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PHOTO: From left, Sara Fifield, Bruce White, Terry Gagne, Darla Frost, Sharon Storti, Elizabeth Dixon, Jeanine Derosby, Ryan Poulin, Tammy Poissonnier, Lori Schmitz, Jason Michaud, Lee Breton and Tanya Verzoni. (Submitted photo)
WATERVILLE – New Dimensions Federal Credit Union was named the Mid Maine Chamber of Commerce 2020 Large Business Award winner at the Nov. 4 awards ceremony.
CEO Ryan Poulin and his team the award during the ceremony.
Because of New Dimensions FCU’s mission, “Educate. Empower. Evolve.” applies to both the community and its staff, the credit union works to ensure that membership growth and employee retention are equally balanced. In 2020, the work on that balance led to the honor from the chamber.
In 2020, New Dimensions positioned itself for growth, and innovation, by open a state-of[-the-art main office at 94 Silver Street. The building was designed to be as green as possible, including solar energy, heat pumps, natural gas-heated hot water, and energy-efficient lighting. It was imperative to use local contractors and vendors in the construction, NDFCU officials said.
After the move, NDFCU renovated its Grove Street location into an operations center, the Digital Branch. With this, the credit union expanded its workforce by adding a call center that fields more than 7,000 calls monthly.
New Dimensions focused during the pandemic on retaining employees and training some of them to assist members in a new capacity, including processing many SBA PPP loans for businesses.
New Dimensions provides the latest technology for personal and business banking and continues to seek updated, useful and reliable solutions in its products and services that will serve their members, officials said.
“We want our members to choose ‘how’ they conduct business with us,” Board Chair Jerome Allen said. “From paying for groceries with cellphones to applying for loans or opening accounts from the comfort of their home. But if the member wants to visit a branch, our team is happy to provide that type of personal service, too.”
Poulin added, “New Dimensions doesn’t want to offer just a job to someone, it wants to offer them a career where they can learn and reach their professional goals. NDFCU has staff dedicated to training and career advancement for every employee. This has helped to retain valued, seasoned employees.”
Financial Education is one of the pillars of New Dimensions, officials said. Dedicated staff are available to provide members with one-on-one financial counseling. Members can meet with staff to review their credit report and get tips on how to boost their scores, craft an effective household budget, and more. It also takes its financial education lessons on the road to businesses with the “Eat, Learn and Prosper” program, offering free lunch-time classes for the businesses’ employees, with lunch provided by NDFCU. Financial educators can also be found in classrooms from kindergarten through high school. Popular topics are deciphering “needs versus wants,” how to save money for future goals and how to use credit responsibly. NDFCU has worked with hundreds of students both in classrooms and through Google Classroom.
The credit union’s fundraising efforts include the Cruise for a Cure Care Show, Ending Hunger Maine, Special Olympics and Children’s Cancer Program. Staff members donated more than 3,000 hours in 2020.
“We are in the dream fulfillment business helping people make their dreams come true by giving them the tools they need to be successful,” Poulin said.
He said New Dimensions Federal Credit Union was deeply honored to be the recipient of the award as it celebrates 65 years of business in Kennebec, Somerset, Franklin and Waldo counties.
