Yesterday's Traditions.
Tomorrow's Vision.
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Phone: 1.888.759.2266
Issue 4 - November 2019
Greetings!

It is my pleasure to present the fourth edition of the 2019 “From the Vault” newsletter. Happy Reading!

As you may recall, with 2018 coming to a close, I invited everyone in our First Keystone Community Bank family to participate in an initiative called CONNECT for Kindness . We exhibited deliberate and meaningful acts of kindness to our customers, our colleagues, our communities, and even to ourselves. Our success was off the charts, with 100% participation from our employees. We all benefited in so many ways, including being able to support local food banks at the holiday season.

Following our focus on kindness, we rolled out CONNECT for Learning. It’s no secret that our employees are the Bank’s most valued resource and I support their growth at every turn. I am committed to helping to develop and enrich our employees’ lives and careers through learning. Not only do we want employees to grow by enhancing their own knowledge, but they also have a lot to offer by teaching others. I chose learning for our second CONNECT project because I believe that learning and teaching improves our connections with each other, continues to break down silos, builds on our commitment to kindness, and improves our communication skills.

Over a six-week period, we all focused on learning something new. For the first two weeks, our employees focused on their own branch offices and departments. During weeks three and four, each department or branch taught something to their colleagues throughout the Bank. In weeks five and six, we educated the community and vice versa. Employees were encouraged to teach and learn topics that are closely related to banking and were also encouraged to have a little fun.

We then built on the foundations of Kindness and Learning with CONNECT for Happiness . The next five weeks were dedicated to choosing and celebrating happiness. We focused on ways we can bring happiness to ourselves and how we make each other happy. Whether it was pitching in to help with a new project or volunteering to cover a Saturday shift for a fellow employee, we encouraged each other to look for the moments and actions that bring a sense of happiness to our daily lives. Our customers joined in and told us how our employees made them happy – by helping them balance their checkbook, helping them to enroll in online banking, or something as simple as greeting them with a warm smile and cheerful hello. 

At the end of the five weeks, it was time to celebrate happiness. We broke from the traditional annual officers’ dinner, wherein only officers of the bank were invited to attend, and instead held a bank-wide dinner meeting and invited each and every employee to attend. During the evening, we learned about the bank’s financial performance and our strategic initiatives, learned some life lessons from a motivational speaker, and we had some fun as well. Several of our department heads were “roasted” by our Chief Compliance Officer. (And yes, your President and CEO was gently roasted too - all in good fun!) We raised money for the community through a summer-themed raffle and maybe most importantly, we spent quality time with each other and learned more about each other, all wrapped up in a very HAPPY and positive atmosphere!
To sum it up, here at FKCB, we are committed to individual and professional growth by encouraging habits of kindness, learning and happiness. By now, you may be wondering if these CONNECT initiatives, with a focus on improving culture, morale, and encouraging an atmosphere of trust, are helping the Bank’s performance……or is it “just a bunch of happy fluff?”

I have good news to report on this front. If you are following our financial performance as reported in our quarterly statements, you will notice the slow, steady improvement in increased revenue from our core operating functions, improvement in net income overall, and improvement in our performance ratios. I’d say we are enjoying great benefit from our CONNECT initiatives. I hope you agree.

In closing, I would like to express my continued appreciation of our employees for their hard work, dedication and support of our common goals.

We will be launching our next CONNECT project soon and I’ll be sure to share the details with you in the next “From the Vault” newsletter. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas, and a HAPPY and healthy New Year.


