I promised you all I would update you on my Cambodian Challenge progress so you can see how my fundraising and fitness is progressing. So far I have raised about $3,095 with the help from some great local businesses who I would like to acknowledge- Companion Credit Union, Bridges Financial Planning, Cowan Manufacturing, Rebel Sport, Maitland Hire Rutherford, Rennie Golledge Pty Ltd and CUNA Mutual Group. Also a big thanks to my colleagues at Companion Credit Union who have been helping to sell (OR eat) my fundraising chocolates- thanks for your support.

My training has been getting more intense as I prepare for the trip, I did an 8km bike ride to Largs the other day but I need to increase my distance, I have also been hitting the gym with Spin Class and Body Blitz and boy I am feeling every bit of it! I had to go and buy those padded bike pants as the seat on my push bike is vicious, but it hasn’t really made any difference to tell the truth…

I attended a Leadership Course last week in Sydney to prepare for the trip and met some of the others that I will be cycling along side of through Cambodia. I leave on the 6th of July which is very soon, and I am getting pretty excited and a little anxious about what lies ahead for me when I arrive in Cambodia. But I am very sure this is the trip of a lifetime and will be benefit many young Cambodians.

Its not too late to donate

Thankyou everyone who has helped me prepare for the Cambodian Challenge and I will see you when I return on the 17th July,

Chris Austin

June 29th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Companion said ‘We’re Listening’

Guess what? We meant it!

Over the past month the exclusive members only Companion Community Grant has given away over $20,000 to 57 local not-for-profit groups. Members nominated organisations they thought could use a helping hand, and a panel of members helped distribute the funds to the successful recpients.

Now that’s listening to your members!

If you would like to register your interest for the 2010 grant let us know

Photos of the presentation days and the list of recipients can be found here

Feel free to share your Community Grant Story here by clicking on ‘Leave a comment’

Cas. S

June 22nd, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I thought I’d take a break from all the financial talk that goes on in here and take time to promote awareness to an illness that is close to me and our organisation – Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

IBD consists of Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. There are no cures and no explanations that give reason to how someone has it. More and more people are being diagnosed with this chronic disease as the affects are not easily detectable and only now some of the symptoms are clearer. Research indicates there are now over 61,000 Australians that have been diagnosed; mostly people in their mid teens through to their late thirties.

It is a difficult disease to manage. This is done either through diet, medication, or more drastic means like surgery. In some instances people can go through long periods of remission and then out of the blue have a ‘flare-up’ and the disease becomes active yet again.

At Companion Credit Union we have seen a number of our work colleagues or their family and friends affected with this disease and understand the difficulties that are faced. My wife has been diagnosed with Crohn’s for over 10years now and more recently underwent surgery to remove the disease. We have 2 young children (5 and 2) and there is always the fear that this will be carried through to them genetically, but you just never know!

Crohn’s and Colitis Australia (an association set-up by volunteers, formerly ACCA) has launched their annual Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week between June 22 – 28 this year with the theme being “Working with IBD”. For more information visit their site www.acca.net.au

If any Companion members or readers of this article would like to share their stories about this debilitating disease, please post your comments below. With the more support and education that can be generated the more hope there will be to try and find a cure.

Mark B.

June 22nd, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Yesterday morning was far to cold to be getting up earlier to meet and greet the receipts of the Community Grants for my area (Raymond Terrace), but I’m glad I did, it was a great morning. The Sun was streaming through the front windows of the Raymond Terrace Branch and everyone was happy with there hot coffee’s and very yummy muffins.

People were introduced and networking and chit chat followed, with everyone learning more about each others organization and how they play are part in our local community. Formal proceedings started with Ray O’Brien (Cheif Executive of Companion) giving a quick welcome and a background on the community grants program and how we hope this will be accepted and continued in to the future. Our next speaker and presenter was Deputy Mayor Bob Westbury who gave a speech acknowledging community groups and not for profit organizations and all there tireless work that they do. Each recipient was asked to give a small overview of their organization upon receipt of there grant. Photo’s were taken by our very talented and creator of the grant- Marketing Manager Cas Scott. Local press The Port Stephens Examiner was in attendance so there were smiles all round.

More Coffee and muffins followed with no one wanting to leave as we had all become quite cozy in the morning sun. But alas the real world awaits. Praise was forthcoming about the launch of the program with the general consensus being that this was a wonderful way for Companion to maximize the way the funds were to be disbursed. With our membership base being able to nominate an organization that they felt strongly about or an existing Companion organization being able to nominate themselves. As our recipients said their goodbye’s, business cards were exchanged and all hoped that we would all be back to do it again next year. I’m sure I heard them whisper to each other about Ray hoping there maybe a bigger sponosrhip pie next year!!!!!

Recipients for Raymond Terrace/ Salamander Bay: Port Stephens Outrigger Canoe Club, Hunter Volunteer Centre, Riding for the Disabled and Raymond Terrace Christian Education Association.

A full picture gallerywill be on this website in the coming weeks- so keep an eye out for it.

Mel.S
Raymond Terrace Branch Manager

June 12th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Having assisted members for many years with their borrowing needs, I am continually surprised at the number of people who have little or no protection in case something happens to them.

By Protection I mean, Insurance to cover themselves, their loved ones, their loans, even their lifestyle.

