reach into southern Maine. It's been in the greater Bangor region since where it currently employs people including branch sta , management and various support personnel. Why so much interest in the Queen City? "We recognize its importance as an economic and social hub in Maine and view it as a growth area for us," says president and CEO Gregory A. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Frequent heating system repairs? Consider an upgrade to a new system. Find out more about incentives for natural gas, oil, and propane heating systems at efficiencymaine.com 866-376-2463 Invest in high-efficiency heating systems and controls with help from Efficiency Maine Tanya Emery, Bangor's director of community and economic development, has been a strong advocate for downtown and waterfront development. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R

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