Fall 2019

UNITY CREDIT UNION NEWSLETTER

Fall 20194 1

Unity Credit Union120 - 2nd Avenue EastP.O. Box 370Unity, SK S0K 4L0

Phone: 306-228-2688Fax: 306-228-2185

Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

www.unitycu.caEmail: info@unitycu.ca

New Zamboni

Unity Credit Union donated $25,000 towards the purchase of a new Zamboni for our local rink!

UCHS Chili Cook-Off

The Credit Union Chili Bean Counters were once again the winners of the UCHS Chili Cook-Off! The cook-off raised $534 with proceeds going towards the Terry Fox Foundation and the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

Donation to Food Bank

Unity Credit Union presented a cheque of $935 to the Unity & District Food Bank. This represented staff donations to be able to “dress down” from January to June 2019.

Pictured are Unity Credit Union staff Megan Schweitzer, Gerald Hauta, Kerri Green, Deon Sieben, Vanessa Spendelow, and Curtis Sieben along with Unity Mayor, Ben Weber.

Pictured is Megan Schweitzer, Manager of Marketing, Terry Watt from the Food Bank, and Shannon Mellquist, Manager of Digital Experience.

Tool Set Winners

The winners of the mortgage promotion are Adele and Richard Gray. They received a tool set donated by New Ground.

Co-operative Cup

Unity Credit Union was a proud sponsor of the 2nd annual Co-operative Cup 3 on 3 ball hockey tournament.

On September 7, 2018, the walls of the Credential Financial Strategies (CFS) Office came down and our renovation project officially began. Since that time, we have been in a state of upheaval. Staff have been inconvenienced but more importantly, members have been inconvenienced for over a year. That is a long time. Through the renovation, members and staff have endured cold, noise, disruption, moves, changes, dust, dust, and more dust. We have stepped over trenches, walked under and around numerous contractors, entered through plywood doors, moved the entranceway several times, tried to see through billowing dust, held conversations over drills, hammers, saws and banging, had natural light provided only to have it taken away, worked in plywood offices and had as many contractors in the building as staff. Needless to say, it has been a long journey that is finally nearing completion and we are beginning to see the fruits of the labor.

In order to get through the renovation, we called it an adventure. It began as an adventure of excitement seeing the CFS Office come down. It quickly became an adventure in frustration when the dust was thick and each day your workspace had to be cleaned yet again. Anticipation fed the adventure when the east side windows were cut and we got natural light into offices that never had before. The adventure continued through putting up tarps to keep construction away from staff; opening the tarps to allow natural light into the member service area; moving member services from the crowded old workstations to the glorious and spacious new workstations; and allowing members to actually access the building through the new entrance.

While we could focus on the dust, disruption, noise and inconvenience, I would like to focus on other aspects of the project. There were many positives and some bloopers as well. As an insider, I would like to give you a peek into the magic that happened behind the scenes. In random order:• Our on-site Construction Manager Bernie Toews

has been incredible to work with. He endeared himself to the staff soon after he got here by sweeping and washing floors after the contractors tracked in mud. He did this despite the grief he got from staff while he did this.

• The renovation project was supposed to be a four phase deconstruction/construction project with each phase being completed independently. Soon after Bernie got here, he advised that there was no way the four phase plan was going to work. He took over the plan and tirelessly managed the project to keep it moving forward, while allowing staff to keep working and members to be served. It was an incredible juggling act that took loads of communication and coordination and vision.

• On a -40 degree day in February, I was watching some contractors work outside. Feeling sorry for them, I offered to open a furnace room so they could warm up. They told me, “we are fine, we are acclimatized”. I hurried back to my workspace and didn’t complain anymore about the building being cold.

• One of our receptionists witnessed one of the contractors climb down from his ladder to help an elderly lady over the “green bridge” and into the building by offering his arm for her to lean on.

• Our staff was impressed by the fact that the contractors were quick to open doors for them in the morning.

• The politeness, “excuse me”, “sorry”, “thank you”, that was shared effortlessly between contractors and staff as we worked around each other, often in close quarters.

• Early in the process, members had to enter the building through the back door. It was a long walk

to the front. We assigned staff as “trail guides” to help people navigate the maze that was the building at the time. It was entertaining to listen to staff greet members and converse with them enroute to the front. Each staff member had their own spin and dialogue for the journey making each member feel special.

