There is a deeply rooted community in backcountry Greenwich called Banksville, properly named it seems, as it has a history a-building around its bank, encircled by notable retailers. So, a spotlight did shine on that Chase Bank located in the Banksville shopping center on a Wednesday evening of July 30, at the celebration of the retiring, long-serving general manager Jean Mahood, with some 80 gatherers behind the Bank in front of the Happiness Is Back Country Market and Cafe.
Introducing Mahood before the gathering was Easy Kelsey, of Kelsey Farm. “Step up Jean, after 24 years here… How many of us appreciate having a real live person who knows your name and cares about you…This is unique in this country, in Banksville. This gal made my business stay afloat because I make so many mistakes and she corrects them like crazy.”
“I just want to tell everybody,” Mahood said, “how much I appreciate this and how much I appreciate all of you, all of these years making me want to stay here. And it’s very bittersweet for me to make this decision…I’m going to miss everyone. You guys really warm my heart.”
Mahood is actually retiring after 52 years, beginning with Putnam Trust in Greenwich in 1973 that became Bank of New York in 1996, with her coming to its Banksville branch in 2001 where Chase Bank took it over in 2006. And it was in 2020 that the community drama began when Chase determined – with six other branches across Greenwich – to close the Banksville branch.
The fight to keep open the Banksville Chase Bank branch
Mahood was getting those calls from her Manhattan executive office telling of upset customers calling, “Do you know Mrs. Smith? She’s telling us it’s going to be 45 minutes before she can get to Greenwich and back home again.” And Mahood would respond, “Yeah, because we’re in the backcountry and you get behind a landscaping truck or a bus, they stop at every house.” But “You’re only 11 miles from downtown Greenwich?!” “And I said, ‘Yeah, but the buses stop at every house up here.’”
“They actually thought I put the [Closing Down!] posters in the bank,” shared Mahood, “And I said, ‘No, that wasn’t me… I didn’t want to lose my job. So, I was surprised and overwhelmed because I couldn’t believe that the customers all stepped up… And it was amazing that they listened to the clients and kept the branch open.”
Easy Kelsey, in between caring for her horses, would step up with a handwritten letter to the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, beginning, “Your Chase Bank in Banksville in Greenwich is a winning example of your awareness and caring for local folks and businesses… Neighbors like me depend on and appreciate your bank and particularly its staff. They really go all out to help us…Truly I hope you’ll reconsider your plan to close Chase Banksville.”