The Boardcast

Board of Directors Meeting - 3/25/2008

The UFirst Board of Directors met for our regular monthly meeting at 4:15 on Tuesday afternoon. CEO Bourgeois reported that our membership continues to grow at a steady pace.

Jody Carpenter, UFirst Marketing Director, gave her quarterly report on our marketing initiatives over the last 3 months. UFirst has set youth financial education as a priority. Jody's activities over the last quarter reflect this goal. Jody participated in the state-wide LifeSmarts competition in Albany joining students from Saranac Lake HS who competed from our area. UFirst continues to participate in the NEFE program which has been in full swing at Plattsburgh HS and Saranac Central School. Jody also presented a financial education session to 7th and 8th graders at Seton Catholic School and will be partnering with Peru Central School Federal Credit Union in April in presenting the Cash Kit & Caboodle program to K through 5th graders. In addition, UFirst employees and members have shown their generosity by making contributions to community organizations like Plattsburgh State University, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Jody remains active in the business community. She will be serving on the New Membership Committee at Rotary and will be organizing and staffing a booth at the Business Expo in June. Jody reported that we have 14 member applicants for the New York State Credit Union League Scholarship program. Members of the board commended Jody for her hard work.

The board had a lengthy discussion on the Hannaford credit card compromise which affected a number of our members. Hannaford announced a network compromise affecting 4.2 million credit and debit cards on March 17th. This breach primarily affected card holders in the northeast including northern NY. Ufirst received a list of member credit and debit cards which were determined by Visa to be affected by the breach. UFirst personnel began calling these members immediately in order to communicate the necessity of blocking these cards and reissuing new cards. UFirst personnel made sure that all members affected by this problem received personal contact and an explanation of the process initiated to protect members and the credit union. Members are being encouraged to carry more than one method of payment, especially when they are on trips. This could include cash, travelers checks, Visa gift cards, or a credit card from a major issuer like Discover. The board complimented the credit union staff and management for handling this problem with their usual high level of professionalism.

Members are encouraged to post comments to the Boardcast. This is your chance to have a dialog with the UFirst Board of Directors about your credit union.

Members who would like to propose items for board discussion are welcome to contact Linda Bourgeois, a member of the Board of Directors or email the Boardcast at ufirstbod@gmail.com.

Financial Rules of Thumb - Do They Help?

Headlines we've seen in local and national newspapers say it all:

• Can't Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club
• Slump Moves from Wall Street to Main Street
• Dismal Year is Forecast for Car Sales
• Federal Report Shows Slow Job Growth Upstate

We are all struggling to cope with the challenges that this economic crisis is presenting. Locally, this fiscal emergency has meant restricted credit, higher prices for food and fuel, job lay offs and a reduction in the value of our savings. Many of us have turned to news articles, books and financial websites to help us to cope with and understand this economic downturn. These sources often try to summarize advice by giving helpful tips and/or rules of thumb to follow which they suggest will guide us through these difficult times. The problem with Rules of Thumb is that they are usually based on generalizations and require that we compare them with our own unique financial challenges, fiscal goals and life experience. Recently Kiplinger.com featured a quiz that exposes the myths represented by some Rules of Thumb. Take the Financial Truth or Bunk quiz. It may challenge some myths that you have come to rely on in managing your financial challenges.

Director Profile - Jennifer Breyette

Jennifer (Jenn) Breyette is the third in the Boardcast series of Director Profiles (read profiles for Martha Cashman and Bill Laundry, too). Ginny Brady spoke with her at the UFirst Operations Center on March 13, 2008.

Jennifer Breyette is a North Country native who was born and raised in Redford, NY. After having lived in Florida and Albany, she returned to Plattsburgh in 1989. Jenn began her career at Plattsburgh State University as a secretary and has advanced to her current position as Grants Manager and Compliance Assistant.

Jennifer Breyette was elected to the UFirst Board of Directors in June 2005. She joined the board during an exciting time in UFirst's history. She came onboard in time to join in our renaming process as well as make the cirtical decisions required for our building process.  Jenn believes that moving out of the basement of Hawkins Hall has added to the welcoming spirit of UFirst . She pointed out that our new operations center is convenient, cheerful and has ample parking.  In addition , Jenn observed that our new location has stimulated products and services to attract younger members.

