I have worked for three different credit unions in the past 38 years, and I loved each of them. I can't imagine myself doing any other type of work. Preserving small credit unions benefits not only small credit unions themselves, but also the entire credit union movement. I am the CEO of City Co Federal Credit Union, a small credit union with assets of $21 million, and a single sponsor serving the employees of Allegheny County with a low-income designation. We are very proud of the service we provide our members.
As I write this article I am coming to the end of proudly serving on the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association board of directors for 23 years. Although I am sad to be leaving that position, it is time to have new blood serve on the board of directors. We now have a 12-year board term limit in place. State associations are always there for their credit unions and can be their greatest resource, regardless of the credit union's size. I strongly advise all credit union leaders to become involved and let their state associations know they are interested in serving on a committee. I also suggest they become politically involved. I am a strong believer that all politics are local. The state senator you help today could be your next congressman. All of these things can be done regardless of your credit union's size, and are very important to the credit union movement as we all move forward. Get involved!
We have all seen many mergers over the years, and I believe it is important that we retain small credit unions as part of the credit union movement. All credit unions were once small. Plus, it is very difficult to start up a new credit union these days, so we all need to take extreme care to preserve credit unions that already exist.
I don't know if it's the David versus Goliath syndrome or what, but my passion has always been the small credit union movement. Whether it's because of the one on one service we provide our members or the hands-on approach I can have as CEO, I know we make a difference in our member's lives.
CEOs of small credit unions work as hard if not harder than CEOs of large credit unions, and we need to know every facet of the job and the services we offer. We are small credit unions trying to do the right thing for our members. These members value the service and benefits of membership they derive from their credit union. Small credit unions provide access to high quality, personally delivered financial services that many members would not otherwise receive.
The key point in the credit union philosophy, regardless of the institution's size, is "credit unions helping credit unions." When both small and large credit unions help other small credit unions, our philosophy is put into action.
In Pittsburgh, a group of CEOs meets quarterly, and I always say this is the best meeting I attend. In the meeting, leaders from credit unions of all sizes are free to share anything, and we write notes of what each of us is going to send each other the next day. I doubt this is something the American Bankers Association would do!
Often, small credit unions do not reach out and ask for the help that is available out there. There are so many different groups that want to help small credit unions, such as our state credit union associations, CUNA, the National Credit Union Foundation, CUNA Mutual Group, the corporates, local credit union league chapters, large credit unions and the NCUA.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the Credit Union Development Program that I have been involved with since 1984, a program sponsored by the Foundation. When I became a Credit Union Development Educator, I went from just having a job at a credit union to having a career.
I was also honored back in 1999 to serve on the first CUNA Small Credit Union Task Force. When I began writing this article, I went back and read the Task Force Report, which you can find on CUNA's website. What really surprised me was the report is 17 years old and the information still holds true today!
Cookie Yoder is president/CEO at City Co Federal Credit Union. She can be reached at 412-350-5957 Ext. 206 or [email protected].
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