As 2021 comes to a close, we are looking back at the many accomplishments of our credit union and community. We launched Level Up Member Benefits and I am pleased to see so many of you taking advantage of not just your Everyday Member Benefits, which we’ve always offered, but new benefits including discounted rates on eligible loans and select fee waivers.
I will be the first to admit that I’m not the most technically-savvy credit union employee. I am a frequent visitor to our IT Help Desk. And while I knew SESLOC had launched Pay with Points as part of the SESLOC Rewards program in August, it was a few weeks before I signed up to see what it was all about.
Welcome to spring on the Central Coast! A fresh, new season brings cautious optimism regarding the pandemic as more vaccines are made available; a light at the end of the tunnel for our local businesses and communities.
You have probably heard the saying “fresh start for a new year.” Never have we all collectively been more excited for a new year than in 2021! In the last quarter, we surpassed a monumental milestone of $1 billion in assets. Our growth is especially significant at a time when financial institution mergers and acquisitions are prevalent; SESLOC’s growth has been achieved organically, building healthy relationships with you and our community over decades.
If we had 20/20 perfect vision, we might have skipped to the year 2021. Never have we seen more disruption to life on a daily basis and to how we socialize. It is the ultimate irony that in 2019 we couldn’t allow you to cover your face or head while conducting business in the branch. And now in 2020, with the order from the state of California, we are are requiring masks to be worn. We greatly appreciate your mutual consideration of others.
So much has happened in the last few months—almost every SESLOC member has been impacted from the pandemic, the swift collapse of the economy and the strain of social unrest due to inequality. The cooperative philosophy of credit unions has always supported the notion of equality for all members: one member, one vote, one voice. There are no stockholders. Our earnings are used to keep rates competitive and fees low, and to provide financial access to all.
This note is being written on March 25, and the one thing I know is that our situation will likely be different the day you are reading this. News and caution regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has grown and changed every day. These are unsettling times that we haven’t experienced before.
Happy New Year! Can you believe we just entered into a new decade? As I reflect on the past 10 years, it has been filled with many changes in the credit union industry. All banks and credit unions were recovering from The Great Recession in the early years of the last decade as well as responding to new regulations being imposed on institutions.
I’d like to start by saying thank you for your generous support throughout August to help raise funds for Jack’s Helping Hand, a local nonprofit that offers programs for special needs children and their families. Over the last five years, you’ve contributed over $35,000 to help build the Jack Ready Imagination Park, a universally accessible playground where special needs children can play along-side able-bodied children in a safe, sunny environment. It was truly an honor to walk into our branches and see the walls covered with handprints as a display of your support.
We’re halfway through 2019 and what an exciting year it has been. Your credit union posted its highest month of loan fundings in April at $25 million. Your credit union is in good financial health, and we are helping to make living on the Central Coast more attainable and enjoyable for our members—whether it be financing a car, a new home or a college education. Thank you to our new and existing members for bringing it home to SESLOC.
We’re partnering with News Channel 12 to honor nonprofit volunteers who make our community thrive. Each month, we’re choosing a different nonprofit and asking them to select a valuable volunteer to receive the SESLOC Cares for Community Award. We’re thrilled to introduce Ray Segovia, from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center.
For a fifth year in a row, SESLOC held a fundraiser for the SLO Food Bank and Food Bank of Santa Barbara County this past May. With the support from employees and members, SESLOC raised $12,061.89.
On Friday, May 24, over 120 student leaders participating in the Week of Welcome (WOW) program were enriched by a financial wellness workshop hosted by SESLOC at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) campus in San Luis Obispo. The purpose of SESLOC and Cal Poly providing this workshop was to educate WOW leaders in practical and relevant financial education
On Monday, May 20, SESLOC Credit Union hosted a hands-on, real-world living and budgeting simulation event for 70 students at Central Coast New Tech High School in Nipomo. For this event, SESLOC partnered with Bite of Reality, an app that presents real-life scenarios of maintaining a budget, to improve the financial health and wellness of the Central Coast.
We’re partnering with News Channel 12 to honor nonprofit volunteers who make our community thrive. Each month, we’re choosing a different nonprofit and asking them to select a valuable volunteer to receive the SESLOC Cares for Community Award. We’re thrilled to introduce Michael Camacho-Craft, from the Good Samaritan Shelter
