‘Twas the night before Christmas at LACU
Everyone was busy, so much to do!
People all working their busy shifts
Kids picking up their Kirby Christmas gifts.

Our members came in, bundled up tight
Excited for the gatherings they’re going to tonight
With cars in the drive-up and people in line
We all settled in to help them on time.

When in from the parking lot there arose such a clatter
We all were wondering what was the matter.
Everyone looked and the wave of heads bobbed
We wanted to be sure we weren’t getting robbed.

There was water on the floor because of the snow
Which made the entryway slick on the tile floor below.
When, what to our wondering eyes do we find
But a little old lady who fell on her behind.

This small woman, didn’t miss a beat
Popped up in a moment – right to her feet.
Into her giant handbag she tucked her rain bonnet
Pulled out a list, yelled out what she had on it.

“I want high yield checking! A rewards credit card, stat!
Get me a notary! Some gift cards! What are you looking at?
A Roth IRA, a Health Savings Account, too!
And some of those Plugged In services for my great-nephew!

One of our members, who was waiting in line
Watched the whole scene, chuckling from time to time.
Finally he asked, “I don’t mean to sound trite
But what is the deal with that old lady tonight?”

Before we could answer, we heard a pick-up’s roar
And a big fat old man suddenly stood in the door.
His eyes how they twinkled! His beard was so white!
The stump of a pipe he held in his teeth tight.

He walked up to the woman and said “Hello, dear.”
We said, “Mr. Claus! Good to see you! You can’t smoke in here!”
Greetings exchanged, paperwork completed, glad-handing.
Then the couple addressed all of the members still standing.

Mrs. Claus said “I was just bustin’ your britches, you sweet little dears.
Santa and I have been Linn Area members for years.
We needed to refinance our truck loan, you see.
Why not have a Children’s Miracle Network candy bar – on me?

We passed out the chocolate as they stepped outside
Climbed up in their truck and prepared for the ride.
We heard them exclaim as they revved out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

It’s time to wrap up our “5 Days of Giving” contest by unwrapping one last gift!

Congratulations, Becky!

Enjoying the BLIZZARD, friends? The blizzard of EXCITEMENT that is! That’s right – it’s Day 4 in our “5 Days of Giving” contest!

Congratulations, Rhonda!

Some people were woken up at 4:00 am this morning by a blizzard warning on their phone. Me? I was was woken up by the excitement of knowing that it’s Day 3 in our “5 Days of Giving” contest!!! Hip hip HOORAY! Who will be the lucky winner and what will she unwrap???

Congratulations, Alyssa!

We are back and ready to share with you the next winner in our “5 Days of Giving” Contest!

Congratulations, Kathleen!!!

Did you miss the winner of Day 1? Click here.

Linn Area Credit Union wanted to put a little jingle-jangle back into your pockets this holiday season! Alas, our “5 Days of Giving” was born. Over a 1,100 people entered to win a chance to unwrap one of five fabulous gift boxes, each containing a gift card of up to $100 and some snazzy Linn Area Credit Union swag. Here is the winner of Day 1… JEFF!

Congratulations, Jeff!

Stay tuned – we’ll be posting one video each day this week!

Didn’t win this time around? Keep your eye on all our social media! We’ll be having another contest soon!

“Whiners are Wieners” was a recent title of a Survivor: Philippines episode so aptly named by our very own Linn Area Credit Union survivor, Denise Stapley. And Denise is certainly neither.

Let me rewind. We take the TV show Survivor very seriously here at Linn Area Credit Union. Each season, we have a group of employees who make the show into a game. This season, we have 25 people playing! Here’s our fabulous board:

So Linn Areainites were beyond excited to discover that Denise Stapley was selected to be on the show. Denise has been part of our Linn Area family for quite some time and you guys actually voted her the winner in our “My First Ride” contest in 2010 (see her entry here). In fact, True Dork added that very special honor into her bio (go here to see the article). See, she’s already a winner!

