YUMA, Ariz. -- The outpouring of sympathy for victims of last October's San Diego wildfires was heartfelt among employees of AEA Federal Credit Union, which explains the success of an $11,500 fund-raiser at the Arizona CU over the holidays.

It's d?(C)j? vu all over again.

Larry Strong, veteran president/CEO of the $425 million Velocity Credit Union here, has given up his title as president, with previous Chief Operating Officer Debbie Mitchell assuming that job.

The credit union industry learned a little something during 2007 about the mettle of those managers who run the state leagues and associations.

The Alabama Credit Union League is firming up its public policy on overdraft protection, warning that unnamed financial institutions--primarily banks--are taking advantage of consumers with unsavory practices.

Sometimes timing is everything. For the $700 million Detroit Edison Credit Union, the unfortunate collapse earlier this year of the $250 million Huron River Area Credit Union in nearby Ann Arbor just happens to fit neatly into its strategic expansion for branches and new members.

With an eye toward adding the accounts of tech-savvy young people and giving strength to the industry's social mission, six U.S. credit unions made the plunge this month into online social networking by hooking up with Zopa Ltd., the British financing firm.

All those co-op ads on TV, radio and the web promoting political advocacy and credit union awareness came into their own during 2007 as scores of CUs across the U.S. joined by both national and state trade groups fashioned retail messages aimed at raising the CU profile as never before.