WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What worries the chairmen of league boards? When Credit Union Times asked them to name their top concerns, certain issues arose time and time again. The list isn't surprising. * Taxation and attacks by bankers. * Educating lawmakers and the public about credit unions. * Keeping the credit union philosophy, and small credit unions, alive. * Bankruptcy reform. * Competition from both traditional and nontraditional sources. * The implications of technology. How can credit unions afford the technology they need? As technology seems to invite more fraud and identity theft, how can credit unions protect members? Other subjects such as coping with a pending wave of credit union CEO retirements and retaining key staff were also cited. But items from the list above appeared on almost everyone's agenda. Many league chairmen took the time to put specific issues in context of their own state. For example, Hal James, chairman of the Missouri Credit Union Association and CEO of Mizzou Credit Union, explained what he sees: “The bankers trade association attack against field of membership expansion in Missouri continues as the major issue. At this time legal efforts have progressed to the Missouri Supreme Court as to whether banks even have standing to question a Missouri credit union's field of membership,” James explained. “This will be decided this year. In any event, this will not be the end of the work credit unions in Missouri must do to end harassment by banks.” George Economon, chairman of the North Dakota Credit Union League and a director of North Dakota Air National Guard Credit Union, wrote about the challenges facing credit unions there. “Our state has vast spaces and few people, so our typical credit union is not very large – the majority are less than $8 million in asset size. Helping to keep these small credit unions viable and competitive is a major concern,” he noted. “Members want their financial institution to be both local and to have the various member services such as VISA, online banking, competitive savings and lending products and so on offered by our competition. That is extremely difficult to provide.” Even in large states like Illinois, the future of small credit unions concerns league directors. For example here's what Janet Francoeur, chairman of the Illinois Credit Union System and CEO of Riverside Community Credit Union, said: “In Illinois, approximately 75% of our credit unions are under $20 million in assets. These credit unions provide a core service for their members and are an important and vital part of the credit union movement. Bank competition, sponsor layoffs, succession planning, limited resources and staff training are all areas that need to be addressed by smaller credit unions,” she said. “The Illinois league has a lot of programs in place to assist small credit unions, but we need to make this a national priority. The first solution to helping a small credit union should not be merger,” she added. When league chairmen speak like this, they're generally drawing from considerable professional experience. The typical chairman of a league board is a credit union CEO with about 15 years tenure in that job. It's typically “he,” although close to 25% are women. With term limitations, many league chairmen have only held that post for a couple years. There are a few credit union volunteers who have become league chairmen, but not many. In fact, one such volunteer quipped that when he went to a meeting in another state and a volunteer league director was introduced, heads turned to take a look at someone “unusual”. The leagues represent all but a handful of credit unions in their states. Perhaps it's their experience as CEOs, but to a man and woman the board chairmen oppose micromanaging their leagues. Yes, they said, the board should set direction and keep its eyes open to see that things are moving as expected. However, they believe that happens when the full-time staff isn't hobbled. Economon related it to personal experience. “I worked at the North Dakota Air National Guard, retiring in 1991,” he wrote. “My first commander, a colonel who came to our unit and really turned it around, making it one of the best in the country, had a saying: `Hire good people and get the heck out of their way!' “The board, with management and member inputs, should set the policy and direction of the organization. Then it's up to the management team to make it happen. It's like steering a ship. After figuring out where everyone wants to go, the league board picks the destination and course, the management team steers the ship, and the rest of the team makes the ship move – either by raising the sails or rowing.” John Gibardi, chairman of the New York State Credit Union League and president/CEO of Entertainment Industries FCU, stressed it's vital to get the credit union message out to a wide audience. In fact, he stated, meeting the challenges that face credit unions depends on setting credit unions apart from every other financial institution. “Our task must be to educate consumers, elected officials and other business groups about what and who we are, and the fact that we can be key to building financially strong communities,” he wrote. “We can't keep our services a secret. We need to trumpet the credit union difference every chance we get. If we get the word out – if consumers understand they have a stake in our future and legislators recognize the support we have from constituents – then pressure from other financial sectors will recede.” – [email protected]