The Boardcast

2008 Credit Union Executives Society Directors Conference

The Boardcast will celebrate its 2nd anniversary in January. One of the surprises and pleasures that the Boardcast has given me has been the opportunity to meet many professionals and volunteers who are credit union advocates. Christopher Stevenson of the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) is one of those special people. Christopher works for CUES which is a credit union association whose mission is "...to advance the professional development of credit union CEOs, senior management and directors." It is vital for credit union professionals and volunteers to remain up to date on the latest financial and regulatory information in order to maintain a stable and viable financial institution. CUES is dedicated to providing current, valuable training for credit union advocates throughout the world. Christopher and the CUES Conference committee extended an invitation to me to join them in Palm Desert CA as a presenter at this year's CUES Directors Conference. I spoke about the work I have done in the last two years in developing and moderating the Boardcast.

Attending this conference afforded me the opportunity to attend sessions on topics such as Board Excellence and Strategic Planning as well as the latest approaches to responsible Asset Liability Management for Credit Union Directors. I also had the opportunity to meet directors who are enthusiastic credit union advocates. Directors Tom Mayo and Kathy Sweeten from NorthCountry FCU in Burlington, VT were nice enough to offer me a ride from the airport the day I arrived. I had wonderful conversations with Judy DeLong (SEFCU, Albany, NY), Wayne Duso & Keith Edwards (SeaComm FCU, Massena, NY) and Joe Finnigan (Vermont Federal CU, Burlington, VT). I met a fellow Credit Union Management School classmate of Shari Seney, Dale St. Hill, who traveled to the conference all the way from Barbados. I also found that it's a small world when I met Dale Whittaker and his fellow board member Ed Sorrell from Vantage West CU in Tuscon AZ. Ed's daughter, Janice Trudeau, lives in Plattsburgh.

I had a wonderful time as you can see from this Flickr Photo Slide Show linked to the picture of Ed and Dale shown at the start of this post.  

   

A New Look and A New Address

Yes, the Boardcast has a new look thanks to the talent and help of Morriss Partee and Nate Duval from EverythingCU. Morriss, Nate and I have been discussing a new banner and style for the Boardcast for the last month. Nate designed a banner and overall look that, I hope, enhances the message of the Boardcast.

You may notice that the new logo/banner carries a theme found in our UFirst logo. Winding through both logos is a path. This path symbolizes the commitment UFirst has to our members in, "Helping you get there". The Boardcast, in both its spirit and content, is designed to highlight and support this message. Indeed, UFirst's entire focus is to assist members in realizing the dreams they have for themselves and their families.

The bright, uncluttered style of the Boardcast symbolizes the board's openness to hearing from you, our members. We sincerely encourage you to give us feedback, because by understanding your concerns and hopes, we can improve UFirst. With your help, we can make UFirst the credit union of choice in Clinton County.

Finally, our URL has been shortened to help you to reach the Boardcast faster and easier. You can now get to the Boardcast by going to www.theboardcast.net. Please spread the word to your family, friends and other members of UFirst FCU.   

We hope you like our new look and hope you will

 

 

Celebrating One Year of the Boardcast

January 1st marks the first anniversary of the launching of the Boardcast. In honor of our first year of service I'd like to use this post to review our progress and what I've learned from blogging over the last year.

This has been an exciting new adventure for UFirst FCU and the Boardcast. I'm proud to say that we've posted over 100 times and had more than 40 comments in 2007. We've also had over 4200 visits from UFirst members and those who are interested in our efforts. Personally, I've found that the commitment and creativity required to maintain the Boardcast is worth the effort. I've had the opportunity to delve into the philosophy and principals of the credit union movement. This education has made me even more dedicated to the underlying purpose of the Boardcast. Credit Union membership provides a trusted financial institution for saving, borrowing and investing. But, at the heart of credit union membership, we have a unique opportunity to have concrete control over the structure and policies of a financial institution as well as having an impact on the economic success and well-being of our fellow members. The Boardcast contributes to this mission by encouraging members to enter into a dialog with the board of directors for the benefit of our credit union. During 2008, I will be looking for new ways to engage more of our members in this dialog.

