News


Financial Flash Newsletter

10th Annual Financial Literacy Luncheon

On Friday, May 20th, over 230 people gathered at the Crest Pavilion for OnTrack Financial Education & Counseling's 10th Annual Financial Literacy Luncheon.

This year's luncheon set fundraising records, raising over $39,000 in sponsorships, ticket sales, and in-kind support. To mark the 10th year celebration, OnTrack WNC reflected on the past 10 years of programmatic growth and funding diversity expansion and celebrated clients who were helped by the valuable services provided by our financial counselors and educators.

Tom Tveidt opened the event with the morning seminar - The Emerging Post Recession Economy in North Carolina - which explored emerging business activity around the state, statewide population growth, and demographic changes and trends that affect our local economy.

Our 2011 Award Winners captured the spirit of our work:

    • The Credit Where Credit is Due Award was presented to The Melvin R. Lane Fund, WNC Nonprofit Pathways, and consultants Alex Comfort, Leslie Anderson, and Carol Rovello. 
    • Volunteer of the Year was tax project volunteer Pam Clarkson.
    • The four Clients of the Year, one for each of our stairsteps to financial independence, exemplified the dedication and determination our clients show in working with us toward their financial goals.

    Read more of their stories below.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Client of the Year Awards
    Recognition of Clients Achieving Financial Goals

    ______________________________

    Overcoming Financial Crisis - Rosa Trull

    “I just couldn’t handle it anymore and knew that I had to get some help. I didn’t know what else to do. I was on the verge of packing up the dogs and leaving town.”

    Gwen Jones - Client of the Year

    (L-R) Rosa Trull & Tom Schunk

    Rosa Trull had struggled for years to afford her mortgage, often sacrificing the luxury of having food in her refrigerator to ensure that she always made her house payment. Her $700 house payment took 65% of her Social Security Disability income and, after a $324 supplemental health insurance premium, she would have only $54 each month to pay for medicine, food, gas and heating oil.

    OnTrack WNC’s reverse mortgage counselor, Tom Schunk, helped Rosa determine that a reverse mortgage was a viable solution. Then he worked with Rosa and her creditors to solve the complicated financial puzzle created by years of struggling to afford her basic life expenses and using credit cards to fill the gap.

    OnTrack WNC applauds her amazing resolve, commitment to her pets and home, and her relentless drive for a better life.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Attaining Stability - James Rogers

    “I don’t think for a second that had it not been for OnTrack WNC, there would have been any other outcome other than foreclosure. Toshia had the tenacity to work with the lender and make them take action with my loan modification. She wouldn’t take no as an answer.”

    (L-R) James Rogers & Toshia Verheggen

    James Rogers faced an unmanageable cash-flow crunch placing his mortgage payment in jeopardy. In an effort to save his home, he contacted the lender directly and negotiated a loan modification. But, instead of responding to James’ questions, the lender stopped taking his payments and claimed that he had refused the offer.

    James began working with Toshia Verheggen, counselor with OnTrack WNC, to submit another application for a loan modification. After arduous months of responding to numerous requests for additional documentation, OnTrack WNC escalated the modification process by engaging Pisgah Legal Services and the NC Commissioner of Banks.

    Down to the wire, OnTrack WNC and the collaborating partners finally negotiated another loan modification. In the last hours prior to the foreclosure sale, James stood on the courthouse steps, waiting to confirm that his house was no longer on the sale list.

    James' loan modification reduced his payment by $410 per month. James' responsiveness, determination and unwavering commitment to saving his home were vital to reaching a positive resolution.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Reaching Self-Sufficiency - Andres Guinea & Irene Marsh

    “OnTrack WNC helped us prepare in advance of the layoff so that we were able to survive it financially. Without their help in the first stages, we do not think we would have avoided foreclosure.”

    (L-R) Grace Hines, Andres Guinea, & Irene Marsh

    With dual incomes, Andres Guinea and Irene Marsh’s cash flow amply covered their monthly expenses. However, in December of 2009, Andres broke his neck in a car accident, leaving him unable to work for six months, only to return to his job and learn that the plant would be closing and he would be unemployed within months.

    Faced with yet another potential financial crisis, Andres and Irene met with Grace Hines, counselor with OnTrack WNC, to craft a plan in advance of the layoff to ensure financial self-sufficiency. Following their counselor's advice, they were able to decrease their mortgage interest rate from 7% to 3.75%, reducing their monthly payment to $800.

    Even those wise changes would not be enough for them to financially withstand the layoff. Once the severance plan had run its course, Andres’ income was reduced by half, and the medical bills from the accident had already depleted their savings.

    OnTrack WNC's foreclosure prevention loan counselor, Chris Berthiaume (not pictured),  contacted the family to apply for the NC Mortgage Payment Program. As part of NC Housing Finance Agency’s NC Foreclosure Prevention Loan Fund, a 0%, deferred loan helps people pay their mortgage while they search for a job or retrain for a new career.

