GECU - Governmental Employees Credit Union

G.E.C.U.
2008
E-Statements: Save a tree, save your money!
E-Statements: Easy and secure, plus less
postage and paper coming through your
homeʼs mailbox means more money goes
back to our members!
If it is one of those things you have not
given much thought to or havenʼt gotten
around to yet, consider the benefits of
receiving your monthly G.E.C.U. statement
online as an E-Statement. You might be
surprised to know:
• E-Statements are secure because they are
sent to you encrypted through e-mail.
• They are at your fingertips 24 hours-aday, 7-days-a-week.
•View, print or download your E-Statement
any time.
• You receive your E-Statement one or
two days earlier than you would typically
receive your paper statement.
• There is no cost to you.
(continue on Page 3)
Pockets Kids Klub C.D. and
Teen C.D. offer great rates and
encourage kids to save Page 4
Whatta you want? A cookie?
Games? Prizes? Page 5
G.E.C.U. ʻnetsʼ new Member
Service Representative, Kate Pahl
Page 6
G.E.C.U Sponsors Area Honor
Student Page 7
and most state-chartered credit
unions across the country through the
National Credit Union Share Insurance
Fund (NCUSIF), a federal fund backed
by the full faith and credit of the United
States government.
Not one penny of insured savings
has ever been lost by a member of a
federally insured credit union. Each
memberʼs account is federally insured
up to $100,000, and all individual
retirement accounts (IRAs) are
federally insured up to $250,000. To
learn more about the NCUA visit their
website at www.ncua.gov.
Greetings, Friends:
As another season unfolds, we hope it
provides you opportunity to relax and
enjoy all that our beautiful communities
have to offer this time of year. Oh, and
maybe some extra time to complete a
household project or two that you put
off this summer—I know I have several
in mind!
If anyone has comments or questions
about this or any other issues please
feel free to contact myself or Ashlee
Lisowski. I am proud to announce that
Ashlee is G.E.C.U.ʼs new Vice President
of Operations!
Also on peopleʼs minds these days
is the economy. Although we often
tire of its news, belt tightening and
budget adjusting are a reality for many
families. Please remember, G.E.C.U.
has products, services and advice to
help you through those unexpected
and leaner times. We are proud to
serve and assist you.
Another exciting note is our Fall
2008 newsletter. Inside you will
find newsworthy items, such as our
involvement in community related
activities and you can learn who our
Mega Money winner is! There are tips
on consolidating loans, a great new
C.D. for kids and information related
to E-Statements: help us save postage,
paper and the environment. Happy
reading and happy fall!
With this said, I would like to assure
our members that G.E.C.U. is
financially sound and federally insured.
This issue is hot news lately, so I will
elaborate: G.E.C.U. is federally
insured through the National Credit
Union Administration (NCUA). The
National Credit Union Administration
(NCUA) is the federal agency that
charters and supervises federal credit
unions and insures savings in federal
2
(E-STATEMENTS Continued)
• We only need your email address.
• Your computer should support 128-bit
encryption and you need access to Adobe
Acrobat Reader, version 5.05 or higher
(installed on most computers or easy to
download at no charge).
• If you download your credit union account
information to Quicken or Quickbooks, we
now have all versions available for FREE!
“Remember, money that G.E.C.U. saves
in postage and paper goes back to our
members,” said Ashlee Lisowski, vice
president. “E-statements also help keep our
environment clean.”
Whatʼs the difference between E-Statements
and online banking?
About 50 percent of G.E.C.U. members use
online banking, while only about 20 percent
receive their monthly statements online as EStatements. What is the difference between
the two?
Ashlee explained: “An E-Statement is simply
your monthly G.E.C.U. statement of activity
with accounts that you receive online, in your
email accountʼs in-box. Online banking is when
you set up your monthly bills, such as your
mortgage, utilities, credit cards and vehicle
loans, to be paid directly from your credit
union account(s) to those vendors. There is no
exchange of cash or checks. Both E-Statements
and online banking are FREE, safe, and
effective today.”
