Redwood Credit Union has been voted Best Company to Do Business with in Sonoma County in the 2011 NorthBay biz readers poll.
In 1950, seven County of Sonoma employees found themselves living paycheck to paycheck, often struggling to make ends meet before the next infusion of cash. They banded together to lend money to each other during tight times and formed a small financial organization that they named Sonoma County Employees’ Credit Union. As the cooperative grew to serve the community at large, the name was later changed to Redwood Credit Union.
Sixty-one years later, that tiny credit union is now one of the largest in California, with 185,000 members and $1.8 billion in assets. It’s also the hands-down winner of the Sonoma County “Best Company to Do Business With” award for the second year in a row.
“Certainly we’re honored to win back-to-back,” says Brett Martinez, president and CEO. “We receive lots of awards, but this is one I feel most proud of, because there are so many great businesses in Sonoma County. And it’s particularly meaningful to win in this time, when people aren’t necessarily too fond of financial institutions.”
Redwood Credit Union’s headquarters on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa catches the eye of anyone cruising Highway 101, day or night. But when it comes to doing business, it’s not the beauty of the building that stands out—it’s the outstanding customer service and commitment to the community.
“Our mission is to passionately serve the best interests of our members, our employees and our communities,” Martinez says. “Our members are why we’re here, but our employees are why we’re successful. People actually come up to us and say, ‘I love you guys.’ And I think, ‘Really? We’re a financial institution—and you love us?’ It’s really amazing.”
According to Martinez, Redwood Credit Union’s goal is to “create wow experiences!” He’s referring to experiences RCU members have that go beyond the expected—and, according to Martinez, they happen every day.
“Service, convenience and price are a given; they’re the minimum expectation people have. Certainly we meet those, but that’s not why our members chose us for this award. We don’t think that’s enough. Our employees are trained to listen and to educate, not to push products. We’re here to help people have a sound financial life, whether they’re a business or a consumer,” Martinez says.
An estimated 5,000 businesses have accounts with Redwood Credit Union, which offers a full array of financial products. In both 2009 and 2010, during the height of the recession, RCU was the number one Small Business Association (SBA) lender in the North Bay.
While banks tightened the reins, “we kept on going right as everyone else went left,” Martinez says. “No matter what, we just kept lending responsibly and helping businesses and consumers gain the financing they needed to achieve their goals.”
Community service is also part of the credit union’s mantra. Through a combination of direct donations, sponsorships and volunteerism, Redwood Credit Union is held in high regard for its support of nonprofit organizations and events like United Way and Relay for Life. It’s also heavily invested in providing financial literacy programs for young adults in high schools across the region. Financial basics, according to Martinez, “are one thing every single person needs to understand.”
Martinez is proud of Redwood Credit Union’s reputation and its success. By year’s end, RCU will have 19 branches in eight Bay Area counties and nearly 400 employees; it’s currently the 70th largest credit union (of about 7,500 total) in the nation and the 13th largest in California. And while it obviously offers services and products with “great pricing and low fees,” Martinez believes the manner in which the products are delivered sets it apart from its competitors.
“Our employees make the difference. We hire and train well. We want them to be passionate about their work—not about the account or the loan, but about helping people and businesses succeed,” he says. “Big banks are motivated to provide big returns to their stockholders. We don’t have that pressure. Our objective is to return value back to our members,” doing so in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings yields, free and low-fee services and access to services such as financial education and credit counseling.
Martinez says the economic climate of recent years has made credit unions more attractive. “People and businesses are trying to escape from big banks. They’re looking to do business with someone they can trust. They could always trust us, but somewhere along the way, people forgot that trust was a very important part of doing business. What our economy has gone through in recent years has forced people to return to doing business with people they can trust and who have their best interests at heart. And at Redwood Credit Union, that’s what it’s all about.”
