WASHINGTON–Two people have been recognized by AACUL With Eugene H. Farley Award.
Mark Cummins, president/CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN), and Bob Arnould, senior vice president of advocacy for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, were each recognized with the 2022 Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award by the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL).award honors a league employee who demonstrates visionary leadership at the state and national levels.
“We built a program based on what you already know about the credit union industry: we are loaded quick high-quality, hard-working people,” said Arnould. “When people like that get together and plan accordingly, good things happen.”
A former member of the Iowa State Assembly and eventually its speaker, Arnould joined the Iowa Credit Union League and then, in 1995, the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues.
‘Flipped the Operating Environment’
“There he has fostered an advocacy program that successfully flipped the operating environment to one that is much more friendly to the movement,” the AACUL said, adding that Arnould built an advocacy team that has become a formidable force in both Sacramento and Carson City—not to mention Washington, D.C.—raising the Leagues’ influence and engagement to new heights.
“Rarely has there been a leader with such humility. Bob, like all great leaders, gives his team members’ credit for their many accomplishments and allows others to rise,” said
Jeff Olson, chair of AACUL and president/CEO of Dakota Credit Union Association. “Bob’s humbleness makes honoring him with this national award especially significant and exciting.”
Added the California and Nevada leagues, “When he joined the Leagues, he dove head-first into the credit union movement as he pivoted from the Midwest to the West Coast (having a few years under his belt with credit unions in Iowa). He worked hard to build an advocacy program in California and Nevada that successfully flipped the political operating environment for credit unions — one today that is much more friendly to the movement. He is responsible for hiring and training an advocacy team that’s become a formidable force in two state capitols. Legislators now consider a “credit union carve-out” when drafting new bills and where credit unions are no longer an afterthought.”
Cummins Honored
Meanwhile, Mark Cummins told a group in accepting the award that no one “gets here by themselves,” and he thanked his wife, Chris, the team at the MnCUN, AACUL President Brad Miller, fellow league presidents, and MnCUN Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Mara Humphrey. “I’m honored to be included with all the leaders [who have won the Farley Award in the past].”
“Mark truly understands that good collaboration amplifies strength,” said Olson. “He knows that to sustain the credit union movement, and to further promote and move our mission in a positive direction, credit unions and leagues must continually find new, innovative ways to work together. Mark’s leadership has made the Minnesota Credit Union Network a champion of cooperation.”
Cummins has served as the president/CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network since 2007. Prior to joining MnCUN, he was the president/CEO of White Crown Federal Credit Union in Denver. Cummins’ also e established a Credit Union Employee Benefits Plan to combat rising healthcare costs that now offers affordable health benefits plans to credit union employees.
Additional Accomplishments
In addition, AACUL said he:
- Helped increase number of credit union members in Minnesota to 35% of the state’s population.
- Led a team that successfully passed Prize Linked Savings Legislation and developed a state specific Prize Linked Savings program that has resulted in nearly 9,000 CU members at 21 credit unions cumulatively saving $12 million in their incentive savings accounts.
- Created CU Forward Day, a day of volunteering throughout Minnesota, which in 2021 boasted 2,300 volunteers from 64 credit unions and partners - totaling over 10,000 volunteer hours for community service projects.
- Was the first to launch the national Credit Union Consumer Awareness Initiative three years ago and serves as a shining example of how this can be done successfully.