The Merck Employees Federal Credit Union’s 89th Annual Meeting is in the books, and one thing is for sure, the more things change the more they stay the same. The credit union may be in its 90th year but its original focus and commitment to serving its members and meeting the needs of its sponsor group has not changed.
Credit Union Chairman Patrick Ruane kicked off the meeting highlighting the investments the credit union made in its future with the launch of a new core banking system and online banking system in 2024. These projects were years in the making, noted Ruane. “With the environment we are in today you can’t stand still. We have to keep up with new technology and fraud concerns to ensure the credit union is safe and sound for years to come.”
Jannie Oosthuizen, President, Merck Human Health U.S., was the evening’s featured guest speaker. Oosthuizen recognized the credit union’s role in financial wellness for employees and complimented the credit union on its staying power by looking back 89 years ago to see what was happening: Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been re-elected in a landslide, the Hoover Dam was completed, the first NFL draft was held, and Jesse Owens was winning gold in the Olympics.
Oosthuizen gave an update on Merck’s U.S. business. He noted the importance of Keytruda at $4.3 billion in sales and the increased demand for Lenvima and Lynparza, but no matter what the product, at Merck it’s always about the patient first. “We never forget it’s a privilege to help people and communities live healthier lives,” he said, noting globally Merck reached more than 100 million patients in quarter one with medicines and vaccines. “Merck’s scientific leadership, breakthrough therapies, and novel solutions are needed in this world to enable a safe and healthy future for all.” The future is bright said Oosthuizen. as Merck has nearly tripled its late phase pipeline since 2021.
Oosthuizen ended by reinforcing Merck’s core values of patients first, maintaining the highest standards of ethics & integrity, respect for people through respect, inclusion and accountability, and the highest standards of innovation and scientific excellence.
MEFCU President/CEO Paul Gentile briefed members on the credit union's continued commitment to financial safety and soundness, investing in the future, and the credit union’s passionate commitment to protecting members from fraud.
“Fraud is now its own industry. There is an entire industry of fraud, people and organized groups from all over the world working constantly to try and find ways to defraud people. It is what it is. We can’t stop that, but we want to be sure we are doing all we can to protect members and that our members know how to protect themselves,” said Gentile.
He did stress that while people worry about computer hacks and online data breaches, the bulk of fraud cases the credit union sees are due to social engineering, where the fraudsters use tactics to get personal information and then use that information in a variety of scams. Everything from tech support scams to the popular EZ Pass scam, fraudsters are adept at hitting trigger points that trick people into providing information they shouldn’t.
“We often hear from members who are embarrassed they gave out their information, but don’t be embarrassed. These fraudsters are very savvy and it can happen to anyone,” he noted. Gentile stressed one of the very best things members can do is to keep current with their accounts by reviewing their accounts frequently and having account alerts set up that notify them when a transaction takes place. “You can’t not look at your accounts. We have members who say they don’t log into their accounts for months. That is not ideal in today’s environment,” he said. “The faster a problem is identified, the better opportunity there is to recover funds.”
Gentile urged members to sign up for the credit union’s new fraud detection solution, Carefull. Carefull is a complimentary member benefit that provides a number of safeguards to protect financial accounts, your home, your identity, and more. Carefull co-founder and co-CEO Max Goldberg also addressed attendees, providing the latest update on Carefull’s product.
Goldberg talked about how the mission of Carefull aligns so closely with that of the credit union in wanting to protect people from scammers. Speaking of scams, Goldberg debuted one of Carefull’s newest features — “ScamCheck.” ScamCheck allows a Carefull subscriber to input a communication it is concerned about into the ScamCheck engine and it will advise what the user should do. “This is a powerful tool for those unsure if something is fishy or not, and want to just get an initial idea if it is something to be cautious of. Our system will analyze it and give the user recommended steps they should take.”
Goldberg thanked the credit union for being one of the very first credit unions in the nation to have the vision to launch a service designed to combat fraud. “You have a very innovative credit union here that clearly cares about its members.”
The credit union’s officers provided their Supervisory Committee Report, Treasurer’s Report and Nominating Committee report. These can all be found in the Annual Meeting book by clicking here. The board elections were also announced with Doug Christie, Bernie Wisniewski and Jeff Hack each being re-elected for a three-year term.
Enter the Scholars!
Next came one of the most exciting elements of the Annual meeting with the presentation of the annual scholarship winners, awarded to six high-school students who showed excellence in education, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and of course in their response to the credit union’s annual essay question. This year’s question challenged attendees to assess the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the career of study they were entering. Essay writers tackled the pitfalls of AI, but also the opportunities, and that like most tools, if it is not used correctly there are dangers, but the potential to help humankind was immense. We want to again congratulate each of this year’s winners. You can read all about the recipients and their plans for the future by clicking here.
The final presentation of the event was a credit union donation to one of the credit union’s charities of choice, Healing the Children New Jersey. HTCNJ provides critical medical support to people who need procedures but can’t afford them. The help is led by volunteer surgical teams, not only with missions in New Jersey, but all over the world. HTCNJ Executive Director Tricia McNamara received the donation and thanked the credit union for its support. “We thank you, the people this helps thank you. Our mission isn’t easy and it’s really all made possible by donations like this and the volunteer work of our surgical and support teams. There are many people who have nowhere to turn for help and we want to be there for them” said McNamara.
The credit union’s 89th Annual Meeting Minutes can be found here.
