Idaho Credit Unions Post
Steady Gains
BOISE, IDAHO—March 9, 2005--According to figures released by the Idaho
Credit Union League, Idaho credit unions continued to post steady gains
in number of members, savings, loans, and assets during 2004.
Membership in Idaho credit unions
increased to 461,841; savings grew by 9.2 percent to $2.3 billion; loans
increased 12.8 percent to $1.8 billion; and assets went up 9.8 percent
to $2.6 billion.
Idaho Credit Union League President/CEO Alan D. Cameron
remarked, “Idaho’s credit unions shared in the strengthening of Idaho’s
economy in 2004, realizing substantial increases in their shares, loans,
and membership. This growth reflects the trust and confidence members
place in their credit unions.”
Child ID program
introduced to Idaho Legislators
BOISE, ID—February 9, 2005--Over
half of Idaho’s senators and representatives were present at a credit
union-sponsored luncheon on Monday, February 07, 2005, where the National
Child ID Program was introduced by Ed Smart, a nationally recognized
advocate for child abduction prevention. The luncheon was part of the Idaho
Credit Union League’s Governmental Affairs Conference attended by credit
union professionals and volunteers from around the state.
The National Child ID Program, which
was created by the American Football Coaches Association in 1997 as a
community service project, uses inkless fingerprint kits that allow parents
to take and store a child’s fingerprints in their own home. The process
takes only about five minutes.
Credit unions across the nation have
now joined the American Football Coaches Association, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation., and other law enforcement agencies in an effort to ensure
that every child in America of kindergarten age will be fingerprinted and
will have the ability to be tracked and found. According to Smart, whose
daughter, Elizabeth, was the victim of an infamous child abduction case in
2003, people need to “prepare, educate, and communicate with their children
to teach them that they have a right to protect themselves.” The National
Child ID Program can help with the first step of preparation.
The ultimate goal of the program,
according to supporters, is to distribute 60 million of the kits
nationwide—about one for every child in the nation. Since 1997, more than 14
million ID kits have been distributed, making the National Child ID Program
the largest child identification effort ever conducted.
Credit union members wishing to
obtain a kit are encouraged to contact Val Brooks at the Idaho Credit Union
League at (800) 627-1820 or (208) 343-4841.
