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Posted July 2008

Activities Update

Your IvyTek representatives are very busy preparing for the first of several conventions that take place in July and August.  We have also been busy assisting those of you who are taking advantage of our new automated data backup service.  Secure your data at the on-line data storage center where it is off-site and available when and where it's needed.  Read more about what lenders are saying about the service at blog.ivytek.com.

Posted June 2008

Business Continuity and Disaster Planning

Will your business survive a natural or man-made disaster?  To answer this question go to blog.ivytek.com.  See what others in the lending business have to say and share your comments. 

Association Update

The Louisiana Finance Association (LFA) has a new fax number 225-295-3157 and their new e-mail address is lfassoc@bellsouth.net.  Don't forget the upcoming convention July 27 - Aug. 3.  

The Mississippi Consumer Finance Association (MCFA) has a new website: www.mcfassn.org.  Their summer convention will be July 14 -16th. 

The Financial Service Centers of Mississippi (FSCM) has a new Executive Director, Alisha Kennedy.  Their summer convention will be Aug. 28th - 29th. 

For details and contact information go to Conventions.

Alaskan Adventure

We had a wonderful time in Alaska...cutting through the ice to view Steward glacier, dodging ice bergs,  walking in the snow next to the eight foot tall banks, spotting bald eagles and whale tails, then following in the foot steps of the miners headed for the gold fields as we traveled by rail to White Pass, the gateway to the Yukon.  We visited Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm, Ketchikan and Victoria, BC aboard the Golden Princess.  For more on this trip visit Ultraescapee.blogspot.com...I am working on the story.

Posted May 2008

North to Alaska

Dan and Vickie will be cruising to Alaska for a week starting May 10th.  Questions concerning the IvyTek News or other subjects may be directed to Michael at 800-596-9792.

Join the Lender's Blogging Community

Are you a member of the Lender's blogging community?  If not, it's simple to join.  Just go to the Lender's Blog site and post a comment.  For example, say you read the article, "Is Your Business Problem Unique?" at blog.ivytek.com.  You would like to share your thoughts...simply click on the "(#) comment" or "no comments yet" link located directly below the article, fill in the form, add your comment and hit the submit button.  It's that simple and as always your privacy is strictly maintained.  We do not share information with others.  blog.ivytek.com

Posted April 2008

Where is the IvyTek Blog?

Wondering where our lender's Blog has gone... So are we!  We are currently working with our Blog host site to re-establish our Blog location.  Apparently a critical file has been misplaced.  They are searching for it...meanwhile please be patient.  We will get the site back up and running as quickly as possible. 
Note: The Blog is now up...visit us at blog.ivytek.com.

Spring Collections Seminar April 22nd and 23rd

IvyTek will not have a booth at this year’s Financial Service Centers of Mississippi (FSCM) Spring Seminar April 22nd and 23rd in Philadelphia, MS.  Our booth is being updated to reflect our new services.  However, Michael Griggs will be present to answer questions about our software products and services.  Be sure to inquire about our new off-site backup service. He is looking forward to seeing you there. 

Spring Newsletter

The spring edition of the IvyTek Newsletter is on it's way to the printer.  Readers should see it on their desks sometime around the 18th of April.  In this edition, we continue with our series on Safety Measures highlighting measures to take to secure your physical location.  The feature article, "Elaine's Story", tells of her encounter with a robber and additional measures taken at their location to help prevent such an incident from occurring in the future.  Don't miss it.  Elaine's Story

Posted March 2008

Your Blog Site

You are invited to participate in the IvyTek Blog: An Exchange of Ideas and Information for the Lending Industry, maintained by IvyTek, Inc. The new site is designed to provide breaking news, commentary and information on topics of interest to the lending industry. Bloggers are encouraged to added comments, exchange new ideas and direct the topics of conversation.

Not sure what a Blog is? A Blog is an online web site for communicating; a means of sharing information and also of interacting. It’s more about conversation than content which can consist of anything from breaking news to personal reflections. The term Blog is an abridgment of "Web log", a type of online journal. According to Wikipedia, "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a Blog.

Blogs have certain elements in common:

We began posting articles to the IvyTek Blog on March 1, 2008. "If this old man can do it, so can you", an article on change is a good read. Be sure to check out the video link in the first paragraph for a laugh. Post your comments today at blog.ivytek.com.

Winter Newsletter Available

The winter newsletter is now available. It features the first in a series of articles on safety measures and introduces our backup solution.  

