Not only as an employee but as a fellow artist, I am excited to announce that Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union is co-sponsoring the Youth Gallery at the annual Palate 2 Palette event benefiting The Craniofacial Foundation.  Join us in celebrating Chattanooga’s talented and creative area high school art students exhibiting in the Youth Gallery this Friday, March 19^th from 7:00pm until 9:00pm in the Southside’s old Southern Railway Building on West 13th Street.

This special Youth Gallery reception is an opportunity to preview the juried exhibit prior to the Gallery Stroll. There will be live musical entertainment, and Jason’s Deli will provide refreshments.

Tickets for the Youth Gallery Reception:     Adults: $5     Students: $2

Advanced reservations are not required.

 2010 Youth Gallery Participants:

• Baylor
• Boyd Buchanan High School
• Center for Creative Arts
• Chattanooga Christian School
• CSAS
• Girl’s Preparatory School
• Howard High School
• Ivy Charter School
• McCallie
• Notre Dame
• Ooltewah High School
• Red Bank High School
• Signal Mountain High School
• Soddy Daisy High School
• Tyner Academy

Gallery Stroll  Saturday, March 20th  5pm – 8pm

On Saturday evening the Youth Gallery will be open as part of the Palate 2 Palette Gallery Stroll. There will be live musical entertainment and hors d’oeuvres provided by On the List Catering and Events. Tickets for the Stroll are $75.00 per person and include entrance into all nine galleries and admission to the “Bubbles & Sweets” after-party at Loose Cannon Studio.

Advanced reservations are required, and tickets may be purchased on-line at www.palate2palette.org

Cost: $75 per person.  For more info: (423) 778-9176

I want to start by letting everyone know that I am not a golfer.  I am a wannabe golfer.  I think it’s a wonderful sport, but my skills do not really go beyond miniature golf.  Once I worked for a company that had a fun, slightly competitive employee golf tournament which I participated in.  Let me just put it this way, I became the “putt-putt girl.”  However, I enjoyed every bit of it!  Many moons later, I am now working on one of the best golf tournaments in the area, the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union’s Annual Judy Wilson Memorial Golf Tournament benefiting STARS: Students Taking A Right Stand.  Whewww, now that’s an introduction!

This year will be my third year working the golf tournament.  I am very excited about August 16, 2010! Why you may ask?  No, I am not going to be at the beach.  I am going to be at the Black Creek Golf Course in Cummings Cove.  This private golf course lies in the Chattanooga Valley where the view of the mountains is breathtaking.  This is an all day event for me and the TVFCU crew.  We arrive to the golf course when it’s dark, and we leave the golf course when it’s dark.  Yes, there is some sunlight in between there.  Throughout the day, everyone is fed like kings and queens by the food sponsors (more details about this in a later blog).  I meet all kinds of new friends, as well as seeing familiar faces. 

Every year I learn new things.  My first year, I learned what it meant to “sit on a hole.”  Literally sit by the golf hole, watch and measure if need be.  I didn’t realize all this until after a few teams came by.  I learned quickly the key was to look alive; otherwise they may use you as the target for a few practice rounds just to make sure you haven’t had a heatstroke.  No worries, I was never hit nor did I have a heatstroke.  I drink gallons of water prior to this special day to prep myself for these type of scenarios.  In addition, I learned the true meaning of “mulligan.”  I always thought a mulligan was a person who loves to sport a mullet.  No, this is not correct.  A mulligan is actually a “do-over” shot during your golf game.  At our golf tournament, golfers can purchase these “do-over” mulligans before their tee time.  These proceeds go to benefit STARS. 

My second year, I learned what “flights” are.  Before when I heard the term flight, I thought: How much and where to?  I do like to keep my passport up to date just in case an unbelievable deal comes along.  But no, no, not in the game of golf.  You do not need a passport for our golf tournament.  A “flight” is a term for a division of golfers within a golf tournament.  Who knew?  Well now I do.  I’m excited to continue down this road of golf enlightenment.  I wonder what I will learn this year.  Any suggestions?

