In July, Goldenwest and USU Credit Unions jointly announced our intent to merge. Since that time, our credit unions have been granted approval for the merger from the NCUA. Yesterday, in a special meeting, USU Credit Union members voted in favor of the merger. It is with great pleasure I share the news that Goldenwest Credit Union and USU Credit Union will officially merge on October 1, 2013. We warmly welcome USU Credit Union members and employees to the Goldenwest family.

Utah State University and Cache Valley have a rich heritage and strong traditions. We are proud to support the university and surrounding community, and will be loyal to the legacy of USU Credit Union founders and members. As such, the USU Credit Union branches will operate under their familiar brand as a division of Goldenwest.

Although both credit unions will be considered one entity with combined financial data on October 1st, we will maintain two separate computer systems for a few months as we prepare for the eventual integration of systems. We anticipate the full integration of accounts, products and services to take place during the first quarter of 2014.

Preparations are well underway with our merger teams comprising of staff from both organizations. These talented people are working tirelessly to ensure the integration process is as seamless as possible. It is our goal to bring a higher level of products and services to all 107,000+ members from both organizations. Together, we are better.

In other news, I congratulate our IT and Operations Teams on the successful launch of our new Online Banking system…a project that has been in the works for more than a year. Goldenwest has allocated significant resources to bring our members the most-advanced technology in online and mobile banking. The online branch and mobile apps have been designed to help you effectively and efficiently manage your finances 24/7. Best of all, these services continue to be free for our members.

Finally, earlier this month Goldenwest was honored with the 2013 Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility. We truly appreciate our loyal and dedicated team of employees. Thanks for all you do to serve our members and strengthen our credit union.

It’s been an exciting summer at Goldenwest…I hope your summer has been fun and productive as well. I will continue to share the latest news about Goldenwest via “tweets” on my Twitter handle @GoldenwestCUCEO. As always, I appreciate your comments and concerns at president@gwcu.org.