Gloria Larson, recently named President of Bentley College, was the Featured Guest Speaker at Mt. Washington Bank’s Business Breakfast

Contact: Lauren Mann
Mt. Washington Bank
857-524-1155
lmann@MtWashingtonBank.com

South Boston, MA - - -Over 250 members of the small business community of South Boston and Dorchester gathered at the John F. Kennedy Library on May 9 for the eighth annual Mt. Washington Bank Business Breakfast.

This year’s featured speaker was Gloria Cordes Larson, co-chair of the Government Practices Group at Foley Hoag and recently named President of Bentley College, a position she will assume in July. Larson’s remarks focused on one of the State’s largest and most important construction projects in Boston, the new Massachusetts Convention and Conference Center (MCCC) located in South Boston. As chair of the MCCC Authority, Larson spoke with great pride about bringing a massive construction project to fruition that was not only completed on time but on budget. She discussed the project’s impact on both the local and state economy, stating that by 2011 the MCCC will have generated over $500 million of revenue. Currently ranked the seventh best convention center in the country, Larson said that the Authority is very strategic in the types of business venues it wants to attract to this area. They look to host groups that compliment the strengths of the Massachusetts economy such as innovation, research and the sciences.

Larson attributed the success of bringing the MCCC online, in part, to the community process they established before a shovel went into the ground. She emphasized the importance of listening to the neighborhoods and responding to their concerns. In the end, according to Larson, their voices were heard and their input had great influence our direction and plans. She likened the Authority’s approach to the community with what Mt. Washington Bank had done in Codman Square when it was considering buying a vacant, abandoned lot to build its fifth branch. She stated that Ed Merritt and the Bank had reached out to the community, on many occasions, to discuss the project and solicit feedback from the neighborhood. Larson added that Mt. Washington Bank, like the Authority, works hard to get to know the communities in which it operates and understands the importance of being a great corporate citizen in these communities beyond the business at hand.

Founded in 1893, Mt. Washington Bank has stayed committed to the promise outlined in its mission statement by being "full-service independent bank, offering financial services to meet the needs of its retail and small business community. Mt. Washington recently announced the opening of its new Gallivan Boulevard branch in Dorchester, representing the Bank's fourth branch location in addition to a stand alone loan center.

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