    The program was a perfect fit; by the time Andres graduates in December 2011, the Mortgage Payment Program will have provided a total of $16,777 in mortgage payments for 17 months. We celebrate their commitment to intelligent planning in times of struggle, their perseverance in managing their family finances with great intention, and their willingness to adapt to the evolving employment climate in Western North Carolina.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Building Assets for a Sustainable Future - Shelby & Shane Lear

    “We were in awe that we were able to purchase a home. Our daughter now has a yard of her own and a porch she plays on every day. Homeownership changes things. We have an asset now and if nothing else, we know that it is ours.”

    (L-R) Melissa Clack, Shane & Shelby Lear, & Hart Dahlhauser

    Shelby and Shane Lear saved for over two years to purchase their home, putting aside nearly 10% of their income and any additional cash into their savings account.

    “Everything that we knew about the home buying process, from step one to signing the closing documents, was from information we learned during the homebuyer education class at OnTrack WNC [taught by homebuyer educator, Hart Dahlhauser].” Armed with information from the class, the Lears knew when the time was right for buying. They had paid off their car and a small credit card to make their debt ratios work, made sure their credit rating was strong and that interest rates were low, and - most importantly - they knew exactly what they could afford. In addition, the Lears got free help with their tax preparation working with Melissa Clark, OnTrack WNC’s tax project coordinator.

    They qualified for several first-time homebuyer programs. Mountain Housing Opportunities helped them secure a $24,000, 0% interest downpayment loan, a $7,500 forgivable loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank, and a 4.25% fixed mortgage!

    “You have to wonder how many people would not have lost their home to foreclosure had they taken this class,” commented Shane.

    The Lears are a success story of personal achievement fueled by their commitment to an aggressive savings plan and reasonable budget. This helped them achieve their goal of homeownership and build a foundation for a sustainable financial future.

    ________________________________________________________________

    Credit Where Credit is Due Award

    Melvin R. Lane Fund

    (L-R) Harry & Lyn Fozzard, Celeste Collins, & Alex Comfort

    In 2000, OnTrack WNC (then CCCS of WNC) was awarded a Melvin R. Lane Fund grant, which catalyzed a transformative experience for the agency’s evolution. During the three year process, CCCS conducted a community needs assessment that sought to determine not only how people perceived the agency’s services, but also their unmet needs.

    Leslie Anderson led the needs assessment process and facilitated the board and staff’s work in developing CCCS's stair steps to financial independence, which provide a framework for evaluating potential programs and emerging opportunities to determine whether they would advance our core mission of helping people manage their money and credit better.

    Alex Comfort was our liaison from the Lane Fund; his expertise in fundraising and donor development led to our hiring the first Director of Development and launching, in 2002, our annual signature event: the Financial Literacy Luncheon.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Credit Where Credit is Due Award

    WNC Non-Profit Pathways

    Back row: Bob Wagner, Charlie Myers, Cindy McMahon, Virginia Dollar, Beth Maczka, & Celeste Collins. Front row: Ann von Brock, Kim McGuire

    (L-R) Alex Comfort, Celeste Collins, Carol Rovello, & Leslie Anderson

    WNC Nonprofit Pathways is a unique collaboration of funders: The Community Foundation of WNC, Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Mission Healthcare Foundation, and the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. These groups play a critical role in building the capacity of community organizations to carry out their missions more effectively by providing high-quality, low or no-cost capacity-building services to nonprofits across the mountain region.

    In 2009, consultant Leslie Anderson conducted an in-depth organizational assessment for OnTrack WNC that helped identify the next area of focus: organizational structure. In 2010, consultant Carol Rovello’s expertise in human resources and organizational development helped OnTrack WNC restructure the agency to be more strategically responsive to the changing environment.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Volunteer of the Year

    Pam Clarkson

    (L-R) Celeste Collins, Pam Clarkson, & Melissa Clack

    OnTrack WNC’s 2011 Free Tax Project marks Pam Clarkson's second year volunteering. Pam worked side-by-side with the Program Coordinator to craft and implement the tax program and volunteer training, manage daily program logistics, and supervise tax volunteers, all while preparing tax returns for 86 clients.

    As the team leader of the evening and Saturday tax program, Pam’s efficiency, calm demeanor, and contagious cheerfulness were core to her exemplary leadership, always putting the clients (and anyone else in the room) at ease.

    In two years alone, Pam has prepared 196 returns and volunteered over 245 hours of work. Her dedication and expertise were an invaluable component to the 2011 Free Tax Project’s record 604 returns yielding over $800,000 in tax returns!

    __________________________________________________________________

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors

    Platinum Sponsor

    HomeTrust Bank

     

    Gold Sponsors: Asheville Savings Bank; The Biltmore Company; Crest Center - M7 Event Solutions; Macon Bank; Mission Health System; Mix 96.5 & 98.1 the River; Parsec Financial; United Community Bank; and Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company

    Silver Sponsors: Bank of America; Carolina Bank, a trade name of TD Bank NC; Beverly-Hanks Mortgage Services; First Citizens Bank; HomeTrust Bank; NC Association of CPAs; Pitts, Hay & Hugenschmidt, P.A., Park Ridge Health; and SunTrust Bank

    Bronze Sponsors: Altavista Wealth Management; Dotson-Smith Law Office; Gum, Hiller & McCroskey, P.A.; Kight Law Office; Money Management International; Progress Energy; and United Services Credit Union.

United Way NFCC Council on Accreditation