SAN FRANCISCO -- CMG Mortgage Insurance Co. announced that Standard & Poor's has affirmed the company's AA- insurer financial strength rating, with a negative rating outlook....

NEW YORK -- As banks continue to tighten their loan standards, small-business owners are getting creative in finding financing sources including at credit unions, the Associated Press reported in a May 2 article....

WASHINGTON -- Costly and anti-competitive: that's the opinion of the credit union industry's three largest trade associations about two of the key recommendations of the NCUA's Outreach Task Force....

WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Mike Egan is so excited about remote-deposit capture that while falling into a deep, anesthetic sleep prior to a recent surgery, he mumbled the words over and over....

DETROIT -- As more car buyers try to lower their monthly payments by taking out longer auto loans, experts are seeing the number of upside down buyers grow....

WASHINGTON -- Just as some of the major competitors in the student loan business are jumping ship to stem losses from the subprime mortgage meltdown, more than a dozen players in the credit union space have collaborated to form a new entity to bring college loans directly to members....

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Gov. Chet Culver's (D) signature on Senate File 2430, commonly known as the Economic Stimulus Bill, is good news for Iowa credit unions....

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Staking out new ground on aiding the underserved and financial literacy, the Colorado and Wyoming Credit Union Associations have recruited Robert Hoel, formerly of the Filene Research Institute, to its foundation board and also signed on to the REAL Solutions program....

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina credit unions have saved consumers $529 million in a single year as a result of lower fees and loan costs plus higher deposit rates, according to an updated research study produced by a University of Alabama economist and former finance adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta....

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to their lowest point in four years as it cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.0% as expected by economists....

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Ent Credit Union here is awaiting approval from the NCUA of its merger with US Alliance CU of Denver after its members adopted the board and management's recommendation by a 9-to-1 margin. ...

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- Mortgage Builder Software Inc., a loan origination software company to credit unions and other financial institutions, announced it has created a partnership with Optimal Blue, the developer of a Web-based platform coupling decisioning technology with content management. ...

PHOENIX -- Membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is proving financially fruitful in liquidity and balance sheet management to the $1.1 billion Arizona State Credit Union. ...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Seeing an opportunity to further meet the needs of what it considers the neglected investor, the $15 billion State Employees Credit Union has bought the remains of XCU Capital Corp., a credit union-owned broker-dealer and investment advisory firm that was acquired by LPL Financial Corp. in August 2007....

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- If you ask Colorado and Wyoming Credit Union Associations President John Dill, FoolProof is just the spark needed to further credit union financial education efforts....

MEDIA, Pa. -- Aimed at encouraging and educating credit unions about the benefits of collaboration through credit union service organizations, the CUSOLaw.com Web site has been revised and enhanced with new features....

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Two credit unions that received previously owned coin counters from another CU have uncovered some bugs....

WESTBROOK, Maine -- The Maine Credit Union League and the National Credit Union Foundation have launched a disaster relief effort for CU members and employees hurt by the state's recent flooding....

LEVIS, Quebec -- A shared branching network started in 1967. A credit union with one single CUSO providing all the services and products members need. Banks trying their hardest to mimic the cooperative model but missing the mark....

LEOMINSTER, Mass. -- Workers' Credit Union has provided funding to HealthAlliance Hospital for the launch of Community Resource Cyber Stations throughout the hospital....

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. -- The Hero Account of First Citizens' Federal Credit Union is proving an ideal vehicle this year in demonstrating support to the military....

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Thanks to the popularity of Mother's Day in Mexico, a $7 million credit union here planned to launch its new remittances product Saturday, May 10....

WASHINGTON -- Credit unions that offer remittances have not experienced the slower pace reported in a recent survey....

TAMPA, Fla. -- Compatible technology infrastructure was cited as a key reason for the selection of GTE Federal Credit Union's headquarters as a backup site for the city of Tampa in the event of an emergency that disrupts municipal services....

MAITLAND, Fla. -- A well-meaning company figured it was doing the right thing when it presented handsome recognition plaques to outstanding employees....

