Element FCU Annual Meetings

As a not-for-profit that is cooperatively owned by our members, the entire credit union benefits when our members engage and participate in their ownership. That’s why we invite our members to attend our annual meeting each year. It’s an opportunity for you to meet our management and elected board and other volunteers as well as many of the other employees who serve the membership. It’s also an occasion that we use to report on the performance of our mutually owned credit union and look ahead to the future.

Why does Element have annual meetings?

When you opened your deposit relationship with Element, you became an owner because your deposit represents a share of ownership (much like a share of a corporation or stock purchase). At the annual meeting, the members (again, who are the cooperative’s owners) elect a volunteer Board of Directors. Their responsibility is to oversee the credit union and serve the membership with decisions that are based upon what will best benefit the credit union’s near and long-term direction while ensuring it is in the best interest of the membership at large.

Any member with an interest in serving on the Board of Directors is encouraged to contact the credit union to obtain more information about the various duties and responsibilities of the position as well as the requirements that exist for becoming a candidate.

Getting more involved in your cooperative

Knowing that you are an owner, whether you have an interest in running for the Board of Directors or not, you may want to see about becoming more involved. Unlike business that’s conducted at a bank, many newer (and often long-time) members are surprised to learn that, when they are part of a credit union, their voice is heard and their opinions really do count.

Element’s annual meeting provides a wonderful forum for members to obtain specific financial information about their credit union’s performance from the prior year and learn more about the strategy and efforts that will be followed for the current year.

All members are invited and encouraged to attend the annual meeting, since the information that’s shared impacts the dividends that are paid, the rates that are received, the products that solve life needs, the fees that are sometimes applicable and the reasons that those fees exist, not to mention the investments in technology, branches, ATMs and more.

Our annual report

The annual meeting is also the first time that the annual report of the credit union is made available to the public. It’s distributed to all attendees of the annual meeting and made available through other means throughout the year. The report typically outlines specifics about the total deposits, loans, assets and operating costs from the prior year as well as an overall financial review.

With all that said, remember that the credit union exists to serve the ever-growing needs of the people who do business with the credit union. They are members and owners who experience more benefit from stronger and deeper relationships. The people who work for the credit union, while they are members first, are genuinely interested in serving other members to help improve the lives of other fellow owners. As the old credit union mantra goes, they are “people helping people.”