Some weeks, Connie Braceland attends community events five nights in a row and half her weekend.
“My actual title is business development officer, but half my job is actually community relations,” she said. “I’ve got lots of community involvements.”
Braceland, 52, joined Watertown Savings Bank four years ago. She does have an office at the bank, but spends most of her time outside it – networking, volunteering for business and civic organizations, and promoting the bank with her nonstop community involvement.
“The fact that Connie is so visible in the communities we serve is a big asset to the bank,” said George Bargamian, Watertown Savings Bank’s vice president of business development.
Braceland serves on the boards of the Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, Waltham Boys & Girls Club, Friends of Waltham Senior Citizens and Reagle Music Theatre. She also served for 10 years on the board of the Greater Waltham Association for Retarded Citizens.
She is the treasurer of the Waltham Rotary, where her volunteer activities include fundraising, delivering flowers to nursing homes, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, ringing bells for the Salvation Army and delivering dictionaries to third-graders.
“Many of these events are in the evenings or weekends, including volunteering at the various Town Days on Saturdays,” Bargamian noted.
She even volunteers on holidays. She has served Thanksgiving dinner to seniors in Newton and Easter dinner to seniors at the Newton Elks.
Whether in the office or out in the community, she is constantly building relationships for Watertown Savings Bank, Bargamian said.
“Individuals and businesses are constantly telling us how happy they are that Connie is here to service their needs. Her patience and handholding of customers’ needs is extraordinary,” he said. “Her enthusiasm as she approaches each day is remarkable.”
Braceland is well-known in Waltham, serving on the local food and wine festival committee, working the polls on voting days and acting as a warden for the city.
“Connie is a dynamo in the community, with her commitment and dedication, and always with a smile on her face,” said Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy.
A graduate of Westfield State University, Braceland has worked in banking for 31 years. Before joining Watertown savings, her most recent position was as a community banking officer for Benjamin Franklin Bank in Waltham.
Watertown Savings bank “is a wonderful place to work,” Braceland said, adding, “I wish I had come here years ago. I love to get up and say, ‘I’m going to work today.’”
Within the Bank, Braceland also volunteers for committees, such as Relay for Life in support of the American Cancer Society.
As for her non-stop workdays, she said: “I love to volunteer, whether for the Rotary or the Bank. I just enjoy doing it.”
