Since 1964, Over
First Quarter 2015
Serving our Members
President’s Message
Robert A. Steensma • President/CEO
Five Star
Welcomes
GA Coastal
Federal CU
Members!
Why We Grow
On November 1, 2014, Georgia Coastal
Federal Credit Union in Brunswick GA
merged with Five Star, and on December
8th, after we converted their processing
system to ours, they began operating as our
13th branch.
Georgia
Coastal’s
1,827
members
automatically joined Five Star’s more than
27,000 members and their sole branch on
Stadium Street in Brunswick became our 3rd
branch in Glynn County.
Georgia Coastal Federal Credit Union began
as a company credit union in 1941 for the
employees of the former Hercules Inc. Over
the years they acquired a community charter
to serve all those who live, work, worship, go
to school or volunteer in Glynn County. At
the time of the merger with Five Star they
had assets of about $13 million.
We welcome the employees and members of
GA Coastal Federal Credit Union to the Five
Star family.
Why We Grow
Five Star Credit Union recently celebrated
our 50th anniversary and in our newsletter
and in a more widely distributed newspaper
insert we told of our humble origins by 8
founding members and how our first office
was a small closet at Great Southern Paper
Company (now Georgia Pacific) where we
began. Some of our original members still
fondly remember those days and ask what
advantage there was/is to Five Star and our
members for us to grow. I am glad to have the
opportunity to answer that question.
Five Star Credit Union currently serves all the
residents of 16 Alabama and Georgia counties
and has over $310 million in assets. With the
addition of GA Coastal we currently serve
over 29,000 members. We have doubled in
asset size in the last 7 years and have grown
nearly 5 times as large as we were in 1998.
A credit union (like a bank) remains in
business by generating income from certain
revenue-producing activities of its members.
The more members we have making and
re-paying loans, using their FSCU debit
and credit cards (from which we receive
interchange revenue from the retailers), or
otherwise helping support the credit union,
the stronger financially we are.
Question & Answer
I really like that I can bank online
or use mobile (Smartphone)
banking with Five Star. I was glad
to see the recent upgrade in your
online banking system. It took
me a little bit to get used to it but
it’s easy to use and I can do more
with it now than I could on the
prior system. Will we ever be able
to deposit our checks by taking a
picture of it with our Smartphone?
Mobile banking with Smartphones is
among the fastest growing segments
of member usage. The short answer
is “yes”. We expect to make the often
requested feature of taking a picture
of your check and depositing it via
your Smartphone available in midJanuary 2015 (this month)!
For those few who still may not know,
Smartphones are phones with internal
operating systems (such as Apple or
Android) that are capable of accessing
the internet and downloading and
using various software applications
(apps).
According to a 2014 national study
from a well-regarded research
company, about 58% of the U.S. adult
population (not to mention many
pre-adults) now have Smartphones.
This number is expected to rise to
about 68% by 2017.
Another 32% of adults have a cell
phone that is not a Smartphone.
These numbers vary greatly with
age. The percentage of adults having
Smartphones ranges from 83% of
Continued on page 2
Printed on recycled paper.
1
Increased federal regulations and continually
advancing (and member expected)
technology such as online banking, mobile
banking, automatic BillPay, ATMs, debit
and credit cards, secure account record
keeping and safeguarding data has created
the need to have more-skilled Information
Technology (computer) departments and
more Legal Compliance, Accounting and
Audit specialists on staff. This has made
it extremely difficult for smaller financial
institutions (under $100 million in assets)
to remain independent.
Smaller financial institutions simply do not
have enough members generating enough
revenue to cover all those needed internal
expenses and still provide all the desired
services, higher deposit rates and lower loan
rates to their members.
Since 1998, partly due to the 2008 financial
crisis but primarily as a result of ongoing
numerous and necessary mergers of smaller
banks and credit unions into larger ones,
the number of financial institutions in the
U.S. has shrunk from 20,000 in 1998 to less
than 13,000 in 2014. While the number
of branches has not declined and deposits
and depositors has continued to grow
strongly, there are fewer separate financial
institutions.
The large are getting larger. The small do
their members a service if they can find a
good larger and caring partner to merge
with. A merger can be a win-win for both
financial institutions and all their members.
Five Star has been pleased to have had 2
credit unions and 1 bank merge with us
in the past 3 years and we have been the
beneficiary of 5 mergers since 1998.
Five Star remains one of the top performing
credit unions in the United States and our
goal is to grow in a strong, healthy manner
in order to better serve and return superior
value to more members and continue to be
one of the premier credit unions.
