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What will you do on your 'summer vacation'?
We don’t get the summer off like we used to. No longer do hot days mean lazy times, nor do they mean free time to pursue a new hobby or skill. But somehow May through August does, nonetheless, feel like a time period for planning, for teeing up for September.
In that spirit, this issue of the magazine offers a toolkit for planning some key pieces of your credit union’s business. From diversifying your volunteer base to perfecting your procurement, this incarnation of The Federal Credit Union magazine offers up many ideas for summer improvements at your institution.
In “Greening Information Technology” (page 14), NAFCU’s Chrisalyn Santos offers a look at the benefits and risks of employing eco-friendly technology solutions. Cloud computing and the like may well save your credit union money and relieve some strain on Mother Earth, but what will they mean for the safety of your members’ information and the soundness of your network?
Safe and sound isn’t the term any credit union would use to describe the financial environment of the past few years. Though members’ money has been protected well, credit union staff has had to deal with numerous outgrowths of the meltdown on the regulatory, legislative and operational fronts. In “Managing IRR As Rates Rise” (page 18), Cullen Coxe of ALM First Financial Advisors covers the next frontier, preparing balance sheets for rising interest rates.
When it comes to preparedness, few things are more important for a credit union than recruiting and retaining the best volunteers and staff. And yet those tasks are among the most difficult. In “Executive Compensation in 2010” (page 10), NAFCU’s Rick Taylor interviews three compensation experts on how the financial crisis has affected the way credit union executives are rewarded.
And in the unpaid vein, this issue looks both at how to bring on and make best use of older volunteers, as well as how to create a board that looks like your membership. In “Credit Unions’ Untapped Service Army” (page 26), Andrea Billups serves up ideas and expertise on how to make the best use of Baby Boom retirees. And credit union CEO Frank Berrish offers his take on how Visions Federal Credit Union was able to make over its board to include volunteers representative of its diverse membership.
Finally, in “How To Buy Better” (page 22), William Atkinson takes a look at credit unions that have gotten the procurement process just right, and what institutions with fewer resources can learn from their practices.
We’re hoping that among the lessons and ideas in the May/June TFCU you’ll find several that will make a difference at your credit union. And that will mean the team here at NAFCU has done what we hoped to accomplish over our “summer vacation.”
Enjoy the issue!
The Editors
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