As 2020 goes down in the history books, you are right there with it! This is an important year in your life. Your accomplishments have not been forgotten. Take pride in the many years of hard work that have led up to this accomplishment. We praise you and salute you on your graduation and we look forward to being there for you during the next chapter in your life. Congratulations Class of 2020!!
First Choice America Shows Progress
WEIRTON—First Choice America Credit Union continued to make significant progress in 2019, our 80th year, amid tough competition and a lackluster economy. The Credit Union moved steadily forward with the excellent performance of a dedicated employee team and the tremendous support and loyalty of its 38,000 members who remain the bedrock of our business.
Scott E. Winwood, President and CEO, said “Our employee team worked diligently to maintain a safe, sound and secure financial institution for its members.” He listed these significant achievements in 2019:
- Grew assets to a record $468 million.
- Expanded deposits to a record $396 million.
- Maintained a strong capital position.
“Our Credit Union’s capital strength, asset quality and management ability help maintain our enviable position as one of the very elite among America’s 5,500 credit unions,” Winwood stated.
These impressive achievements reflect the sincere commitment to success of the Officials, Management, and Staff of First Choice America. Our employee team is professional and highly skilled, dedicated to excellence in serving you, and very proud of the significant strides made during the past year.
In our quest to offer the best available technology, First Choice America is excited to announce major improvements to our current offerings of tech products and services. First, our website has been completely renovated. With this extensive makeover, our site offers a fresh, new look along with easy to read pages and navigation. We encourage you to take the opportunity to check it out for yourself at www.firstchoiceamericacu.org. Second, we created a new mobile banking APP which will enhance our existing mobile banking experience with a new appearance and several innovative features such as: touch unlock, facial recognition, and much more while maintaining the mobile experience that our members trust. Via the new mobile banking APP, our members can still take us anywhere they want to go and have access to their accounts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the future, we intend to continue maximizing our investments in technology to better serve our members and strengthen our position in a very competitive marketplace. While keeping pace with the latest technology, we continue to offer members better rates on loans and deposits, more personalized service, and importantly, fewer fees than other financial institutions. We are proud to say that no new fees were enacted during the past year.
Your membership in First Choice America is an important and meaningful financial advantage and it adds up to “better value” for your money.
The formidable combination of a dedicated professional staff, excellent technology, and a complete array of affordable financial products and services positions us to continue making a real difference in the financial lives of the people we serve.
Our Credit Union strives to embrace the merits of good citizenship by generously supporting a wide range of charitable organizations in the communities that we serve. Throughout our long history, our Credit Union has earned countless awards and commendations for our intensive year round community involvement practices which we are very proud and sincerely grateful. We strive to embrace the merits of good citizenship – and expand our value to society.
Concluding, he noted “First Choice America is proud of our rich heritage of serving our members and the communities in which they live for more than 80 years. We have established strong bonds with our members by providing the most cost effective alternative for all their financial needs. We value and cherish these bonds, and are grateful to our members for their loyalty. We will never cease in our efforts to earn both your business and your trust. We remain a safe haven, a reliable resource, and a leader that you can count on for all your financial needs, both today and in the future.”
During the meeting, Edward L. Kennedy and John R. Thayer were reelected to the Board of Directors. Kenneth R. Watts, President of the West Virginia Credit Union League, spoke briefly.
Founded in 1939 in Weirton, First Choice America maintains eight offices in the Ohio Valley.
Our New App is Available
We are excited to announce First Choice America has created a new app for Mobile Banking. The new APP will enhance your mobile banking experience with a fresh new look, touch unlock, facial recognition and much more, while still providing the mobile experience our members trust. For you to begin enjoying this new First Choice America experience you will have to download a brand-new app. The directions are below:
1. Go to Google Play or the Apple App Store
2. Search for First Choice America-Mobile
3. Once you see our new mobile app, hit select and download
4. Delete the old app off of your phone
5. Log in to the new app, using your information you have used in the past
On January 31, 2020 our old app will no longer be active; therefore to utilize our mobile banking you will have to download the new app. If you have any questions about the new app or need help, please feel free to call the Credit Union at 304-748-8600 or 1-800-427-4835.
People Helping People Scholarship
First Choice America’s “People Helping People” scholarship applications are now available at all eight Credit Union offices, but also by clicking on the following link: Scholarship Application. The scholarships are for $1,000 each. Applications must be turned in by February 29, 2020. Qualified applicants must be a high school senior, high school graduate, or equivalent and do not have to be a first year student. Applicants may attend any accredited college, university, or trade school. The applicant must be a member of First Choice America Community Federal Credit Union. Complete guidelines accompany the application.
Perfectly Pink
In the month of October, all First Choice America offices were donned in pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. First Choice America had one goal in mind while decorating: raise money for a cure for Breast Cancer. During the month, we have sold ribbons/logos to raise money. Our staff has also donated money for the privilege of dressing down. New this year, we have sold chocolate covered oreos, nutterbutters and pretzels to also raise money. Pictured are all of the offices dressed in pink, along with their employees and their different themes!
Fall Golf Challenge Set
First Choice America Credit Union renewed its host sponsorship of Weirton United Way’s Annual Charity Fall Golf Tournament this year.
The tournament will be played at the Mountaineer Woodview Golf Course on Saturday, September 21st starting at 9 a.m. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. Teams will compete in a four person scramble format.
All proceeds will go to the United Way’s programs helping the needy in the community.
