When Dick Streissguth died at age 86 last December, he was perhaps Clark County’s most-revered member of the fire service. He spent 61 years as a Fire District 6 volunteer firefighter, chief and board secretary. He also collected antique fire trucks, which are driven by family members in the annual Hazel Dell Parade of Bands.
But Streissguth’s legacy goes beyond family and the fire service. Just ask Ed Seidenberg, president and CEO of People’s Community Federal Credit Union (PCFCU), with 36 full-time employees and four branches: Hazel Dell (just down the street from the Fire District 6 Station 1), downtown Vancouver, Fisher’s Landing and Battle Ground.
Streissguth was a member of the PCFCU Board of Directors for 47 years, serving in that unpaid position until his death.
“He made sure we didn’t wander from the idea of serving the members,” Seidenberg, president since 2008, said in a recent interview. “He kept the members foremost in mind.”
People’s Community isn’t interested in quantum growth spurts by merging with other credit unions, Seidenberg says. The last time that was discussed in any serious way was 2008 when a credit union he declined to name approached PCFCU about a possible merger.
The board of directors “was steadfast,” Seidenberg said. “They didn’t want to merge. They wanted to continue our existing identity. We made the message clear that we wanted to stand alone.”
Doing it online
That “identity,” Seidenberg said, is not about adding brick and mortar branches. Instead, it’s about bringing the credit union to the members by making it easier for them to do their financial business online with their computers, cell phones and other devices.
“In 2014 we revamped our website (www.peoplescu.org) to make it more interactive,” he said. “In June this year we totally overhauled our online services, including a mobile banking app and bill-paying system. We’ve concentrated on digital banking services and have kept upgrading.”
But face-to-face connections with members are still part of the culture, Seidenberg said. For example, loan requests are not determined “by some automated process involving credit ratings, where the data goes in and you get a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’ We get to know the applicants. We interview them and consider their character [plus other factors]. In most cases they get an answer within 24 hours.”
He’s also proud of the PCFCU’s ranking for two consecutive years in the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in the nation by www.depositaccounts.com, a credit union rating service, which currently shows an A+ grade for PCFCU. The service’s 2015 rankings had PCFCU at second-healthiest in the nation.
Seidenberg said the credit union is looking to new horizons as well and is planning to step up its commercial and business services “in the next year or two.”
History, challenges, involvement
PCFCU was formed in 1988 by the merger of the Machinists Local 17 Credit Union (founded in 1952 and later known as Midco) and the Clark County Employees Credit Union (founded in 1955 and known as Clarkco). The new entity was Clark County Community Credit Union – today’s People’s Community Credit Union.
When asked about challenges, Cristi Dahlstrom, executive vice president and chief operating officer, had an instant answer:
“It’s difficult hiring people right now,” she said. “A year ago when we advertised for a teller-trainee opening we’d get 100 responses. Today we get maybe 10.”
She said that’s a sign of an improving local economy and employment picture.
Every summer PCFCU hires six to eight high school students as interns and is a major contributor to several civic causes and community activities, including the Clark County Fair, the local food bank, the Vancouver School District Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Humane Society of Southwest Washington.
And the revered firefighter’s legacy lives on at PCFCU. Coming in the 2016-17 school year, Seidenberg said, is a Dick Streissguth Fire Cadet Scholarship program.
People’s Community Federal Credit Union
Four Clark County branches www.peoplescu.org 36 full-time employees Formed 1n 1988
