“My dad was into cars: racing, doing demolition, figure eight, etc., and we would work on cars together. I started at a very young age. We lived on a farm, and we got by fixing what we had. We had to scrounge up equipment, make do, weld it up, grind it, fix it, and put it back together. I think that was the draw of buying a car. I wanted to fix it, tear it apart, see how it’s made, put it back together and clean it up. That was fascinating to me.  I bought my first wreck, fixed it up and drove it for many years with only drive and no reverse, because I didn’t have money for a transmission.

I've been in the industry all my life going from working in a body shop, to being a body shop manager, to teaching at the Bay-Arenac ISD’s Career Center for the last 22 years. I was able to teach my trade to students. I loved that job, and it was probably one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had because you could see the kids progress from when they first arrived to where they were at the end of the year.

But it got to the point where, because of my age and my health, I couldn’t do what I was supposed to do on the floor with students anymore. It's very physical work, and I could tell my time was coming because I was getting more tired. So, I knew it was my time to go.

I found United Bay Community Credit Union when we had my first child in 1986. We went to buy a trailer to live in. Prior to that, I had filed for bankruptcy because I didn't have health insurance and some hospital bills piled up along with a school loan, so when I went to apply for a loan for the trailer, everybody turned me down. They said they couldn’t take a risk on me.

But then I came here.

They said, ‘Well, because you filed for bankruptcy, we have to put you in front of the board, and you’ll need to convince the board that it’s safe to give you a loan.’

So, I came in to meet with the board. As I’m sitting there, the door opens, and three guys come in. The third guy looks at me and says, ‘Hey, how are you doing, Leonard?’

And I said, ‘Hi, Tom!’

I just got done with Tom's car at the body shop I was working at. He got hit in the rear end and I fixed it, repaired it, wrote the estimate, and delivered it. He was happy with my work, and though I didn’t know it at the time, that's how I got to know one of the board members.

 I told him why I was there, so he says, ‘Well, I know where you work, and I know you're working hard there, so you're good. I went through the interview with the board, and they approved the loan.

 – Leonard Fauble, UBCCU member

“The whole idea behind starting a Business Services department was to provide small, local businesses with the resources they need to be successful.

When I first work with a business, it's important for me to be a person who listens. After I set them up with an account, it’s important to get to know them, find out what their journey is, and work to understand what they want to do. We want them to be able to paint their own picture but have the guidance they need to be successful. Running a business can be A LOT, and many times, businesses don't realize all the different ways we can help. For example, if a business is looking to accept debit and credit cards, we might be able to provide them with free equipment or a customized rate to get them started.

Working with local businesses has been amazing, and it’s incredibly rewarding when you get to see a business excelling. Take Gilly of Gilly’s Bistro or Greg from That Guy's Barbecue, for example. When you see them do well, knowing you are part of the process feels incredible.

Before this position, I was the biggest introvert possible. I was scared to talk to people, and when I saw big crowds, I felt like I needed to have someone there to hold my hand and help me through it all. But coming into this role, working with people, watching businesses grow and become successful, and knowing I’m a part of that journey with them, gave me the biggest confidence boost. I never really expected it.

The Bay City business community is collaborative, and people are open to helping each other out. You see restaurant owners eating at each other's spots. You’d think that it'd be the opposite with your competitors, but everyone wants you to thrive. I've never felt that anywhere. It's almost addicting, seeing everyone helping each other out, and you want to be part of that movement. It has just been awesome, and is definitely rewarding, for sure.

My favorite thing about working here is they give you a voice. No matter what your role is, no matter what your department is – everyone wants to hear what you have to say. Management has been very supportive, and if you come in with an idea, they say, ‘Let's hear it. ’ I've never had that in other places, and now that I do, I feel supported in whatever I do.

Working here is rewarding, for sure.”

– Tino Deleon, business account specialist, United Bay Community Credit Union

“We opened our account with United Bay Community Credit Union in 1960. They had started a Christmas club where they would take a certain amount out of your paycheck and set it aside so you can buy Christmas gifts later. At the time, we had just started having kids, and that’s what got us interested, so we joined.

We didn't have too many loans; we watched our P's and Qs,and didn’t like borrowing money. We built our own house, too. Every payday, we would use some of the money to buy some materials and set them aside. Eventually, we had enough material to start building, and with help from our friends, we got it done. We've had some tough times, but we got through it. We didn't do it separately, we did it together.”

—Anzy & Raymond Mielke, United Bay Community Credit Union members

My name is Mary Kay. But when my grandkids' friends turn 18, I say ‘‘you can call me MK’ and they feel very proud.

