San Diego County CU has honored Ivy Medrano of Sweetwater Union High School District as the 2021 Extra Yard for Teachers Big Day recipient. This initiative in partnership with the San Diego County CU Holiday Bowl, was set forth by the College Football Playoff Foundation to elevate the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers.

Los Angeles FCU raised $11,500 in donations for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank during the month of August. The funds were raised from online contributions, in-person branch donations, and from a raffle of a barbecue gift basket for Los Angeles FCU staff and their families. For every dollar raised, Los Angeles FCU also matched up to $5,000 for the Food Bank through Los Angeles FCU's charity, the Los Angeles Charitable Association

Compass Community CU has once again earned a spot in the “Best of the North Coast.” Compass Community CU has been recognized among the Best Credit Unions in the financial services category in the annual Times-Standard special issue for the second year in a row.

First Tech FCU raised more than $700,000 as part of its annual Credit Unions for Kids fundraising campaign, benefiting children and families served at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. All proceeds will go toward six regional children’s hospitals across California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

SESLOC FCU has launched its new Member Benefits Program, Level Up. Level Up is a rewards program that gives SESLOC FCU members new benefits for growing their relationship with the credit union. New benefits include: select fee waivers, waived check orders, and rate discounts on eligible loans.

Redwood CU has promoted Deirdre Thompson to senior vice president of virtual service delivery. In her new role, Thompson is responsible for making sure members receive the same level of passionate service digitally as they do in person. 

Meriwest CU was a sponsor for the Silicon Valley Pride Parade & Festival, and was out in full force along with Laurie Free, Mix 106.5 and Jonah Denz-Hamilton, 94.5 Bay FM, to support the LGBTQ+ Bay Area community.

North Bay CU has hired Vanessa Balderrama as its Sonoma Branch Manager. Balderrama will oversee all day-to-day branch activities and participate in community events for the credit union.

Partners FCU has appointed Ricky Otey as its new president and chief executive officer. Otey spent more than 20 years in banking before making the move to credit union leadership. For the past seven years, Otey served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at $1.7B Sharonview FCU.

To celebrate International Credit Union Day on Oct. 21, Credit Union of  Southern California (CU SoCal) is giving away a total of $5,000 to select members and non-CU SoCal members who share stories of how a credit union helped them build a better tomorrow.

San Diego County CU Senior Vice President of Finance, Anna Lisby, was named a 2021 Credit Union Rock Star by the Credit Union National Association. The awards program recognizes those in the credit union field who demonstrate innovation, passion and creativity in making the credit union movement a better and more interesting place. 

Los Angeles FCU's Relationship Rewards program that launched in March 2021 rebated $200,000 to its members who attained Gold Level status. Each member in this level gets 1% cash back on debit card purchases of up to $500 monthly.

SAFE CU President and CEO Dave Roughton (right) and SAFE CU Community Impact Manager Amanda Merz.

SAFE CU was awarded the Corporate Champion Award for Education award by the Sacramento Business Journal. The award focused on SAFE CU's quality financial education initiatives designed to improve the financial well-being of its members and community at large.

San Diego County CU's President and CEO Teresa Campbell has won a Silver Stevie^® Award in the Female Executive of the Year category of the 18^th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

1st United CU has been awarded a Top Workplaces honor by The Bay Area News Group for the third consecutive year. The list is based on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC.

Tucoemas FCU has received the maximum federal grant from the Rapid Response Program (RRP) of $1.8 Million. The grant is intended to help provide capital to Community Development Financial Institutions in areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant allows Tucoemas to provide greater access to personal loans up to $5,000 (called  “RISE Loans”), with an easy application process, and same-day approvals. 

San Diego County CU was recognized with a Silver Stevie® Award in the 2021 Stevie Awards for Great Employers, which honors the world’s best employers and human resources teams that create and drive great places to work. More than 950 nominations from organizations of all sizes in 29 nations were submitted this year for consideration. More than 70 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners.

LBS Financial CU has awarded scholarships to 37 students in Long Beach, Lakewood, Cerritos, and surrounding communities for the 2020-2021 school year, including 33 high school, two college, and two adult school students were awarded scholarships. The credit union also awarded two Members with $1,000 each for their perseverance, dedication, high academic performance, and community involvement: Calyce Jones (left) and Katrina Doyle-Jacobson (right).

SAFE CU experts provided financial insights to the incoming mentors in the Improve Your Tomorrow fellowship program to use in their own lives as well as to share with the students they will work with. The Improve Your Tomorrow mentor fellowship is a year-long program for young professionals who work with high school students and college students of color to help them succeed at college. Mentors gain skills in leadership and in a variety of topics, including personal finance.

Redwood CU has been recognized as a top credit union in California in Forbes’ list of America’s Best Credit Unions in Each State for the second year in a row. Forbes and Statista, who conducted the research, based these rankings on an independent survey of approximately 25,000 U.S. consumers who were asked about their banking relationships as well as their satisfaction in the categories of trust, digital services, financial advice, branch services, and transparency of terms and conditions.

Members 1st CU President and CEO, Teri Davis, has announced plans to retire Jan. 31, 2022.  After 29 years of service, she leaves as only the fourth CEO in the credit union’s stable history.

Frontwave CU was awarded Credit Union of the Year for 2020 by the Department of the Navy on Aug. 10, 2021, at the Defense Credit Union Council Annual Conference in Naples, FL.

Tucoemas FCU becomes one of only three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified credit unions in California. The impact focused credit union is serious about sustainable communities and reducing its environmental footprint. It received the certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its newly built flagship branch at 614 S. Akers St.

