To participate, CU professionals must be between 18 and 30 and complete the Palmetto Protege application and submit it to a local chapter. All participants must also take a standard exam and create for a chapter meeting a five-minute presentation from a range of available topics.

The top three finishers at the state level each have their choice of three available scholarships: to the Southeast CUNA Management School (first year only), an all-expense-paid Hike the Hill trip to Washington, D.C., or the National Youth Involvement Board annual conference in July in New Orleans.

League officials said Palmetto Protégé is modeled after a successful program run by the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association for decades called “Youth Ambassador” which focuses on the “high-spirited, commitment-minded younger generation.”

That program also involving league chapters and convention appearances is designed for CU members 17-25 and at one time included crowning of a “Miss Credit Union of Pennsylvania” a name since dropped once the contest was open to both sexes.

The Ambassador program “which has been very successful over the years in drawing youthful attention” to credit unions, said the league, also includes prizes for the winners with the first-place winner getting $1,000 in cash with $750 and $500 prizes for second and third.

Most recently, the PCUA said chapter-level contests for Youth Ambassador were held in September and December with 14 contestants now vying for the state finals in May at the PCUA's annual convention.