Announcing the Mid-Year 2019 First Citizens Charitable Foundation Recipients

First Citizens Charitable Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce that 49 area organizations were the recipients of $338,300 in donations at the mid-year 2019 awards period.  Recipients are: Belmond Area Arts Council $1,000 for construction of a canopy for the Arts Center; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa $5,000 for their mentoring program; Cedar Valley Seminary Foundation $25,000 toward restoration of the Cedar Valley Seminary Building; Central Gardens of North Iowa, Inc. $2,500
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The flashes of fireflies on a warm, humid summer night remind many of us of our carefree childhood sense of wonder and delight while trying to catch them. With firefly season in full swing, their enchanting light displays often spark our curiosity and capture our imaginations. How much do you know about them?   Here are five fascinating facts about fireflies: Fireflies are beetles. These insects are neither flies nor true bugs. Instead they are beetles, just like ladybugs. Like
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First Citizens Wealth Management is pleased to announce that Trust Operations Specialists’ Amanda Berding, Teresa Shaw, Steve Rowlet and Cheryl Rottinghaus have completed the requirements to attain the Accredited Trust Operations Professional Designation awarded through Accutech University, a division of Accutech Systems Corporation, in cooperation with the Fiduciary Education Center. The coursework includes fiduciary law and administration; income and estate tax; operations functions; compliance
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Do you have all your ducks in a row with your estate plan? If you answer yes, let me ask you when the last time you reviewed it was? Are you clear on what happens when you die? Yes, I said it…when you die. There are few guarantees in life but one that I can guarantee you is that you will, in fact, die. Having practiced probate law myself, I have seen the negative impact of failing to accept that fact until it is too late. The widow sorting through stacks of documents trying to locate everything
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Summer is finally here! Many of you will be heading off on family vacations or other getaways. If you are traveling outside of your normal area and plan on using your First Citizens debit card, please let us know before you go. Stop in to the location nearest you or call 800-423-1602. If you don’t, we might think a thief (and not you) is making all those fun-filled vacation purchases and your debit card may get blocked.  At First Citizens, we use a fraud protection tool provided through
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Gift cards are a popular and convenient way to give someone a gift. They’re also a popular way for scammers to steal money from you. That’s because gift cards are like cash: if you buy a gift card and someone uses it, you probably cannot get your money back. Gift cards are for gifts, not payments. Anyone who demands payment by gift card is ALWAYS a scammer. Many different kinds of imposters ask you to pay with gift cards. Someone might call you and claim to be from the IRS, collecting
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June 14th is National Flag Day! Since it’s inception over 200 years ago, the United States flag has acquired many nicknames such as Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes, and the Star-Spangled Banner. If you have ever wondered how Flag Day came to be, who created the 50-star pattern, and how the flag should be displayed … we salute you! Here are 5 things you may not know about Flag Day and the American flag. The idea for an annual Flag Day was advocated by a school teacher. Back in
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A credit card thief can get your card information by using a device called a Credit Card Skimmer. Skimmers are any number of devices made to be affixed to an ATM or a gas pump and secretly record credit and debit card information when customers slip their cards into or through the machines to pull out money or to pay for gas. The criminals later retrieve the devices that store your information and use or sell it to other criminals who use it, and your credit card is charged. Here are some tips
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Many investors may be inclined to review their portfolios only when markets hit a rough patch, but careful planning is essential in all economic climates. So whether the markets are up or down, periodically reviewing your portfolio with your financial professional can be an excellent way to keep your investments on track, and midway through the year is a good time for a checkup. Here are three questions to consider. 1. How have my investments performed so far this year? Review a summary of your
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Graduation has finally come! It’s not only a milestone for students, it’s also a milestone for the family and friends who have supported them. It’s a time to celebrate as graduates enter the next chapter of their lives to find their passions, chase success, and thrive in the real world. Graduation ceremony speeches offer great tips for the new graduates out there, but they also offer the rest of us some big-time inspiration too.   On May 17, 2014, Admiral William McRaven
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