Richland Federal Credit Union: 71 Years of People Helping People

The story of the Richland Federal Credit Union of Sidney and Culbertson began at a Farmers Union meeting back in 1939. Fifty founding members saw a need for a local credit union in Sidney and the Federal Credit Union was chartered in accordance with the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934.

Since that time, Sidney's credit union has experienced steady growth to get where it is today. In June 1974, the name was changed to Richland Federal Credit Union (RFCU) and in 2002, the Culbertson branch was opened. In 2009, the Sidney RFCU moved to its third location since it was established. The modern, energy efficient facility is located at 201 W. Holly Street.

Today, RFCU serves over 4,500 members in and around Richland and Roosevelt counties. The qualifications for membership are to live, work or worship in Richland or Roosevelt County or live within a 25-mile radius of Sidney.

Even though many things about the Richland Federal Credit Union have changed, the founding principles have remained. These principles, or tenants of a cooperative, include member ownership, one member - one vote, not for profit, cooperative, volunteer directors, democracy of members, member education, social responsibility, commitment to service and, first and foremost, people helping people.

The volunteer directors take on the task of setting the policies of RFCU. Upon expressing interest in volunteering, each director is elected by the members at the annual member meeting. "The directors' only compensation is the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping their neighbor," stated Manager/CEO Kevin Mayer. The Richland Federal Credit Union's current directors are Beth Redlin - Chair, Gary Schoepp - Vice Chair, Daryl Norgaard - Director, Scott Dornfeld - Director and Randy Jones - Director.

As a co-op, the Richland Federal Credit Union is committed to the community. They volunteer much of their time and resources to various organizations and groups in the communities that they serve. One such commitment is being a co-sponsor of "Co-op Day" at the Richland County Fair with the other cooperative organizations in Richland County.

"We have been a sponsor at the fair for over 10 years," said Mayer. "We are proud to be a part of Co-op Day and a sponsor for the fair." Co-op Day at the Richland County Fair is Thursday, Aug. 4 at the Richland County Fairgrounds. RFCU along with Cenex Harvest States, Horizon Resources, Lower Yellowstone REA, Mid-Rivers Communications, Nortana Grain, Northwest Farm Credit Services and Richland Farm Mutual Insurance will be providing free root beer floats from the sponsor tent at the fair from 4-6 pm. "We welcome everyone to come down to the Richland County Fair to take part in Co-op Day," concluded Mayer.