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Three individuals and one organization will receive the credit union community's highest honors.

Image: Fotolia

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It's only appropriate that veteran credit union advocate Bob Schumacher should become the first person to win both the Herb Wegner Memorial Anchor Award and now the Wegner Award for lifetime achievement, as Schumacher was hired by none other than Herb Wegner to head up CUNA's convention services in 1977.

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During Schumacher's three-plus decades in the credit union community, he's been involved in a number of large-scale initiatives, including the Credit Union Development Education program, working with the World Council of Credit Unions in the Phillippines, and the National Credit Union Foundation's Community Investment Fund, among others.

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Georgia CU Affiliates CEO Mike Mercer has won the Herb Wegner Memorial Award for lifetime achievement. Among those achievements includes spearheading the "Helping People Afford Life" program at the league.

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While Mercer is best known for his work in Georgia, both at the league and at the former Georgia Central Corporate Credit Union, he also has strong ties to the credit union movement — and the Solidarity Movement — in Poland.

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Issaquena County FCU CEO Clarence Hall Jr., is after more than 40 years of service (38 of them unpaid), has won the Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Lifetime achievement.

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In addition to his work founding and running the $1.2 million credit union, Hall is also a civil rights activist who was once fired from one job when he went to Washington to seek a grant for the Child Development Group of Mississippi — the forerunner of the Headstart Program.

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The Iowa Credit Union League is the winner of this year's Herb Wegner Memorial Award in the outstanding organization category. Though Iowa isn't typically thought of as a magnet for newcomers to the U.S. the way border states are, it has a significant immigrant population. That led to the league's launch of Coopera, which offers Hispanic outreach and marketing solutions.

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The Iowa league is also known for its work with a number of Hispanic countries. Closer to home, the league serves as a strong advocate for regulatory relief and other important legislative and regulatory issues.

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