The winners of Credit Union Central of Canada's seventh annualNational Credit Union Awards Program include a smallbusiness-focused credit union and five young credit union leaders,announced Credit Union Central of Canada, the national trade associationfor the Canadian credit union industry also known as CanadianCentral.
|Canadian Central revealed the latest National Credit UnionAwards Program winners at the Canadian Conference for Credit UnionLeaders on May 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. David MacLean,the association's board director, announced the winners asfollows:
- National Community Economic Development Award: Alterna Savings and Credit Union of Ottawa, Ontario, whichdeveloped a micro finance program for small businesses that don'tmeet most financial institutions' criteria. The program providesloans as well as financial planning, networking and marketingresources for entrepreneurs. So far, Alterna Savings and CreditUnion has made more than 400 loans totaling nearly $2 millionthrough the program.
- National Credit Union Innovation Award: Synergy Credit Union ofLloydminster, Saskatchewan, for its account opening tool thatallows members to streamline the opening of personal and businessaccounts.
- National Young Leaders: Trevor Beaton, wealth services managerat Synergy CU; Jeff Knutson, branch manager at First West CU of Langley, British Columbia; Kirsty Reid, wealthmanagement services manager at First Credit Union of Powell River,British Columbia (also the winner of the National Young LeadersAward and a $20,000 scholarship); Purdeep Sangha, CEO projects andinitiatives director at FirstOntario Credit Union of Simcoe,Ontario and Lori Walsh, vice president of marketing and strategicsolutions at Cornerstone Credit Union of Archerwill,Saskatchewan.
- Credit Union Hall of Fame Award: Edward Gebert, whose lifetimeaccomplishments include playing a lead role in introducing Canada'sfirst ATM and serving as president of Credit Union ElectronicTransaction Services.
“This annual event enables us to identify individuals andcredit unions that are dedicated to improving the lives ofCanadians in ways that are truly meaningful,” MacLean said.“Recognizing these achievements not only inspires us to continuethe positive work but drives us to make improvements that betterour system overall.”
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
