Security Service Federal Credit Union (SSFCU) today announced it has rolled out a Spanish-language version of its award-winning CallPlus automated system.

“We’ve had significant growth in members seeking service in Spanish,” said Gina Drake, manager of SSFCU’s Member Contact Center. “This efficient channel will allow members the opportunity to self-serve, while still keeping the option to speak to a bilingual representative at any time.”
Members can now easily obtain account balances, transfer funds, make payments and more, empowering Spanish-preferred members to help themselves through automated service options. Members can easily access the Spanish language CallPlus system by calling 1 (800) 52-SSFCU and pressing three for service in Spanish. Members can also speak to a bilingual representative by pressing zero at any time.
About Security Service Federal Credit Union

Security Service Federal Credit Union offers competitive, affordable financial products and services designed to meet the needs of its members. Security Service is an industry-leading financial institution with more than $6.7 billion in assets and more than 900,000 members in Texas, Colorado, Utah and around the world. Headquartered in San Antonio, the credit union is among the top 10 credit unions in the nation and is the largest in Texas. Security Service strives to be America’s best credit union and provides the true benefits of credit union membership with financial services of the highest quality and value. Learn more at www.ssfcu.org or call 1-888-415-7878.

Security Service Federal Credit Union (SSFCU) announced today that Robert Williamson has been promoted to senior vice president of Real Estate and Development. Williamson joined SSFCU as assistant vice president of Business Development in 2003 after a 10-year career in sales and financial analysis. In 2007, he was promoted to vice president, overseeing a number of credit union activities including real estate acquisition and construction development, facilities, mailroom operations, statement distribution, field of membership and youth education programs. He is active in the community, serving as a board member for Junior Achievement of South Texas and San Antonio Mobility Coalition (SAMCO) and a volunteer for United Way and his church. Williamson holds a degree in finance and economics from Texas A&M University.

About Security Service Federal Credit Union

Security Service Federal Credit Union offers competitive, affordable financial products and services designed to meet the needs of its members. Security Service is an industry-leading financial institution with more than $6.7 billion in assets and more than 900,000 members in Texas, Colorado, Utah and around the world. Headquartered in San Antonio, the credit union is among the top 10 credit unions in the nation and is the largest in San Antonio. Security Service strives to be America’s best credit union and provides the true benefits of credit union membership with financial services of the highest quality and value. Learn more at www.ssfcu.org or call 1-888-415-7878.

SACU (San Antonio Federal Credit Union) announces that it has surpassed $1 billion in its auto lending portfolio. Working through the San Antonio and Houston dealers, the credit union has helped SACU members obtain automobile financing through dealer-initiated loans on both new and used vehicles since 1987. The credit union is celebrating 25 years of innovation in the auto lending industry.

“SACU has valued relationships with approximately 160 dealers in the greater San Antonio and South Texas areas. This provides convenience for SACU members and consumers eligible to become SACU members,” John Mundy, SACU Senior Advisor for Indirect Lending, said.
“All customers need to do is go to a dealer who has a relationship with SACU and find the car of their choice. If they need financing, just let the dealer know they want to get their loan through SACU. If a dealer presents a contract package to SACU’s dealer center by noon, we can have the funds deposited to the dealer’s account that same day. This type of service allows customers to drive away with the vehicle of their choice in a very short time. SACU lenders provide good service and fast funding, which makes dealers and buyers happy.”

For more information about SACU’s innovative approach to auto lending, contact John Mundy at 210-258-1354 or toll free at 1-800-234-7228 Ext. 1354 or by email at jmundy@sacu.com.
SACU, a $2.9 billion credit union, provides benefits through competitive yields on savings, lower loan rates, and reasonably priced financial services. It offers convenience through 17 San Antonio locations, one Houston location, online banking services and GOTM, the mobile app from SACU. Membership is required and there are hundreds of ways to qualify for membership. Log on sacu.com or call Member Services at 210-258-1234 or 1-800-688-SACU (7228) for information.

NuStar Energy today announced that it ranked No. 1 in the Energy and Utilities industry — and No. 58 overall — on this year’s InformationWeek 500 list, which highlights the top technology innovators in the U.S. The annual list was recently announced at a gala awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference, which took place at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, CA.

“To be recognized by InformationWeek as a leader in information technology is a wonderful validation of our employees, processes and policies,” said Manish Kapoor, NuStar’s Senior Vice President of Information Systems. “It reinforces our view that information technology can provide a competitive advantage in an industry where there is very little product differentiation. I’d especially like to thank and congratulate our employees without whose effort we would not have achieved a spot on this prestigious list.”
“The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year’s innovators were particularly impressive,” said InformationWeek Editor In Chief Rob Preston. “What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches¬-new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT.”

