Ex-Fleetwood Bank official honored for community work, preservation efforts

Fleetwood Bank is commemorating Peter Merkel for his 27 years of service as a bank board member and community advocate.

A bench and plaque recognizing Merkel for his dedication to the bank and the community will be placed by Fleetwood Borough at the Fleetwood Reservoir in Ruscombmanor Township.

At a ceremony June 3, Merkel was joined by family and Fleetwood Bank officials, as well as his dogs, Indy and Lizzy, who he walks on the trails of the land daily.

“Pete was an integral part of Fleetwood Bank’s Board of Directors from 1997 to 2024,” Timothy Snyder, chief executive officer and president of Fleetwood Bank, said in a release. “His unwavering dedication to our community has also been evident in the numerous ways he has gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on the Fleetwood Borough. He was also heavily involved with the Fleetwood Borough Council, of which he was elected to in 1994. Since then, he has been the chairman of the sewer/water department, working tirelessly for 30 years to maintain and preserve the land of the Fleetwood Reservoir for our community.”

From 1891 to 1994, water from springs on the reservoir’s land was fed into two ponds, serving as the borough’s water source.

In 1994, a 1.5-million-gallon concrete tank was constructed to serve as the borough’s new water source storage, with a second 500,000-gallon steel tank added in 2010.

With the help of Pete Merkel and Berks Nature, Fleetwood Borough Council secured a $275,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to preserve the 190-acre reservoir plot.

“Today, I am working with Craig Conrad from the borough to upgrade the walking trails,” Merkel said. “I have been hiking, riding my horse and enjoying this land since a very young age, so being able to not only protect the land, but have it named with a bench in my honor is a true gift. It meant a lot to have everyone there with my family and my dogs. It was a total shock.”

Fleetwood Bank was founded in 1907 and takes pride in being “the only bank based in Berks County.”

The bank employs over 60 people across seven branches in Blandon, Fleetwood, Kutztown, Lyons, Oley, Shoemakersville and Wyomissing.