We will always strive to find better ways to
serve you and to act in our members’ best
interest so we can remain YOUR Five Star
Credit Union.
2
those between ages 18-29, 74% ages 30-49,
49% ages 50-64 and about 19% of adults
over age 65.
fifth of all Five Star members have done so
and that number continues to grow.
The most common uses for Smartphones
includes (of course) making phone calls as
well as texting. Other most common uses
are playing games, downloading and playing
music and internet access.
Making a deposit by taking a picture of the
check and going thru a few simple steps to
send it as a deposit is quickly catching on
across the country*. We are pleased to be
able to start offering that service this month
to our mobile banking users.
Not all Smartphone users choose to download
a mobile banking app but approximately one
*Some restrictions apply and you will need to update your
FSCU mobile banking app when your app store says an
update is available.
NEW IMPROVED ONLINE BANKING
I S H E R E!
We are excited to remind everyone that as
of December 15th 2014 we upgraded our
online banking system.
All the current features (such as transferring
funds, checking your balances, viewing copies
of checks, making payments, stop payments,
etc.) are still there, but in addition you will be
able to:
• Enroll in e-statements from within online banking without assistance!
• Access BillPay in the same window – no more pop-ups – and even easier to use! (Your
existing payments and info will transfer automatically to the new BillPay).
• Securely upload Loan Documents or Member Verification Documents to the Credit Union!
• Setup Transaction, Balance, Security, Event or Personal alerts to notify you when you log-in
and/or by email of activities on your account.
• Give your accounts easy to remember custom names! (Sam’s checking, Jill’s college).
• Organize your favorite activities in a one stop dashboard for quick and easy use.
• Have an email reminder sent to you for a forgotten password. Passwords will last up to 180
days and can be changed online.
• Have multiple log-ins so you do not have to share passwords!
AND all this has a sleek, new, user-friendly look to it. If you have not visited our online banking
recently, we urge you to do so and see all the improvements. You can view more information on
our website under “New Online Banking” under “Online 24/7 Services”.
TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR CHECK DEPOSITS
COMING IN JANUARY
For those of you with Smartphones and
who use Five Star’s mobile banking you
will soon be able to deposit your checks
with Five Star through your Smartphone.
Look for the “update” notice from your
Smartphone app store sometime in
January. (see “Q & A” article on front page
of this Newsletter for more information)
Trusty R. Fivestar’s
BRANCH NEWS
Georgia Coastal Federal Credit Union
(Brunswick GA) officially merged with Five Star
on November 1st.
On December 6th we converted Georgia Coastal’s
computer system and all member accounts to
Five Star. This made that location able to operate as our 13th branch (3rd
in Glynn County GA) as of Monday December 8th and allowed the 1,827
members to be able to use any of Five Stars branches, online and mobile
banking and ATMs. It also provided these new FSCU members the benefits
of our free checking with interest and higher yield savings.
NOW AVAILABLE
Five Star has long offered several
optional protection programs for
vehicles purchased with FSCU loans.
GAP Insurance protects you from the
“gap” between what your insurance
company pays you for a totaled car
collision claim vs the amount you may
still owe on the car.
Extended Warranties help protect
you from costly repair bills after the
original warranty has expired.
We are often able to add one or both of
these to your car loan with little or no
increase to your monthly payments.
Now FSCU is offering a new
additional option for new or used
vehicle loans called Ding-Guard, a
service that repairs those inevitable
dents and dings from shopping carts,
neighboring parked car doors, kicked
up rocks and other sources on an
unlimited basis during your contract
period (up to 3 years).
An Out Of Money Experience
Ding-Guard uses a paint-less,
innovative ding removal process to
virtually erase small dings and dents
from painted sheet metal surfaces
without harming the vehicle’s factory
finish and protect the value of your
new or used vehicle. Once you own
the policy, there is no additional outof-pocket cost to you for each ding
removed. For your total convenience
they even do the work at your home
or place of employment. No need to
drop your dinged car off anywhere.
Restoring your vehicle to its original
dent-free condition is fast, reliable,
and guaranteed to be the highest
quality. If you love and value your car,
you will want to protect it.
Ask us about Ding-Guard the next
time you finance a vehicle with us
or call us at 888-619-1711 (option
2) and see if it can be added to an
existing vehicle loan with FSCU.
Just For Grins
“I dream of a better tomorrow
where chickens can cross the
road and not be questioned
about their motives.”
