NBT Bank held its 170th birthday bash on Thursday,in Norwich, celebrating a major milestone. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)

NORWICH – NBT Bank held its 170th birthday bash on Thursday, celebrating a major milestone for the institution and reaffirming its longstanding commitment to the Norwich community.

The celebration was capped by a generous $170,000 sponsorship commitment to the Chenango Blues Association during the final show of the NBT Bank Summer Concert Series in East Park on Thursday night. The gift guarantees the continuation of the series for the next five years.

The NBT Bank Summer Concert Series in Norwich, organized by the Chenango Blues Association, has become a popular summertime tradition of bringing music, culture and community together in Chenango County. Thursday night’s concert launched the 33rd Annual Chenango Blues Festival, which continues on August 21-22 at the Chenango County Fairgrounds.

NBT marked the occasion with free ice cream and a colorful fireworks display over the city following the show, much to the delight of concertgoers.

NBT executives said the event was a showing of the bank’s success, rooted in its humble beginnings in Norwich.

“As we celebrate 170 years of NBT, we are reflecting on both where we have come from and where we are headed,” said Joe Stagliano, NBT Bank president. “Norwich is where our story began, and we are proud to continue investing in the community that has been part of our success from the very beginning. Through our partnership with the Chenango Blues Association, we are helping support a community tradition that brings people together and creates memorable experiences for residents and visitors alike.”

“The Chenango Blues Association is honored to be part of NBT Bank’s 170th anniversary celebration,” said Eric Larsen, president of the Chenango Blues Association. “For years, NBT Bank has been a steadfast supporter of our community and the arts. We’re thrilled to help bring people together through live music as we celebrate this significant milestone and the bank’s enduring commitment to Norwich and the surrounding region.”

Thursday night’s celebration was preceded by a special employee gala at the bank’s downtown headquarters. After three decades of the block-style “NBT” illuminated logo on the north side of the Norwich branch, a new sign was unveiled during the event to match the organization’s current brand.

“170 years ago, just a few steps away from where we are, is where the bank started,” Stagliano said at the unveiling. “Eleven business owners and 39 stockholders got together and said this community needs something. We need a bank. That commitment to the community, that commitment to serving the customers and the people of that community, has carried over during those 170 years.”

Today, NBT boasts a total of 173 branches across seven states in the northeast and carved-out areas in the major cities of Buffalo, Portland, Burlington and Wilkes-Barre. With assets of $16.2 billion, NBT today is the 81st largest bank in the country out of 4,000 bank holding companies.

“Milestones like this are not built overnight. We all know that,” said Shauna Hyle, NBT’s executive vice president of retail community banking. “It takes day-by-day, year-by-year work by generations of employees. Those generations of employees have built trust with our customers and earned their respect and earned their business. We’ve also strengthened our communities over 170 years and really given NBT the privilege to grow and thrive the way we are today.”