Independent Banker - August 2019 - 95

Next: New member banks explain why they joined ICBA
financial literacy, which the bank believes has two aspects.
" The first is learning to spend wisely and budget, " Heigl
says. " The second is protecting your financial well-being
and learning not to put yourself in a situation to become a
victim of identity theft. "
The community bank works with a shredding provider
based in nearby New Berlin, Wis., which brings a truck to
the bank that shreds the materials as they're fed into the
back of the vehicle. The company then securely recycles the
confetti at its plant.
The events have gotten so popular that nearly 150 people
filled up an entire semitruck at a shredding day earlier this
year. Heigl says Community State Bank is looking to add
more dates and spread the service to other branches.
Shredding in any weather
It's been 11 years since $270 million-asset Citizens Independent
Bank in St. Louis Park, Minn., held its inaugural
community shred day. The original intent behind the event
was to educate the community on the importance of securely
disposing of confidential paperwork. The next year, the bank
decided to support a local food shelf and suggested that people
using the free shredding service make a donation to the
food shelf, according to Tammy Andrews, Citizens Independent
Bank's marketing and public relations director.
The community bank offers the service once a year during
Community Banking Month in April, when Andrews says
Minnesota weather is " unpredictable. " " We have had many
years of perfect spring weather, but we have also shredded
in rain, sleet and snow, " she adds.
The amount of paper shredded has decreased over the
years, Andrews says. The first few years, locals brought in
more than 15,000 pounds of documents to shred during the
three-hour event, but that number has dropped to about
7,000 pounds in two hours. " I'm sure the reduction can be
attributed to the advent of electronic statements, " she adds.
Still, the event is popular. People traditionally begin
lining up an hour before the trucks are scheduled to arrive.
This year, during the first 30 minutes, 76 customers
watched their paperwork shredded. " It takes 12 employees,
two truck operators and six car lanes to keep the process
running smoothly, " Andrews says.
Citizens Independent Bank is considering a customer
electronics recycling event this fall.
Financial spring cleaning
Grand Savings Bank, a $475 million-asset community bank
in Bentonville, Ark., began its annual Earth Day shredding
event several years ago to celebrate the sustainability-focused
holiday and to give its communities an opportunity
to go through their homes and businesses, do some spring
cleaning and bring documents to the bank to be destroyed.
" We felt that, by offering this service to our communities,
we were doing our part to battle against fraudsters, " says
Natalie Bartholomew, the bank's chief administrative officer
and vice president.
Each Earth Day, the bank stations a truck at two branches
for two hours each. " It is open to the public, and [bank]
team members, as well as the shredding company employees,
are on site to assist with unloading the documents and
putting them into the truck, " she says.
Grand Savings Bank's events are busy. This past year,
both locations had lines down the street, with about 30 to 40
people using the service at each location. " The majority of
those are people from small businesses and municipalities, "
Bartholomew says.
William Atkinson is a writer in Illinois.
What should customers shred?
What do community banks encourage people to
bring to their shredding days? Here's a checklist:
Q Bank information
Q Bank statements
QCanceled or voided
checks
QReceipts with
checking account
numbers
QATM receipts
QCredit card
information
QCredit and charge
card bills, summaries
and receipts
Q Preapproved credit
card applications
Q Investment, financial
and legal information
Q Investment
documents
Q Investment, stock
and property
transactions
Q Legal documents
QTax forms
Q Travel information
Q Travel itineraries
Q Used airline tickets
Q Expired passports
and visas
Q Documents with
names, addresses,
phone numbers and/
or email addresses
Q Documents with
passwords or PINs
Q Driver's license
documents
Q Old ID cards (college,
state, employee
badges, military,
etc.)
Q Documents with
Social Security
numbers
Q Medical and dental
records
Q Résumés
Q Utility bills
independentbanker.org Q 95
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - August 2019

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