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box
contains the digits 1 through 9 only once. Solution on Page 4.
NOTICE: CHANGE IN MAKING ADVANCE LOAN PAYMENTS
If you have a loan with Five Star Credit Union you are required,
per your loan agreement, to make monthly payments. While there
is no penalty for making a partial or full prepayment of the loan
at any time, the credit union will now only allow a member to
make the regular monthly loan payment 90 days in advance. If
a lump sum payment is received, the credit union will apply any
additional funds to the loan principal amount. We appreciate our
members. Thank you.
Five Star Level
Member Share Certificate Rates
APYs up to... $500 minimum
12 month
24 month
36 month
48 month
0.75%APY*
1.01%APY*
1.16%APY*
1.31%APY*
$100,000 minimum
1.06%APY*
1.36APY*
1.51%APY*
1.71%APY*
*APYs shown include a 0.30% APY dividend bump
rate if member maintains a Five Star level account
- Anonymous
Federally Insured by
the NCUA
DIVIDENDS COMPOUNDED AND PAID MONTHLY
A penalty will be imposed for early withdrawals from
these instruments. The Annual Percentage Yield
(APY) offered as of December 1, 2014 at press time.
Minimum Balance Required is $500. Rates are subject
to change. IRA Certificates also available. To achieve
Five Star level requires a checking account with 10 or
more transactions per month and 3 or more other easyto-qualify-for services. Some restrictions apply.
For more Information, call (334) 793-7714 (option 5)
3
Steve Brown, Newsletter Editor
Five Star Credit Union
P.O. Box 2028
Dothan, AL 36302
E-mail: [email protected]
©2009. Five Star Credit Union.
LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU
ALABAMA
JANUARY 1, 2015
NOTICE
As provided in the Bylaws, the Chairman of the board has appointed
a Nominating Committee to nominate candidates for election to the
Board of Directors and to the Supervisory Committee. There are
two (2) Board positions with a 3-year term and one (1) Supervisory
Committee position with a 3-year term. The Nominating Committee
presents their nominations for the 2015 annual election as follows.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Harold Stepler – (Incumbent) – Employed by Georgia-Pacific
Corporation for 21 years. Presently self-employed as Forestry
Consultant in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Serves as member of
Board of Directors for Five Star Credit Union, completing 24 years on
the Board of Directors and 12 years on the Supervisory Committee. Has
also served on Building Committee. Received a B.S. degree in Forestry
from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
Suzann Culpepper – (Incumbent) – Employed by Albany Technical
College for the past 18 years, presently as Registrar. Served 5 years
on the Credit Committee, 8 years on the Loan Policy Committee and
currently 19 years on the Board of Directors of Five Star Credit Union.
Also serving on the Personnel Committee. Earned a B.S. Degree with
a major in Business Administration from Troy State University Dothan.
Member of Five Star Credit Union for 39 years.
SUPERVISORY COMMITIEE
Bobby Swann – (Incumbent) – Employed by Georgia-Pacific
Corporation for 29 years. Member of Five Star Credit Union for 34
years and has served on committees in addition to currently serving
on the Supervisory Committee of Five Star Credit Union for the past 29
years. Attended ABAC College for 2 years in Tifton, GA and Pipe Fitters
Apprenticeship School for 3 years in Albany, GA. Member of Ft. Gaines
Baptist Church in Ft. Gaines, GA.
The Bylaws provide for nomination to be made by petition signed by
a minimum of 1% of the members. Each nominee by petition shall
submit a statement of qualifications and biographical data with the
petition and shall be accompanied by a signed statement that he/she
is agreeable to nomination and will serve if elected to office. Such
nominations must be filed with the secretary, Gary Manz, P. O. Box
2028, Dothan, AL 36302, no later than February 5, 2015.
Ballots will be mailed to each eligible member at least 30 days prior to
the annual meeting scheduled for March 26, 2015 at the North Foster
Office in Dothan. If there is only one nominee for each position, there
will be no election by ballot and no nominations made from the floor.
