The Clark County CU Foundation donated $10,000 along with more than 100 cereal boxes from staff to Project 150, supporting homeless youth. 

UNCLE CU board of directors. L-R: Lee Neely, Bob Corey, Neda Gray, Hugh Bussell, Robin Morris, Chung Bothwell, John Freeman, John Stein, Mila Shapovalov, Clay Smith, Peter Goldstein.

UNCLE CU has re-elected Chung Bothwell to oversee the financial cooperative as Board Chairman for the 2020-2021 term. First elected to this office in 2008, Bothwell now marks her thirteenth year at the helm of the board. For more than two decades, she has served in a principal role for the credit union, which was named “Best in East Bay” for credit unions by the East Bay Times Reader’s Choice Awards for the third consecutive year in 2020. In addition, UNCLE CU holds a 5-Star Superior rating from Bauer Financial for financial strength and security.

Orange County’s CU assisted more than 125 local community businesses, provided $2.5 million in relief, and helped more than 600 employees with Payroll Protection Program loans.

American First CU has awarded Lynette P. from Orange, CA its quarterly prize of $10,000 as part of their Big Prize Savings program. Lynette P. joins a list of lucky savers as the sixth recipient of the $10,000 quarterly prize since the program launched in February 2019.

SAFE CU created a unique, and affordable, way to showcase its dynamic financial education experts and promote free, community workshops on social media. An ad-hoc team of do-it-yourselfers writes, directs, shoots, and stars in a series of quirky ads that provides quick financial education tips while teasing upcoming seminars.

USE CU is trying to help mitigate the San Diego County unemployment rate that reached a high of 13.9 percent in June. The credit union has open positions that are crucial to the growth of the credit union, as well as an opportunity for qualified applicants currently in search of business, finance, real estate and technology related careers.

L-R: Gene Allen and Dr. Lionel Gatley.

LBS Financial CU has announced two retirements from their board of directors this summer. After 44 years of serving as a board member for LBS Financial CU, Dr. Lionel Gatley has retired effective June 2020.  Gene Allen, having served 43 years on the LBS Financial CU board of directors also retired effective July 2020. Both Gatley and Allen served as board chair twice over their span of years on the board.

Southland CU's meal donation program continues with more than 3,100 meals donated to healthcare workers and first responders; the equivalent of more than $23,000.

Coast Central CU nnounced that the fall 2020 round of its Community Investment Program is now open.  A total of $100,000 is available to support local organizations throughout its tri-county area.  Grant amounts generally range from $3,000 to $25,000. The giving program was created in 2008, and since then has awarded a total of more than $1.4 million to 140 organizations throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties.  Recent grant recipients have included Northern California Community Blood Bank, Humane Society of Del Norte, and Southern Trinity Volunteer Fire.  Additionally, as part of its COVID Community Care Fund, Coast Central CU awarded over $55,000 to 15 non-profits negatively affected by the pandemic.

Redwood CU has promoted Will Thorn to vice president of human resources and training. In his new role, Thorn will oversee the strategic planning, execution, and program management of human resources, recruiting, and training. He joined Redwood CU in 2006.

California Coast CU and National University are partnering on a program to provide credit union members with a 25% Tuition Reduction Scholarship, an offer exclusive to California Coast CU.The Tuition Reduction Scholarship gives California Coast CU members the opportunity to pursue degrees in higher education at a reduced cost and can be used toward earning an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree, or certification.

The Southland CU team leaps to action during the COVID-19 crisis. During the early days of the pandemic when masks were in short supply, Marketing Director Evelyn Shigeta put in her own time at home to craft Southland CU-branded face masks to ensure the safety of Southland staff and members.

LBS Financial CU provided lunches to 728 staff of assisted living homes and skilled nursing facilities, thanking them for taking care of our most vulnerable.

Financial Partners CU launched a new suite of products designed to help consumers improve financial wellness and build a positive banking and credit profile. Financial Partners CU EZ Card and Credit Builder Loan support Los Angeles County’s BankOn initiative to bring safe and affordable financial products and services to the unbanked or underbanked.

Redwood CU has hired Lovica Lal as branch experience manager of its San Rafael branch. In her new role, Lal is responsible for community and business development efforts, as well as overseeing member service, staff, and branch operations. Prior to joining Redwood CU, Lal held jobs as branch manager at Community First CU in Novato, branch manager at Bank of America in San Francisco, and private client banker at JP Morgan Chase in Manhattan, New York.

 
Compass Community CU has been awarded BauerFinancial's highest (5-Star) rating for financial strength and stability. Earning a 5-Star rating indicates Compass CU excels in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, asset quality, and much more. Compass CU has earned and maintained this top rating for 41 consecutive quarters.

1st United CU is holding its annual school supply and backpack drive. Due to COVID-19 and in lieu of collecting backpack donations in their branches, the credit union is requesting monetary donations that will be used to purchase pre-packaged, COVID-friendly school supply kits for distribution to their community partners.

First Financial CU has awarded $500 Scholarships to 11 members. First Financial CU's Board of Directors established the scholarship program to recognize and assist members who are continuing their education by attending an accredited college, university, community college, trade school, or technical school each fall.

San Diego County CU has been providing needed financial education resources through its Financial Wellness Wednesdays (FWW) presentations via webinar since March 2020. To date, nearly 60 complimentary FWW webinars have been held for the community to more than 1,200 attendees, in addition to more than 25 webinars for local corporate partners, and more than 300 of their employees. San Diego County CU will continue to offer this valuable free resource to members and the community.

Orange County's CU noticed that the Coronavirus pandemic has given scammers and fraudsters the opportunity to target vulnerable individuals. In response, the credit union started a series of social media videos to educate their members on how to protect themselves from things such as phishing attacks and Zoom fraud.