I was born in Bay City, and I've lived in Standish almost all my life—a city girl who married a country boy. My late husband, Norm, joined United Bay Community Credit Union in 1968, and I became a member when we got married in 1970. I was blessed to stay home with our kids while he worked, until our youngest was in kindergarten.

He passed away in 2010 and it was a shock. Not only was there the pain of losing my husband, financially there was so much to go through, and it was overwhelming having so many decisions to make.

But I remember sitting with Sherry at the Credit Union, and she said, ‘You got this.’ She’s a very special lady. I listened to her and her suggestions, but I never felt pressured. (It wouldn’t have mattered—I’m old school, and if I don’t want to do something, I don’t!) But I never felt like she was trying to make me do something, and I always had the final say. She was just awesome.

My kids have accounts here, too. Everyone is so friendly. I always enjoy going inside: I’ll comment on the decorating and how clean it is and they treat me like a queen.

– Mary Kay Mielke, UBAYCCU Member

P.S. I’m 76…but I’m not bored! Look at my sweatshirt—I'm a sports lady! Growing up, my dad loved baseball and that rubbed off on me. I keep my own stats for all the games I go to. Like for my grandkids, I have stat sheets for all their games in envelopes and they go in a big tote.

When my husband and I got married, my family didn’t go hunting or fishing or anything like that, but he did. And now I do! I got the biggest buck two years ago. We have a hunting camp: my son and daughter-in-law and the grandkids and we have a lot of fun. They were just so proud of me.

It was a 13-pointer. They say you can’t count the little ones…but I did!

“After my children became old enough, I wanted to get back to full-time work, and that’s when I found out about a job at United Bay Community Credit Union. It was a part-time job, but I really wanted to work at the credit union, so I worked two part-time jobs for a year. When I was hired full time, I was relieved, both for the work and because I wouldn’t have to put so many miles on my ‘71 Nova anymore. It had such a bad motor that I was putting oil in it about as often as I put gas in!

This is my 32nd year United Bay Community Credit Union. I love my job, but I love it more knowing that the members love me. I have a file full of thank you’s and letters from members, and it makes me feel good.

This credit union cares about people. I help people with their finances, and the best way to do that is to listen. Have a conversation, really listen to what they're saying, and if it’s appropriate, offer advice. It’s important to respect people, and in turn, they have respect for you.

I worked with a young gentleman, maybe in his late 20s, who had just lost his mom. He didn’t have a job, just had a baby, and during the pregnancy, his significant other experienced some serious complications.

He came into the office overwhelmed: he didn’t have an account, didn’t know what to do with the money he received from his mom’s life insurance, and was totally lost.

So I opened him an account and we worked through what to do: we made sure he had money set aside for rent, necessary purchases like a car, and money invested so he wouldn’t spend it all right away.

Then we talked about finding a job. He told me what he liked to do, and I told him that a place down the road was looking for an employee. He went there…and got a job!

He walked in, lost and overwhelmed, but when he walked out, he was just so happy..”

—Sherry Lightner, United Bay Community Credit Union

“From the day we started with United Bay Community Credit Union, everything has been right. I think we joined the first week they opened a branch in Mattawan in 2004, and we just absolutely love the people. We met Ben and Carrie—my one-year-old had such a crush on her!—and Bridgette, and they were so great.

We had lived in our old house for 30 years, and we always wanted to live in a farmhouse. We knew going through Bridgette that everything was going to be perfect, because she is just perfection.

We probably looked at 30 different houses, and during the process, anytime we had a question, Bridgette was on it—she never let us hang. Things were always explained to us in ways we could understand them. She’s awesome, gave us a great rate, and she even came to our signing and helped me through my little breakdown of leaving our old home.

Since then, we have taken out a lot of loans through United Bay: four car loans, a consolidation loan, and a couple of personal loans as well. It has always been the same experience: everything is explained, everything is right. I walk in and I know everything is going to be taken care of.

Besides that, when we go into UBAYCCU, it’s like going to someone’s home. We know all of the clerks by name. They know our whole family, and we even bring our dogs in there sometimes. It’s more than a credit union, it’s a home.”

–Christine and Gerrit Schouwburg, United Bay Community Credit Union members

“I grew up all over the United States because my dad was in the natural gas industry: wherever he was needed, that’s where we went. Eventually, I got a job working at a bank in Spokane, Washington, and worked there for 12 years.  But I had been wanting to move back to Michigan. It’s where my family is from—and after 2020, we all realized how important it was to be close to each other. My dad had moved back to Coleman after he retired, and that’s where our family farm has been for four generations.

I had been wanting to move back, but coming from a big city like Spokane to the tiny town of Coleman, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of employment. But then one day, my family called and said that a new credit union was opening in Coleman: United Bay Community Credit Union had announced they were opening a branch there. I contacted them, and got a job.