COTTONWOOD OFFICE
Angela Calloway - Branch
B OManager
ARD OF DIRECT
12864 N. Cottonwood Rd. • Cottonwood, AL 36320
Billy Lisenby - Chairman
Phone: (334) 691-7044 • M-F 9:00-5:00
Odis Buxton - Vice Chairman
Drive-Thru: M-F 8:30-5:00
Gary E. Manz - Secretary
DOTHAN OFFICES (2)
J. Wallace Johnson - Treasurer
Mindy Richburg - Branch Manager
AngeloALCloud
411 North Foster St. • P.O. Box 2028 • W.
Dothan,
36302
Suzann J. Culpepper
Phone: (334) 793-7714 • Toll Free: 1-888-619-1711
Lobby: M-F 9:00-5:00
Harold Stepler
Drive-Thru: M-W 8:30-5:00/Th-F 8:30-5:30
ORS
U P EManager
RVISORY COMMITT
Angela Calloway - SBranch
Janice
GreenAL- Chairperson
3331 West Main St. • Hwy. 84 West
• Dothan,
36305
Phone: (334) 794-8171 • M-F 9:00-5:00
Jennifer Tharpe - Secretary
Drive-Thru: M-W 8:30-5:00/Th 8:30-5:30/F
8:30-6:00
Bobby
Swann
EUFAULA OFFICE
Sarah Bradley - Branch ManagerM A N A G E M E N T
1905 S. Eufaula Ave. • Eufaula,
AL 36027
Robert
A. Steensma - President /CEO
P.O. Box 789 • Eufaula, AL 36072
Deborah
McRae - Vice President, Member Service
Phone: (334) 687-8864
• M-F 8:30-5
Pettis - Vice
President, Finance & Human Reso
Drive-Thru: M-W Pam
8:30-5:00/Th-F
8:30-5:30
Jeff
DeShane
- Vice President, Sales & Lending
HEADLAND
Harrison Alabama
- Director,36345
Member Business Lendi
16662 Highway 431Alton
S. • Headland,
Larry Hickerson - Director, Information Technolog
INSIDE WALGREENS
Street
- Director,
2041 E. Main St. (Ross ClarkDeborah
Cir. & 84E)
• Dothan,
AL Mortgages
Steve&Brown
Marketing
2940 W. Main St. (Westgate Pkwy.
84W) -• Director,
Dothan, AL
3574 Montgomery Hwy. (Westgate Pkwy & 231N) • Dothan, AL
INSIDE RITE-AID
130 S. Eufaula Ave. • Eufaula, AL
514 Kirkland St. • Abbeville, AL
If you think dogs can't count,
try putting three dog biscuits in
your pocket and then give him
only two of them.
- Phil Pastoret
Dogs are not our whole life, INSIDE K-MART
2210 Ross Clark Circle (Southside) • Dothan, AL
but they make our lives whole.
GEORGIA
- Roger Caras
Federally Insured by NCUA
ATTAPULGUS OFFICE
Kristy Mock - Branch Manager
111 N. Main St. • P.O. BoxAnswers:
280 • Attapulgus,
39815eye, door
bus,GAhair,
Phone: (229) 465-3431 • M-F 9:00-5:00
duck, fingers, pot, eat
BAINBRIDGE OFFICE
Kristy Mock -ATM
Branch Manager
DOTHAN
OFFICES
1027
East Shotwell St.ALABAMA
• Bainbridge, GA 39819
CEDAR SPRINGS OFFICE
ATM
Gail
Scott
Branch
Manager
Phone:
(229)
493-0421
• M-F 9:00-5:00
Tracey Kirkland - Branch Manager
EUFAULA OFFICE
411
North
Foster
St.
Drive-Thru:
M-Th
9:00-5:00
/F 9:00-5:30
Georgia Highway 370 • P.O. Box 265
Sarah Meadows - Branch Manage
P.O. Box 2028 • Dothan, AL 36302
Cedar Springs, GA 39832
1905 South Eufaula Ave. • Eufaula, AL
BRUNSWICK
Phone: (334)
793-7714 OFFICES (2)
Kellie Sperring - Branch Manager
Phone: (229) 372-4586
Phone: (334) 687-8864
Toll Free: 1-888-619-1711
4401 Altama Ave. • Brunswick, GA 31520
M-Tu 8:30-4:00 / W 8:30-2:00 /
M-F 9:00-5:00
Lobby: M-F
9:00-5:00
Phone: (912) 264-7533 • M-F 9:00-5:00
Th-F 8:30-5:30
Drive-Thru: M-W 9:00-5:00 / Th-F 9:00-5:30
DONALSONVILLE OFFICE ATM
Rita
Boatworth
Branch
Manager
ATM
1-800-995-STAR
Sheryl Rogers
- Branch Manager (7827)
Terri Martin - Branch
Manager
2524 Stadium
St. • Brunswick, GA 31520
In The
Area, Call: 836-2050
305
West Dothan
3rd. Street
3331 West Main St.
• Hwy.
