outstanding service to the underserved mendo lake credit unionHad it not been for Mendo Lake Credit Union's willingness to give a member a discounted rate on an older RV loan, she may not have had a place to live after losing her home in the Valley Fire during California's 2015 wildfire season. She now plans to live in the RV until her home is rebuilt.

When another member with poor credit tragically lost her daughter in a fire, MLCU staff got creative in getting her the money she needed to cover final expenses for her child. Since then, the member has taken out a number of loans at the credit union and significantly improved her credit.

Two other members, an older couple who lost many of their assets in the stock market crash of 2008, managed to stay in their home until the husband's death after MLCU made a workout loan arrangement on their mortgage. The widow has since sold the house.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.