OWATONNA, MN (November 15, 2013) -- Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman visited HomeTown Credit Union’s student-run branch at Owatonna Senior High School (OHS) on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Commissioner Rothman visited HomeTown Credit Union’s OHS branch as part of his statewide outreach tour, which is focusing on financial literacy efforts. During the visit, he recognized the positive impact of the long-standing partnership between Owatonna Senior High School and HomeTown Credit Union. The relationship gives students the opportunity to gain valuable experience by working at the branch while also learning about personal finances.
“This program just makes sense,” said Commissioner Rothman. “It’s a good way for kids to start to learn about their finances.”
Commissioner Rothman also met with OHS principal, Mark Randall, business teachers Scott Pierce, Chad Ohl and Tate Cummins, HomeTown Credit Union Youth Education Supervisor, David Dorsett and student workers Kaitlyn Seykora, Jack Livingston and Abbie Matson. Their discussion centered on the importance of starting financial awareness at an early age and how the student workers have shared that message with their peers.
“We’ve been hiring student interns to work at our other branches for the last 20 years,” said Marian Murphy, vice president of business growth at the credit union. “They are trained and treated like any other credit union staff member.”
The OHS branch, which opened in Sept. 2011, was the first of its kind to launch in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Credit Union Network is an organization representing the state’s 134 not-for-profit cooperative credit unions serving more than 1.5 million member-owners in Minnesota. For more information, visit www.mncun.org.