Gene's Note: Leaving a Legacy
With the announcement of my retirement in March of next year, I have a special opportunity to reflect on my time as Rogue’s CEO. I think of the legacies that each of Rogue’s CEOs left. Jim Johnston grew the credit union from his garage to a full-fledged financial institution. I fondly remember Vern Arnold’s care and concern for the members and staff as Rogue started to expand in the valley. Tim Alford’s dedication to building a strong financial foundation for the future of the credit is a legacy on which our current success was built. As I have reflected on the incredible support of our members through the years, your generosity will always serve as a hallmark of your support and loyalty. Each of our previous leaders demonstrated and understanding that in order for the credit union to be successful we needed our community to be successful.
A legacy I am proud to celebrate is our member’s support of the children in our community in their times of need. Every year, Rogue joins other credit unions across the nation, raising funds for Credit Unions for Kids , which supports, Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals. Throughout the challenges of the last year, we have been amazed by the incredible generosity of our members as you demonstrated your commitment to caring for others and protecting the health of our communities.
Change a Child's Life Coin Drive
While events and fundraising looked different than before, raising awareness and financial support for our local CMN hospitals has still been a focal point for your credit union. You may have seen our branch teams fundraising in April. Our teams had fun dressing up in different themes and creating opportunities for our members to engage in our efforts, too! A big shout out to our team members from the Treasure Valley Payette Branch, who not only won a themed contest day but also raised the most funds.
If you visited the branch during that week, you were likely asked if you would have like to donate your spare change to ‘Change a Child’s Life’. With everyone's amazing work, we were able to raise $9,017.89 in one week! Paired with a generous Miracle Match, the funds raised were doubled to over $18,000! Your donations continued the incredible legacy of generosity of our loyal members!
A “Taste” of Giving Continues
Finally, Rogue is proud to sponsor the Oregon Wine Experience. 100% of proceeds from this phenomenal Southern Oregon event benefits Asante Children’s Miracle Network and other Asante health care programs! Even though the 2020 events could not occur in their typical fashion, the Asante Foundation pressed on with their mission and brought some fantastic virtual event options, allowing participation in their festivities, auctions and fundraising for an even broader audience than before. Through your generosity with programs like Change a Child’s Life and Give and Save, your donations resulted in our largest donation ever to the Asante Foundation to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. Your legacy of support makes me think thing we should change the name of Credit Unions for Kids to Credit Union MEMBERS for Kids!
A Part of Something Bigger
All of this to say, amongst the unprecedented and trying times we all face, watching our members, team members and community stand tall to support local families and children in need has been refreshing and inspirational, and I want to thank you all for being a part of that! It took us 60 years of building the trust of those around us to create such a meaningful impact on our community. While by ourselves we may play a small part in building a better and healthier community, when we join together, we become part of something bigger. A powerful force of 170,000 community focused members coming together to live the legacy of generosity our credit union is known for. I am honored and humbled to have been a part of the legacy of member generosity at Rogue and excited to see what the next chapter of community impact means for the communities we serve!
I truly enjoy the messages I receive from our members in response to these posts and suggestions for future topics. Please share with me at Rogue@roguecu.org.
