Ogata Elected Chairman of Hawaii CU League

HONOLULU – Ron Ogata may have retired as a credit union CEO, but he’s clearly staying active in the industry. Ogata, the former CEO of HawaiiUSA FCU, was elected chairman of the Hawaii CU League at the league’s recent annual meeting. Ogata retired last January after 14 years as CEO of HawaiiUSA. “The passion still burns within for my love of credit unions. I want to make all of the people in Hawaii aware of credit unions and what we can do for them,” said Ogata. “I treat my new position as Chairman of the Board with the same respect of being a staff person in a credit union, you got to give it all and never give up no matter what,” he said. Ogata is even coming into the position with a wish list for what he hopes the league can accomplish. Ogata’s wish list includes the following among others: * Increase credit union membership among the 100 CUs in Hawaii by 15% in 2003-2004. * Initiate an active program of Financial Literacy for Students in the Hawaii school system. * Ogata wants to visit all of the 100 credit unions in Hawaii during his tenure as chairman. * To partner or form alliances with other Leagues, credit unions and/or cooperatives on the mainland. * To convince the larger credit unions in Hawaii to share with smaller credit unions in such areas as training and technical help. * To initiate a Hawaii Credit Union League compliance program. * To start a Business Lending Program and to certify individuals who wish to undertake special training in this area and be designated as League Certified.