The Member Story Project

The Member Story Project celebrates the powerful, personal moments between credit unions and the people they serve. Through heartfelt stories of real-life impact, this initiative highlights the moments when credit unions made a meaningful difference. Whether they offered support during a crisis, helped a dream come true, or simply showed up when it mattered most, these stories speak volumes.

They reflect the essence of the credit union movement: real people helping real people. We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us.

Do you have a story to share? We’d love to hear it. Submit your story here and be featured on CreditUnions.com.

The Member Story Project is sponsored by Callahan & Associates

Building Futures, One Youth Account At A Time

I recently helped a mother who visited our branch with questions about our youth accounts. She was clearly interested in making informed financial decisions for her children, so I took the time to walk her through our youth account options in detail. I explained the benefits, features, and long-term value of starting financial education early. […]

Big Dreams Wrapped In A Custom Bow Tie

Lake Trust Credit Union

Bleu Bowtique, a men’s clothier in Detroit, started from humble beginnings. Ne’Gyle Beaman’s passion for fashion gave him the idea to make custom bow ties, which he started selling at local craft fairs. But when it was time to scale his business, he couldn’t find funding for the equipment he needed. His business was in […]

Guiding Generations Toward Financial Confidence

I recently helped a member who had opened a share and a checking account based on a recommendation she had received from her friend but had yet to make the final decision to move her entire relationship to Redwood Credit Union. Our member stated she has received positive feedback from friends and RCU and wanted […]

From Summer Home Upgrade To Smart Debt Relief

A Patelco Credit Union member came in to inquire about a home equity loan as he was planning on renovating his summer home. Originally, he requested $75,000 to cover the renovation expenses, however, during our assessment we uncovered the member has debt at quite high interest rates outside of Patelco. Our team brought up the […]

From Estate Accounts To Everyday Banking

When a woman walked into a Redwood Credit Union branch with questions about estate accounts and how to open one at RCU, I saw an opportunity to turn confusion into clarity and hesitation into trust. She wasn’t yet a member and was unfamiliar with the process. To ensure she felt fully supported, I invited our […]

Driven To Do Better

I was recently working with a member who had just purchased a car through CarMax. After sitting down and asking her a few questions, I had a better understanding of the situation and was able to leverage my skills as a certified financial coach to improve her situation. I identified quite a few issues with […]

Other

SchoolsFirst FCU’s Kristin Crellin Named 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumna

Kristin Crellin, senior vice president of community and Membership development at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, has been named a 2026 ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell Inducted into African American Credit Union Hall of Fame

Coastal Credit Union’s Chief Community Impact and Public Affairs Officer Creighton Blackwell is among the African American Credit Union 2026 ...
Technology

Hanscom Federal Credit Union Selects Corelation’s KeyStone to Advance Its Members First Mission and Long-Term Innovation

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion assets; 115,000+ members; Littleton, MA) selected the Corelation KeyStone core, marking an important milestone ...
Strategic Partnerships

Credit Union West Partners with Arkatechture to Advance Enterprise Data & Analytics Capabilities

Credit Union West has partnered with Arkatechture to strengthen their ability to transform data into timely, actionable insights that support ...
New Product Releases

Vizo Financial Launches DefaultSleuth to Help Credit Unions Shift from Reactive Collections to Proactive Risk Prevention

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union introduced DefaultSleuth, a behavioral-first risk intelligence platform designed to help credit unions manage default risk ...
Personnel Promotions

For Immediate Release – Natco Credit Union Appoints Tim Frame as President/CEO

Richmond, IN, March 2, 2026. Natco Credit Union announced the appointment of Tim Frame as its next President and Chief ...