Warmest Regards,
Elaine A. Woodland

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS YOU'LL
WANT TO STEAL!
Turkey, football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade may be Thanksgiving go-tos, but the holiday can have so much more depth when you incorporate some truly unique family Thanksgiving traditions that will stick with people for years to come. 
From quirky family favorites to time-honored classics, traditions are one of the things that we crave most around the holidays; not just because they're familiar, but because they serve as reminders of friends and family, of times long past, and moments that might have slipped away from us if not for this annual gathering.
But how does a tradition become a tradition?
Well, someone starts it, of course. So whether you're a true traditionalist or you're just starting your own holiday history, these new Thanksgiving traditions are certain to change your holiday for the better.
Catch Up with Far-Off Family
The bigger your family gets, the harder it is to get everyone together for the holidays. Even if some of your nearest and dearest can't make it to the celebration, there's no reason not to see them on turkey day. Embrace the wonders of technology and set up a time to video chat with everyone you're missing during the holiday — after all, there's no reason your traditions can't get a 21st century boost.
 
Create a Scavenger Hunt
This is a great way to keep kids of all ages entertained during the post-meal lull. Early in the day, have teens or unoccupied adults think up scavenger hunt clues (bonus points for Thanksgiving puns) and hide them around the house and yard. Once dinner is over, send the little ones out to search for all of the hidden hints, leading them back to a secret spot where you've stashed the turkey's wishbone. The first two to arrive get to split the wishbone — the winner gets a wish, second place gets first pick of the desserts!
 
Remember Lost Loved Ones
On a day made for spending time with the people you care about most, set aside a little of it to think of loved ones who have passed on. Get everyone to gather together and share a story or a special moment they remember; through those memories, you keep your loved ones alive in your hearts and can pass on important family legacies to the next generation.
Pass Down a Family Recipe — Or Make a New One
Sure, everyone loves Granny's pecan pie recipe and Aunt Marge's cranberry sauce, but your Thanksgiving food traditions don't need to end there. If you have inherited old recipe cards or cookbooks from family members, there's no better time to dig into these archives than on the biggest noshing holiday of all. Pick out something in the holiday theme, something that sounds delicious or just something unusual from a time gone by — even if the recipe doesn't become an immediate hit with your crew, the adventure of trying them out is half the fun.
Pass Around a Journal
Simply pass a blank journal around the Thanksgiving table, asking all the guests to write at least one thing that they are thankful for. For kids too young to write, have an adult transcribe. Over the years, fill the book with comments and enjoy reading them aloud at Thanksgiving celebrations to come. It is truly wonderful to read how gratitude reflections change over time. 

Volunteer Together
Thanksgiving is a great time to give back to your community and help those in need — and it’s one of the richest customs you can incorporate into your family’s holiday. How and where you choose to volunteer depends on the age of your children, but there are tons of ways to give back — simply research local volunteer opportunities in your area. Whether you work at a local soup kitchen, volunteer to serve a church supper (or even run a Turkey Trot, which typically benefits a local charity), the rewards are great and wide-reaching.

Try a Turkey Trot
Have all your family members sign up for a  turkey trot  and run it together. This is a fun way to get some exercise before digging into the bird. The oldest known Turkey Trot footrace took place in Buffalo NY in 1896, and that one's still one of the largest in the country. There are about 1,000 races to choose from across the country, making Thanksgiving the most popular day of the year to run. (Sorry, Halloween.) For even more fun, dress up in silly costumes and laugh all the way to the finish line.

Kick Off the Holiday Season
These days, the December holiday season kicks off the second the last bite of pumpkin pie is eaten. Don’t try to fight it. Embrace it. Have matching Christmas pajamas for all the kids and they all get them on Thanksgiving night.

Leave Room at the Table
Whether it’s due to location or strained relationships, fact is, not everyone has a place at a Thanksgiving table. Do your part to change that in whatever small way you can. 
Extend an invitation to an elderly neighbor whose family can’t visit or a coworker who’s far from home and if they opt to stay home, take them a plate.” 
Make a Thankful Jar
If you have a few weeks to prep for Thanksgiving, try instituting a “thankful jar” in a prominent place in your home. Leave a stack of sticky notes and a pen beside the jar, and ask your family to contribute notes to the jar whenever they feel grateful.
Whether it’s being thankful for soccer practice or gratitude toward a family member for helping with chores, it just takes a couple of minutes to scribble a note and drop it in the jar. Then, at Thanksgiving dinner, you can take each note out and read it aloud. You can even have everyone guess whose is whose. 
Go on a Tech Fast
Conversation and bonding at the dinner table can easily give way to scrolling through your Facebook feed while your kids text their friends. Instead, try taking a tech fast for the entire day. Ask that guests plop their phones into a basket when they walk into your home, and keep their hands off while you eat dinner and spend time together. You’ll be amazed at how much quality time you enjoy with your family when your attention isn’t being constantly disrupted by your social networking, text messages, and email.
 
