Liberty Bank names new chair after sudden death of Gingras

A month after the unexpected death of longtime board chairman Mark Gingras, Liberty Bank announced the appointment of Doug Anderson to fill the role, while honoring the legacy Gingras, a community and business leader with ties to Wallingford,

Meriden and North Haven, where he owned and operated G&G Beverage Distributors.

Anderson was unanimously elected chairman of the board at a March meeting, according to a statement last week. Liberty Bank is headquartered in Middletown.

The election of Anderson followed the unexpected passing of Gingras, 74, on March 7. He had served as Liberty’s board chairman since 2007 and board member since 2001, according to the statement.

Anderson previously served as a Liberty Bank corporator and board member beginning in April 2018.

While welcoming Anderson to the new leadership role, Liberty Bank President and CEO David W. Glidden commented on the sudden loss of Gingras as a leader and friend.

“Mark was a wonderful husband, dad and doting grandfather,” Glidden said. “He also cherished his second family – his Liberty teammates. Whether he was in the Boardroom, visiting a branch or in the

community, Mark always conveyed kindness, loyalty and leadership and demonstrated a steadfast dedication to ensuring Liberty remains a mutual bank.”

A Wallingford resident, Gingras was an active member of the community, past president of Wallingford’s Rotary Club and past Wallingford YMCA board chairman.

He was known as a world traveler and selftaught businessman. Since 1980, he owned and operated G&G Beverage Distributors in North Haven with his wife and children, and in 2001 became a member of the board of Liberty Bank.

Born in Meriden on Sept. 3, 1949, he was a graduate of Holy Trinity School and was among the first graduating class of Xavier High School in Middletown. He attended Manchester Community College, but was drafted into the Vietnam War before he could receive his diploma. He would later attend the Shannon College of Hotel Management in Ireland, which laid the groundwork for running his own business.

Gingras served as president of the Rotary Club for several years, and was honored as both Rotarian of the Year, and a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest honor Rotary can bestow.

Tom Laffin, a member of the Wallingford Town Council and Rotary Club, remembered Gingras fondly.

“I am confident nobody could ever say a remotely negative thing about him,” Laffin said. “He was extremely kind, overly generous, and just a fun and loving guy who worked hard and constantly gave back to his community with both his money and time to help it be a better place.”

He also served for many years as the vice chair of Wallingford’s Economic Development Commission. Former mayor William Dickinson Jr, who served in the office for 40 years, said he considered Gingras a friend and praised his time as a member of the commission, for all the good he did for the town.

“Mark Gingras is one of the finest people I’ve ever known and worked with. Great values, sincere, conscientious, he was one of the group of people on the Economic Development Commission who were very involved with any number of projects and programs related to the town of Wallingford. And Mark was just one of those selfless people, he had a great way of approaching things,” Dickinson said.

One of his greatest traits, Dickinson recalled, was Gingras’ humor.

“He had a great sense of humor and the two of us would kind of go back and forth at times. He just, with all the seriousness involved with so many things, he could also see the humor in things as well. Certainly that was a benefit to me and others. Everything isn’t dark, there are light things and we can all smile and laugh about them.”

According to his obituary, there was nothing that brought Gingras greater joy than traveling the world with his wife, whom he considered his best friend. He went to see Machu Picchu, the Buddhist temples in Tibet, and icebergs in Antarctica. He considered that life’s greatest lessons were learned on adventures, and was always keen to share his experiences with his children and grandchildren.

He was also a supporter of the Family YMCA and United Way in Wallingford. He served as chairman of the board from 1990 to 1991, and was often involved in operations and offering advice to its organizers. In 1991, he ran the Y for several months as interim executive director as the nonprofit conducted a national search to fill the vacancy. Afterward he remained a major donor throughout his life and was involved in strategic planning and fundraising committees for the organization.

Sean Doherty, current executive director of the Y, called Gingras a leader, and a personal mentor.

“I could spend a day talking about Mr. Gingras,” Doherty said. “He not only led as a leader in the community, from a business perspective as a corporate leader, he was also a volunteer leader and if needed, rolled up his sleeves and ran a nonprofit for three to six months until they could find their next leader. So I could not honor him enough by any words that I could grab, unfortunately. He was just a treasure, treasure to the community, a treasure to the Rotary Club, treasure to the Y, and a treasure to myself.”

His grandchildren continue to attend swimming lessons at the Y, Doherty said.

He was also cherished by the people he worked with at Liberty Bank. He took over as chairman in 2007, a position he held for 17 years until his death. In a statement in March, the board commended Gingras for his outstanding leadership and the impact he left on those around him — holding firm in a commitment to keep Liberty a mutual bank during his tenure.

“He also embodied our Mission, Vision and Values in everything he did. He once served on the Liberty Bank Foundation. It rightly earned him the utmost respect in the banking industry … Mark showed us why it was important to strike the right balance between being a successful businessman, dedicated Board Chair and, most of all, a loving family man. For these reasons and many more, we know his leadership will live on at Liberty Bank and in our community for many years to come,” the statement said.

In addition to his wife Christine, Gingras is survived by his two daughters, Margaux Faison and Brynn Melia, and his grandchildren, Skylar and Caelyn Faison, and Gavin Mark and Finn Melia.

He was buried at St. John Cemetery in Wallingford in March.

Dickinson said Gingras’ legacy would be felt in the community for many years to come.

“It’s a very positive impact,” he said. “He wasn’t in it for himself, he was in it to sincerely make things better for the community and wasn’t looking for acknowledgement or to have his name in lights or anything. He was just someone who saw that work needed to be done, focused on how to get it done and wasn’t worried at all about who got the credit.”

Contributed photo Mark Gingras