FORT WORTH< Texas – American Airlines FCU rolled out a priority checking account designed to appeal to ages 13-25 that rewards members for greater use.

GROTON Conn. – Charter Oak FCU paid each of its 3,300 Gold Rewards members a $100 cash bonus, a total of $330,000, the biggest payout in the three-year history of the rewards program.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Share One, the CUSO that provides the NewSolutions core processing system to dozens of small credit unions, said this afternoon that Daryl Tanner is retiring as its CEO.

FAIRBORN, Ohio – Wright-Patt CU, on pace for its best year ever, announced this afternoon it is paying members a $6 million Special Patronage Dividend Jan. 3, its biggest member payout yet.

PEORIA, Ill. – CEFCU announced this morning it is paying its members a record $9 million holiday dividend.

Beach Municipal FCU, Virginia, Beach, Va., named new board members William Meador (vice chair) and Charity Stone. Nianza Wallace II (chair), Robert Hall (treasurer), Lois Ritger (secretary), Kitty Hill and Joelle Talbot are returning directors.

Looking to spice up its youth outreach, Listerhill CU here has launched a new monthly magazine-a medium "so old that it's cool again."

CU members who started shopping this holiday season recorded roughly the same buying activity on Black Friday in 2012 as they did in 2011, but dramatically increased their transaction and spending levels on Thanksgiving Day 2012 vs. 2011.

ORLANDO, Fla.-The University of Central Florida has dumped Atlanta's SunTrust Bank as its official campus bank and is replacing it with locally based FAIRWINDS CU.

More Mergers Announced

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, lenders, particularly those in the Northeast, are being cautioned to pay closer attention to the condition of auto loan collateral, especially in looking for signs of flood damage.

Customers who walk into the Millennium Honda showroom these days take a number, just like shopping in a bakery. Contrary to the typical scenario in which a salesman meets someone as soon as they step on the lot, the wait for service can sometimes be hours for a sales consultant.

Amid the tragedy that surrounds so many lives and businesses in the Northeast, Hurricane Sandy will have some positive effects on the economy.

Non-Interest Income Hits

Connex CU has appointed a new VP with a one-year term-Quinnipiac University student Lauren Dufour is set to serve as the credit union's third VP of Unbanking.

Lots of financial institutions use social media as a marketing and consumer service tool, but few have figured out how to actually make money from it. Now some credit unions think they may have found an answer.

ElecTel Cooperative FCU has booked more than $1.7 million this year as part of one-day-only loan promotions, including $74,000 in a "Green Wednesday" promo the day before Thanksgiving.

The size and growth of the Hispanic market in the U.S. is no secret. Less well-known is how credit unions can better penetrate it.

BluCurrent CU is offering a 0% APR loan for the holidays and booked nearly $140,000 in its first seven days as a result.

The United Nations' International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) officially hit the one-year mark on Oct. 31. The hope now is the IYC laid at least some groundwork for future collaboration among cooperative sectors.