• At one point we had a Bobcat in the building. The positive was that it wasn’t even trying to steal the ATM!

• The patience and compassion that members had. Very few came in upset about the process. They were more concerned for staff and what staff had to go through than they were for how they were inconvenienced. We are truly grateful for the support of our members.

• The New Ground employees, Bernie, Dan, and Vasile, became part of the staff during their time with us due to working closely together for such an extended period of time.

• We are proud to advise that fifteen local contractors benefited by working on the project. Several students also helped us along the way. We never calculated an amount but the economic spinoff to the community was significant - the hotel stays, the furniture purchased, the meals, the gas, the groceries, the massages that were purchased while the project was in progress.

• One member pitched in and helped us fix the front walkway when it pulled away from the building.

• On more than one occasion, staff were clustered together in close working quarters. At times, the front line staff practically rubbed shoulders and sat on each other’s laps. Instead of hating these situations, we made the best of it and got to know each other better. We enjoyed some great conversations.

• We had a farewell for Dan when he left for another job in B.C. and a birthday party for Bernie with a cake showing various construction tools. These big tough guys were both touched by our actions.

• We signed a wall in the building before it was covered with drywall so staff could show they had been here. We called it the Survivor’s Wall.

• We put a time capsule into the wall for the next renovation to find.

• We tried to have fun. We created a duck pond to create an interest in ducks that had been received from involvement with Ducks Unlimited. At one point the new janitor room just had latrine-like holes in the ground where drains would eventually be installed. We hung up a roll of toilet paper and put up signs advising “new washrooms”. The auditors were here at that time. When we showed them the new washrooms, you should have seen the look on their faces. One afternoon, after a long day of moving many and heavy pieces of furniture, we picked up the lightest things we had moved all day - two coat trees. For a break and a moment of mirth, one of us suggested we should joust with them so we found an empty hallway and jousted. The rest of the furniture moving went better after that.

• When some of the furniture arrived, in handing it to staff, the truck driver caught his foot and fell out of his truck into the mud. He never really got hurt badly, except for his pride, so we had a good laugh about it. He grudgingly joined in.

• Vasile brought his wife to the credit union to introduce her to his “credit union family”.

• Walking through walls when there was no structure was more fun than walking into the new glass walls. Nose prints have stayed on the glass for some time.

• We hosted Precious Akpan from Nigeria despite the mess and she enjoyed her time with us.

• Staff acted as general contractors. There were several occasions where they advised the actual contractors about the way the structure was to be because they knew the floor plan.

• We donated many items to various organizations and gave some away to ensure as little as possible ended up in the landfill.

• Bernie marveled at the co-operation of staff in moving furniture and freeing space for the contractors to work. He commented several times on how accommodating staff were.

• Not only did we walk into glass walls, we left impressions in other ways. One staff member accidentally stepped in fresh concrete. Several of us left fingerprints in fresh drywall mud.

• Since the drive thru ATM was delayed, we innovated to create our own. In order to keep the project moving, we either had to move the ATM or take it out of commission for an extended period of time. With ingenuity, we moved it and made it available in the back alley. We had one member comment that while it was not great, it was still a service to the community.

• The diverse ethnicity of the tradespeople has been very interesting. There have been many accents heard in discussions. Sometimes we wondered what they were saying about us as they talked to each other. Add to this each unique personality and the whole experience has been fascinating.

• The resilience of staff as they underwent more than a year of turmoil and upheaval and through it all, continued to provide service to members pleasantly and positively.

As the project nears completion, we are pleased with the results. When we began the project, we stated that a renovation of this magnitude shows a commitment to the community. We are pleased with our commitment and our beautiful new building and hope that members are as pleased as we are.

Gerald HautaChief Executive Officer

CU in the Community

From the Big Chair

Pictured is Gaylene Heffner, Personal Account Manager, along with Adele and Richard Gray.

Pictured is Andrea Eddingfield, Member Service Support, and Gerald Hauta, Chief Executive Officer.

Renovations

We are nearing the end of our renovations! We would like to thank our members for their patience and understanding during this process.

