Press
State Employees’ Credit Union Wins Statewide Awards for Community Involvement and Service to its Membership
Leigh Brady, Senior Vice President
Education Services, SECU
919-807-8344, fax: 919-807-8348
E-mail: leigh.brady@ncsecu.org
Raleigh, NC, June 14 – State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) was honored with two statewide awards at the 77th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Credit Union League held June 11th in Pinehurst, NC. SECU received first place for its entries in both the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award and the Louise A. Herring Award for Philosophy in Action.
The annual Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award recognizes and promotes credit unions’ social responsibility efforts within the communities they serve. Credit Unions throughout North Carolina compete with other credit unions in asset categories of equal size and resources. SECU won the award for its statewide assistance during 2011’s “FAFSA Day.” By partnering with the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) and the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NCASFAA), SECU provided educational support and free assistance to more than 2,100 high school seniors and college students with completing their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Credit Union personnel in 240 branch locations in all 100 North Carolina counties assisted members, and also extended the free service to non-members in counties where no traditional FAFSA sites existed. This was SECU’s fourth consecutive year assisting with FAFSA Day.
The annual Louise Herring Award for Philosophy in Action recognizes credit unions that, in day-to-day operations, demonstrate the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People” in an extraordinary way. SECU received the award for its creation of the Estate Planning Essentials (EPE) program. The Credit Union began offering its non-traditional program to members in 2011 to fill member needs for basic, affordable estate planning, including a will. EPE ensures that members statewide have access to quality estate planning education, estate planning attorneys and affordable documents to help protect them and their families. Receiving no commissions or program fees, SECU personnel have helped over 7,000 members determine their estate planning needs to create a sound financial plan for their future.
Paulette Bowden, Vice President of IRA Systems and Projects and Senior Vice President of SECU’s Trust Services department Sara Trexler, were on hand to accept the awards. Trexler comments, “We are thrilled to have received the Dora Maxwell and Louise Herring Awards in recognition of FAFSA assistance and the EPE program – valuable services of which we are very proud to offer. Supporting the educational and financial planning needs of members is critical to their success and we are honored to have both programs recognized this way!”
SECU will now compete with similarly sized credit unions on the national level in both categories. Winners will be announced in November by the Credit Union National Association.
About SECU
SECU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. SECU has been providing the employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 75 years. Currently serving over 1.7 million members, SECU provides services through 243 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org.