The Village branch, located at 800 Broad Street in Elizabethton, was busy with normal bank customers as well as local residents who brought trucks, boxes and garbage bags full of documents containing their personal information and watched it be shredded by Cintas, an on-site document shredding company.

“We started this event several years ago and it continues to grow each year. This is the first year we brought two trucks to handle the shredding. We are happy that we invested in two trucks because we filled both of them before the day was over,” said Rebecca White, Marketing Director for Carter County Bank. “Offering a Free Shred Day gives our citizens a proactive way to guard against Identity Theft,” said White.

“A large percentage of households don’t have their own personal paper shredder or even have access to one. We are happy to be able to provide this annual shred service to our customers and community” said Dale Fair, President of Carter County Bank.

Shredding your sensitive documents is just one step in the process of protecting your identity. Here are just a few additional steps you should take to ward off thieves.

— Check your credit report and bank statements regularly for suspicious activity. It’s better to catch a problem early.

— Protect your Social Security number. Give out only when absolutely necessary.

— Shred any papers that contain sensitive personal information including bank statements, medical records, tax records, insurance forms, credit card offers, etc. At home, use a shredder that is cross-cut or diamond-cut. In-home shredder prices range from $30 to $100. Higher end shredders will destroy CDs and hard disks.

— Opt out of prescreened offers of credit in the mail by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT. This is a number tied to major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) to remove their information from marketing and pre-approved credit offer lists. An automated system will ask you for your phone number, Social Security number and address for verification.

— If you go on vacation, ask the post office to hold your mail until you return.

— Be on guard when you are online. Don’t give out personal information. For detailed information visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov

— Verify a source before giving out personal information on the phone. If you are unsure, hang up and call the company directly.

— Don’t carry unnecessary ID (such as your Social Security number) and credit cards in your wallet or purse.

Bring your old bills, check stubs, health information, tax documents, financial statements, floppy disks, CDs, legal papers, invoices, or any other confidential information that has accumulated over the years. Participants do not need to remove staples, paper clips, folders, or rubber bands from documents. Hope to see you there!

This free service is provided to consumers only please.

Carter County Bank has donated $3,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry in Carter County.

Second Harvest Community Relations Director Kathy Smith said the donation would help cover the operations of the mobile food pantry, which delivers food to locations in Stoney Creek, Watauga, Valley Forge, Hampton and Roan Mountain, along with drop-off locations at Lynnwood and Lynnridge apartments and First United Methodist Church.

At each site, food boxes are distributed to 40 to 60 people.

The funds raised for the donation were collected from the Community Pride T-shirt sales through the bank. A total of 750 shirts were printed for the communities of Hampton, Happy Valley, Poga, Roan Mountain, Stoney Creek and Elizabethton with slogans referring specially to that area of Carter County.

Carter County Bank public relations officer Rebecca White said the bank was pleased with the results of the sales. The bank sold 612 of the 750 T-shirts for a total donation of $2,727 after expenses. Carter County Bank rounded the amount up for a total of $3000 to sponsor the Second Harvest Food Bank Mobile Pantry in Carter County.

“We are glad that we are able to help the agency,” White said. “We would not have been able to make this donation without the help of PEP Screen, who printed the T-shirts at such a reduced cost.”

“Part of our strategic vision is that no one goes hungry because of lack of access to food,” Smith said. “The mobile food pantry delivers to locations that would otherwise not have access to food banks. This donation will help with purchasing the food for the boxes and paying for fuel to make the deliveries.”

The bank will run another Community Pride campaign next summer. The communities of Keenburg and Siam have already been picked to be included and other possibilities include Central, Watauga and Valley Forge.

BY ASHLEY RADAR – Elizabethton Star

The program is an economic development effort designed to develop and maintain a qualified work force. Every 2012 high school graduate in Carter County is eligible to apply for a four-semester scholarship at Northeast State. 

“Carter County Bank understands the value of a quality education to people as individuals and the positive impact it has on our community as a whole. We are extremely proud to be a part of this effort and have had a long history of supporting programs like the Educate and Grow at Northeast State,” said Dale Fair, President of Carter County Bank. 

Awards are made as reimbursements based on tuition need. Scholarship amounts depend on the number of students in the program and the availability of program funds. 

“We are pleased that Carter County Bank has stepped forward to fund this important scholarship,” said Heather Cook, executive director of the Northeast State Foundation. “Local support is very meaningful for students because it helps them realize their goals and dreams are valued by the community.” 

For more information, about the Educate and Grow Scholarship, visit, www.educateandgrow.comor call the Office of Scholarship Programs at 354-2507.

Ben Treadway overcame a rocky start Sunday with a three-hole birdie barrage late in the day, and it was good enough to capture the 18th annual Carter County Bank East Tennessee Amateur held at Elizabethton Golf Course, his home course, by one stroke over a hard-charging Nick York. Mike Poe won the overall senior title, overcoming a 10-shot deficit to capture his 64th victory in an amateur tournament.

Read a full article from the Johnson City Press here. 

Five hundred people were served food from the finest restaurants in Carter County. Some foods that evening included BBQ, sirlion, italian, mussels, chinese, and fish, with a variety of desserts including brownies, lemon curd cupcakes, and peach bread pudding.

Thank you the following businesses who made this event successful.

Restaurants: Bojangles, Captain D’s, Captain’s Table, Chef Clare Richards of Bella Bistro, Chick-Fil-A, Coffee Company, Creekers BBQ, Fatz, Food City Deli, J’s Corner, Lone Star, Primos, and Walmart Bakery & Deli.

Florists: Andrea’s Flowers and Felty-Roland Florist

Door Prize Contributors: Bonnie Kate Cafe, Pals, and Roan Mountain Cabins

Musicians: Jacob Tipton and Danny Williams

Venue: Elizabethton High School and their staff

Media Sponsors: Elizabethton Star, Lamar Outdoor, WBEJ and WJHL

Non Profit Partners: Elizabethton/Carter County Community Foundation and Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce