((L-R) Sisters Mid Oregon team: Christina Schulz (loan officer) , Marc Madron (branch manager) and Madison Gibney (new accounts) | Photo Courtesy of Mid Oregon Credit Union)
Newest Addition to Sisters
Mid Oregon Credit Union opened their doors to its newest location, 703 N Larch Street in Sisters and celebrated their grand opening event in April this year. This location is the seventh full-service branch for the credit union.
The decision to open the seventh branch was made to bring convenience to a rapidly growing member base in Sisters and continue the credit union’s mission to deliver high-quality services to improve the financial well-being of its members and the community according to Kyle Frick, VP marketing and community relations for Mid Oregon Credit Union.
“Mid Oregon is experiencing a continuous growth in all their Central Oregon locations with a constant demand for credit union services,” reported Frick. “Our Simply Free Checking account with no service charges, no minimum monthly balance requirements and loaded with free features is attracting new members who are dissatisfied with their current financial service providers.”
As a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution focused solely on its members, Mid Oregon Credit Union passes its earnings onto its members by lower fees and better loan rates.
As cooperatives, credit unions return value to consumers. In a credit union, there are no profits, so all earnings more than operating expenses are returned to the member. Therefore, fees will be lower, that is why you can get free checking, earn more interest on deposits and get much lower loan rates for autos, small businesses or homes.
For example, during the 12 months ending in March 2017, America’s credit unions provided $10.2 billion in direct financial benefits to nearly 108 million members. What did this mean to families in Oregon? During that same year, Oregon’s credit unions provided $150 million in direct financial benefits to their members (equivalent to $171 per member household).
Deposits at Mid Oregon Credit Union are federally insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Funded by credit unions and administered by the National Credit Union Administration, the NCUSIF is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
Another Mid Oregon Credit Union value is that, as part of the CO-OP Network, they work together with other credit unions so members can take advantage of their surcharge-free nationwide ATM network—with over 30,000 ATMs nationwide and access to over 800,000 worldwide.
The American credit union movement took flight during the Great Depression, when groups of workers pooled their resources to loan money to co-workers who had been turned away by banks. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act in 1934, ensuring that cooperative, not-for-profit credit unions could balance the credit structure of the United States, by providing the cooperative financial services choice to consumers.
Today, there are 5,737 federally insured credit unions in the U.S. There are 108 million memberships. Assets protected by U.S. credit unions total $1.34 trillion. There are 59 credit unions in Oregon, with 1.7 million members. Oregon credit unions protect $21.3 billion in members’ assets, 19.2 percent of deposit market share. (Source: NCUA/CUNA data Q1, 2017)
“The impact of credit unions is seen every day in financial education outreach, volunteer service and charitable donations,” says Frick. “Mid Oregon Credit Union exists for one purpose: to serve their members.”
Founded in 1957 with the People Helping People philosophy, Mid Oregon values their social missions as much as their financial service missions.
Frick adds, “As the only credit union headquartered and doing business solely in Central Oregon, they recognize and share in a corporate social responsibility to our communities and residents.
“Mid Oregon Credit Union members support local jobs and invest in local events and organizations in Central Oregon. The credit union supports the Sisters community and the Chamber of Commerce with both time and financial resources. Mid Oregon also supports many local events including the Sisters rodeo and parade, Sisters schools and teachers, non-profit organizations, the quilt show, and provides free financial workshops throughout the year.
“The Sisters branch offers many conveniences including a full service drive-up ATM and offers a full range of services including their Simply Free Checking, savings and investments, loans for auto, truck, RV, boats, home and home equity, business and commercial loans and accounts as well as Visa cards, insurance, and free online and mobile banking services.”
“Our staff all lives here in Sisters and takes great pride in the community,” said Marc Madron, Sisters branch manager. “It means a lot to be able to bring the benefits of Mid Oregon Credit Union to our hometown, not just through better financial products and services, but through our volunteer efforts in the community as well. The entire Sisters team lives, works, and volunteers here in the Sisters community.”
The full operational Sisters branch is open during the hours of 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 6pm on Friday.
www.midoregon.com
