The Boardcast

Video Vote

Recently my friends at Forum Solutions and Trabian opened a competition for a position as a guest speaker at their yearly conference, Partnership Symposium '08. The conference sponsors sent out a call for auditions for this coveted spot on the schedule by asking those interested to develop a video which covered one of two themes from the Federal Credit Union Act. The announcement stated:

Themes: The Federal Credit Union Act gives this definition for a Credit Union:

...the term ‘‘Federal credit union’’ means a cooperative association organized in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for provident or productive purposes;

That statement of purpose is good news, good news we aren’t always good at sharing or remembering. So maybe you can help us get excited and refocused by speaking to one of these two core ideas.

• Promoting Thrift
• Loans for Provident and Productive Purposes

How to Audition It’s pretty easy, just make a video of why you’d make a good Guest Speaker and tell us which of the two topics you’d like to speak on and why.

I enjoy a good challenge and, since this is a wonderful conference that I'd love to attend, I entered and submitted a video. My video is one of 4 entries and it's now time to cast your vote for the one you think best illustrates the theme. The more votes the merrier so cast your ballot, here, at the Forum Solutions Site. The deadline is July 11th.

 

Board of Directors Meeting - June 17, 2008

The UFirst Board of Directors met for their monthly board meeting at the operations center on Rugar St. on Tuesday, June 17th. We conducted the regular board business of the month. This included reviewing the credit union financials, a discussion of the current interest rates, updates and reaffirmations of the policy manual as well as scheduling our semi-annual planning meeting which will be held on June 27th and 28th.

Board meetings often include CEO Linda Bourgeois updating the board on reactions and feedback she or credit union employees have received from members during the month. This meeting was no different. Linda told us about a recent incident at UFirst. Member Leo Wells stopped at the credit union after he had purchased a car and negotiated a loan at a used car dealership in Vermont. Leo has been a UFirst member for over 6 years. He needed UFirst's routing number in order to arrange an automatic withdrawal to make his payments. Marketing Director Jody Carpenter saw Leo waiting and asked if she could help him. They began to chat about his new purchase. He had the loan file with him and she asked if he would like her to review it. She was shocked to discover that his interest rate was 15.9%.  Jody knew Leo could get a much lower loan rate through UFirst and asked him if he would like to speak with a loan officer. She escorted him to the office of Loan Officer Lois Nichols. Lois reviewed Leo's loan documents carefully. She discovered that we could cut his interest rate by more than half. Lois also noticed that the dearlership had charged him $800 for the Gap Premium Insurance (loan repayment insurance). The cost of this insurance at UFirst is $85. Leo's trip to UFirst had indeed been fortuitous. Leo left UFirst grateful for Jody's quick action and Lois's thoroughness and expertise. Thanks to Leo Wells for allowing us to share his story with others through the Boardcast. This story is a perfect example of the ways in which UFirst staff puts our motto "Helping You Get There" into practice on a daily basis. 

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.

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.

 

Board of Directors Meeting - 4/15/2008

The UFirst Board of Directors met for our regular monthly meeting at 4:15 on Tuesday afternoon. CEO Linda Bourgeois reported on our membership growth in March. Linda reported that our Campus Branch has been remodeled and will be open to members as of Wednesday, April 16th. The repairs to our drive-through are expected to be completed by the end of April. The board and management appreciate how understanding the members have been with this inconvenience. We also appreciate the flexiblility of the staff in changing lobby hours in order to compensate for the drive-through closure.

CEO Bourgeois, Ginny Brady and supervisory committee member, Jaimie Trautman, will be attending the New York State Credit Union League Governmental Affairs Conference in Albany in May. Credit Union staff and members will be in Albany to speak with legislators about the benefits that credit unions provide to members as well as the contributions we make to the state and national economy.

The UFirst Board voted to become a charter participant in the North Country Scholarship program. This is a new scholarship program which matches local business leaders with local student leaders. The North Country Scholarship program will support the North Country economy by retaining high achieving young people in the region for their higher education. It is hoped that this will increase the likelihood that they will be North Country leaders in the future. UFirst's participation in this initiate furthers our goal of being the premier education credit union in the North Country. In addition to our elementary and high school educational programs we also contribute to the Community Service Scholarship, the UFirst Endowment at SUNY Plattsburgh as well as our own UFirst FCU scholarship given to deserving member scholars each year.

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.

A Brief Video Tour of America's Credit Union Museum

Thank you to Peggy Powell, the Executive Director of America's Credit Union Museum, for a wonderful tour of an inspiring facility.

A Brief Tour of America's Credit Union Museum - Part One

A Brief Tour of America's Credit Union Museum - Part Two

A Brief Tour of America's Credit Union Museum - Part Three

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.

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.   

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.

Board of Directors Meeting - 02/19/2008

The UFirst Board of Directors met for our regular monthly meeting at 4:30 on Tuesday afternoon. Peter Zielinski, board chair, called the meeting to order and we spent the first part of the meeting approving new members and reviewing the services the credit union has provided during the month of January. CEO Linda Bourgeois reported that new memberships have increased again in January as have loans  provided to members. Loan reports reflect the relationship pricing policy the board enacted prior to moving into our new operations center.  UFirst members have the opportunity to lower their loan rates through their use of credit union services. The UFirst board is proud of the competitive loan rates we are able to offer our members. CEO Bourgeois also reported that the campus credit union branch at the Plattsburgh State University College Store continues to enjoy regular member use.

The board received an excellent report from The Plattsburgh College Foundation on the status of the UFirst Federal Credit Union Endowment. This annual statement for the year ending June 30, 2007 reports the endowment value to be $120,448. UFirst's endowment joins a pool of more than 200 individual endowments having a total portfolio value of $13M. The UFirst FCU Endowment Recipients for 2006/2007 were Joel Brandt, Ashley Canning and Courtney St. Pierre.

The board discussed the upcoming Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, DC which will be attended by Marketing Director, Jody Carpenter and board members Liz Woodard and Ginny Brady. Conference highlights and impressions will be covered on the Boardcast during the conference.   

Board of Directors Strategic Planning Meeting

The UFirst Board of Directors and members of the Management Team met at the Butcher Block in Plattsburgh on Wednesday, February 6th for our semi-annual strategic planning session. Phil Frani, who has conducted both planning and educational sessions for us in the past, facilitated this educational seminar. Phil helped us to review the components of the UFirst financial statement. The board of directors spends a portion of each board meeting examining the credit union financial statement and this session gave us an opportunity to review how each individual part relates to the total report. The board and management staff found this review helpful. In addition, we were able to analyze the significant ratios that are indicative of the health and growth of our credit union. The board and management staff are grateful for Phil's expertise and assistance. He provides us with vital training as well as helping us to plan for the future.