The Boardcast was in its infancy when it began being noticed by credit union professionals throughout the country. A month after our launch Diane Franklin from Credit Union Management Magazine interviewed me for an article entitled "Social Climbers". In March, I was contacted by Paris Ward of Callahan and Associates, a Washington based credit union marketing firm, who asked me to speak about the Boardcast as part of a Webinar on Blogging Basics. Jean Garascia of Javelin Strategy & Research contacted me to discuss our progress with the Boardcast for a study they conducted and published on blogging and financial services. In early June, I received an invitation from Nancy Pullen of the Washington Credit Union League to travel to Spokane, Washington to be part of a panel on Using Web 2.0 in building better relationships with customers. It was an honor to meet credit union professionals on the other side of the country who were as excited about communicating with members in this new way as I am. The year ended with the Boardcast being featured in an article written by Nancy Feig in Bank Systems and Technology, Creating a New Kind of Customer Intimacy with Web 2.0 and Social Networking. It has been exciting and gratifying to have UFirst FCU be at the forefront of the Web 2.0 revolution and its use in the credit union world.

I began the Boardcast with the support of the UFirst management and board of directors. I'm happy to say that I now also have the support and feedback of credit union professionals throughout the US and Canada who are harnessing the power of social networking in member services. I was lucky enough to meet Morriss Partee of Everything.CU in Spokane. His counsel and advice are invaluable. Ufirst and the Adirondack and Capitol Region Chapters of the NY Credit Union League have also benefited from his expertise and knowledge in Web 2.0 and social networking. Through the Washington Credit Union League, I met Shari Storm, whose innovative credit union employee blog, Verity Voices, has received national attention;  Trey Reeme of Texas Dow Employees Credit Union and Brent Dixon of Open Source CU who assist credit unions throughout the country in Web 2.0 strategies and William Azaroff who launched Changeeverything.ca for Vancity, in Vancouver BC.  My association with these wonderful credit union advocates has introduced me to others whose enthusiasm for the credit union movement is infectious. In particular, Tim McAlpine whose young adult marketing campaign, Young and Free in Alberta for Common Wealth Credit Union, has received media attention far beyond the Alberta market.

This has indeed been an exciting year for me and the Boardcast and the future looks even brighter in 2008. Members will see announcements for future Boardcast features on the new Boardcast digital bulletin board in the UFirst Lobby. Watch for initiatives to encourage more dialog with members as well as a new look for the Boardcast in the early months of 2008. I will also be blogging live from the Credit Union National Association Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, DC in March. This national conference gives credit union staff and volunteers an opportunity to meet and talk with our legislators about the policies and issues import to credit union members. I'm sure this conference will have even more significance during this election year.

Thank you for helping to make the Boardcast such a success in 2007 and I look forward to our continued conversation in 2008.

                                                                                    

Carnival of Personal Finance

Get Rich Slowly published its Carnival of Personal Finance today and a post from the Boardcast is featured under the "Christmas Carol" category. The Carnival of Personal Finance highlights articles from 89 personal finance blogs. These articles represent a rich offering of tips and information from blog authors throughout the world - A Get Rich Slowly holiday gift for its readers.

A Boardcast Milestone

The Boardcast has reached 4000 visits since our launching in January thanks to all of our readers. Look for an even better Boardcast in 2008.

The Boardcast Featured in Online Article

Ginny Brady was interviewed, recently, for the featured article in November's issue of Bank Systems & Technology. The article entitled "Banks Are Creating a New Kind of Customer Intimacy With Web 2.0 and Social Networking" was written by senior editor, Nancy Feig. Nancy defines Web 2.0 and explores how both large and small financial institutions are using social media to enhance services and interact with customers and members.