Together Magazine - Spring Edition

The Spring edition of the Together magazine is now published and being circulated to members and our sponsor schools in the area. This is the second year of publication for this Together magazine for the credit union which is a big change from prior year newsletters. Many credit unions have stopped newsletters altogether because of mailing costs and limited interest by the members. Newsletters were more about giving event dates and sales promotion information. By contrast, the Together magazine reads like a normal magazine would. Real life events and financial education resources are featured in each edition to help our membership and the community with their financial decisions.

For example, this Spring edition of the Together magazine discusses how to regret-proof your next vehicle purchase. Buying a vehicle is a major purchase item. Unfortunately the credit union often hears from members after the fact of their vehicle buying horror stories. There is nothing worse than having buyer's remorse on a vehicle that has just been financed for five or six years.

The credit union's primary purpose is to help improve the financial condition of its credit union member-owners. Our Together magazine has been created by professional editors and writers to assist with this objective. I encourage our current and potential members to take a few minutes and read the publication. It is our strong belief that financial education value will be earned by doing so.

Here is a direct link to the e-version where you can flip pages like a regular magazine publication;
http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/477028-spring-2015

Teachers Have Come a Long Way......

Below is an old Teacher Contract from 1923 that is obviously for a female teacher. Makes you wonder what the male teacher contract looked like! Not sure of the geographic region of this contract however the Ohio area was mentioned as a possibility. Fortunately, women have come a long way in the workplace since 1923!

Closings and Delayed Openings

This winter season has presented multiple weather events that have resulted in the credit union having to close offices, delay openings, or close early. These decisions are not taken lightly. The number one priority for the credit union is the safety of our employees as they must travel to and from our various office locations. Predicting weather in the Tennessee Valley is not an easy task. Weather patterns can change and have done so in the past. Weather predictions are all about probabilities so the best we can do as decision makers is to try and make the right call based upon the information available. We generally do not follow the weather closing schedules of the various school systems. School systems have to worry about children waiting on buses or being transported on buses that must leave very early each morning. Credit union offices do not open until 8:30 am Monday through Friday so we have time to see how conditions are that morning before deciding on a closure or delayed opening. Generally, the goal is to make that decision by 6:00 AM if a decision deals with an office closure or delayed opening. We have to notify all of our employees through our communication channels and then we begin notifying our members by a variety of methods. Closing early during an existing workday is based solely on insuring to the best of our abilities that employees can arrive at their homes safely before poor driving conditions develop. 

There are multiple methods used to report office closings, delayed openings, or early closings. The top line of our web site at www.naecu.org will notate any office hour changes when they occur. Our Facebook and Twitter pages will be updated live. Members on our Constant Contact email group will receive an email noting weather closings and delays. This is why it is important for the credit union to have accurate email information for members. Finally, the three main network affiliates (ABC, NBC, and CBS) will be contacted to post our announcement along with other businesses in the area. Keep in mind though we have no control if or when the networks will post our announcements. The newsrooms typically do a great job of posting information for the public but they are also extremely busy during these severe weather events. 

The credit union has disaster recovery resources available to post member debits and credits whenever our offices must be closed due to weather or other natural disaster events. We are also very lenient on refunding overdraft fees and other charges that could have been avoided if our offices had been open. All members are encouraged to have a VISA Debit Card or at least an ATM card to access their funds if credit union offices are closed. 

Members are also encouraged to monitor potential weather storm events and make plans in advance for cash needs should an office closing or delayed opening become necessary. We want our members to remain safe also so usually the best place to be during severe weather events is at home with family and friends close by.