How your credit union helped Santa

The Member Newsletter

January 2021

Making Christmas dreams come true

Carluss King and his wife wanted to make their daughter's Christmas wish come true. With a little help from 1^st Cooperative, they did.

"We wanted to surprise my daughter with a Polaris Ranger utility vehicle," said Carluss, a line tech at Horry Electric Cooperative. "With a loan from the credit union, that's exactly what we did!"

Carluss says he chooses to borrow money from 1^st Cooperative for three main reasons:

Interest rates that are better than other financial institutions
Ability to repay through payroll deduction
Quick turnaround on loan approvals

"Being a member of 1^st Cooperative is a huge benefit of working for an electric co-op in S.C.," says Carluss. "Our family is looking forward to spending a lot of time riding on our new Ranger."

To see if the credit union can help you with a new loan, visit 1st Cooperative online or call (803) 796-0234.

Pictured: Misty and Carluss King

'I have the opportunity to be debt free'

Orry Simpkins' life changed with a visit from 1^st Cooperative's John Middleton.

"John came to my co-op, York Electric, and presented some valuable information on how to consolidate my debt," says Orry. "Now, I have the opportunity to be debt free, and it's all because of the great relationship I have with 1^st Cooperative. Thanks again, John, for all your help and support!"

Want to talk with John about consolidating your own debt? Give him a call at (803) 796-0234.

Pictured: Orry Simpkins

Be there and be a winner

Prizes, gifts, food and fellowship—what's not to like about all those things? And after 2020, who couldn't use some in-person fellowship?

Get ready, because the 1^st Cooperative Annual Meeting will take place at Seawell's in Columbia on Tuesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. (The meeting will be held in person if group gatherings are judged to be safe at that time.)

All registered members are eligible for cash prizes. To register to attend, contact your co-op's credit union representative or call 1st Cooperative at (803) 796-0234.

The following credit union board officers are up for election:

Linda Wright, who is retired from Tri-County Electric
David Collins, vice president of finance at Blue Ridge Electric
Bob Paulling, CEO at Mid-Carolina Electric
Betty Welsh, vice president of finance and administration at Black River Electric

To nominate a board candidate, send names to:

Nominating Committee

c/o 1^st Cooperative FCU

808 Knox Abbott Drive

Cayce, SC 29033

Pictured: Lucky members won cash during the prize drawings at a recent annual meeting

New Year's resolution: Focus on getting to the end of COVID-19

Welcoming the new year may feel a bit different this year, given the challenges of 2020 and the inability to celebrate together.

For many people, the yearly date change — adding one more year to life’s tally — puts a greater focus on long-term goals than busy lives usually allow. For many, this leads to the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, a chance to consider our progress on becoming the “ideal self” many people hope to achieve by the end of their days.

Even with the knowledge that the focus will shift back to the short-term demands of day-to-day by mid-January, it is valuable to consider those longer-term aspirations, if for no other reason than for people to remind themselves that there’s more to them than the harried exhausted person who, at the end of the day, wants nothing more than to get into their PJs and play a video game, binge-watch a favorite TV serial, or read a current novel.