University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union

Every August, we celebrate International Heritage Month to highlight the diversity and backgrounds of our wonderful employees. First up, we want you to meet Jena Brayboy and learn about Thai culture! In Jena's words, Thailand is simply a land of beauty. From their stunning Buddhist temples to their world-renowned tropical islands and beaches to their spectacular festivals like Loy Krathong (where the goddess of water is celebrated by releasing lotus-shaped rafts on rivers and lakes) and Songkran (or Thai New Year where large-scale community water fights break out to "wash away the previous year"), Thai culture is as varied as it is beautiful. And don't forget the food! Thai cuisine has become famous all over the world, with dishes like Pad Thai (pan-fried noodles), Tom Yum Kung (lemon-flavored soup with shrimp) and Khao Pad (Thai fried rice) enjoyed by millions of people every day. In fact, food is one of the most fundamental parts of Thai culture! Most Thai families share evening meals together in a communal style where each person has a bowl of rice while other dishes are placed in the center of the table and shared. It's just a small symbol of the respect and politeness that is at the core of Thai life. So why not dive into Thai culture to learn a little more? Happy International Heritage Month!

The school year hasn't even started, but our new Student Interns are already hard at work! After spending the last couple of weeks in training, Devin, Ulises, Nashala and Santiago put their knowledge to the test by setting up a UKFCU table for Freshman Orientation outside our in-school branch at Academies of Frederick Douglass High School. Last year's Interns will be a tough act to follow, but this new crew are already showing their promise!

107,000 members across 48 US States. 6 Local Branches in Fayette County and coming soon to Jessamine County. While we might have grown enormously since our founding in 1937, we've always had one singular mission - helping our members achieve financial well-being. And it all starts with that first interaction, like the one below from a new member. Learn how you can join UKFCU today: https://ow.ly/7lZb50SQ0vU

Look at all of those smiling faces! Are they smiling because they're first-year students at UK College of Dentistry or is it because they had just heard a wonderful presentation from our very own Janet Beard? UKFCU was privileged to be a part of SMILE Week at UK College of Dentistry, where Janet spoke to the incoming students on a particularly important topic, namely Debt Management for College Students. And as all the smiles can tell you, Janet was able to inspire and encourage the students on the various financial decisions they'll make in the future!

It all started on Wednesday when our Marketing Team headed over to the North Lexington Family YMCA to try to pack as many backpacks as humanly possible. Manual labor may not be our thing, but we managed to pack over 1,000! But backpacks are no use to anyone sitting in a gymnasium, so we participated in the Nicholasville Back-to-School Rally to help get these backpacks to the kids who needed them. A great time was had by all, and we were delighted to sponsor this amazing YMCA of Central Kentucky event!

UKFCU has been named on the Forbes list of America's Best-In-State Credit Unions for 2024! We could gloat about such things, but we're going to take the high road and thank our Best-In-State Members for motivating us to achieve another prestigious award! Go here to learn more: https://ow.ly/GX9L50SKXp1

Who lives in a pineapple under the UKF...Sea...U? We were delighted to welcome SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy to our Tates Creek branch recently as they made a rare jaunt out of Bikini Bottom to learn more about the various services available at the ocean's favorite credit union! Their visit was all too brief, but we've heard that Lexington Children's Theatre is hosting all of the SpongeBob crew on July 26th, 27th and 28th for the last three nights of The SpongeBob Musical, proudly sponsored by UKFCU! Click here for tickets: https://ow.ly/emYY50SIH5h

The UKFCU Summer of Seminars continued this week, with a huge turnout for our first-ever Fraud Seminar! Attendees heard all about the threats posed by card skimmers from United States Secret Service Financial Analyst Michael Helsby, how to understand and report elder fraud from the Kentucky AG's Interim Executive Director of Senior Protection Shellie May and how to recognize and avoid the most common financial scams from our very own Tyler Polley! We got lots of great feedback from many of the members who attended, and now we hope they can put their new-found knowledge into practice against any fraudsters who try to steal their money!

Who is Behind Kentucky Basketball? Why, UKFCU of course! We're proud to announce that we're sponsoring the Behind Kentucky Basketball podcast for the upcoming season! Go here to listed to the first episode with Nate Sestina: https://ow.ly/ThxE50SCISu

When it comes to identifying fraud, it helps to have the experts on your side. Join us at the UKFCU Corporate Office on Tuesday, July 16th, 2024 at 6 PM for an in-person Fraud Seminar where you’ll learn from: * Tyler Polley, UKFCU BSA and Fraud Mitigation Officer * Michael Helsby, United States Secret Service Financial Analyst * Shellie May, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General Interim Executive Director of Senior Protection Go here to register: https://ow.ly/CF2S50SBxo2