Using its close Missouri ties, a Michigan credit union, Service 1 FCU, has now completed the merger of a struggling Ozarks CU, the tiny Table Rock FCU of Shell Knob, it was announced Wednesday.

"This was a case of a $1 million credit union being forced to liquidate and we saw an opportunity," explained Joni Shinn, president/CEO of the $75 million Service 1 of Muskegon. Service 1, with Teledyne Corp. as its sponsor, maintains a branch in nearby Neosho, Mo. Shinn said that once the CU was alerted to the merger prospect by a vendor, "we decided to go ahead." The merger was made effective this month.

After it was approached about the prospect, Shinn said, the credit union felt "that we needed to step up to the plate and fulfill a role that credit unions have done throughout their history--doing what is needed to help the community." Service 1 has five branches including one in Mobile, Ala., the site of a Teledyne plant.

Once the bad loans are taken off the books, "we expect it will be viable," Shinn said.

Table Rock, considered a community development CU, has one office and 500 members, she added.