Final Weeks To Apply For LAFCU’s 2026 Write To Educate Essay Contest

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan high school seniors have until March 31 to submit entries for LAFCU’s 2026 Write to Educate ...
Personnel Promotions

CRIF Select Welcomes Julie Nielsen as SVP of Account Management to Accelerate Client Growth and Enterprise Value

CRIF Select has appointed Julie Nielsen as Senior Vice President of Account Management to drive client growth and enterprise value ...
Legal/Regulatory

Bipartisan AFFORD Act Will Strengthen CDFI Fund

The bipartisan Advancing Financial Opportunities through Revitalizing and Developing CDFIs (AFFORD) Act was introduced this week by Senators Steve Daines ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 27, 2026

Released every Friday, BMU is a brief and informative newsletter that provides financial institutions a review of the week’s economic ...
Making A Difference

SECU and SECU Foundation Receive Disaster Response Champions Award for Helene Relief Efforts

State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and SECU Foundation recently received the inaugural Disaster Response Champions Award from Carolinas Credit Union ...
New Product Releases

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union Launches CU-Digital Asset Vault™ — Positioning the Credit Union as the most Valuable Wallet for Member Digital Wealth

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (SCFCU) announced the live launch of the CU-Digital Asset Vault™, the first credit union-built digital ...
Marketing

Appli CEO Tim Pranger to Showcase Real-Time Property Value Calculator at CUNA GAC 2026

Appli, the creator of the industry’s first AI-powered smart financial calculator, today announced that Founder and CEO Tim Pranger will ...
Other

Newsweek names Redwood Credit Union one of the Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women

Newsweek has awarded Redwood Credit Union its highest five-star rating as one of America’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women, an ...
Strategic Partnerships

Ocean State Credit Union Selects Synergent for Core Processing and Integrated Services

WESTBROOK, ME (February 26, 2026) – Synergent® has entered into a ten-year hosted Jack Henry™ Symitar® core processing agreement with ...
New Product Releases

eDOC Innovations Announces Product Enhancements

eDOC announces product updates and enhancements including new integration capabilities with its e-Sign solution, eDOCSignature, optimization of iDOCVault document management ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s March 2026 Education Calendar

At Vizo Financial we are committed to providing quality education to credit unions and their staff, which is why we ...
Other

Meriwest Credit Union Wins Top Honor as Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley 2026

We’re excited to share that Meriwest has been voted as the Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley in 2026 by ...
Lending

Origence Ends 2025 with 17% Growth in Fundings; Expands AI-Driven Lending Technology

Origence, the leading lending technology solutions provider for credit unions, closed 2025 with $62 billion in total fundings, up 17% ...
Operations & HR

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President. Drake brings decades of experience in credit unions and technology strategy ...
Other

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman of Coastal Wealth Management Recognized as Distinguished Financial Professionals by LPL Financial

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman, Wealth Advisors at Coastal Wealth Management in Raleigh, have earned a place among LPL Financials’ ...

Credit Unions Gain Edge with New CashBack+ Credit Card Rewards

New York, NY – February 25, 2025 – Prizeout, the leader in advertising and financial technology, today announced the launch ...
Making A Difference

ICUL Launches “Credit Unions in Action” to Showcase Statewide Community Impact

The Illinois Credit Union League has opened our inaugural Credit Unions in Action (CUIA) data collection initiative, and we’re excited ...
Strategic Partnerships

Apple Federal Credit Union Partners with Quavo to Modernize Dispute Operations and Elevate Member Experience

Quavo, Inc. (“Quavo”), the proven AI disputes technology partner and leading strategic advisor for financial institutions, has announced a new ...
Technology

Wings Credit Union Signs with Corelation, Selecting KeyStone to Elevate Its Future

Wings Credit Union has signed with Corelation, confirming their decision to select the KeyStone core to power what is a ...
Lending

FI Connect Expands with Home Improvement Lending Channel, Helping Credit Unions Access New Home Renovation Loan Opportunities

Origence, the leading credit union lending technology company in the U.S., announced that its subsidiary, FI Connect, has expanded its ...
Other

Callahan & Gallup Welcome Two Credit Unions To The Member Engagement And Financial Wellbeing Consortium

Callahan & Associates, a recognized leader in performance measurement, leadership development, strategic advisory and community development for credit unions, and Gallup, a global analytics and ...
Operations & HR

QuantyPhi Welcomes Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst

QuantyPhi, a wholly owned CUSO of Corporate Central, is pleased to welcome Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst as ...
Charity Events