From the credit union to the classroom...
Employees Katie Hagen and Ashlee Lisowski
recently shared their knowledge and
experience with young students through
Junior Achievement, a partnership between
businesses, educators and volunteers.
They each visited different classrooms at
Hintgen Elementary and taught first and
fifth grade students various lessons. “It
was really rewarding working with young
students,” Katie said. “A neat experience,”
agreed Ashlee.
Holiday Closings to Note
G.E.C.U will be closed for business on the days listed in order for our staff and their
families to enjoy the holidays. G.E.C.U. online banking services will be available on
these days, 24/7.
Saturday, September 27 (Have a fun and safe Oktoberfest)
Thursday, November 27 (Happy Thanksgiving)
Wednesday, December 24 Drive Thru ONLY 7:30-12:00 pm
Thursday, December 25 (Merry Christmas)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Drive Thru ONLY 7:30-12:00 pm
Thursday, January 1, 2009 (Happy New Year)
3
Pockets Kids Klub C.D. and Teen C.D. offer great
rates and encourage kids to save
Pockets C.D.
Ages 4-12
5.00% APY
Teen C.D.
Ages 13-18
6.00% APY
Wow! These are fantastic add-on C.D.
rates for kids. So good, in fact, that
G.E.C.U. has placed some restrictions
on their purchase:
• Only One C.D. per child
• C.D. will be in the childʼs name only,
parents are not joint owners (They
will be listed as Payable on Death or
PODs)
• No withdrawals until age 18, penalty
for early withdrawal is equal to the last
4 posted dividends
• $100.00 may be transferred from a
savings account, but only to open the
C.D.
• Minimum balance is $100, maximum
balance is $2,000.
If kids are wondering how they can
add on to their C.D., here are ways
they can contribute and watch their
money grow!
• Cash or checks made payable to the
child. Save those birthday and holiday
checks, allowance and chore money,
kids!
• Childʼs payroll (Sorry, mom and
dad, we appreciate your help, but not
this time)!
Dividends posted quarterly. Rates will
be reviewed annually in September
and are subject to change at that time.
ʻ08 Youth Week: Kids learn saving money is fun!
Our young members reaped the
rewards of the 2008 Youth Week. Kids
who deposited money in their Pockets
Kids Klub account received a free
T-shirt, plus the chance to win other fun
prizes. How cool is that?
If you were unable to participate in
Youth Week and your child did not
receive a Pockets T-shirt, stop in and
pick one up. Mark it on your calendars:
next yearʼs Youth Week is April 19-25,
2009.
G.E.C.U.ʼs Katie Hagen poses with youth members
Tanner and Ty Corcoran as they sport their Pockets
Kids Klub T-shirts during Youth Week.
4
Whatta you want? A cookie? Games? Prizes?
You can get exactly what you want October 16th.
M
ore times than not, being a member at the “Fully Financial, Fully Friendly”
credit union is pretty sweet. Everything will be even more so, October 16th.
National Credit Union Week is October 13th through the 17th. To help
celebrate the success of G.E.C.U. and credit unions everywhere, G.E.C.U.
will offer you, our members, a little something special. If you would
enjoy some delicious cookies, hot coffee or refreshing punch,
stop into the lobby, Thursday, October 16th and you can have
your fill of all three. It might be a good time to say “hi” and
reacquaint yourself with your favorite G.E.C.U. staff
member as well.
To G.E.C.U., Credit Union Week is a pretty
big deal. With free cookies, coffee and
oh, did we forget to mention a little Wheel
of Fortune for the chance to win some
great prizes? Youʼll find it special, too!
5
Help me Rhonda!
Stop in and we can talk about clearing up
credit card debt and streamlining things
into one monthly payment. We can look
at the equity in your home, auto or even
motorcycle to consolidate debt.
Consolidation loans might
be the answer you need
to pay off debt and reduce
monthly payments.
Question: With fuel and grocery prices
continually on the rise, how can I reduce my
monthly payments to save money, pay my
bills and stretch my dollar?