DENVER -- Westerra Credit Union drew attendees of the 2008 Realtor Rally to its booth with a staged photo opportunity with a Harley Davidson motorcycle....

MADISON, Wis. -- A total of 51 individuals from 12 different states were awarded Certified Credit Union Executive designations, which brings the total to 2,581 individuals nationwide....

INGLESIDE, Texas -- Security Service Federal Credit Union is providing some 800 employees of Gulf Marine Fabricators with a new way to save.        ...

SAN DIEGO -- CUSO Financial Services LP has grown 30% thanks to the addition of 32 new investment programs over the past year, the credit union broker dealer and investment adviser recently reported. ...

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- In a merger that took place on May 1, Winthrop Credit Union became a part of Founders Federal Credit Union....

WASHINGTON -- Individual retirement accounts held $4.8 trillion in assets as of September 2007 boosting Americans' overall retirement assets to $17.8 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute. ...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica  -- U.S. credit unions aren't the only financial cooperatives that face taxation threats at the hands of bank lobbying efforts. ...

JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Six business and government representatives from Kyrgyzstan and their Washington-based translator visited $263 million First Community Credit Union on April 25....

WASHINGTON -- At press time, the House was close to passing a measure that would make government mortgages more widely available, though President Bush has threatened to veto the measure because it is too expensive. ...

LATHAM, N.Y. -- The New York State Credit Union League has broken new ground by accepting as an associate member its first Puerto Rican Credit Union, the league has announced....

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Credit Union Network participated on the welcoming end of a regulator exchange with Paraguay last month as part of the league's WOCCU international partnership with Paraguayan credit union association Central de Cooperatives del Area National Ltda. (CENCOPAN)....

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The $1 billion Arrowhead Credit Union is facing a lawsuit filed by local pastor after he was mistakenly arrested for check fraud. ...

WASHINGTON -- Retailers are trying to tie the issue of card interchange to the high gas prices that Americans currently experience....

ARVADA, Colo.--The Credit Union Association of Colorado recently added Warren FCU in Cheyenne, Wyo., to its membership as it presses ahead with what it sees as a trend toward industry regionalization....

WASHINGTON -- A federal proposal to make home appraisers more independent of financial institutions would do harm more than good and increase costs for consumers, according to officials of the two leading credit union trade associations....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Labeling Senate Bill 1137 as an "urgent" bill may speed up help for troubled California families facing the loss of their homes....

LENEXA, Kan. -- U.S. Central will nearly double its liquidity resources May 22, when the wholesale corporate gains access to the Federal Reserve Bank's intraday and discount window credit lines....

WASHINGTON -- Recently proposed regulations would lead to additional costs and reduced revenue to credit unions and could make credit less available to consumers ...

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- The struggling Sterlent Credit Union here is now an insolvent financial institution. ...

WASHINGTON -- CUNA has joined the Electronic Payments Coalition, a group including banks, banking associations, CUSOs and NAFCU, organized to oppose federal legislation to mandate a settlement on card interchange....

LENEXA, Kan. -- U.S. Central has announced the election results from last month's annual meeting and spring conference, where six of the corporate's nine board seats were up for grabs....

WASHINGTON -- Officials of the two national credit union trade groups spent last week mostly working behind the scenes to shore up support for legislative efforts to provide regulatory relief for credit unions....

MIRAMAR, Fla. -- Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union has raised $53,000 at its annual charity golf tournament, Swing 4 the Kids....

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Software as a service continues to be rapidly adopted by American enterprises, according to Forrester Research. The technology formerly known as application service provider is now in place at 16% of North America's largest enterprises, up a third from the previous year, the think firm found in a recent survey of 1,017 technology decision makers. Forrester found that the rate of SaaS uptake on this side of the pond is twice that of Europe and that human resources, collaboration and customer service relationship software are the hottest areas. Drags on adoption, Forrester said, are integration, customization, security and cost concerns....