In the meantime, I continue to work with the TVFCU crew to make this year another successful and fun golf tournament for you!  Who knows, give me a few more decades and perhaps I’ll be out there one day playing on the infamous Black Creek course where the PGA tour champions play!  Hope to see you on the green this year!  Sign up now at www.playgolfdogood.com

Theme: “Why I Love My Credit Union”

Calling all creative geniuses, video aficionados and credit union-loving students. Now is your chance to express your hidden (or not so hidden) creative talent and make some dough towards your college education.

Can life get better? We submit that it cannot! But if YOU submit a 2 minute or less video about why you love your credit union you could win big bucks to help pay for school.

Face it-

• You want your 15 minutes of fame.
• You want to show all your friends the mad skills you’ve developed (or plan on developing) with your video camera.
• You want money to help you get through college.

(Here’s where we come in)

We want creative attention grabbing videos that spread the word about what’s great about TVFCU. So unleash that creative energy and get started!

Here are a few topics to get you started. Feel free to use these or come up with your own.

• What was your first experience with TVFCU?
• Why do you like your Student’s Choice Checking?
• Why did you choose us?
• What is one way TVFCU has helped you?

Here’s how it works-

• Brainstorm the most creative, interesting and captivating way to tell what it is that you like best about TVFCU.
• Grab your pets, your friends, your friend’s pets or whatever to add your personal style to the video.
• Film 2 minutes or less of TVFCU-loving genius.
• Register and upload your video (videos must be in AVI, MOV or MPEG format at a minimum 320×240 resolution) at www.tvfcu.com/scholarship/video_register.php by April 2nd, 2010 (make sure you are a member by the time you upload –you can join with a minimum $5 deposit)

There will be 2 scholarships awarded. The $2,000 grand prize will be awarded by a panel of non TVFCU judges who will be looking for creativity, originality and unique and interesting ways to convey your message.

The second $500 scholarship is based solely on people’s choice. So…

Spread the word! Send your video which will be posted at www.tvfcu.com/scholarship to your friends, family, neighbors, sister’s ex-boyfriend’s dentist, (ok you get the idea) and have them vote for your video. Plus, Facebook, Myspace, blog, text or whatever it is you do to get the word out—do it! Only votes submitted here will count.

Winners will be announced at the Annual Meeting, April 27th to be held at The Chattanooga Zoo at 6 pm as well as posted here.

Good luck and may the creative juices flow!

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union has partnered with the American Red Cross to raise funds for the Haiti Earthquake victims.  We established a special savings account to make it easy for those who decide to contribute to the Haiti Relief Fund.  The contributions go directly to Haiti through the American Red Cross.  To make a contribution, please visit us at one of our 13 branches.  Thank you so much!

Do you remember those creative, painted table tops at the Tennessee Valley Credit Union Stage last summer at Riverbend ’09?  Now is your chance to purchase them during a silent auction at the Dinner and the Arts event, Thursday, January 28^th beginning at 5:15pm.  The table top artwork was created by art students from Chattanooga School for the Creative Arts.  All proceeds go to benefit the school’s art department.  These one of a kind art pieces are perfect for a small table, your wall or any other create idea or space you find.  Get creative and support local art education!

Syndicated radio host Clark Howard comes to Chattanooga for a special engagement at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre on January 14, 2010 at 6pm.  Howard has been protecting the wallets and pocketbooks of regular Americans for years, and is all about helping you, the consumer, hold onto your money.  Sponsored by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union and Pulse News 95.3. For more information call Brewer Media at 265-9494

One of the great honors of 2009 was when we were awarded the Best of the Best Credit Union in Chattanooga for the second year in a row. This means a great deal to us  and we can’t wait to for the opportunity to do it again next year. As a part of our profile page for the award the video below was made. You can also check it out on the Chattanooga Times Free Press website.

Thank you to everyone who voted for us and wish you a very Happy New Year!