Lake View Credit Union

Date of Incorporation: 1943

Membership: 13,139

Organisational Form: Financial Co-operative

Area Served: Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, or what is commonly referred to as "the South Peace"

Credit Union Background

Credit unions are financial co-operatives that began in Germany in the mid-1800s at a time when interest rates were sky high. Citizens with limited financial resources found that obtaining credit from banks and other for-profit financial institutions was difficult or sometimes impossible. The members of these "credit societies", as they were originally known, solved this problem by pooling their capital and were then able to lend credit to members at reasonable rates. The goal of the credit union was service, not profit, and this helped many people through financially tough times. ¹

Lake View Credit Union History

In the early 1940s after the Great Depression the people in the Dawson Creek area of northern British Columbia (B.C.) were suffering financially along with the rest of Canada. The chartered banks were running a tight ship, and credit was only available under impossible conditions. The economy was exhausted; the "banks were not lending money and homesteaders relied on moose meat and frozen potatoes" (from the obituary of Garda Orr (Mortenson)). ² As a result, a group of co-operatively minded individuals formed together, conducted research, formed study groups, and discussed the possibility of incorporating a credit union in the area. ³

On July 28^th, 1943 a group of future credit union members collaborated late in the evening at the Lake View schoolhouse. At the time twelve members were required to form a credit union; the Lake View group only had eleven. According to long term board member Dwain Clease, they met to form the credit union and put up their six dollars. They put up fifty cents a piece by 12 of them. In fact they didn't have enough for the twelfth so they went down the road and got Mrs. Golata, who was the schoolteacher, to come up and join in her nightshirt almost. They got her out of bed ... to join and to add her fifty cents.

At the 'eleventh hour' the original twelve charter members were Gunnar Mortenson, Ben Miller, Wm. Conn, A.R. Crull, Hans Larson, Ralph Lefferson, Bert Faulkner, Homer Stevenson, Ruby Stevenson, Arnold Ebert, Harry Wood and Elizabeth Golata  (The Lake View Credit Union, Ruby Stevenson).

Lake View Credit Union (LVCU) received its charter and opened its doors to the public in August 1943.  The office for this fledgling financial institution was originally located in the northeast corner of the Dawson Creek Retail Co-op - consisting only of orange crates and a cash box. Gunnar Mortenson, who was the credit union's first general manager, walked seven miles from his home to open the office every Saturday afternoon. As a result of his hard work and determination, the title of LVCU's chief pioneer is attributed to Mortenson. He handled all Lake View's borrowing and lending, and volunteered countless hours.  After three years of dedication to the credit union, on April 1, 1946 Mortenson received his first paycheck for $150 as manager of Lake View.

The efforts of the credit union's original members paid off.  By December 31, 1943, only four months since LVCU's opening, its membership had grown to 76 with a share capital of $2,114.  One year later in September 1944 the credit union had 141 members and a share capital of $25,820. The growth "developed out of lending money on a handshake...when you loan money to someone on a handshake, you basically have put your value in the man's handshake"  (Dwain Clease, 2001). This approach allowed Lake View Credit Union to grow quickly.  In its formative years LVCU had the distinction of being one of the fastest growing credit unions in British Columbia.

Organisation

Lake View at the present time has a board of seven directors, a number of whom have been re-elected for several successive terms. Director Clease mentions that when he was elected in 1977, the shortest time a member had served on the board was eleven years, and he replaced a person who had been on the board for twenty-nine years. Board members are elected and may be re-elected on a rotating basis every two years. The board acts as one entity, but has appointed chairpersons for specific sectors such as investments and audits, and the board is the acting committee for each of these areas. The LVCU board meets monthly to conduct the regular business of the credit union. Clease mentions that a pivotal view the board has consistently held is that "the members [of Lake View Credit Union] are the key" and by following its mission statement which in part reads "deliver the most beneficial services in a friendly, professional, efficient and financially responsible manner" the credit union has prospered as have its members.

In 1974 LVCU expanded its services by opening a branch in Chetwynd, B.C., and in 2001 it took over a branch of the Royal Bank in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.  In these two communities the board has an appointed advisory committee of three members each who work closely with the branch managers. These committees are a resource for the branch managers, and assist in dealing with requests from the communities in the areas of community events, promotion, and advertising. They also function as a tangible connection to the communities they serve.

Staff And Member Benefits

Annual General Meetings, held in April, are a time for members to partake in the traditional lunch and to be eligible for a number of draws. For example, in the early 1970s LVCU gave away five $100 bills.  In the 1980s an adult winner might receive a new Ford Mustang or a colour T.V., and a youth could win one of five $20 bills. In 2001, Lake View gave away five $100 term deposits for youth accounts.  This year, 2002, LVCU raffled off to the adult members six Lake View bomber style jackets and five $100 bills.  The junior members in attendance were eligible for one of five $100 term deposits with a one year interest rate of 4%. Attendance at these meetings usually has an average of 135 members present.

Also, in response to strong and sustained member support, Lake View has been able to provide for dividends and patronage payments since 1981. In 1981 LVCU gave a total of $396,470 in refunds to its members.  In 2000, patronage dividends of $1,200,000 were distributed to the members in the form of patronage payments, dividends, and a bonus interest on all term deposits.

