2016 Annual Newsletter - Diamond North Credit Union

2016
Diamond North Credit Union is
celebrating its ten year anniversary.
That’s a decade of helping members
achieve their financial well-being.
Although the world has dramatically
changed on many levels, a few things
remain the same for us – we love helping
our members and we love what we do!
On January 1, 2006, Diamond North
Credit Union was formed through
an amalgamation with Carrot River
& District Credit Union Ltd., Nipawin
Credit Union Ltd., White Fox Savings
and Credit Union Ltd. and Zenon Park
Credit Union. On January 1, 2008,
La
Caisse
Populaire
d’Albertville
Limitée and Arctic Credit Union (Prince
Albert) joined Diamond North Credit
Union, increasing operations to an
eight branch service location spread
across
northeast
Saskatchewan.
We have donated over
$1.1 million
to our communities
in the last decade.
An important characteristic of who we
are is the ability to provide quick, local
decision making. This means you won’t
be waiting for an answer from someone
out of our service area. It is important
to us that we retain this local decision
making; we believe there is no one who
knows what’s better for you than you!
Agriculture and wealth management
specialists
have
expanded
the
Diamond North Credit Union team;
they provide valuable advice for
our members and remain available
(by appointment) in all of our branches.
We remain invested in our communities
by retaining all eight of the original
full service branch locations into our
11th year of operation. Communities
and giving back remains an integral
part of the credit union way. We have
donated over $1.1 million to worthy
projects over the past decade.
We
are proud to support local initiatives
and capital projects throughout the
communities our members call home.
Watch
for
more
ten
anniversary
celebrations
events
throughout
$25,000 People Helping People®
Community Investment Fund
At Diamond North Credit Union we
believe in the concept of people helping
people; from this belief comes a special
People Helping People Community
Investment Fund to celebrate our 10
year anniversary.
Every year we donate approximately
$80,000 - $100,000 (upwards of 3.5%
of pre-tax profits) to our communities
through our annual funding. In
addition to this regular community
funding, 2016 brings another $25,000
of support to our communities.
These funds are available for eligible
capital projects based on the People
Helping People Community Investment
Fund criteria.
Applications will be accepted from
May 1 until August 31, 2016.
Stop in at any o f o ur b r a n ch
l o c a t i o ns o r v isi t us o n lin e a t
w w w.diamondnorthcu.com
to
find
out
more
about
our
People Helping People Community
Investment Fund.
Looking to Upgrade?
Ag Equipment Loans are more affordable than ever
during our limited time Ag Equipment Loan Sale.
Contact your Account Manager today.
We’re ready to talk options.
year
and
2016!
Recognize Common
Scams
Message from the CEO
Be wary of scam artists who reach
out to you and attempt to take your
money. If your intuition tells you that
something isn’t quite right, it is likely
a scam. If the caller claims he/she is
from an organization (like CRA) but
doesn’t know
your
name,
it is likely a
scam. Signs
of
scams
in
written
communications (like mail, email or
text messages) are spelling errors or
the logos and images look wrong.
Our milder than usual winter has been followed by an early spring; it
is good to see our agricultural community get off to an early start in
this year’s growing season. There is something optimistic about spring,
whether it’s the prospect of a new crop or the fact that it’s now time for
warmer temperatures and everything to start turning green.
If you’re ever unsure of the legitimacy
of an email, phone call, mail or text
message contact the sender using
contact information that you’ve looked
up (instead of the information provided
in the mail, email or text message).
And remember, if it sounds too good to
be true, it probably isn’t true!
We have provided over $1.1 million in community sponsorships and support since the
beginning and, in honor of our anniversary, have announced an additional $25,000 to be
given to our communities. (This is in excess of what we normally give back each year.) We
are calling this our People Helping People® Community Investment Fund. Applications
can be found in branch or online and may be completed for a project that helps people in
any community in our service region.
January 1, 2016 marks the completion of a decade of service to our
members and communities as Diamond North Credit Union. Over the John Shenher, CEO
last 10 years, our credit union has more than doubled in size. The results of our Annual
General Meeting (held in April) indicated that 2015 was our second-best year so far, second
only to 2013. (Please see our website for our Annual Report). Over the last 10 years, we
have had a great deal of success. I am happy to say that all original full service branch
locations remain in operation since the Diamond North Credit Union merger took place.
Also in five - soon to be six - communities, we are the only financial institution with a
physical branch location.