LAFCU, Quality Dairy partner for third annual Paczki Palooza to benefit local charities

LANSING, Mich. — LAFCU partnered with Quality Dairy for the third consecutive year as co-sponsor of Pączki Palooza, the popular ...
Making A Difference

EECU Celebrates Fresno Unified Excellence in Education Honorees

FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2026) – Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) proudly sponsored the Fresno Unified School District’s annual Excellence ...
Other

SchoolsFirst FCU’s Kristin Crellin Named 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumna

Kristin Crellin, senior vice president of community and Membership development at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, has been named a 2026 ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell Inducted into African American Credit Union Hall of Fame

Coastal Credit Union’s Chief Community Impact and Public Affairs Officer Creighton Blackwell is among the African American Credit Union 2026 ...
Technology

Hanscom Federal Credit Union Selects Corelation’s KeyStone to Advance Its Members First Mission and Long-Term Innovation

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion assets; 115,000+ members; Littleton, MA) selected the Corelation KeyStone core, marking an important milestone ...
Strategic Partnerships

Credit Union West Partners with Arkatechture to Advance Enterprise Data & Analytics Capabilities

Credit Union West has partnered with Arkatechture to strengthen their ability to transform data into timely, actionable insights that support ...
New Product Releases

Vizo Financial Launches DefaultSleuth to Help Credit Unions Shift from Reactive Collections to Proactive Risk Prevention

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union introduced DefaultSleuth, a behavioral-first risk intelligence platform designed to help credit unions manage default risk ...
Personnel Promotions

For Immediate Release – Natco Credit Union Appoints Tim Frame as President/CEO

Richmond, IN, March 2, 2026. Natco Credit Union announced the appointment of Tim Frame as its next President and Chief ...

Final Weeks To Apply For LAFCU’s 2026 Write To Educate Essay Contest

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan high school seniors have until March 31 to submit entries for LAFCU’s 2026 Write to Educate ...
Personnel Promotions

CRIF Select Welcomes Julie Nielsen as SVP of Account Management to Accelerate Client Growth and Enterprise Value

CRIF Select has appointed Julie Nielsen as Senior Vice President of Account Management to drive client growth and enterprise value ...
Legal/Regulatory

Bipartisan AFFORD Act Will Strengthen CDFI Fund

The bipartisan Advancing Financial Opportunities through Revitalizing and Developing CDFIs (AFFORD) Act was introduced this week by Senators Steve Daines ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 27, 2026

Released every Friday, BMU is a brief and informative newsletter that provides financial institutions a review of the week’s economic ...
Making A Difference

SECU and SECU Foundation Receive Disaster Response Champions Award for Helene Relief Efforts

State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and SECU Foundation recently received the inaugural Disaster Response Champions Award from Carolinas Credit Union ...
New Product Releases

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union Launches CU-Digital Asset Vault™ — Positioning the Credit Union as the most Valuable Wallet for Member Digital Wealth

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (SCFCU) announced the live launch of the CU-Digital Asset Vault™, the first credit union-built digital ...
Marketing

Appli CEO Tim Pranger to Showcase Real-Time Property Value Calculator at CUNA GAC 2026

Appli, the creator of the industry’s first AI-powered smart financial calculator, today announced that Founder and CEO Tim Pranger will ...
Other

Newsweek names Redwood Credit Union one of the Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women

Newsweek has awarded Redwood Credit Union its highest five-star rating as one of America’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women, an ...
Strategic Partnerships

Ocean State Credit Union Selects Synergent for Core Processing and Integrated Services

WESTBROOK, ME (February 26, 2026) – Synergent® has entered into a ten-year hosted Jack Henry™ Symitar® core processing agreement with ...
New Product Releases

eDOC Innovations Announces Product Enhancements

eDOC announces product updates and enhancements including new integration capabilities with its e-Sign solution, eDOCSignature, optimization of iDOCVault document management ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s March 2026 Education Calendar

At Vizo Financial we are committed to providing quality education to credit unions and their staff, which is why we ...
Other

