The Boardcast

Education and Strategic Planning - Vital Board Responsibilities

Twice a year the UFirst Board of Directors spends an extended period of time meeting with the management team and a professional facilitator. This semi annual planning and educational sessions took place last week on Friday afternoon and evening, 6/27 and Saturday morning 6/28. The UFirst Board is a volunteer group of people who come from a variety of backgrounds (see Board Profiles). Each of us brings our own areas of expertise, gifts and talents but we are not experts in financial institutions. Each member takes our board responsibilities seriously and so we spend time reading information provided by our NCUA examiners, the management team, our consultants and other credit union professionals.  This material along with educational and planning sessions help us to develop the knowledge we need to fulfill our role as responsible board members. We have been fortunate to have Phil Frani to assist us. His background in bank management and knowledge of credit union operations through his work with the Credit Union Association of New York has provided us with invaluable guidance for over five years. This year Phil provided us with an outline for understanding the concept of Asset Liability Management as well as helping us to formulate our strategic plan.

NCUA, the government regulator for all credit unions, recently revamped their examination process to emphasize areas that they believe are critical to credit union operation. One of these areas is Asset Liability Management. All credit unions are required to have an ALM Committee made up of both board members and credit union management. This committee is requred to report to the board on a regular basis, so the entire board must have a clear understanding of ALM. As you might imagine, this is not an easy concept to grasp. It requires an understanding of how all parts of the credit union operation work together in balance: Capital, Income, Loans, Shares, Assets and Liabilities. It is in this balance and the management of each component separately and together that our credit union remains on firm financial footing. The board spent Friday afternoon and evening reviewing these concepts as they apply to UFirst.

Saturday morning was spent reviewing our strategic plan which has become a working document for our credit union. We began by reviewing the credit union financial reports. In addition we examined and discussed a variety of products and services which we plan on initiating during the next year. I'm certain if you asked each member of the board they would tell you that we emerge from these sessions revitalized in our commitment to the success of UFirst and the financial health of our members.

Video Vote

Recently my friends at Forum Solutions and Trabian opened a competition for a position as a guest speaker at their yearly conference, Partnership Symposium '08. The conference sponsors sent out a call for auditions for this coveted spot on the schedule by asking those interested to develop a video which covered one of two themes from the Federal Credit Union Act. The announcement stated:

Themes: The Federal Credit Union Act gives this definition for a Credit Union:

...the term ‘‘Federal credit union’’ means a cooperative association organized in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for provident or productive purposes;

That statement of purpose is good news, good news we aren’t always good at sharing or remembering. So maybe you can help us get excited and refocused by speaking to one of these two core ideas.

• Promoting Thrift
• Loans for Provident and Productive Purposes

How to Audition It’s pretty easy, just make a video of why you’d make a good Guest Speaker and tell us which of the two topics you’d like to speak on and why.

I enjoy a good challenge and, since this is a wonderful conference that I'd love to attend, I entered and submitted a video. My video is one of 4 entries and it's now time to cast your vote for the one you think best illustrates the theme. The more votes the merrier so cast your ballot, here, at the Forum Solutions Site. The deadline is July 11th.

 

Brass TV - You Won't Want to Miss It

Introducing Bryan Sims whose mission and business is to inspire young people to follow their dreams and ..."provide direct, intelligent, entertaining content to young adults about the money side of life."  Bryan is the CEO of brass|MEDIA Inc. publishers of Brass Magazine. UFirst has been instrumental in circulating Brass Magazine to local High Schools.  Bryan has a new venture, brass TV, designed to bring all the great information of Brass Magazine to TV. Here's a promotional clip. It will introduce you to Bryan and the style and content of brass TV.

Bryan is looking for help to encourage TV celebrities to feature brass TV on their shows. He has developed an Action Center to help with this effort. If you see the value in making brass TV available for everyone to watch visit the Action Center and find out how you can help.

Board of Directors Meeting - June 17, 2008

The UFirst Board of Directors met for their monthly board meeting at the operations center on Rugar St. on Tuesday, June 17th. We conducted the regular board business of the month. This included reviewing the credit union financials, a discussion of the current interest rates, updates and reaffirmations of the policy manual as well as scheduling our semi-annual planning meeting which will be held on June 27th and 28th.

