Interra Credit Union wins record number Diamond awards

Interra Credit Union recently participated in the Credit Union National Association’s Marketing & Business Development Council Conference, held in Orlando, Fla.

In addition to training and round table discussions, the conference contained an awards segment called the Diamond Awards. A Diamond Award is the pinnacle of credit union marketing and business development, comparing marketing deliverables to other credit unions.

Competing against nearly 1,200 other entries and credit unions from across the nation, Interra won a record number four Diamond Awards for its efforts in the following categories: membership marketing, ongoing event, onetime event and video commercial.

“This marks the first year Interra has won four Diamond Awards in the same year,” stated Meegan Siegwarth, vice president of marketing. “These accomplishments are a direct reflection of the hard work and commitment to excellence Interra’s marketing team pours into the organization and our communities every day.”

The Diamond Awards recognized the following achievements for Interra:

• Onetime Event: 2022 marked Interra’s 90th birthday, providing an opportunity to celebrate the milestone with both the credit union’s membership and communities. In addition to the 90th birthday party shared at all 16 branch locations, an ice cream social at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair tipped the winning category in Interra’s favor.

• Membership Marketing and Video: In addition to celebrating its 90th birthday, incidentally, the credit union also began serving more than 90,000 members. A catchy pickup line digital commercial helped to celebrate not only the credit union’s birthday, but also serving more than 90,000 members – and encouraging more to Join IN. Through a series of messages that rhymed and followed quirky music, viewers could laugh and smile along to the messages.

“Our commercials in 2022 grabbed viewers’ attention and provided a level of thought-provoking uniqueness to the credit union’s message,” shared Holly Nunemaker, assistant vice president of marketing.

• Ongoing Event: Interra’s annual Do Well To Do Good Day, held over the Columbus Day holiday,

English as a Second Language 16-week course

The Nappanee Public Library is interested in partnering with Goshen College and Horizon Education Alliance to offer an English as a New Language course in the fall of 2023.

The 16-week course will consist of three classes per week, Tuesday through Thursday, and will offer multiple levels of learning based on evaluation. The cost is $200. A certificate of comple- supported over 20 nonprofit organizations. While other businesses were closed, roughly 300 Interra staff members volunteered more than 1,200 hours during the credit union’s volunteer day.

“It was a year of strong community giveback and celebrations with our membership,” added Siegwarth. “As Interra marks these achievements from last year, we continue to press ahead with a focus and commitment to be our members’ most trusted and valued financial institution.” perienced an “Upper Paleolithic explosion,” the presence of religious thinking in human burial sites, cave art and figurines. What do these primitive signs of religion tell us about what our earliest ancestors believed? What are the unconscious and conscious implications for us as people of faith today?

Interra Credit Union, headquartered in Goshen, was chartered in 1932 and has assets of $1.7 billion. The credit union’s field of membership spans 18 counties in northern Indiana, with more than 300 fulland part-time employees serving nearly 92,000 members. Interra currently operates 16 offices in Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall and Noble counties in Indiana and via a suite of robust electronic services at interracu.com.

The second session, “The Creation of Modern Religion: Where Our Faith and Values Were Born,” explores the period between 800200 B.C.E. when modern religion was born throughout Greece, India, China, Persia and the Levant, a period scholars call the “Axial Age.” There was a revolution in human thought — a shift toward transcendence, contemplation of humanity’s place in the universe and understanding of meaning, morality and mortality.

The third session, “Religion Present & Future: What It Means to be Human,” asks the question: Is humanity on the verge of a second “Axial Age?” Because of globalism, rapid technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence and more, we as a species are beginning to take control of our own evolution. How are these developments changing us and what are the moral implications of such advancements for our faith?

The sessions will be held 7-8:30 p.m. April 13, 20 and 27, and are free to attend. All three sessions will be held in Jennings Auditorium, Greencroft Goshen Community Center, 1820 Greencroft Blvd., Goshen.

Michael Spath is the founder and executive director of the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace. He holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology and a Doctor of Ministry in New Testament.

In addition to support from Chautauqua Wawasee, other participating organizations are College Mennonite Church, Assembly Mennonite Church, Eighth Street Mennonite Church, Goshen College Campus Ministries, Lifelong Learning Institute of Elkhart and the Greencroft Communities.