Behind the Scenes with MVES’ New Board President

Christine Falzarano, MVES’ newly elected board president, sits in her office at Eagle Bank surrounded by pictures, plaques, and… pinstripes? Christine is a proud New York Yankees fan in Boston, and although we may not agree with her taste in baseball teams, we are very confident in her capabilities of representing the agency exceptionally well. We sat down with Christine to discuss her new role.

Christine Falzarano received the Martin Luther King Award on behalf of her church in January 2004. She was the first woman to receive this honor.

Editor: Christine, how did you first become involved with MVES?

Falzarano: Because I work in retirement services at Eagle Bank, I interact with senior citizens all the time. About seven years ago, Dan O’Leary, executive director of MVES, approached me to inquire if I was interested in becoming a member of the board of directors. I knew MVES was a great organization and I was really excited to serve as an advocate for elders. In November 1999, I became a member of the board. I always want to be involved with places that help people.

Editor: You said you work with elders in your position at Eagle Bank. What’s your role there?

Falzarano: As Assistant Vice President of Retirement Services, I manage retirement services for Eagle Bank’s main office and for our five branches—two in Everett, two in Lexington, and one in Medford. I’m the initial contact for employee and customer inquiries about retirement and about savings bank life insurance. I interact directly with managers, employees, customer service representatives, and the customers themselves.

Editor: What are your goals as the newly appointed president of the board?

Falzarano: I want to do as much as possible to let elders know how important they are. It breaks my heart that any person might feel lonely or sad and I don’t ever want elders to feel pushed aside. I want elders to know that they’re such an important part of society. I plan to be proactive in lobbying for senior issues. It’s so exciting to be an advocate and to be really involved.

Editor: What is the most rewarding part of being the president of the board?

Falzarano: It means a lot that the executive director and the rest of the board felt confident enough in me to nominate and elect me as president. I’m honored.

Editor: In addition to being president of the board, you also host MVES’ quarterly produced cable show, A Community of Elders. How did you become involved in this?

Falzarano: I was told that MVES was looking for a volunteer to host its new cable show. I thought, ‘I’ll try it!’ because I always believe in trying. I’m not one to feel that if I fail at something, it’s the end of the world. I do my best and at least I can say that I gave it a good shot. I definitely feel more confident now than I did when I first started hosting the show. When we’re filming in the studio we have a lot of fun, we have a lot of laughs, and I get to meet so many interesting people. I like that I am able to take the information that I learn during the show and pass it on to others.

Editor: You must be very busy between your job at Eagle Bank and your heavy involvement with MVES. What do you do when you have free time?

Falzarano: Golf! I’m an avid golfer and I’m obviously a baseball fan (gesturing to the Yankees paraphernalia around her office). I also just became appointed a Justice of the Peace in September and have performed one wedding ceremony so far. I like watching old movies and absolutely love listening to music. Some of my favorite musicians are Bette Midler, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and of course, Elvis!

Editor: What are your plans for the holidays?

Falzarano: I’m going to spend it with my family! For Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m going to my sister’s house.