Last month in this letter, I promised to deliver some big news. Well, I actually have two major announcements. And I couldn’t be more excited about both.

First, I would like to thank all of our members who voted for us as Billings Best Credit Union. This is an incredible honor, especially when you consider that we are a small, limited field of membership credit union. When you take account the high quality of Billings’ other credit unions, receiving the award becomes even more humbling. I promise that we will continue to try to live up to the accolade.

Now, for the even bigger announcement.

In the 1980’s, the credit union moved from Marillac Hall on the St. Vincent’s campus to 2^nd Avenue. We were expanding and we needed the space. But that move came at a cost. While we serve healthcare workers around the entire state, the majority of our members are still employed by either St. Vincent’s or Billings Clinic. Our Second Avenue location isn’t that far from the hospitals, of course, but we’ve always wanted to get back in closer proximity to our base. 

And now we will be.

Montana Health has purchased the old City Brew building at 1131 North 27^th Street. We literally could not have found a better location in the entire state for our credit union. The site has a drive through lane and is just the right size for a transactional location. And, after years of looking in the neighborhood, we know that we couldn’t possibly get any closer to the hospitals that employ so many of our members.

Between now and before the end of spring, we will complete the process of transitioning from 2^nd Avenue to 27^th Street. We will remodel the new location to suit our members’ needs and will outfit the facility with the latest in banking technology. And of course, we will staff it with some of the smiling faces you’ve come to depend on. Our back-office functions will move to our Shiloh facility – 27^th will be built purely for direct member service.

We are making this move primarily for the convenience of our members – on a quick lunch break errand to the credit union, 1.2 miles closer can be the difference in getting a bite to eat or not. But to me, there’s another factor at play as well. We SHOULD be on 27^th. We should be close to where we are from, to where our roots are.

I won’t give you too many details yet – supply chain issues in construction are much to uncertain for me to make bold predictions about the remodel. But stay tuned to this letter, our Facebook page and our website – we will update all of them as the timing becomes more definite. But I am fairly confident in saying before the end of spring our move will be complete.

And it will be good to be back home.