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Jerry Burley, assistant vice president and loan officer at Freedom Bank on Friday was awarded Notary of the Year by Montana Sec. of State Linda McCulloch.
Burley has been a notary since the early ‘90s, getting his start in banking fresh out of high school.
He grew up in Broadus and, following his love of accounting, took a job bookkeeping at a bank in Ashlan.
The job required him to be a notary, so he became one.
The process as he recalled it was not difficult.
“Back in the day, it was just fill out a form, and the bank paid for the bonding, and I took a training and they sent the certificate,” he said.
Being a notary is fairly simple, he said. Any time a legal document needs notarized, he confirms the ID of the person signing, keeps a log, and adds a stamp to the document confirming he notarized it.
“Jerry Burley epitomizes what it means to be Montana Notary of the Year,” said McCulloch. “He was chosen from a strong field of nominees for demonstrating exceptional services and high standards of practice.”
Montana Notary of the year nominees were evaluated on their longevity, variety of documents notarized, use of notary journal, community service, and exceptional notary service.
McCulloch started the Montana Notary of the Year award in 2009 in an effort recognize the invaluable work done by notaries in Montana.
“Notaries are the first line of defense against many types of fraud as they are responsible for determining the identity of the person who signs a document, swears an oath, or performs any of the other acts that require a notary public. I’m eager to present this award to such a deserving notary public,” McCulloch said.
Burley is involved in the community, which factored in to being named Notary of the Year.
He was a member of the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce for 10 years, and has served as treasurer of the Gateway to Glacier trail for the past three.
Because he was named Montana Notary of the year, Burley is automatically nominated for the National Notary of the Year award given annually by the National Notary Association.
Burley’s wife, Joanne, their daughter Kristen and granddaughter Avery were all present at the award ceremony at Freedom Bank on Friday.
Although he now works as a lender at Freedom Bank rather than the accounting and bookkeeping that first got him interested, he says that his favorite aspect of being a notary has remained the same.
“I think mainly it’s the people that come through, the conversations I have with them while they sign. It’s just getting to know people,” he saidJERRY SEC DON
Freedom Bank’s President Don and his wife Barbara inside the Freedom Bank Gingerbread House cart.
The Freedom Bank crew has a lively time walking in community parades every year. We count it as a privilege to have a part in this 31-year tradition that thrives on community pride and fun with friends. Surely all that attended the parade can agree that the community pride that is so infectious in Columbia Falls was on display at the Night of Lights. The tight knit community huddled around nucleus to watch festively decorated floats mosey by and treat the spectators with handfuls of candy.
Freedom Bank had an entertaining time decorating their Gingerbread House cart before the parade. It was truly a team effort that required every member of Freedom Bank to contribute their skills in some way, shape or form. You may have seen us huddled around our cart assembling our scrumptious gingerbread house. It was genuinely a fun team-building time.
We look forward to the next parade where we can put our hands back to work to come up with another creative and goofy cart.
Join Freedom Bank at the Night of Lights this Friday!
Night of Lights is a 31+ year tradition centered around a fun, community filled parade. This event is also features craft fairs, caroling, a live nativity, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, food vendors and fun with your neighbors!
The Night of Lights Craft Show starts at 4pm at the North Valley Community Room.
The Parade Starts at 6:30pm and runs down Nucleus Ave. The parade is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Columbia Falls.
Follow Santa down to the Coop for a warm & cozy holiday concert by Cocinando Latin Jazz Orchestra & The CFHS Sonifers, food vendors, hot cocoa & cider and caroling with the crowd.
Visit columbiafallschamber.org for more information.
Stable, affordable housing is critical to education, health, and economic success across our area. Habitat for Humanity’s unique home ownership program allows hardworking, low-income families to build and buy a home.
Currently, Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley is in the middle of an affordable housing project in Columbia Falls. This 16-unit townhouse development will be completed by 2015 and to date they have placed 8 families into new homes. These homes are constructed by volunteers and materials are paid for by donations and earnings from two second-hand furniture stores.
