Merry Christmas from all of us at Parishioners Federal Credit Union and Happy Anniversary to me. This is your CEO, Mark Marderness. I have been with the Credit Union since December 17, 1990 - That was a Wednesday and my 1st of 22 Christmas Open House parties.

Those of you that know me well, know that I am the sentimental type and that I can go on and on about all the fond memories I’ve made over the years. I know many of you have those same memories and we will again have a chance to re-live them. Our Christmas parties grew from a small gathering in the mid-1980’s into a wildly successful and expensive extravaganza. Our party became so popular that it just can’t be sustained at a bigger and more expensive rate each year. Remember, that is your money I’m spending for a party (yes, I know a Christmas party at a Catholic Credit Union is nice), but it is a party nonetheless. I can’t be a good steward of your money and at the same time throw a big, expensive party. For now, we want to do some other things with your money.

Now, back to my fond memories. We’ve had our internet banking product for over 10 years and our 1-800 number in service for over 15 years. Some memories need to be updated and we did that this month. Yes, I know the security is a hassle and the questions are dumb (not my questions), but once you get through the initial stages, the system is sweet. And, we’ll help you all the way by phone or in person. We wanted to go into 2013 with the best available products in terms of security and functionality to prepare for the future. Next to come very soon is person to person payments and a little later in the year, the ability to deposit checks by sending us a photo from your cell phone. For more information on the dumb questions, click here. And remember, the questions are only dumb until you don’t need them – then they seem like a good idea.

One reason we chose to improve our eServices and 1-800 number products in 2012 is that I am happy to say that I finally have the caliber of staff that can handle a complex project of this nature. You see the end result, but it took many of us working diligently since May to make this happen. I am very proud of my staff this year and I am blessed to have the best staff we’ve ever had… right here, right now in 2012 and I am equally blessed to be your CEO this year. As always, thank you for using your Credit Union.