Our success as a rural based credit union is tied to our rural branches and our members in
these branches keeping their financial business local. I thank our members for supporting
our credit union, as well as our staff and management that do their very best to deliver the
highest service level possible.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors governs on behalf of the members. With an emphasis on outward vision, diversity in viewpoints, strategic
leadership and clear distinction of roles between the Board and the CEO, the Board translates members’ wishes into credit union
performance. The Board of Directors manages the credit union at a very strategic level. To ensure this strategic focus, the Board Credit
Committee was eliminated in 2006, prior to the formation of Diamond North Credit Union and credit approvals are managed exclusively
through the Diamond North Credit Union lending team. The Board is accountable for leading and nurturing the long term strategic
direction of the credit union while creating and maintaining value for our members and the communities in which we do business.
JOHN THOMPSON
MAURICE LALONDE
Occupation: Retired Forester
Electoral Region: Prince Albert
Term Expires: 2019
Years of Service: 18
Occupation: Business Owner
Electoral Region: Zenon Park
Term Expires: 2019
Years of Service: 18
President
Vice President
HEATHER HINDHLUCHANIUK
Occupation: Business Owner
Electoral Region: Nipawin
Term Expires: 2018
Years of Service: 1
RICK LINDSAY
Occupation: Farmer
Electoral Region: Arborfield
Term Expires: 2017
Years of Service: 12
DARRYL SANDE
ROGER KIRK
Occupation: Farmer
Electoral Region: Nipawin
Term Expires: 2019
Years of Service: 21
LOUISE NICKLEN
Occupation: Farmer
Electoral Region: White Fox
Term Expires: 2017
Years of Service: 1.25
Occupation: Business Owner
Electoral Region: Albertville
Term Expires: 2017
Years of Service: 15
SHAWNA KOZUN
Occupation: Farmer
Electoral Region: Carrot River
Term Expires: 2017
Years of Service: 1 Month
GREG PAGAN
Occupation: Bison Rancher
Electoral Region: Choiceland
Term Expires: 2018
Years of Service: 6
LESLEE SERACK
Occupation: Retired Financial Director
Electoral Region: Nipawin
Term Expires: 2017
Years of Service: 2
Years of Service as of May 5, 2016. Includes previous Board of Director service from amalgamated credit unions.
We donated over
3,400 hours
of volunteer time and over
Recognizing
Andre Laforge
Community Involvement
Andre
(Andy)
Laforge
has
always believed
that individuals’
collective efforts
strengthens their
communities.
Diamond North
Credit Union is
honoured to present Andre Laforge
of Zenon Park with the Saskatchewan
Credit Union Director Order of Merit
Award.
Our communities support us; at Diamond North Credit Union we believe in supporting
those communities right back. The most effective way we can show this support is
through volunteerism and monetary donations. From 2015’s Community Investment
Fund, we donated approximately $94,000 (or 3% of our pre-tax profits) and over
3,400 hours of volunteer time to events and projects in our communities.
Andre is a devoted community
supporter; he was a director of both
the Carrot River & District Credit
Union Ltd. (7 years) and Diamond
North Credit Union (6 years). Andre
has also served on many other
boards, often as chairman, president
and vice-president. He donned a
Santa Claus suit for 24 consecutive
years for various community groups.
He and his wife, Betty, have recently
opened a new business in Carrot
River called Prairie Angel Bakery &
Patisserie.
$94,000
to our communities in 2015
Without the willingness of our staff and the strength of our membership, we would not
be able to give back as we do. Through donations of funding and volunteerism, we can
return the support you, our members, have shown us. We are proud of our communities
and want to see them grow and thrive. When we support community improvements and
activities, we are creating something much bigger than ourselves.
ARBORFIELD
CURLING CLUB
TRI-TOWN
THUNDER
Communities
working
together
for the common good have always
brought great satisfaction to Andre.
This was never more evident during
the 13 years he spent as director on
the Carrot River and Diamond North
Credit Union Boards.
Diamond North Credit Union is
grateful for all Andre has done for
his credit union and his community.
Concerned About
the Safety of
Online Banking?
MemberDirect®
Online
Banking
Alerts allow you to receive updates
via text message or email on various
types of activity. To ensure that
there is no unauthorized access
to
your
account
information we highly
recommend turning on
the Online Login Alert.
This alert will notify
you via text or email
when your account has
been logged into.
TRI-UNITY
CHALLENGE
CARROT RIVER
TOWN SQUARE
Coming
NIPAWIN NUTRITION
FOR KIDS
NE OUTREACH
& SUPPORT (NEOSS)
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Member Testimonial - River’s Edge Seeds Ltd.
