President's Message: A Year of Helping Members
Our 60th anniversary turned out to be quite a year. A milestone we are very proud of came with its share of challenges including rising costs, uneasiness with the economy and the possibility of a looming recession. Through it all, HRCU remains strong and determined to be there for our members.
Our staff is incredibly dedicated to our members. To support their efforts, we invest significant resources in training and providing them the best tools to serve our members through the most updated digital banking channels, convenient in-person branches, a robust shared branching network, and our fully staffed member support call center. As a result of these efforts, we received the “Best of the Best Award” for overall member service and new member experience for 2022, conducted by Member XP, a nationally recognized leader in staff training and member experience. And we couldn't be prouder.
We were also able to meet our members' needs through record growth in our lending in 2022. We continue to do so responsibly, providing our members with the credit union difference. Although rates have gone up across the board, we work hard to keep rates affordable and terms flexible. When some members have difficulty making ends meet, our team is there to help.
And still, as our community remains a major focus of our mission, we continue to work with many nonprofits and local community organizations. In fact, this was our best year of assisting those organizations both financially and resourcefully through member donations and volunteer hours by our staff. It was a great celebration to be back out in the community again.
Looking ahead to 2023, it starts with helping our members achieve their financial goals. How do we do that? Besides always working to provide the most affordable products and services, it comes down to providing great member service and reliable and secure digital banking. We plan to make the most of these powerful tools, which include "My Better Credit" found in our mobile banking app, the Live Chat functionality on our website, and an expected upgrade to video banking. No doubt banking services have changed dramatically over the last few years. We will always find ways to make banking with HRCU accessible, affordable and personal to meet your needs. We have many other exciting initiatives planned for 2023, which continue to answer our guiding question: What will be best for the member?
I know in the world today you have many options for choosing a financial institution. I may be biased but making HRCU the best credit union is what I have built my career on, because I am very passionate about what we can do for our members. And I am very fortunate to have a staff and management team that also believes in supporting our members and bringing their best each day. When we say “Better, not Bigger Banking” we not only mean it - we live it!
Thank you for being a member.
Brian Hughes
President & CEO