There are life-long Everence Federal Credit Union members. And then there’s Arlene Miller.
Arlene, at age 94, is the first recorded member of the credit union. She has seen its transitions – from its beginnings in the basement of Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) to its partnership with Mennonite Mutual Aid (now Everence Financial) – and has adapted, side-by-side with the credit union, to the technological changes in banking over the years.
Kristen Heisey, President and CEO of EFCU, met with Arlene at her home in Fishers, Indiana, this summer. Living well over 100 miles from the closest credit union branch hasn’t stopped Arlene from being a faithful member.
“Nearly 70 years later, she is still a member of our credit union,” Heisey said. “Our credit union has adapted a lot. We've actually changed our name four times. We've changed how we do business and the offerings that we have. And Arlene has been with us every step of the way.”
Arlene Miller, EFCU member number one, smiles at the camera.
Arlene and her late husband Merv were among the first eight charter members of the Mennonite Scottdale Credit Union in 1955. Back then, a small Mennonite community was emerging as many moved to Scottdale, Pennsylvania, to work at MPH.
Arlene and Merv Miller were among those new to the developing community. Arlene had grown up in Wellman, Iowa, and Merv in Goshen, Indiana. The two had met at Goshen College when Merv was a senior and Arlene a freshman, and after Merv graduated, he waited for Arlene to complete nursing school before they got married.
The couple moved to Scottdale when Merv was hired at the publishing house in the personnel department. Arlene worked in a hospital briefly before going on to work at the local health department for over 30 years. The two provided for their family, their checks deposited into their shared credit union account.
According to the book “Where the People Go” by John D. Roth, most employees at the publishing house were new to Scottdale and were paid low salaries, so obtaining a loan from the local savings bank was difficult. This motivated a group of workers to open the credit union, and within a month the organization had grown to have 54 members. Merv was among the group of workers advocating to open the credit union.
Over the years, the organization would be renamed Pennsylvania Mennonite Federal Credit Union, and then Mennonite Financial Federal Credit Union before partnering with MMA and becoming Everence.
Meanwhile, Arlene and Merv built a home, started a family and made new friends in the emerging community. Scottdale, the new churches, and the publishing house created a tight-knit community. The Millers hosted dinners and attended holiday gatherings with friends from MPH.
“Scottdale was a wonderful community to raise kids and have friends,” Arlene said. “The credit union wasn’t like a bank: I knew all these people. They were friends.”
Arlene Miller and Kristen Heisey, EFCU President & CEO, pose with a photo of the founding members of the credit union.
Merv died in 2008 with Alzheimer’s Disease. As the illness took hold, Arlene needed to become more involved in her finances and that of the household, and she could still do her banking at a local branch. But about 10 years after Merv passed, Arlene decided to downsize and move closer to one of her daughters, Emily Marshman in Indiana.
When Arlene stopped driving, she handily transitioned to online banking.
“We would have never dreamed of not staying with Everence,” she said from her Fishers, Indiana, home. “We’ve always done our banking there.”
Arlene keeps a laptop from which she can access her accounts and make any transactions she needs. She also uses it to email family and make online purchases.
Arlene’s retirement distribution gets deposited directly into her account, and she can check her balance and make bank transactions from the comfort of her home. And if she’s ever stuck, she calls Marla Brenneman, Branch Manager at EFCU Michiana, in Goshen to ask for help.
When Brenneman heard Arlene needed help, she was up for the task of becoming her personal banker. If she needs help with her account, Arlene picks up her phone and calls Brenneman.
“When a member opens a membership we want that personal connection, so after we get to know them we talk about our families,” Brenneman said. “I feel like our members know my children and what’s going on in my life and I know what’s going on in theirs, and we walk with them and we get a personal connection.”
Reflecting on how far along the credit union has come in terms of technology and accessibility, Heisey asserted that the changes over time have helped keep us connected, regardless of distance. The ability for someone like Arlene to make a deposit into her account from her home would have been unheard of decades ago, but now she can with the same diligent help and customer service EFCU has always offered.
“[The] experience has changed a lot,” she said. “But at the heart of it, it's people helping people. It's that mutual aid, and it's that personalized interaction when our members need it and want it.”