WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What worries the chairmen of leagueboards? When Credit Union Times asked them to name their topconcerns, certain issues arose time and time again. The list isn'tsurprising. * Taxation and attacks by bankers. * Educatinglawmakers and the public about credit unions. * Keeping the creditunion philosophy, and small credit unions, alive. * Bankruptcyreform. * Competition from both traditional and nontraditionalsources. * The implications of technology. How can credit unionsafford the technology they need? As technology seems to invite morefraud and identity theft, how can credit unions protect members?Other subjects such as coping with a pending wave of credit unionCEO retirements and retaining key staff were also cited. But itemsfrom the list above appeared on almost everyone's agenda. Manyleague chairmen took the time to put specific issues in context oftheir own state. For example, Hal James, chairman of the MissouriCredit Union Association and CEO of Mizzou Credit Union, explainedwhat he sees: “The bankers trade association attack against fieldof membership expansion in Missouri continues as the major issue.At this time legal efforts have progressed to the Missouri SupremeCourt as to whether banks even have standing to question a Missouricredit union's field of membership,” James explained. “This will bedecided this year. In any event, this will not be the end of thework credit unions in Missouri must do to end harassment by banks.”George Economon, chairman of the North Dakota Credit Union Leagueand a director of North Dakota Air National Guard Credit Union,wrote about the challenges facing credit unions there. “Our statehas vast spaces and few people, so our typical credit union is notvery large – the majority are less than $8 million in asset size.Helping to keep these small credit unions viable and competitive isa major concern,” he noted. “Members want their financialinstitution to be both local and to have the various memberservices such as VISA, online banking, competitive savings andlending products and so on offered by our competition. That isextremely difficult to provide.” Even in large states likeIllinois, the future of small credit unions concerns leaguedirectors. For example here's what Janet Francoeur, chairman of theIllinois Credit Union System and CEO of Riverside Community CreditUnion, said: “In Illinois, approximately 75% of our credit unionsare under $20 million in assets. These credit unions provide a coreservice for their members and are an important and vital part ofthe credit union movement. Bank competition, sponsor layoffs,succession planning, limited resources and staff training are allareas that need to be addressed by smaller credit unions,” shesaid. “The Illinois league has a lot of programs in place to assistsmall credit unions, but we need to make this a national priority.The first solution to helping a small credit union should not bemerger,” she added. When league chairmen speak like this, they'regenerally drawing from considerable professional experience. Thetypical chairman of a league board is a credit union CEO with about15 years tenure in that job. It's typically “he,” although close to25% are women. With term limitations, many league chairmen haveonly held that post for a couple years. There are a few creditunion volunteers who have become league chairmen, but not many. Infact, one such volunteer quipped that when he went to a meeting inanother state and a volunteer league director was introduced, headsturned to take a look at someone “unusual”. The leagues representall but a handful of credit unions in their states. Perhaps it'stheir experience as CEOs, but to a man and woman the board chairmenoppose micromanaging their leagues. Yes, they said, the boardshould set direction and keep its eyes open to see that things aremoving as expected. However, they believe that happens when thefull-time staff isn't hobbled. Economon related it to personalexperience. “I worked at the North Dakota Air National Guard,retiring in 1991,” he wrote. “My first commander, a colonel whocame to our unit and really turned it around, making it one of thebest in the country, had a saying: `Hire good people and get theheck out of their way!' “The board, with management and memberinputs, should set the policy and direction of the organization.Then it's up to the management team to make it happen. It's likesteering a ship. After figuring out where everyone wants to go, theleague board picks the destination and course, the management teamsteers the ship, and the rest of the team makes the ship move –either by raising the sails or rowing.” John Gibardi, chairman ofthe New York State Credit Union League and president/CEO ofEntertainment Industries FCU, stressed it's vital to get the creditunion message out to a wide audience. In fact, he stated, meetingthe challenges that face credit unions depends on setting creditunions apart from every other financial institution. “Our task mustbe to educate consumers, elected officials and other businessgroups about what and who we are, and the fact that we can be keyto building financially strong communities,” he wrote. “We can'tkeep our services a secret. We need to trumpet the credit uniondifference every chance we get. If we get the word out – ifconsumers understand they have a stake in our future andlegislators recognize the support we have from constituents – thenpressure from other financial sectors will recede.” –[email protected]