Happy March from
Bank
of the
West!!!!
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Cynthia L. Blankenship Inducted into Texas Bankers Hall of Fame!
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The selection committee of the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame announced that our own Vice Chairman and Corporate President, Cynthia L. Blankenship, will be inducted on April 25, 2019 at the Seventh Annual Texas Bankers Hall of Fame Gala held at the Lowman Student Center Orange Ballroom of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The Texas Bankers Hall of Fame, established by the Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking at Sam Houston State University, recognizes outstanding bankers who have made valuable contributions to the profession and pioneered the Texas banking industry.
Mrs. Blankenship is a past
chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and currently serves on it's Board of Directors, and was the first woman chairperson at Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) in 2002, she has testified many times on Capitol Hill before the U.S. House of Representatives financial services committee and the Senate Banking Committee. Mrs. Blankenship serves as the Vice Chairman & Corporate President at Bank of the West and continues to lobby for the community banks by serving on many different boards, and has a strong presence in Washington, D.C., attending meetings at the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Small Business Administration.
Please join us in congratulating Mrs.Blankenship in this prestigious accomplishment!
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Countdown to 24 Hours of GRACE
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We are counting down to our annual 24 Hours of GRACE fundraiser. On Tuesday, March 26th this annual campaign will ask you to make a gift to GRACE and send the request on to your friends. The success of the campaign depends on the efforts of donors who help the message go "viral."
Last year, 24 Hours of GRACE was successful enough to help fund GRACE services through the start of the summer months. We ask for you to be a campaigner for GRACE and spread the word about 24 Hours of GRACE to your friends!
You can read more
about it here!
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Community Banking Month!!!!
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April is Community Banking Month!
We've been planning all year long for another great time of celebrating with YOU!
We decorate our bank lobbies with different fun themes each week, serve snacks and refreshments to our visitors, and we have drawings for prizes! It's just one more way we show how much WE CARE about our customers.. all this, while having fun at the same time! Join the FUN!
Past themes have included The Wizard of Oz, Hollywood Glamour and Sports!
Do you have a theme you'd like to see us create? Please send your suggestions to: BOWmarketing@bnkwest.com! If your theme is chosen, you might even win a prize!
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Congratulations to Christy Bair for serving 20 years at Bank of the West!
Christy's banking career began in 1990 with a community bank near her home in Missouri. In 1994 Christy moved to Texas, and quickly found a new home at Bank of the West when she accepted the position as a lobby teller at the corporate office which was at 950 N. Beltline Road (Irving, Texas), being the Bank's original location when they opened in 1986. After a brief period as a lobby teller she was promoted to loan operations where she served in many different capacities. In 2002 she took some time off from her career to focus on her family, but later rejoined the workforce with a bank core processing company and then joined a De Nova Bank for a short time. Ms. Bair rejoined Bank of the West in 2007, and she continued progressing in her banking career while serving in many different roles. In her career, Christy has successfully applied her banking experience, an extensive background in data processing and bank operations to complete major bank projects aimed at providing new products and enhanced services, while also being instrumental in the recent "branch transformations".
Christy currently serves as the EVP/COO and Cashier for Bank of the West. The Board of Directors and staff sincerely appreciate the leadership, service, and mentoring that Ms. Bair has provided over her 20 years with Bank of the West.
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Spring Cleaning is Easy in a New Home! Let us help you get started!!
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The best financial planning starts with a PLAN!
Are you still thinking about buying your dream home in 2019? Below are a few steps to help you get moving in the right direction of becoming a homeowner this year.
- Boost your credit score - this will help you obtain a lower interest rate. This will allow a lower mortgage payment.
- Save money for a down payment - a bigger down payment provides a smaller mortgage and lower monthly payments.
- Please call GSB Mortgage at 817/310-1980 or at gsbmtg.com
Or, maybe you are thinking about selling your current home in 2019...If so, here are a few planning steps to begin the preparation of listing your home for sale:
- Call GSB Mortgage at 817/310-1980 to discuss comparative market expectations.
