FARMINGTON – William J. Bernard has been elected chairman of the Franklin Savings Bank Board of Directors.

Bernard has been a member of the board since 1985.

“Franklin Savings Bank is a wonderful success story,” he said. “Under the guidance of an excellent management staff, this bank has forged a solid relationship with the communities it serves. Franklin Savings Bank is the only independent bank left in Franklin County.”

An independent accountant, Bernard has been a cost accountant at G.H. Bass and a merchandise manager at W.T. Grant Co. He taught accounting at the University of Maine at Farmington for 13 years.

A Rumford native, he graduated from Stephens High School. He earned degrees from Husson College in Bangor and UMF. He is enrolled in a master’s program in taxation at Thomas College in Waterville.

Bernard is a past president of the Farmington Lions Club and served on the town’s Budget Committee for seven years. He is a Navy veteran, having served three tours of duty in Vietnam.

Franklin Savings Bank, which has $290 million in assets, was recently rated the strongest banking entity in Maine by the independent rating firm of Weiss Ratings Inc.

The 135-year-old community bank has eight locations in Franklin, Oxford and Somerset Counties and a financial services branch, Western Mountain Financial Services.

Bernard and his wife, Betty, live in Farmington.