Board meetings often include CEO Linda Bourgeois updating the board on reactions and feedback she or credit union employees have received from members during the month. This meeting was no different. Linda told us about a recent incident at UFirst. Member Leo Wells stopped at the credit union after he had purchased a car and negotiated a loan at a used car dealership in Vermont. Leo has been a UFirst member for over 6 years. He needed UFirst's routing number in order to arrange an automatic withdrawal to make his payments. Marketing Director Jody Carpenter saw Leo waiting and asked if she could help him. They began to chat about his new purchase. He had the loan file with him and she asked if he would like her to review it. She was shocked to discover that his interest rate was 15.9%.  Jody knew Leo could get a much lower loan rate through UFirst and asked him if he would like to speak with a loan officer. She escorted him to the office of Loan Officer Lois Nichols. Lois reviewed Leo's loan documents carefully. She discovered that we could cut his interest rate by more than half. Lois also noticed that the dearlership had charged him $800 for the Gap Premium Insurance (loan repayment insurance). The cost of this insurance at UFirst is $85. Leo's trip to UFirst had indeed been fortuitous. Leo left UFirst grateful for Jody's quick action and Lois's thoroughness and expertise. Thanks to Leo Wells for allowing us to share his story with others through the Boardcast. This story is a perfect example of the ways in which UFirst staff puts our motto "Helping You Get There" into practice on a daily basis. 

Members are encouraged to post comments to the Boardcast. This is your chance to have a dialog with the UFirst Board of Directors about your credit union.

Members who would like to propose items to be placed on the meeting agenda are welcome to contact Linda Bourgeois, a member of the Board of Directors or email the Boardcast at ufirstbod@gmail.com.

Director Profile - Bob Gertsch

Bob Gertsch has a significant role at UFirst FCU. Not only is he a director, he is also chair of the supervisory committee. Bob has been a member of the committee since the late 1990’s and has chaired the committee for over 5 years. His service on the board and this important committee followed many years of membership and involvement in the credit union. Bob is a native of Plattsburgh and, except for the years he spent in the US Navy, he has lived his entire life on Elizabeth St. in Plattsburgh. He has worked for Plattsburgh State University in the computer information systems department for 30 years and has been a member of the credit union for almost as long. He was recruited by Tom Mercadante, one of the charter members of the SUNY Plattsburgh FCU, to serve on the loan committee in the late 1980’s. His experience in overseeing credit union operations has been invaluable in our recent years of growth. Bob believes that his dual roles as board member and supervisory committee chair complement each other. His board involvement helps him keep his finger on the pulse of the credit union assists him in his work as supervisory chair.

Bob related a wonderful story that illustrates the unique, personalized service provided by staff to UFirst members. A member with whom he was acquainted took a trip out of state to visit a relative who became very ill during the visit. The member had to extend her visit while she cared for her relative. Meantime, she had to arrange bill payments and other transactions at home while she was away. She called the credit union who set up daily contacts with a UFirst staff person who helped facilitate the necessary transfers and payments to meet her obligations. Bob noted that this member’s loyalty to UFirst is likely to remain solid for life.

I asked Bob what factors he thinks will be most significant for the credit union going forward. Bob believes that the growth we have seen in the past year and anticipate in the future challenges the credit union. We need to assure the credit union’s solid fiscal foundation by increasing capital while providing financial services to our members. We need to remain true to credit union goals and ideals. Bob believes that it is a real challenge for credit unions to remain distinct from other financial institutions like banks. He encourages members to take pride in their membership in UFirst. The beautiful operations center that they use on a regular basis belongs to them and represents their share in the growth and success of UFirst.

During my interview Bob provided Boardcast readers (and listeners) with a wonderful explanation of the role of the supervisory committee. Below is an audio clip which includes this excerpt. He mentions that the supervisory committee has its own unique email address (supervisory@ufirstfcu.net) for members to use in communicating concerns to the members of the committee. Bob invites members with concerns regarding their accounts to email him.