2016 Applicant: Rachel Guyselman

Rachel Guyselman is a 29-year-old Operations | Marketing Manager of Tongass Federal Credit Union ($70M) in Ketchikan, Alaska, United States.

Project Title
BE the Credit Union Difference

Short Pitch
Walk the walk, talk the talk, break barriers and build relationships through community action.

Synopsis
My passion is to build relationships and motivate people to seek financial help from the open-minded, non-judgmental, credit union industry We should be encouraging and cultivating those relationships. But, how do we do that? 

Put down your phone, step away from your desk and get out there. Walk the walk and talk the talk with your communities. Socialize through social media, in your branches, and in your communities. Invite your community to participate in credit union conversations. Support community groups that provide financial education, get into your schools, sponsor a VITA tax program, get creative! Not only do your members want to be engaged in something with meaning, so do your employees. 

I practice what I preach. I am active within my community, and not just with one group, but with several. Give a voice and a face to your credit union and in each of your branches. This is how we set ourselves apart from banks, we KNOW our members. We are nimble and have the ability to have a great impact on our individual communities by building confidence and connections ways others cannot do so easily. I am living the credit union spirit and in doing so I am building relationships and trust, but, it takes more than just me. Our employees are engaging too and we are growing our reach, one person, one member, one employee at a time. Credit union’s everywhere can do the same, it takes thought and pavement pounding, but we can do it! 

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