AWARDS

<p>Missoula Federal Credit Union, Mont., has been bestowed the Special Contribution to the System Award by the Montana Developmental Disabilities Planning and Advisory Council. The council annually awards individuals and agencies that make a positive impact on the lives of people with developmental disabilities. The credit union was recognized for its purpose and outstanding service to members. Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union, Harrisburg, has recently won first place for the Banking/Finance category in the Central Penn Business Journal’s Best of the Web Awards. Both for-profit and non-profit companies were in the category. Sites were ranked and rated by evaluating usefulness of content, overall graphic quality and design, ease of use and navigation, use of technology on the site and load time. PSECU Internet Development Manager Steve Hemler, who accepted the award, recently oversaw the design applications and functionality of three new products introduced by PSECU – the investment program ShareBuilder, wireless banking PocketTeller, and aggregation service AccountNet. Credit Union ONE, Ferndale, Mich., and the Poverty and Social Reform Institute of Detroit have recently honored Guadalupe Lara for her efforts in helping area children and their families. Lara, who is a social worker at Children’s Hospital of Detroit, was recognized for her development of a program to manage conflict with diverse populations through peaceful mediation. The program seeks to promote interactions that are strength-based rather than problem-oriented and has been successfully implemented with families, communities and employee groups. The Poverty and Social Reform Institute is a non-profit organization that has been helping at risk children and families since 1989.</p>