BUSINESS NEWS: C1st Credit Union, NAMI

Vickers joins C1st Investment Services

Matthew Vickers has joined Community 1st Credit Union as a financial advisor, exclusively serving the credit union's membership through C1st Investment Services.

Vickers, who has over 17 years in the financial industry, is now available to meet with individuals to evaluate their financial situation, offer recommendations and coordinate their investment and insurance choices.

Vickers has worked with over 1,000 financial planning clients in his career and has been part of teams that recruited and trained more than 100 financial advisors.

Vickers is a native of Greene and attended Iowa State University with a speech communication major. The Fairfield resident has two daughters.

Emerging NAMI of Southeast Iowa welcomes Kendros; free presentation set Tuesday

National Alliance for Mental Illness, known as NAMI, welcomes Diana Kendros as the new committee leader for the NAMI group serving Jefferson and Keokuk counties.

Kendros has been working in the field of mental health, advocacy, and family peer support for over a decade to help raise awareness about mental health challenges, suicide prevention and how bullying affects children and society.

Kendros is the founder of the Hope for Life Organization. She was led to advocacy when her 11-year old son experienced a traumatic bullying incident and became mentally ill as a result. Her organization offers mental health and wellness education and events and has been coordinating with NAMI to bring one of its free education programs called Family to Family to Fairfield for the past four consecutive years.

At this time, when the mental health needs of local Iowa communities are overwhelming the ability of state services and professional caregivers to provide urgently needed care, the volunteers of NAMI help by providing free courses and support services.

NAMI is sponsoring a free communitywide meet and greet and presentation at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Jefferson County Health Center Conference Room C. People will learn about the free classes and support groups that NAMI will be providing.

Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Kendros at hopeforlifeevents@gmail.com.

To learn more about NAMI's National programs, visit www.nami.org.

C1st presents grant to Washington Middle School