Jenn mentioned that the board and management team face an important challenge in increasing young adult membership at UFirst. Jenn's daughter Amanda, who is a UFirst member, represents the 20-30 year old cohort that our credit union is targeting. Amanda is a recent graduate of SUNY Canton with a BS with honors in Veterinary Technology.  Jenn stressed that getting our young adults like Amanda to become active members of the credit union and to understand what credit unions can do for them now and in the future is an important goal.

I asked Jenn to describe the best experience she or someone she knows has had at UFirst. In response she talked about the financial challenges she had to face as a single parent. Listen to the personal experience that Jenn shared about the difference UFirst has made in her life.

Jenn would like UFirst members to know that

The very dedicated staff, management team and the board are working hard to provide the best products to members...

In addition, she mentioned the youth educational programs that are now available for young members and their families. These include Burghy Kids Club, Teen Cardinal Savings Club and the College Student Survivors Kit. Finally Jenn expressed hope that members will remember the UFirst motto, "Helping You Get There", and not be shy in giving staff and board feedback about the products and services we offer.

House Committee on Financial Services Hearing 0n Credit Unions

One of the primary purposes of attending the CUNA Governemental Affairs Conference is to meet with members of Congress to discuss the work of credit unions throughout the United States. Marketing Director Jody Carpenter, board secretary Liz Woodard and I had the privilege of joining representatives from Dannemora FCU and SeaComm FCU in a visit to Representative John McHugh at his office in the Rayburn Building.  We had the pleasure of speaking with Congressman McHugh about services credit unions provide to our fields of membership and our communities. Congressman McHugh mentioned that he belongs to two credit unions. He is a Co-Sponsor of the Credit Union Regulatory Improvement Act.

While we were at Congressman McHugh's office, I spoke with his staff assistant, Jason Miller, about a hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services on regulatory relief for credit unions. Jason very kindly arranged for me to attend the hearing at 10am on March 6th. Representatives Paul Kanjorski and Ed Royce, original sponsors of CURIA have introduced new legislation called the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act (CURRA). This legislation has 9 out of the 11 original proposals contained in CURIA. The hearing included testimony from credit union and banking officials as well as questions and comments from members of the House Committee on Financial Services chaired by Representative Barney Frank. One of the most controversial sections of the legislation would allow credit unions to expand their fields of membership to include geographic and economic areas which are identified as being under-served by financial institutions. It is expected that this legislation will contribute to actions by Congress to alleviate the credit crisis which has grown over the last year. It is hoped that this legislation will be passed this spring. The House Committee on Financial Services Archive Website provides a video of the hearing as well as text versions of the testimony.   

NCUA and Their Importance to UFirst FCU Members

Board member Ginny Brady and Marketing Director Jody Carpenter had the privilege of meeting and speaking with NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland and her senior policy adviser Gary Kohn at the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference on Tuesday morning, March 4th. Board member Hyland took time out of her busy schedule to give UFirst FCU members a clearer understand of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

Ms Hyand was appointed to the NCUA board in 2005 by President George W Bush. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) insuring the savings of 80 million account holders in all federal credit unions and many state-chartered credit unions. Ms Hyand is the sole board member with professional credit union experience on this three-person board.

Ms Hyland has advocated on behalf of credit unions throughout her career as an attorney. Prior to her appointment to the NCUA Board, she was senior vice president and general counsel for Empire Corporate Federal Credit Union in Albany, New York. As a credit union regulator, Ms Hyand has concentrated her efforts on making sure that NCUA policy and the practices of NCUA examiners in the field remains coordinated to assist credit unions in remaining sound and safe. Board Chair Joanne Johnson appointed Ms Hyland to lead the Outreach Task Force which recently published recommendations designed to improve this alignment. Two recommendations address the need for credit unions to be more accountable in their mission to serve members of modest means and encourage credit union management and boards of directors to maintain a practice of transparency with credit union members.

