Not rendering correctly? View this email as a web page here.
Community First Company Newsletter
Volume 2 | Issue 1 | January 2019
Our Mission: Providing financial solutions for every stage of life.
State of the Credit Union
Dear Valued Member,

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday season and wish you much success in 2019!

At Community First Credit Union, it is our mission to provide our members with financial solutions for every stage of life. We do this by adhering to six Core Values that determine the way we work -- both internally among staff, as well as externally with our members. I encourage you to read more about our Core Values by visiting our website.

In my mind, 2018 marked the year of Collaboration and Continuous Improvement, two very important Core Values. We conducted multiple surveys to learn more about how you felt about our policies and procedures. Afterward, a record number of our staff helped improve your experience by playing a role in one of the many process improvement initiatives launched last year. Just some of these improvements include giving you the ability to set up branch appointments online, providing you with debit card fraud text alerts, and delivering enhanced Online Banking email alerts for transactions and account balances. 
Another example is our new Mortgage Transformation project, which greatly improved the mortgage loan application process. You can now enjoy the convenience of starting your application in the branch or over the phone using our 24/7 Mortgage Champions hotline! As a result of these new initiatives, I feel a renewed sense of urgency and agility as we come together to solve problems and provide the very best experience for you.

I hope that our efforts to work together to pair intense Collaboration with Continuous Improvement helped remove friction and solve problems for you in 2018. Our goal was to create an improved quality of life for you and our community. I am excited to build off this momentum and make Continuous Improvement an even more dominant part of our daily routines in 2019. With each New Year, we strive to give you even more reasons to Love Where You Bank.
 
Community First Cares Foundation

 The Community First Cares Foundation and Investing in Kids (INK!) Awarded 10 St. Johns County Teachers with "Champions for Children" Classroom Innovation Grants in 2018

Champions for Children Video

The Community First Cares Foundation announces it has awarded the inaugural "Champions for Children" classroom innovation grants in conjunction with Investing in Kids (INK!). Each grant recipient was awarded $1,000 to support his or her innovative classroom project. The winners of the grants are automatically entered in the grand prize competition, a $2,500 grant for their classroom project to be awarded at the Teacher of the Year event in January 2019.

Watch the video above to see the teachers' reactions and read more about the recipients and how they intend to use their funds in the press release below. 

Read News Release
Community News
Madison on the Bus
 
Update: Madison the dog, found during Freed to Run marathon, finds her forever home

In our December 2018 edition of the Community First Insider, we told you the story of how five Community First runners participated in the Freed to Run marathon on December 4. Perhaps the most memorable part of this story was that our Mortgage Sales Manager, Eric Krall, found a stray dog at a rest stop. The team decided that they couldn’t leave her behind and took her with them on their journey! She stayed on the bus and watched the runners trek along for 26.2 miles. Eric's family fostered the dog for a short time, but were unable to reunite her with her owner. We are happy to report an update: Eric's family decided to officially adopt her! Madison Krall is pictured below with her new dog brother, Hemingway. Congratulations to Madison and the Krall family!  

cute doggies_resized 

 

The Florida Theatre

The Florida Theatre's Attendance Ranks 6th in the Nation in 2018

Pollstar, a trade publication reporting on the concert industry, released its 2018 year-end charts and ranked the historic, nonprofit Florida Theatre’s attendance (during 2018) as among the Top 100 theatres worldwide! With attendance of 134,053, the Florida Theatre was #56 overall on the Top 100 Theatre Venues chart (surpassing all other Jacksonville venues) and #6 for theatres under 2,000 seats. Congratulations to the historic Florida Theatre! We are proud to be your season sponsor! 

Read News Release

 

 Greg Gause Business Testimonial 

Greg Gause, Owner of Advantage Plumbing, tells his Business Success Story with Community First

 Greg Gause Video

Greg Gause has been a long-time Community First member. In fact, he became a member in the 1970s when we were still known as Duval County Teachers Credit Union. Greg held his business accounts with another financial institution in the past, but when Community First opened its Commercial Lending department in 2004, he switched his accounts over to us so that he could have both his personal and business accounts under the same roof. Since then, Greg has utilized most of our business products and service offerings to help his business grow.

