I enjoyed reading Sarah Snell Cooke's support of paying directors. I think paid directors will give credit unions another tool to manage their credit union better.

When I started at SAFE 33 years ago, our directors all worked at McClellan Air Force Base. They got paid time off to attend board meetings, planning sessions and committee meetings. We were the credit union that served the base and they considered us part of their employee services. Today, the base is closed, and we don't have any employers who sponsor the credit union. Our directors take vacation time or unpaid time off to serve the credit union. Granted, most of our board is retired but we soon have a new generation of directors and we will want to recruit community leaders who are working. I think that will require us to offer them compensation. Most credit unions no longer have directors who are subsidized by a sponsor.

In my opinion, all directors receive indirect compensation. Most credit unions pay for their directors and their spouses to attend credit union conferences. Many of those conferences are at high-end locations and include a great deal of leisure time.