ANAHEIM, Calif.-"Courage" and "collaboration" were the words of the day as the outgoing chairmen of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues ended their tenures.
Jeff York, CEO of CoastHills FCU, Lompoc, Calif., said his parting wish to credit unions was courage. "Courage to engage in political advocacy, courage to fight for your members, courage to support the league and challenge those who do not."
Wally Murray, CEO of Greater Nevada CU, Carson City, noted he served as chairman of the Nevada CU League for 2009 and 2010, both difficult years for credit unions. "Nevada is Ground Zero for the economic turmoil in the country," he said. "One in seven working people in the state are out of work, plus others are underemployed or gave up looking. But Nevada credit unions are better because of it. Not financially, but we will be better moving forward."
The "greatest opportunity" for CUs in the immediate future is active collaboration, Murray continued. "We need to be willing to collaborate with each other, even on things that don't benefit our credit unions directly, right now. We need to march onto Capitol Hill and deal with our congressmen. We need to get involved in Connect for the Cause."