Watch the video testimonial above to hear Greg tell his story in his own words or read his full story on our website. 

Read Greg's Story

  

Upcoming Events 

Teacher of the Year

Teacher of the Year Celebrations

As you may know, our roots are in education. In 1935, Community First launched in a high school basement and started as the Duval County Teachers Credit Union. Since then, our name may have changed, but we continue to support education in the counties we serve. We would like to wish all of the nominees for Teacher of the Year the best of luck as they approach their upcoming naming ceremonies. Below are the dates and location for just some of the Teacher of the Year celebrations in our area. Congratulations, teachers!

St. Johns County | January 17, 2019 | World Golf Renaissance Center | St. Augustine
Nassau County | January 18, 2019 | The Ritz-Carlton | Amelia Island
Clay County | January 31, 2019 | Thrasher-Horne Center | Orange Park
Duval County | February 15, 2019 | The Hyatt Regency | Jacksonville Riverfront

 

Martin Luther King Jr Day 

Martin Luther King. Jr. Day

This is a friendly reminder that the credit union will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This includes our downtown headquarters and all of our branches. For your convenience, Online and Mobile Banking services are available 24/7! 

 

 Seawalk Music Festival

The Seawalk Music Festival Returns!

Mark your calendars! The Seawalk Music Festival will return again this February! This annual music festival celebrates the local lifestyle of the beach, with lots of music, food, and fun for the entire family. Mark your calendars for February 23-24, 2019 and be on the lookout for more information in next month's edition of the Community First Insider! 

 

 moveUP Financial Wellness Series 

January moveUP Friday | January 18
Learn How to Make Car Payments Go Away

You’re invited to join us for a special edition of moveUP Friday! We want to help you start the new year off right. What better way than to offer you a chance to make one of your largest monthly bills disappear? Learn how to make car payments go away by refinancing an auto loan you have elsewhere. To celebrate the upcoming moveUP Friday event on January 18, we are offering special low rates during the week of January 14-18!

moveUP Friday January

Learn all about our low auto loan rates, ask us how we can make your car payments disappear for 90 days, complete a moveUP module, learn how to refinance your auto loan, and enjoy refreshments and special treats on us.

 Make An Appointment

or stop by any branch on January 18 to learn more.

Our staff has the tools and resources to help you get what you want from your finances so you can live a happier life! Contact us today if you'd like to set up an appointment to discuss your financial situation with a Community First representative. 

 
Services to Make Your Life Easier

 

2019-Jan-CFI-NL_678x212-estatment 

eStatements provide convenience and security benefits, which means less worry for you

Take your online banking experience to the next level with eStatements! These PDF files contain all the same information and look just like your printed, paper statements. The only difference is they are delivered securely through Online Banking instead of through the mail.

8 Reasons to Switch to eStatements

  1. Accessibility: You'll always be able to find your statement when you need it.
  2. Less clutter: You'll have less paper around the house.
  3. Security: Secured by your online login credentials, your statements can only be accessed by you.
  4. Save the Planet: Replacing your multi-page paper statement with an electronic version saves trees.

These are just a few reasons to love eStatements. Want to sign up? Check out our complete list of 8 Reasons to Switch to eStatements by visiting our website and get started today! 

Learn More About eStatements

Social Media

Stay up to date on all of our latest news, events, and other happenings by following us on social media. We post regularly to keep you informed.

Instagram

#LoveWhereYouBank
Love it. Snap it. Share it.

Did we recently help save you money? Did our Mortgage Champions help you finance your dream home? Did you get a sweet new ride with one of our auto loans? We’d love to hear YOUR stories. Tag your photos with #LoveWhereYouBank for a chance to have your story featured in our next newsletter!

 

Federally insured by NCUA. | Equal Housing Lender

2019 © Community First Credit Union | All rights reserved