I asked Ms Hyland to explain what makes the NCUA important to members. She said that members should know that the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund insures the shares deposited by members into their credit unions in the same way that the FDIC insures bank deposits up to $100,000. In addition, NCUA provides a network of examiners who monitor the activities of credit unions throughout the country. The examiners make sure that credit unions remain safe and sound in their policies and practices. NCUA provides a 24/7 hotline (1-800-755-1030) for consumers who may have concerns about their credit union. Credit Union members can contact NCUA with these concerns by telephone or email. In addition, the NCUA website is an excellent resource for members. It answers many questions about credit unions and the NCUA.

I asked Ms Hyland if she had a special message that she would like to communicate to the members of UFirst FCU. She mentioned that she has valued the involvement she has had with credit unions both personally and professionally. She would like members to use their credit unions feeling confident that they will receive competent and personalized service from their credit union staff and board.

Ms Hyland also addressed some her her comments to the UFirst Board of Directors. I will be sharing those insights with the other members of the board at our next board meeting. On behalf of the staff, board and membership of UFirst, Jody and I expressed our gratitude for the time Ms Hyland and Mr. Kohn spent with us. I also invited them to visit UFirst if they ever find themselves nearby.

Recently Ms Hyland was also interviewed by Paul Berry of Home and Family Finance Radio. The audio clip from this interview is included here.

GAC Networking

The CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference provided a wonderful opportunity for UFirst board members Ginny Brady and Liz Woodard as well as Marketing Director Jody Carpenter to network. Tuesday evening March 4th was set aside to meet credit union bloggers many of whom we have known through their online presence.

Morriss Partee and Adam Lueb attended from Everything CU, Holyoke MA. Morriss developed a Facebook Group page for the gathering and is a leader in credit union Web 2.0 innovations. We spoke about BarCampBank New England which Morriss is organizing and will be held in early April at America's Credit Union Museum in Manchester NH. Adam's web design and execution skill can be seen in Everything CU's website and products like the Everything CU Switch Kit which appears on our UFirst website.

Brent Dixon of Trabian and Open Source CU attended our gathering and could be seen throughout the conference interviewing attendees and covering the GAC for CUNA's Real Solutions program. Brent developed a GAC microsite for the GAC which includes a Flickr group of photos taken during the conference. Brent is recognized as an expert in the effective use of social media by credit unions.

Christoper Morris, Web Manager at CUNA Councils came to the gathering as well as contributing to our GAC Facebook page. Jody was thrilled to meet another attendee, Bryan Sims of brass Magazine. Brass is a magazine for young adults focused on money and how it affects the lives of those preparing to enter the world of work. Jody has been intrumental in distributing this wonderful resource to student members who are particpating in our in-school educational programs.

Jeff Hardin and Rob Rutkowski rounded out our gathering. Jeff is the Communications Director for the North Carolina Credit Union League and has the CU Communicator blog. He recently posted videos which give a wonderful sense of the sites and sounds of GAC. Rob is an attorney and shareholder with Weltman, Weinberg and Reis Co., L.P.A. He blogs at That Credit Union Blog and is the host of Current Issues in Credit Unions a monthly podcast aimed at credit union professionals.

Our gathering was a testimony to the fact that conferences are not only beneficial for their educational sessions. They also provide an invaluable opportunity to network with those individuals who are at the forefront of innovation in the credit union world.

Live from the CUNA GAC 2008

Marketing Director Jody Carpenter and UFirst board members Liz Woodard and Ginny Brady arrived in Washington DC for the Credit Union National Association Governmental Affairs Conference yesterday. We spent yesterday afternoon and evening familiarizing ourselves with the immense National Convention Center so that we would be ready to attend today's sessions. 

We joined the 250 person delegation from NY for a breakfast and legislative briefing this morning. Staff members from the New York State Credit Union League prepared us for the legislative actions and visits expected during our three days in Washington. We received a packet of materials which will prepare us for our visits to Congressman McHugh and Senator Schumer on Wednesday afternoon.

One of the highlights of our day was attending a presentation by Marie Osmond who spoke about her work with the Children's Miracle Network. Ms Osmond was happy to speak to our group and congratulated Credit Unions throughout the US for their contributions of over $60M for the efforts of this fine group.