In 2000 Lake View initiated its youth account program; it renamed its junior accounts as youth accounts.  To provide incentive LVCU gave away a bicycle every three months to new account holders.  In addition, Clease explains that Lake View Credit Union and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) have co­partnered an infant car seat program. All new parents who open an account for their respective newborn will receive $100 toward the confirmed purchase of a car seat. This co-partnering also oversees regular car seat clinic conducted by ICBC in Chetwynd and Dawson Creek.

Training and education is also available for the credit union's staff.  There is a home study program for employees, which is directly applicable to work at the credit union. Staff are reimbursed for their costs for all pre-approved courses taken. Computer training continues to be a high priority for the credit union.

Commitment To Community

Lake View Credit Union upholds strong support and loyalty to its community.  LVCU provides funding for the girl guides to go to the local trade fair to sell their cookies, and annual support for the local 4H council. The credit union traditionally provides five $1,000 bursaries in Dawson Creek, and three in Chetwynd. In 2002 two $1000 bursaries were also awarded in Tumbler Ridge.  Lake View also subsidizes two students to attend Camp Rainbow every year, and sponsors a children's reading program at the local library during the summer months. 2002 marks the fourth year the credit union has sponsored this program by providing $2000 to the library in Dawson Creek. Support for the library reading programs in Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge of $500 each had also been awarded..

In 1993 to celebrate the credit union's 50^th anniversary the Lake View board organized a fundraising campaign to obtain a Catscan for the local hospital. It matched dollar for dollar for every donation received up to $100,000. This initiative resulted in total donations of $235,000 being raised and turned over to the Dawson Creek Foundation, and the community received its Catscan. Clease maintains that these "are the types of things that the credit unions try to do. To provide services to the members and instill in them that we are community-minded".

A large portion of the region's population is involved in agriculture, which is an industry that can experience unpredictable changes in its economy. LVCU board president, Dale Bumstead, describes how the agriculture sector "has had difficulties for the last 10 years.  With the weather and markets it's a real challenge.  Lake View Credit Union is here to support them. In turn, they're really supportive of us. It's a positive relationship" (Roberta Staley, Enterprise, March/April, 2002, p.13).

Challenges

Since its inception Lake View has faced a few challenges.  On February 13, 1948 the Dawson Creek Co-op store burned to the ground taking the credit union office with it. Fortunately its notes and securities were stored safely in the co-op's vault and survived the disaster.  LVCU held a temporary office in the Co-op Shipping Association building and then moved to a rented building for the next two years. On December 11, 1954 the credit union moved to a new location and progressed from there for the next forty-five years.

Despite being founded on co-operative principles, the credit union does not have much involvement with other co-ops in the area. Clease suggests there may be a lack of unity between co-ops due to a lack of understanding or education, in the community in general, regarding what a co-operative actually is. Despite this, Clease feels "it is important not to lose sight of the core philosophy of co-opertivism". The credit union has mostly stayed the same since its inception and as a result has experienced "a very conservative growth pattern". LVCU  has endeavored to put priority on service to members, and coupled with prudent stewardship and good management it has been successful. Lake View's co-operative philosophies have not changed, and perhaps this is a reason why it has prospered so well. Director Clease points out that the credit union is "not prepared or does not wish to take the banks on head to head...We'll never be Mr. Poobah on the hill".

Progress

In Dawson Creek on February 6, 1999 Lake View opened the doors of its new building.  At its grand opening credit union president Dale Bunstead read out a card sent by original charter member Elizabeth Golata. She describes how

the early years was a mixture of worry, work, and fun.  We enjoyed our association and our cause, plus the service we were able to give to our small struggling community, but never did we realize that in half a century, we would move from our tiny cubby hole in the upstairs of the Co-op to the impressive structure I saw in the photograph sent to me (Mark Nielson, Daily News, February 8, 1999).

LVCU has provided its members with a valuable and dedicated service, and has been a significant leader in its community for nearly six decades. Dwain Clease describes how when he started on the credit union board in 1997 Lake View's assets were approximately $26 million; today in 2002 those assets are around $132 million.

Future

Lake View's vision is to continue to have a secure affiliation with its northeast communities, and to effectively support its youth who are the credit union members of the future. LVCU believes the youth need and require support and guidance early on to manage their financial affairs. This support early on will hopefully mean that as they grow an their needs increase LVCU, or another credit union, will be their first choice as their service provider.  Dale Bumstead mentions, "despite growth in business, technology and other sectors like tourism, our growth continues to be personal and mortgage lending" (Enterprise, March/April, 2002). Additionally, Internet banking is currently "on the table".

Service to its members and its community was the core value of the Lake View Credit Union when it first incorporated in 1943 and it continues to be today.  With its new building, its first ATM service (in all three branches), strong community support, and financial success the Lake View Credit Union has indisputably come a long way since its inception at the little Lake View schoolhouse late one evening in 1943.

Notes

¹ www.nycreditunions.com

² www.sterlingnews.com

Case Study Information

This case study was developed for a report entitled Situating Co-operatives in British Columbia - 2000 ­2001, which was prepared for the Province of B.C. (Ministry of Community Development, Co-operatives and Volunteers) by the British Columbia Institute for Co-operative Studies, University of Victoria.  To obtain the information for the study BCICS and the co-operative entered into a partnership agreement. BCICS is grateful to the co-op members for their contributions and time. The case study is published with the approval of the co-operative. Further information regarding this study includes the following:

Researcher: Laura Sjolie

Date of Research: 2001

Author: Andrea Zacharuk

Editing: Kristen Sinats

Supervision: Kathleen Gabelmann, BCICS Research Co-ordinator

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