At the recent National Association of Credit Union Chairman'sannual meeting in Baltimore, the idea of board memberdiversification drew heated comments as it pertained to age. Theagency and others, including this blogger, have been encouragingcredit unions to recruit people of varying ages, educationalbackground, ethnicities and genders to credit union boards.

Some at the conference expressed concern that they couldn't getsomeone with an IT background or marketing or HR up to speed onfinancials within the NCUA's proposed 90 days. I'd have todisagree; the NCUA isn't asking IT and HR specialists to becomeCPAs in that time period. All the agency is seeking with itsproposed reg is a baseline understanding of the financials atthe credit union. And, just because someone doesn't crunch numbersall day for a living doesn't mean they can't understand thefinancials if they want to.

My question: who would want to take on all the liabilities thatcome with serving on the board of a financial institution withoutthat kind of knowledge?

In the diversification discussion, age was a hotly debatedtopic. One gentleman who was probably old enough to remember thesigning of the Federal Credit Union Act noted that NCUA BoardMember Gigi Hyland is traveling all over the country telling boardsto get a more diverse cross section of their memberships to serve,including age and ethnicity. It seemed this volunteer took it as apersonal affront to wipe out all the white men over 65.

That is absolutely not what she's saying. I don't want to putwords in Board Member Hyland's mouth, but I've heard this speechand it's about being inclusive rather than exclusive. It's aboutkeeping some of the more senior board members who are active andeducated on modern issues at financial institutions. However,qualified people who happen to be younger are needed to back fillthese positions as existing board members leave the board either bychoice, illness or death. This will sound harsh, but is the creditunion supposed to die with the older board members who don't wantyoung whippersnappers on the board or have these folks discoveredeternal life? The new generation of board members will need theexperience on the board, serving with the older members inorder for the industry to survive.

Of course you don't just bring people in because they're young,as a couple of the chairmen suggested was being advocated. Themessage would be better received if it comes from other seniorsserving on the boards rather than young, female executives such asBoard Member Hyland or myself. I heard it at the NACUC meeting frommany of the attendees. Keep it up so your voices are heard by theothers! It's a message not against institutional knowledge but forthe future.

Aggressive recruiting in the right places can help. Thinkoutside the credit union. Provide board nomination marketingcollateral to MBA candidates at local colleges or even send someonefrom the credit union to guest lecture in a business or accountingclass.

I know my 35-year-old neighbor is being recruited for our boardby an existing board member; this is an excellent start. This workis vital to a sustainable credit union model.