OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- It was ready, set, quack as ORNL Federal Credit Union became the official credit union sponsor of the Great Knoxville Rubber Duck Race.

Benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, which serves over 7,400 children in Knoxville and five surrounding counties, the race is a popular annual event highly anticipated by locals.

Over 40,000 rubber ducks were adopted and then dumped off the South Knoxville Bridge into the Cumberland River. The ducks raced downstream, passing by Neyland Stadium, home of the Tennessee Volunteers Football Team, en route to the finish line.

Over $30,000 in prizes awaited the owners of the winning ducks.

ORNL FCU was the largest single sponsor raising over 25% of all ducks adopted thanks to the efforts of dedicated staffers, according to ORNL FCU Senior Vice President Larry Jones.

"This is just one example of our participation in our community," said ORNL FCU Marketing Coordinator Jessica Wade.

Cabrillo CU Initiates Skip-a-Payment

SAN DIEGO -- In a bid to ease the gas pains at the pump, Cabrillo Credit Union is offering its members the opportunity to defer their auto, computer or personal loan payments during September.

"We recognize that high gas prices are affecting our members' budgets, and we are very happy to offer financial relief. When you think of it, some people's fuel costs have swollen to the size of a car payment. So, if our members can gain some relief, even temporarily, from this crunch, we gladly support it and will do what we can to help," said Cabrillo CEO Robin Lentz.

To spread the word, during the week of Aug. 25, Cabrillo notified members of the program via its online banking network. Members must respond by Sept. 30 if they are interested in deferring the September 2008 payment.

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Accolades for Operation Best Wishes

SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- Operation Best Wishes, the annual holiday program sponsored on behalf of America's Credit Unions through a partnership of the Defense Credit Union Council, Overland Studios and WesCorp, has been named a recipient of an award of distinction during the 14th Annual Communicator Awards, an international awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals.

The annual competition, honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio, received more than 8,500 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes. All entries were judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, a 200-plus-member organization of professionals from various disciplines.

The award of distinction is presented to entries that exceed industry standards in quality and excellence.

Operation Best Wishes is a national campaign that visits military-affiliated credit unions that are experiencing heavy deployment among their membership. The campaign, currently gearing up for its fifth national tour, sets up a mobile Webcast studio where spouses and family members can send holiday greetings to their deployed loved ones. The greetings are Webcast live as well as recorded to www.operationbestwishes.com.

Military stationed abroad can access the specially encrypted video messages as often as they wish. The program is offered each year as a complimentary service from Halloween through New Year's.