redwood credit union
“We’re focused on people rather than profit. We want to serve our members by making their financial lives the best they can be.”—Cynthia Negri, chief operating officer
In 1950, seven Sonoma County workers decided to take care of their own finances, offering each other bridge loans between paychecks instead of using conventional banks. They started the Sonoma County Employees Credit Union and opened up shop at the county auditor’s office on Old Courthouse Square. Today, what those workers created has become Redwood Credit Union, voted Best Credit Union in the annual NorthBay biz readers’ poll.
One of the original members, Elaine Bossa, has so much pride in her creation, it’s impossible to ignore. “She still advocates for us. She is absolutely delightful,” says Cynthia Negri, chief operating officer at RCU. “She has a sense of humor and wit about her, and she’s a caring person. It exudes form her. She’s RCU to the core.”
Bossa has watched RCU grow to from seven members to more than 300,000, serving eight different counties with 17 branches, with two more, in Lower Lake and American Canyon, set to open soon. Redwood Credit Union still abides by the same principals Bossa and the other credit union founders espoused.
“We’re a member-owned organization,” says Brett Martinez, president and chief executive officer at RCU. “Redwood Credit Union offers a different type of banking experience—one base on and improved by member and employee feedback.”
One major change in the financial industry, mobile banking, has been instituted by Redwood Credit Union. They’ve developed a mobile banking app that allows members to transfer funds, pay bills, deposit checks and make other sorts of transactions. “We’re always trying to improve,” says Negri. “We want people to spend their time doing the things they love, so we make their banking transactions as easy as possible.”
Employees at RCU not only serve the credit union’s members financially, they also support the community, according to Negri. They serve on a variety of nonprofit and chamber boards and volunteer time for The Human Race, local food banks and the Chops Teen Club, a place for local youth to gather. “Who we hire is really important,” says Negri. “It’s the passion they have for serving our members. Our staff goes above and beyond.”
Much has changed in the nearly 70 years since Redwood Credit Union’s creation. The original Sonoma County Employees Credit Union established its first branch on Administration Drive in Santa Rosa in 1967, changed its name to Redwood Credit Union in 1982 and expanded its field of membership to include all Santa Rosa workers and residents in 1989. In 1997, Marin, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties were added to its service area, helping to set up the credit union’s continuing run of success. Still, the reasons Bossa and her co-workers formed a credit union are what carry Martinez, Negri and RCU’s employees through the day. “We’re focused on people rather than profit,” says Negri. “We want to serve our members by making their financial lives the best they can be.”
