BREMERTON, Wash. — Two years ago management of the $600 million Kitsap Community Credit Union was both stunned and puzzled by members rejecting a long-sought bid to convert to a state charter so the CU could expand in several neighboring counties.
This month staffers led by Kitsap President/CEO Elliot Gregg are cheering their own work in passing by an overwhelming margin the same failed proposal of 2005 to switch to the more favorable state charter.
Final regulatory clearance is to be finalized Nov. 30 but the member turnabout is being hailed as an example of the "democratic process at work in the credit union industry" and the importance of ongoing and direct communication with members.
"I cannot stress enough the importance of members taking ownership of the future of their credit union through participation in the election process," declared Gregg following the Sept. 28 special member meeting described as "history-making" for the CU in terms of high turnout.
A total of 11,856 voted with 72% favoring the charter switch. That compares to the defeat in September 2005 when the proposed switch failed 3,491 to 3,041.
Kitsap has maintained a well-orchestrated communication campaign using several vehicles to re-contact members and started after the 2005 balloting helped turn the tide.
In its arsenal, Kitsap hired a Tacoma PR firm, marshaled a force of employees and members to serve as "public ambassadors" and conducted regular "coffee chats" allowing members to voice concerns to management.
In offering advice to other CUs embarking on charter shifts, Gregg emphasized the need to "engage your members and employees in the process" and "communicate, communicate."
Hired a year ago for the PR function was JayRay, a consulting firm with CU clients and which midyear brought on as an advisor, Jamie Chase, the former director of communications for the Washington Credit Union League and one of the PR architects for the syndicated BizKid$ financial literacy show slated to go on public TV in 2008.
As part of its campaign, Chase along with other JayRay staffers began randomly interviewing members about their identity with the CU and asking to detail close-held views.
"The research concluded that members do indeed feel a strong sense of 'family' and 'togetherness' and they used words such as 'honest,' 'integrity' and 'family'," said Leah A. Olson, vice president of marketing.
One member, said Olson, called the CU "a smaller subset of the community" praising Kitsap for "doing more for the community than just banking."
When researchers asked members if they voted for the charter in 2005, said Olson, the majority said "no" with many expressing guilt and claiming they didn't realize the issue was important.
In addition to the interviews, Kitsap management began its member education through a Web site, the CU newsletter and also stepped up an image campaign "highlighting how Kitsap gives to its members and the community."
Billboards, newspaper ads along with T-shirts and buttons were all used to plug last September's charter vote.
Looking back on 2005 and the mutual bank controversy surrounding Columbia CU and worries over new state taxes, Kitsap management surmised the member rejection also was triggered by a general fear of upsetting the status quo or that the CU's "friendly service" atmosphere might change.
Gregg, who also is chairman of the Washington Credit Union League, said last week an expanded field of membership would now permit Kitsap to follow members "who have moved to adjacent counties."
Up to now, "it has not been feasible to offer service through additional facilities without additional new membership to support them," said Gregg.
The charter change also permits new opportunities in shared branching, he said.
"We have looked at shared branching in the past and have found it to be more beneficial to members of other credit unions who would have access to our branch locations," Gregg concluded. "With a broader field of membership, it may be more feasible for us to enter the shared branching network.
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