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Credit unions serving large Hispanic memberships may not want to neglect the mobile channel. According to a new report from Forrester Research, 26% of Hispanic adults used wireless mobile devices to check financial accounts in 2007, up 10 percentage points from the year before. In fact, overall, nearly 30% of Hispanic consumers in the United States use mobile data services, according to the firm's Hispanic Technographics Consumer Technology Phone Survey, a 20-minute phone survey of 3,004 U.S. Hispanic adults conducted in October....

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The global market for imaging components was worth $40.4 billion in 2007 and is expected to grow to $58.7 billion by 2012, according to a new technical market research report from BCC Research (www.bccresearch.com). The new report said image analysis will have the largest share of the market by then, followed by image display and then image capture. While image capture technology captures the headlines in credit union land, BCC Research cited advances in medical diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies, the adoption of rich multimedia capabilities in wireless telephone applications and the increasing acceptance of high-definition TV as primary contributing factors to the overall growth of global imaging components sales....

MIRAMAR, Fla. -- Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union is lending a helping hand to its Haitian neighbors by launching a Help for Haiti campaign....

PASADENA, Calif. -- Wescom Resources Group has successfully completed the SAS 70 Type II audit. ...

BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- Retirement and financial planning programs, a new survey published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, finds that 70% of responding organizations offer retirement or financial planning education to employees....

BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- US Federal Credit Union is partnering with Minneapolis...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Meriwest Credit Union has recently unveiled a pilot program designed to provide student budget training. ...

FAIRBORN, Ohio -- Wright-Patt Credit Union Inc. President/CEO Douglas A. Fecher was awarded the Professional of the Year Award by the Ohio Credit Union League. ...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- A proposed change from the SEC regarding the Regulation S-P: Privacy of Consumer Financial Information and Safeguarding Personal Information may have an impact on investment representatives' relationships with members, the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations has discovered....

PORTLAND, Maine -- Actor and former first son Steve Ford told employees of Maine credit unions to broaden their horizons and do more to help people. ...

BOSTON -- Credit unions are way behind their big competitors when it comes to the introduction of remote deposit technology, according to a new report from Aite Group. The firm found that all 20 of America's largest banks have adopted the technology, as have 45% of small banks. Only 4% of credit unions have adopted the technology, the research and advisory group said in a new report. Uptake is rapidly moving downstream, however, the think firm said, estimating that 2,494 banks and credit unions adopted the technology in 2007 and another 1,564 will do so for the first time this year or replace first-generation solutions. Aite Group also said that three vendors dominate the market: Goldleaf, Fiserv and Jack Henry & Associates, together responsible for 73% of all deployments....

WESTBROOKE, Maine -- Volunteers from Maine credit unions have demonstrated the people helping people philosophy by setting record-breaking numbers of hours volunteered by credit union staff and directors in 2007....

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah -- Just as all the children in Garrison Keiler's Lake Wobegon are above average, all your members are exceptionally dedicated and loyal to their credit union....

ARLINGTON, Va. -- NAFCU's Macro Flash Data Reports on the country's gross domestic product and employment figures were slightly higher than expectations and much better than anyone expected, respectively, given current struggles in the economy....

BOSTON -- Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman--Elect David Kittle went back in time for his opening remarks to attendees at the MBA National Secondary Conference and Expo here last week. All the way back to 1934. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As more credit unions are offering mortgages through in-house or outsourced programs, the need to network with one another is being met by the formation of Credit Union Real Estate Networks....

TAMPA, Fla. -- To better serve its members Grow Financial Credit Union is infusing some retail design into its future branches....

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- To help promote ongoing efforts to encourage credit unions to consider seeking partnerships within the movement first, Mountain America Credit Union and TruHome Solutions LLC have donated $5,000 each to NACUSO's BUY CUSO campaign. ...

MADISON, Wis. -- The Filene Research Institute has added Dorian Stone to its team of research fellows....

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Credit unions here are renewing their efforts to change a century-old law that bans state and local governments from depositing money in any financial institution other than a commercial bank....

HOUSTON -- The $3 billion Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union has signed on again with the PULSE EFT Association, a subsidiary of Discover Financial Services, for ATM and EFT services. ...

