For its 50 years in business and $800 million in assets, a simple thank you to members didn't seem to be quite enough.
Sure, a big anniversary celebration would help, they agreed. So would a year's worth of money-saving specials on products and services. Still, Truliant Federal Credit Union officials wanted to do more for the people who helped the credit union grow into a major financial player from a small CU with less than a million dollars in assets.
The result: TFCU will be awarding to one member every week for the remainder of the year a four-day, three-night vacation package to their choice of 80 destinations, including New Orleans, San Diego, Reno and Washington D.C. with accommodations for two adults and up to three children.
"We wanted to make our 50th anniversary celebration special," said Lisa Warlick, senior marketing analyst at Truliant. "And our most important effort was toward our members. Without their support, we wouldn't have a 50th anniversary."
With the help of an outside agency, Capital Marketing Concepts in Florida, the credit union is able to offer the trip packages in lieu of other promotions this year, she said.
While she didn't have exact numbers of the cost of the promotion, Warlick said one goal is to get a return on the investment from members who sign up for additional products and services to get extra chances at winning the vacation packages.
Members qualify simply by being members, she said. But they also receive additional entries according to the number of Truliant FCU products and services that they use.
"For each product or service, their names are automatically entered into the drawings," Warlick said, explaining that the winners will be notified by mail and announced during end of the month gatherings. Warlick said staff wouldn't be left out of the excitement. As a way of saying thank you for their contributions, one lucky employee will be randomly selected to win a vacation package.
In addition, employees and members will qualify for other "big give aways" and receive lots of commemorative gifts throughout the year, she said.
Truliant Federal Credit Union, which serves 170,000 members from 550 SEGs is the former AT&T Family Credit Union, which started the grassroots effort against the banks that led to the passage of HR1151.
It was chartered in 1952 as Radio Shops Credit Union with $108,500 in assets.
