For this year’s Member Appreciation Day on October 15, East Kootenay Community Credit Union has much to celebrate and announce.

This year’s event will join with credit unions and credit union members around the world to celebrate International Credit Union Day, an annual event to commemorate the credit union movement’s impact and achievements globally, nationally and in local communities.

This year’s theme, ‘People Helping People. Our Co-op Advantage’ embraces the long-standing credit union philosophy which has been recognized as a force for positive economic and social change and providing significant value in both developed and emerging nations.

As part of announcing this special day, the EKC is also pleased to announce some additional good news for the community as a whole. As part of this year’s theme of ‘People Helping People,’ EKC’s branches in Cranbrook, Elkford, Fernie and Sparwood invite parents in particular to find out more about accessing a new educational grant of $1,200.

EKC Senior Manager of Sales and Service, Gerry Dreger explains, “The British Columbia Training & Education Savings Grant (BCTESG) is a new grant worth $1,200 for B.C. children between the ages of six and nine. The $1,200 grant does not require matching funds and has only a few simple requirements.” Central1 Credit Union, EKC’s trade association, announced credit unions are the only financial institution in British Columbia currently able to help parents apply for the new grant.

According to Jody Burk, CEO of EKC, the unique ability of credit unions to make a difference in people’s lives has been recognized nationally with a plethora of awards. “While customer service is something everyone talks about, credit unions have a history of providing long-term and meaningful customer service, along with sustained fiscal responsibility. In total, Canada’s credit unions received a record number of nine awards through the annual 2015 Ipsos® Best Banking Awards and Canadians ranked credit unions first in overall Customer Service Excellence. This speaks volumes about credit unions’ approach to doing business – and we want to celebrate this shared success with our members and the community on October 15.”

For members who may not be able to attend Member Appreciation Day on October 15, EKC encourages them to check out their newly upgraded and award-winning mobile app service. Burk joked, “We have so many positive things happening to announce! Forrester has rated credit unions mobile banking the best in North America and the 14 new features added to EKC’s mobile app will make it even better. Members ding free network of ATMs have just grown by 26% including MAC and Circle K convenience stores. While we hope everyone can join us on October 15th in celebrating so much positive momentum in our community, please feel free to visit us anytime or check us out online.

EKC was established in 1950 and has grown to over $290 million in assets and serves over 11,200 members throughout the East Kootenay. EKC is a community based financial co-operative that offers a full range of banking, financial planning (EKC MoneyWorks) and general insurance (KIS Ltd) services. Our community branches are located in Cranbrook, Elkford, Fernie and Sparwood. Please visit us at one of our branches, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EKCCU or at EKCCU.COM

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