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for Friday, May 20, 2016
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Convention Weekend Highlighted by Speakers & Museum Dinner
The 2016 Vermont Cooperative Summit and 69th AVCU Annual Meeting brought nearly 200 credit union and cooperative professionals to the Sheraton Burlington Hotel last weekend for 3 ½ days of insightful presentations, networking, charitable giving, entertainment, good food, and friendship.
Early evaluation returns indicate that several of the weekend’s first-time events were very popular with attendees and that keynote speaker Murray Banks was well received by everyone.  Pictures from the entire weekend are currently being organized and will be made available for viewing or download in next week’s newsletter.

The weekend began Thursday evening with the 2016 Vermont Cooperative Summit that culminated with the Gubernatorial Candidate Forum (see article below) just after lunch on Friday.  Howard Brodsky's opening presentation entitled "Cooperatives for a Better World" (YouTube video here) was followed the next day by "Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Quantifying the Business Case” (1.4 MB PDF), presented by Filene Research Institute's George Hofheimer.  Thomas Bowen of the National Cooperative Business Association, Diane Ziegler of VT Digger, and Roberta MacDonald of Cabot Creamery Cooperative also gave Friday morning presentations.

Although the Annual Meeting Exhibitor Hall got off to a slow start later that afternoon, things picked up when attendees began jumping into the Cash Booth benefiting the VT Foodbank while their fellow volunteers or co-workers watched them try to grab as many whirling bills as they could in 20 seconds. Through participant donations, a check from the Sheraton Hotel’s lobby coin drop, and AVCU’s addition of all remaining cash left in the booth when the Hall closed, the VT Foodbank will soon receive a donation of $1,008 from us on behalf of our member credit unions.
 
Saturday’s redesigned education program kicked off with three highly successful roundtable breakfast panels featuring CUNA President / CEO Jim Nussle, Filene's George Hofheimer and Jimese Harkley, and Larry Blankenberger, NCUA Region One Director, and Cynthia Stuart, Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.  Then it was time for weekend keynoter Banks to shine and, according to evaluations so far, that’s exactly what he did.  His Saturday opening and Sunday closing keynotes are so far sporting an impressive 93% “Excellent or Very Good” rating in evaluations.  If you attended the convention but have not yet submitted an evaluation, you can do so here and could win a free webinar for your credit union.
 
At Saturday’s 69th Annual Business Meeting, delegates unanimously approved a modification of AVCU’s bylaws that no longer requires member credit unions to be members of both the Association and CUNA in order to be in good standing. The proposal follows a similar bylaw amendment approved by members of CUNA earlier this year. The AVCU board proposed the complimentary change in membership requirement, which will go into effect with the 2017 dues cycle, to mirror that of CUNA and most other state credit union leagues. Also during the business meeting, current board members Bob Morgan (NorthCountry FCU) and Jim St. Peter (New England FCU) were re-elected by acclimation.

That evening’s Anniversary Banquet at Shelburne Museum is also an early favorite among those who submitted an evaluation, with 91% rating it “Excellent or Very Good”.  The action station banquet was enhanced by the beauty of the Museum's Pizzagalli Center and grounds, as well as by the acoustic performance of local musicians Dayve Huckett and Art DeQuasie.
 