Whilst it is readily accepted that we need insurance to cover our home, contents, car etc, the need for Life Insurance (it will be someone else’s problem), Sickness and Accident (work will look after me), Involuntary Unemployment (my job’s safe) or Trauma cover (it won’t happen to me) is not so readily accepted.

As part of the process of getting a loan can protect your loan and it is very simple to do. Insurance can be included in with your normal loan repayment and you will have the peace of mind in knowing that if something happens to you your loan will be one less thing to worry about.

We all know people who have been sick, injured or lost their job, but did they have protection and was it enough?

Make sure you and your family are protected in times of need, you never know when you may need it.

Bill.H
Singleton Branch Manager
Companion Credit Union

June 8th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Two weeks ago I decided to do something totally different to what I would normally do, I decided to cycle around Cambodia. The ride is to raise money to develop Children’s Literacy in Cambodia.

This is part of a CUFA (Credit Union Foundation of Australia) initiative, which teaches the value of saving to young children. And working at Companion Credit Union I realise how important basic financial skills are that we take for granted.

First there are two things I must do before I can go to Cambodia;

1. Find a bike to train on (yes that’s right, I’m a novice cyclist to say the least)
2. Raise $3,000

All of the $3,000 goes directly to the Cambodian Children’s Financial Literacy Program. And I would like to ask for your help!

No donation is too large or small, and all donations over $2 are tax deductible. Donations can be made securely over the internet through the CUFA website.

Donate here

I would like to say a BIG thankyou to the following for their contribution to this worthy cause;

- Companion Credit Union
- Bridges Financial Planning
- Cowan Manufacturing
- Rennie Golledge Pty Ltd. 
- Rebel Sport 
- Maitland Hire Rutherford

I will also be posting some updates here as the weeks progress to let you know how my training and fundraising is going. If you have any training tips out there I would love to hear them!

Christine Austin
Companion Credit Union, East Maitland Branch
Novice Cyclist and Fundraiser for Childrens Literacy

June 4th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

On Tuesday we announced a proposed merger with Community CPS Australia. If the merger proceeds this will be an exciting step forward for Companion, as we will join one of the largest credit unions in Australia with a combined membership of over 186,000 members.

I am sure you will have a lot of questions, and at this early stage we are still in the process of finalising some of the details. I will endeavour to update you as more becomes available but feel free to ask them directly through our blog or give your local branch manager a call. We will be communicating directly with our members over the coming months, to ensure that everyone understands what it is we are proposing, and the benefits that will flow to our organisation should the merger proceed.

I can tell you a few things have already been established;

- The merger will only proceed after our members have voted on it at the AGM, and legal requirements have been met
- All branches will remain open with the same staff
- We will keep the Companion name for the time being, and become known as Companion Credit Union (a division of Community CPS Australia)
- Community CPS has an enhanced product offering which Companion Credit Union members will benefit from in the future
- The opportunities for career advancement for staff are significant in what will be a much larger entity.

Both Companion and Community CPS are profitable, successful businesses, however to increase our competitiveness in the industry we need the benefits that come from increased scale. This proposed merger will significantly improve the value we provide to our members here in the Hunter and Gunnedah regions, and position us well for future growth.

What excites me most about this proposal is the fact that Community CPS is so closely aligned to the culture and values that are so very much a part of the way we do things at Companion.

We have posted more indepth information on our website and I am more than happy to discuss any questions with you,

Ray

June 3rd, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Being a fulltime Finance Manager, husband, father to 3 children and a part time enthusiastic musician life certainly seems to be full and time is of the essence. However I strive to take the time out to reflect, finding it easy to get lost in song lyrics that relate to everyday life. It is easy to pull out lines from songs which make you reflect on life – as in Neil Diamond’s Beautiful Noise – “Life is good Life is fine can’t you feel it”.

In today’s time we seem to always be out of time, having a tightly scheduled day, working around the clock and always needing to be somewhere; whether it is children’s sport and activities, work commitments, community events, meeting friends and then there are the bills to be paid and deadlines to be met” I have a new take on life inspired by my music, as Elvis would say “Stop, Look and Listen – that’s my philosophy”.

You know if you take a long look around and take a minute to reflect you might just start feeling better? Indeed look at the world around you the blue of the sky, the grass rich green in colour and even the vivid mix of colour in our streets and homes. Again Neil says it best “What a beautiful noise coming in from the streets” – it is the sounds of our world, the one in which we each live, the one we share.

You know everyday we are told by the media, advertising companies and others about what is going on, what we should watch out for, what we should wear and eat; the list goes on and on – yes it is good to be informed, to plan for our future and work at it, make sure our finances are in check and that we set goals – but every now and then we need to take time out to reflect on the simple everyday things in life and remember that when we wake up with good health with a new day ahead – Life is good, life is great! Enjoy what we have with our family and friends.

Being a Manager with Companion Credit Union I know I am lucky to work for a company that is professional and successful but at the same time has not forgotten about good old fashion values. I not only value working along my fellow colleagues but the sense of belonging that comes in a small and dedicated group. I particularly enjoy that this company I work for has not forgotten our members in the day to day business and competition, each day I look forward to my working day, I look forward to seeing my members many whom I count as friends. It may sound corny and it may be hard to believe but when Companion says “We’re listening”, we really are.

Dario
Muswellbrook Branch Manager

June 1st, 2009 | Leave a Comment »