- De-Clutter your storage and living space.
- Assess your home's condition and make a list of necessary repairs.
"Professional Values, Mortgage Solutions", GSB Mortgage, Inc. is a full-service mortgage banking company that prides itself in providing the highest quality of mortgage lending services to our customers.
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Follow Us Across Social Media!
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As part of our on-going efforts to promote customer awareness of financial trends and possible frauds and scams, we are continuing with the hijinks of our least favorite vagabond, Mr. Sneaky P. Shenanigans.
The Case of the Elder Abuser
Elder Abuse is one of the most horrible of all financial crimes that can occur and we are seeing a dramatic increase in this type of heinous crime. It is reported that 90% of cases are perpetrated by someone that the individual knows and the remaining 10% of cases is due a stranger who takes advantage of our elderly friends and family members. Mr. Shenanigans can take two different appearances: The Stranger or The Professional.
Common Scams by The Stranger:
- Someone perpetrating a lottery or sweepstakes scam: "You've already won! Just send the money to cover your taxes!" (Taxes are typically automatically assessed on your winnings by the government, and state taxes would be assessed at tax time, not prior to releasing the funds).
- Travelling Salesperson Scam: "We can fix your driveway/roof/water heater fast and cheap!" (If it sounds too good to be true, it could be).
- Grandparent Scam: "Your grandchild is in jail! Wire them money!" (Verify with another family member on the validity of this type of claim).
- Charity Scams: "Donate to our company, we are a very important organization and need money now!" (Donate.org is a fantastic website that will let you check the validity of the organization/company).
Common Scams by The Professional:
- Predatory Lending - seniors pressured into taking out an unnecessary reverse mortgages or other loans.
- Pyramid Schemes - A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products.
- Internet phishing - false emails about problems with a bank account are quite common. Never click on a link unless you have verified with your bank that it is a legitimate link that they sent to you.
- Identity Theft-guard your personal identifying items (social security card, drivers license, insurance cards, and any other photo id card).
- Medicare Scams - these are the costliest of all the scams out there.
The best way to safeguard yourself and your loved ones is to stop and ask yourself "Does this feel right? Does this scenario seem too good to be true?" If you answer "yes" to any of these suspicious situations, then apply caution, you should never give your account information or personal identity information to an unknown person.
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Earlier this year, we launched our newest fee-free product: Notifi!
Stay in the know with
Notifi!
Too Much Card Swiping? Forgot About an ATM Withdrawal? Looking for Your Tax Refund to Post?
Whatever the case, our new transaction alert system,
Notifi, lets you know the moment a transaction posts to your account by instantly sending you a message via text, email, or to your Online Banking Secure Inbox!
You can now monitor your account for all posting activity such as:
- A posted transaction on your debit card
- An ATM Withdrawal
- A posted deposit...
There are endless events that you may want to monitor, which is easy to do with
Notifi alerts!
You can access this tool by logging in to your Online Banking profile and selecting "Alerts" and then "Alert Options."
From there, you can customize how and when you receive notifications --
all at your fingertips!
With this simple tool you can take charge of your account in real-time to help you stay on budget, monitor recurring or automatic postings, be alerted of posted deposits, and stay informed of all postings on your account, including helping you avoid possible fraud!
Notfi is a fee-free tool to give you anther option for your banking needs!
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| Business Customers:
Contact your favorite banker to discuss our Business Solutions that will simplify your financial tasks, to allow you to put your focus back on YOUR business!
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- Mobile Banking/ Deposit.
- ACH Manager
- Positive Pay
- Merchant Services
- Remote Deposit Capture
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Meet our Staff at the North Richland Hills Branch!
Charles Comer
Branch President
Adam Ward
AVP/Branch Manager
Catherine Hotchkin
AVP/Lending Assistant
Kaytlin Bullard
Teller
_______________________
Bank of the West is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE), and takes pride in the career development of their staff. With over 700 years of banking experience on staff, including a significant number of tenured staff members with 15+ years (individually) at Bank of the West, we KNOW all about Community Banking!
