WASHINGTON - Outgoing CUNA Chairman Allan Kemp McMorris appeared to be relieved to be turning the gavel over to new CUNA Chairman Tom Dorety, CEO of Suncoast Schools FCU in Tampa. For his part, Dorety was just happy to have survived the first “real argument” with his wife of 10 years, Glenda.
The day before Dorety officially assumed his duties, Dorety received a big kiss on his forehead from celebrity Marie Osmond–a kiss that left a very visible lipstick mark on his noggin. “The only real argument we’ve had came yesterday over whether I had to wash the lipstick off my forehead,” Dorety laughed, noting his wife won that debate.
Later, Dorety pointed to each of the Herb Wegner Award winners as examples of what all credit unions need to be doing: focusing on the people-helping-people philosophy of credit unions (see related story). He cited the preamble of the Credit Union Membership Access Act, in which Congress made a point of outlining the importance of credit unions’ social mission to serve its members–especially those of modest means. “There are some people who want to ignore that last phrase,” Dorety commented. “It’s sort of like a golfer who wants to take the drop without taking the penalty. I don’t think the regulators or our competition will allow that to happen.”