MADISON, Wis. -- The World Council of Credit Unions is urging applicants for the Young Credit Union People Scholarship Program to submit their completed nomination materials as the June 2 deadline is approaching....

ARLINGTON. Va. -- It was bound to happen given the rising price of gas: American consumers are passing up SUVs and trucks for smaller, fuel-efficient cars....

BOULDER, Colo. -- In a city known both for its eco-friendliness and affinity for freewheeling, Elevations Credit Union here is helping its members jump on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle by lowering its best rate on Harley motorcycle loans to correspond with the same rate as its automobile loans....

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Credit unions offering credit and debit MasterCards to small businesses could benefit from a new MasterCard program....

UKIAH, Calif. -- Mendo Lake Credit Union has opened a full-service green branch....

MURRIETA, Calif. -- CUTEK is now offering Symitar credit unions a dual signature solution that allows two people to input information on an electronic document at two different times and locations. ...

WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae, the government sponsored enterprise that buys more home loans than any other entity, defied the markets by posting a quarterly loss May 5 of $2.2 billion. The Fannie Mae tempered the bad news with some good: It pledged to raise an additional $6 billion from investors to buy more mortgages from credit unions, banks and other lenders....

LISLE, Ill. -- De La Rue Cash System announced the appointment of Chris T. Reagan as its new president....

MADISON, Wis. -- There have been a few changes at CUES with the promotion of Dawn Poker, Lucy Roidt and Karin Weiss. ...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- CUNA Mutual Group's International Division has expanded its European operations by opening new European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland....

NEW YORK -- Municipal Credit Union is a big fan of the Civil Service Sports Series and will continue its sponsorship for 2008....

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri credit unions are heading the charge to stop financial abuse of the elderly in the state. ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, moving to ease the compliance burdens on CUs, has purchased an online library of policies as a free service for members....

MADISON, Wis. --The Filene Research Institute is helping credit unions find strategies to attract younger members, younger professionals and younger volunteers with its CU Tomorrow initiative....

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- According to NCUA data, roughly half of credit card issuing unions have card portfolios valued at less than $1 million and this little-known fact reflects a reality about the credit union card industry....

WASHINGTON -- Congressional staffers and other lobbyists give high marks to three of the credit union's top representatives in Washington, according to a leading political newspaper....

SAN ANTONIO -- SWBC will soon be known as the financial services company formerly known as Southwest Business Corp....

GREENSBURG, Kan. -- When tornado - ravaged Greensburg residents finally rebuild their small community, it will likely lack a credit union....

BREA, Calif. -- Not even Ambassador Family Church could avoid California's current plague of foreclosures....

WASHINGTON -- A federal panel making recommendations on ways to improve the public's knowledge of personal finance will receive input from several people who are quite familiar with the work of credit unions....

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. -- First Citizens' Federal Credit Union has appointed Kevin J. Inkley to the senior vice president of lending position....

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- After 44 years in the credit union movement, President/CEO of United Southeast Federal Credit Union Larry Stapleton has announced his retirement....

CHATSWORTH, Calif. -- With this year's theme of Built to Compete, Business Partners LLC's business services symposium in April focused on collaboration and best practice exchanges. ...

FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- Strategic industry consultants on both coasts report an increase in CU clients with assets of $100 million and more asking about their merger options....

WILMINGTON, Del. -- For the first time, an organization has formed that will bring card processor Total Systems into the at the credit union card processing and portfolio market....

TACOMA, Wash. -- Throughout the 1990s, Sound Credit Union's investment program languished as it tried to find its fit with members and employees who weren't totally convinced about promoting products and services that they felt weren't in the best interests of the membership....

RICHMOND, Va. -- CUNA and NAFCU didn't pull any punches in their legal argument supporting NCUA in its fight with the Coalition for Credit Union Charter Options....

LATHAM, N.Y. -- A group of credit union leaders along with New York State Credit Union League representatives met with State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Metropolitan) to talk with him on credit union issues and the importance of New York credit unions....

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Apple Federal Credit Union has broken ground on its 12th branch in Fairfax County. The Kingstowne branch is slated to open in late 2008. ...

