Artists
Sponsor
- National Penn Bank
Karen Troutman, Senior Vice President
P.O. Box 547
Boyertown, PA 19512
610-369-6365
FAX 369-6501
kltroutman@natpennbank.com
About the Artist Bob Williams
Information for this article courtesy of the Boyertown Times, Diane Van Dyke, Associate Editor
National Penn Bank’s Bally location, featuring one of three bears sponsored by National Penn Bank for the community Bear Fever project, was designed and painted by New Hanover Township artist Robert Williams.
Bob researched various quilt patterns and themes at the Schwenkfelder Museum and created a quilted Pennsylvania German heritage design to paint onto the Bally Branch bear with acrylic paint.
Two patterns—one, appropriately called “Bear Paws,” and the other, a “crazy,” less formal quilt pattern—inspired Bob’s design. Bright colors draw the public’s eye; the National Penn tulip symbol, incorporated into the pattern, recognizes the generosity of its sponsor.
Catherine Bower, National Penn Communications Manager explained the tulip’s significance: “Its sturdy growth and dependability is synonymous with the bank’s approach to serving customers and communities.” The tulip has long held a special significance in Pennsylvania German design.
National Penn Bank
Bear Fever owes assorted folks at National Penn Bank lots and lots of bear hugs. Our first three hugs are go to National Penn Bank for our very first orders for bears. Not one bear…three! The bank demonstrated their belief in our project where and when it counted the most. We can’t thank you enough.
National Penn Bank’s bears were placed at three different branches: watching over Boyertown at the Boyertown branch, is “Mary Beary” created by Candi Haas-Simmons; “Paws” guards the Bally branch, created by mural artist Bob Williams; and at the New Hanover branch, decorated by Mary Chisak, stands “Bella,” a bear with images from nature representing the eastern part of the United States on one side and images from the western landscape on the other.
Catharine Bower, speaking for National Penn Bank, noted that National Bank became involved with the Bear Fever project “because we believe in supporting the civic and cultural lives of our communities and Bear Fever certainly fit that criteria.”
She added, “I think the bears will bring a smile to peoples' faces and serve as a reminder of what a good idea, combined with energy and focus, can bring to a community.” She expressed the bank’s appreciation for the “opportunity to work with such talented artists, who skillfully incorporated our signature tulip into their beautiful designs.”
We owe another hug to National Penn Bank for allowing Townie, one of our first two bears—one of our prototypes—to live in its Boyertown branch lobby all last summer and fall. To help our sponsorship team, the bank provided a convenient, well-known place to send folks who were considering sponsoring a bear. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” they say; and seeing a real Bear Fever bear “in person” was worth a million of them.
Promoting assorted community projects is certainly one of the things Bear Fever loves best about National Penn Bank. The Boyertown Holiday Open House Tour, Movies Under the Stars, Dick Powell’s PCTV video features about Bear Fever and Building a Better Boyertown, the March 2005 Coming Out of Hibernation event are just a few recent projects close to the heart of Bear Fever that National Penn Bank has helped to support in the past few years.
And Bear Fever thanks National Penn Bank for its assistance in installation: not only did the bank assume the installation of their own bears, but the bank’s team helped us secure the cement pads for 12 additional bears. People helping people helping their community: that’s what we appreciate about our hometown bank.