David Nason, Assistant Secretary, Financial Institutions, US Treasury visits with David Kmetz of the Washington Trust Company, Chariho High School Principal, Robert Mitchell and Chariho High School Students.
Contact: Jim Hedemark
401.385.9411 | email
Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary to Visit Ocean State
To Help Teens & Young Adults “Get Smart About Credit”
October 10, 2008 – The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition has coordinated a Rhode Island visit from David Nason, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, United States Treasury on October 18th, 2007 which is American Bankers Association Education Foundation national “Get Smart about Credit Day.” The Washington Trust Company is a partner in the Rhode Island youth financial education activities.
Activity highlights:
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Chariho High School lesson on credit taught.
Noon to 1:00 PM luncheon presentation to college students at the University Club at the University of Rhode Island (Kingston Campus).
Nason, a Rhode Island native, will teach a lesson on credit usage to forty students at Chariho High School from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM with the assistance of David Kmetz, Vice President, Commercial Lending of The Washington Trust Company. Members of the news media are welcome to attend and should contact Principal Robert “Bob” Mitchell at 401.364.7778 x 2101 prior to attending. Chariho High School’s address is 453 Switch Road, Wood River Junction, RI 02894.
Chariho High School Principal, Robert Mitchell states, “We at Chariho High School are very proud to welcome Secretary Nason, especially as he is visiting our school to promote good credit use among our students. The issue of personal financial literacy must be a focus for educators and parents alike as we prepare our youth to enter their adult financial lives.”
At noon, Nason will speak to an audience (by invitation only due to space limitation) of college students along with academic, business and civic leaders at a luncheon at the University Club at the Kingston campus of the University of Rhode Island. General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio will also speak at this event.The UClub’s address is 95 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. Members of the news media are welcome to attend the luncheon.
Assistant Secretary Nason’s bio can be found here.
“Get Smart About Credit Day” is a national education activity of the American Bankers Association Education Foundation. As posted here, Credit is a fact of life for most Americans. This financial tool helps you realize dreams like purchasing a home or financing a college education. Credit can lend a hand in an emergency, with an instant loan at millions of locations around the world. Yet, the choices you make about how you use your first credit card, or handle your first loan, can change your life for years to come. That's why bankers provide credit education year-round in high school classrooms, with youth groups, and on college campuses, using the ABA Education Foundation's Get Smart About Credit Program. Bankers believe helping young people get smart about credit now will help them make smart financial choices later.
“Get Smart About Credit Day” activities have been coordinated with the United States Treasury in Rhode Island by the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition for the past three years.
The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition (founded in 2004) is an coalition of dozens of Ocean State and New England region businesses, community organizations, educational institutions, government agencies and officers. The coalition¹s mission is “to increase the financial literacy of individuals in Rhode Island.” The coalition¹s website is www.rijumpstart.org
In 2006, for the first time, Rhode Island high school seniors participated in the national Jump$tart Coalition personal financial literacy survey that measures teenagers¹ knowledge of personal financial literacy topics. Rhode Island high school seniors answered 48.8% of the questions correctly. The national average was 52.4%. For more details on the national survey, please click here.
About The Washington Trust Company
The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a $2.4 billion corporation headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the largest independent bank and the oldest community bank in the nation, headquartered in Rhode Island. A state-chartered bank, Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including business banking, personal banking, and wealth management and trust services, through its offices located in Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Corporation’s common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol WASH. Visit their site.
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