I’ve been with the credit union for over a year, and this has been exactly what I needed. I needed to come home and to feel like I was in a place where I belong. Coleman had lost their financial institution before United Bay came in to save the day, so we’re part of a community who’s excited to have us here.

Building relationships has always been my focus, and I get to do that here. We make sure that every member has an amazing experience when they walk in our door: they’re greeted, acknowledged, listened to, and offered solutions. It’s more than just money—it’s about people—and that’s what I wanted.  I get excited because I get to inspire the staff, build relationships with our members, and support our community.”        

–Emily Burgess, United Bay Community Credit Union Branch Manager

Mario Williams is my mechanic and also a dear friend. When I was purchasing a car back in December of 2022, he inspected the vehicle and determined that she was seaworthy and good to go. I mentioned to him how displeased I was with the credit union that I was considering doing business with because their interest rate was not acceptable to me. I am retired from the banking business, but I was in corporate banking and institutional trust for over 15 years, so when I was quoted a ridiculous interest rate, I balked at it. I was telling Mario about that, and he said, ‘Oh my gosh, Mindy, you have got to call Molly Chase at United Bay Community Credit Union. She will take such good care of you.’

He gave me her number right there at his mechanic shop, and I called Molly. I introduced myself, told her what I wanted to do, and what my preferred monthly payment would be because I am on Social Security Disability. I am disabled: I have major depressive disorder, which is treatment resistant, and anxiety disorder. Both are managed mostly by my medication, but I do go through major depressive episodes which are completely debilitating for me, so I have a limited fixed income to work with. That also means that finding a payment that would be affordable for me was very important.

And right there over the phone, Molly took the loan application, and later that day, she called me with an approval, and I got a great rate.

But the story goes on because I made some referrals of direct family members, which had very favorable outcomes and I've made a bunch of referrals of friends who I understand are now customers of United Bay.

She was able to help my son buy his first car, even without a credit history.

My niece had a more complex situation because she was pretty heavily in debt with quite a few credit cards. But Molly was able to pull a rabbit out of a hat by refinancing my niece’s car and putting together a debt consolidation loan for her.

And at the end of that loan closing, my niece said ‘Molly, we have something for you,’ went out to the car and brought Molly flowers, chocolates, and a card. We all had tears in our eyes, because Molly had taken a situation that appeared to my niece to be insurmountable and made it all manageable and understandable.”

—Mindy Kulasa, UBAYCCU member

When I first got my driver's license, I would drive my grandma out on errands. One of our stops would be the bank, and I'll never forget how frustrated the teller would get with her if she didn’t understand something. So, when people call us here at the Call Center needing help, I tell them, ‘We can get through it together.’ I tell them that this is something that we can figure out: we'll just start from the beginning and take it step by step, and we'll work through it. We've been here before for you, and we're still here for you now, and it works out in the end.

We have a great relationship with our members, people who will call in and say, ‘Hey, my daughter is getting engaged!’ or ‘We’re getting a granddaughter!’ You can put your money anywhere, but I think what makes us different are those relationships.

I have a story of a guy I'll never forget. An older man and his wife would come in once a month when they got their deposits, and every time, she would bake us a cake or brownies. Well, his wife got sick, and one day he came in and said, ‘I'm so sorry. I had to put my wife in a nursing home, so we're not going to be able to bring a cake anymore.’ We told him not to worry about it, that she was a wonderful baker, and that we would never forget how kind they were to us.

He said still wanted to bring us something when he came in and started bringing us candy.

But then one month, he brought a cake.

‘I made the cake by myself,’ he said. He taught himself how to bake a cake! We told him how proud we were of him, and how happy it would make his wife.

Just to see the smile on his face, I don't think I can ever forget it.

After she passed away, he kept on bringing us something every month, and every month, he'd make it fancier and fancier. He started putting a piece of candy on each little piece so that when we cut it, we'd have like a piece of candy on each. We would tell him like his wife was smiling down, and she was so proud of him.

He baked all the way until he got sick, and he couldn't any longer, and then he passed away.

But that smile on his face once a month is unforgettable. It would make our whole day, just seeing how happy he was. For him, it wasn’t about money, it was about caring for people.

That's what a credit union is supposed to be: people caring about people; people being there for other people, and I think that is what’s different here.

– Kellie Kukla, United Bay Community Credit Union Contact Center Representative

“We first became members in 1983. We had accounts at a bank too, but we really liked the atmosphere at the credit union, and we’ve grown to love it. They’re always so helpful, no matter if it’s on the phone, online, or in person. They’re very friendly, and we know just about every one of them by name. When we go to Pinconning, we run into so many of them to whom we want to say ‘hi,’ that it can be hard to get out of places!

