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For more information contact:
Greg Troutner, EVP
Professional FCU
(260) 483-0514, ext. 6307
gtroutner@profedcu.org |
Professional FCU sends RV from Fort Wayne, Ind. to help credit union
family in Mississippi
January 13, 2006
Released to credit union trade publications.
Despite the best efforts from credit unions
and relief organizations, there are still many hurricane victims whose lives
are not yet back to normal. Professional FCU has provided help for one
family that is still without a proper home. A 34-foot RV that came back to
the credit union in a bankruptcy was driven down to Moss Point, Miss., on
Jan. 6 so that a credit union employee and her family could live more
comfortably. Their home was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and mold
in it was triggering bouts of pneumonia for the family which includes the
credit union employee, her teenage daughter and her 74-year-old mother who
is recovering from heart surgery. The RV will be available to this family
for a year.
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| 5Ready to roll:
The staff of Professional FCU got the
Winnebago RV ready by filling it with supplies for the family that they
donated. EVP Greg Troutner and VP of Marketing Bob Satterthwaite drove
the 13½-hour trip to Mississippi, starting at 4 a.m. from Fort Wayne.
Staff members are shown here with the RV before the trip. |
“It seemed like fate,” said Professional FCU President/CEO
Barb Berghoff of the opportunity to send the RV. “It is so rare to
repossess an RV, and this one came back the day before we got the e-mail
from the League explaining that housing for credit union employees and
officials impacted by the hurricane was a priority.” Preparing the RV for
the trip felt “just like adopting a family, and it was nice to know exactly
who was benefiting from our efforts,” explained Berghoff. Credit union staff
filled the RV with food, dishes, silverware, water and cleaning supplies
that they donated, adding gift certificates to Wal-Mart for other
necessities.
The effort was coordinated between Professional FCU and the Indiana and
Mississippi credit union leagues. Insurance for the RV was underwritten by
CUNA Mutual Group. Berghoff was instrumental, too. As vice chairman for the
Indiana Credit Union Foundation she is close to many of the details about
the needs of credit unions in the Gulf Region. She is also chair of
Mid-States Corporate FCU, a major contributor to the Foundation and generous
donor to other disaster relief efforts. The salty air in the Gulf Coast
region corrodes the nails that hold housing frames together, adding to the
problems of rebuilding in that region. Housing is still a major issue for many
credit union staff families.
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