A talented bunch of artists at the Nampa Branch!

You may have seen the ad in the Press Tribune about the Paint ‘Em Up Cowboys contest.  Your creative Credit Union staff at the Nampa branch decided we could do it…and here’s the end result:

 

I must say…not bad for amateurs!  We had a lot of fun planning, painting, and seeing it all come together.  Winners should be announced soon, so keep your eyes open!

CMN Telethon

This weekend is the annual telethon for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) that locally benefits St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

I’m sure our members have become accustomed to seeing the Credit Union for Kids logo in our lobby. It is our choice recipient for most of our fundraisers.

I must say that we have some pretty awesome members! Through our fundraising efforts and our members’ contributions, we were able to raise $32,261.05 for CMN last year. That’s awesome!

Last Friday, our CMN Chair Rosa Blume graciously accepted two awards on behalf of Idadiv. In our asset category ($10 to $50 Million,) we raised both the most overall and contributed the most per member ($3.49) in all of Idaho! The best part is that all the money stays local and benefits St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital!

So, if you’re around this weekend, be sure to tune into Channel 6 on Saturday, May 30th from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. You’ll be able to witness the unbelievable courage of children faced with incredible odds and experience the power of the human spirit.

Piggy Bank or Bills?

 I thought I’d share a few “food for thought” ideas relating to personal finance. 

In this time of great uncertainty, is it better to work on building your savings or to use that cash to pay down or payoff debt? 

In the past, it has almost always been suggested to pay down or off if possible whatever debt you might have.  In almost all cases, the interest rate you are charged on your debt is quite a bit higher than what you are being paid on your savings balance.  Therefore it is only logical to lower what you owe rather than collect a few pennies on your savings, right? 

Maybe not, at least not right now anyway. 

With credit card companies and some home equity lenders reviewing accounts and reducing limits, it might just be better to keep those funds in a savings account where you could actually use them if an emergency happened rather than be forced to scramble for credit at a time that is likely stressful enough as it is. 

No one can decide which option is right for you.  Hopefully it will help you think about different options, though, and open your mind to other tools that might help you whether the storm a little better. 

And, if you’d like even more help or tips to improve your finances, check out Balance Financial Fitness  program on our website.  It’s packed with great articles, tips, and tools.

Where’s My Refund?

It’s that time of year again when federal tax refunds start flooding in. With that, our phones ring off the hook with members wondering if their refund is in their account yet. Here are a few tips that we hope will help you know what the status of your refund is:

1) Check your account via home banking regularly. If you are expecting your refund via direct deposit, those entries are posted first thing each morning.

2) Click “Where’s My Refund?” on the IRS website. You will need to know the primary filers’ SSN, how you filed (single, married filing jointly, head of household, etc.) and the exact amount of your refund. This site will give you either a date range or a specific date that your deposit should be received.

As a reminder, don’t write checks or set up automatic payments before you’ve verified the funds have been received. This could lead to overdraft fees on your account and potentially jeopardize the good standing of your account.

Remember, too, that we can help you “spend” that refund. Now is the perfect time to pay yourself first and open a share certificate, make a transfer to your savings account, or open a Holiday Club account.

61st Annual Meeting

Last night Idadiv held our 61st Annual Meeting at the Fairfield Inn in Nampa. Attendance was great, much more than we expected even. Although the room was quite cramped, a good time was had by all.

The evening started off with a tribute to one of our own. Our CEO, Denay Moles, has been with the credit union for 30 years this year. Staff recognized her for that service with a comical slide show of “Things Denay has seen over her 30 years with Idadiv.” The traditional 30 year anniversary token is diamonds and pearls. We felt this was extremely fitting, as both diamonds and pearls are not born, but created through pressure and hardships. Denay is like both of these precious gems as she has achieved what she has for herself and Idadiv through a lot of hard work and pressure. And, like diamonds and pearls, she continues to learn and shine at what she does. Sticking to the traditional 30 year anniversary token, Denay was also presented with a beautiful diamond and pearl necklace to recognize her service to Idadiv.

We would like to congratulate both Karen Serratos and Brett Spencer for their reelection to the Board of Directors and thank Dennis Elledge for his willingness to run again. It is volunteers like this who truly help make credit unions different.

We finished off the evening with door prizes and good company.

Idadiv Member Honored at the Special Olympics Torch Run in Middleton

Today Deb (from our Middleton branch) and I were so lucky to be able to participate in the Middleton leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the World Special Olympics Games. We provided lunch to all the runners and athletes who were part of the Torch Run.

