Dear Member:

In November of 1991, the Board of Directors voted to establish the Juanita C. Williams Educational Trust Fund.   This was in memory of Juanita Williams who had not only been the credit union’s President/CEO since 1957 but had been killed in the Luby’s massacre in Killeen.  The Directors then voted to divide this money into three equal amounts and endow student scholarships at three Central Texas Colleges.  These colleges are McLennan Community College, Texas State Technical College, and Central Texas College.   Applications for these scholarships will be available at some time during the fall semester of each year.   They are open to any credit union member and their families.  Applications can be picked up at the FOUNDATION OFFICE of each school,  NOT the financial aid office.  If you or a family member are interested, be sure and contact the appropriate school to find out the exact date you would need to have your application completed and turned in.

YES, IDENTITY THEFT AND FRAUD ARE  HITTING  CLOSE  TO HOME! Members are still being hit with phishing scams, fraudulent contest winnings, and identity theft.  Now we have even had a credit union employee fall victim to identity theft.  This employee had a family member’s purse stolen with drivers license and check book inside.  The countless hours it takes to go to the police station, file charges, put stop payments on checks, notify credit card and debit card companies, get a new driver’s license, etc, is tremendous not to mention the stress involved.  A couple of things learned from this: 1) Never keep your social security card in your wallet, 2) Don’t put your driver’s license number on your checks, 3) Use Online Banking so no statements are sent through the mail.  4) If you have your check book or debit card stolen, after notifying the credit union, notify TELECHECK.  TELECHECK is a check monitoring company who can help reduce the likelihood of checks being passed or fraudulent debit transactions occurring.  TELECHECK can be reached at 1-800-697-9263.  

ONLINE BANKING, ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO STOP FRAUD QUICKLY AND IT’S FREE !!!  You can follow all activity on your account as often as you like. If someone does get your information, you can identify it and put a stop to it immediately rather than finding out later when a statement comes.  Thus, why not?  Call any one of our offices and get signed up. PLUS YOU CAN SEE COPIES OF YOUR CANCELLED CHECKS ONLINE WHEN THEY CLEAR. 

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN

DEBIT CARD PROCESSOR

On August 11, 2008, the credit union will be changing companies that process our debit cards.  You should not notice any type of change to your card or change in the way it works.  However if for some reason your card does not work properly, don't hesitate to call the credit union immediately.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “FREE LUNCH”. Remember that old saying?  Then please remember when the dealer offers “FREE GAS” or “MORE REBATES”, they are NOT truly giving you anything.  That money is a part of what you pay for the car.  Lately it has been incorporated into the sticker price.  Call or come by the credit union first to see what you should be paying for any car and don’t let a dealer “take you to the cleaners”.  Their goal is to make as much as they can off of you.  The credit union CAN help save you money.  Also, the credit union can offer you a skip payment at Christmas.  The credit union can offer you someone to talk to if a problem occurs.  Try calling someone out of state when you have a payment problem.  The credit union can offer you much, much cheaper GAP coverage.  Plus we will give you the true facts about the probable value of your car when you get ready to sell or trade it.  IF YOU HAVEN’T CHECKED OUT OUR DEPRECIATION GUIDE, PLEASE DO SO, WHY BUY A CAR THAT WILL LOSE HALF IT’S VALUE IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS. 

UNDERSTANDING  YOUR  CREDIT  SCORE

Most know that their credit score is a “number” and the higher the better.  But how it is derived is a very complicated formula.  Here are the basics in a nutshell.  Your payment history makes up about 35% of the score.  On time payments help, bankruptcies and late payments hurt.  How much you owe makes up about 30% of your score.  This looks at not only balances, but number of accounts and the available credit you have used.  Your length of credit history makes up about 15%.  The longer your history, the better your score.  Any new credit makes up about 10%.  A lot of new credit can lower your score.  About 10% comes from miscellaneous factors.  Scores range from 300 to 850 with most people in the 600 to 750 range.  Call your credit union loan officer if you have any question or would like to discuss how to raise your credit score.

Enclosed please find your quarterly statement.   Transactions after June 30, 2008 will appear on your next statement. 

 Sincerely,

J. Michael Chaney

President