Vermont Credit Unions On The Air

Sean Gammon, President & CEO of Vermont's 802 Credit Union, shares personal and credit union history, the makings of 802 Credit Union, forecasts for the future and much more. Hosted by Joe Bergeron, President, Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

Carrie Allen, SVP of Consumer Lending & Development at Heritage Family FCU is also the 23rd chairperson of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions. She chats about her initial involvement in credit unions, how things have changed during her tenure, operational changes through a pandemic, the role and value of the Association and much more. Hosted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions President Joe Bergeron.

The pandemic has made online shopping a new expectation for consumers. Build your CU's auto lending with an integrated online vehicle shopping experience for members. Jeff Kane, Director of Lender Client Experience at Origence and Christine Davidson, Vice President at the Association of Vermont Credit Unions, tell us how.

AVCU chief advocacy officer Adam Necrason re-caps the 2020 Vermont elections across state-wide and legislative offices. Although the Governor's office and political party control of the statehouse remain unchanged, Adam discusses the numerous changes in resulting form elections in legislative leader positions, and the near future as further change is anticipated for the 2022 mid-term elections. Hosted by Joe Bergeron, President, Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

AVCU newest board member and Vermont Federal Credit Union CEO Jean Giard chats about her beginnings in credit unions, philosophies, people helping people, managing a credit union amidst a pandemic, and much more. Hosted by Joe Bergeron of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

Judy Britt and Shanon Peters of the CU League of Connecticut meet with Christine Davidson, Association of Vermont CUs, in a discussion about virtual Bank Secrecy Act training for VT and CT credit unions, as well as compliance audits and customized training for credit unions.

A weekly teleconference for Vermont credit unions operating in challenging times, hosted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions. This weekly recording featured Congressman Peter Welch.

Rodney Hood, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, chats with Vermont credit union leaders in their dealings with financial and health challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Joining the discussion is Michael Pieciak, Commissioner of Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Hosted by Joe Bergeron, President, Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

CUNA Mutual chief economist Steve Rick provides his insights and forecasts in AVCU's weekly COVID-19 virtual meeting of Vermont credit union leaders.

Evelyn Sirois, chief executive of Members 1st Credit Union in Brattleboro, Vermont, shares her credit union's experience as the first financial institution in the state whose operations were impacted by an employee testing positive for COVID-19. Hear how it happened, the steps to address it, and recommendations for dealing with it in the future.

It's the mid-point of the 2020 Vermont legislative session and AVCU's primary advocacy players check in on what's transpired to date, what to expect in the second half, and the impact of state and national elections. Featuring Adam Necrason and Jessica Oski, and moderated by Joe Bergeron.

Shawn Hayes, chief executive of Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union in New York State, chats with AVCU President Joe Bergeron about his career in credit unions, expansion of Ticonderoga into the Vermont marketplace, and the modern day challenges of meeting member financial needs.

Most everyone knows credit unions can be state or federal chartered. But did you know the regulators of state chartered credit unions have their own association, and accreditation program? Tom Candon, long-time Vermont Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, and former chair of the Nat'l. Association of State CU Supervisors, highlights all of that and much more in discussion with AVCU President Joe Bergeron.

Do you know more about your neighborhood food co-op than what's in the produce aisle? In this episode we explore the uniqueness, operation, challenges and future of food cooperatives. Our expert interviewee is Erbin Crowell, Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association based in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts where he's the primary advocate for the food co-ops in the densely populated New England and northeast. Discussion hosted by Joe Bergeron, President of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

John Janclaes, CEO of Partners Federal Credit Union, moderates a panel discussion on the national Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union consumer awareness campaign. Discussion explores consumer awareness of credit unions, how the campaign came about, and the value in participation for credit unions of all sizes. Panelists include Diana Dykstra - CEO of the California & Nevada Credit Union League, Mike Terzian - EVP of Partners FCU and Susan Toalson - CUNA VP of Member Awareness. Recorded in cooperation between Partners Federal Credit Union, the Credit Union National Association and the California Credit Union League.

Consumers in the U.S., especially the northeast, are well familiar with the Cabot brand in grocery stores. But maybe not so much it's history as a cooperative, it's relation to Agri-Mark and how it's structured differently than other dairy producers. Cabot Marketing SVP Roberta MacDonald talks about all of this, and much more, with AVCU President Joe Bergeron in this episode.

You know members own cooperatives, but what's an employee-owned cooperative? How's it work? How common are they? Why do they exist? Matt Cropp, Co-Executive Director of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC) explains all that and more to host Joe Bergeron, President of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions.

Young professionals realize their role entails more than just their daily credit union duties. And they know the movement’s future depends on their involvement in advocacy. “There’s been a massive influx of interest and energy from YPs the last few years,” says Adam Engelman, CUNA’s director of federal grassroots advocacy. “They embody the credit union movement in the sense that they’re passionate about giving back to their communities. They see the good work credit unions are doing in their communities.” Many YPs are advocating by meeting with elected officials, attending national conferences, participating in advocacy training events, and telling their stories through letters. “Regardless of what your title is within the credit union,” Engelman says, “you should reserve some time to care about advocacy and to advocate on behalf of the credit union movement.” Engelman explains why young professionals should get involved in advocacy, how they’re advocating, and more. This episode courtesy of CUNA News Pod

Blair Wolston, Chair of the Credit Union Young Professionals of Vermont and a financial advisor for VSECU, relates his experiences representing Vermont at the first Global Classroom initiative for young professionals coordinated by the World Council of Credit Unions and hosted by the Sicredi credit union system of Brazil. The first global classroom initiative was a multi-day summit combining credit union young professional from the United States with Sicredi credit union leaders from Brazil to share philosophies, insights, differences and similarities. Blair shared his story in discussion with AVCU President Joe Bergeron.

AVCU Vice President Bryan Kent chats with Jeff Gephart of Efficiency Vermont on the importance of incorporating the value of energy efficiency improvements in the appraisal value of real estate properties. Jeff addresses the state of energy efficiency in Vermont, trends, property valuation and more.