Habitat for Humanity is always looking for more volunteers to help. If you are unable to help, consider a donation. Freedom Bank recently made a sizable donation to Habitat for Humanity to help them improve our community. Please consider helping this great organization achieve their goal of providing affordable housing to our neighbors in need.
Freedom Bank received notification that a large credit card processing center that services several businesses in the Flathead Valley was compromised sometime in November 2013. As a result, persons that used their debit or credit cards at these businesses may be exposed to fraudulent activity. In cooperation with law enforcement and other financial institutions in the Flathead Valley, Freedom Bank immediately initiated a debit card shutdown for those cards that may have been exposed to the security breach. This had to be done immediately in order to protect everyone that was exposed.
Please understand that this breach had nothing to do with the bank’s security systems and has impacted every bank in the Flathead Valley and thousands of individuals. Our staff has been working diligently trying to notify our customers, but due to the high volume of cards shut down, we did not have enough staff, or time, to call everyone before the cards were shut down. Shutting the cards down protected both our customers and Freedom Bank. We apologize for any inconvenience. New cards have been ordered and customers should be receiving them within 7-10 business days. Thank you for your understanding.
Please call us at (406) 892-1776 if you have any questions.
Prepaid Visa Cards can be purchased at Freedom Bank. Donations can be taken over the phone by Credit Card or online through the donation page.
Visit the donation page to make a contribution for breast cancer awareness.
Freedom Bank’s Don Bennett commissioned local up-and-coming artist Colt Idol for an awe inspiring 6′ by 4′ oil painting depicting the majestic mountains and valleys of Glacier National Park and the symbol of freedom, the bald eagle.
A limited number of 3′ by 2′ giclee prints were available for pre-sale and also for sale the day of the event. Those prints that were pre-sold were given additional unique brush strokes by the artist at the event at Freedom Bank, and all prints sold that day were embellished with the original signature of the artist.
Giclee prints of “Discover Freedom” are still available for purchase. $100 of each sale of the premium quality, museum wrap format print benefits the Gateway to Glacier Trail non-profit organization. Now you have the opportunity to own an incredible piece of art and support a great cause – a separated pedestrian and bike path which will ultimately connect Glacier National Park with the Flathead Valley.
To place an order, please stop by Freedom Bank, or contact us!
“Discover Freedom” by Colt Idol
The Glacier National Park Quarter was released in 2011 as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The quarter depicts Glacier’s prominent glacially carved valleys, Mount Reynolds peak, the iconic mountain goat and sub-alpine conifers.
Freedom Bank still has a limited supply of collectors sets of the Glacier National Park quarter for purchase. Add to your collection or mark a gift off of your shopping list for that special coin collector in the family by contacting Freedom Bank.
By operation of federal law, beginning January 1, 2013, funds deposited in a non-interest bearing transaction account (including an Interest on Lawyer Trust Account) no longer will receive unlimited deposit insurance coverage by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Beginning January 1, 2013, all of a depositor’s accounts at an insured depository institution, including all non-interest bearing transaction accounts, will be insured by the FDIC up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount($250,000), for each deposit insurance ownership category. For more information about FDIC insurance coverage of non-interest bearing transaction accounts, visit http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/unlimited/expiration.html.
You might find yourself wondering just how much of your money is covered by the FDIC since the expiration of the temporary FDIC insurance coverage. The FDIC recently rolled out their Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), you can find this useful tool at www.fdic.gov/edie/index.html. If you discover that your assets are not fully covered or you would like to more effeciently organize your assets please give Freedom Bank a call at (406)892-1776 and one of our personal bankers will be happy to assist you in your financial planning.
If you cannot find your Freedom Bank debit card or think that your debit card information may be compromised immediately contact Freedom Bank at (406) 892-1776 during our normal business hours to speak to a service representative. If you need to report your card outside of business hours please call (800) 472-3272 to have your card disabled and ensure that no unauthorized transactions take place. Failure to report your card lost or stolen in timely manner can result in a loss of funds.
Identity and data theft is a growing cause for concern for the Flathead Valley. For information on how you can protect yourself we recommend that you visit the FDIC website dedicated to educating consumers on how to keep yourself from becoming a victim.