We are at your service!
How can we help?
By the way, are you seeking a banking career? We are now hiring experienced bank tellers, please call 817/310-3555 and ask to speak to our HR Dept.
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| To our readers,
The information contained in this publication is designed to be informative and educational to our customers and friends of Bank of the West. We strive for accurate, respectful, and relevant information. Please feel free to send us a comment or suggestion and as always, your email information is secure within our distribution and is used solely for the purpose of this publication.
We value our customers and friends, so should you choose to no longer receive this information, please click on the unsubscribe link below.
Sharing this publication with your friends is the nicest compliment we can receive.
Sincerely,
Bank of the West Editorial Team
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Sorry Kermit, it IS Easy Being Green with These Great Recycling Tips!
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 * Flatten your cardboard boxes or plastic milk jugs - you can fit more in your bin that way! * Recyclable Paper includes magazines, catalogs, mail, telephone books (provided you don't need it for a doorstop), as well as most food boxes like breakfast cereals or pastas! If the paper has a wax coating of any kind, or if it is shredded or made out of tissue, it cannot be recycled. * Pizza boxes generally can't go in your recycling bin, unless it is mostly free of grease. (But, let's be honest, if it isn't greasy is it pizza?) * Do not put food into your recycling bin, instead use it for compost! Compost is excellent for your plants, especially with the spring gardening season starting soon! * Prior to placing your items into the recycling bin, do not collect them into a bag. While bagging your items before sounds like a good idea, it actually can cause the machinery at the processing plant to jam, so just place your items in individually. * Most plastics are recyclable, however #6 Plastic is not recyclable. Look for the number inside the recycling logo on the container to make sure! * Clean your recyclable items as best as you can before placing it in the bin. It may take a few moments longer, but it makes a big difference to the future of our planet! |
| BOW has a recipe to share with you!
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Fun St. Patrick's Day Food:
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Shepherd's Pie:
It may be after St. Patrick's Day, but these cupcakes are
too good to not share!
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CardValet can Save the Day!
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It's 10 PM, do you know where your debit card is?
In this modern day and age, we rely more and more on our debit cards to pay bills, buy groceries and treat ourselves to the movies; but debit card fraud is on the rise. To help you monitor your account/card more closely, we offer a financial tool within our Mobile Banking App, our "CardValet" tool allows you more control on your debit card transactions.
With CardValet you have the power to monitor and control your debit card transactions by:
- Turning the card on and off - If you ever lose or temporarily misplace your card, you can simply turn it off (temporarily or permanently) through the App so that no transactions will be processed during that selected "off" period,
- Set transaction limits by the dollar amount, by location, or by transaction types,
- Restricting transactions to allow only those within a specified geographic area relative to the location of your phone.
Additionally, CardValet serves as a card management tool for all debit cards that the account owner has authorized on their account! Plus, it's a great budget tool!
CardValet is offered to you fee-free to help you manage your account/card!
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| Let us know what you would like to see in our Newsletter! |
We strive for accurate, respectful, and relevant communication. If you would like to see more information on a specific topic or have questions about specific banking topics please give us a call or send us an email at marketingBOW@bnkwest.com we would love to hear from you, and your contribution to your Newsletter is always welcome...after all, it's for YOU!
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- March 1: National Employee Appreciation Day
- March 5: Mardis Gras
- March 6: Ash Wednesday
- March 8: National Women's Day
- March 12: National Pancake Day
- March 17: St. Patrick's Day
- March 22: National Puppy Day
Be sure to stop by our branches in April to check out Community Banking Month!
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How does the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it!
* How do you keep a bull from charging? Take away its credit card.
* What do you call an alligator in a vest? An in-vest-igator.
* Why did Mozart sell his chickens? They kept saying "Bach, Bach, Bach!"
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Thanks to the wonderful rain we had in January and February, this promises to be a great year for our state flower-Texas bluebonnets!
The website of Wildflower Haven provides a list of some of the best locations for your bluebonnet pictures!
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