They asked to join the board, but you have to hunt for most new directors

CUES member James Sackett wanted to be involved in his community in some way. He had always known about and loved the idea of credit unions. So, when he moved to Minneapolis and joined a credit union in nearby Burnsville, he reached out and started the process of joining his CU’s board.

Similarly, CUES employee Kari Sweeney wanted to volunteer in her local Wausau, Wisconsin, community, for a mission she’s passionate about. She loves reading, so when a seat opened up on her county’s library board and a friend encouraged her to check it out, she made an initial call and then followed up six months later.

Now Sackett is the volunteer vice chair of the board at $1.3 billion Firefly CU and Sweeney is the volunteer vice president of the Marathon County Board of Trustees and a director of the broader Wisconsin Valley Library Service. Professionally, Sackett is a senior director at UnitedHealth Group and Sweeney is CUES’ director of supplier relations.

Both of these self-starters called their respective volunteer organizations to express their interest in serving. But it’s safe to say that most directors don’t come to board service that way. In a recent CUES podcast, How to Recruit, Retain and Engage Millennial Directors, Sackett—a millennial—describes some key places to look for young directors, including local colleges or universities. Oftentimes, he says, a professor or other school official is very happy to recommend a student or recent graduate for a possible volunteer role.

 

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