By Ray Bauschke
Editor's note: This excerpt from Sharing the American Dream was also published recently in CUES' 50th anniversary supplement to the June 2012 issue of Credit Union Management magazine.
At the advent of credit unions (1900 in Canada and 1907 in the U.S.A.), most were run by volunteers, freely giving their time, talent and enthusiastic passion to build these self-help financial entities. Decades later, as credit unions grew in assets and membership, and ultimately developed the financial capacity to pay salaries, many volunteer managers left their primary occupations to become the first paid managers of their credit unions. A new profession was born!
By the 1950s, some credit unions had already reached $1 million in assets, employing managers, assistant managers and staff. Most managers had a background in bookkeeping or accounting–the desired primary skill set. Yet others simply learned by doing and by engaging in mutual support groups, often called Credit Union Managers Clubs. Voluntary membership in the clubs provided the opportunity for emerging practitioners to share information, ideas, techniques—and to develop their craft.
While many volunteers-turned-managers were satisfied with just keeping the best set of books, others, particularly brand-new entrants into credit union manager jobs, delegated this function to trained accountants and began transitioning to true managerial status: planning, directing, administering and supervising the overall affairs of the business enterprise.
Hence, the managers clubs no longer met the needs, desires and aspirations of this more aggressive and forward-looking group. I was one of them and I recall the many negative comments emanating from my managers club colleagues. They were happy with solving bookkeeping issues and saw those of us who wanted to advance as pretentious, charlatanic and sanctimonious. Nevertheless, we forged ahead!
CUES came into existence for a number of reasons. First, credit union managerial advocates believed the cooperative principle, “Cooperation among co-operatives,” also applied to managers within the entities, not just the entities themselves. Consider the following sequential events:
Metamorphosis Stage One–The Cadillac Club
Sometime in the late 1950s, several U.S. credit unions formed the “Cadillac Club,” an exclusive organization open to credit unions with $1 million or more in assets. Initially, its mission was to develop a higher level of credit union professionalism, and ultimately it tended to involve itself politically in credit union movement organizations to help shape, direct and foster the growth and development of credit unions. It also attracted the attention of those credit union managers who wanted to rise above the “bookkeeper” label. But some lacked the asset size to join the exclusive Cadillac Club. So they came up with a better plan.
Metamorphosis Stage Two–The Credit Union Executives Society
With the cooperation and support of their state/provincial leagues, this group of disenfranchised credit union managers appealed to CUNA to develop an alternative, which it did! 1962 saw the formation of CUES Managers Society, an inclusive organization for credit union managers, regardless of their asset size, geographical location, or field of membership.
Obviously, CUES embodied what I and other futuristic leaders envisioned a professional credit union managers organization to be. It developed into a truly professional executive association, providing opportunities for advanced training and education, idea sharing, accreditation and more. As CUES developed and gained acceptance throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia, the managers clubs and the Cadillac Club faded from existence.
Through the years, CUES played an important part in my professional career, which includes my first CEO job at age 21—a whole other story! CUES’ publications, training opportunities, and other initiatives opened up numerous vistas that led to a more challenging and satisfying career in the credit union movement.
Looking back some 50 years, I could not have imagined the kind of organization CUES is today. Nor could I have imagined how complex the job of managing a credit union would become. Together, CUES and its membership continue to develop new and advanced initiatives, engaging the power, ability and energetic collaboration of its professional executives to plan, introduce and implement new concepts in managerial excellence. Congratulations on a job well done!
CUES Charter Member Ray Bauschke is founder of Bauschke & Associates Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba.
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, CUES has re-released in PDF format Sharing the American Dream, first published 25 years ago. Download it free.
