Business View Magazine | January 2021

296 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2021 to be involved and do different things. We try and keep that fairly open because I really don’t want to dictate to people what you do in the community. It’s imperative that we support the communities that serve us, but you also have to be involved in something that makes your heart feel good. If that’s your church, that’s good. If it’s a food bank, it’s good. It has allowed everybody to really kind of get involved in their own, unique way.” Coming into the credit union under such duress was a blessing in disguise for the new management team. It has helped them be prepared for almost anything that comes at them – including the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID was definitely interesting for us but, because of the past five years, we became an organization that thrives during time of crisis,” says Rzewnicki. “So we pivoted really well and within a week we had 60 percent of our workforce working from home.” They originally went to a drive-thru only Their efforts have paid off. Membership is over 40,000 strong and the federally chartered credit union is considered one of the largest in all of Delaware, with more than $460 million in assets. Now, when employees wear their Dover Federal merchandise in public, they do so with pride. “The exact opposite of the Wawa story takes place now,” says Frey. “When Chaz talks about community being one of our strategic areas of focus, we really mean community, and we proudly wear our logo wear out now. We have members and business partners come out of the woodwork and tell us stories about how we helped them and how we were there for them. Talk about a 180 degree turnaround.” Community is so important to Dover Federal that it’s a mandatory part of employment. Every member of the team has to be involved in their community in some meaningful way. Rzewnicki shares, “Prior to COVID, everybody in the organization had community goals. They had