First Citizens’ Appoints Chris Wypasek as Mortgage Originator

FAIRHAVEN, MA – February 5, 2013 – First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union recently announced the appointment of Chris Wypasek, to the position of Mortgage Originator for the Taunton and Raynham communities. He will concentrate on the development and growth of the Credit Union’s loan portfolio and will be working with prospective and current homeowners to meet their needs in the areas of new home ownership, refinancing, new construction and Home Equity Lines of Credit. He especially enjoys working with new homeowners in helping them to achieve their goal of homeownership, to ensure a smooth process and experience.

Wypasek brings to First Citizens’ 20 years of Mortgage banking experience having worked for various large regional and national Mortgage Banking institutions. He is a graduate of Rhode Island College and resides in Rehoboth MA. In his spare time Chris enjoys music, sports and grilling.

In Photo from left to right: Linda Amin – Teller Raynham Branch, Kendall Davis- Senior Teller Raynham Branch, Mark Cook – Model Citizen, Dawn Ferreira-Raynham Branch Manager and Ashton Mello– Head Teller Raynham Branch


Fairhaven, MA November 19, 2012 --First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce Mark Cook as the winner of its 2nd Annual Model Citizen Award.

Mr. Cook is being recognized for his dedication and time spent helping those that are in need in the Taunton area. Mark spends his days finding residences, rehabilitation hospitals and securing the basic necessities including food, toiletries and clothing for the homeless. He also participated on Team Tom Brady for Best Buddies Challenge. Best Buddies is dedicated to creating opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Mr. Cook not only spends personal time helping the homeless but his personal finances as well to purchase sleeping bags and tents for those who are not able to find shelter.

In his professional work, Mr. Cook is an active Program Director and volunteer of The Refuge, a non-profit that offers worship services, food and support services to the areas homeless and unemployed. He also serves as a committee member on Pride Workshops on the Human Rights and on the GATCH (United Way Coalition for Homeless). Mark is also currently being trained to become a drug addiction counselor. As the winner of the Model Citizen Award he will receive a trip to New York City including two tickets to a Broadway show. The Model Citizen Award Program recognizes individuals in surrounding communities for their acts of kindness, volunteer work and efforts to make their community a better place. Several nominations were submitted during the 6-week program. Each individual was nominated through First Citizens’ Facebook page.

“It is a privilege to be able to recognize Mr. Cook for his tireless dedication and service to our community” said Peter Muise, President and CEO. “Mr. Cook exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism that is alive and growing on the South Coast and we all benefit from his dedication and commitment to give back to the community. For that we thank Mark for all that he does.”

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Fairhaven, MA

 


Fairhaven, MA ---July 16, 2012 --- First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce the recipients of its 20th Annual Academic Scholarship Program. A $1,000 scholarship was awarded to twelve local high school students from its branch communities across the Southcoast and Cape Cod.

In addition to the nine general scholarships, one scholarship, in honor of Barbara Whitehead Silva, former President and CEO of the credit union, is awarded. The remaining two scholarships are the Champion Family Scholarship. The Champion Account is designed to recognize teachers, EMT, police, firefighters and healthcare professionals for their outstanding service to our communities. The two scholarships are awarded exclusively to the immediate family of these members. Each scholarship is awarded to deserving students every year who demonstrated a high level of academic excellence, leadership, and service to their community.“It is an honor to be able to recognize these outstanding young men and women for their academic achievements and community involvement” said Peter Muise, President and CEO.  “We wish them well and look forward to their continued success in the pursuit of their goals and dreams.” 


Award Winners:

Justin Blaise, New Bedford High School
Jessica DeSousa, New Bedford High School, Silva Scholarship
Denzel J. Lomba, Falmouth High School
Julia Morse, Barnstable High School
Pamela Meritus, Dennis-Yarmouth High School
Matthew Nanopoulos, Dartmouth High School, Champion Family Scholarship
Jeremy Robbins, Mashpee High School
Natasha Saremento, New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
Julie Scott, Taunton High School
Marissa Skillings, Nauset Regional High School
Abbey Smith, Old Colony Rochester Regional Vocational Technical High School
Kaylyn Vieira, New Bedford High School, Champion Family Scholarship

to download press release.

First Citizens’ Appoints Herbert Johnson as Mortgage Originator

FAIRHAVEN, MA - April 19, 2012– First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union recently announced the appointment of Herbert Johnson, to the position of Mortgage Originator for the Taunton and Raynham communities. Johnson will concentrate on developing relationships with current and prospective homeowners. He is available to provide convenient mortgage appointments for applicants in North Bristol and Plymouth counties interested in a range of products - from First Time Homebuyer programs, purchasing, refinancing or constructing a home to Home Equity Lines of Credit.

Johnson brings to First Citizens’ six years of loan origination experience from both community and regional banking institutions where he most recently served as a Senior Loan Officer. He is originally from Rhode Island and attended school at Providence College as well as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Johnson currently resides in New Bedford and is actively involved in the Providence Recreational Department as a golf and tennis instructor.

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First Citizens' Approved as SBA Express and Patriot Express Lender

FAIRHAVEN, MA - March 30, 2012 – First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union is proud to announce that the U.S. Small Business Administration has officially granted the credit union approval as an authorized SBA Lender to underwrite commercial loan products utilizing the SBAExpress and SBA Patriot Express Loan Programs.

The loan products streamline small business loan requests, start-up business operations, working capital, account receivable funding and small business expansions. The SBAExpress program gives small businesses a faster turnaround time for review. In addition, lower interest rates can be available when applying through an Express program. The SBA Patriot program is designed for veterans and members of the military community wanting to establish or expand their small businesses. These new programs will accompany the full complement of SBA loan opportunities currently offered, including:

• SBA 7A Loan Program - for working capital and business acquisition
• SBA 504 Loan Program - for real estate acquisition, expansion and construction
• SBA Rural Lender’s Advantage Program - for refinancing and lines of credit

“The ability to work with the SBA for commercial lending has been a valued part of our commercial lending program.” said Peter Muise, President and CEO. “The enhanced ability to expedite the approval and funding process to provide the needed capital to our local business community will provide the additional resources and support our local businesses need now more than ever.” added the CEO.

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An Open Letter to Members and Friends of First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union

 

March, 2012

To the First Citizens’ Community,

Well, yet another another business year has come to a close. Unfortunately, I have become too accustomed to also adding “and what a tough year it was”. I am sure that you may have noticed since taking over as the President and CEO in the summer of 2008, the economy hasn’t been too good. Some are blessed with tranquil times, others are not, but I assure these are separate events.

It is becoming increasingly clear to many who monitor the economy, that there is progress but many significant challenges remain. Jobs are being created by the business sector in selected industries, but many people still cannot find work because our economy is recovering in a spotty way with key sectors experiencing massive structural changes. So is the glass half full or half empty? For us here at First Citizens’ the view is always on the positive. We have always been, and continue to be, an institution that challenges itself to deliver the best financial products and services and which prides itself on our customer service. This will continue to be our focus each and every day. Similarly, we endeavor to develop products and services that seek to promote community growth and stability in a changing economy.

Despite evolving economic circumstances nationally and abroad, we have had another extremely successful year. Our assets have grown by over 7% for the second consecutive year and we continue to exceed NCUA’s “well capitalized” designation with capital levels at 9.84%.Our deposits increased in 2011 by 6.5% funding over 10,300 consumer loans to our members and some 642 applications for residential first and second mortgages. In June, we reinforced our commitment to the Cape Cod market by opening our 10th branch in Mashpee. Ever alert to changing electronic delivery modes, we released a robust Mobile Banking platform providing text-banking, browser based banking and mobile apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. We even ventured into person-to- person payments with an innovative system called ZashPay which is similar to PayPal at the individual level.

As exciting as these accomplishments were, the year was not without its share of pain and unexpected outcomes. On December 5th we went through a loan system conversion that despite months of planning and coordination between all parties involved resulted in many unanticipated issues. Consequently this conversion subjected many of you to unnecessary inconvenience and aggravation. And for this I truly apologize. Our team is working diligently, every day to correct these issues and to restore the first-class quality service you have come to expect from us. Despite our initial disappointment with the conversion process, to date we have made significant progress and have added many improvements that in the long run you will come to appreciate.

So in light of all that has occurred, I am more convinced than ever that we will be a model financial intermediary, not just a survivor, that our members want to partner with to navigate their financial future. I thank our Board of Directors, our Supervisory Committee Members, my Management Team and Staff, and of course our loyal Members for another successful year. We look forward to continuing to serve your primary banking needs for many more years to come.

Respectfully,

Peter J. Muise,
President and Chief Executive Officer

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First Citizens’ Opens its 16th Annual
Scholarship Application Period.

FAIRHAVEN, MA-- FEBRUARY 1, 2012 – For the 16th consecutive year, First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union announces its Barbara Whitehead Silva & Champion Family Scholarship Program and is now accepting applications. In total thirteen $1,000 scholarships will be awarded.

The program provides graduating seniors from ten local area schools with a $1,000 scholarship awarded to them based on financial need. In addition, one scholarship will be awarded in honor of Barbara Whitehead Silva, former President/ and Chief Executive Officer, for her 45 years of dedicated service to the institution. The remaining two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to immediate family of members with a Champion Checking Account. Champion accounts are exclusively available to teachers, EMT, police, firefighters and healthcare professionals.

Applications are available at all First Citizens’ branch offices or online at www.firstcitizens.org. Requirements state that the applicant or parent must be a member of First Citizens' and the applicant must be a high school senior accepted to a college or university for the 2012-2013 academic year.

They must submit:

1. A completed application.
2. One page typewritten essay addressing why their major field of study was chosen and how it applies to their career goals, and
3.Comprehensive official transcripts.

Application deadline is April 2, 2012.

to download the 2012 application.

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