SAFE CU has awarded a total of $60,000 in emergency grants to four Sacramento-area nonprofits to support their efforts to provide emergency services to their clients and community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christian Community CU has reached $760 million in asset size as of June 30, 2020. Christian Community CU is the largest in asset size among Christian credit unions nationwide and also ranks in the top 8.5% of all credit unions in the United States.

CalCom FCU recently donated meals to Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Torrance Memorial, Long Beach Memorial, Providence Little Company of Mary, and San Pedro Providence Little Company of Mary. 

San Diego County CU was a proud sponsor of the 46^th San Diego LGBT Pride celebration, which was held virtually this year on July 17-18 live on sdpride.org, Facebook and YouTube.

With a small staff of eight, Japanese American Community CU continues to serve its members and has kept its doors open and maintained regular business operations through the entire pandemic.  Additionally they have continued to service the shared branch network as an acquirer as a way of assisting the community surrounding its office during these hard times.

Orange County’s CU is a dedicated community partner in the City of Long Beach, and recently collaborated with the AOC7 Neighborhood Association to donate bags for their local food pantry that assists families in need. 

San Diego County CU President and CEO Teresa Campbell was named a San Diego Top 50 Executive by the San Diego Business Journal. This recognition highlights top local influential leaders who made positive impacts during these unprecedented times. These executives helped both the people who work for them, and the community as a whole.

Travis CU has launched a new webinar series, focused on the financial wellness pillars of Plan, Save, Spend and Borrow. These free financial education presentations will address timely and relevant issues, including ‘Budgeting through COVID-19’ and ‘Rebuilding after a Financial Crisis.’ The webinars offered (also available in Spanish) are available for adults as well as youth.

SAFE CU Vice President of Marketing, Community Banking, and Communications Erica Dias was named the Executive Woman Award Winner at the 2020 OWL Awards granted by the Sacramento Valley chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Dias supports SAFE CU's growth through an omni-channeled approach including advertising, marketing, in-person outreach, targeted social media, and other opportunities as they arise.

Redwood CU has been named a Top 10 Credit Union in California, and the highest-ranked credit union in northern California by Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Best Credit Unions. Of the nation’s 5,200 credit unions, Redwood CU is one of only 182 in the United States to be included on the list.

San Diego County CU has partnered with the YMCA of Orange County to collect school supplies for Orange County and Riverside County students in need and this year as many more parents and students are facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

USE CU has selected five recipients of the USE CU Dream Scholarship program for the 2020-21 school year. The first place finalist will receive $2,500 and the four remaining finalists will receive $1,000 each. 

San Mateo CU has distributed $3.7 million to San Mateo County businesses facing hardships, helping them avoid layoffs and stay open or reopen, and provided significant financial relief to its members in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

San Diego County CU has been recognized with the North San Diego Business Chamber’s Leadership Award. The award honors outstanding organizations that make an impactful, positive difference within the local community.

Los Angeles FCU hosted a graduation ceremony for the children of Los Angeles FCU employees graduating in 2020. The ceremony was held at the credit union’s Glendale Branch on June 29 and was hosted by Richard Lie, Los Angeles FCU president and CEO. Six students were honored, with three graduating from Southern California high schools, including Burbank High School, Workman High School, and Orange Lutheran High School, one from Chime Charter Middle School, and two college students graduating from UCLA.

SCE FCU representatives, including CEO Dan Rader (in the middle), with North Las Vegas Mayor John Jay Lee and Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Corporate Sponsorships Sallie Doebler (both far left) at the grand opening of SCE FCU’s latest Las Vegas branch.

SCE FCU has opened its fourth branch in the Las Vegas Valley at 2215 E. Lone Mountain Road in North Las Vegas to better accommodate the needs of members in the area.

San Diego County CU partnered with the San Diego Blood Bank to host a blood drive at four San Diego County CU locations throughout San Diego county, collecting 121 pints of much-needed blood, which will help save the lives of more than 360 people.

Los Angeles FCU is offering hardship assistance programs designed to financially help their members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of these programs was helped by the automation and risk mitigation efforts of Art Sookazian, Los Angeles FCU's vice president of collections and risk management. Sookazian teamed up with the credit union’s information technology team to overhaul many processes while creating automation to maximize efficiencies and improve member experience. 

In mid-March, Coast Central CU immediately made various programs available to its personal and business members significantly impacted by COVID-19 including Skip-a-Payments, Mortgage Deferments, SBA PPP loans, and late payment fee waivers. In addition, beyond an already planned Community Grant Program which allotted $100,000 to local organizations, once the pandemic’s widespread affects worsened, its board of directors approved an additional $55,000 for non-profits directly affected by lost revenues. These included delivered meals for low-income children, food for frontline healthcare workers, electronic tablets for serving homebound seniors, support for domestic violence victims, and more. 

American First CU has donated more than $2,700 to Relay for Life of Northwest Orange County this year and participated in their event to raise awareness and funds against cancer. While the event is usually in-person, this year’s Relay for Life was virtual due to COVID-19 safety concerns. The online event encouraged community fun through online games, photo contests, and raffles for prizes. Participants also had the option to create unique digital “Luminaria” bags in memory of loved ones.

San Diego County CU was the presenting sponsor of the North San Diego Business Chamber’s Celebration of Business. The annual event celebrates the best and brightest of the San Diego business community. Leadership awards were given to individuals and businesses that have positively affected other individuals, businesses or the San Diego community. San Diego County CU was named a finalist for a business leadership award.

Ventura County CU has added Chad Ritchie to its leadership team. As chief information officer, Ritchie now oversees the credit union’s technology strategy, working closely with the executive team to implement technology solutions that align with the credit union’s overall goals and priorities.