By Maria Kinney
For a quarter of a century, CUES has publicly recognized the valuable contributions of credit union directors, who give their time and talent to ensure that credit unions are serving their members in the best possible way.
Next month at Directors Conference in Palm Desert, Calif., CUES will honor its 25th CUES Director of the Year: Joseph E. Toochin, vice chairman of the board of United Nations Federal Credit Union in Long Island City, N.Y. Mr. Toochin has served on his credit union’s board since 1995 and has been instrumental in several developments there. For example, he provided critical guidance on United Nations FCU's overseas expansion, visiting and evaluating potential sites for its second representative office outside the U.S. In 2001, he presided over the opening of a new representative office in Geneva, Switzerland. And currently, he is actively involved in the CU’s efforts to become the first federal credit union to offer multi-currency deposit, lending and investment services.
In addition, CUES has established a new recognition program: CUES Director Hall of Fame. In its inaugural year of 2009, all 24 past CUES Directors of the Year will be inducted at Directors Conference, receiving an artistic personalized award and the admiration of their peers. The 2009 CUES Director Hall of Fame inductees are listed below along with the year they were first honored:
Paul Hughes – 1985
Charles DiMercurio –1986
Harry Deitchman – 1987
Bettye P. Machen – 1988
Francis A. De Mita – 1989
Jean Wilkins – 1990
Philip S. Carrier, CCD – 1991
DeLon R. Gobeli – 1992
Ruby Clifton – 1993
Leo C. Pike Jr. – 1994
Joseph G. Iannelli – 1995
Ada L. Williams – 1996
Jack D. McCurdy – 1997
Roosevelt Taylor – 1998
Eugene N. Ball – 1999
Judy B. Wascom – 2000
James Likens – 2001
C. Wendell Waggoner – 2002
J. Alvin George, CCD – 2003
Henry Wheatley, CCD – 2004
Dr. John C. Rawls, CCD – 2005
L. Ben Freudenreich – 2006
Dr. Dorothy J. Orr – 2007
Thank you to these exceptional directors, and to all credit union volunteers, for their amazing commitment to the credit union movement!
Maria Kinney is CUES' member services specialist.
