BDCU looks back on past year at annual meeting

For more than eight decades, the Boulder Dam Credit Union has been the most popular place for Boulder City residents to do their banking, not to mention see friends and neighbors.

The latter part was evident last Wednesday when members filled the Boulder Creek Golf Club pavilion for BDCU’s 84th annual meeting. Tickets for the popular event sold out within hours of going on sale.

Following happy hour and dinner, Doug Scheppmann, a longtime board member and the current chairman, took to the podium and said that day was the anniversary in which his family moved to Boulder City in 1980. He then praised the staff of the credit union and asked that they stand to be recognized as well as the current board members and supervisory committee.

Scheppmann said that these days, society is very polarizing and with the upcoming presidential election, with it comes increased anxiety, frustration and maybe anger. He said he understands.

“But there has to be an area where you cannot cross that line,” he said, referring to recent incidents at the credit union where people have become verbally abusive to the staff. “That’s not acceptable.”

He added that while inside the Coffee Cup, he saw a sign that reads, “Be nice or leave.”

“I think that’s quite perfect, to be honest with you,” he said, receiving a large applause. “I feel 99.9% of our members are such great people to work with day in and day out, including all of you in this room. Like I said, we’ve had a couple of incidents lately that we cannot tolerate. The board has put together a zero-tolerance policy. So, if anyone becomes verbally abusive to any of our wonderful staff, you will no longer have the privilege of being a member at Boulder Dam Credit Union.”

Steele Hendrix, who officially became president and CEO last fall, then spoke and honored the late Dale Imlay, who passed away last May. He was a longtime member of the board of directors and supervisory committee. He described Imlay by saying, “He was truly a model of ‘People Helping People’ and a pillar of our community. He will be deeply missed.”

He also recognized Eric Estes, who retired last year after serving as president and CEO of the credit union for many years. Of Estes, Hendrix said, “His friendly nature, financial expertise and quick wit will be greatly missed. His reach was great and he continues to be loved and respected by all who know him.”

Hendrix discussed both the importance of BDCU’s members and giving back to the community. In addition to the $16 million paid in dividends to its members while keeping loan interest rates low, in 2023, a total of $104,695 was given to Boulder City organizations.

“We’ve spent the last several years solidifying our core values, defining our place in the financial landscape and in uncertain times for banks and credit unions, we feel pretty confident in our place,” he said. “The reason for that confidence is that we’ve remained true to our roots and true to who we were. We’ve worked very hard to be clear as to who we are and continue to define who we want to become.”