WASHINGTON — NAFCU's committees will not be entirely chaired by NAFCU Board members for the first time in the organization's history.

New NAFCU Chair John W. Milazzo Jr., president and CEO of Campus FCU, pointed out that this is a good opportunity for volunteers to step up to the plate. “Our committees provide valuable input to NAFCU on critical issues and programs,” he said. “Having volunteers serve on committees and chair some of them is an excellent way to encourage more volunteers to become involved in NAFCU's governance.”

In fact, four committees are being chaired by non-NAFCU Board members including two credit union volunteers. These four chairs include:

oMax Giovannini, chair of Security Service FCU in San Antonio, Texas, for the Awards Committee;

oEdward Safran, chair of DIRECT FCU in Needham, Mass., for the Share Insurance, Liquidity and Development Fund Oversight Committee;

oJohn Fenton, president/CEO, Affinity FCU in Basking Ridge, N.J., for the Corporate Committee; and

oSteve White, vice president of technology, Redstone FCU in Huntsville, Ala., for the Technology Advisory Committee.

Additionally, Region II Director Dave Gilbert, chair of Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU in Aberdeen, Md., will chair the Region II Advisory Committee.

Giovannini, who is retired from the Air Force, commented, “As a volunteer, I am especially honored to be asked to chair the NAFCU Awards Committee. Believe this is a big step in getting more volunteers involved at the national level. I am not against reserving seats if it is the will of the membership. Meantime, the democratic election process should prevail, but volunteers must be informed of the need for representation and encouraged to apply for director positions.” Safran worked as the treasurer for Polaroid for many years and retired from the investment business in 2000, so financial issues are of interest to him; he has also served on the board of his credit union for about 19 years, 18 of those as chairman. He said volunteer representation is a positive because they provide “a different perspective” and it is part of what differentiates credit unions from banks, but to reserve seats on the board is “too strong a thing to do at the moment.” The issue needs more consideration, he commented, but most volunteers do have a day job that takes up a lot of their time. Safran added that he has never considered a run for the NAFCU Board.

“Our committees provide valuable input to NAFCU on critical issues and programs. Having volunteers serve on committees and chair some of them is an excellent way to encourage more volunteers to become involved in NAFCU's governance,” Milazzo stated. He added, “Volunteers are having a growing voice in NAFCU. An increasing number of volunteers are serving on our committees, with 27 credit union volunteers (16% of the total) serving on our committees in the 2005-06 term. This is up from 12% volunteer participation in 2004 and 10% in 2003.” The remaining NAFCU committee chairs for 2006-2007 are: oCorporate, John Fenton, president/CEO, Affinity FCU in Basking Ridge, N.J.

oLegislative, John Tippets, president/CEO, American Airlines FCU in DFW Airport, Texas

oMembership, Bob Marquette, president/CEO, Members 1st FCU in Mechanicsburg, Pa. oPolitical Action and PAC, Mike Lussier, president/CEO, Webster First FCU in Webster, Mass. oRegulatory, Cutler Dawson, president/CEO, Navy FCU in Merrifield, Va. oNominating, Don Mahan, president/CEO, Centris FCU in Omaha, Neb. oRegion I Advisory, Mike Parsons, president/CEO, First Source FCU in New Hartford, N.Y. oRegion II Advisory, Dave Gilbert, chair, Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU in Aberdeen, Md. oRegion III Advisory, Larry Wilson, president/CEO, Coastal FCU in Raleigh, N.C. oRegion IV Advisory, Don Mahan, president/CEO, Centris FCU in Omaha, Neb.

oRegion V Advisory, Brad Beal, president/CEO, Nevada FCU in Las Vegas

oTechnology Advisory, Steve White, vice president of technology, Redstone FCU in Huntsville, Ala.