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On June 4, 1954 Robert Graf, from the Winnebago County Highway Department, received approval to start a Credit Union for those employed by Winnebago County. He received charter number C-988. On July 20, 1954 the Winnebago County Board approved payroll deduction for members of the Credit Union. The Credit Union started with seven people on the Board of Directors and three people on the Credit Committee, with the Board of Directors meeting once each month. All board meetings were held in the Highway Committee room in the Winnebago County Courthouse. The first dividends were paid out to members on May 31 and a 3% dividend on November 30, 1955. Original office hours were certainly unique. Daytime hours were kept at the Highway Department Office. Evening hours were also available, one evening at the Highway Department Garage and the other at Robert Graf's house.
Annual meetings were first held in the Courthouse lounge. If there was not enough members for a quorum, someone went over to the Sheriff's Department to get additional members. Twenty-one people attended that first meeting, seventeen were members with four being guests. At that time the share balance was $7,287.25 and the loan balance was $2,156.53. Robert Graf acted as Treasurer and was paid $125.00 for his services. The Credit Union phone numbers were Stanley 6169 or Blackhawk 8400.
In 1959 the Share balance had grown to $26,000.00, a four-fold increase in four years. By 1960 the dividends paid to members had also grown to 3.5% in June and 4.0% in December. Our membership had also risen to 265. In 1961 the Treasurer's salary had increased to $75.00 per month and an Assistant Treasurer's position had been created with a salary of $25.00 per month. Robert Graf resigned as Treasurer in 1964 and was replaced by Florence Frohrib. Our office was located in the Courthouse and regular office hours were 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday with additional Friday hours from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. At that time cash was not given out for withdrawals unless a large amount of cash had been deposited and loans were made without the approval of the Board of Directors. The cost for the State Examination was $186.04 in 1964.
Jean B. Kolodzik became a part of the Credit Committee in 1965 while she worked at Park View Mental Health Facility. Two new positions on the Board of Directors were created in 1965, bringing the total to nine. The Credit Union purchased an old safe from Barney's Wrecker Service in 1965 for $25.00, a cost that included transportation. That safe served as a desk for Jean Kolodzik for many years and can still be found within the vault at the current location.
In 1966 the Treasurer's wage was increased to $2.70 per hour. From February through April of 1966, Florence closed the Credit Union for two hours each Tuesday and went to Park View while Jean was on maternity leave. In January of 1967 the Credit Union moved to the basement of the Courthouse, in the Southwest corner. When Jean left her job at Park View in April 1967, she was hired part time at the Credit Union and Robert Sharratt took her place on the Credit Committee. Robert Graf resigned from the Board of Directors in February of 1968.
The annual meeting for 1973 had 292 members and 73 guests in attendance. It was also in 1973 that Traveler's Checks and Money Orders were offered for the first time. In 1975 the Credit Union welcomed new members from Omro and Winneconne. The Credit Union was able to begin offering a quarterly dividend at that time.
Phyllis Leitl became a part time employee in 1976 and worked 10 hours per week. Normal business hours were changed to 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with hours extended to 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Credit Union began leasing the basement room in the Courthouse in January 1977 for $110.00 per month. Up until that time it had been offered free of charge. On January 22, 1977 the annual meeting attendance was 372 members and 103 guests. Jean and Clarence Kolodzik, Joe and Gracie Vowels and Phyllis Leitl catered the food for the meeting, with the help of Doris Kossel and Florence Frohrib who made beans. The Credit Union furnished new appliances as door prizes.
In 1978 the office hours were extended again and were from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Credit Union began offering Share Drafts in 1979 and Harriet Suehring began her employment. By November of 1979 the Credit Union had reached its limit for loans.
In July of 1980 the office hours were extended to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday. The Credit Union was moved to the 2nd floor of the courthouse and entered the computer age with the installation of its first computer system from Action Data. Jean Goggins joined the Credit Union in 1981, increasing the total number of staff to four employees.
The Credit Union first offered Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's) in 1982. The Credit Union assets had also grown to a staggering $4,388,756.45 by that time. By 1984, IRA dividends were 10% with Share Certificates paying 10.5%. There were a total of 67 Share Certificate accounts at that time.
The Credit Union moved once again on March 15, 1986. After outgrowning the small "home" in the Courthouse, it was moved to the Beach building at 240 Algoma Boulevard. The Credit Union expanded to 2100 square feet at $10.00 per square foot. That increased the monthly rent to $1,750.00 per month.
MasterCard was offered as a service of the Credit Union on March 1, 1987. Florence Frohrib resigned as Credit Union President on April 15, 1988 and was succeeded by Harriet Suehring. In 1990 the Credit Union had 3254 members and this declined slightly in 1991 to 3229 members.
In October of 1993, the Credit Union once again moved to a new location. This time the building was actually built by the Credit Union, north of Oshkosh at 567 East Snell Road. With this move came another expansion of office hours. The new hours became 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Credit Union also began offering its employees a 401K retirement plan. Saturday hours were also initiated from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with employees taking turns. Harriet Suehring resigned from her position in June of 1997 and Jean Goggins left shortly thereafter in July of 1997. Joan Peterman was made Loan Officer, Bonnie became Operations Manager and Jean Kolodzik was offered the position of President, but declined and was made Acting President. With the support of the Credit Union Board, the few remaining employees kept the Credit Union functional during this time of transition.
Tony Tiede was hired as President on December 22, 1997. Shortly thereafter in April of 1998 the commissioner of Credit Unions approved Winnebago Community Credit Union for a Community Charter which opened the membership up to anyone living or working in Winnebago County. On July 28, 1998 a special meeting was held and the membership approved the Community Charter.
In 1999 the Credit Union offered Teller 24, a Voice Audio Response system, as well as the Home Equity Line of Credit. The basement was finished and turned into a meeting room and offices in January of 2000. The break room was moved to the basement and two offices were created in the old break room space.
Kathy Jankowski was hired on June 1, 1998 as Vice President and assumed Jean Kolodzik's position on April 1, 2000 when Jean retired from the Credit Union. Jean did not sever all ties with the Credit Union when she retired. She immediately began working part-time as a Loan Officer. In December of 2000 the Credit Union introduced check cards.
A web page and home banking were added in January 2001. A Visa Platinum credit card was introduced in October of 2002. On Halloween 2002 the Credit Union returned to its roots at the Courthouse by opening a branch with hours from 9:00 to 3:00 on Thursdays. Electronic Statements were introduced in April 2003. GAP insurance was added March 2004 and Bill Payment was available to the membership November 2004.
At a special membership meeting held on July 27, 2004 the members voted to change the name of the credit union from Winnebago County Employees Credit Union to Winnebago Community Credit Union. This name keeps the heritage of Winnebago which is the name of the county and also the name of the lake which borders the county. This name also reflects the community charter the credit union has had since 1998. The name became official on December 1st, 2004. In addition to serving Winnebago County, the Credit Union expanded membership charter to serve those living or working in Outagamie and Fond du Lac counties on July 27, 2005. After 38 years of service, Jean Kolodzik retired from the credit union on December 5, 2005. Jean was a driving force behind the success of the credit union for many years.
In July of 2006, the credit union broke ground for their second branch to be located on the Westside of Oshkosh at 2060 Witzel Avenue. The building was completed in October and the Witzel branch was opened to members and the public in late November. This new full service, branch features a 24-hour drive up ATM, Saturday lobby and drive up hours, and safety deposit boxes.
In November 2007, the credit union reached $50 million dollars in assets.
In December 2007, Vice President, Kathy Jankowski, was promoted to Executive Vice President. Her exceptional work overseeing the lending, mortgage and marketing departments over the last 9 years made this a well-deserved promotion.
In December 2008, Accounting and Finance Manager, Tammy Weickert, was promoted to Vice President. Tammy has been working the in credit union industry for over 18 years.
As of January 31, 2011 the credit union has 6,683 members.
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