Members of Stride and Beautiful Plains credit unions approve amalgamation

August 15, 2019 (Portage la Prairie, MB) — At a special membership meeting Thursday evening, members of Stride Credit Union voted overwhelmingly in support of a board proposal to amalgamate with Beautiful Plains Credit Union.

“Our board and management groups put together a proposal that we believed would benefit our members, employees, and communities — and with these votes, members validated that belief,” said Stride CEO Brent Budz.

“Tonight we’re happy for our members, because this was the right decision for both our organizations,” added Stride board chair Winnie Pauch.

Members of Beautiful Plains Credit Union voted in favour of the proposal in a separate meeting Wednesday evening.

“These votes show the credit union system in action, where the co-operative principle of ‘democratic member control’ gives member-owners the final say on important initiatives,” said Beautiful Plains board president Ron Jesson.

Beautiful Plains general manager Gord Sylvester explained that amalgamations like this one allow the organizations to stay close to their collective roots, “while taking advantage of economies of scale in key areas of our operations."

The amalgamation creates a credit union with $720 million in assets and 19,200 members, with branches in Austin, Gladstone, Glenella, MacGregor, Neepawa, Oakville, Plumas and Portage la Prairie.

“The management groups, boards, and employees of both credit unions are pleased with the results and very excited to get down to the work of gearing up to have everything in place for when the amalgamation comes into effect on January 1, 2020,” Budz said.

The amalgamation is subject to regulatory approval.
 
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Media Contact:            
Brent Budz, CEO, Stride Credit Union, (204) 385-6171
Gord Sylvester, GM, Beautiful Plains Credit Union, (204) 476-7800
 
Information about the proposal is available at www.stride-bp.ca.