 PremierWest Bank's Get Smart About Credit ProgramMonday, August 25, 2008
Being a community partner has always been important to PremierWest Bank. So, when the bank learned about the American Bankers Association's Get Smart About Credit program, their employees jumped at the chance to help educate local students. Over 19 employees volunteered their time to bring the Get Smart About Credit program into area schools. The program educates students on how to use credit wisely – a very important lesson for young people to learn early, considering four out of five American adults carry more than nine credit cards each. Lincoln Cornthwaite of PremierWest Bank, who led a Get Smart About Credit program at Redmond High School in Redmond, Oregon with Leonard Weise of Premier Finance Company, proclaimed, “I had a great time interacting with the students and seeing the interest generated from answering questions that most of their parents could not answer for them. It went over so well that PremierWest Bank has been invited back to Redmond High School for the third time in two weeks!” With college, jobs, and/or military service on the horizon for teens, learning the tools to make smart financial decisions is crucial to this stage of their lives, especially when considering that teens spend $175 billion per year, and 83% of college students have at least one credit card. Adds Cornthwaite, “Since the first seminar, I have had three students stop by my office to ask additional questions regarding their financial well-being. The branch has also opened two depository accounts for students and their parents—with more on the way.” PremierWest Bank: just another example of an Oregon bank reaching out to its community to help provide a bright and successful future for our children.
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