A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish

Do you know that Montana’s Credit Unions is a trade association serving credit unions across the state of Montana? Did you realize that we are also here to support and offer assistance to credit union board members?

We work with the management and staff at credit unions regularly, but the message about our board resources doesn’t always get shared. This week, I thought I’d highlight a few that you should know about. In addition, our staff is always available to answer your questions or help you find other resources … so don’t hesitate to contact us. We have experience dealing with a variety of situations, so the odds are, if you need help, we have seen the issue before and can make dealing with it a little less painful.

Website

Our website has a dedicated section for Credit Union Directors. It includes resource links, learning opportunities, a weekly blog, and more. Bookmark it to have easy access when you need something. A few of the more relevant links include

• The Director’s Job — a “job description” of the role a volunteer director plays for their credit union. You can use this as a great recruiting tool or a way to help current board members understand the scope of their responsibility.
• A Direct Line blog — we provide this weekly blog (you’re reading it now) that covers topics and resources of interest to today’s director. Sign up to receive an email notification when we publish a new post.
• Resources — this page links to many of our favorites — videos, books, training webinars on topics like financial literacy and the Bank Secrecy Act (both required for directors!), and Credit Union National Association certification programs.

Professional Development

In addition to the certification programs and webinars available through our website, we also provide in-person learning opportunities. Here a few coming up in early 2018 for directors:

• MonDak — join us in Las Vegas February 6-7 to interact with CEOs and board members from Montana and the Dakotas. Networking and learning with your peers is a perfect getaway from winter weather.
• Power Up — our annual convention will be held May 16-18 in Great Falls. In addition to a large vendor show and education opportunities, this event offers fun and fundraisers. It also includes “director only” time. We hope to see you there!

We also provide assistance to board members with your lone employee, the CEO. Whether you need salary information, sample contracts, job descriptions, or performance tools, let us help.

At the end of the day, our role at MCU is to help your credit union succeed. We think the best way to do that is to be a trusted and valuable resource to the WHOLE credit union. If we haven’t met, we hope it is just around the corner.