A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

(Edited 3/24/21) Our 2020 annual meeting was postponed due to COVID, but we are planning an in person 2021 meeting May 19-20 in Missoula. One of the best parts of that meeting is recognizing our professional, volunteer, and young professional of the year.

Rather than just encourage nominations for our Mitch Reed Volunteer of the Year, I thought I would work to dispel a few common myths.

#1 The winner has to be a board member.

We have had worthy and dedicated winners for years, and they have all been board members, but there is NO requirement that a person serve on the board of directors to be nominated. Your supervisory committee members are also volunteers, and I know there are several out there deserving of being considered. Let’s make this the year that a nomination, and maybe even a winner, happens!

#2 It is a lot of work to nominate someone.

Hardly! The nomination form does not have a minimum number of words that need to be completed for entry. It does not require a PhD or hours of preparation for submission. In fact, we keep it simple because we figure that if YOU think their abilities and dedication merit recognition, we should defer to the persons who know first-hand how much that volunteer gives.

#3 They might be embarrassed to be recognized.

Very few people give time to serving their credit union because they expect or desire to see their own name in lights. Volunteers are humble by nature. We have had many winners over the years who would have been modest about their own accomplishments; but luckily, someone saw how much they deserved it and put their name in any way.

#4 We can’t win again because someone from our credit union won already. 

It doesn’t matter! There is no disclaimer that our nominees or winners have to meet a criteria of location, geography, or be from an under-recognized credit union — they only have to be a volunteer.

#5 There are good excuses for not being the one to nominate the winner.

There are NOT! The winner won’t know who nominated them unless you tell them. We have already addressed the limited time to put a name forward, so now is as good a time as any to complete a nomination and submit it soon (note: the deadline is April 30, 2021)!