CUES

Credit Union Executives Society
www.cues.org

When I started with the credit union, we had $6 million in assets and eight employees. In 2011, we have $350 million in assets and 85 employees. A great deal of what I was able to accomplish at the credit union comes from my CUES education and training.

My name is John, and I am CUES.


My first job in the financial services industry was working in lending and collections at a small finance company. After two years, I was promoted to branch manager. During the 13 years I worked at the finance company I moved four times. The experience served as an excellent foundation for learning about lending and collections, which are my strengths.

While working for the finance company, a state examiner that had examined my office several times took a position managing a credit union. In 1982, he called me and offered me a job as loan supervisor at the NorthCountry Federal Credit Union, South Burlington, Vt. 

The president of the credit union recommended that I attend a CUES conference. The quality of the speakers at the conference was remarkable and the ability to network was exceptional. I was able to make several contacts at the conference to help us make decisions at the credit union. And the service from CUES staff has always been of the highest quality. After becoming the CEO I recommended that our board become members, since then I have recommended a number of my staff to join CUES and encourage them to use this resource for their continued education and advancement.

My favorite attribute of CUES Membership is two-fold. The first is the ability to network to find solutions to problems at the credit union. The second is the willingness of folks at CUES events to share ideas whether they are presenters or participants.

A good example of how CUES has helped our credit union is the CUES School of Business Lending. We didn’t have sufficient expertise to get started with member business lending (MBL) so we attended the school, which is a three-week program. After the school, we started immediately with our MBL program. We have now been offering these loans for five years, and we have $28 million of loans of this type in our portfolio. Two of us went to CUES School of Business Lending, and another is attending as we speak.

I encourage folks to go to the CUES’ CEO Institute, which is offered at some of the most prestigious universities in the United States—Cornell, Wharton and the University of Virginia. I completed the Institute as did my vice-president; a loan officer is currently enrolled. The Institute focuses on three areas: strategic planning, organizational effectiveness and leadership. I used all three areas to plan more effectively.

CEO Institute—as well as other programs with CUES—has helped our credit union to think more strategically. By this I mean that we are learning to think and plan down the road. In the 1990s, strategic thinking meant planning five years ahead; today it is more like 12 to 18 months.

I’m still in contact with friends I made at CEO Institute. I always feel that I could go to the friends that I made at the CUES events and ask them about any problem I have. I quickly took advantage of the network offered to those attending CEO Institute.

When I started with the credit union, we had $6 million in assets and eight employees. In 2011, we have $350 million in assets and 85 employees. A great deal of what I was able to accomplish at the credit union comes from my CUES education and training.

I’m planning to retire in 2012 and I’m preparing myself and my credit union for this event. I want to make sure that the staff and credit union are viable and strong. CUES has helped us with this goal through their succession planning book.

My name is John Benoit, from NorthCountry Federal Credit Union, and I am CUES.

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