
By Tim McAlpine

September is 30 things I would implement or consider implementing at my credit union if I was a credit union leader.
Here's what I would do to reinvigorate the democratic process at my fictitious credit union:
I warned you that some of my 30 things might be controversial!

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1) William Azaroff @ Sep 04, 2009
http://www.azaroff.com/blog
Thanks Tim, enjoying the series!
2) Jeffry Pilcher @ Sep 04, 2009
http://www.thefinancialbrand.com
I'm not sure U.S. credit unions can legally compensate directors and retain their not-for-profit status.
http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/corporations-non-profit/
3) Tim McAlpine @ Sep 04, 2009
@Jeffry - hmm, good point. My Canadian fact-checking department (me) had not considered the full extent of my ramblings. I guess that will require my fictitious credit union to be located in Canada.
Seriously though, some credit unions are already paying directors in other ways. By issuing an actual paycheck, the credit union industry would limit these types of situations:
http://www.cutimes.com/news/2009/5/Pages/TV-Segment-Hits-New-Jersey-CU-Travel-Fees-.aspx
4) Credit Union Warrior @ Sep 05, 2009
http://creditunionwarrior.blogspot.com
Making a bigger deal out of the democratic process would certainly be a good thing for credit unions. I have mixed feelings about term limits. I wonder if a stronger democratic process (not unlike what Vancity does) would fix lifetime appointments to the board by itself? Judging by the the amazingly long tenures we have witnessed in the United States Congress, it may not be. My take is that Board members need to be positive contributors, continually bringing, and encouraging, new ideas to the table. If they are still huge contributors after serving for 30 years, what's the harm in keeping him/her on? Age to me isn't as important as performance.
Really enjoying this series. Thanks for this.
5) Jim Jerving @ Sep 05, 2009
http://www.jimjerving.com
Tim, good post. I've been a board member of a U.S. credit union for the past seven years. One of the problems we've had is finding board candidates. One thing I would like to see--require--credit union trade associations employees serve on credit union boards or work at credit unions to get real world experience. I agree we do need diversity on the boards.
6) William Azaroff @ Sep 06, 2009
http://www.azaroff.com/blog
We have term limits at Vancity. Is that just us? I had assumed that was a standard BC CU thing...
7) Tim McAlpine @ Sep 06, 2009
@William - Term limits are not standard in BC or anywhere else. I have heard of some credit union directors being on the board for more than 60 years! I think Vancity is the model credit union for board governance. You have heated elections with many vying for the available seats, you have term limits, you are using social media to let the membership get to know the nominees, you have a broad range of ages and skill sets and you have male and female representation. Sounds like the ideal situation to me!
8) William Azaroff @ Sep 13, 2009
http://www.azaroff.com/blog
@Tim. That's very interesting, I had no idea how we compared.
This series is such a gift to us all! Many thanks!
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