WASHINGTON–The National Credit Union Foundation’s Development Education (DE) program has named the winners of its annual awards.
The award recipients are:
- Individual Achievement Award: George Ombado, Executive Director, ACCOSCA (Africa Confederation of Co-operative Savings & Credit Associations) for his leadership in bringing the DE Program to Africa. “The Africa DE (ADE) program began with its first class in Kenya in 2014 and has since trained nearly 200 credit union professionals for Africa, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and the U.S.,” the NCUF said. “ADE has created excitement among credit union leaders across the continent and is helping to foster collaboration, empower women in leadership and help African credit unions develop new pathways to serving those in their communities.”
- Cooperative Spirit Award: WEOKIE Foundation's BizKid$ Middle School Cooperative Entrepreneurship Competition (Brent Rempe, WEOKIE FCU; Nate Gillen, WEOKIE FCU; Tabatha Thurman, WEOKIE FCU; Mistie Leeds, Communication FCU; Giovanni Monterroso, Tinker FCU) for providing teachers with professional development, promoting cooperative business knowledge, and recognizing student achievement as they apply their knowledge in personal finance, entrepreneurship, and economics.
“The competition provides resources to teachers and students who are tasked with coming up with new business ideas that leverage the cooperative business model. The business ideas are presented at an event during National Cooperative Month and students also take part in a Reality Fair event. More than 25 organizations were involved in supporting the competition including credit unions, credit union system partners, electric cooperatives, and community organizations.”
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Lois Kitsch, Co-Founder of cu.difference and recently retired National Program Director at the National Credit Union Foundation, for an impactful career spent in the service of others.
“Through her work with WOCCU, Lois has promoted credit union development and financial empowerment in more than 40 countries, the Foundation said. “She was instrumental in growing the US CUDE Program over her 13 years at the Foundation and helping to guide the success of DE Programs around the globe. Lois has also dedicated her heart and soul to personal projects such as international development tours, and her ongoing work continues to inspire others and leave a lasting impact.”
Winners will be recognized during an Awards Banquet held in conjunction with a DE Workshop scheduled for Aug. 14-16 in Bremerton, Wash.