Citing her work on behalf of credit unions, the Credit Union Association of New York gave U.S. Rep. Nydia Vel?zquez (D-N.Y.) its legislator of the year award."Congresswoman Vel?zquez regularly expresses her support for credit unions," said association President/CEO William J. Mellin during the presentation in Vel?zquez' Washington office last month. "As chair of the Small Business Committee, she regularly called upon credit unions to provide a voice in how to best serve the nation's small businesses.""During this financial crisis, New York's credit unions continue to provide their members with the credit and capital they need. This is now more important than ever as consumer and small business lending is critical to jumpstarting the economy," she said. "It is an honor to be recognized for my work to help provide credit unions with the tools they need to serve their members."Vel?zquez, who has served in Congress since 1993, is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Her district includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Columbia CU CEO Leaves

Parker Cann, a former Washington State CU regulator who took the helm of controversy-wracked Columbia Community Credit Union, has announced he is moving on.Cann, who has served as CEO at Columbia since May of 2005, announced he will become a senior vice president and corporate counsel for the $8.6 billion BECU.Cann took the reins at Columbia after the departure of Columbia's former CEO David Doss. Doss had overseen the CU through a failed attempt to convert to a mutual bank charter and the beginning of the extended court battle that ensued."Columbia Credit Union is considered well-capitalized, has good liquidity and will continue serving the community with a strong management team and caring staff. The core values of service, convenience and community will not change with my departure," Cann said. "Taking a personal interest in the people we help is the right thing to do-something you can count on from Columbia. Delivering a positive member experience is important today and will continue to be so in my new role at BECU."Cann will oversee BECU's legal and regulatory compliance and lobbying efforts, according to BECU."With Parker's proven leadership skills and thorough understanding of credit unions as well as the regulatory and legislative issues that we face, we are excited to have a person of his caliber join our executive management team," said Gary Oakland, BECU president/CEO. "With the addition of Parker we will be able to create a regulatory and legislative environment that has a positive influence on the experience we are able to deliver to our members."In announcing his departure, the CU claimed to be the only credit union in western Washington and the Portland metro area with the Small Business Administration's preferred lender status. It added that the CU ranked at the top for Clark County home equity loans and lines of credit and number three for Clark County first mortgages. Columbia also claimed that public records show it to be the county's No. 1 provider of auto loans.According to NCUA records, Columbia grew from being a $684 million CU when he took it over to being a $764 million CU as of the end of 2008. But the credit union has not been immune from the overall downturn either and saw its income drop by $4.6 million as of the end of last year.