A 14 year-old young man by the name of Phoenix Oswill recently opened a savings account to help prepare for his financial future. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Phoenix became our 100,000th member. We thanked Phoenix for helping us achieve this historic milestone by opening a $500 Flex CD in his name. Welcome to Goldenwest, Phoenix...we hope to serve you for many years to come.

To put the 100,000 membership figure in perspective, ten years ago Goldenwest served less than 50,000 members. For a credit union that will mark its 79th anniversary in 2015, doubling in size during the span of a decade is definitely noteworthy.

You might be surprised how many people, most of whom I have only just met, will sing the Goldenwest jingle to me. It doesn't matter where I am, or what the occasion may be...when they learn I work at Goldenwest, they begin singing "We'll Take Care of You!"

Our jingle's message is helping families save money. I'm pleased to report that in 2014 we saved our members more than $9.5 million. How did we do this? Our lower loan rates saved members approximately $5.4 million, our reduced fees equated to about $3.1 million in savings, and our higher savings rates paid our members about $1 million dollars last year. These savings are in addition to the $1 million we paid members in the form of a year-end bonus dividend.

Members who are taking advantage of low mortgage rates are among our biggest savers. Last year we refinanced $66 million in long-term mortgages, saving members on an average $1,320 in closing costs and $40,530 in interest over the life of their loans.

Thousands of members lowered their monthly expenses by refinancing autos, RVs, home equity loans, and Visa card credit lines to lower rates from other financial institutions. Goldenwest members typically average a one-percent lower interest rates on consumer loans when compared to banks.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that focus on high return and value for members-owners. If you appreciate holding on to your hard-earned dollars, then a credit union is where you belong.

A special "congratulations" goes out to Lori Hayman and Laura Tureson, our recent employees of the month. Lori has worked as a programmer in our IT Department for more than a decade. She is one of the credit union's employees who keep our core operating systems in tip-top safe. Laura Tureson joined the Goldenwest team in 2006, and was recently named the manager of the Campus Branch for our USU Credit Union division in Logan. We are grateful for the personalized service Laura offers our members.

Don't forget to register for our 15th 5K For Schools - I look forward to running with you to raise money for our schools on March 21st. As always, you are invited to follow me on Twitter at @GoldenwestCUCEO for the latest credit union news. Thanks for your support!