Connect First Credit Union continues to post strong financial results through the first quarter of 2017, despite the ongoing challenges in the local economic environment.

Income before taxes reached nearly $4.5 million for the first three months of fiscal 2017 and sets the Credit Union on track for another successful year of operations. Strong annual earnings has contributed to a solid capital base at the Credit Union, exceeding regulatory targets, and positioning the Credit Union for continued and sustainable growth in future years.

Total assets decreased by $18 million through the first three months to $4.3 billion. During the same period, total loans increased by $9 million to $3.7 billion as of January 31, 2017. Member deposits decreased by $14 million to $3.9 billion. Connect First Credit Union’s book of business managed on behalf of its 100,000 members was approximately $8.8 billion on January 31, 2017.

Loans in the Chinook Financial division grew 2.9% or $21 million during the first quarter. Increases in loans was supported by growth in the residential, commercial and agricultural loan portfolios.

“Growth in our Agricultural book is critical to our success.  I’m very encouraged with the growth so far this year and the last 5 years”, said President Scot Hadden. “Times are tough. I’m proud of the resilience of our employees and members across southern Alberta as they weather this tough economy.

SHiFT, Travel Alberta’s unique experiential travel training program, wrapped up yesterday in Drumheller. SHiFT is the only program of its kind in western Canada, acting as a catalyst for tourism operators and marketing organizations to craft compelling experiences.

The goal of SHiFT is to attract new customers and leave a legacy in the host communities, and its reputation is growing. The annual program in its third year and the 24 available spots fill up fast.
“Drumheller was chosen for SHiFT because tourism is a strong economic driver for the region; new experiences developed for the course will give travellers more reasons to visit the area and hopefully extend their stay in the Canadian Badlands.” said Shelley Grollmuss, Vice-President, Industry Development, Travel Alberta. “SHiFT encourages partnerships that inspire locally developed ideas for growth while fostering stronger partnerships within the community.”

To date, more than 70 tourism businesses and Destination Marketing Organizations have participated in training, leading to the development of 22 new experiences now available to the public. Refreshing existing experiences and building new ones that align with the needs of our travellers is critical to Alberta growing the visitor economy to $10 billion in tourism revenues by 2020.
“Investing in a destination is not just about marketing,” said Royce Chwin, Travel Alberta CEO. “It’s also about investing in our communities, supporting economic diversification, creating opportunities and providing memorable experiences.”
"Travel Drumheller is proud to partner with Travel Alberta on the SHiFT experiential travel training program," said Travel Drumheller board chair, Cindie Hughes. "By providing quality training programs, we are able to educate the community on the value of the visitor economy and support stakeholders in the success of their operations, while showcasing Drumheller’s unique landscape and history."
“We were thrilled to have had the opportunity to create a new experience for SHiFT Drumheller,” said Jay Russell, Acting Executive Director of the Atlas Coal Mine. “The coaching and support provided by Travel Alberta and the program facilitators was invaluable. Now, along with our new collaborative experience partner, the East Coulee School Museum, we are ready to launch an exciting new market-ready program called Mine & Dine for the 2017 season.”
Tourism contributes more than $8 billion in expenditure to Alberta’s economy, supports 19,000 tourism operators and employs 127,000 people across the province.
Information on Travel Alberta’ SHiFT program can be found online at http://industry.travelalberta.com/resources/industry-development/shift