SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass.-The same strategy that helped put an end to a three-year growth skid at Southbridge Credit Union is now being relied upon to retain new members.

HARRISBURG, Penn.-It doesn't take an act of Congress for Pennsylvania State Employees CU to treat its members fairly - and PSECU will be emphasizing that point to its membership this year.

Number Of Troubled CUs Is Continuing To Grow

HADLEY, Mass.-It's not that UMassFive College FCU doesn't care to do much about member retention; it's just that it believes it has many things already working in its favor.

AURORA, Ill.-Several credit unions are gearing up to participate in the latest "Bank On" program: Earthmover CU and Fox Valley CU .

FEDERAL WAY, Wash.-Credit unions in Washington state have posted a 10% growth rate in new members over the past year, according to the Washington Credit Union League. The state has 119 credit unions.

DETROIT-When Hank Hubbard walks the streets of inner-city Detroit, the CEO of Communicating Arts Credit Union doesn't see all the mom-and-pop businesses that used to line the sidewalks. In their place are often vacant, boarded-up buildings in a town struggling to get back on its feet. And yet Hubbard remains an optimist.

DETROIT-It was once a city that rolled out new credit union charters almost as quickly as the automobiles that made it famous.

SAN JOSE, Calif.-The San Francisco Bay Area's housing market does not always fit neatly into the secondary market's loan caps, but that fact is not stopping Technology CU from offering mortgages up to $1 million.

SEATTLE-The first television series to be sponsored by credit unions, the Emmy Award-winning Biz Kid$, has earned another distinction, as it will be presented with a Wegner Award for Outstanding Program by the National Credit Union Foundation.

BROCKTON, Mass.-HarborOne CU's unique MultiCultural Banking Center will be recognized here this week when it receives the National Credit Union Foundation's Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Outstanding Organization.

MADISON, Wis.-Former CUNA Mutual President/CEO Richard "Doc" Heins, who spent more than 50 years as an integral part of the cooperative movement, will be honored with a Herb Wegner Award for Lifetime Achievement this week.

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas-They're standing a little taller in their boots in Texas, thanks to Dick Ensweiler. As Harriett May, president of Greater El Paso noted in a letter acknowledging his work, "Dick came to the Texas Credit Union League at the lowest point in its history. Not only did Dick restore trust and belief in the organization, he took it to new levels of respect and admiration within the credit union movement."

WASHINGTON-In a finding that could be important as Congress considers key legislation for credit unions, a survey conducted by CUNA shows that 50% of registered voters polled would support credit unions over banks if a fight broke out in state legislature over 39% for banks.

NAPERVILLE, Ill.-For a meeting that had no agenda, the recent BarCampBank "unconference" here certainly opened a number of eyes on a wide range of topics.

MADISON, Wis.-World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is calling for nominations for its Distinguished Service Award (DSA), the highest honor bestowed by the international credit union system. Nomination forms are due no later than April 5, 2010. The DSA honors the outstanding achievements in support of the worldwide credit union movement. Award presentations this year will be made at The 1 Credit Union Conferencem July 11-14 in Las Vegas.

KANSAS CITY, MO.-Mazuma Credit Union is allowing members to tell the credit union what they want from the CU's website.

WASHINGTON-Credit Union Student Choice, a CUSO that provides turnkey private student lending services to credit unions, reported last week that San Francisco Fire CU has become the 100th credit union to join its student lending network.

WASHINGTON-Educational Systems FCU became the first victim of the massive fraud at CU National Corp. to settle claims with Fannie Mae, setting the stage for others of the more than two dozen credit unions hurt by the $140 million scheme to come to agreement with the housing giant.

JACKSON, Mich.-American 1 FCU here returned nearly $157,000 to 572 members as part of a rebate program. Every member who financed a closed-end loan last April was eligible to receive half of the interest they paid on their loan in 2009 as long as they made all of their loan payments on time every month from April through December. While the average rebate was $272, a number of members earned more than $1,000. The CU deposited the rebate dollars into member accounts on Jan. 7 and 8.