Tag: CUSO

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Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Stories From the Inside

Pat Connealy at the 2016 NACUSO Network Conference
Patrick Connealy at the 2016 NACUSO Network Conference

Each month we highlight at least one NACUSO member by interviewing one of their top executives. It’s an opportunity to tell their story in a casual and fun way. This month we sat down with Patrick Connealy.

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 Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking for the National Cooperative Bank and I oversee nine Business Development officers that cover a variety of cooperative business segments nationwide.

What would you say most motivates you to do what you do? What are you most excited or passionate about?

I’ve been working with co-ops my whole life and have been with NCB for 30 years.  I started my career in the agriculture co-op banking business and spent seven years with them including three years with the Farm Credit Administration. I moved to NCB in 1986 when the bank was six years old. We fill the financing gap for co-ops that are not agricultural or electric co-ops.  I am most passionate about the long term customer relationships developed by NCB- some of which have been with us since 1980!

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Collaboration: The New Competitive Weapon

collab-illustration-gears-headerThat was the title of the January 4th article posted by Emily Waite on GonzoBanker. The article is geared to encouraging the 6,000 banks that share less than half the market to come together in the spirit of collaboration so they can compete.

Waite states “Today, banking executives are struggling to stay current in an industry growing ever-more complex with increased regulation, changing customer expectations and digital disruption.”

Sounds so familiar, which is why we are proud to have over 3 decades of collaboration history under out belts in the form of the CUSO. There are estimated to be over 1,200 CUSOs in the US and we’re excited to be able to confirm that number with data after the CUSO Registry is complete this week. Reminder: If you haven’t registered your CUSO, please do so before March 31st.

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NACUSO Spotlight on Kenn Bell, President/CEO of The Florist FCU

Kenn Bell, President and CEO of The Florist FCU with his adorable granddaughters in Lake Tahoe
Kenn Bell, President and CEO of The Florist FCU with his adorable granddaughters in Lake Tahoe

In September of last year we featured an $8 million dollar credit union serving 900 florists out of a house in Roswell, New Mexico. The title of the piece was “Merger Should be The Last Resort – Collaboration is Key.” This month we sat down with Kenn Bell, President/CEO of The Florist Federal Credit Union to hear his story of how the CUSO model is so vital to his success.

We are excited to debut the Partner Connection Sessions at the 2016 NACUSO Network Conference for stories like Kenn’s. these sessions are the 6th cooperative principle in action: Cooperation among cooperatives. Our goal is to bring like-minded people together in the spirit of collaboration and innovation to help credit unions to not only survive,  but to thrive. We hope you’ll join us. Now here’s Kenn’s amazing story.

PART ONE: Life Story and Experiences

Where did you grow up and what was it like living there? Where did you go to school?

I was born in Pendleton, Oregon but grew up in both Washington and Oregon.  My father changed jobs a lot, so it’s hard to nominate a specific “best” town, but I consider Portland my home town.  I graduated from Grant High School and eventually from Portland State University. I have returned there many times, and of course, 2 of my four grandkids live there.

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