IvyTek's Backup Solution

IvyTek's backup solution is for everyone; automatically backup your important data files to a secure data storage center using the Internet. It’s off-site, it’s simple, it’s secure and your files are always available when and where you need them in case disaster strikes. See our brochure for details.   IvyTek Backup Solution (pdf)

Posted February 2008

Quick Update

We are hard a work designing our new products and services.  The first edition of the 2008 newsletter is due to arrive on readers desks the end of February.

Posted January 2008

Happy New Year

January is a time when companies plan their strategy for the upcoming year and review their successes from the previous year.  IvyTek is no exception.  We had a good year in 2007 and plan to make 2008 an even better year.  Here is a preview of what's coming for our website and news sectors.  

First Quarter 2008
A weekly blog for exchanging ideas and information, highlighting products and services of interest to the lending industry.  

A monthly E-Newsletter highlighting the latest news for the lending industry and pointing readers to important articles and resources available to them on the web.

A new format and additional content in our quarterly print newsletter.

A new look and feel for our website with additional content for the lending industry.  

In February, expect additional announcements from IvyTek concerning a new service for lenders that is currently being tested and reviewed.  

Posted December 2007

Christmas Cards

I am busy working to get our Christmas Cards ready to mail.  Of all the tasks I undertake during the year this is the one that gives me the most joy.  This year we will be including a special handmade surprise with each card.  My mailing deadline is on or about December 7th.

Posted November 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

May you have a safe and happy holiday with friends and family.  Dan and I will be traveling to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to visit with my family over the holiday.  Michael and his family will be having out of town guests, while Chris and his family will celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving.

Web Site & E-mail

During the first week of November we experienced temporary difficulties at the host location.  While our host company is in the process of updating equipment we can expect this situation to continue. Should our e-mail accounts be disabled try sending urgent messages to ivytek@aol.com or contact us by phone.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

Did You Know

Burrell printing is issuing new contracts to address "covered borrower statements" as per the new DoD military lending regulations.

IvyTek has modified the Nevada payday lending system to comply with their new laws.  

According to a Nevada customer, if you conduct the loan process in Spanish, the contract must also be issued in that language.  We have custom modified certain statements we print on the contract to print in Spanish, as per their request. To find out more about this option contact us.

Travel Update

Dan and I are currently in Kansas City working on modifications for our Missouri Title Loan software.  We expect to be finished by November 7th. Chris continues to make on-site maintenance calls to check back ups and other items, while Michael is busy with installations, training and custom development projects. 

Fall Newsletter Posted

Our fall newsletter is now available.  If you want to know about the hot topics in the industry: military lending, bank discontinuance, bankruptcy, proposed federal bills, etc. you should read this publication.  Contact us if you would like to receive this publication via mail or e-mail.

Posted October 2007

Fall Newsletter Available Soon

Our fall newsletter has been sent to the printer and should be arriving on your desk in mid-October.  Please be sure to let our advertisers know you saw their ads in the IvyTek News or on our website.  Newsletters are posted on our site once the printed version becomes available.  See previous newsletters.

E-Mail Us

Please let us know if you have any breaking news that would be of interest to the industry.  We are always looking for interesting articles for our website or our publication.  We would love to hear from you.  News@ivytek.com 

LFA Board Meeting

The Louisiana Finance Association will hold an October Board Meeting at the L'auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, Louisiana on October 22-24th, 2007.  LFA members, associate members, friends and family are invited to attend.  Call LFA for more information.  225-295-1300.   

Posted September 2007

Bill to Watch

The Financial Service Centers Association  is advising members to keep an eye on HR 2871, also known as the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2007.  

FSCM Convention

I enjoyed visiting with everyone during the recent Financial Service Centers of Mississippi convention held in Biloxi, MS.  It has been several years since I was able to attend and it was nice to see everyone.  It also gave me lots of information for our upcoming newsletter.  

The hottest topic of conversation was the new Military Lending legislation and release of the DoD regulations.  I have posted the regulations and the Covered Borrowers Identification Statement on our resources page. 

Posted August 2007

Louisiana Finance Association Convention

Michael enjoyed visiting with everyone during the LFA Convention.  He would like to thank everyone who played the password game and hopes the winner enjoyed their "Dinner for Two.  Of course the big talk of the convention was the successful passage of HB284 which raised the origination fee from $25 to $50.

Posted July 2007

New Louisiana Origination Fee

HB284 was signed by the governor and became Act 31.  It raises the origination fee a lender can charge from $25 to $50.  See Louisiana Legislative Session below for more information.

