By Kris Leonhardt

MARSHFIELD – Simplicity Credit Union became the 62^nd business to be honored as the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCI) Firm of the Year during a recognition dinner held Oct. 11 at Hotel Marshfield.

Local businesses were recognized for celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2018. MACCI photo

Simplicity started in 1949 in the basement of St. John’s Church, with 13 members pooling funds in a shoe box. St. John’s Credit Union became Central Catholic Credit Union, which later became Central City Credit Union. Now known as Simplicity Credit Union, the business has grown to over 25,000 members.

“I think it is important to talk about those first 13 members,” said Simplicity President & CEO Pat Wesenberg. “Think about people who probably didn’t know anything about financial services getting together and starting a cooperative and putting all of their money together, and it really was a shoe box.

“Thinking about dealing with regulations. I am sure it was a lot less stressful then it is today, but none-the-less there was probably regulation back in the day. They collected the first deposits. They just really made a statement for doing the right thing and knowing what to do to help each other. If you think about it, that is really what the credit union is – it is a cooperative of people working together to help everybody that is a member of that cooperative.”

Over 60 area businesses were also recognized for milestone anniversaries ranging from one to 120 years.