Bank President for hire as your Town Crier!

Charlie Cullen did not know quite what he was getting into when he was asked to “run” for Town Crier. He was one of seven candidates to battle for the three cornered crown. His worthy competitors were Ben Iacono (President of the Exchange Club), Mandy Kelleher (Bartender, Michael’s Harborside), Donn Kelley, Sr. (President of the Lions Club), Tanya Sears (Bartender, Michael’s Harborside), Joe Sullivan (Local Attorney & Rotary President), and Scott Vandersall (Senior Vice President, TD Bank). The candidates ran events and gathered votes for months, raising $10,000.00. The $10,000.00 was gathered $1.00 a time in votes from eager residents. In addition to the $1.00 donated to Yankee Homecoming Parade, voters were entered into a drawing for raffel items including a flat screen TV, DVD player, and $100 cash. Event organizers where thrilled at the devotion of both public and candidates, they had hoped to raise about $5000-$6000 so they were amazed to have a first time event do so well.

So when the time for counting came, Charlie Cullen marched into the Newburyport Five Cents Savings bank with the other candidates and his stack of votes. In a scene that Cullen describes as “just like It’s a Wonderful Life” the votes were tallayed and he emerged the victor, well the largest vote gatherer anyway! It wasn’t until after he won that it really sunk in what he had won.
It’s not a typical senario, “shouting in the streets” isn’t usually the image that springs to mind when you think of the Provident Bank President. That said, Cullen seems seems genuinely excited by the prospect. He has decided to embrace the “posibilities” that this new addition to Yankee Homecoming will offer.
He says, “We’re breaking new ground here, the idea was to raise money to defray the costs of the parade, but now we’ve done that and I actually have the job!”
Cullen was careful to point out that he has no desire to over shadow the other hardworking volunteers like event Chairman Don Walters. He went on to say “I feel a big responsibility here to respect the intentions of the organizers who have so much passion for this annual event”.

Cullen will appear in Market Square for between 12-12:15 for announcements each weekday during Yankee Homecoming. In the spirit of Newburyport’s last Town Crier, Enoch Flanders, Cullen will appear dressed in 18th Century attire, including the imfamous three cornered hat and handbell. In addition to Yankee Homecoming annoucements Cullen will be for “hire” and for a donation of $10.00 you too can have him make a public decloration on your behalf. Requests can be emailed in advance to towncrier@theprovidentbank.com, and must be non-commericial in nature.
We found Cullen to be so affable and comfortable in his new role, we asked if he was anxious about anything and he laughed. “It’s a community event, it will be fun. I get a fair amount of lighthearted teasing anyway, so this should be no different.”
He went on to say, “The bank really got behind me in this new role, we are making a pedistal for the announcements in Market Square, after I use it for the week, we are donating it to Yankee Homecoming for future criers to use”.
Cullen emphasized that while he is bank president, the bank is a community bank, that wants to be involved in this community moment. “I cannot disassociate myself from the fact that I am the bank president, but I don’t want that to mean that the next Town Crier has to have such a public position. I want to leave room for someone to make this their own in the following years.”
Cullen is no stranger to volunteering within the community, he works yearly for the Link House, is the past Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, chairs the capital campaign for Anna Jaques, and sits on the board of the Essex Heritage Foundation. His bank sponsors the annual Yankee Homecoming Road Race and Cullen runs in it yearly. He had a grin telling us this and added “I doubt I’ll be there with a three cornered hat, but you never know”