The preview night is for anyone thinking about attending U of M-Flint.  If you can’t attend our preview night there are other days and locations available.  For more information or to register for a session click HERE.

*Bonus* If you attend one of the preview nights and are an undergraduate student you can bring your official transcripts and ACT scores (in a sealed envelope) to be considered for admission.  The $30.00 application fee will be waived.

If you have any questions about my experience at U of M-Flint but can’t attend the session feel free to leave a comment to this post and I will be sure to answer it.  I endorse U of M Flint because it was my school of choice and it helped me achieve my dream of working in marketing.  There are also many other great colleges in our community.  It is a good idea to search all of your options to find out which school is best for you and your intended major.  Mott Community College, Kettering and Baker are just a few of the other choices!

Click on the U of M Flint Connect logo to get connected to different social networks to learn more about U of M-Flint.

I hope to see you there!

    This scholarship is extremely special to the ELGA Credit Union family.  The Carmen Lee Wilber Memorial Scholarship is in memory of Carmen Lee Wilber, the daughter of ELGA’s Executive Vice President Frank Wilber and his wife Veronica, and sister to Brendan and Brett.  In August of 2008, Carmen passed away at the age of four in an automobile accident.  One of the blessings that came out of this horrible tragedy was that the family decided to donate Carmen’s organs so Carmen has saved others lives.  In the picture below Frank is holding a picture of Carmen. 

Tiffany Gardner, Amy Ketner, Paula Paulus, and Nicholle Pierce were the four winners selected. These ladies are outstanding and have already accomplished so much in their lives.

Left to right: Nancy Shoenfelt, Marketing Manager; winners Tiffany Gardner, Paula Paulus and Amy Ketner with Executive Vice President Frank Wilber. Not pictured: Nicholle Pierce.

For a basketball fan like me, it is so great that we have a ladies team…especially with the Detroit Shock leaving us for Tulsa.  I remember when the Shock first came to Detroit, I was in middle school.  It was thrilling to watch their games.  I am so excited we have a team in our community that young girls can look up too.  When I was young I had this great dream of playing pro ball. But I never got taller than 5 foot 4 and never quite became more than a so-so player.  Although my basketball dreams never came true I sure hope this team inspires other girls to make good decisions and chase their dreams.   This is just another cool thing going on in our community.

The Flames really are a great asset to our community.  They have a real passion to give back.  Recently they held basketball clinics for kids ages 10 through 17 at the Boys and Girls club and Flint Northern High School.  ELGA was a very proud sponsor of this event.  The kids learned many basketball skills at different stations set up around the gym.  One of the stations the kids went to was the ELGA Credit Union “Financial Fitness” portion.  We got to talk to the kids about savings, needs versus wants, and goals.  It was so much fun and we had a really engaged group of kids.

Has anyone had a chance to go to a game yet?

Myself and Kathy hanging out at the Boys and Girls Club. Notice the Huge Banner with Detroit Shock players. On the other side of the room was a huge banner with current and former Pistons players and I wanted it!

Throwing a stress ball to one of the kids who answered one of our financial fitness questions

Boys and Girls Club

Flint Northern High School

If you would like to make a donation of food or moola  just stop by any of our 8 branches.

This event is put on by the awesome Flint River Watershed Coalition.

To check out their website just go to www.flintriver.org.

Here is a flyer with more info: PDF

We will be cleaning up at the U of M Flint site.  Please go to the ELGA Vibe facebook to get more information.  We have a facebook event created so let us know that you are going to be  joining us either by leaving a comment on this post or by RSVPing on the facebook event.  If you are not our facebook friend yet just click on “ELGA VIBE” and “like” us.  Also make sure and search “Flint River Watershed Coalition” and “like” them.

If you RSVP on the facebook page let us know you heard about the event at www.elgavibe.com. If you let us know your shirt size, we can bring an ELGA VIBE shirt for you to the event.

Thanks everyone!  I hope to see you there!

Click on this link to learn more about the celebration: http://www.mcc.edu/earthday/earthday_about.php

Our Earth Day Table

Kathy, Christina, and Kristina having fun!

Our Awesome giveaway won by Michael James

Happy Earth Day! (a few days late)

ELIGIBILITY
Students who are currently members of ELGA Credit Union are eligible to apply. The student must be a member in good standing on the date of the application and must also be a member on the last day of the academic year in which the award is to be given. All applicants must have a GPA of 2.50 or higher and plan to enter college in the next academic year. Evidence of enrollment in an accredited college, technical school or university must be submitted before payment will be made to the recipient. Eligible educational institutions include universities, colleges, technical schools, trade and vocational institutions. ELGA Credit Union employees, Board and Committee members and their immediate families are not eligible. The scholarship will be based upon merit rather than need.

APPLICATION PROCESS
All applicants will submit a scholarship application and an essay of not more than 1500 words and not less than 750. The word length is a guideline, not an exact count.  The essay must be typed, double spaced, one inch top, side and bottom margins on each page. Applicants are encouraged to investigate ELGA Credit Union and the community and to interview staff, volunteers and members. I know you are sick of writing papers but this one can get you more than a good grade, it could possibly get you a $500 scholarship!

To view and print the Program Policy and the Application please visit our Carmen Wilber Scholarship page.   Make sure and read both documents carefully.  You don’t want to accidentally forget anything after doing all the hard work applying for it!

*Hint* Make sure you read the Personal Essay guidelines in the application.  There is also a checklist on the application.  Make sure you complete all items on the checklist!

Possible free money for school….it really can’t get better than that.  Please comment with any questions you have or if you know of any other great scholarships available in our community.

*Anne*

 How does it work? (It is sooooo easy)

• First go to www.elgavibe.com/justfileit.
• Then you will go through a series of secure web pages and input answers to simple, interactive questions. 

 Once all of the questions have been answered, the information is compiled and placed on federal and/or state tax forms that can be e-filed or printed and mailed.

 Don’t forget: To direct deposit your refund into your ELGA account you will need your account number and ELGA’s routing number which is 272479935.

 It’s so easy to use! Just go to www.elgavibe.com/justfileit for more information.

1. Drive Sensibly.  Did you know that aggressive driving wastes gas.  Speeding up and then all of a sudden slamming on your brakes not only wears and tears on your car but it wastes some major gas.  It can lower your gas mileage by up to 33%!  Give yourself plenty of time to get to your location so you are not in a rush.    
2. Drive Slower. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60mph.  For every 5 miles you go over 60 it is basically like paying an additional $.24 in gas! WOW! 
3. Remove Excess Weight.  So I know most of us basically live out of our cars but did you know that an extra 100 pounds could reduce your gas mileage by up to 2 percent!  So….maybe you should clean out your car once in awhile and get rid of some of that excess baggage.  If removing excess weight means throwing annoying friends out of the car-then do it (make sure the car is in park). 
4. Avoid Excessive Idling.  Your car is on but you are going nowhere.  Is that necessary? Idling gets zero miles per gallon (obviously). 
5. Use Cruise Control.  Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and helps you save gas. 
6. Use Overdrive Gears. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.  The only time you shouldn’t use Overdrive is when you are towing something or encountering steep hills.  Overdrive allows the engine to operate at a lower rpm for a given road speed. This allows the vehicle to achieve better fuel efficiency, and often quieter operation on the highway.

After knowing this information I hope everyone will drive a little safer and use a little less gas.  If only we didn’t live in Michigan… we could ride our bikes everywhere!