Last Updated on August 19, 2022, 11:59 AM | Published: May 22, 2022
EDMOND, Okla. (Free Press) — True Sky Credit Union concluded a week of activities Saturday to mark the opening of its second Edmond branch.
Thursday, the ribbon was cut on the completely remodeled building in a prime location at N.E. 2nd and Blackwelder in the heart of Edmond’s retail district near downtown and the University of Central Oklahoma.
“I’m very excited,” said Judy Richey, Chair of True Sky‘s board. “It’s a vibrant, growing community. We want to be a part of that growth. And we’re absolutely delighted to have the opportunity for a second branch and we look forward to another one soon.”
And, at Saturday’s grand opening, people lined up for chances to win prizes and to ask about the financial advantages True Sky has to offer.
Surrounding those events, True Sky leaders carried out a number of community service activities, one of which was buying gas for anyone for an hour at a nearby location.
The branch is the 12th location for True Sky, one of our sponsors.
Unique location
The prominent location that was originally built for another bank stands out with its signature True Sky design after extensive remodeling in the busy, continually expanding retail area.
The University of Central Oklahoma is only a few blocks away which holds unique potential for the credit union to provide coaching and education for young adults first starting to establish themselves financially.
“This is unique in that it is our second location” in a city outside of Oklahoma City, Chief Information Officer Toby Ragaini told us. “We are very excited to be here.”
We talked to the district manager, Roger Randall, about how True Sky can help college students.
“They can come in and get credit with us, and it’s not going to cost them a large interest rate,” said Randall. “They’d be able to come in with no fees and establish themselves to make this their long-standing financial institution.”
We asked about the situation that some college students find themselves in, which is to get overburdened with consumer debt early in their college career.
Randall pointed to the individual financial coaching True Sky offers, as well as classes on personal finance.
“If they’ve already made mistakes, we can help them out on that as well,” he said.
The branch manager, Josh Morava, pointed to the many ways the credit union has of reaching out to the surrounding community, especially around 15,000 college students either on campus or in some large apartment complexes nearby, who are in a unique set of financial circumstances.
“We have laid out fun, understandable presentations for mortgages, loans, and how to manage your first bank account,” said Morava.
“So, all of those students can qualify for membership and open a free account. And then in return, we have all different types of programs and seminars, and just coaching to help them on daily balancing, here’s what a credit score is, here’s what not to do or to do with your debit card.”
Grand opening
Even though the weather was uncertain, a number of people turned out for the Grand Opening Saturday.
Giveaways of branded items as well as some games for adults and kids contributed to a festive atmosphere.
Also, as has been the case for each new branch in the continued expansion in the metro over the last several years, Board members turned out to cook for those who came.
As we have reported before, many of the Board members were some of the earliest members of the credit union when it was still a small employees’ credit union for FAA employees at their training center near Will Rogers World Airport on the southwest corner of Oklahoma City.
Saturday, hot dogs were on the menu for anyone who walked up. With the number of openings across the metro, these board members are getting good at it.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
