NET Credit Union Shares First-Place Honors for the 2026 Tekkie Award for People Helping People
- W.B. King
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By W.B. King
True to the credit union mission, the Finopotamus Tekkie Award for People Helping People recognizes an initiative, program, or team effort that significantly improved the lives of members or the community in 2025.
In the spirit of this category, which supports the ethos of the credit union movement, the judges determined that the first-place designation should be shared by all six nominees: Addition Financial Credit Union, Advia Credit Union, Holy Rosary Credit Union, NET Credit Union, St. Louis Community Credit Union, TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund, and United Consumers Credit Union. Presented in no particular order, NET Credit Union is spotlighted first.
“What a great and humbling honor being recognized with this award. People helping people is an age-old credit union motto, that gives us as an industry, purpose in our mission. It’s the bedrock foundation as to why credit unions came into existence,” President and CEO Clarence Baltrusaitis told Finopotamus upon learning the news. “I’ve come to work with a smile on my face for years knowing that, as an organization, we are helping members who live in our community. Thank you to all those who were involved in making our simple event of giving back to our community possible.”
The Meal Is on Us
The $226 million Scranton, Penn-based NET Credit Union not only enjoys supporting its nearly 20,000 members but also the communities where their members - and potential members - live and work. This was the case during NET Credit Union's Community Give Back at McDonald's campaign, which was held in 2025 at a local franchise.
“Mueller Family McDonald’s is a valued Preferred Partner Group of NET. The entire team was great to work with,” said Baltrusaitis. The credit union also partnered with well-known morning deejay “Prospector” from radio station Rock 107.3. “I’m actually working on the drive-thru today,” he told his listeners with a hint of whimsy. These new “employees” soon landed on a recurring chorus, “Today, the meal is on us,” which surprised many unexpecting patrons.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with staff members, the new crew not only gave out free food that day, but also took orders, flipped burgers, served fries, all with a welcoming smile. Baltrusaitis even sang an impromptu duet of the famous Big Mac jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun,” with a burger enthusiast waiting on the drive-thru line.
“As a credit union, our business model is: We are for the people,” he said. “We have lower fees, we have lower loan rates, we have higher deposit rates because our job, our mission, is to help people out.”
This successful event is part of a larger initiative: #netcares, which is promoted through various channels, including social media platforms. Projects include free ice cream truck tours ("Stay Cool with NET"), other meal pay-it-forward events, and regional charity matching.
“The McDonald’s event increased brand awareness within the local community and led to new member sign-ups, following the Give Back Day experience,” Baltrusaitis noted. “If you have to bank somewhere,” he told a customer with a knowing smile, “bank with a credit union.”