Municipal CU's William Porter to Receive Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award

NEW YORK - Municipal CU President/CEO William Porter will receive the Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award from the African-American Credit Union Coalition on Aug. 13 during the group's annual meeting in Atlanta. Porter has led MCU since 1981, helping propel it to a $1.2 billion institution. Over the years, Porter brought services and branches to each of New York's five boroughs and MCU was among the first to provide ATMs to its members as well as automated telephone and online services. After the 9/11 tragedy, Porter asked MCU's board to forgive a total of $350,000 in loans made to members whose family members, New York City firefighters and policemen, had lost their lives in the disaster. In a controversial move, Porter ensured that members could gain access to cash after the tragedy struck, even though MCU was unable to verify balances because data networks linking the branches and ATMs had been demolished. Prior to coming to MCU, Porter spent 25 years at Citibank, becoming the first African-American to manage branches for the bank in midtown Manhattan and on Wall Street Porter is the second award recipient. The award was named for Pete Crear, a 40-year industry veteran who is currently the executive vice president of external relations at CUNA & Affiliates. Crear was instrumental in the growth of credit unions during his time at the Michigan Credit Union League and also served as president of the Indiana and Connecticut State Leagues. This year, the AACUC will also offer its first Pete Crear Scholarships to college students.