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Eight credit unions honored as CUNA OPSS Council Excellence Award winners
MADISON, WI (September 30, 2013) — Eight credit unions were the winners in the 9th annual CUNA Operations, Sales & Service (OpSS) Council’s Excellence Awards, which recognize innovative solutions optimizing credit union performance. The award winners were recognized during the council’s 16th annual conference, which took place September 22-25 in Hollywood, Calif.
Element FCU in Charleston, West Virginia, won in the Branch Design category (assets < $150 Million) for their redesign of the main branch. They created a high tech setting in which members can access social media in a café, or conduct business at a transaction center as opposed to the traditional teller line.
NYMEO FCU in Frederick, Maryland, won in the Branch Design category (assets $150 Million – $500 Million) for their infusion of technology into a non-traditional setting to compliment their rebrand and name change. Now members can bask in a neighborhood setting while conducting their credit union business.
TwinStar CU in Lacey, Washington, won in the Contact Center/E-Support category (assets > $500 Million) for assembling and deploying their E-Channel team. They are able to deliver service at the speed of “now” with this team. In addition, their outbound specialists have enhanced their business development efforts markedly improving their loan growth.
General Mills FCU in Minnetonka, Minnesota, won in the Miscellaneous category (assets $150 Million – $500 Million) for their Impress program which completely transformed their employee culture. They now strive to impress their members and each other while delivering superior service and growing their business.
Numerica CU in Spokane Valley, Washington, won in the Miscellaneous category (assets > $500 Million) for their decentralization of loan underwriting. They were able to simultaneously improve service, increase loan volume, increase loan yield and empowered their branch staff.
Neighbors FCU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, won in the Sales & Service Management category (assets > $500 Million) for their well executed sales program that focused on increasing loans and overall credit union profitability. They combined sales contests with their overarching annual goal to produce great results.
Empower FCU in North Syracuse, New York and Red Canoe CU in Longview, Washington, won “Best of Show” for living the true spirit of cooperation. The two credit unions worked together to run a contest and promotion to grow business. Both credit unions benefited from this coast to coast effort.
The OpSS Council Excellence Awards were created to identify, recognize, and share new approaches and solutions with universal application in the credit union movement. Winners were chosen based on strategy, process, application, and results.
Additional information about the awards and winning entries are available online at www.cunaopsscouncil.org – select the “Excellence Awards” link contained in the “Events” pull down menu.
CUNA OpSS Council
The CUNA OpSS Council is a member-led partnership of operations, sales, and service professionals dedicated to providing education, leadership, networking support, professional development tools, and expertise to its members in order to shape the enhancement of the role and diversity of operations in the credit union industry. The CUNA OpSS Council is one of the six organizations that make up the CUNA Councils, a network of more than 5,500 credit union professionals. For more information, visit www.cunaopsscouncil.org or www.cunacouncils.org.