HERSHEY, Pa.-Tears aren't what most credit union associations want during their annual meeting, but in this case they were well received. As the kick-off to its 2005 Annual Convention and Exposition, the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association (PCUA) paid tribute to 33 men and women undergoing active duty in the military who are credit union employees or immediate family members of credit union employees. "Regardless of our personal views on the war, our troops are there," PCUA Chairman Ron Lasich said. "Pray for them and that they return safely." A photo montage featured the servicemen and women in uniform and highlighted their names, CU affiliation and where they are serving. The slide show was accompanied by America the Beautiful, sung by PCUA's Chantel Hassinger, a senior credit union service representative working in Card Services. The presentation had particular meaning for PCUA employees because of fellow co-worker Don Dodson, who was featured in the last image. Dodson, a member of the PCUA Communications and Marketing Department, is a staff sergeant serving with the 427th Transportation Company in Iraq. Dodson joined PCUA in 1993 as a printing-press operator, when printing was done in house. In 1998, he became a communications specialist and began writing for various association publications, as well as handling graphic design. A member of the Army Reserves since high school, Dodson was sent to Kosovo for six months in 2000. Upon returning from duty, he entered into a new job at the association, serving as Webmaster of the then newly redesigned Web site-a job he held until his most recent deployment in May 2004, shortly before last year's convention. "Unfortunately, I left a lot of my co-workers in a lurch," Dodson said in an interview with CU Times while on leave, shortly before this year's convention. "Many of the projects I was working on had to be passed on to someone else." Dodson hopes to return home to his wife, Jo Carole, and to his job sometime this fall. He expressed his appreciation to the association for its support and for the care packages sent by his co-workers. "They also send me newsletters so I can keep in touch with what's going on," Dodson said. [email protected]
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