Wainwright, Alberta

“We know the members, and they know us. It’s so much easier to help them with what they need when you know who they are.”

Introducing Marija Rodgers

When she was 15 years old, Marija and her family immigrated from Bosnia, a small country in central Europe. Unsure of what to expect, the family settled in the quiet rural Alberta town of Wainwright.

After a tiring journey and long immigration process, the family was grateful to find that the town welcomed them with open arms. They felt supported right away, with members of a local church going so far as to help her parents find work to get the family on their feet.

Fast forward 25 years, and Marija and her family are still in Wainwright. And as the Member Services Supervisor at the local credit union, Marija leads a team that puts the community first by volunteering at local events and donating to local organizations. Through her work, Marija is able to give back to the place that welcomed her — her hometown of Wainwright.

How long have you been with Encompass?

I have been with the credit union in town for 17 years. I think that makes me a lifer, right? What’s the cut-off? [Laughs]. I’ve been here a long time and through lots of changes. That’s why this merger with Vision is really exciting. I was here before the merger with Encompass when the branch was just the Wainwright Credit Union. So I’ve seen a lot of change, but it’s all been good change in my experience. Good things always come out of it.

What's your favourite part of working here?

Oh, there are many things. One big thing for me is the involvement with the community. We volunteer with events like the Wainwright Stampede for example, and donate to organizations and initiatives that benefit the town. And now anywhere we go, people know us [laughs]. They're like, “Oh, you're part of the credit union!” We get comments from members too. They’re like, “You do so much, it's so nice to see you guys out there.” And within the credit union itself, we have a lot of really great people working here. You become sort of a family, where you can have so much fun together at work and outside of work. It doesn’t feel like a job. So that's always a really good thing.

Do you think the experience of working at a rural credit union is different than at an urban institution? How?

I would say it’s different, yes. I’ve never worked in a big city institution, but we’ve had some staff who have, so naturally, you hear things. I think in smaller communities, we can be more people-oriented. In the city, it would be hard to get to know everybody. So it’s just that sense of community. We know the members, and they know us. It’s so much easier to help them with what they need when you know who they are. Every rural community is different too, so I like how credit unions can just adapt and integrate into the area they’re in. 

What's your favourite thing about your community?

Wainwright is a close-knit rural community, but very very welcoming. We have a lot of family farms here, so many families have been here for generations and generations. On the other hand, we have the military base here too, so we have some people who only stay for a short time. For me too, we moved here from a completely different continent. We started with nothing when we moved here, and we had so many different organizations and people help us out and make us feel welcome. But that’s the reason we stayed, right? And I’ve heard that from military families too. They come here temporarily, then move back permanently because they felt at home here. I think that says something. 

Visit Marija and the team at the Wainwright branch: