Traditionally, The Boomtown Run Event has been a half marathon race that tracked through much of Joplin.  However, due to the tornado that ravaged neighborhood streets and homes, the debris left behind made it unsafe to hold the event.  Instead of canceling the popular event because of the storm, Boomtown was revived and expanded to become a Day of Caring for the Joplin community.  

Arvest Bank has been a supporter of the Boomtown Run event for a number of years, and therefore Arvest was excited to help Joplin and the new Boomtown Day of Caring event by providing breakfast for the near 300 volunteers that came to Joplin in support of the clean-up effort.  The inspired group of volunteers met at Memorial Hall in Joplin at 6:30 a.m. to begin their day with a memorial service.  

Event speakers included the director of the Boomtown Event, Audie Dennis; Arvest Associate and volunteer coordinator, Barbara Crump.  Special guests included Dan Mitchell, director of The Bridge; Musicians Rich and Ashley McCready performed “I Will Remember You” and “God Bless America” during the memorial service.  Closing comments were given by Jeff Galloway, famous Olympian, author, running coach, member of the RRCA hall of Fame and the Nike Walk of Fame.  

Following the service, guests were given the opportunity to visit various areas affected by the tornado.  It may not be a typical year for the community of Joplin, but it has become a year of compassion and support which has been contagious to all communities throughout the United States. 
 

Arvest customers now have a new way to quickly and easily transfer money to a friend or family member, even if they bank elsewhere.  Need to split an expense or send funds in a hurry? Forget the hassle of writing checks or running to the ATM. Instead, use ZashPay. It’s as easy as sending a text message or an email, and you can send or receive money in as little as one business day.

Learn more about how to send and receive personal payments, visit the ZashPay section of our website.  To get started right away, log into Arvest Online BillPay and select the ZashPay tab.

Below is the official release announcing the new product launch:

(June 23, 2011)— Repaying a friend for concert tickets, sharing the expenses of a summer road trip or collecting money for the office baby shower is now easier thanks to the online personal payment service ZashPay offered through Arvest Bank.

ZashPay lets you send or receive money safely from your Arvest Bank account to any other U.S. bank account as easily as sending a text message or an email, and the money is available in as little as one business day.

By using ZashPay through Arvest Online BillPay, Arvest customers can send money from their bank account quickly and easily to anyone with just their name and email address or a mobile phone number, the recipient doesn’t even have to be an Arvest customer.

Recipients will get a text or email message letting them know they have a payment waiting and they will have up to 12 days to claim it for deposit into their bank account.  If not claimed by the recipient within the 12 days, the payment is canceled and the funds stay with the sender.

It’s free to sign up for ZashPay and there is no fee to receive money. Sending money cost only 75 cents per transfer.

ZashPay uses several methods, such as 128-bit encryption, secure sockets layer and automatic session sign-outs after a period of inactivity, to ensure your information is secure.

More information about ZashPay personal payment services can be found at www.arvest.com/zashpay.
 

Jim Glover Chevrolet is opening a dealership on the corner of 82nd Street and Cache Road in Lawton, OK. According to their website, Jim Glover has been in the car business for over 32 years. He started out selling vehicles at the age of 20. One thing Jim was taught at a very young age is the importance of integrity, and he believes that honesty, hard work, treating people the way you would want to be treated, and God's guidance has gotten him where he is today.
 
As the premier Chevrolet dealer of Oklahoma they are proud to have been ranked number one in the state and 14th in the country. They know what hard work means which is why they go the extra mile to make sure each car shopping experience is nothing but the best. Whether someone is looking for a new or used Chevy car or truck, needs service on that Chevy or is looking for OEM parts for a Chevy vehicle Jim Glover Chevy Lawton is ready to help.

Arvest will be cooking hot dogs at the Grand Opening and we hope you will join us!

Friday, June 24th
11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.

Jim Glover Chevrolet
N.W. Cache Road & NW 82nd Street
Lawton, OK 73505

Arvest will have lender, Carrie Mayse, in attendance should anyone be interested in financing or learning more about our current loan specials.  You can also visit us online to learn more about Arvest Personal Loans.

In central Arkansas, several bank branches chose the Arkansas Rice Depot (ARD) as the recipient organization of their 1 Million Meals donations, which resulted in a donation of approximately 60,000 meals.

We were thrilled to be able to give to such a worthy cause, and humbled when we received the news that ARD is giving Arvest its prestigious Hunger Hero award. “This award is only given a few times a year to people or organizations that go above and beyond to help the hungry,” said ARD director of development, Dani Martin.

This award is truly an honor and we’d like to say a special “thank you” to all of the Arvest customers and associates that helped us make this significant contribution to a worthy organization. If you’d like to contribute to ARD in any way, please visit their website at www.ricedepot.org.
  

Arvest Bank in Springfield, MO is proud to announce the next effort to reduce our environmental impact through the building of a new branch.  It will be Arvest’s second "green" branch in Springfield to be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and the third companywide.

