2010 American 1 scholarship winners

Pictured: Heather Yzenbaard, Sarah Chinavare, Lauren Steele, and Brittnie Jarrett accept their award at our Resource Center.

American 1 is proud to announce the names of our 2010 Community Involvement Award scholarship winners.

These 10 altruistic high school graduates contributed to their community in many ways, and all deserve the $1,000 in scholarship funds for their college careers:

• Rebecca Brown (Grass Lake High School)
• Sarah Chinavare (Hanover-Horton High School)
• Samantha Herzing (Pennfield High School)
• Brittnie Jarrett (Jackson Christian High School)
• Alana Lee (Battle Creek Central High School)
• Meghan Martin (Napoleon High School)
• Charles Schaerer (Jonesville High School)
• Jacob Sloan (Quincy High School)
• Lauren Steele (Western High School)
• Heather Yzenbaard (Northwest High School)

We know these community-minded students will continue to give back in the future.

American 1′s scholarship program is funded through our Skip-a-Pay program, where members can donate $25 to our scholarship fund to skip a loan payment.

For information on our next scholarship award, check back here in January 2011.

An award-winning credit union

American 1′s board of directors was on-hand to accept the Jackson Citizen Patriot’s “Corporate Citizen of the Year” award last week at a banquet held by the newspaper.

We also learned that our Women’s Expo won a CUNA Diamond Merit award. It seems we’re really good at getting the word out about the expo, and we were recognized for it by a national credit union association.

We couldn’t do any of this without our supportive members, of course, so we really have you to thank.

College scholarship application available

Each year, American 1 gives out $1,000 scholarships to altruistic high school students in the counties we serve. Last year, we awarded 10 college scholarships to community-minded students.

We’re making our application available for this year’s award on our What’s New page. You can download the application, and either mail or fax in your form and essay.

The Community Inolvement scholarships are funded through our Skip-a-Pay program, where members can make a $25 donation to our scholarship fund instead of making a loan payment. Members can use Skip-a-Pay once per year, per loan.

This year’s application and essay are due by February 27.

[Above: last year's Community Involvement Award winners.]

Thanks for our ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’ nod

What a way to start the year.

If you haven’t heard, American 1 earned the Jackson Citizen Patriot’s Corporate Citizen of the Year Award for 2009.

Cascade Humane Society’s Debra Carmody and Jackson School of the Arts’s Kim Hastings nominated us for the award. American 1 organizes the Paws & Claws Expo and Teen Idol, which benefit each respective group.

With our sponsorship of the Rose Parade and the American 1 Fair Event Center, plus our good fortune in navigating through the local economic troubles, 2008 was a great year for the credit union. We all worked really hard to be successful, but the fact is none of it could be possible without our members and the communities that support us.

So thanks for the nod, and thanks for helping to make American 1 the best way to bank. Here’s to a great 2009!

Above: Dave Puckett, American 1′s president/CEO, and Kristi Latoszewski, vice president of marketing and communications, in our Home Office lobby. Photo courtesy of the CitPat’s Erik Holladay.

‘Best in Michigan’ nod from Corp! magazine

American 1 is featured as a “Best of Michigan” business by Corp! magazine readers.  Corp!, a business magazine based in Warren, Mich., surveyed more than 1,000 readers on the best state businesses in categories like “Family Businesses” and “Health Care Providers.”

We were recognized in the “Banks & Credit Unions” category.  See who else was honored by visiting Corp!’s awards site.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us!