Some of you remember the Storm of the Century that hit the country, March 13-14, 1993. The storm moved in during the night and resulted in single-snowfall records for many parts of Tennessee.
While we didn’t receive 20 inches of snow like during the Blizzard of 1993, the snow, ice and frigid temperatures hung around last week.
The National Weather Service reported a record-breaking stretch of significant snow cover. The Knoxville area had seven consecutive days of 4 inches or more of snow on the ground, Jan. 15-21.
On Jan. 16, 92 of Tennessee’s 95 county school districts canceled classes. In fact, today is the first day back to school for many districts across East Tennessee where roads remained impassable due to ice.
Even with the weather conditions, credit unions continued to meet member needs throughout the storm.
“Despite the challenges posed by the extreme winter weather, our members maintained uninterrupted access to their accounts and funds,” said Courtney Oldendorf, social media and employee event director at ORNL Federal Credit Union. “Our call center, mobile and online banking and fee-free ATM network ensured seamless transactions and convenient banking services. We prioritized customer satisfaction and ensured their financial needs were met efficiently and professionally.”
To keep members and employees safe, credit unions offered shortened hours during peak daytime hours.
“We advertised through Facebook, e-blasts and website that we would be in the credit union offices from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday,” said Denise Cooper, CEO at Upper Cumberland Federal Credit Union. “For staff that could arrive early or stay late on these days, we were open with full services for extra hours each day. We also had some staff working from home to be our call center to help members. The call center staff could help members through a chat feature or by phone. Members have not complained at all about the reduced hours.”
Kudos to credit unions across the state for helping to meet member needs!
