HOUSTON — In the ten years that the African American Credit Union Coalition has met each year, the group has worked to place more than 200 interns, raised $24,000 for scholarships and led an effort with credit unions, leagues and vendors raising nearly $2 million towards the building of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.
Barbara Stephens, AACUC chairwoman, told attendees that the coalition has come a long way since its incorporation in 1999. Mentorship, for instance, took on a different tone following Hurricane Katrina. Members of the group stepped in to assist 12 GulfCoast credit unions that sustained extensive damage. Scholarships have been provided to Kenyan credit union representatives to attend Strathmore University in Nairobi.
Robert Harvey, co-chair of the AACUC funding development committee, thanked the conference's sponsors acknowledging lower attendance numbers this year due to a cutback in expenses at some credit unions.
Both Dick Ensweiler, president/CEO of the Texas Credit Union League and Anthony Hall, chief administrative officer for the city of Houston, sang the praises of credit unions as a tightly-knit, "vanguard" group.
"Texas credit unions are diligent on legislative strength," Ensweiler said. "With CUNA, the AACUC and everyone standing together, we can do all we can to face the bankers."
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