VACAVILLE, Calif. --Travis Credit Union has recently celebrated the relocation of its new full-service branch in Merced....

LOWELL, Mass. -- Soon the historic Tremont Yards in downtown Lowell will count Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union as its latest resident....

ATLANTA -- Design/build firm IBT Holdings, LLC has been named one of Atlanta's fastest-growing private companies by The Atlanta Business Chronicle....

WASHINGTON -- A federal panel aimed at improving the public's understanding of personal finance issues wants help from the public. ...

WASHINGTON -- Congress should not respond to the problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so strongly that those corporations would have less money to buy mortgages from credit unions, NAFCU told the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee....

WASHINGTON -- Money laundering is not common in the residential real estate industry and most of those involved in the practice are not affiliated with real estate-related business, according to a U.S. Treasury Department report....

WASHINGTON -- Federal credit unions are depository institutions as defined by law, according to an opinion issued by the NCUA.Sheila Albin, the agency's associate general counsel, said that by accepting deposits, in the form of shares, credit unions fulfill their role under federal law of "promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for provident and productive purposes.''Albin wrote the opinion in an April 14 response to an inquiry from Thomas Johnson, the president/CEO of the Business Consortium Alliance of Puerto Rico.Credit unions are depository institutions as defined by the Federal Reserve Act but not under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which created the fund that insures bank deposits.The NCUA insures credit union deposits and its insurance program is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government....

WASHINGTON -- In-house counsels at credit unions can review contracts with third parties as long as they have no connections to the outside organization, according to an NCUA legal opinion....

WASHINGTON --The Treasury Department has imposed a $15 million civil penalty against Nigeria's United Bank for not complying with anti-money laundering rules....

FAIRFAX, Va. -- FedComp Inc. has released a new core processing system for credit unions it said is its most sophisticated yet....

BURNABY, British Columbia -- Five credit unions in British Columbia have recently selected the core processing system from Summit Financial Technologies Canada, according to Fiserv Inc....

GLASTONBURY, Conn. -- More than 1,600 people attended Open Solutions Inc.'s recent 2008 Annual Client Conference in Orlando, Fla., the company said....

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Passageways is making its way into Canada....

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bradford-Scott Data said it has recently renewed five-year agreements with 25 of the credit unions currently using the Sharetec core data processing system....

CHICAGO -- A $60 million Caribbean credit union has become the third CU to use Chicago-based Trinergy LLC as its core processor, the company said....

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- PSCU Financial Services is urging industry participation in the VMAlliance, a vendor risk management resource expected to launch in the second quarter of 2008....

DALLAS -- FICS has a new president. Susan Graham has been named the new president of Financial Industry Computer Systems, succeeding Dawn Gibbs, who is now CEO/chairman of the board of the provider of in-house origination and servicing technology to the mortgage industry....

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Among the drivers that could move credit unions to consider converting to mutual savings banks are member business lending restraints, said Dennis Dollar, president of Dollar Associates, a credit union consulting firm. ...

MADISON, Wis. -- The CUNA Operations, Sales and Service Council has released a new white paper titled Taking Care of Business Members....

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Mike Hales recalls making his first business loan in 1968 after returning from deployment in Vietnam. Over the past four decades, he has seen the commercial lending peaks and valleys both in the credit union and banking arena...

KENOSHA, Wis. -- While AM Community Credit Union has offered business loans since 1999, the ongoing grip on capital and credit access of late has played a part in helping to boost the financial institution's business lending program....

MADISON, Wis. -- Member business lending continues to be a potential source of revenue for credit unions, with business loans growing 18.6% since June 2006, according to the 2007 CUNA Member Business Services Survey....

WASHINGTON -- Six banks and two small business finance corporations were recently named the top 7(a) and 504 lenders by the Small Business Administration for their efforts in helping small businesses with their financing needs....

WASHINGTON -- The IRS has launched a campaign to help educate new self-employed small-business owners about federal tax responsibilities. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Small Business Administration has agreed to grant a 45-day extension for implementation of the newly streamlined Standard Operating Procedure based on feedback from credit unions and lenders on meeting the initial implementation deadline. ...

