Stride Credit Union Holds First AGM In Portage

Stride Credit Union held their Annual General Meeting last night in Portage la Prairie.

It was the first AGM since Portage and Austin Credit Unions officially amalgamated on January 1st, 2017. CEO Brent Budz says the members voted overwhelmingly in favour of amalgamation last year, and they were really pleased with the response. He says both ACU and PCU had positive years over 2016 while the merger was in progress.

"We as two credit unions coming into Stride wanted to make sure we were on solid ground, and solid footing, and really preparing for growth," says Budz. "As you can see the page has been turned on 2016 and both credit unions had very good years."

2016 was a very busy year for both credit unions. Budz says there were a lot of positives through the jam-packed year.

"2016 and 2017 have really been inwardly focused as a credit union and we're making it our goal in 2017 to nail down some of that stuff and make sure we're engaging our membership and ensuring the members can see, and feel the Stride difference. We really want to make sure that while we have a lot of work to do internally that we don't lose focus on that. There's been a lot done and it's just a credit to the hard work of our staff to make sure no stone is left unturned."

Some of the accomplishments for Stride in prepping for the merge during 2016 according to Budz were:
- The marketing strategy for the merger. (Metric Marketing, pro image signs)
- Developing the approval of lending philosophy and associated lending policy.
- The development, review, and implementation of product and services offering for Stride as well as a competitive market review of service fees.
- The launch of the new Stride identity. Signs and displays.
- The consolidation of service providers/vendors - CUMIS, GWL, Credential Securities, Technology Services.
- Preparation for the database merge and digital platforms. Will have one login for Stride online in June. Two operating systems will become one in June.

"2017 there is a lot on the go which is primarily driven by our database merge which will be completed in June," adds Budz. "We'll have the expansion and renovation of the Royal Road branch, we'll have reinvestments in many of our other branches, and a real marketing push from Stride. There's a lot underway but here we are at the end of the first quarter already."

Some of the things going on in 2017 at Stride Credit Union are:
- Reinvestment of staffing resources in both Plumas and Gladstone branches.
- Consolidation of member services offering into Royal Road branch.
- They've created consistency among branches with changes to branch hours.
- Successful rebranding of Stride Place with Viterra Curling and Rogers Hometown Hockey.
- A merge of their legacy databases scheduled for June 2017.
- The launch of their loans and origination software and associated insurance offering.
- A complete substantial renovation of Royal Road branch starting this summer or fall.
- Review remaining branches for reinvestment of resources at Portage West End and Oakville.
- The launch of a social media platform.
- Flash 'tap' cards coming this year.

 Budz adds there's a lot to do in 2017 and they're really excited for it.