58 Years of People Helping People
On November 22 of this year, Mid Oregon Credit Union will mark 58 years of helping people in Central Oregon meet their needs and achieve their dreams. Since eight Crook County school district employees signed the charter organization certificate on November 8, 1957 which was approved two weeks later, the credit union has grown from the original 8 members to almost 25,000 today. We are celebrating our Mid Oregon anniversary!
From the original credit union “office” in a home in Prineville, we have grown to six offices across Central Oregon, and are headquartered in Bend. Mid Oregon continues to expand and provide exceptional service, growing to assets worth over $215 million, while developing new and innovative product offerings that provides our members with financial tools necessary for their success.
An Exciting Year in 2015
In the past year we passed a few milestones and celebrated our Mid Oregon Anniversary. During the year, several exciting things happened to better serve our members and the community:
- We introduced CardNav almost a year ago, a new app for mobile devices by CO-OP, which adds another level of security to Mid Oregon debit cards by letting our members decide how and when they can be used. CardNav also provides alerts when any types of transactions you specify take place to help identify and stop potential fraud from happening.
- In March Mid Oregon received the national Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award Honorable Mention for our Pay it Forward initiative. In partnership with CoEnergy Propane and News Channel 21, Pay it Forward supports local people and projects that deserve recognition for doing good things in the community.
- Mid Oregon Credit Union and KTVZ kicked off a new community investment program called “One Class at a Time” in April, awarding $500 as the first of monthly classroom grants to help fulfill needs of area schools across Central Oregon.
- In May, Bill Anderson, President/CEO of Mid Oregon, announced assets exceeded $200 million for the first time since our establishment in 1957.
- In June, William R. Anderson celebrated 25 years of dedication and service as President and CEO of Mid Oregon Credit Union. When he came to the Credit Union in 1990, there were 10 employees, 5,975 members, one Bend location, and $19 million in assets.
- In August we unveiled a new website at www.MidOregon.com. A new and updated look, new features and a more user friendly site was launched to provide our members and those seeking financial information and about the credit union.
- We recognized two Mid Oregon staff members and longtime Central Oregon residents with well-deserved promotions. In the late summer & early fall, Tammy Gregory in Madras and Amanda Haessler in Prineville became branch managers, acknowledge their efforts in building community relations and growing branch and staff operations in their areas.
- On Thursday October 15th, we broke ground on a new Mid Oregon Credit Union branch in La Pine. Local officials, Mid Oregon’s Board of Director members, staff and invited community members gathered in the lot next to St. Vincent’s on Huntington Road in La Pine to break ground, and the branch is slated to open in the Spring of 2016.
Spirit of Original Credit Union Still Alive Today
Originally chartered in 1957 as “Tri-County Teachers Federal Credit Union”, the first field of membership included “Employees of the Public Schools who work in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties, Oregon; Employees of this credit union; members of their immediate families; and organizations of such persons.” Today, as Mid Oregon Credit Union, our field of membership includes more Central Oregon residents, but serves the same purpose. Bill Anderson, our President and CEO, said it well at the time of our 50th Anniversary in 2007:
“Mid Oregon was formed as a cooperative in 1957 to provide financial services for teachers who were underserved by mainstream financial institutions. As a result of a few teachers who banded together to help each other, today the Credit Union is available for all those who live, work, worship or go to school in Deschutes, Jefferson or Crook counties. The vision and spirit of that small group is still alive today.”
Thank you for helping us celebrate our Mid Oregon Anniversary!