Manchester, New Hampshire -- Friends, family members, colleagues and dignitaries gathered on January 27, 2009, to honor the accomplishments and retirement of St. Mary’s Bank (www.stmarysbank.com ) President and CEO, Ronald J. Rioux. The theme of the celebration was -“Thank You” - for both professional and civic contributions he has made throughout his career and for the State of New Hampshire. For a business/community leader who has given tirelessly throughout his career, it was only fitting that Governor John Lynch, Mayor Frank Guinta, NH Credit Union League President Dan Eagan, and Bishop John McCormack of Manchester were on hand to honor and congratulate Ron on a job well done.

Rioux, a resident of Exeter, NH, served for 16 years as St. Mary’s Bank President and CEO. At St. Mary’s Bank, he was the seventh CEO in the 101-year history of the credit union and presided during a period of enormous change. “Since joining St. Mary’s in 1993, Ron Rioux has led tremendous growth, while strengthening the institution’s commitment to the community and the members it serves. During his tenure, St. Mary’s has acquired two credit unions, grown the branch network from three to eight locations and expanded to nearly 60,000 members. For a over a decade, Ron Rioux embodied the spirit of St. Mary’s Bank,” said Ovide M. Lamontagne, Chairman of St. Mary’s Bank Board of Directors. Under his leadership, St. Mary’s Bank received two major state-wide business awards in 2008: NH Business Review Best of Business Award – Credit Union; and Business NH Magazine Business of the Year Award in Financial Services.

During his tenure at St. Mary’s Bank, Rioux was instrumental in establishing a multi-year, multi-million dollar community outreach program that includes a grant option and a variety of loan programs designed to meet the different yet specific needs of the underserved. On a statewide level, he helped create a tremendously successful, five-year, $35 million program – similar to St. Mary’s affordable housing program – that offered fair and reasonable mortgage loans to low-to-moderate income New Hampshire families. St. Mary’s Bank and other credit unions across the state participated in the program, which ended October 2008, and proved to be so successful that the institutions loaned a total of $70 million - twice the amount originally committed. In 1997, Rioux organized the Credit Union Consumers’ Cooperative (CUCC) for New Hampshire Credit Unions to facilitate value-added services for the state’s credit union members.

Rioux, a proponent of corporate social responsibility and corporate leadership, for which St. Mary’s Bank received a Corporate Leadership Award from Manchester Neighborhood Housing Services in 1998, consistently encouraged the credit union to “give back” to the community. In 2006, St. Mary’s Bank made a $25,000 donation to the YMCA in Manchester, and their child care center was renamed the St. Mary’s Bank Child Watch Center. He was also instrumental in conceiving the idea of and implementing America’s Credit Union Museum. His vision was realized when the museum was opened in 2002 on the site of the original St. Mary’s Bank office, with a goal to tell the history of American’s credit union movement while embracing the future through education.

Ron’s success and contributions were not limited to the credit union and Greater Manchester community. Countless non-profit organizations and the entire state of New Hampshire have benefited from Rioux’s civic leadership skills. He has served on the Board of Directors and Finance Committee for New Hampshire Catholic Charities, as well as a Trustee of RiverWoods of Exeter, a not-for-profit retirement community. In December 2008, Rioux was appointed by Governor John Lynch to the Board of Trustees of the Community College System of New Hampshire. Rioux will certainly remain active and busy during his retirement.