ALBANY, N.Y. – Credit union leaders as well as credit unions themselves have been honored by the New York Credit Union Association’s prestigious statewide Recognition Awards.
The credit unions and individuals formally received the awards during NYCUA’s 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony on June 24.
In what it called an unprecedented move, all of New York State’s frontline credit union personnel were inducted into the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors individuals who have devoted their lives to the philosophy and success of the credit union movement, and who have made a significant impact on credit unions at the local, state or national levels, the NYCUA said.
“There were many deserving credit union leaders eligible for the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame this year,” said William J. Mellin, NYCUA president and CEO. “But perhaps no one individual is as deserving of the title ‘Hall of Famer’ as the frontline credit union personnel who continued to show up for work each day and put their own health at risk, so that New Yorkers could access the financial support they needed most during the height of the pandemic.”
Individuals honored include:
Outstanding Professional Award
“Throughout her eight-and-a-half years at TCT FCU, Caroline Schierloh, director of branch operations, has worked on several initiatives to keep TCT FCU competitive in the financial world. She spearheaded several projects to improve member convenience during the pandemic, including online account opening, online loan payments, DocuSign member service power forms and deposit-taking ATMs. During the pandemic, Schierloh regularly communicated with employees, successfully addressing questions and concerns. When information and decisions were changing rapidly at the beginning of the pandemic, she immediately coordinated and sent a daily memo to all staff that had the necessary information to help them confidently perform their jobs.”
Outstanding Young Professional
Victoria (Torii) Brawdy, marketing and community relations director at Western New York FCU, vice chair of the Young Professionals Commission and a New York Credit Union Foundation trustee. Bawdy “has had a big impact on her credit union, its membership, the Erie- Niagara Chapter, the YPC and the credit union movement as a whole since her journey at Western NYFCU began a few years ago. She is instrumental in her institution’s membership growth and the communication to them, ensuring that there is a consistent, clear and sometimes fun approach to dealing with them. Brawdy creates and manages all facets of the Western New York FCU’s marketing, from overall brand and strategy to implementation of tactics. She also coordinates activities and special events for membership and the community and monitors and records results of marketing campaigns as they relate to account opening and loan disbursement.”
Outstanding Volunteer Award
“With 358,905 members and $4.8 billion in assets at the end of 2020, SEFCU has grown its membership by 162% and assets by 277% since SEFCU supervisory committee member Ron Rock’stenure as chair began 15 years ago. But it was during the pandemic that Rock’s leadership rose to new heights. Under his leadership, the credit union took bold initiatives to make significant differences in the lives of members, the community and its employees. During the pandemic, Rock also continued to focus the board on its work in expanding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, developing progressive policies around board recruitment. Rock is currently employed by the law firm Brown & Weinraub, PLLC and he brings extensive financial experience to his position on the SEFCU board.”
CUs honored include:
Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award
- Horizons FCU, for its Reaching Out program. The credit union worked to provide emotional and financial relief to members of the community hit hard by COVID-19. Over the course of the year, Horizons fed over 1,500 meals to the community through food drives and collected school supplies and winter apparel for children in their local elementary schools.
- SeaComm FCU, for its Pay-It-Forward Program. Throughout the course of the year, the credit union carried out random acts of kindness for members of their communities. These acts included purchasing meals for health care workers; providing backpacks and school supplies to students; delivering winter clothing to children in need; paying off layaway items during the holiday season; and much more.
- Teachers FCU, for its Supporting Local Communities through the Pandemic and Beyond initiative. Teachers’ numerous volunteer days helped support a variety of charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Island's Harvest. The credit union also worked hard to provide meals to frontline workers and direct support to local businesses that have been struggling as a result of the pandemic.
- Western New York FCU and Visions FCU received honorable mentions for displaying exceptional commitment to their communities and the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.”
Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award
- Visions Federal Credit Union for its “We Care Skip” program. Alongside other COVID-19 relief programs, Visions FCU instituted the We Care Skip program, allowing qualified members to skip three months of eligible loans – penalty free, no questions asked. In total, the credit union allowed over 28,000 skipped payments to members who were struggling financially.