HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania consumers who turn on their TVs Sunday morning, May 16 to watch Pennsylvania Newsmakers will get a lesson in effectively handling their tax returns from two representatives from the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association as part of the association's latest financial literacy segment featured on the popular talk show. May 16′s segment will be the sixth that PCUA has produced so far for the half-hour, number one rated Sunday morning politics and public policy show in Pennsylvania that airs 11 am following Meet the Press on NBC affiliate channel WGAL in Lancaster. It's also shown: Mondays on WBPH TV-60 in the Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley region, and carried on cable throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties; three times a week – Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – on WKBS TV-47 in Altoona; Saturdays on WBGN TV in Pittsburgh, broadcast in the Pittsburgh area and carried on Adelphia and AT&T cable throughout the greater Pittsburgh metro area; Tuesdays and Wednesdays on CATV in Danville; and Sundays on Blue Ridge Cable in the Poconos and surrounding region. The theme of the newest segment -"I've got my tax refund, now what do I do with it?" will focus on three advisable ways consumers should use their tax refunds – paying down debt, saving and investment, being a wise consumer. The segments typically features two credit union guests – one from PCUA and the other a board member or a member of one of PCUA's standing committees. The guests are interviewed by Pennsylvania Newsmakers host Dr. Terry Madonna, direct or of The Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Millersville University. The May 16 segment will feature John Buchinski, PCUA director and CEO of Wheatland FCU, Lancaster, and Jan Hartman, PCUA vp, governmental affairs. PCUA SVP Communications and Marketing Mike Wishnow explained that the association has had a long time relationship with Madonna and has invited the well-known political pundit on Pennsylvania politics to be a guest speaker at various PCUA meetings. Madonna is also a local professor at Franklin & Marshall College. PCUA did its first segment on the show last year around International Credit Union Day. Subsequent segments with different themes were shown in November 2003 – Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation and grants offered for financial literacy; Jan. 2004 – New Year's financial management resolutions; March – issues facing credit unions and the economic outlook; April – Financial Literacy for Youth month. The association's segment appears once every six weeks. Four more appearances are planned between now and October, but Wishnow said except for the segment that will air in October and concern Credit Union Week that he didn't know what the topics would be for the other segments. He noted though that "we try to make the topics timely and tie them to the news of the day." "For us, doing the segment on Pennsylvania Newsmakers is a step into the big leagues," said Wishnow. "The governor has been on the show, as has members of his Cabinet and state legislators. Being on the show with them gives us access to Pennsylvania's political leadership." -

[email protected]