Capture the Moments
Pick up a Polaroid camera and snap pics of everyone around the table. Add the date to these pictures, and then each year use these pictures as part of your future Thanksgiving decorations.
Draw Your Thanks on the Tablecloth for a Keepsake.
Cover the holiday table with a white tablecloth. Place glasses filled with permanent cloth markers around the table. Ask your guests to write or even draw what they are thankful for or just something fun, like their favorite Thanksgiving memory. Keep the tradition going and use this cloth for every thanksgiving after that and have your guests continue to write what they are thankful for. It’s fun to see how people change, and it’s a powerful way to remind us what the holiday is all about.
Plant Secret Messages
While cooking, hide messages (or fortunes) in your biscuits or crescent rolls. When guests bite into the biscuit, they’ll be in for a fun surprise. And, each year, your guests will look forward to what they may find.

Gratitude Note Place Cards
When you set the table for dinner have a place card at each setting. In addition to each person’s name, include a reason you are thankful for that person.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday but it can also be fraught with things that take the focus away from gratitude, such as sales, sibling rivalries, and stress. Make this year a little more special by adding a new tradition to the mix. Any activity that brings your family closer together will ultimately enhance your celebration and set the tone for the holiday season.


Some of these traditions have been passed on from Town and Country, Care.com, Redit
and our own FKCB employees.
DO YOU HAVE THE
KEYSTONE ADVANTAGE?
Pennsylvania Bankers Association
H.Y.P.E. AWARD NOMINEES AND WINNERS
We are very happy to announce that four of
our employees were nominated for a
H.Y.P.E Award.
Nominees shown in photo from left - Jonathan Littlewood,
Teresa Sterner, Natalie Stackhouse and David Warho
The awards were presented during the PA Bankers Emerging Leaders Conference in Pittsburgh on Monday, September 23, 2019. The H.Y.P.E Awards highlight young professionals’ excellence in the following categories - Achiever, Change Agent, Developer, Team Player, Strategic Thinker and Community Ambassador.

Among the nominees from First Keystone Community Bank,
two were chosen as award recipients.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
AGAINST ROBOCALLS
Robocalls do nothing but waste your time and potentially put you at risk. Many, after all, are fraudulent and scam-based, trying to collect credit card or personal information that they can then
use or sell to the highest bidder.
Tired of robocalls putting a damper on your day? Here’s what you can
do to protect your time and your sensitive information.


1. Know What They Look Like
More organizations than ever before are using automated call services to reach out to customers. Discover, for example, used an automated system to reach out and ask cardholders about flagged transactions. This can make identifying legitimate robocalls a little harder because the good guys are using recorded messages, too.

Fortunately, there are two big ways you can typically identify a potentially fraudulent robocaller right off the bat:
  • They don’t identify themselves right away. Most reputable organizations start automated and non-automated calls by saying who they’re with and what they want. If a call doesn’t do that, there’s a chance it could be fraudulent.
  • They ask for identifying information. They ask for your credit card number or personal address or social security number. Some pretend to be organizations like banks or the IRS in an attempt to startle people, but none of these organizations, including First Keystone Community Bank, ask for personal identifying information (social security number, date of birth etc.) over the phone. Never provide it unless you’ve called them over a secure and verified line.

Most robocalls try to engage in phishing, pretending to call as part of a reputable business or organization in an attempt to trick the person into sharing confidential or identifying information. This can be used for identity fraud or in attempt to steal bank, credit card, or other sensitive information. Keep in mind that all reputable organizations will not ask for your social security number, credit card number, or any other sensitive info over the phone, particularly if they’ve called you.

