Just Credit Union is owned and managed for the mutual benefit of it’s members, rather than corporate profit, and the Annual General Meeting is an important part of the management process.
All members were invited to the virtual AGM and given updates on Just Credit Unions progress and asked to vote on some important matters.
Chief Officer Karen Farrow said “We currently have approximately 4,200 members who are actively saving with about half of those borrowing as well. We are delighted so many of them took time out of their busy days to join our virtual AGM particularly as this is our 20th annual meeting.”
In his annual report, Chair of the Board Mark Perez said the last two years had represented “Ëœstrange times’ and had been challenging, but Just Credit Union’s core purpose remained the same.
“We aim to be able to improve the wellbeing and financial health of our community of which we can be absolutely proud. We are facing challenges we didn’t think we would be facing due to Covid and working from home and we are now looking at inflation and a cost of living crisis. Just Credit Union is therefore more important than ever before, offering an ethical and sustainable alternative. We are doing work we can be justifiably proud of. We are proud of the fact that we are pro-active and looking forward to the future as well as continuing serving the community.”ÂÂ
Treasurer Steve Brown spoke of “Ëœdifficult trading conditions’ and announced a surplus of £20,143 for the year. Steve recommended on behalf of the Board that a dividend of 1% be paid on savings up to £5,000 for the financial year 2020-21. The recommendation was carried by a large majority vote of the members attending the AGM.
The AGM welcomed and unanimously elected three new Directors and a new Supervisor.
June Campbell – June lives in Madeley and is secretary at The Anstice a busy community centre in Madeley. Her background is in marketing and business planning and when she’s not answering phones at the Anstice she’s also Chair of the Severn Trent Community Fund and a former Board Member and Chair of Groundwork West Midlands. In her spare time June enjoys travelling and spending time in her garden
Jane Griffiths – Since leaving University in 1998 Jane has worked in the Social Housing Sector with communities in Shropshire. Part of her current role is the delivery of the customer support service, which
includes financial inclusion. Jane is passionate about making a difference to peoples lives and addressing social and financial inequality.
David Cooper –  David from Bridgnorth is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience of working in the banking sector. David is retired and is involved in a range of charitable
and community activities; he’s also a Bridgnorth Town Councillor and has served as Mayor of Bridgnorth.
Sharon Angus-Crawshaw – Sharon lives in North Shropshire and has many years experience of working in and with credit unions, Sharon has a strong personal commitment to the credit union movement and has previously served as a Director and President of the Association of British Credit Unions. Sharon will take on the role of Supervisor.
