BANKNOTESLocal Banking the way it should be

LEA COUNTY STATE BANK | SPRING 2018

Something new is teeing up at three Hobbs elementary schools this spring—literally. Nearly 300 children are learning the game of golf in a unique after-school program that also teaches life skills and important character values. Lea County State Bank is contributing major funding.

The program is a collaborative effort of the Boys and Girls Club of Hobbs and The First Tee of Southeastern New Mexico, a national youth-development program that began as a way to attract children to the game of golf, but quickly broadened its focus. In Lea County, The First Tee is located at Rockwind Community Links.

In addition to exposing under-served children to the game of golf, The First Tee uses its own curriculum to teach life skills and nine core values. The core values are respect, courtesy, responsibility, honesty, sportsmanship, confidence, judgment, perseverance and integrity.

“At The First Tee we want to reach as many children as possible and we are excited to bring the program into the community this spring by teaming up with the Boys and Girls Club,” said Kristy Hughes, program director at The First Tee of Southeastern New Mexico. “We are very excited to have a household name such as Lea County State Bank to sponsor this initiative.”

During the 17-week program, participating children meet weekly with trained coaches. They begin inside the gymnasium with over-sized clubs and tennis balls that adhere to Velcro targets. The children eventually will play on the golf course at Rockwind.

“When we heard about The First Tee’s effort to reach out to Hobbs’ children in this new way, we were excited to be a part of the program,” said Sam Spencer, LCSB President and CEO. “As Lea County’s only locally owned bank, supporting community programs is a priority for us.”

GOLF, LIFE SKILLS MIX AT AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM

Lea County State Bank

PO Box 400

Hobbs, NM 88241-0400

PRSRT STD

U.S. Postage

PAID

HOBBS, NM

PERMIT NO. 259

APPLE PAY AND SAMSUNG PAY COME TO LCSB

In March, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay became available to Lea County State Bank credit card holders. Both pay systems enable easy, secure payment for many purchases by mobile phone. Instead of pulling out a credit card from your purse or wallet, if the merchant accepts mobile payments, all you do is hold your mobile phone over the payment card reader at checkout. Shopping has never been easier.

Samsung Pay is available on most Samsung S6 or newer Samsung mobile phones while Apple Pay is available on iPhone 6 or newer models. Set up for both phones is similar and done through the phones’ wallet apps. After following the prompts, you will be good to go!

Both systems use secure technology to protect your information. Instead of your credit card number, each time you make a purchase, transactions are assigned an account number with a transaction-specific security code. This unique number keeps your card number private and secure.

In addition, to confirm purchases you will have to enter your fingerprint or passcode on your mobile phone each time you make a purchase. As a result, in many ways, using one of these payment systems is safer than paying for purchases with the actual credit card.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE

CONTACT LCSB VICE PRESIDENT

SAUL VILLARREAL AT 575.397.6610.

“Sunset on the Plain” by Red Hann

courtesy of the artist.

The arrival of spring always brings warm temperatures and longer days, and for many of us a desire to get off the couch and spend more time outdoors. For some, that means more time on the golf course.

This year, we at Lea County State Bank are taking a special interest in golf with our sponsorship of The First Tee of Southeastern New Mexico’s unique partnership with the Hobbs Boys and Girls Club. This program brings The First Tee golf-and-life-skills program to the club’s after-school program. This golf/mentoring program is reaching many young people in Hobbs and providing the participants with life benefits for years to come. An article in this issue of Bank Notes highlights the program.

Spring also has a way of creating new projects around the house. A LCSB home equity line of credit may be the answer to financing such a project. With such a loan you do not need to refinance your first mortgage, which may have an attractive interest rate if you purchased or refinanced in the last few years! I encourage you to see our article about the pitfalls of not following regulations for home-improvement projects.

Regardless of your interests, I encourage you to get outside and enjoy our wonderful southeastern New Mexico weather.

Sincerely,

Samuel S. Spencer, Jr.PRESIDENT AND CEO

TRACEY SALCIDO RECEIVES PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Tracey Salcido, a mortgage loan processor at Lea County State Bank, re ceived the bank’s 2017 President’s Award, pre sent ed annual ly by management for excep-tional work dedication and performance.

In her position, Salcido assists customers in completing their loan applications and maintains consistent communication with the borrowers throughout the home-buying process.

“No matter how busy she is, Tracey always makes time to help a customer when they walk in the door,” said her supervisor Jayson Kringel, LCSB vice president of mortgage loan operations. “On several occasions, she has even assisted prospective borrowers with completing an application from start to finish, all by telephone. Customers love her.”

SALCIDO JOINED THE BANK IN 2014, BRINGING WITH HER

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AS A LOAN PROCESSOR AND A

PASSION FOR REAL ESTATE LENDING.

TURN COINS INTO DOLLARS Counting coins is typically not at the top of anyone’s list of favorite activities, that’s why many of us have a coin jar where we toss change that accumulates in our pockets. But what to do when the jar is overflowing?

Drive over to Lea County State Bank, where a new state-of-the-art coin counting machine is waiting to take care of that change that is weighing down your pockets. A new machine is in the lobby at the main Hobbs branch and in Lovington.

It’s easy: just pour your coins into the machine, which will count and sort them and print a receipt that you can redeem for dollars with any teller. The new machines can process more than 4,000 coins per minute.

The coin counter is available at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis to LCSB customers during regular banking hours. Non-customers can use the machines for a small fee.

“Not many banks offer coin counters because they tend to require continuous maintenance,” said Saul Villarreal, LCSB vice president. “But we know our customers appreciate having a place to go and unload the coins that pile up. With these new state-of-the-art machines, we can provide faster and better service.”

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

DON’T FORGET PERMITS FOR HOME REMODELING

With the economy on an upswing in Lea County, home improvement projects are booming as well. Across the county, homeowners are turning garages into family rooms, enclosing backyard patios and building sheds.

If you are considering such a project, it’s important that you obtain all the required permits; otherwise, you may be unpleasantly surprised later on when you are ready to refinance or sell your home. For example, if you did not make your upgrades in line with state and local regulations, you may not be able to obtain refinancing loans. That is especially true for FHA loans.

When it’s time to sell your home, if your improvements don’t meet current codes, you will not be able to include your new family room into the house’s gross living area.

“I’ve seen people turn a patio into a gorgeous sunroom, but when it’s inspected after the fact, they can’t get a permit because the patio slab doesn’t have proper concrete footing for an enclosed space, or the new room is not properly heated and cooled,” said Kevin Naegele, a longtime Lea County appraiser.

The permitting process is important because home owners can receive guidance from state and local inspectors as a project is being completed to make sure it is up to code.

In Hobbs, contact the city’s Building Inspection Department at 575.391.8158 for permit applications. Naegele, who is with Ernie Naegele and Associates, would also be happy to answer questions at 575.393.0555.

SAM SPENCER, LCSB PRESIDENT AND

CEO, HONORS TRACEY SALCIDO.

JOSEPH ROBERTS TAKES ADVANTAGE OF

NEW COIN COUNTING MACHINE.

SECURE DOCUMENTS THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

With all the concern these days about the security of your personal information, the old-fashioned way of securing important documents may still be the best way. A safe deposit box at Lea County State Bank can provide peace of mind.

Everyone has documents filled with personal information that should be kept in a secure place. These might be deeds to real property, personal wills and other estate planning documents, not to mention other precious items like jewelry and family keepsakes.

Lea County State Bank has safe deposit boxes in various sizes available at the main office in Hobbs and in Lovington. If you need a secure place to store your important documents or other personal possessions, please talk with one of our personal banking represen-tatives. Contents are not FDIC insured.