PERU, Ind. – Citing a shrinking membership base and diminished growth, the $34 million Sagamore Community Credit Union said it will merge Jan. 1 into the $535 million Beacon CU of Wabash. "New management was brought into Sagamore last February and we've been helping them out ever since, with their board now deciding they could be better served if we joined forces," explained Bruce Ingraham, president/CEO of Beacon. Sagamore, said Ingraham, has suffered from "tighter margins and higher expenses" for some time. Sagamore, with 7,300 members, three branches and chartered in 1958, previously served personnel on the Grissom Air Base which over the years has been downsized from active to reserve status. "Our area has never quite recovered from those kinds of changes and we continue to lose people," said Karen Geer, president and CEO of Sagamore. Geer noted the two CUs have long had membership overlap with Sagmore in three of the same counties as Beacon which serves 30,000 members in 15 north central Indiana counties. "We're still healthy and so we decided to merge now before it got any worse," said Geer.