Maurice Smith, the president/CEO of the $1 billion Local Government Federal Credit Union of Raleigh, N.C., has built his own website that promotes his candidacy for a seat on the 2011 CUNA board of directors.
In going online with www.smithforcunaboard.com, Smith said he hopes to build name recognition and reach a wider audience in his quest for the District 3/Class C seat representing large credit unions with 77,000 members or more.
The Raleigh CEO said he is eager to get a head start in the election cycle by announcing his candidacy a few weeks ahead of the traditional schedule that begins in mid-August.
Smith is running for the director post held by Tom Dorety, president/CEO of the $5.3 billion Suncoast Schools FCU of Tampa. Smith, believed to be the only candidate so far, is running for a three-year term taking office next February at the annual Government Affairs Conference in Washington.
Under the CUNA election timetable, CEOs announce their candidacies between mid-August and October, with voting winding up in December.
Smith is the current chairman of the North Carolina Credit Union League. His quest for CUNA's board website went live in mid-July. He said industry survival rests on greater cooperation and commitment and on that score, the LGFCU head said he remains "an egalitarian favoring equal treatment of members."
--jrubenstein@cutimes.com