I am the (self-appointed) Linn Area Survivor Expert, so I know a thing or two about how things go on this show. I’ve watched every single season and can usually figure out who will ultimately win the game.

Here’s my brief synopsis to catch you up to speed (but be sure to read on to find out about my recent conversation with Denise):

Denise may be tiny, but she is super strong and an excellent competitor (could be thanks to her background and passion for triathlons!). Levelheaded, a hard worker and loyal team player, she possesses all the qualities found in the typical winner of this game. From the very beginning, Denise has been faced with challenges. After arriving at the Philippines, she immediately was placed on a team that continued to lose, and lose, and lose until there were only two people left, including her. But she managed to fight back and win people over with her down to earth and genuine personality. Now here she is in the final 5!

I vividly remember her saying on the way to one tribal council, “Even if Russell and Malcolm vote me out, I still know they are good guys.” That just stuck with me. She gets that it’s a game and is able to be clear-minded enough to see her competitors as real people. So cool! I knew I was a big fan as soon as she said that.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw her come into the credit union after the show had started airing. My very first question was, “Is Malcolm as cute as he looks on TV?!” She laughed and said “Yes!” As soon as that was settled, I could move on to the other millions of questions I had for her. The poor girl was just ambushed by question after question after question by yours truly. I couldn’t help it – I just might be her biggest fan. :o)

One thing Denise was surprised about was how little we really see of what is actually going on. Gotta love EDITING! Of course, she can’t say very much and she gave nothing away. Boo…

I did ask her if she had the “best time” and she simply responded, “It was an experience.”

If – I mean, WHEN Denise makes it to the final three, she will face a jury of her peers, made up of nine contestants from her season that have been voted off. They will choose the victor. I think this is where her impeccable strategy will pay off.

Last week on the show, I believe she said it best (and I’m paraphrasing here), “The jury is looking for someone with a balanced game; someone that can play the mental, social, and physical game.” Denise is doing just that.

Denise, sorry if I’ve embarrassed you. I just can’t contain my excitement! You are a real pleasure to watch and make it easy to cheer for a Cedar Rapids native and a fellow Linn Area Credit Union family member!

Watch Denise tonight at 7:oo PM Central and hopefully on Sunday’s finale!

Based on my expert opinion, I really, really think that we are watching a fellow Cedar Rapidian become the WINNER of this season, people! So if you haven’t been watching, TURN IT ON NOW!

Linn Area Credit Union wants to put a little jingle-jangle in your pockets this holiday season! Fill out your info here for a chance to unwrap one of five fabulous gift boxes, each containing a gift card of up to $100 and some snazzy Linn Area Credit Union swag. Everyone is welcome to participate – even if you’re on the naughty list!

Ho-ho-hoooold on one sec! Before you enter, make sure you take a look at our Official rules at the bottom of this page! The five winners must be available to come to Linn Area Credit Union’s office at 3015 Blairs Ferry Road between Tuesday, December 11^th and Friday, December 14^th between the hours of 8:30 to 5:00. Our little elves will film each winner unwrapping their gift. All the videos will be posted the week of December 17^th.

You better watch out, you better not shout, you better not procrastinate – you only have until midnight on Monday, December 10^th to enter! Oh my, Cupid and Vixen! Dash to sign up now!

If you are a high school senior, currently in college or continuing your education – this is your chance to snag one of six Warren A. Morrow Memorial Scholarships! These scholarships are made possible by the good people at Iowa Credit Unions through the Iowa Credit Union Foundation. Here is one important piece of info upfront: Applications are due on Friday, February 1st, 2013, so there’s little room for procrastination (What? Who does that?!?).

There are two different scholarship programs are available:

1. High School Scholarship – Scholarships for high school seniors planning to enter college. The high school scholarships include a first-place prize of $1,500; second place of $1,000; third place of $750 and fourth place of $500.

2. Post-High School Scholarship – Scholarships for post-high school, continuing education students and current college students. The post-high school scholarship category includes two $1,000 scholarships.

Make sure to read all of the scholarship guidelines and follow the application process (go here for more info). It is very important to note that you must be a credit union member in good standing to be considered.

