AWARDS

The Credit Union Association of Colorado, Arvada, Colo., honoredfour long-standing credit union professionals with awards duringits 73rd Annual Meeting and Convention. Robert O. Wikoff, boardmember of Foothills Credit Union, received the 2007 Volunteer Hallof Fame Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to thecredit union movement and the community. In addition, Janet Meyers,retired CEO of Jeffco Credit Union, and Marilyn James Rhoades, vicepresident government affairs and NEPCO branch manager, werepresented with the 2007 Professional Hall of Fame Achievement Awardfor their service to the credit union movement in Colorado.Additionally, Dan Kester, CEO of Sooper Credit Union, received theCredit Union Advocacy Award for his dedicated and tirelesscommitment to credit union advocacy.

Dale Kimble, president/CEO of DATCU Credit Union, Denton, Texas,has recently been honored with two local citizenship awards. Kimblewas named Public Citizen of the Year, one of the highest honorsgiven by the National Association of Scoial Workers, DentonChapter, and both he and his wife, Pam, were the recipients of the2007 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Longhorn Council of theBoy Scouts of America. The 2007 Distinguished Citizen Award ispresented to a leading citizen within the community forachievements and leadership, professionally or as a communityvolunteer who has left an enduring impact on the community. Thisindividual is recognized for modeling the principals and valuesexpressed in the Scout Oath and Law.

Oceanside Christopher Federal Credit Union, Oceanside, N.Y., wasrecently presented with a citation from Hempstead Town CouncilmanAnthony J. Santino recognizing the credit union's dedication to thecommunity. In his remarks, Councilman Santino referred to thecredit union as a “treasure in the community.”

BRANCHING OUT

Shoreline Credit Union, Manitowoc, Wis., has selcted La MacchiaGroup, LLC to design and build its new main office. The office willbe located on Calumet Avenue. The construction begain in March of2007 and is expected to be complete in the fall or winter. A new,state-of-the-art 24,000 square foot building, Shoreline Plaza, wasdesigned to maximize the use of the site and provide space forfuture needs of the CU as well as other businesses. The first flooror “garden level” will have a large training, seminar or conferenceroom that will be made available to public organizations as acommunity service. Shoreline will utilize the main floor. The thirdfloor will be available for lease. The new facility will contain anautomated cash vault, which is a cash-dispensing machine that cansort, count, store, deposit and withdraw cash.

DONATIONS

E&A Credit Union, Port Huron, Mich., recently donated toSafe Horizons of Port Huron. At the E&A Grand Opening GalaNight, raffle winner Kathleen Wheelihan won a new gas grill withutensils and a Meijer gift card, which she graciously donated backto the credit union. Upon careful consideration, the credit uniondecided to turn the donation over to Safe Horizons ExecutiveDirector Jenny Schultz, JD. Safe Horizons is a nonprofitaffiliation of the United Way. It offers shelter and supportservices for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and/orhomelessness. The services and support programs are delivered tothe community in a variety of formats ranging from shelter andhousing to support groups and legal assistance. All Safe Horizonsfacilities operate a 24-hour crisis line, seven days a week, 365days a year.

Metro 1 Credit Union, Concord, Calif., recently donated all thefurniture at their current Concord Branch to the East Bay Servicesto the Developmentally Disabled as they relocated the branch. EBSDDpurchased the historic Adobe building that was Metro 1's ConcordBranch since 1997. Under the direction of Sister Mary Grace, theEBSDD helps teach individuals with developmental disabilities thelife skills necessary to live independently.

Technology Credit Union, San Jose, Calif., recently partneredwith the Vanished Children Alliance, a national nonprofit thatassists in the location and recover of missing or abductedchildren, to help disseminate information to its members andemployees about missing children in the Bay Area. As part of itssupport, Tech CU will regularly rotate an image of a missing childfeatured by VCA on its online banking login page. The photo willlink to the VCA Web site where members can find out more about thecase, as well as a phone number to contact if they have informationthat may assist in the recovery of the child.

Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union, Woodbridge, Va., recentlysupported the 4th Annual Pump N Run held at Fort Belvoir Army Post.All competitors were required to bench press according to theirbody weight and finished with a 5K race. This year's Pump N Run hadover 60 participants. Awards were presented to the Top 5 men andTop 5 women competitors.

Vermont Federal Credit Union, South Burlington, Vt., joined theMarch of Dimes for their WalkAmerica. All proceeds for these walksbenefited the Fletcher Allen Health Care Neo-Natal Intensive CareUnit. The NICU supports children who have been born prematurely andtheir families. Each year, Vermont walks raise $350,000 for theMarch of Dimes and VTFCU is a primary contributor in terms ofcorporate sponsorship and volunteers. In addition to WalkAmerica,Vermont FCU continues to support the March of Dimes by sponsoringthe annual Signature Chefs Event and also sells beanie babies inits branches from the Fall through the Spring.

Memphis Area Teachers' Credit Union, Memphis, Tenn., recentlychose six students as the recipients of the Memphis Area Teachers'Credit Union Future Educators Scholarship Award. Each recipientwill receive a $2,500 annual, renewable scholarship. Winners canreceive up to $10,000 over four years as long as guidelinescontinue to be met. MATCU sponsors five of the six scholarships andDr. Frank Dyer, a member of MATCU's board and chairman of thescholarship committee, sponsors an additional scholarship.

Putnam Federal Credit Union, Carmel, N.Y., recently announcedits 2007 Scholarship Award winners. The credit union annuallyhonors three members or their dependents with $2,250 worth ofscholarships to use towards a college education. This year'swinners are: Kaitlyn Kelly, Aric Beece, and Christopher Sime. Thiswas PFCU's 8th Annual Scholarship Contest. Applicants were judgedon criteria including: academic performance, communityactivities/involvement, references, a statement of personal goalsand a personal essay.

Fifteen Oakland County credit unions collected over $30,000 inpledges for the 2007 Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency Walkfor Warmth. Proceeds collected in the fundraiser go toward payingthe heating bills of needy households in Oakland County. TheOakland Chapter of Credit Unions encouraged member credit unions toraise funds for the cause by agreeing to contribute $100 for eachcredit union that raised $100 or more. The Chapter's contributiontotaled $1,500 and the member credit unions collected the remainingamount from staff and members. This was the second year that theOakland Chapter coordinated involvement from its member CUs for theWalk for Warmth.

White Crown Federal Credit Union, Denver, has made a $12,580donation to Urban Peak to help them get homeless youth off thestreets. The money for the donation was raised through a popularannual skip-a-loan-payment program. Urban Peak is a nonprofitagency that provides services to homeless youth and those inat-risk situations in Denver and Colorado Springs, including streetoutreach, overnight shelter, health care, education, eveningcultural arts activities and job placement.

Six local students were recent recipients of $500 AcademicAwards from STCU Credit Union, Springfield, Mass., to be usedtoward their college tuition. The annual STCU Credit Union SerafinoScholarship Program Awards are given each year to six localcollege-bound students, each of whom receive awards of $500. Thisyear's list of students includes four Central High School seniorsand one each from East Longmeadow and Agawam high schools.