The Boardcast

Board of Directors Meeting - 5/28/2008

The UFirst Board of Directors had their regular monthly meeting in the board room of our Rugar St. operations center on Wednesday, 5/28. I was unable to attend this meeting and so I cannot give my usual report to members. However, there is an item that appears on each monthly agenda that I would like to discuss in depth. UFirst Directors and Management review a section of the policy manual. We discuss and either approve or reaffirm policies which are at the heart of our credit union operation

Developing and setting policies for the credit union is one of the most important responsibilities of a director. According to the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Nonprofit Leadership:

"Policies are guiding principles designed to influence decisions and actions. Policies are intended to help boards govern within a set of agreed-upon standard guidelines. Governance policies can help keep a system of checks and balances in place and help board members hold each other accountable."

Ufirst Board Members and Management set aside a portion of each board meeting to review a section of the policy manual. In some instances, committee members have worked on the policies and bring the finished product to the table to discuss, revise and approve. Credit Unions are unique in that policies that make up the underlying structure of the credit union are developed and approved by volunteer board members who are elected by and represent the credit union members. NCUA, which is the regulatory agency for all credit unions, sends examiners to each credit union on a regular basis. They spend a portion of each examination reviewing policies and comparing them to the actions taken by the board and described in the board minutes. Reviewing, updating and adhering to our credit union policies is integral to a well run credit union.

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 to be placed on the meeting agenda are welcome to contact Linda Bourgeois, a member of the Board of Directors or email the Boardcast at ufirstbod@gmail.com.

 

Identity Protection

Special thanks to UFirst Marketing Director Jody Carpenter for her wonderful work in organizng and presenting an educational seminar entitled Identity Theft: Who's Got Your Number? Jody provided an overview of the causes of identity theft as well as ways for members to protect their personal information. Investigator Jerome Miner of the New York State Police discussed the variety of scams perpetrated through email and on the internet. He gave valuable information on smart online practice for those who use the internet on a regular basis. Diane LaVigna-Wixted premiered public service videos which have been developed by the New York Credit Union Foundation and are being broadcast throughout New York State in order to raise public awareness of the dangers of and safeguards against identity theft. A special thank you also goes to Alison Doney of the New York Credit Union Association who assisted with the development and organization of this valuable program.

The Boardcast Roaming Camera - Plattsburgh's Rich History

One way to save money is to find free or low cost  family events and activities that are available close to home. Recently, I became aware of some special summer events focusing on the rich history of Plattsburgh and Clinton County. Here's a video that features information on activities that are both economical and worthwhile.

New York State Governmental Affairs Conference

Ufirst CEO Linda Bourgeois, Board Member Ginny Brady and Supervisory Committee Member Jaimie Trautman attended the New York State Credit Union League Governmental Affairs conference and lobbying day in Albany on Monday, May 19th. The Flickr link on the sidebar features some pictures from the conference.

The day began with a briefing by Amy Kramer, Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the New York State Credit Union League. UFirst participants then joined representatives from  Dannemora Federal Credit Union, GP Community Federal Credit Union and Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union in visits to Senator Betty Little and Assemblywomen Teresa Sayward and Janet Duprey. Listen to the short interview by clicking the right arrow on the player at the end of this post for an explanation of why it is important for credit union members to be represented at this yearly event.

An Ounce of Prevention..

UFirst FCU is hosting a presentation on strategies for protecting your identity on Wednesday, May 21st from 6pm to 8pm in the Cardinal Lounge on the campus of Plattsburgh State University. The panel will include UFirst Director of Marketing Jody Carpenter, Investigator Jerome "Jay" Miner, New York State Police Computer Crime Unit - Northern Region and Diane LaVigna-Wixted from the NYS Credit Union Foundation. Registration will begin at 5:30 pm. For more information and to reserve your seat call Jody Carpenter at 518-324-5700.

And now for something more...

Recently, the public broadcasting radio show This American Life and National Public Radio News collaborated on a feature entitled "The Giant Pool of Money". In less than 1 hour, this radio broadcast gives a carefully researched, clear and concise explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis (from its beginning). You can listen to the full report by visiting this link. You won't want want to miss this excellent presentation.

The Boardcast Roaming Camera

This is a short interview conducted in the College Center on the campus of the State University of NY at Plattsburgh. Ginny Brady, UFirst FCU Board Member and Morriss Partee of EverythingCU thought it would be interesting to try an interview experiment and speak with a few students about their knowledge of credit unions. Dan Reynolds from EverythingCU operated the camera.

Taming Grocery Prices - Online Resources

Are Food Prices Really Increasing?

Recently, I read an online Reuters article entitled "Tips For Taming Rising Grocery Prices". The article gave a brief history of the cost of food. The author observed that food prices in the US have been relatively low in the past few years. We are now faced with steep increases in food costs that combined with high gasoline, home heating and health care costs are placing a tremendous financial strain on our pocket books. A coworker observed that he had been accustomed to budgeting a fixed amount from his paycheck for weekly expenses. Until recently, he had been able to meet his weekly costs with this amount. He said that he knows costs are increasing since even though his spending habits have not changed he has had to increase this weekly expense budget leaving less money for savings and discretionary spending.

Tips for Reducing Food Costs

Now more than ever, time spent on discovering ways to save money are paying off. I found the Reuters article to be an excellent source of tips and resources designed to initiate a saving strategy for our challenging economic environment.

