RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — CO-OP Financial Services has announced the three finalists for this year's $10,000 CO-OP THINK Prize.
The THINK Prize, now in its fourth year, encourages innovation within the credit union community. The $10,000 grand prize is presented by MasterCard.
Finalists were selected from 20 semi-finalists by judges from CO-OP Financial Services and the Filene Research Institute. Contestants submitted comprehensive business plans for ideas to help the credit union movement compete successfully in today's financial services market.
The three finalists and their business plan titles are:
- Sanam Kazi, project coordinator at Chicago Patrolmen's FCU, Chicago: "Customizable Website for Financial Education to Credit Union Members"
- Christopher Whalen, marketing and e-services specialist at Connex CU, North Haven, Conn.: "Mobile One: A Complete Financial Solution"
- Brett Wooden, SVP of marketing and IT at Cy-Fair FCU, Houston: "Embrace a Child's Imagination to Develop Financial Literacy"
Stan Hollen, president and CEO of CO-OP Financial Services says this year's contestants delivered the "greatest depth" of ideas in the competition's history. "These ideas — emphasizing technology to educational marketing, including to the very young — reflect the diverse creative thinking we are seeking to inspire."
The winner will be named May 21 during the THINK 14 Conference in New Orleans. Scoring of the winning entry will be based on the critique of judges from CO-OP and Filene, by online voting of CU staff (