What an exciting event it was! How cool is it that Idaho is so fortunate to play host to all these wonderful people? What an opportunity to showcase our communities!

While we were there at the Middleton High School Gym, we were privileged to get to see one of our members honored. Eric Reed, the son of Gordon and Penny Reed, is so excited to represent Team USA at the 2009 World Winter Games. He has spent the last 15 years training and competing in floor hockey with Special Olympics Idaho.

Eric has attended all 12 years of school in Middleton graduating in 2003. He is a member of the Caldwell Wildcats Floor Hockey Unified team. A “Unified” team means the special need player has partners without special needs playing on the court with them. Eric’s sisters Chelsie Reed, Aeriann and her husband Kyle Keifer are Eric’s partners on the team. The team participated in the Special Olympics World Invitational Winter Games held in Boise last February (2008.) They took 1st place and brought home the gold medal qualifying them for this years’ event. The team is coached by Teri Elordi of Caldwell, with players from around the Treasure Valley.

It was truly humbling to hear the entire gym at Middleton High School chanting Eric’s name and cheering for him. Middleton Gazette’s Becky O’Meara asked him what today meant to him. “This is so special.” he responded. He was pretty emotional with all the attention, but loved every minute of it. All of us at Idadiv wish Eric the best of luck at the games! Bring home the gold!

On a side note, Idadiv would like to send a special “Thank You!” to Sandy, Angela, and the rest of the gang over at Subway in Middleton for their help with providing the runners lunch as well as Becky with the Middleton Gazette for her assistance in providing some information on Eric as well as pictures from today’s event.

More Information about the Heartland Security Breach

If you have a VISA debit or credit card with Idadiv, you may be getting a letter from us in regards to the Heartland Payment Systems security breach of 2008.

 
First, some background: Heartland Payment Systems, a company that helps businesses process debit and credit card transactions, was hit by malicious hackers. The hack put millions of VISA and Mastercard customers at risk in what may be the biggest data breach ever, even larger than the TJ Maxx breach a few years ago.

Heartland has taken responsibility for the breach, and offers tips to consumers who may be affected. Robert Carr, Heatland’s chairman/CEO, puts it this way:

“As a cardholder, you will not be held financially responsible for any unauthorized transactions that are timely reported to your card issuer. You should regularly monitor your card and bank statements and report all suspicious activity to your card issuer (in the case of Visa and MasterCard cardholders that would be the bank that issued the card, not the card brand).”

Heartland says they’ve closed the security hole, but they still haven’t reported how many people may be affected.

Here at Idadiv, we have received lists of compromised card numbers. We are working diligently to reorder cards for all members whose cards were affected.

If you have a debit card with Idadiv and your card number was part of the breach, we have ordered you a new card and sent you a letter telling you when we will block your current card. This means you can continue to use your card as normal, but will need to activate your new card as soon as you get it and discontinue using your old one.

If you have a compromised Idadiv credit card, we will try to contact you, your card will be blocked and a new number issued. You will not be able to use your current card.

Just a tip: sign up for home banking to keep a close eye on your accounts. If you do spot something suspicious, please contact us immediately. Remember, if you have any other VISA or Mastercards other than through Idadiv; keep a close eye on those, too.

Syringa Middle School Presentation

  I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Mr. Overman’s 7^th and 8^th grade Career Class at Syringa Middle School in Caldwell today!  What a blast that was!  We talked about several topics such as:

• The difference between banks and credit unions
• Why savings is important
• How to open a savings account
• What is credit
• How does credit affect you
• How to build good credit
• The costs of credit, both good and bad
• What employment opportunities are available at a credit union

The students asked great questions and really worked to grasp the topics we were talking about.  Before leaving, we handed out 100 Grand to each student.   Are we an awesome credit union or what?  Of course, it was the chocolate kind, but still…

From all of us at Idadiv..

From all of us at Idadiv, we wish you and yours a very happy holiday!  On this Christmas Eve, I thought I’d share with you some pictures from our holiday staff party.

Idadiv’s Own Stephanie Brower

If you get the chance, check out the back page of the sports section of today’s Idaho Press Tribune.  Our own Stephanie Brower is featured in an article called, “What did you do on your vacation?” 

It’s a great story with pictures to boot!

Stephanie is our Loan Clerk at the Nampa office. 

Congrats, Steph…great article!