SEATTLE — What started out as informal gatherings at nearby restaurants during CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conferences in the mid 1990s has come full circle for the African-American Credit Union Coalition.
The AACUC kicked off its 8th annual conference here Aug. 10-12 with more than XXX attendees to the Evergreen State. Nearly 50 new members joined the organization with 20 of them attending a pinning ceremony held Aug. 11. The coalition now has XXX members. Shirley Jenkins, AACUC co-chair of the conference committee and board member at Municipal Credit Union, emphasized the importance of bringing more young people to the AACUC and the movement.
"All of my life, I've been concerned with bringing up the youth," Jenkins said, adding she has constantly encouraged New York legislators to embrace the same mission. "If we bring them along, we will secure our future. Teach them and they will lead."
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Lead indeed. Many of the new members were attending the conference for the first time and most had already signed on to work with the coalition's internship, mentoring, advocacy and conference, funding development, membership and marketing committees.
One of the AACUC's newest members is Lauretta Gordon, chairperson of the credit committee at $441 million SRP Federal Credit Union in North Augusta, S.C. Gordon was joined by her colleague Goldie Randle, a director at the credit union. Both understand why the AACUC is needed, but Randle admits her CU was "skeptical" about the organization.
"There was skepticism in the beginning but now we see that this is an opportunity to network with people of color," Randle said, who said she will encourage white people on SRP's board to attend. "Here, you find out about more in-depth [issues] than at other conferences."
Gordon agreed saying she is open to receiving what AACUC has to offer.
"I see the training happening. We've got to bring more people to this," Gordon said.
AACUC Chairman Bob Harvey welcomed all and took some of the attendees on a tour of Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, of which he serves as president/CEO. Robert Coleman, president/CEO, also provided a tour of Northwest Baptist Federal Credit Union, founded in 1958 and was recently featured in a local publication for its historic ties to one of Seattle's oldest African-American churches, Mount Zion Baptist Church and its partnerships with other Seattle credit unions to bring more services to its nearly 900 members.
RoxAnne Kruger-Monahan, executive director of the Washington Credit Union Foundation also welcomed attendees sharing data on the growth of credit unions here and the fact that Washington has more coffee bean roasters per capita than any other state.
One testament to AACUC's growth is the number of well-known industry firms that have financially backed the coalition's efforts including its conferences. It now counts CUNA Mutual Group as its Platinum VIP sponsor. Other sponsors are Creditors Resources, Inc., Old World Financial Services, Inc., Liberty Mutual, Fannie Mae, Members United Corporate FCU, National Credit Union Foundation, Navy Federal Credit Union, PFP, Inc. and PSCU Financial Services. This year's conference also saw an increase in the number of vendors.
AACUC says that it continues its mission of increasing the global credit union movement by adding the African-American perspective through its mentorship, internship, funding development, membership, marketing and advocacy committees. Ninety percent of the work is done by volunteers. This August, marks the one-year anniversary of Harvey's chairmanship.
"There is much to be done in the credit union movement and this conference [gives] ample opportunities to learn from experienced experts," he said, adding AACUC's conferences are a blend of "serious work with serious fun."
"[We] blend the new ideas with tried-and-true practices, formal learning sessions and informal peer-to-peer conversations," Harvey said.
AACUC heads to Baltimore for next year's conference.
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