Dakota West Offers National Child Safety Council Matching Funds Donation
(WATFORD CITY, ND, 28 October 2019) – In response to a request from Hettinger County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota West Credit Union is offering to match donations from individuals and businesses throughout the county to support child safety and drug prevention education.
Sheriff Sarah Warner sent letters to businesses to request donations to the National Child Safety Council organization on behalf of Hettinger County officials to establish programs for kindergarten through sixth grade students. Sheriff Warner estimated the programs being developed by the deputies would reach more than 150 students.
Dakota West New England Branch Regional Operations Manager Mike Grote encouraged others to contribute by agreeing to match donations up to goal of funding all students. “We’ve already contributed $250 towards the effort and know others in our community also want to support Sheriff Warner and the Hettinger County communities.”
Reflecting on the values of Dakota West, Grote recognizes that the financial institution supports the community and the initiatives to protect its students. “We succeed together.”
Donations from Hettinger County businesses and residents may be made online at nationalchildsafetycouncil.org and reference the specific program number: nd-21-c-1.
The Hettinger County Sheriff’s Department also plans to expand the program to include identity theft and internet safety programs for senior citizens. Grote looks forward to the additions and plans to support those initiatives as well.
Established in 1941, each of Dakota West’s branches and its members and employees help grow the Dakota West family with exceptional commitment to building relationships and strengthening communities through programs like safety education.
With branches throughout west and central North Dakota, including New England, Dakota West Credit Union is dedicated to helping its members grow with comprehensive, competitive financial products partnered with personal, professional service. To learn more about its services and communities, visit dakotawestcu.com.
Making Miracles Happen
If you think miracles don’t happen often enough, then this is your chance to help make miracles happen.
At Dakota West Credit Union we are determined to make miracles happen in our backyard. From now until October 17, all eight branches are accepting donations to the Children’s Miracle Network with our contributions going to our regional CMN hospital: Sanford Children’s Hospital in Fargo.
Your generosity to our regional CMN hospital help provide care for all children, regardless of illness, injury, or a family's ability to pay. Donations also helps provided needed equipment, community outreach programs, and medical research.
As our members know, we are a Co-Op Shared Branching credit union, but you may not have known that Co-Op Shared Branch Network is a national sponsor of the Children’s Miracle Network. How fortunate we are to be affiliated with the second largest branch network in the United States, and how fortunate the kids needing extra TLC at Sanford Children’s Hospital will be thanks to your help in making miracles happen for them.
On the final day of our campaign, stop into one of our branches – we will be wearing our “miracle jeans” in support of Children’s Miracle Network. Each Dakota West employee sporting their favorite denim is making a donation to the CMN. Join us for Miracle Jeans Day on Thursday, October 17, which also happens to be International Credit Union Day. What better way to show how credit unions make miracles in our communities!
We believe that miracles really do happen. Dakota West staff and members have the jeans to prove it.
Meet Melissa Hagen
Listening to Melissa Hagen discuss the people of Mohall, whether her fellow staff or others within her community, explains why she has spent the last decade serving the people of Renville County. Originally referred by a Dakota West employee when there was a branch opening for a part time Member Service Representative, Melissa is now a seasoned loan officer and embraces her career.
“I encourage them and lift them up,” she says of those she serves. “I know the birthdays of our members and when their loved ones are ill. I’ve brought them lunches out in the field. Anywhere I go I’m always working. I can’t go to the store in my sweats.”
Melissa builds trusting relationships with our members and our staff in the small community of Mohall. She admits her coworkers at Dakota West know her better than some of her extended family. “They are my emergency contacts. I spend fifty hours a week with them. They encourage me and have seen me grow.”
Growing doesn’t begin to describe the changes Melissa has seen over her past decade with Dakota West. “When I first started, corn prices were unreal. I have seen where people have had to start thinking about their everyday lives and be accountable for their decisions.” Dakota West values the commitment our members make with us, and Melissa exemplifies that process in the communication she shares with our members.
“Conversations about loans can be turned into a learning experience. I want our members to know what they are getting into. We discuss whether a purchase is a want or a need and why they are asking for it. I like to have the conversation. We are dealing with large numbers on big farms.”
During her time with Dakota West, Melissa has also gotten to see her own family grow. With two little ones, ages two and four, she is living her example of keeping each day family focused and enjoys community activities together. She even plants the idea of savings with her oldest. “Pennies go to work with Mommy.”
Melissa clearly values the relationships that she has grown from the loans she services. Members who are considering a new loan, whether for the farm, for a new vehicle, your business, or to take the steps to home ownership, can find the values Melissa and all our loan officer share at one of our eight branches throughout western North Dakota.
How Do You Measure The Value Of A Loan?
We’ve started asking this question throughout North Dakota. Value implies more than just dollars and cents. Value means an addition that makes one choice preferable over the other, like amenities at a hotel. We have the ability to compare savings when shopping online for airfare or car insurance.
At Dakota West, we also want to start a conversation about our values – what we believe and what we practice when we service a loan, when we help a new member open an account, or when we complete a transaction at our drive-through windows. We value the trust that our borrowers place in us. We value the commitment made by our team and our members when we enter this partnership. And, above all else, we value the relationship that grows while working with our members.
We find value in doing more for our members, not just in our branches, but in our communities. This past week we sponsored the Fusion Conference in Bowman. This autumn we’ve driven in homecoming parades in several communities (when the weather didn’t rain on our parade). We are in the midst of our campaign to support the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Fargo. We support local rodeos, fairs, school sporting and booster events, and regional tournaments. We volunteer as emergency responders, in our state parks, with community organizations, and at our churches.
Our values and the way we serve our members, put simply, come down to this:
We are ready to listen.
We succeed together.
We can do this together.
We value your trust.
That’s how we measure our values.
Dakota West offers a wide range of loan offerings, including Personal, Home, Vehicles, Ag, or Business Loans. Click on the kind of loan you're considering to discover more, or call 800.411.7590 to speak to a loan officer today.
