ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson has announced two Access Across America Economic Empowerment Summits so far for this fall. NCUA will be hosting one of these free, one-day events in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 20. Credit unions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virgin Islands are invited to attend. Then, on Oct. 12, the agency will follow up with another summit in Dallas. Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas credit unions are invited to the Dallas summit. The summits aim to enhance credit unions' capabilities by partnering with federal agencies and non-profit organizations. "NCUA is pleased to announce the next summits of 2005, which will bring together our public and private sector partners to discuss economic empowerment and financial self-sufficiency," Johnson commented. "Credit unions are instrumental in providing access to affordable financial services to the underserved and "unbanked" communities. We look forward to hosting this summit for credit union officials and volunteers." Participating agencies include the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury. Also presenting will be the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission. Chairman Johnson continued, "There are a myriad of resourceful programs available to credit unions, however, they continue to go unnoticed. The hallmark of the summit is the innovative programs which allow credit unions to empower their members to achieve the American Dream of financial self-sufficiency." Key subjects of the summits include member business lending, Health Savings Accounts, identity theft, homeownership, serving emerging markets and the underserved, and financial education. For more information or to register, see www.NCUA.gov or e-mail AccessAcross [email protected].