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Siuslaw Bank will join community bankers throughout the nation to celebrate the month of April as Community Banking Month. This year community bankers will make a collective effort to inform the public of the important economic and social contributions local banks make in their communities.
Siuslaw Bank will focus on educating local youth on the importance of saving throughout the month long celebration. As part of this effort, the Bank will host an essay contest entitled, “Why It’s Important to Save.” Winning essays will be published in local newspapers.
Siuslaw Bank will culminate Community Banking Month on April 29, 2008 with “Teach Children to Save Day,” when employees of the Bank will visit community classrooms to mentor elementary school children on the importance of excellent saving habits.
“I’m proud to unite with other community bankers across the state and nation to display our dedication to serving our customers, our state, and our country the best way we know how,” said Johan Mehlum, Siuslaw Bank CEO and Chairman of the Board. “We are proud of our community and we are dedicated to serving our community and the citizens and businesses that reside and operate here. Our bank has a different philosophy than larger institutions. We are uniquely committed to the local area and our focus lies in helping our community to grow and prosper.”
Community banks are independent, locally owned and operated institutions. The more than 8,300 community banks across America today are often recognized for personalized and individual service, low fees and focus on the local economy.
Founded in 1964, Siuslaw Bank is Lane County’s oldest independent bank.
April 4th, 2008
Above: Coins collected for a previous Tons of Change event
Will a Guinness Book for World Records award take place on Saturday, April 5? Our sources say yes. On Saturday, April 5 Siuslaw Bank’s Cottage Grove office will host the official weigh-in for the Boys & Girls Clubs’ “Tons of Change” campaign.
Siuslaw Bank employees, along with volunteers from the community, KVAL, and five members of the University of Oregon Women’s Basketball team, will be on hand to weigh nearly 1,000 buckets of coins collected throughout the Emerald valley, in hopes of setting a world record for collecting over one ton of coins for charity.
“Our goal is to collect a minimum of one ton of coins,” said Sherman Smith, President, Board of Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Emerald Valley. “We have an estimated 500 to 600 pounds of coins on hand with more coming in. Visually it will be a good show.”
Siuslaw Bank is excited to support the campaign, which will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Emerald Valley and finance many of their day-to-day operations assisting under-privileged children throughout the greater Eugene area.
“We have long admired the good work the Boys & Girls Clubs do for our youth and are happy to help host the Tons of Change event,” says Robert Ball, Vice President at Siuslaw Bank and manager of the Cottage Grove office.
The “Tons of Change” event both wraps up the annual National Boys & Girls Clubs Week and kicks off Community Banking Month, which focuses on the positive impact local banks make on their communities.
“Community Service is an integral component of our philosophy,” says Lonnie Iholts, President of Siuslaw Bank. “Our culture centers on our dedication and commitment to serving our community. Our original founders were comprised of community leaders and that truth still holds today.”
April 4th, 2008
On Thursday, February 21st, Siuslaw Bank employees said “thank you” to local builders and realtors by giving an appreciation party in their honor! The event was held at the Valley River Village branch, where a great time was had by all.
(Above, left to right) Barbara Newman, Judy Gould, and Virginia Brooks (all from Siuslaw Mortgage) at the Builder Appreciation Party.
(Above, left to right) Cathryn Wilson and Lacie Johnson (both from Siuslaw Bank) enjoy the party.
(Above, left to right) Janice Dunn, Jenny Obermiller (Siuslaw Bank), and Al Machin (Siuslaw Finance) at the Builder Appreciation Party.
(Above, left to right) Latisha Abian, Cathryn Wilson, Karen Cummins, and Darvin Fowler (all from Siuslaw Bank’s Valley River Village branch) enjoy the party.
February 29th, 2008
Siuslaw Bank is sponsoring the Eugene Symphony’s Valentine’s Day performance! The repertoire includes Roberto Sierra’s “Fandangos (West Coast Premiere)” and “Concerto for Saxophones” (performed by Downbeat Magazine poll winner, James Carter) along with Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The concert is sure to be powerful and romantic… perfect for February 14th!
For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.eugenesymphony.org.
February 8th, 2008
Question:
“What is the reason for the dropping of “Valley” from the bank’s name?”
Answer:
Siuslaw Bank (formerly Siuslaw Valley Bank) was named after the Siuslaw Valley. We were founded in Mapleton, Oregon in 1964 and later expanded to Florence. As we got larger and opened locations in the Willamette area, we also formed sub-companies such Siuslaw Mortgage and Siuslaw Finance. In 2003, we retained the word Siuslaw and dropped the “Valley” so that the name of our bank and our sub-companies remained concise. At this time, we also synchronized our logos and names so they were all consistent.
Do you have a question for Siuslaw Bank? Leave a comment on this blog and your question may be featured on our website!
February 8th, 2008
Johan Mehlum
Chairman of the Board & CEO
Siuslaw Financial Group
Dear Siuslaw Bank Clients and Friends,
CNNMoney.com has reported that “the United States is deep in its worst housing slump since the Great Depression, and it’s not going to get better any time soon.” Amid the continued huge losses, often in the billions of dollars, reported by the large banks and prominent brokerage houses, I am pleased to report to you that Siuslaw Financial Group is still thriving, all thanks to our loyal clients.
In fact, our mortgage division booked over $50 million in residential mortgage loans which we sold on the secondary market in 2008. In contrast to many originators of mortgage loans, we do not sell the servicing rights but retain the servicing over the life of the loan.
We’ve found that customers appreciate being able to talk with a live person when they call our loan servicing department in Eugene. In many cases, automated services are the norm in the business and a caller is lucky if they get to converse with a live person. Often, these services are shipped overseas to an operator who speaks broken English.
We are currently servicing $615 million worth of loans to other investors and have been the recipient of accolades for the superior service and records provided to the investors.
Now, let me switch to another area that may be of interest to you. I am sure, if you are a subscriber to the Register-Guard, you have probably noticed an increase in litigation over credit card debt, between six and ten individuals are sued on a daily basis here in Lane County. Siuslaw was the first community bank in Oregon to issue its own credit card in the late 1960s. Like other issuers, we have experienced small losses over the year, but I am pleased to report to you that as of December 31, 2007, we had no credit card holders delinquent over 30 days!
Despite the temporary economic slowdown, we would like to thank our clients for allowing us to continue to serve our community and provide them with exceptional service.
Sincerely,
Johan Mehlum, Chairman of the Board and CEO
January 18th, 2008
Blogs. The communication wave of the 21st century. From CNN to ESPN to DavidBach.com, Blogs are here to stay. For awhile, we weren’t sure whether or not a Blog is a tool in which our customers are interested.
What we’ve found is that Blogs provide meaningful commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news (and in this case, financial service). A typical blog combines text, images and other media related to its topic. Blogs enable readers to leave comments in an interactive format, which we encourage you to do.
Although banking isn’t as newsworthy as the 2008 election or as juicy as the latest Hollywood gossip, after some back and forth discussion (as bankers are known to have), we decided to give the project a green light.
This is Siuslaw Bank’s first shot at communicating to the outside world in an interactive forum. It is with excitement that we introduce you to our Blog. We’ll update our entries regularly, and hope you’ll return to respond with your comments and participate in this online chat forum.
Some good news for Siuslaw? A published article in the June edition of U S Banker ranked Siuslaw Bank number one in the Pacific Northwest and number 19 in the nation based on return on shareholder equity for community banks with assets less than $1 billion.
July 18th, 2007