Even if the phone number looks like it might be ok, don’t trust it on that alone. Many robocallers use a scam called “spoofing” to try and mimic the numbers organizations may call from to try and trick the person on the other end of the line. It’s common, for example, for scammers to do this using 202 (Washington, D.C.) area codes when pretending to be the IRS.


2. Sign Up for the “Do Not Call” List
Ultimately, most robocallers don’t exactly play by the rules, especially if they’re up to no good. That being said, you can still cut down on some of the calls by signing up for the   FTC’s “Do Not Call” list . It prohibits telemarketers from calling you, so go ahead and add all of your personal and business lines to the list to cover your bases. It won’t eliminate all calls, but it will help reduce some of them. Signing up for the Do Not Call list is free, and it can be done at any point   here .


3. Never Interact With A Robocall Except to Hang Up
Sometimes, robocallers will call you and ask you to say your name, choose from an automated message, or to call them back so that some next step can be taken. Whether this is to grant you a free supposed-loan or to give you more information on some overdue account, it doesn’t matter; never interact with the calls and never call the numbers back.
If you do, you’ll end up with more people calling you. The only interaction that you should ever take with a robocall is to hang up, and ideally, the sooner the better.


4. Consider Using Call-Blocking Services and Apps
Robocallers are nothing new, and just like there are tools to block ads and pop-ups online, there are now services that can prevent some of the robocallers from coming through and causing your phone to ring.

Some cell phone providers offer call-blocking services from suspected telemarketers and scammers, including Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Some are free, some may require payment—though it’s typically a low cost.

There are also third-party services that you can use for this purpose. Apps like  TrueCaller ,   Call Blocker , and  Calls Blacklist   are all good options, with the former two offering caller lookup features and the latter featuring a blocking schedule. If you’re getting repeat calls from common numbers, these apps will help.


5. Never Give Up Secure Information
Robocallers are not like hackers; they need you to give them the information they want, they can’t just take it. The easiest way to protect yourself from them, therefore, is to just never hand over that information. No reputable organization will call you and ask for secure information over the phone.

If you have doubts, you can always hang up, look up the business you are familiar with online, and call them directly from the verified number that you find listed publicly. This reduces the likelihood of scams. If it’s a bank or credit card company you need to reach, call the number on the back of your bank statements or on the back of your card; they can transfer your call as necessary.


Robocallers are easy to dismiss as a threat, but the reality is that many are getting smarter and more cunning. Make sure that you stay up to date on any new scams that may be floating around, and play it safe with secure information; only give it out on your terms, and not when someone calls to ask.



Some article information taken from Law Technology Today
A GREAT LEARNING TOOL FOR KIDS!
Money Adventure Mobile App 
Money Adventure is a fun, interactive app that teaches the next generation of cash users about the historical designs and robust security features of U.S. currency. This digital tool brings learning to students’ fingertips, making Money Adventure a wonderful classroom and at-home resource.

To download Money Adventure on your Android device, visit the Google Pla y Store . To download Money Adventure on your iPhone or iPad, visit the Apple App Store .
The app's many features and functionalities were built to be engaging and educational for classes at school and for kids at home.This app also provides lesson plans in English and Spanish.


You can find additional educational information for kids, including facts about the origins of money and minted currency like coins in Currency Academy or on the U.S. Mint website .
EVENT CALENDAR * DATES TO REMEMBER
NOVEMBER
Greater Columbia County Area

Friday, November 29th, 10:30am

Friday, November 29th, 6:00pm
Downtown Bloomsburg


Small Business Saturday

Saturday, November 30th


DECEMBER
Greater Columbia County Area

Friday, December 13th & 14th, 4:00pm - Last Tour at 8:00pm
344 N. Market Street, Berwick


Pocono Area

Monday, December 16th, 7:30pm
1100 W. Main St, Stroudsburg High School Auditorium
Sponsored by FIrst Keystone Community Bank




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LOCATIONS FOR YOU!
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