Although this local credit union only has one branch, it fills a key role in the community by offering unique benefits to its members – just like other small credit unions across the country.

Tri-CU has had a long history in the Tri-Cities: founded in 1969 by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 112, it’s the only remaining small credit union in the area. 

Being “small” is generally defined by an asset size of under $500 million, said Doug Wadsworth, Tri-CU’s outgoing president. 

At $76.5 million in assets, according to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business’ Credit Unions list, Tri-CU is well below that limit and far below area credit unions that have assets in the billions.

Being small means it has the ability to offer “customized, unique products and services, and be flexible and fast with the small community,” Wadsworth said. 

Special dividends

One tradition that Tri-CU upholds is when the credit union is performing well, it returns money back to its members in the form of special dividends.

Those are different from the credit union’s standard monthly dividend rate, which is 0.15%.

Instead, the special dividends are a sort of bonus at the board’s discretion. In the past seven months, Tri-CU has been able to offer a special dividend three times. 

In December 2025, it was 50% APY on the first $500 in checking and savings accounts. Then, in March and June, Tri-CU paid the same amount for savings accounts only. 

“We did this intentionally because we wanted to make sure all our members got a good dividend, not only the wealthiest members that had a million dollars in their account,” Wadsworth said. 

Members who had $500 in each account would have made about $80 in dividends in the last seven months, he said. 

When the credit union has a good year and earns money, “that belongs to the members, so we get to do these special dividends to actually get it back to them,” said Trevor Galey, Tri-CU’s CEO. 

The special dividends also are something that Wadsworth and Galey said they haven’t seen other credit unions in the area do in the last 20 years.  

Reduced fees

Tri-CU also helps its members out in a number of different ways, even when there aren’t special dividends. 

The credit union doesn’t charge non-sufficient funds, or NSF, fees when members bounce a check. Galey said that when that happens, the member is usually in a state of financial hardship anyway. 

“The people who are getting hit hardest by these types of fees are generally the ones that can least afford to take on those kinds of fees,” he said. 

Similarly, they reduced their overdraft fee to $10 – usually, it’s around $30. The fee was initially reduced during the Covid-19 pandemic when members were struggling, but it turned out the credit union didn’t need the money, Wadsworth said, so they left it alone.

Filling gaps

Tri-CU and other small credit unions can play a vital role that’s not filled by the larger credit unions by helping their membership with niche problems. 

Often, there’s a gap in auto loan availability, Galey said, where big credit unions might be focused on high earners, while other financial institutions may have options for those who are credit challenged, but with very high interest rates. 

Galey said that leaves a gap in the middle, where smaller credit unions are able to fit in. 

Tri-CU offers HVAC loans to help people pay for heat pumps. It’s something that’s “generally not enough for the big credit unions to focus on because there’s not that much volume, but it’s just right for us,” Wadsworth said. It was a great opportunity to “make a loan that really worked for people that they couldn’t get anywhere else,” he said.  

The credit union is also working on a program to help get IBEW apprentices get started as they train and purchase tools. Already, the credit union offers IBEW members auto loan rate perks, special high dividend earnings and a debit card with their logo on it. 

“That’s another example of building out a specific program for a very small, you know, few thousand people, that would never be on the radar of a big financial institution,” Galey said.

Defending small credit unions

Small credit unions serve as “the hyper-local heart and soul of the credit union movement,” Wadsworth said, and it’s vital they survive and continue to provide their niche services. 

“If somebody needs to have this loan done or this service provided, and there are no more small credit unions, then it’s the giant question: Where do they go?” Galey said. 

Outside of Tri-CU, Wadsworth has been working to help other small credit unions thrive. He founded the nonprofit advocacy group, Endangered Small Credit Union Defense, or ESCUD, in 2025 to prevent the disappearance of small credit unions. 

Wadsworth heads the organization, which works to advocate for regulatory relief for small credit unions. He said many regulations have been put in place targeting large financial institutions that end up saddling smaller institutions with those same regulatory burdens. He’s traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators to explain the situation.

The other purpose of ESCUD to remind small credit unions of the importance to giving back to members. 

Wadsworth has also published two books to help small credit unions: “Keep it Simple, CEO” and “The Board Member Bible.”

Although he’s retiring from his position at Tri-CU in early 2027, he plans to continue working with ESCUD. He does it for free for the love of the work and love of the industry, he said.