(light, upbeat music)
Hello, my name is Doug Fecher
and I'm President and CEO of Wright-Patt Credit Union.
I know that these past few weeks have been challenging
given the overwhelming nature of this coronavirus pandemic,
which is unprecedented in our lifetimes.
So let me start by saying my heart goes out to everyone
whose lives have been disrupted by this terrible disease.
I can't thank our amazing healthcare workers
and first responders enough for all that they're doing,
and I have equal admiration for unsung heroes among us:
folks working in grocery stores and pharmacies,
our trash collectors, and, yes, those who work with me
here at the credit union who may not have the option
of staying home to ride this thing out.
These folks are also indispensable during this crisis
and we owe them our most sincere gratitude also.
As we face this horrible epidemic together,
our top priority at Wright-Patt Credit Union
is balancing the safety of our members and employees
with our obligation to provide members
with the critical financial services
they depend upon everyday.
Rest assured, Wright-Patt Credit Union
is an essential business
and we will continue serving members throughout this crisis.
We take our obligation to serve our members very seriously
and we have great resolve to see our communities through
to the end of this crisis.
To that end, we are paying close attention
to guidance from national, state, and local health agencies.
We've implemented a host of safety measures
and social distancing practices.
We've adjusted our services and we've created a number
of emergency offerings to help members who are affected
by temporary job loss or reduced income due to the virus.
With Ohio's stay-at-home order, essential businesses
like Wright-Patt Credit Union are working hard
to protect their employees
who are understandably anxious to be working.
That's why most of our member centers are drive-through only
for the time being,
with a select few centers providing limited lobby services
with restrictions on the number of people
permitted inside at one time.
Everyone here is working hard during stressful times,
so I thank members for being patient and understanding
as we balance safety and service to the best of our ability.
It's no secret that I believe Wright-Patt Credit Union
has the best employees anywhere, but please remember
they're dealing with this crisis themselves,
serving members at work while also looking after
the safety of their own families.
Also remember the best way to help essential businesses
keep their employees safe is by staying home.
And we can help you do that.
We're urging everyone to stay safe
by making the most of our convenient digital services,
including mobile and online banking, ATMs,
and call 24 telephone services.
Most routine transactions can be done
through our mobile banking app or our online banking system.
You can even pay your bills online.
You can deposit checks anywhere with mobile check deposit
and use your debit and credit card to make purchases
so you don't need to carry much cash.
These digital tools are easy to use.
I've been using them myself for years.
And you can find videos and other information
on our website to help you get started.
And please, don't worry about your money.
You don't need to hide cash in your mattress
or carry rolls of money in your pocket.
The banking system has hundreds of billions of dollars
in liquidity and there's no reason to take your money away
from where it's insured.
If you do need to withdraw or deposit cash,
you can skip the lines by taking advantage
of our network of low to no-fee ATMs.
Simply visit the locations page on our website
to find a convenient ATM near you.
I also want to warn you against fraudsters
who are trying to use this emergency
to scam people out of their money.
Remember, no one from Wright-Patt Credit Union
will ever ask you for your account number or your passwords,
not by email, not by telephone, not ever.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If you have any questions, please call us right away.
There are a number of other steps
we've taken to help members during these difficult times.
For example, we automatically increased credit card limits
for qualifying members.
We're temporarily waving certain fees and offerings,
skip-a-pay options on most of our loans.
We created a low-rate temporary unemployment loan
to replace income loss due to the virus,
and we're always looking for other ways of doing
whatever's necessary to get us passed this pandemic event.
To learn more about these COVID-19-related services,
just visit our website at wpcu.coop.
Please let us know if you need help
and we can recommend options
that might work best for you.
In the end, the one thing I know for sure is
we will all get through this
and we'll get through it even better by working together.
So I want to thank you again, all of our members, employees,
and everyone who is out there serving our community.
As Winston Churchill said, "Success is never found.
"Failure is never fatal.
"Courage is the only real thing."
So let's all have the courage to get through this together.
Please be smart, stay safe, and stay home.
And remember, Wright-Patt Credit Union
will always have your back.
Thank you.