Fall 2019Fall 20192 3

A Healthy Dose of Skepticism Goes a Long Way to Thwarting Fraudsters

There are hundreds of scams being perpetrated by thousands of criminals every day. No longer is it necessary

for them to perpetrate their crimes in broad daylight - now, most perpetrators lurk online or on phone lines, protected by the anonymity and safety of non-human connections.

Their goal is simple: to separate as much money from as many people as possible with the least amount of effort.

We don’t need to be victims.

Using our heads and approaching anything that sounds a little weird, or too good to be true - or comes out of the blue - with a healthy dose

of skepticism will generally frustrate criminals enough to make them move on to a new victim. (It would be nice if they got so frustrated they looked for a new line of work, but we both know that’s not going to happen.)

There are many sources of information that describe scams being perpetrated on unsuspecting people. The RCMP recommend the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm, which is also where you can file a report if you have been a victim of fraud or are in the process of being scammed.

Loved-one in trouble scamYou get a phone call from a ‘detective’ in Saskatchewan, or Mexico, or somewhere, who says your son, granddaughter, niece is in jail because they caused an accident when they were drunk behind the wheel. The detective says you can get them out of trouble by buying several hundred

dollars’ worth of gift cards and calling back with all the serial numbers, then they’ll let them go. Don’t try to call anyone, they say; you need to do this now. Of course it sounds ludicrous, but when you get that call and it’s your loved one in trouble, logic takes a back seat. The odds of a call like this

being legitimate are as close to zero as you could possibly get, so you could just ignore it; but a call to the person or their spouse or parent - at most a few calls - will reassure you that your loved one is perfectly fine and not drunk, in jail, at the mercy of Mexican or German or Canadian authorites.

What to Do if You Have Been Scammed or Defrauded

Step 1: Gather all information about the fraud. This includes documents, receipts, copies of emails and/or text messages.Step 2: Report the incident to your local police. This ensures that they are aware of which scams are targeting their residents and businesses. Keep a log of all your calls and record all file or occurrence numbers.Step 3: Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.Step 4: Report the incident to the financial institution where the money was sent (e.g. money service

business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, bank or credit union, credit card company or internet payment service provider).Step 5: If the fraud took place online through Facebook, eBay, a classified ad such as Kijiji or a dating website, be sure to report the incident directly to the website. These details can be found under “report abuse” or “report an ad.”Step 6: Victims of identity fraud should place flags on all their accounts and report to both credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion.

As a credit union member, you are connected to many organizations that are doing great work in the world.

The Co-operative Development Foundation (CDF Canada) and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) are two of the more prominent ones.

CDF Canada is an international development organization building prosperity in communities around the world. It works with local partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America to establish and grow community-owned co-operatives to help people achieve more prosperous, self-reliant lives. In 2017 alone, CDF impacted 213,000 women, men and children by focusing on food security, community and economic development, financial inclusion, local leadership capacity building, climate change

adaptation and resilience, peace and development and gender equality.

To learn more, visit CDF at https://cdfcanada.coop/

WOCCU is the global trade association and development platform for credit unions. It promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial co-operatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions’ financial performance and increase their

outreach.

World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 89 countries. Worldwide, 89,026 credit unions in 117 countries serve 260 million people. Learn more about World Council’s impact around the world at www.woccu.org.

Precious Gilbert Akpan from Nigeria joined us as part of the CDF Women’s Mentorship Program from May 2-10 to learn more about credit unions in Canada. It was a pleasure having her! Pictured with Precious are Unity Credit Union staff Gerald Hauta, Shauna Hammer, and Sonya Willy.

Scams and Fraud

Every year, thousands of Canadians fall victim to fraud, losing millions of dollars. Most don’t think it could happen to them, but fraudsters use sophisticated ways to target people of all ages. The impact of fraud on individuals, families and businesses can be devastating. Retirement savings, homes, businesses and in

some cases, lives have all been lost.Scammers victimize vulnerable Canadians, individuals who may be at their lowest. The best way to fight these types of crime is through awareness. The RCMP manages the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) with the Competition Bureau and the Ontario Provincial Police. The CAFC

plays a crucial role in educating the public about scams and fraud.The CAFC is Canada’s repository for data, intelligence and resource material related to fraud. It provides information to assist citizens, businesses and law enforcement in Canada and around the world.

You are Connected to Some Great Work Going on in the World