Lakeshore Community Credit Union has been serving the financial needs of the local community for over five decades. Founded on February 25, 1955 as B.F.G. Employees Credit Union, this well known financial institution originally conducted business only during the employees lunch hour in an old guard shack so small that members had to stand in the doorway to conduct their transactions. Minimum wage at the time was seventy-five cents per hour, a gallon of gas cost only twenty-nine cents, first class postage stamps were three cents, and a loaf of bread cost eighteen cents. One of the first loans issued by the new credit union was a one hundred dollar furniture loan with monthly payments of five dollars and an interest rate of one percent.

As the credit union began to grow, B.F. Goodrich gave them space at the back of the plant, and several years later the company provided the financial support for the building of a new, small office to house the credit union. In 2001 the credit union was awarded a community charter that enabled it to serve the majority of Lorain County residents, and the name was changed to Lakeshore Community Credit Union. We met recently with President and Chief Executive Officer Don McIntosh and Assistant Manager Jill Ellison, and listened as they described the refreshing difference Lakeshore Community Credit Union can bring to your financial affairs;

Lakeshore Community Credit Union is a full-service financial institution serving the needs of anyone living, working, attending school, or worshiping in Lorain County, or anyone who is an immediate family member of an eligible member. We offer draft (checking) accounts, share (savings) accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, and loans for new and used vehicles including boats, motorcycles, and RVs. We have online banking, free ATM access, direct deposit, overdraft protection, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and IRAs.

Although we provide many of the same services offered banks, our members find we are better than banks in a great many ways. Lakeshore Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative and all member accounts are federally insured by the National Credit Union Alliance (NCUA) to $250,000 on retirement accounts and up to $100,000 on all other deposit accounts. Our seven member Board of Directors serves on a volunteer basis, and since we do not have stockholders we do not have to pay dividends to investors. At the end of the year, any money we make goes directly back into the credit union so we can increase our share rates and lower our loan rates if need be. We typically pay higher interest rates than banks on savings accounts and CDs, higher rates on IRAs, and the interest rates on our loans are normally lower than those offered by banks.

Membership in Lakeshore Community Credit Union is open to virtually everyone in the local community. All that is required to join is your drivers license and either a five dollar minimum deposit for a savings account or a twenty-five dollar minimum deposit for a checking account. Your account will be setup in a matter of minutes, and we even supply your first box of checks at absolutely no cost. Once you become a member, you are a member for as long as you keep at least five dollars in your savings account.

Our staff and management provide you with the kind of personal, no-hassle service you deserve. We know all of our members, call them by their first names, and they call us by our first names. Members stop by to visit, and at Christmas time bring us cookies, candies, and pies. We are proud to be part of our member's families, and they are certainly part of ours.

Lakeshore Community Credit Union exists solely to provide their members with a safe, convenient place to save and obtain loans at reasonable rates. Mention this article when opening a new account and Lakeshore Community Credit Union will add an additional $25.00 to your opening balance. Call or stop by Lakeshore Community Credit Union today, and don't forget to tell them Avon Lake Business & Living sent you!