Since January 1, 2023, as a result of the merger between East Kootenay Community Credit Union and Heritage Credit Union (HCU), who are now operating as StellerVista Credit Union, HCU members were informed of the opportunity to convert any HCU B Shares to StellerVista C Shares, or to redeem them. The need to do this is driven by legislation, and to adhere to the rules of StellerVista Credit Union. Effective May 1^st, 2023, any HCU Legacy B Shares remaining will be considered to be C Shares. The official transfer will not happen until October 13^th, 2023 – but the window to redeem them will end April 30^th, 2023. If you have any questions on the matter, please reach out to info@ekccu.com.

Following the successful merger vote, on December 20^th, 2022, we sent a letter to all Heritage Credit Union members giving them the option to redeem their Class B shares. The plan, otherwise, is for these Heritage Class B Shares to be converted to StellerVista Class C Equity Shares. No action is required by the member for this to occur, and the transfer is done at equal value. The only member action required, is among those wishing to redeem their Class B Shares.

Unfortunately, our bulk mailing to all members was caught in a large Canada Post delay over the holiday season. So, in many cases, the letters have arrived after the deadline given for Share redemption. The deadline states Jan 3, 2023.

We apologize to all members for the confusion in this communication, and as such, we will still actively honor the request of any member that wants to redeem their Class B shares. Because of the delay, we have extended the deadline for this until January 31, 2023.

If you wish to redeem your shares, please email hcu@heritagecu.ca to let us know.

The member-elected Boards of Directors for StellerVista Credit Union are pleased to announce that the merger between East Kootenay Community Credit Union and Heritage Credit Union is now official. This was made possible by the members of both legacy credit unions who overwhelmingly passed all of the special resolutions presented to members during November and December of last year. 

While both Boards supported this unanimously, and our regulator gave us consent to merge, it's the support of the members that matters most.  

With the merger now official, StellerVista Credit Union is the single entity representing all seven communities: Greenwood, Castlegar, Slocan Park, Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, and Elkford.  

There will be lots to talk about in the coming year, but for now, a brief update on where we are as we begin 2023 includes:  

• On January 1, 2023, EKC and Heritage Credit Union officially merged and are now legally operating as StellerVista Credit Union. 
• Members from both legacy credit unions voted in a big way to support coming together. We know staff voted very much the same. And even if you voted no, we understand your concerns came from a good place. Thank you for caring - that's a big part of living here too.
• We have built a solid and detailed merger and communications plan that begins today. We want to be smart about this and we don't want to disrupt anyone's day-to-day lives or banking. 
• The StellerVista Credit Union brand promise will focus on banking like you live here. Together, we'll grow a credit union that embraces local lifestyles and welcomes younger families and new members. With regard to financial well-being, we'll help more people make it here, keep it here and grow it here. 

We see a lot of exciting possibility on the horizon, but for now, this is a simple welcome to StellerVista and a promise to make the changes as easy and smooth as possible.  

Member questions and feedback are always welcome.  

Thanks for your time and stay tuned.