President’s Message

Happy New Year! It is surreal to say that we are now in 2024. Before we look ahead to the future, let’s take a moment to reflect on 2023.

First and foremost, thank you for your ongoing membership with Hickam FCU. We are proud to be supported by member-owners like yourself. We love reading the member stories that we receive in our branches and through our website. They are true testaments of “we can make it better, together.”

This year, we furthered our commitment to assisting our members. We now have 14 staff members who are Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors (CCUFC). To become a certified counselor and earn the CCUFC designation, our staff received rigorous education and were required to pass a lengthy exam. This education makes our staff well-versed in a wide variety of financial topics. If you or someone you know needs assistance with learning to create a budget, steps to building credit, or other financial matters, we encourage you to come talk story and see how Hickam FCU can help.

As I hinted at in my message last year, our credit union is always hard at work implementing new products and services to help fulfill your financial needs. We are delighted to have launched a new online account opening and loan application portal to make it even more convenient for our members and members-to-be. You can learn more about this convenient feature in the next article.

In November, we unveiled our new solar panel system on the rooftop of our Pearl City Branch Headquarters. This 287-panel system is expected to generate approximately 185 megawatt hours of energy per year. This is great for the environment and for us! The cost savings will allow our credit union to allocate more resources toward enhancing the products, services, and overall experience for our members. Learn more about our Green Energy Initiative.

We think back fondly on all the opportunities we had to connect with the community in 2023. Mahalo to our members, staff, and Board of Directors for contributing to our Aloha United Way, Hawai‘i Foodbank, Children’s Miracle Network, and Hickam First Sergeants Angel Tree campaigns.  In partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, we were able to provide monetary support to the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center, an organization established to assist first-time homeowners in Hawaii. Our team also volunteered for several Keiki & Kupuna ID events to help make our community safer. When tragedy struck Maui in August, we immediately provided support to the Valley Isle Chapter – Hawaii Credit Union League. Our hearts go out to those who were and still are affected.

On behalf of everyone at Hickam FCU, we wish you and your family a healthy, prosperous, and safe new year!

Scott Kaulukukui
Hickam FCU President/CEO

All-New Online Account Opening & Loan Application Portal Hickam FCU just made it easier for you, your family, and your friends to apply for new accounts and loans online! Our all-new online portal allows you to complete an application and submit photos to verify your identity electronically! It’s convenient to do from home or anywhere and allows you to skip a trip to a branch. Visit www.hickamfcu.org to get started! As a reminder, anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school on the island of O‘ahu can join!

Notice of the 87^th Annual Meeting

The 87^th Hickam FCU Annual Meeting will be held Monday, March 4, 2024 at the Pearl City Branch. Registration will begin at 4:00 p.m. with the meeting to be conducted promptly at 4:30 p.m. Several offices will be set up with limited capacity and remote access to the meeting. No refreshments will be served. To RSVP to attend the Annual Meeting please contact our Call Center at 808.423.1391.

Membership Appreciation Celebration

To celebrate 87 years of Hickam FCU, we are awarding $8,700 in prizes for our Membership Appreciation Celebration. The prize drawing entry period begins on January 8, 2024 and runs until March 8, 2024. Visit www.hickamfcu.org/memberdrawing for official rules and to submit your entry*.

Additionally, visit any branch during Membership Appreciation Week, March 4, 2024 to March 8, 2024 to receive a member appreciation gift and treat.**

*One entry per member. **One gift and one treat per member. While supplies last.

2024 College Scholarship Program

TurboTax^® and H&R Block^® Special

Take the stress out of tax season. Hickam FCU members can enjoy a special discount on TurboTax or H&R Block.

I am so very grateful for your associate named Destiny who allowed us a personal loan that gave my wife the blessing of having good hearing once again because of the high-tech hearing-aids we were able to purchase. It is wonderful to see her enjoying life to the fullest instead of struggling to hear sounds around her like she used to. We thank the credit union deeply for the kindness of allowing us this privilege and giving us this loan. We are great admirers of your credit union and the caring philosophy you folks have towards the needs of local ohana!!! Nathan, member since 2011.

Read more Hickam FCU Member Stories by searching #HickamFCUMemberStories on Facebook or Instagram or by visiting www.hickamfcu.org/memberstories. If you would like to share your story, please submit it at www.hickamfcu.org/memberstories/#submit.

New Year, New Security Mindset

In the ever-evolving age of technology, there is an increasing risk that your personal information could fall into the wrong hands. Make it your New Year’s resolution to safeguard your identity! Here are some tips to consider and some questions to ask yourself while using social media and other online sites.

Think

• Should I be sharing this information?
  • Yes, “too much information” is a thing. Remember to limit the amount of personal details you share online.
• Who can see this?
  • Check your share settings to ensure that what you post is not shared with the whole world. Be sure to limit sharing to your friends and remove strangers from your friends list.
• What can people do with this information? Can the information I’m sharing be used to access my accounts?
  • This includes email addresses, phone numbers, birthdate, and information that you use for security questions (favorite color, first car, etc.).

Check

• Your credit report for free.
  • You are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. Also, you can keep an eye out on your credit score via the Credit Score tool in Hickam FCU Online and Mobile Banking.
• For compromised passwords.
  • Use a trusted service (i.e. Google Password Checkup) to check if your password has been compromised. If so, change it immediately and check for suspicious activity. It is also generally good practice to change your passwords regularly and to use different passwords for different accounts.

Guard

• Consider using a password manager.
  • These services can help you generate unique, unguessable passwords and keep them safe. Some will even autofill them to save you the hassle of copying or typing it out.
• Do not share your account information over phone, email, and text.
  • Account numbers and sensitive information should only be shared through secured channels. Remember to never provide one-time passcodes to anyone asking for it over phone call, text, or email. When communicating sensitive information to Hickam FCU, please use our secured Messages tool in Online and Mobile Banking.