Arizona State Credit Union, Phoenix, wasrecognized by the Public Relations Society of America during itsCopper Anvil Awards for its excellence in public relations. Thecredit union received this award for its HelpingAZ.com campaign,which was entered in the “Corporate Social Responsibility:Government, Associations and Non-Profits” category. Arizona StateCredit Union created the HelpingAZ.com website to bring togetherArizona State employees and university employees who had beenaffected by the poor economy, layoffs and furloughs and offer thema place where they could voice their thoughts, opinions and helpfultips. The Copper Anvil Awards identify public relations campaignsthat incorporate effective research, planning, execution andevaluation.

California Credit Union League, Sacramento,Calif., presented its 2010 Community Outreach Awards in Septemberto Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union CEO Urla Abrigo, TravisCredit Union and Mission SF Federal Credit Union.

Abrigo, who heads the Los Angeles, Calif.-based EpiscopalCommunity Federal Credit Union, was the recipient in the individualcategory. Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Calif. won in thecategory for credit unions with assets exceeding $100 million,while Mission SF Federal Credit Union in San Francisco, Calif. wonin the category for credit unions with assets less than $100million. The awards are presented to those who demonstrate anunderstanding of the importance of credit union membership andfinancial education, and an awareness of the diverse andunderserved groups within their community.

The Credit Union Executives Society, Madison,Wis., announced the winners of its Golden Mirror Awards formarketing excellence. The Rookie of the Year award went to themarketing department of FirstOntario Credit Union in Hamilton,Ontario; Lisa Fawcett of Co-op Services Credit Union in Livonia,Mich., took the Best of Show award; and the Golden Shoestring awardwent to Alabama Telco Credit Union of Birmingham, Ala., fordeveloping a highly successful marketing strategy within theconstraints of a shoestring budget. An award in the outdoorcategory for credit unions of all sizes was given to 1st FinancialFederal Credit Union.

CUES itself also received awards last month, in the 2010 Awardsfor Publication Excellence competition, sponsored by the editors ofWriting That Works. Its Credit Union Management magazine won in theBest Redesign category; its CUESeVote service was recognized in theSpecial Purpose Design and Illustration category and the 2010 CUESMarketing Planner received an award in the Media Kit category.

Crescent Credit Union, Brockton, Mass.,received a five-star rating from BauerFinancial Inc., a ratingservice for financial institutions that has been analyzing andreporting on the financial condition of the nation's bankingindustry since 1983. The star ratings classify each credit unionbased upon a complex formula that factors in relevant data such ascapital, historical trends, loan delinquencies, differences in thebook and market values of the investment portfolio, profitability,repossessed assets, reserves, charge-offs, regulatory complianceand asset quality. The rating reflects that Crescent is a safe,financially sound credit union, operating well above its regulatorycapital requirements.

CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union,Alexandria, Va., was awarded second place in its asset size at thestate level for the 2010 Dora Maxwell Social ResponsibilityRecognition Program. The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Programpromotes social responsibility among credit unions and formallyrecognizes those credit unions' social achievements within theircommunities. Some of the projects the credit union was involvedwith included Alexandria City Public Schools, City of AlexandriaHispanic Community, Rebuilding Together Alexandria, Walk to FightBreast Cancer, Spring for Alexandria, and CommonWealth One'sCommunity Shred Day.

CUNA Mutual Group, Madison, Wis., was named tothis year's InformationWeek 500, an exclusive annual listing of thenation's most innovative users of business technology. The 2010list was announced Sept. 15 at the InformationWeek 500 Conferencein Dana Point, Calif. The organization ranked number 208, and hasnow made the list for a total of eight years. The group notes thattheir application for the award featured new enhancements to thesoftware for loanliner.com, their Internet lending tool.

GFA Federal Credit Union, Gardner, Mass.,announced that one of its members, Steven Dubzinski, won a nationalcontest offered by CULookup.com, which asked credit union membersto submit short written or video essays explaining why their creditunion is great. Dubzinski, one of approximately 1000 contestentrants-78 of which were from GFA FCU-won $500 for his poemdescribing a typical lifelong GFA membership.

Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union,Harrisburg, Penn., was recently chosen as a 2010 Family Favorite byCentral Penn Parent Magazine. Readers of this popular publicationvoted for the credit union because they felt PSECU was a greatvalue for financial products and services.

SELCO Community Credit Union, Eugene, Ore., washonored in late August by the Lane Workforce Partnership for itsinvestment in the local workforce. The award recognizes the creditunion's competitive compensation package that includes a 401K plan,the opportunity to participate in a wellness program, employeeassistance and life balance programs. In addition, SELCO offersin-house training to help employees further their careers andreimbursement for business and finance certifications. LaneWorkforce also recognized SELCO's internship programs for localyouth, including one that allows for school credits.

Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union,Aberdeen, Md., announced that its chairman David H. Gilbert washonored with the National Association of Credit Union Chairmen's2010 Eugene Ball Award during the 34th Annual Chairmen's RoundtableForum in Baltimore. A longtime member of The Chairmen's Group,Gilbert received the award in front of a group of his credit unionpeers from across the country. The plaque's inscription honorsGilbert for his “commitment to country, credit unions and TheChairmen's Group.”

Citizens Equity First Credit Union, Peoria,Ill., announce that Jay Flanagan, an insurance agent with CEFCUFinancial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of the credit union,was among a select group of insurance professionals of local,independent insurance agencies to be recognized as a High Achieverby Travelers Personal Insurance. The Travelers High Achiever awardis designed to recognize insurance agency employees who displaysuperior levels of customer service, demonstrate leadership skills,encourage teamwork among their peers and contribute to the overallsuccess of their agencies.

The Credit Union League of Connecticut,Meriden, Conn., announced that its Financial Reality Fair programwon the national Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award forLeagues for the 2009-2010 school year. The fair is an educationalexperience for high school students, who research their careerchoice and starting salary prior to the fair date. They areprovided with a budget worksheet identifying their career choiceand then must live within the starting salary for the month whileliving on their own during the fair. The Financial Reality Fair wascreated as part of REAL Solutions, a national credit union programfocused on creating opportunities for those of limited means.

CUNA Mutual Group, Madison, Wis., recognizedthree credit unions for their lending prowess at the CUNA LendingCouncil's 16th annual conference in Las Vegas. Oregon CommunityCredit Union of Eugene, Ore. and Erie Federal Credit Union of Erie,Penn. won awards in the category for credit unions with more than$250 million in assets, while NorthCountry Federal Credit Union ofSouth Burlington, Vt. won in the category for credit unions of lowor modest means. CUNA Mutual established the Excellence in LendingAwards in 2000 to recognize credit unions that have implementedoutstanding lending programs while demonstrating sound financialperformance.

CUNA Technology Council, Madison, Wis.,announced the winners of its 2010 Best Practices Award at theCouncil's 15th Annual Conference, which took place Sept. 29-Oct. 2in Las Vegas. The award recognizes outstanding approaches totechnological challenges with potential for universal applicationacross the credit union movement. In the informationsecurity/privacy category, the award went to Affinity Plus FCU inSaint Paul, Minn. In the member service/convenience category, thewinner was Travis CU in Vacaville, Calif. Two additional awards ofmiscellaneous category were given to Envision CU in Tallahassee,Fla. and to Affinity Plus FCU.

Oregon State University Federal Credit Union,Corvallis, Ore., was awarded high honors for its outreach effortsat the annual Credit Union Association of Oregon awards banquet onOct. 6 in Portland. OSU Federal was honored as the best in thelarge credit union category for both the Dora Maxwell SocialResponsibility Award and the Alphonse Desjardins Youth FinancialAward categories.

San Antonio Credit Union, San Antonio,announced that Charles D. Lutz, IV, a registered representativeaffiliated with broker-dealer and Registered Investment AdviserCUSO Financial Services, LP was a recipient of CFS's 2009 GoldPacesetter Award at the CFS “Break On Through 2010″ annualconference, held in San Diego. Lutz is credited with generatingsignificant revenue while providing high quality financial andretirement planning services to SACU members. He has served thecredit union membership as a registered representative through theSACU Investment Center for six years.

State Employees' Credit Union, Raleigh, N.C.,was among six financial institutions named as 2010 Go DirectChampions by the US Department of the Treasury's FinancialManagement Service. The recognition came for the credit union'srole in encouraging direct deposit among federal benefit checkrecipients. Financial institutions with a minimum of 100 brancheswere eligible to participate in the program, and 19 organizationsrepresenting more than 25,000 branches nationwide joined in thecampaign. Programs were tracked for increases in social securityand supplemental security income ACH payments over an eight-monthperiod.

Virginia Educators Credit Union, Newport News,Va., has won a first-place state-level award in the DesjardinsYouth Financial Education Awards for credit unions for the thirdyear in a row. The Desjardins Award, sponsored by the VirginiaCredit Union League and the Credit Union National Association,honors credit unions for their commitment to teaching personalfinance basics to young people. The credit union was recognized forgiving the highest number of presentations of any credit union inthe state of Virginia, totaling 166 to over 3,000 students.