Gene's Note: Responding with Loyalty During Uncertain Times

In times of uncertainty, we must take bold actions to protect the present and secure the future. As an essential service provider, your credit union and our team members have been on the front lines of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Our team members are joined by first responders, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, and all the other brave service providers that are standing tall to provide the services that we need the most. 

First, my sincere thanks to all essential service providers that are heroically serving us. We also know there are many others of you that want to serve, but rules and directives keep you from doing what you love most... working and helping others. The one constant is the incredible power of the human spirit. It is time to join together (at least 6 feet apart) to serve, support, and fight to slow the outbreak. 

Thank you for your patience as we learn new ways to provide the friendly and helpful service that is a hallmark of the incredible team at Rogue. We are doing our part to ensure that you are still able to receive the essential financial services you need while at the same time, working to protect you and our team members. This means encouraging you to use remote services whenever possible. There are so many great tools available today and I encourage you, whenever possible, to take advantage of fast and easy remote options available to you (a list of these services can be found here). The majority of your branch transactions can be processed through our drive-ups or our Express Teller Machines that are available at most of our locations. For those that must visit a branch, we ask that you schedule an appointment in order to ensure we actively support the Governor’s directive on social distancing. 

Rogue Credit Union is here to help you. We understand that our member-owners may find themselves financially impacted by COVID-19 in ways you could have never imagined. Many of you are facing school closures, increased childcare costs, reduced hours or even job losses. Each member’s situation is unique, and our teams are ready to help you with options, solutions, or just a friendly voice letting you know that together, we will get through this. As your local credit union, we can assure you that our financial system is still functioning, and we have never been more financially secure. In fact, our Net Worth is currently at 10.45%, well above the 7% required to be a “well capitalized” credit union and higher than right before the financial crisis of 2008. What makes this even more comforting to me is that this is AFTER paying out a $6 Million Loyalty Dividend on March 10th, shared between over 124,000 member-owners of Rogue Credit Union! There is no way that we could have ever known that your loyalty to the credit union could result in a little extra in your emergency fund when many of you needed it the most. I am so grateful to our Board of Directors for their commitment to you!

Remember, YOUR credit union will stand beside you as a trusted, safe and secure local financial institution. We remain in a very strong position and will be able to withstand the potential foreseeable economic uncertainty. Through the Board’s leadership, Rogue continues to maintain a “measured and methodical” approach that has served us well through uncertain economic situations such as this. Your Board and Leadership Team are vigilantly monitoring the situation with this approach and will evaluate additional measures to support our members and communities as needs arise. We know that if we under react, we put today at risk and if we overreact, we put tomorrow at risk. Our Board is committed to doing the right thing to support you, our team, and ensure the long-term financial soundness of your credit union.  

I urge you to take care of you and your family’s health and well-being, by staying safe and knowing Rogue is here to alleviate some of the stress by offering multiple solutions. Finally, I shared with our team a brief comment that really resonated with me, and is founded in the belief that if we join together, we can overcome anything... my message to our team and to each of you is...we got this!

I truly enjoy the messages I receive from our members in response to these posts. Please share how your Loyalty Dividend impacted your life or suggestions for future topics with me at rogue@roguecu.org.