Customer Stories
Members First Credit Union of Florida
From efficient meeting preparation to less paper usage to the latest technological capabilities, the Members First Credit Union of Florida board thrives with OnBoard.
Customer Stories
From efficient meeting preparation to less paper usage to the latest technological capabilities, the Members First Credit Union of Florida board thrives with OnBoard.
Industry: Credit unions
Headquarters: Pensacola, Florida
Board Management Goals
Results
Previous Board Solution: BoardPaq
Pensacola, Florida can be a tough place for a community credit union to survive. Navy Federal Credit Union has a large office in the city that employs nearly 10,000 people, and PenAir Credit Union boasts a similarly large footprint in the area.
“We’re in the Bible Belt, but we’re also in the Credit Union Belt,” says Ash Murcko, Members First Credit Union of Florida’s Executive Administrator. “When you’re fighting against something like that, getting your name out is quite hard.”
Despite that, Members First Credit Union of Florida has served Escambia County, along with neighboring Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties, for 70 years via seven branches, including one at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, which also serves to teach students financial literacy. It claims 20,000 members.
“We’re a smaller CU, but sometimes that’s better,” Ash says. “We have personalized service.”
Unlike boards that still conduct paper- or PDF-based meetings, Members First Credit Union of Florida had a digital board management solution when it sought out OnBoard. It just wasn’t happy with it.
“The functionality was so archaic,” Ash says. “It felt like I was in the 90s. I asked my friend at PenAir, what do you use? I looked at several companies, compared pricing, integrations, what you all offered.”
From there, it was time to go shopping for a new solution. “I had a spreadsheet with comparables between four of our top choices,” Ash says. “I compared what [OnBoard] offered and completely sold OnBoard. Our CEO knew how much we needed it because she worked with me every day.”
Ash says OnBoard’s work with other credit unions was a big selling point. “Credit Unions are a culture,” she adds. “I’ve been in credit unions since 1995. When you meet someone who knows about it, that makes a big difference. Anything I asked, [Sharon Spinnler, account executive] was able to make it happen. There are other board platforms that have the same features, but they seem far removed from a credit union standpoint.”
— Ash Murcko
Executive Administrator
Members First Credit Union of Florida
Like many boards, Members Credit Union of Florida’s nine-member board, which includes two audit committee members, is more seasoned than the general population. That sometimes means new technology can be a hurdle to overcome, but Ash says OnBoard’s implementation team rendered that concern irrelevant.
“There was a learning curve just because it involves technology,” Ash says. “Courtney [Felt] did our board training. She had the best personality; she was so good. She did really good, just getting them to download an app on their iPad … we had 100% participation by the time we had our first board meeting. Everyone was logged in; everyone had RSVP’d that they would attend the meeting. It turned out well.”
The board meets monthly, on Mondays, and board members receive their packets the previous Friday. The credit union needed to update its bylaws to allow for e-signatures, and from there, Ash says it’s been smooth sailing.
“I piloted it enough to where I knew so much about it,” Ash says of the early stages with OnBoard. “Knowing what I was doing really did help. Courtney had a short time with us. The presentation she put together was so forthcoming, it wasn’t over their heads, she wasn’t using acronyms that no one would understand. If you prepare, it makes that whole transition so much better.”
One of the many reasons Ash knew she made the right decision was OnBoard’s constantly evolving features. “I see what [OnBoard] offers and implements,” she says. “Taking the time to invest in that, you’re staying on top of things.”
Of all the features, Minutes Builder is Ash’s favorite. “During the board meeting, I’ve got my iPad, start my minutes prior to the board meeting starting, I click that little plus button that says, ‘add motion,’” she says. “Who first, who seconded? I don’t have to write people’s names down. When I’m done, I download it as a Word doc.”
Ash estimates switching to OnBoard saved about 30% of board meeting preparation time, and she uses 50% less paper than she did before the switch. “All [the board] had to do was hit one button to hit a PDF,” Ash says of the arrangement before OnBoard. “I had to create the presentation in Canva on over 100 pages. It was so labor-intensive. Now, we drag and drop. It saved me so many labor hours.”
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