Meriwest Credit Union Wins Top Honor as Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley 2026

We’re excited to share that Meriwest has been voted as the Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley in 2026 by ...
Lending

Origence Ends 2025 with 17% Growth in Fundings; Expands AI-Driven Lending Technology

Origence, the leading lending technology solutions provider for credit unions, closed 2025 with $62 billion in total fundings, up 17% ...
Operations & HR

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President. Drake brings decades of experience in credit unions and technology strategy ...
Other

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman of Coastal Wealth Management Recognized as Distinguished Financial Professionals by LPL Financial

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman, Wealth Advisors at Coastal Wealth Management in Raleigh, have earned a place among LPL Financials’ ...

Credit Unions Gain Edge with New CashBack+ Credit Card Rewards

New York, NY – February 25, 2025 – Prizeout, the leader in advertising and financial technology, today announced the launch ...
Making A Difference

ICUL Launches “Credit Unions in Action” to Showcase Statewide Community Impact

The Illinois Credit Union League has opened our inaugural Credit Unions in Action (CUIA) data collection initiative, and we’re excited ...
Strategic Partnerships

Apple Federal Credit Union Partners with Quavo to Modernize Dispute Operations and Elevate Member Experience

Quavo, Inc. (“Quavo”), the proven AI disputes technology partner and leading strategic advisor for financial institutions, has announced a new ...
Technology

Wings Credit Union Signs with Corelation, Selecting KeyStone to Elevate Its Future

Wings Credit Union has signed with Corelation, confirming their decision to select the KeyStone core to power what is a ...
Lending

FI Connect Expands with Home Improvement Lending Channel, Helping Credit Unions Access New Home Renovation Loan Opportunities

Origence, the leading credit union lending technology company in the U.S., announced that its subsidiary, FI Connect, has expanded its ...
Other

Callahan & Gallup Welcome Two Credit Unions To The Member Engagement And Financial Wellbeing Consortium

Callahan & Associates, a recognized leader in performance measurement, leadership development, strategic advisory and community development for credit unions, and Gallup, a global analytics and ...
Operations & HR

QuantyPhi Welcomes Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst

QuantyPhi, a wholly owned CUSO of Corporate Central, is pleased to welcome Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst as ...
Charity Events

LAFCU, Quality Dairy partner for third annual Paczki Palooza to benefit local charities

LANSING, Mich. — LAFCU partnered with Quality Dairy for the third consecutive year as co-sponsor of Pączki Palooza, the popular ...
Making A Difference

EECU Celebrates Fresno Unified Excellence in Education Honorees

FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2026) – Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) proudly sponsored the Fresno Unified School District’s annual Excellence ...

SchoolsFirst FCU’s Kristin Crellin Named 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumna

Kristin Crellin, senior vice president of community and Membership development at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, has been named a 2026 Vision & Visionaries Cal State ...

Coastal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell Inducted into African American Credit Union Hall of Fame

Coastal Credit Union’s Chief Community Impact and Public Affairs Officer Creighton Blackwell is among the African American Credit Union 2026 Hall of Fame inductees. The ...

Hanscom Federal Credit Union Selects Corelation’s KeyStone to Advance Its Members First Mission and Long-Term Innovation

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion assets; 115,000+ members; Littleton, MA) selected the Corelation KeyStone core, marking an important milestone in the credit union’s long-term ...

Credit Union West Partners with Arkatechture to Advance Enterprise Data & Analytics Capabilities

Credit Union West has partnered with Arkatechture to strengthen their ability to transform data into timely, actionable insights that support strategic decision-making and member service.

Vizo Financial Launches DefaultSleuth to Help Credit Unions Shift from Reactive Collections to Proactive Risk Prevention

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union introduced DefaultSleuth, a behavioral-first risk intelligence platform designed to help credit unions manage default risk by detecting financial strain before ...

For Immediate Release – Natco Credit Union Appoints Tim Frame as President/CEO

Richmond, IN, March 2, 2026. Natco Credit Union announced the appointment of Tim Frame as its next President and Chief Executive Officer, marking an important ...
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