RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – CO-OP Financial Services has named the three finalists for the second annual CO-OP THINK Prize, which includes a $10,000 grand prize presented by MasterCard.
The THINK Prize was created by CO-OP in 2010 to inspire “innovative solutions” to the issues confronting the credit union industry, the company said.
The three finalists and their business plans are:
• Maricela Jauregui, Branch Manager, Mid Cities Credit Union, Compton, Calif.: “QC Code for Account Access.”
• Jay Schwartz, V.P., Sales and Service Delivery, Marriott Employees’ FCU, Bethesda, Md.: “Social Networking for Credit Union Members.”
• Paul Yang, CEO, Premier Community Credit Union, Stockton, Calif.: “P2P Payment Card for CO-OP Network Cardholders.”
“We congratulate the three finalists, who have worked hard to develop their business plans since we received their initial idea at the end of August,” said Stan Hollen, President/CEO, CO-OP Financial Services. “The intent of the CO-OP THINK Prize is to promote creative thinking on challenges facing our movement, and in 2012 we have three very thoughtful approaches for our judges to consider.”
The three finalists were selected from among 25 semi-finalists by judges with CO-OP Financial Services and Filene Research Institute. The winner of the CO-OP THINK Prize for 2012 will be announced on May 1 at the THINK 12 Conference, being held in Boca Raton, Fla., April 29 to May 2.
The winner will be based on scoring by the CO-OP Financial Services and Filene Research Institute judges; online voting at the dedicated voting website (
