Best Life Podcast | Altra Federal Credit Union

June is National Rose Month and we are learning more about Altra in the Rose Capital of America, Tyler, TX! Tony speaks with Brian Selph, Retail Market President; Esmeralda Molina, Retail Market Manager; Justin Davenport, Office Manager – South Broadway; and Daisy Phillips, Community Engagement Coordinator. We learn more about a couple of building projects, the services and technology you can find at our Tyler area offices, and how the Rose Capital of America is doing as we are starting to come out of the pandemic.

Every year, Altra gives back to the communities we’re proud to serve by closing our offices for a day so our employees can volunteer at organizations in all of our areas. We call this day of volunteering Altra Gives Back Day and Tony Beyer sits down with Altra’s Community Relations Manager, Shawn Hauser, to discuss how the day has changed over the last couple of years and its continued importance to nonprofit organizations. Also joining the podcast to speak about their nonprofit organizations and of the importance of volunteering are Mary Jo Burgess, who is the Executive Director for CASA for Kids of East Texas (casaforkidsofet.org), and Pat Stephens, President and Founder of the Rotary Lights in La Crosse (rotarylights.org).

On this episode of the Best Life Podcast we discuss everything Altra is doing for April, which is Financial Capability Month and Credit Union Youth Month. Tony welcomes back Altra’s Youth Strategies Manager, Danielle Anderson, to discuss the different youth contests this month, a $20 match for new youth members, a new app that can help users earn while they learn, and also about Altra’s Banzai Scholarship for high school students.

This month, Altra Federal Credit Union debuted a new tool to help our members measure their overall financial wellness. This month’s episode is all about the Best Life Financial Wellness Quiz which can be found on our website at altra.org. The two-minute quiz lets quiz takers know what they’re doing well, and what could use improvement in four key areas: Spending, Saving, Borrowing, and Planning. Lori Horstman and Cheryl Dutton, Altra’s VPs of Member Experience and Marketing, respectfully, give us more information about the quiz and its importance. John Thompson, the President of Attune (attune.co), also joins the podcast via video to talk about how his company, along with the Financial Health Network (finhealthnetwork.org) helps organizations measure and improve financial wellness.

It is an understatement to say that Covid has had an effect on many current businesses and employers in variety of ways, many not exactly positive…but it’s also worth noting that the pandemic has also led to a boom in new businesses being created. A recent study has shown that more than 4.4 million businesses were created in 2020. Tony Beyer speaks with two of Altra Federal Credit Union’s Business Banking Relationship Managers — Emily Medvecky and Walt Smanski — to learn what new business owners need to know to get off to a successful start and how Altra can help.

With the cost of higher education rising, it’s now more important than ever to take steps to make college more affordable. In this episode we look at ways to pay for, and how to save money, when it comes to going to college. We speak with Lyndsey Thomas who is a Financial Resource Coordinator at Western Technical College in La Crosse (westerntc.edu/financial-aid), Director of Strategic Partnerships at Student Choice (altra.studentchoice.org) Denice Burmeister, and Ryan Sperling along with Bo Bassindale who are both Financial Peer Mentors at It Make$ Cents (uwlax.edu/it-makes-cents) at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

April is Financial Literacy Month and it’s also Credit Union Youth Month. While this April may look different than in years past, Altra has some exciting news and ways to help youth live their best lives including using dinosaurs to promote saving
money, a new spend account with rewards, and a $10,000 scholarship for college. Altra’s Youth Services Manager, Danielle Anderson, speaks with Tony to discuss what’s going on around Altra in April.

A recent report published by The Pew Charitable Trusts highlights the high fees being charged by payday lenders. On this episode, Tony speaks with Altra Federal Credit Union’s VP of Consumer Lending, Mark Tierney, to discuss alternatives to payday loans, as well as what to know when borrowing money.

More financial resources and education can be found at altra.org.

As we start to turn the corner on the pandemic, and life begins to return to something that more closely resembles normal, it’s more important than ever to support charities and nonprofit organizations that improve lives and also our communities. In this episode, we look at an app that Altra has partnered with called NetGiver, which makes sure all of the money you donate to a charity, goes to that charity or nonprofit organization with no fees! Tony speaks with the CEO of NetGiver (netgiverapp.com), Eric Berg, to learn more about it and how it helps our members and nonprofit organzations. We are also joined by Cheryl Dutton, who is the VP of Marketing at Altra; Shawn Hauser who is Altra’s Community Relations Manager, and we also discuss the importance of donations and community support to nonprofits with Lindsey Hemker, who is the Development Manager at Spark Children’s Museum (sparkrochestermn.org) in Rochester, MN.

Low interest rates have many wondering if now is the right time to purchase, or refinance their home? Tony speaks with VP of Real Estate Services Craig Sacia and La Crosse Area Market Manager Tara Mayberry on what members should know about the housing market, what to expect when buying or refinancing a home, and the importance of getting pre-approved to move quickly on your dream home!