We all know that coupon clipping provides hundreds of dollars of savings for those who have the patience and discipline to make this a weekly ritual. Newspapers and magazines are the traditional source of these coupons but many savvy shoppers are accessing them online. Reuters mentioned Hot Coupon World which provides numerous links to coupons that can be printed and used in any store.

Many of us have favorite cereals, grains, pastas etc. which we purchase on a regular basis. Some large grocery stores and our own North Country Food Coop sell these products and more in bulk. Purchasing reusable containers to buy items available in bulk is an often overlooked way to save. Another saving strategy mentioned in the article is buying frozen instead of fresh fish. Reuters observes that,

Almost all of the "fresh" fish you buy has been frozen and thawed. Fish from the freezer section has often been frozen on the boat, so its equally fresh and cheaper.

More Overlooked Tips

Most businesses have websites today and large grocery stores are no different. All of the large grocery stores in Clinton County have an online presence and some provide their own internal strategies for making economical, healthy purchases. Price Chopper's website seemed to have the most to offer. This site has their most recent circular as well as a special coupon link for additional savings. Their site also made it easy to search for savings by department. Although logging in was not necessary to access this information, logging in allows users to use special features like creating a personalized online shopping list.

Aldi's website includes their weekly features as well as a meal planner and recipe section. It is clear from Hannaford's website that they have made information on nutrition a corporate goal. Their "Guiding Stars" program which provides instant product nutritional information is prominently featured. In addition to their online circulars, Hannaford has a link to a series of videos demonstrating preparation processes like making a pie and carving a turkey.

The information available on these sites supports my belief that access to the internet is becoming more a necessity than a luxury. Those who have this information are given the opportunity to implement saving strategies which are vital in today's economy.

A New Credit Union Board Blog

The CreditUnion2Zero blog was launched on the Word Press platform on May 5th, 2008. The Boardcast would like to welcome the newest and (as far as we know) second credit union board directed blog. CreditUnion2Zero was developed and is maintained by Luis Barros who is a director at Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union in Northeastern Massachusettes. Luis has launched this blog

...to advance the proficiency of Next Generation Internet (NGI) for Directors, Executives, Business Devleopment and Marketing Professionals in the Credit Union industry.

He has made a good start in his first two posts which describe Student Loan CUSOs (Credit Union Service Organizations) and revisits an article entitled "Ten Marketing Tends for Credit Union Boards" from a 2005 issue of CUNA's Credit Union Directors Newsletter.

The Boardcast is happy to have a blogging buddy in CreditUnion2Zero and we look forward to reading and commenting on the posts found on this innovative blog.

Credit Crisis - Credit Cards

Many economists and journalists believe that the current credit crisis has its roots in the indiscriminate use of subprime mortgages. This provided many Americans with a quick entry into home ownership. Buyers purchased high priced homes with low or no down payment. They were offered interest rates that began by being managable but grew to a rate beyond the homeowners ability to pay. The prevalence of these subprime loans has become a recipe for economic disaster and widespread foreclosures. A side effect has been a tightening of all types of credit across the economy. This includes personal credit in the form of credit cards. Americans have come to depend on credit cards for everything from the purchase of groceries and necessities to making it possible to emerge from health and personal crises. Dependence on the easy availability of credit has developed over a long period of time. In fact, it's hard to remember a time when credit wasn't easily available and people didn't borrow for even the smallest purchase.

Recently, the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held hearings on the need for consumers to be protected from certain practices that have become prevalent in the credit card industry. Industry and economic experts testified both pro and con. Katherine Porter, an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law made an interesting observation. She said,

Most consumer financial products are either payment-only devices (cash, debit cards, etc.) or borrowing-only devices (mortgages, signature loans etc.). Credit cards are unique because they combine the ability to spend and borrow in a single financial instrument.

Although credit cards were invented in the early 1950's and developed into their current form in the mid 1960's, the widespread and almost universal use of credit cards is a more recent phenomenon. Today credit cards are often used like cash but, in reality, they represent loans. They can give the borrower the false sense that they have more cash to spend than they really do. During the early days of credit cards, borrowers were expected to pay off their credit card balance with each statement. Today approximately 45% of the population carries a balance from month to month, sometimes only making minimum payments. In addition, a percentage of credit card users are late with payments and/or exceed their credit card limits. The current credit crisis combined with poor payment habits of users have increased the likliehood that credit card users will have interest rates and penalties increased on the cards that they use.

UFirst is proud of the Visa credit card product we offer our members. The interest rate for the card is 9.9% and has never been raised. Although late payments and exceeding the card's limit do trigger a penality of $25, Ufirst does not increase the interest rate in addition to the penalty. It remains 9.9%. Cash advances of up to $1500 are available for card holders. Interest on cash advances begins immediately and interest on credit card transactions have a 30 day grace period. The Visa credit card issued by UFirst uses the one billing cycle method of calculating finance charges on outstanding balances. This preferred method provides savings over double-cycle billing which is used by some financial institutions in finance charge calculations.

Accessible credit is an important part of the economy. If you have a credit card or plan on getting a new one be sure that you understand the payment, interest and finance terms of the card. If you have a UFirst card and you don't understand any part of the contract be sure to speak with our Visa coordinator, Eric Arlt. In addition, The Federal Reserve provides a website which details important considerations when choosing a credit card.