CEO Message – January 2025

As you may know, January 4, 1965, marked the beginning of our credit union with the granting of a charter to Letterkenny Federal Credit Union (the predecessor to Patriot).

While I don’t plan on taking members on a history lesson or field trip down memory lane for the first 59 years, I do want to take the opportunity to recap some of the challenges and successes that 2024 brought with it.  Fist and always foremost, we are extremely thankful for the opportunities to serve our members and our communities, and from a financial perspective, last year was very strong.  Assets grew by almost 7.5% surpassing the $1.1 billion mark, shares were up by $50 million (5%), while loans grew nearly 3.5% despite higher interest rates.

Along with these financial metrics,

Patriot was recognized as “Best Credit Union” in the Tri-State by listeners of VerStandig Media (radio stations WAYZ, WBHB, and WIKG), named Large Business of the Year by the Shippensburg Area Chamber of Commerce, selected as “Ben’s Pick of the County” for banks and credit unions by the Franklin County Free Press, and once again received a 5-Star Rating from Bauer Financial, the highest safety and soundness rating, which we have maintained for 31 consecutive years. More importantly, we continue to receive positive feedback in surveys, strong net promoter scores, and excellent reviews from our members.

We had numerous accomplishments in 2024, starting with the roll-out of a newly redesigned web site that has won several industry awards including a Bronze Award from the Marketing Association of Credit Unions as well as being named a Gold Winner of a Davey Award from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts.  Additionally, the web site enhanced accessibility for members and included a Spanish version to serve the growing Hispanic community.

We also enhanced our inclusivity and community engagement through LanguageLine interpretation and translation services supporting more than 290 languages including American Sign Language, Tax Identification Number (TIN) lending to serve immigrants, and Zogo, a free gamified financial literacy app available in English and Spanish that serves up bite-sized financial education lessons and rewards users.

 Patriot became the first credit union headquartered in Pennsylvania to be named a Juntos Avanzamos designated credit union, just one of 141 credit unions across 33 states. Juntos Avanzamos, which stands for “Together We Advance”, is a designation for credit unions committed to serving and empowering Hispanic and Immigrant consumers. This milestone underscores Patriot’s unwavering commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in banking.

We also opened a new drive-up ATM on Coffey Avenue near the former Letterkenny branch, which closed its doors after 47 years of serving members.  And we rolled out a consumer debit card rewards program called ‘Patriot Perks’ to bring greater value to you.

As we set the stage for 2025, we strengthened our leadership team in the second half of the year by adding two experienced individuals: Mark McCoy, Chief Revenue Officer, and Joe Lombardi, Chief Information Officer. Both individuals bring excellent insights and broad experience in the credit union movement and financial services industry.

The coming year will be filled with planned enhancements to our online and mobile banking including new security features, improved payment options, updates to our phone system, and the addition of two new branches – the first in Berkeley County, West Virginia just north of Martinsburg near Spring Mills, followed by one in Greencastle next to Weis Markets on Antrim Way.

As we strive to offer and improve upon services that members regularly utilize, particularly for self-service and member convenience, we will also be looking to balance value for our members by sunsetting services and channels whose time may have come and gone, and that are only sparsely utilized.

We are very excited about what the new year has in store.  Our focus continues to be on making member engagement easy and convenient, building lasting relationships and enhancing the economic well-being and quality life of our communities by enriching and empowering lives as we fulfill our mission of People Helping People.  I want to thank you for your continued membership in and support of your credit union for however long as you have . . . whether it be for the last few days, 60 years and all of those in between.  We appreciate you allowing us to be part of your financial journey and having a positive impact on your life..

Ron Celaschi

CEO – Patriot Federal Credit Union