Each applicant is required to answer the following question in no more than 500 words. Essay questions are designed to encourage learning about the credit union movement and its mission.

2013 Warren A. Morrow Memorial Scholarship Essay Question:

Given the fragile state of our national economy, with record unemployment and deficits, describe how having an emergency savings account is more crucial than ever.

How might someone utilize their credit union to focus on saving?

Ready to do this? Of course, you are! These scholarships are going to go to six people – one of them might as well be you! Click here for more information and to fill out the application!

Few things make us happier than seeing pictures of things we love! Whether it’s a picture of someone who makes your heart skip a beat, something you love or a just a reminder of that hilarious inside joke,  now you can see it every time you pull out your Linn Area credit card! I’m going to walk you through the process of getting your own custom photo credit card. (Sorry – this only works for your CREDIT cards, not debit cards!)

First things first:

• You have to have one of our Linn Area credit cards in order to get started! Don’t have one yet? Click here to get hooked up.
• As long as you have the pic you want handy and have your card nearby, this process takes less than 3 minutes!!! I know, I tried it myself!
• It only costs a piddley $5 to change your card from the standard background to one that you pick yourself! Once your image is approved, the $5 will be charged to your credit card.
• Don’t worry – your account number and date of expiration will NOT change.
• Once you change your picture, you can swap it as often as 60 days for just $5 each time.
• If there is more than one cardholder on your account, each cardholder will receive this image unless they upload their own design the same day this design order is submitted. If additional cardholders do not upload their own image on the same day, they will be unable to upload an image for 60 days.

Alright! Let’s get started!

• Go here. Ignore the “Login” button if this is your first time switching pics.

• Read the Terms and Conditions (because we always, always do that, right?) and then check the box to say that you agree to them. Once that’s done, click “Next Step” to get to the fun stuff.

• You’re now into the Design section, a.k.a. the fun part! You have two options – either choose from the online catalog of stock photos or upload your own. I have to be honest – there are some pretty cool pics in the catalog! You have 14 categories to choose from. My personal faves were “Fresh!” and “Creative & Artistic.”

• If you are going to upload your own pic, the file has to be a JPG, TIF, or Bitmap and cannot exceed 4 mb. The image size should be 480 x 480. The larger and the higher resolution, the better your image will appear when printed on the card. (No one wants their cutie-pie baby or fur-baby to be pixilated!)

• Not every image is kosher! There are a whole slew of image guidelines to read through, but I’ll point out that you can’t put your favorite team’s logo or a pic of that celebrity you have a crush on. *clearing throat* Like Channing Tatum. Please read through the list to ensure your image will get approved. (FYI – An actual human being looks at each and every picture, so don’t try to pull a quick one!)

• Have the image you want? Click “Upload Image.”

• You’ll now have the opportunity to move the pic around on the card to make sure it looks just the way you hoped! Click “Next Step” when you’re ready. Like this:

• Here’s where you need to know the last 4 digits on your card and the last 4 of your SSN, along with some other info to help make sure your image gets onto the correct card. Click (you guessed it!) “Next Step” once everything is filled in. If you are the only person on your account getting the image, you can just ignore the Name Box -2, etc. So you’re not surprised on what you’ll need, here’s what it looks like:

• A friendly reminder that all cards get reviewed. Time to create a log in so that the next time you swap your pic, it’ll be even faster! (Remember that button on the very first page? Yep, next time you’ll just click there to log in!)

• This is your last chance to review the card. If you aren’t ready to pull the trigger just yet, you can “Save design” and come back at a later time to get the job done. Everything look fabulous? I figured! Go ahead and approve it! And taaaah dahhh:

• I’d like to point out that there is a “Saved Design” section now that you have a Log In. This is a library of all your past orders, including the order ID, dated created and status. Pretty cool, right?

You can expect to have your new spiffy card in 7 to 10 business days. Just in time to finish up all that holiday shopping!

Tell us in the comments below: What will your card show?