Our annual vendor exposition will be at Will Rogers Center the day after Memorial Day.

Preferred Partners and other vendors interested in taking part should complete and return the vendor application.

ALSO: We will again be using the expo to gather donations for the USA Home Team and the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. Last year your generous donations filled a pickup truck, cab and all, and was the largest single donation USA Home Team had ever received. Our goal is to top last year’s donation. Please donate whatever you can from their wish list.

At our March meeting, we will be taking donations of new children’s books to support the USO’s United Through Reading Program. When we collected money and books last time we were able to donate 73 books and money for DVD expenses.

Coincidentaly the Star Telegram recently ran a feature on the program and the efforts of Willis Lane Elementary in Keller. Here’s the link

We encourage you to bring books or a cash donation to our dinner on the 25th.

April 11th update: A big THANK YOU to everyone who made donation of books or cash!

We were able to donate 292 books to the USO!

I wanted to quickly recap a couple of things from our wonderful evening. In addition to a great meal and an awesome view of Fort Worth, the recognition we were able to give to the chapter for their work on behalf of children was great!

Connie Shands, who was a teacher at Sam Rosen Elementary back when we started hosting a party there, spoke about the real benefit for a child who gets a new pair of shoes or a warm coat. I won’t try to paraphrase her, but it was a very moving talk and a true reward for those who help at the parties.

Secondly, we had the chance to recognize the special individuals who contribute their time and talents to the chapter’s “Miracle Team”. Our casino night raised a record $22,344!!! Each credit union received a framed version of the artwork that graces the cover of our upcoming Cookbook for Kids. Pictures of these great folks can be found in our photo album.

The Fort Worth Chapter of Credit Unions is responding to a request to assist in sending items to the armed services personnel assigned to the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. Located in the city’s International Zone, the hospital serves our United States uniformed personnel and some local citizens as well. Being stationed there can be made a bit more comfortable with stuff from home not supplied as regular military issue! Please bring your contributions to the Fort Worth Chapter of Credit Unions Annual Vendor Expo on June 25, 2007.

28th Combat Support Hospital Wish List

Personal use items

Air freshener -Bath & Bodyworks type products (liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoo, back brushes)

Bath mats/ rugs (small)

Bed sheets (twin size) / cover sheets / pillow cases

Birthday plates/napkins/candles

Blankets (Fleece are extremely popular – single beds/ twin size)

Candy, gum and sugar free gum, jerky, nuts, Ritz Crackers, Cheese-its

Chapstick

Cleaning products – sponges, brushes, etc. (not with chemicals as we can’t ship them)

Deodorant

Fabric Softener

Laundry soap – take box and divide into baggies (1 bag = 1 load of wash)

Lotion: strong hand lotion due to frequent hand washing

Pillows

Shampoo and Conditioner, hair brushes and combs

Shaving cream

Shoes (examples: slippers or thongs or shower shoes) in large sizes, 12 or higher for our big guys

Shower Curtains

Socks, ankle (men and women)

Toothpaste (Colgate, Crest, and Sensodyne are popular)

Toothbrushes and floss

Towels – bath and hand towels

Items for MWR gyms, game/movie room, sports Posters (movie, sports, artwork, celebrities)

Aerobics/Taebo/Yoga/Pilates/Martial Arts instructional videos

Bocci ball set

Boxing mitts and boxing heavy bag

DVD - movies and music

Darts for cork dart boards

Games (board games like chess, checkers, scrabble, etc)

Magazines

Ping pong balls and ping pong nets for regular size ping pong table

Fort Worth Chapter of Credit Unions Annual Vendor Expo Monday, June 25 Admission is FREE, but please bring an item for the 28th Combat Support Hospital!

The chapter’s annual Vendor Exposition will be held on a special night – Monday, June 25th at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Vendor registration is free for those who are members of the Preferred Partner Program, but the event is open to non-partners as well.

In either instance you must register for the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Raymond Shands.

The Committee for Small Credit Unions was started in 1999 as a Taskforce for the Texas Credit Union League. Over the years, it evolved from a taskforce to a committee, appointed by the Chairman of the Texas Credit Union League. Now there are fifteen members serving on the committee, who represent several geographic locations throughout Texas. The asset categories “A” and “B” League directors also serve on the committee.

At the beginning, the committee focused on organizing and assisting members with training sessions in their local areas. Although education for small credit unions is still the most important goal, there are other areas being addressed for 2006. They are: Advocacy, Communications, Brand and Resources. Rita Dexter, President of NRCS FCU, currently serves on the Committee for Small Credit Unions (CSCU) from the Fort Worth area. She can be contacted at 817-921-9302. Others from Fort Worth Credit Unions who have served on this committee are Kathie Wood and Misty Miller with Member Preferred FCU, and Sandra Syzmanski with Family 1st of Texas FCU.

The May meeting will be held on Thursday, May 11th at 4:00 at Texas People Credit Union, 4613 Wellesley, Fort Worth, TX 76107. This will be an informal networking meeting to solicit suggestions from the group in order to help each other and provide feedback to the Committee for Small Credit Unions to help them meet the needs of the smaller Credit Unions. Currently the group has set meeting dates for the second Thursday of odd numbered months.

Meeting Schedule for the balance of 2006 are on the following Thursdays:

May 11

July 13

Sept. 14

Nov 9

Congratulations to Bob Rogers, President of EECU, recipient of the chapter’s Distinguished Service Award. As most of our members know, Bob will be retiring at the end of April and the chapter took the opportunity to thank him for all he has done to support the chapter, especially our school Christmas parties and Credit Unions For Kids. Bob’s family was able to join us for the occassion and his grandson was his constant companion throughout the night.

A couple of quick plugs:

Our next meeting is on a special night – Monday, May 15th. Congressman Kenny Marchant will be our presenter.

TCUL has I Love My Credit Union T-shirts for sale. Proceeds to benefit TCUL-PAC.

Check out our photo site for pictures from the April meeting.

If you weren’t at Tuesday night’s well-attended chapter meeting at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, you may not know:

• Theater Arlington’s Standing Room Only has a great Minnie Pearl impersonator (thanks, Raymond, for setting it up!),
• CUNA Mutual’s Little Man put down his umbrella for a rifle during WWII (thanks, Margaret, for sharing CUNA Mutual’s history with us!),
• And if you ever need an auctioneer and Pamela’s available, she’s got skills!

The cake auction raised $800 for the Texas Credit Union Foundation, and the entire meeting was a great way to celebrate International Credit Union Day.