credit union

NACUSO Spotlight on Brad Crandall, CEO of The Servion Group

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Last month a CU Times article featured the rebrand of CU Mortgage Services to The Servion Group. Their story is the kind we cherish and love to celebrate. Beginning with 3 credit unions working together to help their members. That’s cooperation among cooperatives at its best. Here’s the rest of the story. Enjoy!

PART ONE: Life Story and Experiences

What’s your current position and can you give me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?

I’m the President and CEO of The Servion Group. Honestly, though, I always tell my employees that I’d drop all titles if I could. I’m a basketball coach outside of the office; I look at myself as a coach when I am at the office.

We focus on relationships rather than on transactions at Servion. In line with that, we’ve developed a language that supports our culture. We talk about “hitting the bullseye,” which is our way of visualizing of the different ways we want to add value for our partners.… Read more

Never Burn a Bridge With Former Girlfriends

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Never burn a bridge with former girlfriends.  It can jump start a career.   I stayed friendly with my high school girlfriend Maryanne who married John Unangst the President of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union.   John formed one of the first CUSOs in 1988.   The CUSO provided mortgage services and data processing services to multiple credit unions.   As a result of meeting John through Maryanne, I formed John’s CUSO.  John became a director on the newly formed NACUSO Board and asked me to go with him to San Diego on his dime to a NACUSO Conference and play golf.  My bags were packed before he finished his invitation.

In San Diego, I did a presentation to a four table conference.  John suggested to the NACUSO Board that I be their General Counsel.   My most attractive feature was that I was free.   So began my representation of NACUSO.  I thought I could handle this gig as CUSOs are essentially small businesses and I had a lot of experience representing small businesses, including being the attorney for the local Chamber of Commerce.   … Read more

Spotlight on 7 Insurance President, Jerry Tweeten

Posted by & filed under Blog.

We’re excited to feature the 2017 NACUSO CU Collaboration & Innovation Award winner 7 Insurance. We sat down with Jerry Tweeten to hear how he came to work in credit unions and how two credit unions, less than a mile apart decided to not see each other as competitors but collaborators for the benefit of their members.  

PART ONE: Life Story and Experience

What’s your current position and can you give me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work? I am the President, and we are a full lines independent insurance agency. We are a collaboration of Y12 FCU and ORNL FCU and I oversee nine CSR/Agents.  I manage both credit union’s corporate insurance programs and their other insurance programs, GAP, Service Contracts, Debt Cancellation, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), and collateral protection insurance (CPI) programs.

What would you say most motivates you to do what you do?… Read more

CO-OP’s “Springboard” Business Intelligence Application Enhanced for its Tenth Birthday

Posted by & filed under CUSOs In The News.

New Features Lead to Greater Security and Faster, More Complete Insights

Springboard, CO-OP Financial Services’ proprietary credit card servicing application enabling credit union staff access to member card data in real time, is realizing new potential in its latest edition, rolling out to credit unions this month.

“Our approach to technology is always iterative and user-focused,” said Shazia Manus, Chief Product and Strategy Officer for CO-OP. “Springboard is an excellent illustration of this approach given the product team’s continuous improvement of the platform. Importantly, innovation isn’t deployed simply for innovation’s sake. Every new feature is built into Springboard to solve a specific member problem or improve a specific member experience.”

According to Manus, Springboard is the only application of its kind available to credit unions. Distinct features designed specifically for both frontline and operations staff differentiate it from similar products on the market. “The functionality is truly expansive, and growing with each new iteration,” she said.… Read more