Your Credit Union membership entitles you to many premium services available only to our select group of members. Since Ripco Credit is a not-for-profit cooperative it operates solely to serve its members. You can be assured that every decision made at Ripco Credit Union is made with our members' financial well-being in mind.

What is it that makes your credit union so special? Well, first of all, credit unions are committed to providing our members with favorable rates on loans and savings, low fees, personal attention and convenience. Banks, on the other hand, are for-profit financial institutions dedicated to making money for their stockholders, and that's okay. We're not saying that banks are "bad"; our focus is just that credit unions are different in our unique member-focused philosophy.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives. We return all excess income to our members in the form of better rates and lower fees. We offer the same financial products as banks, but we do it as a service, not as a source for income. That's why you'll notice that our fees are often significantly lower.

Every credit union is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors; boards are elected by the members of the credit union at our Annual Meeting. The individuals currently serving on Ripco's Board of Directors are:

Douglas Joslin, Chairman
Vernon Lowther, Vice Chairman
Tom DeValk, Secretary
Dr. Steven Ferch, Treasurer
David Lehman
Rodney Olson
Eileen Persike

As a Credit union member-owner, you decide the destiny of your financial institution by who you elect to represent you on the Board of Directors. Our next Annual Meeting will be held on April 19, 2011. Further details will be forthcoming in the Spring issue of the VOICE newsletter and will be published in local media. Please call our office at 715-365-4800 or toll free at 1-877-365-4800 for more information.