The search for emerging credit union leaders is on! CUES is looking for young professionals, aged 35 and under, to apply to become the Next Top Credit Union Exec. Learn more, below.

Plus, read all the great articles this week, including Credit Union Management’s latest online-only “Inside Marketing” column with 14 ideas to inspire your next blog post; the latest online-only “Teaching Smart Money Management” column about Financial Literacy Month; and another article about using credit checks for potential employees.

Next Top Credit Union Exec
This challenge will allow credit union professionals aged 35 and under to flex their creative muscles and show the credit union world what they are capable of! Challengers will enter the competition by producing a 60-second YouTube video about a current project or program they’re working on at their credit union. They can also pitch an idea that would advance their credit union or the credit union industry. More than $50,000 in prizes will be awarded! Learn all about the challenge, here.

Teaching Smart Money Management: April is 'Financial Literacy Month'
Should your credit union participate?

Credit Checks and Employment
Pending state and federal laws would limit employers’ ability to pull credit reports on potential hires.

Inside Marketing: 14 Blog Topic Ideas to Kick Start Your Brain
Use these tips to add new life to your online posts.

Risk Management
According to a recent supervisory letter, the NCUA is demanding all credit unions plan for integrated risk management, and prepare for risks that bleed across the boundaries of products and services. Register today for CUES School of Risk Management™ in Collaboration with the Risk and Insurance Management Society and learn the essentials of enterprise risk management. You’ll also come away with a five-step ERM model you can use to begin the process at your credit union. Choose from three locations: Boston, Chicago or Seattle!

Member Benefit Section

CEO Position Description: Paul Fero of $20 million PA HealthCare Credit Union, Sewickley, Pa., shares a CEO position description in CUES Members Share (members-only item; e-mail cues@cues.org for password assistance).

Jobs: The CUES Web site provides listings of positions and internships, both available and wanted. Currently, there are several executive-level posted. To view or submit (free for CUES members) a position, click here.
 
Review all your member benefits here.

Blog: Observations on Awards, CFO BFFs and Rubber Chickens: “It was a brisk winter morning when nine strangers descended upon the CU Holy Land of Madison, Wis., to judge the CUES Golden Mirror Awards last January. We braced for the task of reading nearly a thousand entries, debating their merits and deciding who among them is worthy of a coveted Golden Mirror Award,” writes Kelley Parks, creative catalyst at gira{ph}, on the CUES Nexus Connection blog. Read what Parks, the 2008 GMA Best of Show winner, learned about the state of credit union marketing while serving as a 2009 GMA judge.

CUES Councils: There are eight regional CUES events happening in April and May. View a list of all upcoming CUES Council events.

CUES North Carolina Council
April 21-23
Myrtle Beach, S.C.

CUES KOMA Council
April 29-30
Branson, Mo.

CUES Canada West Council Meeting
May 2
Winnipeg, Manitoba

CUES Ohio Council Meeting
May 7
Gahanna, Ohio

CUES Delaware Valley Council Meeting
May 12
Malvern, Pa.

CUES Northeast Council Meeting
May 12
Wilkes Barre, Pa.

CUES Iowa Council Meeting
May 13-14
Riverside, Iowa
CUES Oregon/Washington Council Meeting
May 13
Tualatin, Ore.

CUES Presents Disney Institute!
Join us at CUES Annual Convention, June 21-23, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and Experience the Business Behind the Magic! This must-attend event has a unique learning format. Day one focuses on credit union-specific sessions, followed by a day with Disney Institute facilitators. Register today!

Cool Web Site: Metacritic's mission is to help you make an informed decision about how to spend your money on entertainment. What began as a simple idea back in the summer of 1999--to both provide access to and summarize the vast amount of entertainment criticism available on line--has evolved into one of the Web's best resources for critical information about film, video, music, games, books and television.

Member News:
Recognition: For the sixth consecutive year, $1.4 billion/142,000-member Baxter Credit Union, Vernon Hills, Ill., has earned a spot on the list of companies recognized by The Center for Companies That Care, a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the well-being of employees and communities.

Dividend: CUES Supplier member PSCU Financial Services, St. Petersburg, Fla., today announced the issuance of a dividend of $17.9 million for its 2009 operations. In addition, financial savings of $6.7 million were passed along throughout 2009 in the form of lower costs, creating a total benefit to members of more than $24.6 million for the year.

Retirements: Bill Birdwell has retired as CEO of $3.2 billion Southeast Corporate Federal Credit Union. Birdwell has been replaced by Brad Miller, who formerly served as executive director for the Association of Corporate Credit Unions.

$420 million/76,000-member Smart Financial Credit Union, Houston, has announced the retirement of Roger Granad, VP/special services, following 42 years of dedicated service.

CUES Supplier Member News:

CU Members Mortgage is now a preferred product provider for the Texas Credit Union League's member service organization, Credit Union Resources, Inc.
 
CSCU announces the promotion of Jenna Sprehe to marketing manager. Sprehe works to adapt promotions, information and resources to better meet the needs of CSCU’s member credit unions.

Two key executives have joined the Insuritas team: Perry Lincoln in the role of director/operations and Maxine Moody as director/corporate sales. Both join Insuritas with over 20 years of experience in the insurance space.

Read all the CUES member news here.

CUES Calendar
 
CEO Institute II
Organizational Effectiveness
April 25-30
Cornell University
Johnson Graduate School of Management

Webinar: How will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Affect You?
April 28
1-2 p.m. Central time

Webinar: Why Hispanic Members Are Important to Your Strategic Future
April 29
10-11 a.m. Central

CEO Institute III
Strategic Leadership Development
May 2-7
University of Virginia
Darden School of Business

Webinar: Alternative Capital: Recapitalizing Credit Unions
May 12
10-11 a.m. Central time

CUES School of Business Lending
School I: Business Lending Fundamentals
May 17-21
Hyatt Regency Cambridge
Boston

School of Risk Management
May 17-18
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Overlooking Boston
Boston

Alternative Capital: Controlling Your Destiny
Wednesday, June 2
10-11 a.m. Central time

DLI™: Governance
June 6-9
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Toronto
 
CUES Annual Convention
Disney's Contemporary Resort
June 21-23
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
 
Alternative Capital: Navigating the Future
Wednesday, June 30
10-1 a.m. Central time

Check out all the upcoming CUES events.

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Theresa Witham
CUES Editor
direct: 410.665.1370
theresa@cues.org
main office: 800.252.2664 x 5307
fax: 608.441.3407
www.cues.org
P.O. Box 14167
Madison, WI 53708-0167