The most important thing a credit union must do in either participating in or originating member business loans is have well-written board approved policies in place....

I am sure that all of us in credit union land often hear the question, what's the difference between a bank and a credit union? A recent occurrence in regards to plastic cards confirmed once again, at least for us, that there truly is a big difference. As issuers of Visa debit cards we were obviously very pleased to hear the announcement that Visa would be making a very lucrative initial stock offering. Our debit cards are issued through the Instant Cash network, which at the time was owned by Wells Fargo Bank. Naturally, our first inclination was to call Wells Fargo to get an idea of how much our share would be from this windfall. After the laughter subsided from the other side of the telephone, we were told that since we did not own the bin number, we would receive nothing. It was further explained that even though we had thousands of cards in the marketplace earning interchange income, our reward was that we did not have to suffer undue potential liability over all these years....

I enjoyed reading about the use of personal teller machines at Coastal CU and at Mid-Hudson Valley CU (CU Times, April 23, 2008). I think they offer the opportunity to merge the teller line and the call center. We have tried that. Tellers have wait time between members. During that time they take calls from our phone switch and back up the call center. On Sunday our supermarket tellers answer all the phone center calls because Sunday is a slower day for tellers and the call center is also slow....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Eleven years ago field of membership took over front-page news in Credit Union Times....

Credit unions are working harder and harder these days to grow. Every week it seems we have articles on credit unions net interest margins tightening, overall membership growth declining, mergers, or success stories regarding credit union growth. To be successful, growth must be viewed as a multi-faceted concept. ...

EAST...

KENT, Ohio -- Kent Credit Union Board Directors Bill Burns and Ron Moss have been named the 2008 Volunteers of the Year by the Ohio Credit Union League. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- At its 68th annual business meeting, the MIT Federal Credit Union announced the results of the 2008 Board of Directors' election. The directors elected for three-year terms include Richard R. Fenner, Richard B. Flanagan and Maura Lavalle....

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Redwood Credit Union has recently re-elected three volunteer officials to the board of directors for the 2008-2011 term....

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. -- Effective May 1, the following individuals began serving as board of directors and supervisory committee members of Western Division Federal Credit Union....

VACAVILLE, Calif. -- After 34 years of service, Travis Credit Union board member Billy M. Perkins has retired.        ...

WASHINGTON -- Help is on the way for credit unions who are trying to put together their federally-mandated identity theft protection plans. ...

WASHINGTON -- HSAs are here to stay....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- With the technological advancements and innovations in the financial industry credit unions are using the latest tools to move away from paper to electronic transactions....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- With the current economy, Credit Union Times wants to know in its current voting poll how these conditions have impacted your credit union's business loan requests....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- With the technological advancements and innovations in the financial industry credit unions are using the latest tools to move away from paper to electronic transactions....

MidWest Financial Credit Union, Ann Arbor, Mich., announced the recipients of its annual Scholarship Award. Emily Hilsabeck and Ariel Schepers were presented with $1,500 scholarships by President Mike Stevens at MidWest's annual meeting. A four-person committee reviewed the applications and selected the recipients based upon their academic achievements, community and school involvement, and financial need. Hilsabeck will graduate from Fraser High School in June and plans to attend Grand Valley State University to pursue a degree in marketing and business. Schepers is studying political science and governmental studies at the University of Michigan and plans to study law after completing her undergraduate degree. The scholarship fund was established through Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation in 2000 and each year qualified MidWest members are invited to apply for the award....

Community One Federal Credit Union, Las Vegas, concluded its annual United Way of Southern Nevada campaign by donating over $5,600. Employees could make donations during the campaign through payroll deductions or by participating in events over the two-week fundraising period. Employees purchased eBingo cards to participate in online bingo throughout the workday where numbers were called via email. Other fundraising activities included a bake sale, used-book sale, and an on-property barbeque with delivery service to the six other locations across the valley. A raffle was held with prizes donated by local businesses to close the campaign. To help raise additional funds, Community One donated an all-weekend package to the NASCAR Spring Cup Series held in Las Vegas....