COLUMBIA, Md. – Volunteers pushing to gain a bigger voice in managing industry trade groups have apparently advanced their cause this month with the creation of a new league committee and expansion of a statewide chairmen's group. The Maryland and D.C. Credit Union Association said it is in the process of adding a separate Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC), a first for the newly-merged league. The 13-member committee, whose members are being selected this month, is slated to start functioning at the end of March to provide ideas, guidance and direction in association management, according to Michael Beall, president/CEO. Meanwhile, efforts are underway by a group of Maryland volunteers to expand nationwide the Maryland Chairmen's Forum, a group which has been meeting quarterly for the last three years. Helping spearhead that effort is David H. Gilbert, one of two volunteers on the 11-member NAFCU Board who has long been vocal in urging volunteers to run for elected jobs in both national and state trade groups. Gilbert, who also is chairman of Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU, said he is joined in expanding Maryland Chairmen's Forum to other states by J. Wesley Bone, vice chairman of MDCCUA and chairman of First Financial FCU, Lutherville. Bone, like Gilbert, has long called on volunteers in Maryland and elsewhere to become more active in serving on committees and contributing more of their time and talent to helping guide state and national trade groups. Volunteer advocates like Gilbert and others have argued that with CU groups facing dues pressure amidst declining numbers as well as bank attacks, volunteer input is becoming vital. Regarding expansion of the Chairmen's Forum, Gilbert confessed he was unsure of the details but he was told that state chairmen's groups are being organized in Indiana or Texas. Extension of the forum group is important, said Gilbert, because it gives chairmen of small CUs a chance to share ideas on a variety of issues on a regular basis. The Chairmen's Group has been meeting in offices of the Maryland League. The Maryland Chairmen's Forum, he said, "sets its own agenda, meets for two to three hours and discusses a variety of issues particularly important to chairmen of small credit unions." The subject matter has ranged from political advocacy to payday lending, "and it is an excellent forum," he said. Concerning the new Volunteer Advisory panel of the Maryland-D.C. Association, Beall, the CEO, said the committee's formation is a positive reflection of heightened volunteer interest in trade group direction and follows leadership roles of both Bone and Gilbert in the National Association of Credit Union Chairmen. "Right now we are in the process of collecting folks who will serve on the committee which will be kind of a kitchen cabinet advising the board and me" in management operations, explained Beall. The association board is slated to hear a progress report on VAC at its Jan 27 meeting, said Beall. Formation of VAC comes amidst new appeals by the association to interest more CEOs and volunteers to serve on committees and participate in councils. In a January e-mail newsletter, the association noted that "as the new Maryland and D.C. Credit Union Association is being born, it needs committed individuals" to serve on committees. "There are eight committees with a total of 132 seats that need to be filled," the newsletter advised. For volunteers, they can choose "the top three choices of where you would like to serve. The MDDCCUA Board will work to accommodate each request and credit union volunteers will hold at least two positions on each committee." The newsletter concluded that the league "strongly encourages volunteers to participate in MDDCCUA committees." -

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