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation’s most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments, and administrative practices of America’s best-known companies. Past overall winners include PACCAR Inc., The Vanguard Group, CME Group, National Semiconductor, Con-Way, and Principal Financial Group. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

About NuStar Energy
NuStar Energy L.P. is a publicly traded, limited partnership based in San Antonio, with 8,433 miles of pipeline; 84 terminal and storage facilities that store and distribute crude oil, refined products and specialty liquids; and two asphalt refineries and a fuels refinery with a combined throughput capacity of 118,500 barrels per day. The partnership’s combined system has approximately 96 million barrels of storage capacity. One of the largest asphalt refiners and marketers in the U.S. and the second largest independent liquids terminal operator in the nation, NuStar has operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, including St. Eustatius in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Turkey. For more information, visit NuStar Energy L.P.’s Web site at www.nustarenergy.com.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com)
The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties such as DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and BYTE (consumer technology). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers and SMBs, via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb’s and InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

Metropolitan Methodist Hospital Breast Center, a department of Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, has been granted a full accreditation (three year) designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.  Setting the standard for the interdisciplinary management of patients with breast disease, the center is the first hospital-based, NAPBC-accredited breast center in San Antonio.

The center is led by Deborah Douglas, M.D., herself a breast cancer survivor, and Lorraine Infantino, BSN, MSN, RN, the only National Consortium of Breast Centers certified breast patient navigator in San Antonio.  It is a concierge center for health care services for women with breast cancer, offering free of charge education, support and guidance to patients during all phases of their journey—diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

Debbie Williams, 60, of San Antonio helps operate a NASCAR race track in San Marcos. Her grandchildren call her “race car grandma.” She was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2011.

“There are tons of decisions on what you need to do to treat your cancer,” said Williams. “There was so much information I did not know that I needed to know to make these important decisions. I needed a guide…someone to take me through the process. With the help of my doctors and the Metropolitan Methodist Breast Center, I know that I did everything I could to become a survivor.”

Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.  During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease.  The standards include proficiency in the areas of: center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement.  A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.

The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast.  This mission is pursued through standard-setting, scientific validation, and patient and professional education.  Its board membership includes professionals from 15 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that there would be 192,370 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States in 2009¹. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options.

Receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient will have access to:

• Comprehensive care, including a full range of state-of-the-art services
• A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options, and, most importantly,
• Quality breast care close to home.

For more information about the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, visit their Web site at www.accreditedbreastcenters.org.  For more information on the Metropolitan Methodist Hospital Breast Centers phone 210-757-2638 or visit SAHealth.com.

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1.  American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2009. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2009.

Largest public power solar project in U.S. leads to national recognition

CPS Energy’s groundbreaking mega solar and economic development project prompted the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) to name the utility’s President and CEO Doyle Beneby its 2012 Utility CEO of the Year. SEPA will recognize Beneby for his leadership in integrating solar power into the company’s energy portfolio at its annual membership meeting today that’s being held in conjunction with Solar Power International.

Beneby recently signed a contract between CPS Energy and OCI Solar Power for the latter company to supply the utility with 400 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. The official agreement is believed to be the first of its kind, resulting in a soon-to-be-built local solar manufacturing facility, headquarters for both OCI Solar Power and its anchor consortium partner Nexolon, and 800 long-term jobs.

“I’m honored by SEPA’s recognition of what we’re doing in San Antonio. We closed on this deal because it makes sense for our customers, providing them with affordable, emissions-free energy that diversifies our portfolio and shields them from environmental-associated risks,” said Beneby. “Additionally, we want to generate economic development and educational investment with every power agreement we sign.”

Under Beneby’s two-year leadership with CPS Energy, the utility launched its New Energy Economy initiative, brokering partnerships with seven clean tech companies. The partnerships are bringing in more than 1,000 direct local jobs, millions of dollars in educational investment, clean energy development, cutting-edge demand management technology for the utility’s customers, and research and development.

“The Solar Electric Power Association is pleased to recognize Doyle Beneby as its 2012 Utility CEO of the Year. He understands the importance of integrating solar power into the San Antonio region’s energy mix, and we applaud his ongoing commitment to further diversify CPS Energy’s electricity generation,” said Julia Hamm, SEPA President and CEO.

“Mr. Beneby is moving San Antonio to the forefront of affordable solar energy in the U.S. and leading a charge that has the potential of transforming the region into a center for clean energy development,” added Hamm.

SEPA, an educational non-profit, is dedicated to helping utilities integrate solar power into their energy portfolios for the benefit of the utility, its customers and the public good. With more than 1,000 utility and solar industry members, SEPA provides unbiased utility solar market intelligence, up-to-date information about technologies and business models, and peer-to-peer interaction.

CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally owned natural gas and electric utility, providing service to approximately 728,000 electric and 328,000 natural gas customers in the Greater San Antonio area. The utility offers the lowest rates among the top 10 largest U.S. cities, while ranking number 1 in wind-energy capacity among municipally owned utilities and number 1 in Texas for solar generation. For more information, visit www.cpsenergy.com and read the CPS Energy blog.