By Frank J. Diekmann
It’s December, so we begin our annual tradition of cleaning out the coal from last year’s stocking (and Reporter’s Notebook) to make some room in this year’s stocking.
Here’s some of what you might have missed in 2023:
Sorry, It’s Not About Where We’ve Been
Among the most insightful, sacred-cow-skewering speakers I heard in 2023 was Austin Brown, president and chairman of the board at Community and Workers of Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union. Brown, in remarks to the World Council’s World CU Conference in Vancouver, B.C., observed, for instance, that the credit union movement in Jamaica may be 62 years old, but that isn’t what’s important: the next 62 years are.
Among Brown’s many powerful observations during the WOCCU annual meeting this year were:
- “You must be willing to learn, unlearn and to relearn. In that cycle, some of us may not make it all the way around.”
- He challenged board members to “set a framework for the movement to remain relevant for the next century. We cannot allow this movement to die because we failed to make ourselves relevant and to leave a platform for the next generation.”
- He said “uncomfortable conversations” must be had around whether current board members are fit to be serving or qualified to create a “lasting legacy,” and that those serving on boards must be at the “peak of their performance and capabilities.”
- “It means we have to be very deliberate would bring people on,” Brown said. “It means we can no longer have people coming on board because they know someone or because they have been in credit unions for a long time or have been waiting to get on the board for a long time. The criterion for selection has to be your relevance.”
- Brown said he has encountered people he calls “over-boarded,” that is they serve on multiple boards. “By they time come to your board there’s a diminishing return,” he said.
- For current board members, he said his CU has an evaluation process in place and he recommended other CUs do the same. “We continue to assess if you belong on the board. There is an evaluation process. Some people check out. We need to know the investment in the board members is bearing fruit. If the results show you’re marginal, we have to politely say ‘We are not sure we are going to extend you’.”
- We all have a shelf life. We are not here forever,” he added, saying discussions need to be had around board retirements.
- The increasing use of AI and technology means everyone must be at their peak, he stated several times. Boards need to recruit people who are digital natives and who can “drink from a firehouse and not choke.”
- This isn’t about preserving an individual; it’s about preserving a movement that’s bigger than all of us.”
Brown was one of several people who participated in a panel discussion during the meeting as part of a session titled, “Overcoming the Board Recruitment and Development Dilemma.” You can find the full story here.
It Shouldn’t be Taboo
And while we’re in Vancouver, also during the WOCCU meeting, Robert Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Credit Unions, Ltd. (ABCUL), offered this advice at the meeting when it comes to boards: “Get the taboo on the table as quickly as possible. Don’t let it fester and linger. It has to be debated respectfully, and always with the member lens.”’
The Touching, the Funny, the Astute
All of the remarks offered by the six women who were inducted in September into America’s Credit Union Museum’s “Herstory” recognition program in Manchester, N.H. were touching, funny, and astute.
Here are just a few:
- Linda Bodie, CEO of Element FCU in West Virginia, shared, “It’s surreal to be inducted into a museum. When I think of a museum I think of old things and dead people. I don’t think I’m either of those things.”
- Kim Sponem, CEO of Summit Credit Union in Wisconsin, shared a piece of CU history many may not be aware of. After touching the plaque of Agnes Garland in the Museum, Sponem reminded that Garland was one of the founders of what was once CUNA Credit Union and which today is Summit. “We were to be the credit union for anyone who didn’t have a credit union. And then if you worked for a credit union or a league you couldn’t borrow from a credit union. She is part of the Herstory, hired by Roy Bergengren, one of our founders. The correspondence between those two led to a lot of the history the museum has been able to glean. To be part of this bridge into the future is amazing for me.”
- Sarah Vega, regulator with NCUA and the State of Illinois: “I’m going into a museum and I’m a regulator. Nobody likes a regulator.” Later, before concluding, Vega thanked her parents for being an inspiration to her. “My mother said, ‘Never apologize for being a strong women’,” Vega related, before adding, “Nothing can be done alone; you always have to have others help you.”
You can read all of their remarks and observations from others here.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info. Mr. Diekmann is also author of several new book, including the brand new “The Last Lyric,” a humorous satire about a murder investigation at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in which every line of dialogue is either a classic pop/rock song title or lyric. Available on Amazon, Apple iBook, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Mr. Diekmann is also author of a non-fiction compilation of the very best & worst he has seen and heard in covering more than 500 CU meetings and conferences, “501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can Be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.” It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Lulu, and Smashwords