Marshfield Medical Center Credit Union (MMCCU)’s longest tenured board member, John Dean, will be retiring this year, after serving the board for more than 40 years in various positions from chairman to treasurer.
“John has served our members well over the years,” said President Carol Adler. “His guiding principle has been to make decisions that benefit the members. MMCCU had done that within the confines of regulation and economic circumstances. I have been fortunate to have his support over the years and to rely on his stalwart dedication to the credit union.”
Dean moved to Marshfield from Stevens Point in 1980 to accept a job as for Marshfield Clinic, at which time he was asked to join the MMCCU board.
“I worked in public accounting in Stevens Point, auditing banks and savings/loans,” he said. “I then accepted the position of Director of Internal Auditing at Marshfield Clinic. It was a natural fit to serve on the credit union board.”
When Dean started, MMCCU was located within St. Joseph’s Hospital and offered just savings accounts and car loans.
In the years that followed, Dean would help as MMCCU transitioned to its own building on St. Joseph’s Avenue (and eventually onto Upham), hired now retiring President Carol Adler, and expanded to offer everything a community bank does – including CD’s, IRA’s, checking accounts, and much more.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many good people both as a director with other volunteer directors and also with the staff members,” said Dean. “It’s an educational experience. How the world of finance works – that in itself is very intriguing.”
Dean applauds the quality of board members that have served MMCCU throughout the years.
“They are people that are willing to volunteer and get involved,” he said, adding that the nature of the work is interesting and rewarding due to the nature of credit unions.
“The benefits of the credit union are actually for the members and the credit union tries to give the best service and the best rate of return back to the members,” he said. “For example, at a credit union the board is strictly volunteer and is not compensated at all. At most banks, as a board member you get paid. In my 44 years on the board, I didn’t receive any amount of money.”
Dean said it’s this emphasis on members that sets credit unions apart and it’s the variety of representation serving on the board that help it succeed.
“Board Members come from the membership and the membership comprises of both professionals and nonprofessionals,” he explained. “We had doctors on the board, lawyers on the board, we had people that were head of maintenance, people head of laundry services, IT… it was diverse just like the credit union membership is diverse.”
Dean is thankful for his time serving MMCCU and is confident the credit union is in good hands with incoming president David Murphy.
“David is a CPA, so he has the financial aspect. Also, he was trained by Carol so he should do quite well. And he has a great personality,” he said.
Thank you for your service, John!
