CALGARY, Alberta — The World Council of Credit Unions presented its highest award, the Distinguished Service Award, to L.R. (Bobby) McVeigh during their Conference held in Calgary from July 29 to August 1. The award recognizes his lifetime of service to the credit union movement locally, nationally and internationally. McVeigh is from Nova Scotia, Canada.
He began his credit union service as a young man when his father told him it was time to give back by volunteering at his local credit union. He joined their board of directors in 1997 and served as board chairman from 2003-2005.
His list of directorships reads like a directory of Canadian credit union organizations. In 1978, McVeigh was a director of Credit Union Central Nova Scotia (CUCNS) and later was their interim CEO for six months. He was a director of League Data Limited and League Savings and Mortgage Company. He also represented the Nova Scotia Credit Union system on the board of Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation for eight years. He is a founding member and chairman of the Nova Scotia Credit Unions Charitable Foundation.
McVeigh began his national work in 1986 when he joined the board of Credit Union Central Canada. He continued to work on boards of Canadian Cooperative Leasing Services, CUSource, the National Initiative System Task Force, Co-operative Trust Company of Canada, Concentra Financial Services Association and the Canadian Co-operative Association.
Over the years, McVeigh has spoken on credit union topics in Western and Eastern Continental Europe, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Africa, Asia, Iran, Russia, Belarus, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Caribbean, Canada and the U.S.A.
In 2006, McVeigh was appointed to the United Nations Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors. This Group will provide advice and guidance to the UN and will seek ways to make a broad variety of financial services accessible for the poor and for small enterprises across the globe.
McVeigh has been recognized internationally for his work in governance and microfinance; awards include The Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions Special Recognition Award; the Asian (ACDE) Award; and the Phoenix Award from Poland. In 2005, McVeigh was awarded the top Polish prize by the Foundation for Polish Credit Unions–an award that recognizes a member of the credit union community who contributes significantly to the promotion and development of the Foundation.
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