I am disappointed with the tone of the CU Journal report of our May 21 announcement about our pending merger with US Alliance CU. We are pleased to be joining with an organization whose 57-year history of service to government employees and other Denver area residents parallels ours in commitment to the best interests of our respective members.

MADISON, Wis. - The National Credit Union Foundation has named Josie Collins to its new Resource Development & Donor Relations Director. The NCUF said Collins will now take the lead on growing the $360-million Community Investment Fund, attracting corporate supporters and individual donors, as well as managing NCUF’s annual public awareness event, the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards. Collins joins the NCUF from the Credit Union Executives Society, where she served as the Council Liaison & Awards Competition Coordinator. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - For the first time in its history, Empower Credit Union said it will pay a bonus dividend of approximately $150,000. The $133-million ECU has 5,800 members.

HILTON HEAD, S.C. - Paragon Consulting Group will for the first time bring its Volunteer Leadership Institute for credit union directors and volunteers to the East Coast when it meets here July 27-30. The three-and-one-half day meeting at the Westin Hilton Head includes a variety of sessions from growth strategies, building relationships, economic forecasts and more. Paragon has sponsored the conference in Hawaii for the past 12 years, and is seeking to expand to credit unions in the Eastern U.S.

GERMANTOWN, Md. - Mid-Atlantic FCU here was selected as a Workplace Excellence Award Winner by the Alliance for Workplace Excellence. It is the second year MAFCU has won the award, which requires nominees to complete a comprehensive assessment that is reviewed by a panel of experts. Winners had to demonstrate exemplary commitment to Supportive Corporate Culture and Management Practices, and more. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

SAN DIEGO - To borrow a metaphor from baseball, the ongoing real estate crisis is “somewhere in the middle innings,” and it might be 2009 before home prices go back up, according to one analyst’s play by play.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA has approved requests to merge more than a dozen ailing credit unions, accelerating the resolution of troubled institutions.

BALTIMORE - It isn’t just credit unions marking their 100th birthday this year. So, too, is Richard Rhinehart, a director for Destinations Credit Union who was born in Ashville, Ohio in 1908. Following his stint in the Marines, he made Baltimore his permanent home and worked at various jobs. In 1937, he opened his own business selling supplies, before going to work for the Baltimore Transit Co. just as the U.S. was entering a second world war. Mr. Rhinehart is the oldest person in Maryland with a commercial driver’s license–something he re-qualified for just last year.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Christ signed into law a bill that will finally allow credit unions and banks to sell debt cancellation products. Florida is the only state in the country not allowing the sale of those loan insurance products.

SAN DIEGO — Managers often panic when a company finds itself in a crisis if they do not know how to respond, which in turn can lead to a loss of control, a siege mentality and sometimes a beating in the media, according to one veteran of the process.

WASHINGTON - CUNA, which has been fighting NCUA efforts to expand disclosures of executive compensation, told the Internal Revenue Service it opposes an effort to increase disclosure on the annual Form 990 that would expand public access to executive compensation at state chartered credit unions.

Wauna Federal Credit Union, Clatskanie, Ore., announced the 20th anniversary of Randy Brackman and Debi Smiley and Danea Passmore was voted employee of the quarter.

Comment

CUDAHY, Wis. - Prime Financial CU said it has begun making a monthly “Gas Allowance” deposit into employees’ accounts to help offset the rising cost of fuel.

LOS ANGELES - SCE FCU and First City CU on Friday announced they will combine to create an $800-million credit union, the latest in the accelerating consolidation of credit unions in this hard-hit market.

For the rest of the year, we:

LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. - Michigan First CU has introduced no-fee, high-speed coin counters for its members.

In the May 26 edition of Credit Union Journal, KeyPoint CU of Santa Clara, Calif., was referred to KeyPoint FCU in the headline. The credit union in question is a state charter, not federal. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

WESCOM CU CUSTOMIZED CARDS: THEY’RE ‘ALLABOUTME’

NEW HOLSTEIN, Wis. – Premier FCU yesterday said it has signed with Open Solutions to implement the company’s “The Complete Credit Union Solution” core processing system.