Redwood CU has hired Bryan Haas as Vice President of Product and Service Innovation. In his new role, Haas will lead product and service research, strategy, and development and work across the organization to ensure the design, delivery, competitiveness, and value of Redwood CU products and services are of the highest quality for its members.

North Bay CU was ranked nationally as one of the “Best Credit Unions to Work For” by American Banker—and one of only three California credit unions selected

San Diego County CU celebrate San Diego’s finest educators as the presenting sponsor of the 31^st Annual “Cox Presents: Salute to Teachers” event. Held in collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education and Cox^® Communications, the awards show is a presentation of the 48^th Annual San Diego County Teacher of the Year Awards. San Diego County CU has supported this event for the past 13 years.

USE CU President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Harris, has announced his retirement following a 15-year career at the helm of the credit union. Harris will remain involved with the credit union to ensure a smooth transition during the final stages of the succession plan. The Board of Directors of USE CU has appointed Todd Tharp, senior vice president and chief financial officer, as the interim president and chief executive officer

Excite CU was recently certified as a Community Development Financial Institution and will be able to pursue service to more low-income consumers and minority-owned micro-businesses. 

Patelco CU has appointed its president and CEO, Erin Mendez, to its Board of Directors. Mendez will fill the term of former board member, Emily Shubert, through April 22, 2022. At that time, Mendez will have the opportunity to be re-elected to serve a three-year term.

San Diego County CU partnered with the San Diego Blood Bank and the Southern California Blood Bank to host a Labor Day blood drive on Sept. 7 at seven San Diego County CU locations; five in San Diego County, one in Riverside County and one in Orange County, collecting 105 pints of much-needed blood, which will help save the lives of over 315 people

Kinecta FCU collected nearly 950 backpacks filled with school supplies with the help of employees and supporters including the Skechers Foundation, Adidas, and LA Galaxy Forward, Cameron Dunbar. In Carson at Dignity Health Sports Park where the Manhattan Beach branch event was held, approximately 350 families were provided with backpacks; sweatshirts donated from Smiles by Angels, a sack lunch and frozen treats from Kinecta’s Ice Cream Truck. In attendance were Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Representative of California’s 43rd District, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán, Representative of California’s 44th District,  prominent Watts activist and Parents of Watts founder, “Sweet Alice” Harris and Carson City Councilman Jawane Hilton, along with a host of Kinecta volunteers.

SAFE CU's President and CEO Dave Roughton has been appointed to the Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC) Board of Directors. He will officially join the board on Sept. 9, 2021.

Redwood CU has hired Michelle Anderson as chief lending officer. In her new role, Anderson will oversee four departments: business services, mortgage, consumer lending, and the financial assistance department.

San Diego County CU is a proud sponsor of the 2021 season of Los Angeles Angels™ Baseball. As part of its partnership with the Angels, members can receive special discounts on select Angels home games for the 2021 season. Additionally, customers who open a new checking account at any San Diego County CU branch location in Orange or Riverside counties will receive a voucher to be redeemed for a pair of tickets to select Angels Baseball home games for the remainder of the 2021 season

North Bay CU has awarded scholarships to three Bay Area students to help them along their college paths.

Patelco CU and Sprinkles has teamed up to create a fresh, new branch and cupcake bakery experience at City Center Bishop Ranch. The new Sprinkles City Center Bishop Ranch shop will feature its signature design elements that reflect the playfulness and joy of the cupcake bakery’s experience as well as a Cupcake ATM for Sprinkles fans on the go.

Coast Central CU has announced that the fall 2021 round of its Community Investment Program is now open. A total of $100,000 is available to support local organizations throughout its tri-county area. Grant amounts generally range from $3,000 to $25,000, and there are usually eight to 12 recipients. The giving program was created in 2008, and since then has awarded more than $1.5 million to 165 organizations throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties.  Recent grant recipients have included Seventh Generation Centro del Pueblo, For All Time Cat Haven, and Junction City Fire Protection District.  

Compass Community CU has once again been awarded the highest (5-Star) rating for financial strength and stability from the Nation’s Premier Credit Union and Bank Rating Firm, BauerFinancial, Inc. This is the 45th consecutive quarter that Compass Community CU has earned this top rating. In addition, this designation is only available to the top 10%, those institutions that have earned and maintained the 5-Star rating for longer than 90% of the industry.

SAFE CU has launched a speakers bureau comprised of internal experts ranging from the board chair to financial educators to speak on a variety of timely and relevant topics. The speakers bureau is a diverse group of SAFE CU employees prepared to present on topics such as leadership, personal finance, communication, and professional growth. SAFE CU’s experts present to a variety of audiences, including employer groups and educators in the Sacramento region, conferences and community groups, and on televised media appearances.

Diablo Valley FCU has once again partnered with the American Red Cross to offer a community Blood Drive on Aug. 31 in Walnut Creek. A free t-shirt will be given to donors, courtesy of Diablo Valley FCU.

Los Angeles FCU has awarded $10,000 in its 2021 Jack C. Mathews College Scholarship to four college students who are currently attending UCLA, John Hopkins, Mount Saint Mary’s, and the University of Pennsylvania, and one high school student, who plans on attending Occidental College. Each winner received a $2,000 check to pursue higher education in the fall of 2021.

Retired Frontwave CU Director and Lt. Col. USMC (Ret.) George Hoagland has been selected by the Defense Credit Union Council for induction into its Hall of Honor. Hoagland, the inaugural recipient of the Frontwave Credit Union Lifetime Achievement Award, retired from the Frontwave CU Board of Directors in March of 2021 after an exemplary 53 years of service to the credit union.