Once again it is time to take a potpourri look around the creditunion world at items worthy of comment. Like these: Doug Faucette,an attorney and a credit union director in the `70s, needs toenroll in a Credit Union 101 course ASAP. Speaking to a banker'sgroup recently he said, “.credit union members should be consideredparticipants rather than owners” of their credit union. To explainhis totally incorrect statement he went on to say, “.you or I couldbe members of a country club and use it every day and not own it,”an example which proves absolutely nothing. Credit unions don'thave a non-member category called participant. Nor are credit unionservices even available to non-members. Credit union members aredefinitely owners. Only they can exercise that ownership privilegeby using their credit union as a member. First a person joins acredit union and becomes an owner. Then they can participate in theprograms and services of a credit union. Country clubs don't workthat way. Credit union CEOs in Nevada finally got their day in thesun with the Nevada Business Journal. A tightly structured one andone-half hour roundtable was arranged by that publication'seditorial staff supposedly so credit unions could counteractsimilar one-sided affairs held annually every July for the pastfive years in which the banking industry used it as a forum fortrotting out the same old anti-credit union rhetoric. Don't holdyour breath until the results of the credit union discussion appearin print in early May. If the loaded questions asked were anyindication, expect credit union record-setting comments to take aback seat to banker spin. “Why should credit unions be tax-exempt,”and “Why should credit unions be allowed to engage in businesslending” are hardly the type of objective and unbiased questionsthat should be expected to come from an objective publication.Wonder if the banker's faced questions like, “How do you justifyyour record profits every year?” Or, “Why are your fees so high andgetting higher?” Guess who does the most advertising in thatpublication? On the lighter side, about a year ago I mentioned inthis space a reader inquiring by e-mail how to get in touch with“the good looking girl in the green sweater on page 29.” Naturallyour editorial staff laughed and ignored him. Just recently thetables were turned. A young man shown prominently in a featurearticle in Credit Union Times shared with us an e-mail he receivedfrom a female reader that said in part, “.you're definitely onegood-looking guy and have a great smile. Actually your name shouldbe Campbell because you look mmm-mmm good.” Guess we'll have toopen a dating service. When it comes to telephone contact, creditunions continue to engage in atrocious member relations. I've saidit before but it bears repeating. Try calling a credit union CEOwithout using his or her private number. It is almost impossible toget through the electronic answering “service.” I tried fourconsecutive times to reach a CEO by phone about a week ago.Although I followed every prompt, the automated voice kept askingfor my member number. Finally “she” became disgusted with me andhung up. Every credit union CEO should be forced to call anotherstaffer using the regular phone system at least once a week toappreciate what his or her members, but especially CU colleagues,go through on a regular basis. Somewhat related, why do so manypeople insist on, after a lengthy and detailed voice-mail message,racing through the call back number? Sometimes I need to listen toa message four or five times to try and pick up the phone number.No more. Anyone who races through a call back number in avoice-mail for me can expect no call back. NCUA recently reportedthat 92.1 million potential members were added to the fields ofmembership of FCUs. Interesting but I (and the banking industry)would find far more interesting the number that have gone frombeing a potential member to simply a member. The credit unionindustry has its share of acronyms. Here's a new one: APWG. Anyoneknow what it stands for? I'm phishing for an answer. How muchprestige is there in winning an award in credit union marketingcompetitions where approximately one-third of the entries receive aplaque or a trophy? Not much in my book. Bankruptcy reformcontinues on the fast track with the last stop to be the desk ofthe President of the United States who has already said he wouldsign it into law. As warned previously in this space, not everyoneor every group thinks this new piece of legislation soon-to-be-lawis all that wonderful. I have a bulging file of articles andcolumns of outspoken opponents who are finding a lot not to likeabout bankruptcy reform. Speaking of reform, deposit insurance isback on the front burner and bears watching. Credit unions could beswept up into this package, which includes merging governmentinsurance agencies. The FDIC has announced more layoffs, this timeabout 300 staffers. This may raise questions once again about NCUAstaffing levels. I recommend readers get a copy of the CaliforniaCredit Union League's list of “Banker Terms To Denigrate CreditUnions” which appeared in the February, 2005 edition of theleague's monthly member publication, Credit Union Digest.Competition just got tougher. According to press reports, banks areredefining the word convenience by opening in-lobby coffee shops,providing service seven days a week, going aggressively afterstudent accounts, and building full-service branches seemingly onevery street corner. Finally, many credit union spokespersons needto learn how an S-Corp works before blasting the increasing numberof banks that have chosen to go that route. Comments? Call1-800-345-9936, Ext. 15, or Fax 561-683-8514, or [email protected].