The 3,953-square-foot branch on nearly two acres is scheduled for completion by early 2012.  It will satisfy U.S. Green Building Council guidelines by incorporating building elements such as a recycling center, a bioswale – which collects rainwater for filtration – and low volatile organic compound building materials.

Ground Breaking is scheduled to begin on June 6th at 3184 E. Sunshine St., the former location of Carson’s Nursery.

At Arvest, we're proud to offer many "green" banking services, such as e.Statements and Online BillPay.  Check out this article in which we offer some easy energy and money-saving tips! 

In an effort to better serve the Joplin community and make up for the loss of our Rangeline Supercenter Branch, Arvest customers can enjoy extended hours throughout the month of June at the location below:

2023 East 32nd Street
Joplin, MO 64804-3018
(Located between Connecticut Avenue and Delaware Avenue)

Lobby Hours:

M-F:   8:00-6:00
Sat: 8:00-4:00

Drive Hours:

M-F:  7:00-7:00
Sat:  8:00-4:00

We have a long term commitment to serving customers in that part of the community and will be exploring all possible options so that we can resume service as soon as possible.  Please continue to check back here on the Arvest Blog or use the Branch and ATM Locator on arvest.com for our most up to date locations and times of operation.
 

Since 2004, bluestem Restaurant, located in the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri, has been helping to put Kansas City on the map for great food in the Midwest region.  Owners/Chefs Megan and Colby Garrelts’ attention to detail and dedication to providing an exceptional customer experience is what sets them apart from the rest.  Their menu showcases classic American flavors in a progressive new format, incorporating ingredients from local farmers to create a truly fine dining experience.

The Garrelts chose Kansas City because of Colby’s connection to the area and the community’s willingness to embrace and support locally owned businesses.  It is this support that has allowed the restaurant to flourish.  Colby and Megan were recently featured on the front cover of KC’s INK Dining Guide and have received numerous awards, such as:

• Santé Restaurant of the Year (2007)
• Top Zagat Rating
• ‘America’s Best New Chefs’ from Food & Wine Magazine 2005
• ‘Best Chef Midwest’ Nominee, Chef Colby Garrelts from the James Beard Foundation  2007-2011
• 4-Star Rating from Kansas City Star
• 4-Star Rating from KC Magazine

Megan and Colby are grateful for their remarkable staff members who continue to inspire and enable them to create an innovative menu- giving out of state guests another reason to visit Kansas City and explore all that the City has to bluestem Restaurant’s commitment to the local community through charitable events and donations, along with a variety of employment opportunities for the local community, allows owners Megan and Colby to truly give back to an area that has been so supportive.

Arvest Bank understands the unique needs that start-up companies like the Garrelts’ have, and provides customers with a variety of financial and lending options to meet their specific needs.  The Garrelts’ recognized this commitment and rely on the staff at the Downtown Kansas City branch to assist them with all their financial needs.

bluestem Restaurant is located at 900 Westport Road in Kansas City, Missouri.  For more information, please visit their website or call 816-561-1101 for reservations.

Reports continue from businesses and other organizations of fraudulent Phishing scam email messages which have the appearance of being sent from the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Bankers Association (ABA) or NACHA which falsely suggest that there is a problem with a transaction, wire transfer, ACH batch or bank account.  These entities do not process or touch the transactions that flow to and from financial institutions and their customers, nor do they send communications to bank customers about individual transactions.

Phishing scams are typically carried out via unsolicited email and/or websites that appear legitimate and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information.  In addition, Phishing emails frequently contain attachments and/or links to web pages that host malicious software used in attempts to initiate unauthorized transactions. Do not open attachments or follow web links in unsolicited emails from unknown parties or from parties with whom you do not normally communicate, or that appear to be known but are suspicious or otherwise unusual.

If you are an Arvest customer and received an email of this type and you clicked on a link or attachment or have unusual experiences logging onto web banking, please contact us immediately at (877) 849-2274 so that we can protect your account.

If you are an Arvest customer and received an email like this, but you did not click on links or attachments, please notify us via email at reportfraud@arvest.com.  If possible, please forward the suspicious email.

Phishing scams are still quite common, and come in a variety of forms.  While most are similar to these, others come in the form of customer service surveys, telephone calls or even cell phone text messages.  Please be aware that while most Phishing scams direct you to fake web sites, others may ask you to call a phone number where an automated phone system prompts you to divulge confidential information.

While it can be difficult to identify spoofed email messages, web sites, and automated phone systems, it is not difficult to know if any of the above may be related to a fraudulent Phishing scam.  The key is knowing that legitimate entities do not send unsolicited messages to consumers or businesses prompting them to divulge confidential information.  If you receive such a message, no matter how genuine it may appear, assume it to be fraudulent and please notify the legitimate entity immediately.

For more about Phishing scams, identity theft and other helpful information, please visit our Consumer Protection resource center.