It's out with paper board packets and in with iPads at OMNI Community Credit Union.

During its recent monthly meeting, the Battle Creek, Mich.-based credit union's board went completely paperless and used iPads to review documents and work with materials.

According to OMNI CCU CEO Ted Parsons, after experiencing the iPad's convenience and ease of use firsthand, he and the executive team saw the benefits for board use as well.

“Our entire executive team has been using the iPad for meetings,” he said. “I sit on several boards and was always getting several board packets monthly until I got the iPad and could simply open a file and scroll through the packets without printing them ouat.”

Wanting the eight-member board to feel comfortable with the technology, the credit union provided training and loaded the devices with a variety of apps ranging from USA Today to the Weather Channel. Prior to the August board meeting, OMNI Community CU held 90-minute individual and group iPad training sessions tailored around board members' questions.

Parsons said the iPads have also helped the $250 million credit union go green and the iPads will pay for themselves.

“And, since all previous packets can be accessed, they no longer have to worry about storage or even shredding the documents,” Parsons added.