They never seem to recognize that they are doing anything exceptional — they simply believe in their credit union. But you’ve noticed! We’re talking about someone in your credit union (or one up the road) who takes advantage of every opportunity to learn, participate, promote, and serve the members, community, and the credit union movement. You’ve noticed, and probably commented on this individual’s dedication, maybe even complimented him or her.

Okay — it’s time to let others know about your credit union hero. The League has the perfect way to celebrate their contributions through the Outstanding Professional and Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Awards program. This year it’s easier than ever. Any credit union employee or volunteer can nominate a candidate for the awards. Simply download the forms and follow the easy instructions. Don’t forget to write a letter to send along with your nomination form for either category telling the Awards Committee why you think this individual is a deserving candidate.
 
For the outstanding volunteer, you will submit a short questionnaire describing his or her activities. For the outstanding professional nominations, you will be contacted via phone by League staff who will ask you about your candidate — don’t worry, you’ll receive the questions by mail before the phone call so you can have your answers ready. Your nominee will not need to fill out anything this year. The Professional of the Year is not limited to CEOs but is also intended to include any management level employee who has been employed by the credit union for five years or more.
Professional nominations are due by December 31, 2007 and Volunteer nominations are due February 1, 2008. For more information, contact LaRaye O’Brien at 800-627-1820 or email at Lobrien@idahocul.org.

Download forms: Volunteer of the Year        or         Professional of the Year

Interruptions to business operations can be sudden, dramatic, and widespread. Developing and maintaining a business continuance plan is good insurance. There are few disaster recovery or business continuity options for voice services, and those that do exist are often incomplete or ineffective, and always very expensive. Telecom Recovery (TR) offers state-of-the-art voice disaster recovery services at an affordable price.

VRS Basic is TR’s basic call recovery package, and includes Instant Re-route™, Web Call Router™. and everything necessary to fully restore communications for four simultaneous calls for one location. Additional capacity is available for up to hundreds of simultaneous calls, thousands of locations, unlimited minutes, or thousands of Point-to Numbers. (See attached Products & Features Summary and Product & Feature Definitions for more details.)

A credit union can activate the service itself and make real-time changes to call routes via the Internet, whenever necessary. Some providers require the client to work through them rather than allow them to make these changes themselves.

To host their technology, TR partners with ViaWest, the leading provider of data center and hosted solutions in the Western United States. Carrier Sales is the parent company that owns TR.

League Services, Inc. has joined the battle against identity theft, America's fastest growing crime, by partnering with Identity Theft 911^® , the nation's recognized leader in identity fraud resolution services and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America^® , the leading provider of identity fraud expense reimbursement.

Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in America. Federal Trade Commission statistics estimate that more than nine million Americans were victims last year alone. The majority of identity theft cases not only result in substantial out-of-pocket expenses for victims; but, also, significant losses of time and a sense of personal security.

Without assistance, a victim can lose more than twenty days of work trying to restore his or her identity. Our SAVE MY IDENTITY^™ program eliminates these problems and provides the necessary support during these difficult times. Reimbursement of expenses due to ID fraud including attorney fees, lost wages, notary and certified mail costs, and other expenses incurred is also included.

Credit unions can give their members peace of mind with our SAVE MY IDENTITY^™ program. Whether they become victimized by identity theft, their personal data is compromised during travel, or some sensitive personal documentation is destroyed in a home fire, flood, or other natural disaster, the SAVE MY IDENTITY^™ program will provide the most diligent and personalized identity protection and expert assistance available to get members' lives back on tract.

The SAVE MY IDENTITY^™ program provides 360-degree identity-related protection:

•   Identity Theft Resolution Assistance, should your member become a victim of identity theft or need assistance handling suspicious activity in his/her credit files.
•   Ongoing Education including threat alerts, monthly Identity Theft 911^® newsletters, in depth articles and interviews, and information at SAVE MY IDENTITY™.
•   In the event of a lost wallet or passport during travel, Identity Travel Assistance will aid in emergency travel arrangements, coordination with local law enforcement and government agencies, and your member's safe return home.
•   Should your member become a victim of natural disaster or suffer from a home fire, Identity Theft Document Recovery Assistance will help rebuild destroyed identification and sensitive documentation from the ground up.

Plus at no additional cost to your member —

•   Reimbursement of expenses due to identity theft fraud including attorney fees, lost wages, notary and certified mail costs, and other expenses incurred

Even more important than educating the public about credit unions is the need to better educate those involved with credit unions about the philosophy that makes us unique. The strongest spokespeople for the Credit Union Movement are staff, volunteers, and engaged members.

That’s why the Idaho Credit Union League, with the assistance of the Montana Credit Union Network and the Credit Union Association of Oregon, produced the Credit Union Philosophy Certification Manual. We urge you to make reading this Manual mandatory for all employees and volunteers and encourage them to take the Check Test and send it to the League for grading and a certificate. (Each regular member credit union president/CEO received a copy of the Manual and Check Test in late October.)

The Manual and Test are available in PDF format and can be downloaded from the League’s website, so credit unions can print as many copies as they need for their volunteers and staff. There is also a PowerPoint presentation which credit unions can use to make presentations to volunteers, staff, or others interested in learning about the credit union difference. The Manual can also be ordered from the League office at a cost of $2.50 each. A Check Test will be included.

In today’s credit union, it is not enough to know how to price products and services. Everyone, including directors, managers, and staff, needs to understand why credit unions are in the business they are in and what makes us unique. Contact your credit union president/CEO today or contact the League directly at 343-4841 or 1-800-627-1820 ext. 128 or kthomson@idahocul.org to find out how you can become certified in credit union philosophy.

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