84265-6872
West
Phone:
(912)
• M-F 9:00-5:00
Dothan, AL 36305
Donalsonville, GA 39845
all
CAIRO
OFFICE
Phone:
(334)
794-8171
Phone: (229) 524-2500
Vickie
Gainous
Branch
Manager
F 9:00-6:00
for
ember ervice M-W 9:00-5:00 Th 9:00-5:30
M-F 9:00-5:00
ree
990 Hwy. 84-E • P.O. Box 794 • Cairo, GA 39828oll
Phone: (229) 377-8965 • M-F 9:00-5:00
b oar d of d irectors
Drive-Thru: M-Th 8:30-5/F 8:30-5:30
LOCATIONS TO
SERVE
ACCESS
24 YOU
HOURS-A-DAY... 7 DAYS-A-WEEK
ATM
Offices With ATM's
GEORGIA
ATTAPULGUS OFFICE ATM
Donna Trammell - Branch Manager
www.FiveStarCU.com
111 N. Main St. • P.O. Box 280
Attapulgus, GA 39815
Phone: (229) 465-3431
all oll M-Free
9:00-5:00
C T
F
1-888-619-1711
CAIRO OFFICE ATM
Vickie Gainous - Branch Manager
818 1st Ave., NE • P.O. Box 794
Cairo, GA 39828
Phone: (229) 377-8965
M-F 9:00-5:00
“A Full Service Financial Institution”
Points
of Interest
Printed on recycled paper.
is published quarterly for the members of Five
Star Credit Union. Any suggestions or comments
may be sent to: Steve Brown, Newsletter Editor
Five Star Credit Union
P.O. Box 2028
Dothan, AL 36302
E-mail: [email protected]
©2015. Five Star Credit Union.
M
S
ACCESS US 24 HoUrS-A-DAy...7 DAyS-A-WEEK
J. Wallace Johnson - Chairman
F
T
1-888-619-171
CAMILLA
FIVE ST
A R OFFICE
✪
Odis Buxton - Vice Chairman
For
Connie McDowell - Branch Manager
Gary E. Manz - Secretary
260 US Hwy. 19N • Camilla, GA 31730
Janice Green - Treasurer
Phone: (229) 336-5666 • M-F 9:00-5:00
MeMber ServiC
Pamela Scott Suzann J. Culpepper Harold Stepler
1-800-995-STAR
Drive-Thru: M-F 8:30-5:00
www.FiveStarCU.com
supervisory co m m ittee
PhoneLink
Bobby Swann - Chairperson
Jennifer Tharpe - Secretary
Kathy McBrayer
m ana g e m ent
Robert A. Steensma - President/CEO
Tyler Beck - Vice President, CFO
Deborah McRae - Vice President, Member Service
Randy Davis - Vice President, Member Business Services
Janice Miller - Vice President, SE Georgia Operations
Billy Gibson - Vice President, Market Development SE Georgia
Steve Brown - Director, Marketing
Lance Wagner - Director, Consumer Lending and Sales
Aaron Craig - Director, Mortgage Lending and Collections
Dale Watkins - Director - Information Technology
Federally Insured by the NCUA
Search for more free ATMs at www.FiveStarCU.com/atm or use free ATMs at any Publix.
Search for Shared Branches at https://Co-opSharedBranch.org/locator
4
C
In The Dothan Area, Call: 836-2050
CEDAR SPRINGS OFFICE
Tracey Kirkland - Branch Manager
4637 Georgia Hwy. 370 • Cedar Springs, GA 39832
Phone: (229) 372-4586 • M-F 9:00-5:00
DONALSONVILLE OFFICE
Sherryll Smith - Branch Manager
305 West 3rd St. • Donalsonville, GA 39845
Phone: (229) 524-2500 • M-F 9:00-5:00
ST. SIMON’S ISLAND OFFICE
Kellie Sperring - Branch Manager
95 Cinema Lane • St. Simon’s Island, GA 31522
Phone: (912) 264-7533 • M-F 9:00-5:00
OUTSIDE RICH-SEAPAK SECURITY GATE
200 Glyndale Drive • Brunswick, GA
INSIDE RITE-AID
211 W. College St. • Colquitt, GA
496 Hwy. 84E • Cairo, GA
INSIDE CVS
11685 Columbia St. • Blakely GA
Printed on recycled paper.