TelComm Credit Union Celebrates 75 Years Serving the Ozarks

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - June 4, 2015 - PRLog -- On June 8, 1940, Springfield Telephone Employees Credit Union opened with eight members, all of whom deposited $5 to start the credit union. Springfield Telephone Employees Credit Union largely had Harry Duewel, a longtime Southwestern Bell employee, to thank in getting the credit union off the ground after he recognized the inherent value in providing onsite financial services to his fellow coworkers and their families. As a result, TelComm membership was provided to Southwestern Bell and its employees as a financial benefit while embracing the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People.”

Today, what started as a modest 8 member enterprise has grown into a thriving credit union of over 17,000 members; in addition, that initial $40 contributed by the founding members has grown to $135 million in assets.

TelComm continues operating on the “People Helping People” principle today, with four branches in Springfield, one in Nixa, and one in Republic. Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in Greene, Christian, Lawrence, Webster, and Polk Counties, or is employed by or retired from a TelComm Select Employee Group, and/or is related to a TelComm Credit Union Member.

“All of our staff and volunteers are so very grateful for our credit union’s founding fathers who had the vision, courage and commitment to charter TelComm 75 years ago,” said Don Ackerman, President of TelComm Credit Union. “They not only embraced the credit union cooperative philosophy of ‘People Helping People’—still very much alive today, but they also took their responsibility to enhance the lives of our members very seriously. In fact, we have numerous families with 3 and 4 generations of TelComm members, and we treasure the role we have been able to play in their lives and in our community.”

TelComm Credit Union is a member of the Missouri Credit Union Association; all accounts are federally insured up to $250,000 through NCUA; likewise, all TelComm accounts have an additional layer of $250,000 in insurance through ESI, equaling total insurance per TCU account up to $500,000 at no charge to the member.

TelComm Credit Union provides financial services for members, but unlike banks, are not-for-profit, which means any profits are returned to members in the form of lower (or no) fees, free checking accounts, lower rates on loans and better interest rates on savings accounts. TelComm Credit Union was recently voted Best Credit Union by

readers of the Springfield News-Leader for the tenth year in a row. Learn more about TelComm Credit Union by visiting https://www.telcommcu.com/ today.