Mayor Paul Finley, Superintendent Robby Parker, Redstone Federal Credit Union CEO Joseph Newberry, Principal Sylvia Lambert, and Mrs. Van Dam celebrated the official opening of our Bob Jones bank branch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mrs. Van Dam introduced the student tellers and explained various aspects of teller training. Student teller Samantha Woods said, “On behalf of all the student tellers and Mrs. Van Dam, we would like to thank you for this opportunity.”

This partnership will provide Bob Jones business students with real-world banking experience and allow the Bob Jones student body more convenience in their personal banking. “It’s a testament to Redstone’s out-of-the-box thinking, but also to the maturity of these students,” said bank representative Mrs. Bias.

Redstone CEO Newberry said, “This all started in a couple of years ago. It’s the fourth branch in a high school and the first in the city of Madison… It really started with a vision of wanting to try to educate our high school because we’re seeing two trends. Student loan debt is about $20,000 on average. More importantly than that, we see people getting taken advantage of by a lack of education. 40,000 members are paying 456 percent in pay-day liens. We have this mission to be a positive change in our community. Financial education won’t solve all of it, but it will help.”

Mayor Finley said, “This would not have happened in my high school… I continue to be amazed at [Redstone’s] outreach. They continue to invest in education. Finances and the ability to manage one’s self is critical.”