For the Antigo Times

Members of Menominee Area Credit Union (MACU) in Menominee, Michigan voted this past week to merge with CoVantage Credit Union. A special meeting notice was provided to all MACU members and took place on June 26 at Menominee High School. With members voting unanimously in favor of the merger, the joining of the two financial cooperatives will become effective October 1, 2017.

Founded in 1954, MACU serves approximately 1300 members and has assets of over $9 million. According to Michael Kaufman, MACU President, “I think this is a wonderful opportunity for our members and will be great for our community.” Mindy Brezsko, CEO/Manager of Menominee Area Credit Union, stated, “I am excited about what the future holds for our employees, members, and community. CoVantage shares the same beliefs that we do: service, value, quality and commitment to improving the lives of member-owners. There will be many benefits of membership in this larger credit union, including a wider variety of products and services and even soon-to-be expanded office hours.”

According to Charlie Zanayed, President/CEO of CoVantage Credit Union, “We look forward to getting to know our new Menominee Area Credit Union members, welcoming the staff, and serving the Menominee community. We feel CoVantage has a lot to offer: great rates, a full line of loan and deposit services for personal and business use, free mobile and online banking, remote deposit capture, an extensive network of ATMs, and much more. We even have a full-service contact center that is available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. We are excited to have the opportunity to serve the members of MACU and we’ll do our best to make this transition a positive experience for everyone.”

While the actual merger with CoVantage will occur on October 1, 2017, work has already begun to bring the two credit unions together. All current MACU staff will remain employed with CoVantage; and on October 1st the Menominee Area Credit Union branch will begin to operate under its’ new name, CoVantage Credit Union.

CoVantage Credit Union serves over 94,000 members throughout Dickinson and Iron Counties in Michigan; and Marinette, Florence, Oconto, Shawano, Menominee, Brown, Outagamie, Waupaca, Langlade, Oneida, Forest, Vilas, Lincoln, Marathon, Clark, Portage, Price, Taylor, and Wood Counties in Wisconsin. The financial cooperative has 350 employees, $1.4 billion in assets, and is headquartered in Antigo, Wisconsin. CoVantage also has two Michigan branches in Iron River and Crystal Falls; and nine Wisconsin locations in Shawano, Crandon, Elcho, Rhinelander, Wausau, Weston, Rib Mountain, Rothschild, and Stevens Point.