Great Debate needed more spit and fire

<p>I couldn’t agree more with Mike Welch regarding his comments in his April 10th publisher’s column on the Great Debate at this year’s Big Valley Educational Conference in Monterey, California. Both gentlemen (debaters) were very polite, but neither was passionate or engaging. Not only did I cringe at Keith Leggett’s repeated use of the word “customer”, I did not appreciate his suggestion that we pay our volunteers in order to attract more qualified directors. Although I’ll confess to murmuring to myself something akin to “go to hell”, what I really wanted to share with ABA’s Leggett was this: “Just about every one in that room was a credit union member, many of them directors. So, when you speak of `them’, you are speaking of `us.’ ” The make up of my board, by the way, includes the city’s finance director, the CEO of our Chamber of Commerce, an Hispanic educator, an attorney, a deputy sheriff, a CPA, a computer programmer, the county auditor, and a credit union branch manager. If that mix is considered less than desirable, I’ll take it every time. After 20 years in this movement, it still amazes me that the banking industry is unwilling to embrace the inherent differences that make a credit union unique – its cooperative spirit and its volunteerism. Oh, if only I’d gotten hold of that open mike! I could have added my own little bit of spit and fire to spark that debate! Cherie Knox CEO First Napa FCU California</p>