Ginny Brady, UFirst Boardcast

The highlight of the afternoon had to be Ginny Brady. Just as Shari Storm of Verity CU is the first CU employee to blog, I would wager that Ginny Brady is the first Board Member of a CU to blog. I had learned of Ginny’s blog via OpenSource CU, but I had never put two and two together to realize that Ginny was in upstate New York, about a four hour drive away from Western Mass. The real delight of the session was learning that not only is Ginny blogging her credit union’s annual meeting, and putting photos from it on Flickr, she’s explaining how to use Google maps to create personalized mashups. Wow. I complimented Ginny on being more advanced than her CU’s marketing agency. I think that blogging is a natural fit for the cooperative, democratic nature of CUs and their boards. CU Board members sincerely want to represent their members. How better to do that than to engage them via a blog? So if you are a credit union professional or board member, and aren’t currently blogging, the real question is why not? There is no better way to engage your membership in dialogue, at the same time letting the members know what you and your CU are up to.

Washington CUs descend upon Spokane

After giving a talk about Bringing Your CU into World 2.0 to the Credit Union Association of Oregon in Tigard, I flew up to Spokane to join the festivities at the Washington CU League’s annual convention. Upon checking in at the conference hotel, I immediately recognized Trey Reeme of Trabian and OpenSource CU in the hotel lobby, and said hi before he had to go prepare for his talk the following morning. Trey let me know that Robbie Wright was still up and about, and so I also got to finally meet him in person, as well as fellow Trabian, Brent Dixon. Also in the mix were Matt Vance, Marketing Director for Industrial CU, David Bennett, Director of Public Relations for the league, Benny Haagen, Director of Lending for Educational Community CU in Everett, and Gaye White, Branch Manager at Peninsula Community Federal CU on the Olympic Peninsula.

Till next time, Spokane!

After saying goodbye to my friends at Spokane Federal CU, it was time to wrap up my Spokane adventure with a much deserved round of eighteen. I had gotten a recommendation for Hangman Valley Golf Course from a waitress at Luna on Tuesday night, and the course did not disappoint. It is located in a beautiful valley just a couple miles south of the south hill section of Spokane. I couldn’t help pulling over to take a shot of the beautiful valley and clouds en route.

The course itself was nicely set into the valley with a couple of par-5 tee boxes situated about 100 feet above the fairway below. Too bad I couldn’t manage to get a golf ball into ’em! This was my first time golfing in the Northwest, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with Hangman Valley for my first time!

Phew, what a whirlwind week in Spokane! Till next time, in September…

Thank you, Spokane Federal Credit Union

Thank you, Krista Felker, Pamela Kippes, Deb Olson, and Charlotte Nemec, for hosting my webinar on Thursday. It was fantastic to re-connect, and meet such great members of EverythingCU.com. I really appreciated having an audience while I delivered my Bringing Your CU into World 2.0 webinar for you and 25 other credit union professionals all over the country. It was such a treat to be able to broadcast the webinar from Spokane Federal Credit Union’s boardroom during my Spokane week which included two days of brand consulting for United Health Services Credit Union.

Special thanks to Krista for supplying me with a lovely stand so that I could have my laptop near eye-level while delivering the presentation. Also, big thanks to Dan Reynolds for moderating the webinar so nicely from the EverythingCU.com homefront in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Also in attendance from Holyoke were Matt Taggart and Adam Lueb, giving shout outs to all of our credit union friends.

Afterwards, Krista, Pam, and Deb were gracious enough to select and accompany me to a fantastic little restaurant called Downriver Grill for lunch. The chicken taco salad really hit the spot!

United Health Services CU brand coming together

I’m beyond pleased with the way in which everything is coming together to launch United Health Services CU‘s brand in September. We’ve got our launch party date set, and after two days of planning, we’ve developed our action plan so that our new products & services, our marketing, and our launch party, will all coincide. It’s been really great to work with President/CEO Chuck Zeller, VP Marketing Cynthia Pace, VP of Lending Mark Smith, VP of Operations Denise Bernard, VP Finance Gayle Furness, and Business Development Specialist Chad Heaton. They are such a positive and enthusiastic team! I’m so excited for United Health Services CU as an organization, their energetic staff, and most importantly their members, for even greater levels of success with the brand kick-off.

Spectacular Ahi Tartare

I’m in Spokane this week to help United Health Services CU bring their brand to life. Preparations for the brand launch party are underway, and we’re on track for a September launch. Yesterday, I scoped out a possible location for the brand celebration, a place called Dishman Hills. To the right is a cell phone photo I took at Eagle’s Peak.

On the recommendation of a friend back in Western Massachusetts, I checked out Luna in the South Hill section of Spokane. The small plate I ordered was the Ahi Tartare. Normally, I’m not much of a foodie, but this small plate was SPECTACULAR. It was a stunning culinary tour de force. Constructed with ahi tartare, avocado, tomato, onion, and fresh wasabi vinaigrette, it was presented in a layered, perfectly cylindrical tower. One of those works of art you almost hate to eat because it looks so pretty! But each bite was an adventure in new taste sensations. I forget what the rest of the meal was like because I was in such a trance over the appetizer. My waitress was recommending that I try the Coconut Cream Cake since it was featured in Bon Appetit magazine. I say, forget the Coconut Cream Cake, and go to Luna just for the Ahi Tartare. If you ever find yourself in Spokane, I can’t say enough about Luna! An amazing restaurant, where every bite is a delight!