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Anonymous user Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:24:34 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Kern Schools Federal Credit Union is part of the economic, educational and social community in Kern County.
It’s no surprise then that its president and CEO, Vince Rojas, 66, is also an integral part of local life.
“We’ll have focus groups and our members will say, ‘I see him. I know he’s for real.’ They see me out in the community and know they can trust me. My life’s an open book,” said Rojas, sitting at his desk in the new administration offices on Ming Avenue on a recent morning. 
Kern Schools recently opened a fourth Southwest location, the University Centre Branch, just west of The Marketplace at 9800 Ming Ave.
Rojas will celebrate his 30th anniversary with the credit union in December.
A Bakersfield native, Rojas attended Our Lady of Guadalupe, Garces Memorial High School and St. Mary’s College.  
He started with Kern Schools in 1976, and served as a loan manager, assistant general manager and executive vice president before becoming president in 1989.
When Rojas began his career with Kern Schools, there were 25 employees. Today, Kern Schools has 659 employees, 11 branches and 160,000 members.
Still, Rojas said Kern Schools has been able to maintain its high level of service at a reasonable cost.
While a commercial bank and credit union have the same goal, their purposes are different.
Unlike commercial banks, profits at credit unions are given back to the members in the form of lower rates for auto and personal loans and a higher rate of returns, Rojas said.
“It helps improve the quality of life for everyone in the community,” said Rojas, whose favorite stories are those of members they’ve helped to buy a washer and dryer; provided a car loan; and a loan for a child’s education.
“As we get bigger and bigger, and use more and more technology, it’s easy to become impersonal,” said Rojas, who combats this by constantly reminding employees that the only reason they are there is to serve the member.
Rojas likes to note that his first car was financed through a loan from his father’s railroad credit union.
He said his work ethic stems from his parents, as well as his respect for others.
Rojas and his wife, Linda, have passed those values on to their daughters —  Angela works for a law firm in San Francisco and has given Rojas a grandson, while Ashlee is an R.N. at a children’s hospital.
Rojas’ community activities include serving as an advisory board member for Cal State Bakersfield’s School of Arts and Social Sciences; past president of the Bakersfield West Rotary Foundation; past chair of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce; Board of Directors, EPL, Inc. (Electronic Processors Limited), Birmingham,  Ala.; member, Board of Trustees, Western CUNA Management School; board member, Bakersfield City School District Educational Foundation; commissioner, Personnel Commission for Kern County Superintendent of Schools; Board of Governors, CSUB Kegle Institute of Ethics; board member, Cal State University Bakersfield Foundation; board member, Bakersfield College Foundation; and member of the Kern Community Foundation Board of Directors.
Despite all his successes, Rojas remains humble.
“Any positive feedback I get, I pass on to the employees. I’m here in my office — they’re the ones right in front of the member,” he said.

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