SKOWHEGAN — John Witherspoon, president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank for more than a decade, will retire at the end of this year.

David Cyr, executive vice president, has been appointed by the bank’s board of directors as the bank’s new president. Witherspoon will stay on as the bank’s CEO until the end of the year, at which time Cyr will assume the additional role of CEO. Witherspoon will continue to serve on the Bank’s board.

Witherspoon was appointed president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank in 2007. Under his tenure, Skowhegan Savings has grown from a $388 million mutual savings bank to a nearly $600 million company with a capital base of $87 million. He led the bank’s expansion into western Maine and Augusta.  Under his leadership, the bank’s charitable foundation was established and now exceeds $2 million in assets.

Over the last 12 years, the bank has been recognized for its commitment and support of career readiness and financial literacy programs. In 2013, the bank was awarded the national honor of the Corporate Above and Beyond by Jobs for American Graduates.

With a career in Maine’s financial services sector spanning 40 years, Witherspoon began his banking career in 1979 at Kingfield Savings Bank. In 1984, at the age of 27, he was named president and CEO of that institution and served in that capacity until 2000, leading it through major acquisitions and a merger. In 2003, he became the chief executive officer of the Finance Authority of Maine.

Over the last 12 years, Witherspoon has been focused on Skowhegan Savings, its customers, employees and community, as well as Maine’s banking industry overall. The bank has branches in Skowhegan, Madison, Norridgewock, Fairfield, Bingham, Farmington, Kingfield, Dexter, Rangeley, Jackman and Augusta.

He has been president of the Maine Association of Community Banks and director of the Maine Bankers Association. Currently he is on the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. He is also active in his community and serves on the boards of the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Huts and Trails and Redington Fairview Hospital.

“On behalf of the board of directors of Skowhegan Savings Bank, I want to thank John for his many years of dedicated service,” Rick Anzelc, chairman of the bank’s board of directors, said Tuesday in a news release. “John has made a significant impact at Skowhegan Savings over the last 12 years. He is highly regarded for his unwavering commitment to his customers and for his inspirational open-door, straight-forward management style that has endeared him to all of the bank’s employees. John will be missed, and it has been an honor to work with him.”

Skowhegan Savings Bank has been dedicated to strengthening Maine’s families, businesses, and communities by providing personalized and competitive banking services to the regions they serve for 150 years.

 

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

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