Manchester, N.H. – Citizens Bank recognized Cathy McDowell, executive director of the Family Resource Center of Gorham, and Maureen Beauregard, president of Families in Transition, with “Good Citizens” awards at the bank’s 12th annual community relations celebration held Wednesday at Canterbury Shaker Village.

The bank presented the “Good Citizens” Awards to McDowell and Beauregard for their leadership, vision, and commitment to New Hampshire communities.

In her remarks to more than 100 community leaders who attended the reception, Cathy Schmidt, president and CEO of Citizens Bank New Hampshire said, “Citizens Bank is delighted to host this celebration and awards ceremony each year to recognize and acknowledge all of the great work accomplished by so many New Hampshire community organizations. We are very proud to honor these two women and their organizations for their outstanding contribution to the state and their communities.”

Schmidt presented one of its “Good Citizens” Awards to Cathy McDowell of the Family Resource Center for her success in building an organization from a small after school program to a multi-faceted organization that has a reputation for providing high-quality, family-oriented services. Last year, the agency served over 1,000 individuals living in the North Country. McDowell was also credited for being a leader in issues facing the North Country and has been instrumental in bringing stakeholders together to address issues of economic development and self sufficiency for the people living and working in Coos County.

Schmidt presented the “Good Citizens” honor to Maureen Beauregard for the enormous impact she and her organization have made in helping to eliminate homelessness in New Hampshire. As founder and president of an agency which has provided housing to hundreds of individuals, Beauregard works to not only provide shelter, but also to eliminate the root cause of homelessness. Families in Transition provides support and services to their clients to help break the cycle of homelessness, including job skills training, and substance abuse and trauma counseling.

“We are pleased to be able to recognize and salute the great work and commitment of these two women leaders and their organizations,” said Kathleen Reardon, Senior Vice President of Community Relations and Public Affairs for Citizens Bank. “We look forward to continuing to work together to address some of the most important issues facing the residents of New Hampshire.”

Concluded Schmidt, “We know that the success of our business is tied to the strength of our communities, and as we continue to grow as a company our commitment to our core values is as strong as ever,” said Schmidt. “We will continue to reinvest in our communities, and focus our giving on some of the most critical issues facing the state including affordable housing, community economic development and innovative responses to basic human needs.”

About Citizens Bank:
Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 78 branches and 164 ATMs in New Hampshire.

RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $159 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG’s two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 13-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). CFG’s Web site is citizensbank.com.