Indiana CUs Recovering From Killer Tornado

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Credit unions in the Evansville area along with the Indiana Credit Union Foundation and Indiana Credit Union League have geared up to help CU members who lost property and, sometimes, family members and friends to a killer tornado that swept through the area on the morning of Nov. 6. The twister ran a course 30 miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide between 1:30 and 2:30 that morning. A combination of it not being the usual time of year for tornadoes and it coming at night meant many residents didn’t hear the warning sirens. The tornado killed 22, at least two of whom were members of the $500 million Evansville Teachers FCU. Nancy Golding, vice president with the credit union reported that the storm came within one-quarter mile of one of the credit union’s nine branches and five miles of another. The branch that was closest to the storm lost its phones and electricity and as of press time Golding was not sure that those had been repaired. The Foundation set up a fund which it hopes will gather money to help the members who have been devastated by the storm and both the Foundation and the League have donated $2000 to the effort. Golding said her credit union has taken action on a number of levels. The CU has made loans of up to $10,000 available to help members rebuild at a rate of 3.75%. Members who had their autos destroyed in the storm will also be able to replace them with auto loans at that rate. The CU is also waiving early withdrawal fees for any members who damaged by the storm and who need to access money in certificates of deposit. “One thing we have been doing as well has been waiving stop payment fees, card replacement fees and overnight delivery fees for any of our members who lost their debit cards, credit cards or checks in the storm,” Golding said. “In many cases everything they might have had, including those very important documents, may have been sent who knows where and we want them to be able to access their funds as soon as possible.” -