Making a Difference

Nancy Barthel

Contributor

January 22, 2024

NEW RICHMOND – Matthew Tuinstra – regional sales manager at Royal Credit Union – said much of his life has been about giving back.

From serving as a youth pastor in his hometown of Racine to today volunteering in several endeavors in his adopted home of New Richmond, Tuinstra said his focus has always remained the same: making a difference wherever he can.

Growing up in Racine and his wife Alissa in Alexandria, Minnesota, Tuinstra said their move to New Richmond in 2015 meant they would be somewhat halfway between their two hometowns.

Soon after the move, Tuinstra started working at Royal Credit Union (RCU) in New Richmond as a mortgage loan officer.

Today, the 41-year-old serves as the credit union’s regional sales manager for the St. Croix Valley and Minneapolis Metro markets, supervising 11 loan officers and the home equity loan team.

“I enjoy the community involvement aspect of RCU…,” he said. “It was important to me to find (a job) that matched my values, dedicated to our community and making it a better place. It’s true, you’ll probably see me out and about at a variety of events… New Richmond is very much home.” 

A pivot point

As a college student – first at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa and then at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha – Tuinstra said he worked in youth ministry.

He said a turning point in his life was when he injured his shoulder as a member of the Wisconsin Lutheran football team, which required surgery.

“At that point, I moved back home and did some of my ‘gen ed’ courses at Parkside,” he said.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Parkside, Tuinstra said he began working full-time as a youth minister at Grace Church in Racine.

Soon after, Tuinstra said he completed an undergraduate degree at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.

“My intent was marriage and family counseling,” he said. “Ultimately, when I was working at Grace, they put me through the seminary at Trinity.”

Tuinstra said he ultimately decided against ordination and instead pivoted into a business-related career focus – earning an MBA from Concordia University of Wisconsin in 2014.

All of this was accomplished, he said, while working as a personal banker and then as a credit operations specialist for Johnson Bank in Racine.

“For me, (the MBA) opened up a lot of doors in the banking and finance industry because I lacked a lot of that experience and knowledge,” he said.

Tuinstra said he is happy his family chose to make West Central Wisconsin their home.

“Coming from Racine, coming from what I would consider urban, it’s a little different pace of life,” he said.

As residents of the region, Tuinstra said their family is basketball and baseball enthusiasts (his wife coaches basketball), and they also enjoy visiting the area’s state and county parks, which also gives them time with their dogs.

And then there is his favorite winter pastime – ice fishing.

“I do enjoy ice fishing quite a bit,” he said.

Tuinstra said his success of catching anything, “really varies,” and his family typically enjoys their “walleye dinner from Culver’s.”

A balancing act

Though much has changed in his life since – a husband of 24 years, a father of three and a businessman – Tuinstra said he still does what he can to be involved in the community.

Tuinstra said “prioritizing” is how he can balance his commitments at home, at work and in the community.

“For me, we got plugged into a great church that brought us into our community life as well,” he said of Faith Community Church in New Richmond, where he is a volunteer youth ministry leader for grades six to 12, overseeing about a dozen volunteers. “My kids (in the Bible study-based program) are the ones who talked me out of retirement and got me back into it.”

Tuinstra community involvement doesn’t stop here.

In December, he concluded his second three-year term on the New Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Tuinstra said he looks forward to continuing as a chamber ambassador.

“For its size, (New Richmond) has one of the largest chambers in the area,” he said. “Now, it’s the second-fastest growing area in the state in terms of new home builds – (it) has gained a lot of transplants from the Minnesota area. It started a bit before I got here, but it’s been fast and furious since I got here.”

Tuinstra said he encourages people to participate in their local chambers of commerce.

“(As a board chamber board member), you learn a lot about leadership, about having challenging conversations and trying to think about the community as a whole and thinking about what the community impacts about some of the decisions,” he said.

Tuinstra is also a member of the retention committee for the St. Croix County Economic Development Corporation and has also volunteered with RCU on a St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity build.

Affordable housing, he said, is an important topic for him.

“The barrier to entry for a lot of people is at that first purchase price, that first home,” he said.

Tuinstra is also vice president of the board of directors for Five Loaves Food and Clothing Center in New Richmond – an organization that provides free and low-cost food and clothing for those in need.

“We have experienced record numbers over the last years,” he said.

Seeing an increased need during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuinstra said the current influx of people needing support is now being impacted by the cost of housing and other problems. 

He also helps at The Two Fish Thrift Store, a branch of the Five Loaves organization.