We just closed our accounts at the bank this spring. We wanted information on our IRA accounts, so I went to the bank and the woman said, ‘Come back in an hour.’ So, we did, but then she said, ‘I’m too busy, and you have a whole year to take care of this stuff.’

So, we decided to pull all of our money out of there and put it in here.

It took two months to get everything. Sherry sent all the paperwork, but when I called the bank to see what the status was, I had to wait through menus, hit six buttons, and explain the situation to someone new, and all they said was, ‘We can’t tell you.’ I said, ‘Can you at least tell me if you received the paperwork?’ They said that someone would call me in two days—and that never happened.

I went back to the bank branch, and they said, ‘Just keep calling and eventually someone will help you.’

They didn’t have time for us. But at United Bay Community Credit Union, you get an answer right away. We were just a number at our last bank, but here we’re greeted by name. The place feels welcoming, with people smiling and treating you like you’re a priority.”

– Ernie and Ellen Schumann, United Bay Community members

When my husband told me that he wanted to open a business, I thought, ‘The time has come!’ because when he says something, he’s going to go for it. I knew everything was going to change in our lives. Everything! And to be quite honest with you, I was a little bit scared. The pandemic had just happened, and we both had jobs: he was working full time in manufacturing, and I had a 17-year position in human resources. But we prayed about it, started looking for buildings, and opened in 2022.

And oh, my gosh, from the very beginning, the Bay City community has been tremendously supportive. We've had our challenges, like any new business, but we couldn't ask for a better community to be in, quite honestly. People will come in, tell us they’ll come back, and they’ll come back with friends. We’ve been open just over a year, and although it’s been a lot of hard work, it's been a lot of fun.

Although we had so much to do and learn as new business owners, United Bay made our lives easier. It was like going to an all-inclusive resort, where you don't have to think about anything: they take the lead on everything, and they’ve got you. That's what they did for us.

They were personable, friendly, and spent a lot of time listening to us and answering questions. One woman even talked to me while she was on vacation, saying she was going to take care of everything and then follow-up with me when she got back, and she did. She was terrific! It was more than I could ask of her, and she went way above and beyond.

I think United Bay is doing an amazing job, not only with our business, but I can see it with other businesses in the area. I would encourage anybody to reach out to United Bay for all of their needs.

—Diana Gonzalez, Gilly’s Bistro, UBCCU Business Member

I’ve worked at United Bay Community Credit Union for 14 years, and have been a centralized loan officer for four, but I actually have a degree in teaching. I received my teaching certificate shortly before I became pregnant, and when my baby was born, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I was home for about a year and a half and knew I needed to take some financial stress off of my husband. I didn’t want to go back to teaching, so I applied here at the credit union. I started off as a part-time teller. To be honest, I didn’t expect to like it, but everyone was so friendly! I loved interacting with the members, and the management was amazing.

I was a teller for about 10 years, when a loan position opened up. It was in Pinconning, where I’m from, and it was perfect. Everything about the loan process, from the application to the closing, is interesting to me. More than that, I actually get to help people.

There was a couple that was struggling with infertility for years. They depleted their funds trying to have a baby and did not want to come see me for a loan, but they did. I had a good feeling about them, so we approved their loan. Several months later, the husband came back and mentioned his wife was pregnant. It worked! And when he told me, I teared up!

Another member is a single mom. She called me, stressed because she has a teenage son and wanted a small loan to give him a great Christmas. I approved her for the loan and later I received an email. She had sent pictures of her son opening the gifts and said because of the loan, her son was able to have a wonderful Christmas.

There are so many stories like these, and that’s what it’s all about for me. I love it.

—Jamie Shelagowski, United Bay Community Credit Union Centralized Loan Officer

“We had always gone back and forth about how awesome it would be to open a sports bar and grill. When an opportunity came up to buy one, we made an offer…and they accepted! We couldn’t believe it! We bought the building and the land, but we didn’t have enough for everything else: things like coolers, food, and other supplies.

We needed a loan, so we wrote a portfolio and business plan and applied at another credit union, but with nothing in our history showing we could do this, they said no. Then we went to another credit union, and they said the same thing.

That’s when we leaned on United Bay Community Credit Union for help. We spoke with Terry and asked him, ‘We don’t have business partners or investors, what can the credit union do for us?’

They gave us a signature loan for $20,000. It wasn’t everything we needed, but it was a ‘yes’, enough to get started, and more than anyone else was willing to give us. After that, we decided to do all of our banking here.

They helped us open CJ’s Sports Grill and it’s been full throttle ever since. They were able to make it happen, and United Bay has always been there to help us ever since. ”

–Jessica and Clifton Holland, United Bay Community Credit Union members