Unitus Celebrates 80 Years of Member Service and Community Involvement

Portland, Ore., July 5, 2017 – Unitus Community Credit Union celebrates 80 years of service to their membership and communities in July. Founded by seven Pacific Telephone & Telegraph employees in July 1937, Unitus has grown steadily on the principles of developing trusted long-term relationships and providing legendary service for members. Unitus currently has more than $1 billion in assets and now serves nearly 90,000 members across the country. There are nine Unitus branches serving Salem, Portland Metro and Southwest Washington, with two more branches scheduled to open in the next year.

Unitus has differentiated itself in the financial services industry by providing an uncommon level of member service and no-cost access to high quality local financial education. Services offered include a series of interactive online financial learning videos, an active blog promoting financial improvement, regular community seminars about key financial topics like home buying and understanding credit, and longstanding community partnerships with nonprofits throughout the Northwest.

“We certainly have a storied history to celebrate as one of the longest established credit unions in the Northwest, but what really excites me are the opportunities we are pursuing to improve the lives of our members moving forward,” said Steven Stapp, President and CEO of Unitus. “We’re getting more active in the mobile space, recently launching a mobile-responsive website, upgrading our mobile app and offering full support for Apple Pay®, Samsung Pay® and other tokenization platforms. We have a streamlined application upgrade on the way to make it easier to apply for membership and loans, and we have been getting great feedback on Financial Life Minutes, our new series of self-paced interactive financial learning videos. We want to embrace the convenience of new financial technologies, but also expand our in-person service with new branch openings in new communities. We are humbled to support the generations of families in our membership, and energized by the possibilities to further improve our service, dedication and support for our members.”

“One of the reasons I love Unitus is that both individually and collectively, we don’t believe in shortcuts. I believe our organization has grown so consistently for so long because we prioritize investing in our communities. Our jobs become more rewarding when we regularly get to visit Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, hold rallies to provide school supplies for underprivileged kids, mentor the Court Princesses in the Portland Rose Festival, or share once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with young children as part of our award-winning Dream Come True program. When your main goal is to help people, the internal rewards are continuous and external rewards often follow,” added Laurie Kresl, Chief Marketing Officer. “Our success would not have been possible without our Board of Directors and Leadership team but most importantly, our amazing team of employees devoted to improving the financial well-being of our members.”
 

Join the Celebration!

Unitus will be hosting member celebration events throughout the branches this summer. Visit any Unitus branch on July 24 to enjoy delicious anniversary treats and enter a raffle to win $80! On August 2, reserve your spot at a fun, family-friendly event at the Plaza. Refreshments will be served and attendees will be treated to a live concert featuring Hit Machine!

Unitus has also been active on social media. They are inviting members to visit their Facebook page and share a story of how Unitus helped them reach their personal or financial goals. Members who share their story by July 17 will be automatically entered to win an $80 gift card in honor of the milestone!

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