USC v. Notre Dame Takes On Charitable Aspect
LOS ANGELES and NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Two collegiate credit unions are putting a football rivalry to good use.
USC Credit Union and Notre Dame Federal Credit Union will be competing to see which CU can get the most auto loan applications leading up to the Nov. 29 face-off between the University of Southern California and Notre Dame University football teams.
Both credit unions will contribute $5,000 to the $10,000 prize that will be donated to the charity of the winning CU's choice.
In last year's inaugural $10,000 Charity Challenge, the goal was to acquire the most credit card applications, and USC won.
Elevations CU Receives Baldridge Award From Commerce Department
WASHINGTON — Boulder, Col.-based Elevations CU here has been named one of four recipients of the 2014 Baldridge Award from the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award is the nation's highest presidential honor for performance excellence through motivation, improvement and visionary leadership, and Elevations CU joined representatives from the health care and service industries as 2014 recipients.
In addition to Elevations, this year's honorees are:
- Pricewaterhouse Coopers Public Sector Practice, McLean, Va. (service)
- Hill Country Memorial, Fredericksburg, Texas (health care)
- St. David's Health Care, Austin, Texas (health care)
This year's recipients were selected by an independent board of examiners from a field of 22 applicants. The winners were judged in seven areas, including leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, workforce focus, results and more. Organizations must fit into one of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care, education or non-profit.
Elevations CU was selected as a non-profit.
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Established by Congress in 1987, the Baldridge Awards have been presented to 99 different organization. The 2014 Baldridge Awards will be presented as part of a ceremony during the Quest for Excellence conference in Baltimore in April.
Five Star CU Completes Merger with Georgia Coastal
DOTHAN, Ala. — Five Star Credit Union has completed its merger with Georgia Coastal Federal Credit Union.
As part of the transaction, Five Star obtained $13.7 million in assets from Georgia Coastal and 1,848 members. The combined institution now serves 29,000 members and has $310 million in assets.
This merger occurred because Georgia Coastal FCU wanted to enhance their ability to meet the loan, deposit and ongoing expectations of its member-owners, according to a statement released Wednesday.
Five Star CU acquired Georgia Coastal FCU's sole office in Brunswick and now the company has three branches in Glynn County. Overall, Five Star CU operates 13 branches in Alabama and Georgia.
The integration of computer systems, member accounts and the services each credit union offers customers still needs to be finalized. This last phase is expected to be completed next month, Five Star said in the release.
"We believe the recovering economic conditions in Glynn County present an opportunity for our continued expansion there," said Robert Steensma, president and chief executive of Five Star CU. "Georgia Coastal's Brunswick office will continue to serve members before, during and after this process and we believe the members of Georgia Coastal will quickly realize the increased benefits Five Star offers."
Deadline for Free OSCUI Consulting Coming Up: NCUA
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The next deadline for CUs interested in applying for free consulting help from the NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives (OSCUI) is Nov. 30, the NCUA announced Wednesday.
To be eligible for the consulting services, a credit union must hold assets of less than $50 million. Low-income designation and minority depository institutions are also eligible.
More than 400 federally insured CUs and 26 new credit union organizers received consulting help from one of the NCUA's economic development specialists last year. The specialists work with institutions in areas such as field of membership expansion, strategic planning, marketing and budgeting.
The agency said several factors help make the consulting relationship successful, including:
- An engaged and motivated management team committed to implementing the ideas generated during the consulting.
- The desire to explore problems and challenges and work with the consultant to develop creative solutions.
- A willingness to form a real partnership with and include the economic development specialist in the implementation phase.
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Credit unions chosen to participate in this round of the program will be announced in December. For more information, e-mail OSCUI at
Earlier this year, Five Star CU received approval from the NCUA to
Kennedy Space Center FCU Launches Into New Era and Name
MERRIT ISLAND, Fla. — Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union was flying high.
The $662 million institution ended last year as one of the strongest credit unions in the Sunshine state with a 12% capital ratio, 7% membership growth and 10% loan growth.
But there was a problem.
The name no longer reflected the 60,573-member CU's base. That's because the Kennedy Space Center had significantly downsized following the shuttering of the shuttle program three years ago and Kennedy Space Center had merged in the early 1990s with Halifax Teachers CU.
In fact, the CU was operating two branches at the Kennedy Space Center and 10 branches dispersed throughout Brevard and Volusia Counties, with 98% of membership growth and 95% of loan growth derived from non-space center branches.
So President and CEO Joe Mirachi decided it was time for a rebranding.
"We saw the need to move forward because the member landscape around our credit union was changing," Mirachi said. "We had to make the proper adjustments to match that changing landscape, which would take us to the next level of success and build more value for our member-owners."
Launch Lifts Off
Working with Raoust+Partners helped Kennedy Space Center come up with a simple, yet fitting new name — Launch Federal Credit Union.
"The challenge with this rebranding campaign is more visible than most," said Raoust+Partners' President Olivier Raoust. "The credit union had so much equity in the Kennedy Space Center name; it was going to be quite impactful initially. But it was something that had to be done because of the changing composition of the membership. Plus, the number of workers at the space center itself was down almost 50% from the peak of the shuttle mission."
Launch FCU debuted in June. "Overall, the reaction of most members was neutral to positive," according to Mirachi.
Additionally, the warmer "burnt orange" color, redesigned logo and new tagline of "Go Beyond" were well-received by most existing and potential members.
"Our new name was selected to honor our roots on the space center while being more inclusive to others such as teachers who help 'launch' the future success of our children," Mirachi said. "In the end, we learned that for the vast majority of members, their connection wasn't with the name. It was with our people; they enjoy interacting with each other. Members were most concerned with seeing their familiar, friendly staff members. They were also concerned about account numbers being the same, debit cards still working, passwords not changed, etc."