When faced with a challenge and
opportunity,
Agricultural
Account
Specialist Jerry Palagian and the team at
Diamond North Credit Union showed a
strong interest in our ideas and creating
a financing package that worked for us. I
was very impressed with Jerry’s in-depth
knowledge of the ag industry; I greatly
valued his insight and appreciated the
ideas he suggested in building our new
business, River’s Edge Seeds Ltd.
We have been growing hemp for eight
years at River’s
Edge Seeds but it is
always challenging
“I was very
to find a company
impressed with
that
has
the
Jerry’s
ability to clean our
in-depth
product efficiently.
knowledge of
When cleaned in
the ag industry;
traditional facilities
I greatly
hemp often gets
valued and
damaged
and
appreciated
excretes
oil;
this
his insight and
causes trouble with
appreciated
traditional seed.
the ideas he
suggested in
building our
new business,
River’s Edge
Seeds Ltd.”
The
idea
of
building our own
cleaning
plant
stemmed from this
constant problem.
We spent many
hours speaking with experienced hemp
cleaners to find out what the challenges
they faced when cleaning hemp. After this
research, we designed a plant that has the
capability to process crops such as hemp,
borage, quinoa and other specialty crops
more efficiently. This new plant, called
River’s Edge Seeds, will also be able to
clean traditional cereals and pulses in the
Carrot River area.
On top of the ability to clean traditional
and non-traditional crops, the new plant
incorporates the latest in color sorting,
dust filtration, sampling methods and
state-of-the-art control systems. All of
these enhancements will help us to obtain
Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control
Points (HACCP) certification, a certification
being demanded of cleaners now that
hemp is considered a raw food product.
Another endorsement we are working on
is organic certification.
The hemp industry has seen continual
growth. The Carrot River area is well suited
to growing hemp - its hemp-seeded acres
grew from only a few quarters in 2008 to
over 20,000 acres this year. Hemp use
is growing, primarily in the edible food
market but it is also valued for its fibre and
pharmaceutical properties.
At River’s Edge Seeds, we operate a
fourth - soon to be fifth - generation farm
in the Carrot River area. We seed roughly
6,800 acres with a variety of crops.
Since 1996, Diamond North Credit Union
has been an integral part of helping us
expand the farm, implement the latest
Make Your Dream
Home a Reality
technology
“One aspect that
and purchase
I value about the
the
right
credit union is that
equipment to
they are open to
be efficient.
investing in good
From
the
people and good
beginning
ideas instead of
of our farm,
focusing strictly on
we
worked
ratios and balance
with
Neal
sheets.”
Wasko (who
has
since
retired) and the team at Diamond North
Credit Union. One aspect that I value with
the credit union is that they are open to
investing in good people and good ideas
instead of focusing strictly on ratios and
balance sheets. At Diamond North Credit
Union, you are not just treated like a
number out of a head office in Toronto.
My family and I have been involved in a few
community projects (like the building of a
hotel and restaurant in Carrot River) and
Diamond North Credit Union was the first
one to set up to offer financing options
for this community project. This was a
service that was greatly needed in the area
and are already seeing the benefits of this
facility. This project was made possible by
the citizens of Carrot River and Diamond
North Credit Union working together to
make it happen.
We look forward to future opportunities
and working together with the team at
Diamond North Credit Union.
Marcel and Charlene Enns
Mile South Farms Ltd.
River’s Edge Seeds Ltd.
Our Mortgage Specialists are
ready to create a plan that
works for you.
Get a mortgage
with only 5% down.
www.diamondnorthcu.com
facebook.com/DiamondNorthCreditUnion
@DiamondNorth
Diamond North Credit Union
ALBERTVILLE
ARBORFIELD
ARCTIC
CARROT RIVER
CHOICELAND
NIPAWIN
WHITE FOX
ZENON PARK
Box 99
Albertville, SK
S0J 0A0
P: 306.929.4714
Box 265
Arborfield, SK
S0E 0A0
P: 306.769.8581
200A, 28th St W
Prince Albert, SK
S6V 4S9
P: 306.922.8252
Box 639
Carrot River, SK
S0E 0L0
P: 306.768.2703
Box 39
Choiceland, SK
S0J 0M0
P: 306.428.2152
Box 2074
Nipawin, SK
S0E 1E0
P: 306.862.4651
Box 310
White Fox, SK
S0J 3B0
P: 306.276.2142
Box 160
Zenon Park, SK
S0E 1W0
P: 306.767.2434