Following Sunday’s closing breakfast and keynote, Linda Clickner, a first time convention attendee from Members Advantage Community CU, won a 48” Samsung HDTV as the Fabulous Parting Gift.  It was also announced that AVCU’s 70th anniversary gala would be held May 19-21, 2017 at Stowe Mountain Lodge – so mark your calendars now!
Vermont Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off in AVCU Forum
As referenced above, the Coop Summit saw major candidates for Vermont government’s highest elected office convene for AVCU’s Gubernatorial Candidate Forum. The event, which had approximately 120 cooperative and credit union leaders in attendance, was moderated by VT Digger founder Anne Galloway. The 90-minute forum was covered extensively by local television and radio media (click links for brief news videos from WVNY (ABC), WPTZ (NBC), WCAX (CBS), and WFFF (Fox). VT Digger also had extensive print coverage.)
Candidates participating were (left to right, click image for larger version - photo by Ryan Sumner): Bruce Lisman (R), Matt Dunne (D), Peter Galbraith (D), Phil Scott (R), and Sue Minter (D). All candidates exhibited a general knowledge of credit unions and cooperatives before getting into broader issues being addressed in the campaign to become Vermont's next governor.
New AVCU Online Yearbook & Directory Debuts at Convention
Vermont credit unions have a new online presence targeted toward a world-wide audience of consumers; legislators; media outlets; credit union industry employees, volunteers, and business partners; and everyone else!  Making its debut at our Annual Meeting after months of planning and development, AVCU’s new digital Yearbook & Directory is now available anytime, anywhere, on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Showcasing Vermont credit unions in a visually appealing way, the site is a faithful reproduction of the printed yearbook we've done in the past. Updated information about AVCU, and more importantly our members. can now be made regularly. The versatile WordPress design platform will also allow AVCU to offer our credit unions expanded future services.
Visitors can click on the About AVCU section for pictures and bios of the Association’s board of directors and staff, read the joint message from President Joe Bergeron and Chairman Sean Gammon, review credit union financial and statistical data, or review our Honor Roll of past leaders.  The Members Directory (pictured) contains comprehensive data about each affiliated credit union, including their website and aSmarterChoice.org URLs, branch locations, field of membership, and (currently) year-end 2015 Call Report financial data.  Our plan is to update each members page every quarter starting with Q2 2016 once data becomes publicly available.
 
The Special Events section houses educational offerings (in-person and distance learning), the Vermont CU Golf Challenge, Annual Meeting (including all reports normally printed in the yearbook), and a link for authorized credit union personnel to request a summary of AVCU’s audited financial statements.  In the future it will also be the home for new unique events like this year’s Cooperative Summit.  Last, but certainly not least, the Products & Services for CUs section contains information on all of our business partners, Convention Sponsors, and Exhibitors.
 
AVCU's digital Yearbook & Directory is underwritten by CUNA Mutual Group and was developed in partnership with Catamount Marketing, a division of Paw-Print & Mail in South Burlington, which has produced our printed book for more than 20 years.  We invite everyone to explore the new site and greatly anticipate sharing this experience with our member credit unions as it evolves over the coming months and years!
Co-op Capital: VSECU Invests in Other Cooperatives
The recent Vermont Cooperative Summit featured a brief announcement by Rob Miller, CEO of VSECU, about his credit union’s introduction of Co-op Capital. The aptly named program will make equity investments of up to $145,000 in Vermont cooperatives.  Typically, the investment will be structured similarly to preferred stock, with dividends paid out to the credit union.
 
Although, Vermont cooperatives can borrow money like any other business, their ability to attract investors willing to buy a share of the business is typically limited. That’s because as an investor, why would you put money into a member- or employee-owned cooperative where, unlike investments in a regular business, no matter how much you invest your share of the business is no bigger and no more important than every other member of the co-op.

“This is part of the reason why co-ops haven’t attracted institutional private equity,” says Miller. The Co-op Capital program is in response to this dilemma. “By placing an emphasis on cooperative development, VSECU aims to grow a sustainable, locally-owned, and controlled, sector of the economy. As a cooperative ourselves, one of our guiding principles is to support the cooperative community. But these investments are also designed to foster more vibrant local economies for our members and for all Vermonters.” 
 
