Welcome to summer, where travel and family adventures take flight. We hope that you and your families are able to enjoy the longer days and your travels, or even some downtime with a staycation here on the beautiful Central Coast.
Spring is off to an exciting and promising start as we offer new member benefits, celebrate successes and continue to honor our 80th anniversary.
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.
We’re thrilled to announce that our President and CEO, Geri LaChance, was selected by the California and Nevada Credit Union League as the 2021 California Advocate of the Year. Each year, the League honors credit unions, individuals and organizations that display extraordinary leadership in advocacy and political action.
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.
As we enjoy the cautious excitement of moving back to more normal operations, our ever-popular Shred Day drive-thru event happened on June 12 at the San Luis Obispo branch, and another one will pop up in the North County in the fall. We’d love to see more members choose paperless savings and loan statements so you have less to shred; electronic statements in Online Banking provide more secure recordkeeping right at your fingertips. But we’ll still offer Shred Days to help with your overall safe confidential document disposal.
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.
As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we’re building a more sustainable community for the next 80 years by doing 80 local acts that have a global impact.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we’re offering tips, webinars, and services to help make the internet safer and more secure.
We’ve asked our incredible staff to nominate their favorite 501-(c)(3)-designated organizations. Here are the eight groups we’ve selected for August:
We are excited to announce that Melinda Bagby has joined SESLOC as Senior Member Business Loan Officer. In this role, Melinda is responsible for initiating new business growth and overseeing business member relationships, with a focus on Santa Maria and Northern Santa Barbara County, plus the five cities area of San Luis Obispo County.
We’ve asked our incredible staff to nominate their favorite 501-(c)(3)-designated organizations. Here are the eight groups we’ve selected for August:
