JAY — OTIS Federal Credit Union hosted two Financial Fitness Fairs during the month of October for the Spruce Mountain High School juniors and sophomores. These fairs functioned as a budgeting exercise: the students would start by choosing a career and then had to visit various themed stations [such as housing and transportation] where they would add monthly expenses to their budget similar to what they would face in a real-life situation. Because unexpected expenses can arise in everyday life, students also had to spin the “Wheel of Life” at some point during the fair, which would give them a stroke of luck [money to add to their monthly spending amount] or a misfortune [a deduction from their monthly spending amount]. The end goal was to complete the exercise under budget. For their participation, all students were offered an OTIS gift bag, and eight students also won gift certificates.

OTIS FCU’s Director of Marketing Kimberly Couture coordinated with SMHS School Counselor Christopher Beaudoin for the setup of these events, which were staffed by OTIS FCU employees and board members. Regarding the employee involvement for the Financial Fitness Fair, OTIS FCU President/CEO Chris Bouchard remarked, “When presented with the opportunity to help run a Financial Fitness Fair for our local high school students, employees and board members, who were also prior teachers, expressed interest. We had representation from every department at the Credit Union, and they all went above and beyond to make it a positive and fun experience for students. The students of Spruce Mountain are a wonderful group of kids with a promising future, and OTIS FCU is thankful to be a part of their financial education experience.”

After the completion of both fairs, Beaudoin commented, “Spruce Mountain High School is very grateful to OTIS Federal Credit Union for coming to the school to teach, in a fun way, fiscal responsibility to our students. The students were very much engaged in the activities and I believe learned a great deal of what is involved in real world personal finance. I am hoping this can be something we can do with the Credit Union and our students annually. I also would like to say that it is really incredible to have such a community minded financial institution in these three towns that really cares for the people that it serves.”

OTIS Federal Credit Union looks forward to an ongoing partnership with Spruce Mountain High School and continuing to be a financial education resource for the local community.

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