Earlier this week Vermont Public Radio aired a story about the Co-op Capital Program. Find more details about the program and download a Co-op Capital toolkit here.
Vermont Geo-Location Census Project Identifies 130 Coops
During AVCU’s 2016 Cooperative Summit, a new online geo-location tool was unveiled that will help consumers, elected officials, and others more easily identify and find Vermont cooperatives.
The new public database was assembled from a survey and outreach project initiated by Cabot Creamery Cooperative, with support from VSECU and AVCU.  The database, based on respondents to an online survey, is an initial step toward a broader project to explore the state-wide economic impact of Vermont cooperatives.  A side-bar benefit of the project is enabling value-driven consumers and existing cooperatives to find and do business with each other.

VTDigger, a state-wide online news publication, posted an article about the project in which AVCU President Joe Bergeron expressed opinion that, “as consumer-owned, locally controlled, democratically controlled entities, there was a natural inclination for the consumers of a certain mindset to gravitate in that direction,” in relation to the burst of interest in cooperatives following the economic crash of 2008.  “What is more telling is not just the number of cooperatives, but how many people do business with cooperatives,” he said, which is 54% of Vermont’s population just for credit unions alone.  That percentage increases when considering cooperatives of other sectors identified in the census project.
 
Besides credit unions, the census identified cooperatives in five sectors: worker-owned, food, housing, agricultural and energy. Another 16 are uniquely individual and combined in an “other” category. The online geo-locator will be updated by cooperatives periodically. To make additions or changes send an email to info@cdi.org.
Padgett Elected to One Credit Union's Board of Directors
One Credit Union recently announced in media release that Ricky Padgett has been elected to its Board of Directors.  Ricky is the Director of Corporate Accounting and Controller at the University of Vermont Medical Center (formerly Fletcher Allen Health Care).  He joined the UVM Medical Center in 2011 and is a Certified Public Accountant with many active professional affiliations.  Within the community, he is also on the Board of Directors at Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO).

“I am drawn to organizations that are committed to working in the best interests of our community members,” Padgett said in the release.  “I’m delighted to serve my fellow members at One Credit Union.”
Management Minute, Calendar, Jobs, and Updates
Recent Headlines from Management Minute
  • MBL personal guarantee condition removed from regulation
  • NCUA looks to form working group for exam issues
  • New Requirements for MasterCard Issuers for Breach Recovery
Upcoming Education Calendar
  • Supervisory Committee Academy Webinars
    • 6/8 Key Internal Controls Supervisory Committees Should Know and Watch For
    • 7/12 5 Things the Supervisory Committee Needs to Know About Compliance
       
  • Credit Union Webinar Network Webinars
    • 5/24 Understanding & Managing the CFPB Complaint Process
    • 5/25 Audit Compliance Series: Developing Quality & Efficiency in Your IT Audit
    • 5/25 Debt Collection Series: Real Estate Loan Workouts, Deeds in Lieu, Short Sales, Foreclosures, Deficiency Judgments & Receiverships
    • 6/2 Lending Series: Best Practices for Member Business Lending
    • 6/7 Hiring in the Digital Age: What Every HR Manager Needs to Know About Social Media
    • 6/8 Federal Government ACH Payments, Reclamations & Garnishments
    • 6/9 Cyber Series: FFIEC Cyber Security Risk Assessments: Recent Findings & Recommended Actions
Employment Opportunities
President / CEO (Wichita Falls, Tex.), Texoma Community Credit Union (NEW Today!)
President / CEO (Fort Smith, Ark.), Rivertown Federal Credit Union (NEW Today!)
Vice President of Operations (Saint Louis, Mo.), Health Care Family Credit Union (NEW Today!)
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development (Houston, Tex.), Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union (NEW Today!)
Vice President of IT & Innovationlopment (Houston, Tex.), Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union (NEW Today!)
Branch Manager (Burlington), Vermont Federal Credit Union (3rd and final post)
Chief Operating Officer, Arkansas Federal Credit Union (3rd and final post)
Positions previously posted in Newslines Express are available here.

Share With Us - We're always looking for pictures, press releases, and news that helps tell the story of why credit unions in general, and yours in particular, are so special to Vermont consumers.  Send submissions to JohnCote@vermontcreditunions.coop.

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