Skip to content

Weyburn Credit Union earns nat'l marketing awards

The Weyburn Credit Union was nationally recognized with two Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) Awards, presented by the Canadian Credit Union Association.
Credit Union awards

The Weyburn Credit Union was nationally recognized with two Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) Awards, presented by the Canadian Credit Union Association.

The awards were presented on May 6 at an awards gala held in Winnipeg during the 2019 National Conference for Canada’s Credit Unions.

The AIME awards attract entries from credit unions of all sizes and locations across Canada, and recognize the best and brightest achievements in credit union marketing, communications and community relations through a variety of categories.

The Weyburn Credit Union was honoured with the Branch Design Award for the redesign of the retail solution centre, led by Val Ness, vice-president of Human Resources. The branch renovation undergone in 2018 was a key component of a complete multi-year organizational structure change.

Weyburn found that members weren’t coming in to do simple transactions like they one did, as those transactions are increasingly being completed digitally or online. People are still coming in, but less often and for different reasons. People come in for advice and solutions, or they come in to engage with local experts for more in-depth and complex matters.

When they do come in, their expectations are high, and they want a great experience. The credit union needed their branch to reflect the transition to an advice and solution centre environment, and they undertook a renovation to transform the environment. The branch renovation speaks volumes about their brand and creates a unique vibe within the community.

The second award the Weyburn Credit Union was honoured with was the Internal Marketing Recognition-Incentive campaign award, for their work around culture, once again led by Val Ness.

The credit union made culture their number one focus. Their culture had evolved over the year but was not clearly defined or enforced. The credit union made plans to move from a good culture to a great one, and gathered a focus group of employees and managers to define where the credit union was and where they wanted it to go, and assembled it into a culture code.

Weyburn’s chief executive officer, Don Shumlich, said, “2018 was a pivotal year for our credit union and we are so proud of the work completed. We saw years of effort and projects coming together seamlessly. I had no doubt the work would be anything less than award-winning with Val Ness taking the lead. She is a very talented and valued member of our executive team.”

“I can’t take the credit all on my own,” said Ness. “It was really a team effort and our thanks go out to WCS staff, management and board. Don Baillie in particular was integral to the success of the renovation project. We definitely couldn’t have transformed our branch like we did without the help of our designer, NewGround, and general contractor JHC Construction.”

She noted that upon inspection of the work, NewGround commented that “they rarely see the calibre of the work completed by John and his team. We want to send our sincere thanks and compliments to John Hulbert on his excellent service. The job was done on time and on budget, and they were nothing but professional and accommodating. By the accolades we receive from our membership, they are appreciative too.”
The judges for the AIME awards are marketing and advertising professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Each entry is judged against the other entries in its category and division, and is evaluated on creative excellence and result to the category for which they are submitted.