Hispanic Immersion Program Available
MADISON, Wis.-The World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) will hold its Hispanic Marketing Immersion Program, which brings Spanish language lessons, credit union internships and full cultural immersion together in one- and two-week opportunities for U.S. credit union staff in Morelia, Mexico, will kick off Sept. 19.
The program offers participating credit union staff and executives the opportunity to stay with a Mexican family, take Spanish language classes through an accredited school and work in a Mexican credit union to gain first-hand knowledge of member service in Mexico. The program offers participants valuable insight into Hispanic marketing at the members' home credit unions through complete cultural immersion.
WOCCU noted that in addition to the program's cultural aspect, participants serve practical internships with either Caja Morelia-Valladolid or Caja Alianza, two Mexican credit unions that participate in WOCCU's International Partnerships Program. Through interactions with the staff, management and members, participants will learn about daily Mexican credit union operations and study marketing strategies to attract new members and promote financial products. The program is flexible for participants who wish to pursue other areas of interest besides marketing. For info: www.woccu.org/hmip
Cann Moves To BECU As VP, Counsel
VANCOUVER, Wash.-Parker Cann, the former state credit union supervisor who took the helm at Columbia CU after it was divided by a failed conversion to savings bank, is leaving the $750-million credit union to become general counsel at $8.6-billion BECU in Tukwila, Wash. Cann, who served seven years as head of Washington's CU regulator before moving to a senior executive position at California's Arrowhead Central CU, took over Columbia CU in 2005. Cann will become senior vice president and corporate counsel at BECU. A minimum three-month search has been launched.
LoveMyCU Site Gets Refreshed Design
LANSING, Mich.-The Michigan Credit Union League has redesigned its lovemycreditunion.org website to reinforce the message of how safe and sound the state's credit unions are and to feature the Invest In America initiative.
"The new webite serves as a portal into the credit union world. It offers members and non-members a chance to learn more about credit unions, their programs and how to join," said MCUL CEO David Adams. "The redesign highlights the 'Invest in America' partnership with CUcorp, MCUL's wholly-own subsidiary, GM and Chrysler, and the 'CU Difference' campaign, our cooperative advertising campaign which informs the public about the benefits of being a member of a credit union." For info: lovemycreditunion.org or www.mcul.org
Hood Addresses Issues In NC Meeting
CHARLOTTE, N.C.-NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood addressed the North Carolina CU League's Town Hall Meeting at Carolina's Telco FCU here.
During the meeting Hood discussed the agency's corporate stabilization plan, along with its new supervisory letter sent to all NCUA field staff that focused on supervision considerations for natural-person CUs in light of the announced corporate stabilization efforts.
"During these times of economic uncertainty, I feel that communication regarding the recent actions of the NCUA Board in an effort to stabilize the corporate credit unions is critical," Hood said. "I hope that other credit union's throughout the country follow your lead and take a proactive approach to provide our Agency with ideas and feedback regarding the corporate stabilization plan."
Hood told the meeting examiners have been told to distinguish between the impact of the actions taken by the NCUA board and the decisions made by the credit union's management.
LA Police Named A Great Place To Work
VAN NUYS, Calif.-Los Angeles Police FCU has been selected as one of California's Best Places to work by Employer's Group, the human resources consultancy. LAPFCU placed second in the medium-size companies category. LAPFCU's placement was based on its ranking against the scores of more than 490 companies' responses to a survey of employers and employees in nine categories, including work-life balance, pay, benefits, training and advancement opportunities, perks and more.
Women In Dev. Countries To Get Help
MADISON, Wis.-World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has launched an initiative to help women in developing countries build leadership skills. WOCCU said its Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions is raising funds through the newly established Global Women's Leadership Initiative, a network of women credit union leaders, to support women inhibited by financial hardship in developing countries. Launched in conjunction with the Canadian Co-operative Association, the funds raised will be used to provide women in need with educational opportunities and expand local microfinance efforts in developing countries. For info: Valerie Breunig at vbreunig@woccu.org
Today Show Gives BizKid$ A Plug
NEW YORK-Biz Kid$, the TV series airing on PBS aimed at providing financial education for youth and which is backed by credit unions, got a plug during a recent episode of NBC's Today Show. BizKid$ was mentioned during a story on "mini-moguls," kids who are running businesses. The clip was included following a tour of New York by Jamie Hammond, the Biz Kid$ executive producer who was presenting the Biz Kid$ curriculum as a resource for educators at a conference of more than 6,500 educators in New York City. With underwriting from America's CUs, 16 major media markets are engaged in Biz Kid$ outreach projects. The series is filmed in Seattle under the direction of the Washington CU Foundation, with support from the National CU Foundation. For more info: bizkids.com
