Calderón, Paige Honored as Federation Supporters

(June 20, 2008, New York, NY)  In a ceremony that was alternately moving and light-hearted, two leaders of community development credit unions (CDCUs) – one a thirty-five year volunteer, the other a CDCU manager widely recognized for his innovation – received top honors at the Federation’s 34th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved held in Dallas on June 13, 2008. 

The awards are named in honor of the late Annie Vamper, a pioneering African-American credit union manager, regulator, and Associate Director of the Federation.  This year’s ceremony was the sixteenth held annually by the Federation, which organized the underserved conference, the largest of its kind in the nation. 

From left to right:  Federation President/CEO, Cliff Rosenthal; Northside FCU CEO, Ed Jacob; and Federation Board Chairman Eunice J. Rogers at the award ceremony.

Ed Jacob, CEO of the Northside Community FCU (Chicago, IL), has gained a national reputation for his pioneering work in developing alternatives to payday loans, as well as loans to aid immigrants at the $9.5-million credit union, founded in 1970.  Jacob began his acceptance by quoting a Robert F. Kennedy speech made in South Africa in 1966.  “Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation,” said Jacob, “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current ,which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

“Tiny ripples of hope are being sent out every day from ASI FCU in New Orleans to Northwest Baptist FCU in Seattle, from Alternatives FCU in upstate New York to Women’s Southwest FCU here in Dallas and West Texas CU in El Paso, from Latino Community CU in North Carolina and Queen of Peace Arlington FCU in Virginia across to Northeast Community CU in San Francisco, and everywhere in between,” said Jacob.  “I am proud and honored to be part of a movement that does this work, and to be able to send out a few of these tiny ripples of hope from Chicago.”

Daniel Morrisey, Treasurer and Manager of Queen of Peace Arlington FCU (Alrlington, VA), during his acceptance speech.

Dan Morrisey is the treasurer and manager of the Queen of Peace Arlington FCU, a small credit union in Northern Virginia where he has volunteered for more than three decades.  While his credit union is based in a church, he believes that faith is particularly important for all credit unions, regardless of their origin. “What we CDCUs, and really all credit unions, do day-in and day-out is to take a leap of faith in our members” explained Morrisey, “When we make loans we have faith that our members will repay that loan.”  Morrisey provided one of the highlights of the event with a joke that tied Biblical inspiration to efforts of a credit union to collect from a delinquent borrower.

“Both Dan and Ed represent the best traditions of the credit union movement,” said Federation President and CEO Cliff Rosenthal.  “With limited resources, they have made it their mission to stretch further to reach people in need – immigrants, people with disabilities, people who have been victimized by payday lenders.  They have strengthened not only to their communities, but to the CDCU movement nationwide.”

The Annie Vamper “Helping Hands” Awards were first given out in 1993 to honor the memory of Annie Wilma Vamper, credit union manager, NCUA official, and later, Associate Director of the Federation.  Each year since 1993, the Federation has celebrated the people whose unselfish contributions to the CDCU movement carry her legacy onward from generation to generation.  The award, the highest given out by the Federation, recognizes the unsung heroes of the CDCU movement for their exceptional contributions to their credit unions and the movement at large.

In separate ceremonies, the Federation honored two allies who had contributed to the success of the CDCU movement. 

From Left to Right:  Arrowhead CU SVP, Maurice Calderón accepts a "Friend of the Federation Award" from NLCUP Chairman, Carlos Calderón, and Federation President/CEO, Cliff Rosenthal.

Maurice Calderón, who is retiring as Senior Vice-president of Minority Development at Arrowhead Credit Union (San Bernardino, CA), received a joint award presented by the Federation and the Network of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals (NLCUP), which co-sponsored the 5th Latino Credit Union Conference with the Federation.   “Maurice has been with us since the very first Federation Latino Credit Union Conference in San Antonio, Texas back in 1999,” said Rosenthal.  “By bringing prominent leaders such as U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral and Representative Grace Napolitano to us, he has elevated our work at the national level.”  Arrowhead CU is one of the charter members of the Federation’s Community Development Partner initiative. 

Also receiving a Friend of the Federation Award was Ralph Paige, CEO of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund (Atlanta, GA).  Paige, who is also a board member of the National Cooperative Business Association, “has been a constant advocate for CDCUs and cooperatives generally, said Rosenthal, “especially in the Southeast, but also nationally.”

© 2008 National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.