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About Annie Vamper
When Annie Wilma Vamper passed away on May 19, 1990, the community development credit union movement lost one of its heroes — and an important part of its history. For more than 30 years, Annie Vamper served in virtually every role that the credit union movement has to offer. Born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1933, she started as a volunteer with the College City Elks Lodge FCU in 1958. By 1962, she began working with the M.C.E. FCU, where she served as manager until 1966.
During the War on Poverty in the 1960s, Annie was recruited to become the Credit Union Coordinator for Dade Economic Opportunity Program in Florida, where she organized, chartered, and trained the staff of twelve neighborhood credit unions. Her work caught the attention of the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions, and she became a Limited-Income Credit Union Specialist for the Southeast Region. She joined the team of Project Moneywise, to promote consumer education and cooperation among low-income people. In 1972, as the nation began to turn away from the problems of the poor, Annie returned to managing a credit union, Coulter Electronics Employees FCU, where she served for 8 years before being recruited again by the National Credit Union Administration.
With the passage of the Community Development Credit Union Revolving Loan Fund, NCUA moved to establish a new CDCU division, and Annie became its second in command. But by 1982, the office was dissolved, a victim of deregulation and the ebbing interest in programs to help the poor. Annie accepted a transfer to New Jersey, where she entered into training to become a field examiner for NCUA. But by this time, her unique skills and interest no longer were valued by the agency. In September 1983, she left NCUA for the last time.
It was then that she came to the National Federation of CDCUs, joining its only remaining staff member, Cliff Rosenthal, in the rebuilding the Federation. She became Associate Director — and chief financial officer, Capitalization Program staff, regulatory analyst, and “godmother” to half a dozen new CDCUs formed during the 1980s.
Until her death in 1990, she gave every ounce of her strength, her commitment, and her love to the CDCU movement. In 1993, the "Helping Hands" Award was created to honor Annie Vamper’s memory, along with the dedication of the Federation’s training center at our New York City headquarters.
The "Helping Hands" Award celebrates those individuals whose unselfish work for the CDCU movement carry-on Annie’s legacy.
2010 Annie Vamper "Helping Hands" Award Winners
The Federation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Annie Vamper “Helping Hands” Award, the highest honor given out by the Federation to community development credit union staff and volunteers. This year’s recipients of the “Helping Hands” Awards are:
- Rebecca “Becky” Anderson, Board of Directors Secretary & Chairman of the Supervisory Committee at Northwest Baptist FCU (Seattle, WA); and
- Marcus Bordelon, President/CEO of Appalachian FCU (Berea, KY).
Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal, himself a recipient of one of the first “Helping Hands” Awards in 1993, commented on this year’s winners. “Marcus and Becky have been involved with their respective credit unions for more than 20 years, and their commitment to their institutions and the principles of the credit union movement are truly exemplary,” he said. “Both are extremely deserving of this award, and it is an honor to present them their Vamper Award during our upcoming conference in Pittsburgh!”
Anderson and Bordelon will receive their awards at a special ceremony on Friday, June 11, during the Federation’s 36th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved in Pittsburgh, PA.
To view the biographies of both Vamper Award winners, please click here.
Previous Annie Vamper Winners (1993 – 2008)
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2009
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No award presented in 2009.
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2008
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Ed Jacob
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Northside Community FCU (Chicago, IL) |
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Daniel Morrisey
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Queen of Peace Arlington FCU (Arlington, VA) |
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2007
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| William Bynum |
Hope Community CU (Jackson, MS)
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| John Dupree, Jr. |
Shiloh of Alexandria FCU (Alexandria, VA)
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2006
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| Rev. Dr. Tommy Chapelle |
NRS Community Development FCU (Birmingham, AL)
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| John Isbister |
Santa Cruz Community CU (Santa Cruz, CA)
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| Thad Moore |
Self-Help CU (Durham, NC)
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2005
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Lillian M. Bent
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Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY) |
| Daisy Q. White |
1st Delta FCU (Marks, MS)
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2004
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William Myers
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Alternatives FCU ( Ithaca, NY)
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José Feliciano Vélez
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Electro-Coop (San Juan, PR)
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2003
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Eddie Ayers
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Demopolis FCU (Demopolis, AL)
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Lillie Hackney
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Imani FCU (Memphis, TN)
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2002
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Maria Berkowitz
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Central Appalachian Peoples FCU (Berea, KY)
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James Gilliam
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St. Luke CU (Windsor, NC)
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Mary Spink
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Lower East Side People’s FCU (New York, NY)
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2001
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Audrey Cerise
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ASI FCU (New Orleans, LA)
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Robert L. Coleman, Jr.
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Northwest Baptist FCU (Seattle, WA)
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Loretta Moesta
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OUR FCU (Eugene, OR)
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James H. Parson
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Church of the Master FCU (New York, NY)
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2000
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John Stovall
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Zion United CU (Denver, CO)
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Antonio & Elodia Elizondo
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Weslaco Catholic FCU (Weslaco, TX)
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Charles Green
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Cory Methodist Church CU (Cleveland, OH)
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Reverend Carl Brown
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Quitman County CD FCU (Marks, MS)
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1999
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Almedia Knight & Daisy Dobbins
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Brooklyn Ecumenical FCU (Brooklyn, NY)
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Ruth C. Carter
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New Hope Baptist Church of East Orange FCU (East Orange, NJ)
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Dr. Hiram Crawford, Jr.
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Israel Methcomm FCU (Chicago, IL)
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Jerry Weitz
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Mission Area FCU (San Francisco, CA)
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Catherine Mayfield
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St. Charles Borromeo Church FCU (NewYork, NY)
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1998
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Robert Shipe
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First American CU (Window Rock, AZ)
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Bette Mercia
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BHA Residents FCU (Binghamton, NY)
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Elizabeth Ahart
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Faith Community United CU (Cleveland, OH)
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Ruth Atkins
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Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY)
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1997
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Curtis W. Monroe
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D. Edward Wells FCU (Springfield, MA)
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Carl E. Stewart
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Water & Power FCU (Los Angeles, CA)
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1996
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Joy Cousminer
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Bethex FCU (Bronx, NY)
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Eugene Sklar
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Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY)
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Adolfo Alayon
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Community Action of Bedford Stuyvesant (Brooklyn, NY)
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1995
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Woodrow Keown
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College Station CD FCU (College Station, AR)
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Clyde Johnson
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South-Central People’s FCU (Los Angeles, CA)
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1994
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Mary Walker
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Hill District Federal Credit Union (Pittsburgh, PA)
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James Caskey
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South Baltimore Community FCU (Baltimore, MD)
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Sr. Ann Kendrick & Lois Kitsch
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Community Trust Federal Credit Union (Apopka, FL)
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1993
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Earnest Johnson
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Federation of Southern Cooperatives (Epes, AL)
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Clifford N. Rosenthal
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Federation (New York, NY)
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