Keep in mind, when you borrow against
your equity, you are using a portion, or
all, of your homeʼs value, depending on
whether you have a home mortgage. Equity
loans can provide you with the ability to
obtain funds at a great rate of interest.æ
Answer: We hear this quite often. If you
are finding that your budget allows you to
pay only the minimum or just the interest on
credit card bills, then a consolidation loan
might be something you want to consider.
G.E.C.U. ʻnetsʼ new Member Service Representative,
Kate Pahl
If you are a fishing enthusiast or even if
you are not, stop and chat with Member
Service Representative Kate Pahl, she might
just share a tip or two regarding her luck
with the sport. In Kateʼs quest to fish for
Bass and Northern, she lands some goodsized ones. Her latest claim-to-fame on the
Mississippi is a 38-inch Northern!
Back at the office, Kate joined G.E.C.U. in
July already quite familiar with our credit
union—Kate is from the La Crosse area and
her family has been members of G.E.C.U.
for as long as she can remember.
“Everybody is very friendly,” Kate said
regarding her position as member service
representative, where she helps members
with their daily account transactions. “Iʼm
learning how to update CDs now,” Kate
said of her ongoing training.
Kate attended UW-Milwaukee before
she returned to La Crosse and attended
Western Technical College. Look for Kateʼs
photo on the new outdoor banners, too!æ
6
G.E.C.U. Sponsors Area Honor Student
G.E.C.U. sponsors high school graduate banquet. He is also a Northland College
Maria Mackey at the Honor Student student. We wish all of the Class of 2008
Banquet.
grads well as you continue your educations
or start your careers.æ
Kudos to Maria Mackey, a 2008 Holmen
High School graduate and honor student.
G.E.C.U. proudly sponsored Maria at the 48th
Annual Honor Student Banquet this spring.
The banquet honors students from area
high schools who graduate in the top five
percent of their class. Maria is the daughter
of G.E.C.U. members Tom and Pat Mackey.
Maria attends Northland College in
Ashland, Wis. It must run in the family, G.E.C.U.ʼs Katie Hagen (left) and Ashlee
because in 2007, G.E.C.U. sponsored Lisowski (right) celebrate Holmen graduate
brother Michael Mackey at the same Maria Mackeyʼs accomplishment.
So, if your Fairy Godmother showed up to
give you $100 dollars...
...you would have no problem taking it
and enjoying it, would you? Currently,
there are no plans for anyone at G.E.C.U.
to be wearing wings, carrying a wand, or
spreading pixie dust. However, we do have
$100 for four of our members and we would
enjoy seeing that they get it.
This process was magically delightful for
G.E.C.U. member Andy Baker. He saw his
number in our last newsletter, came in and
claimed his $100. Sadly, there were three
other members who had their number listed,
but we never heard from them and now it is
too late.
If you are a regular
reader of “Just
Among Friends”
you know how
this Mega Money
Winner story goes
– you look to see
if your membership
number is listed below, if it is, you call us, you
come in, poof, you get the $100 dollars.
If you see your number listed here, your
story is going to be a good one. Stop in to
see us before December 31, 2008 and you
will walk out the door $100 richer. And they
all lived happily ever after.
Numbers:
978
7
8617
10872
11211
Kids, grab your crayons!
The coloring contest is back!
Itʼs time to sharpen crayons
and pencils for the Second
Annual G.E.C.U. Coloring
Contest! Coloring sheets will
be available for pick-up Mon.
Nov. 3 and completed works of
art need to be turned back in
by Friday, December 19.
Boys and girls ages 0-4, 5-8
and 9-12 may participate. One
winner from each age group will receive a $50 U.S.
Savings Bond, a great addition to college funds or for
saving for something special.
PAID
Permit No. 193
Winona, MN
PRESORTED STD
U.S. POSTAGE
The three winners will be announced on Friday,
December 26. Stop in throughout the contest to view
the entries; weʼll post them for everyone to enjoy.
Happy coloring!