Special Edition Newsletter

Our second annual Special Edition newsletter should reach readers during the second week in July, just prior to beginning of the summer convention season.  Please let our advertisers know you saw their ad in the newsletter.  We appreciate their support in our efforts to keep our readers informed of the latest developments in the industry.   

Posted June 2007

Louisiana Legislative Session

In Louisiana, 975 house bills(HB) and 365 senate bills(SB) were under consideration by the 2007 Legislative Session which ended June 28th. 

One bill of note for consumer finance companies, HB284, states: “A lender may charge an origination fee that does not exceed fifty dollars on a consumer loan or revolving loan account”. 

The bill was sent to the governor on June 12th for signature. If signed, this bill will raise the loan origination fee maximum from $25 to $50.  For a complete list of pending bills and their current status go to http://www.legis.state.la.us, 2007 Regular Session Information. 

Louisiana Finance Association Convention attendees can expect to receive a short briefing on recent legislative activity as well as a brief synopsis of the new laws and how they will impact the industry during their annual meeting in August.

Summer Vacations

Everyone loves to take vacations during the summer.  We at IvyTek are no exception.  Mike and Sandy will be taking a cruise with family and friends the week of June 9th.  Dan and I will be handling the day to day operations while they are having fun in the Caribbean. They need the break before the busy summer convention schedule begins.

Chris and his family will be traveling to Michigan and Canada in July.  Their son will be participating in a series of ice hockey matches in Detroit, then they plan a quick trip to Niagara Falls via Canada.

Website Server Fails

Do to a website server failure our new advertising page and e-mail address were overwritten with an old backup.  The new page (newsbytes, newsletter) and news@ivytek.com are now active.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.   

Posted May 2007

New E-mail Address

The IvyTek News now has its own e-mail address, news@ivytek.com.  Please contact us if you have any items you wish to have published, comments about the publication or if you would like to advertise with us.  

Posted April 2007

VISTA not a problem for IvyTek Software

In February we installed our first VISTA locations.  Our software worked without a hitch.  For more information on VISTA see the article "Look Before you Leap" in the Spring edition of the IvyTek newsletter.

Spring Newsletter

The spring edition of our newsletter, the IvyTek News, is now available. There was an error in the original hardcopy under Conventions and Seminars.  The FSCM Seminar will be held April 24th and 25th not March 24th and 25th.  We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.  

Visit the IvyTek Booth

Michael will attend the Financial Service Centers of Mississippi, (FSCM) Seminar at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, MS. April 24th and 25th.  Stop by the IvyTek Booth to see our latest products, learn about our new services or just to say "Hello".  You could win an exciting prize package when playing our popular password game.  See details about the event on page six of the spring edition of our newsletter, the IvyTek News.

Happy Easter  

We hope you have a safe and fun filled holiday. Dan and I plan to visit our children and grandchildren in Louisiana and Texas over the holiday. 

Posted March 2007

Wanted Experienced Programmer

Once again we are expanding our staff.  We are currently looking for a programmer to assist us with our new .Net programming projects.  Resumes may be submitted via e-mail to sales@ivytek.com.  Details are posted under programmer on the employment page.

Posted February 2007

What's Happening at IvyTek

The Winter newsletter is now available. We would like to thank all our advertisers for making this publication possible.  Click on Newsletters (above) for a pdf copy of the Winter 2007 edition. Click resources to support our current newsletter advertisers.  Remember to tell them you saw their ad either in the newsletter or on the web site.

Dan and Michael have just returned from successfully installing of our first Alabama title loan software in three locations in northern Alabama.

Meanwhile, we are busy preparing for the next edition of the newsletter, working on our convention schedule and exploring several new and exciting software development projects.  Look for announcements on these items soon.

Posted January 2007

Advertisers Sought

The IvyTek News is seeking advertisers for the 2007 editions of our newsletter.  Space is limited and allotted on a first come, first serve basis.  We feel this move will help us increase our coverage of news in the industry.  It will also serve our readers by providing information on the services they may need to enhance their business endeavors.  Anyone interested in advertising should contact us for a written proposal, rate sheet and to reserve ad space. 800-596-9792.

Previous News Bytes
Newsbytes for 2006

Newsbytes for 2005

Newsbytes for 2004
Newsbytes for 2003
Newsbytes for 2002

IvyTekPDQ for Alabama 2003
TitleTek for Tennessee 2003

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