DEARBORN, Mich. -
J. Paul Conway, board vice chair, along with Jim Cowper and Keith Moss, former supervisory members who were recently appointed to the board, won their seats by a margin of more than 3 to 1, said Mark Shobe, CEO of DFCU Financial.
"What it says is that the membership has spoken," Shobe told the CU Journal immediately following the meeting, adding that he was especially impressed by the number of members who cast ballots - 26,461 or about 19% of the total membership, according to the independent Inspector of Elections, Ellen Philip Associates of New York.
About 500 people-many alleged to be DFCU employees-attended the meeting at the Ritz Carlton Hotel to hear the election results and ask questions of the CU's entire board. Candidate Linda Malec said she was disappointed by both her loss and the behavior of many DFCU employees who shouted profanities and insults when she and others spoke during the member comment period.
"We said we would abide by the vote, but it doesn't mean we accept the process," she said, describing alleged campaigning for incumbents by CU employees inside branch offices and failure to identify petition candidates in campaign materials including its website, among other things.
Members said emotions ran high during the meeting that included a slide presentation touting the CU's financial strengths and "highly polished" speeches by board members. Shouting was heard from the corridor just outside the meeting room, where a CU Journal reporter waited for word on the election results. Only members were allowed to attend.
"I would describe it as very angry," said one member who asked not to be named. "The board was being challenged and they didn't like it."
Audience members identified as DFCU employees allegedly yelled such things as "You're a liar" and "When this is all said and done, take your freedom and leave" as several members questioned decisions made by the board during and after the failed conversion attempt. Malec, also a representative of DFCU Owners United, said she didn't know whether the group formed to battle the conversion attempt, would continue its fight against the CU for failing to call a special meeting last April to recall the board.
"I know what I would like to see," she said. "I believe that the credit union needs to continue to change. Personally, I would like to see a well-managed CU that is better than the competition."
Shobe said his goal is to make sure the CU is viable longterm. "We plan on staying on the path as a credit union," he said.
FOR MORE RESOURCES
Read more about DFCU Financial's attempt to convert to a bank charter and other related stories at cujournal.com and searching the following bolded terms in the archive:
DFCU, for stories on DFCU's bid to convert to a bank charter, as well as other stories about the credit union.
Conversion, for a variety of stories about CU conversions to bank charters.
Columbia, OmniAmerica, Community for stories on other CUs' attempts to convert and some of the related fall-out.
Democracy, for a variety of stories about how the democratic process comes into play in conversions and other CU issues.
