Today’s youth are tomorrow’s borrowers, savers and investors; however, many lack a basic understanding of money management. And without the necessary knowledge and tools to make smarter choices, they may never achieve financial stability in the future. The Texas Credit Union Foundation (TCUF) strives to be a valuable resource for Texas credit unions seeking to deploy financial education into their local schools and communities. On June 24, TCUF will offer a full day “train the trainer” workshop in Fort Worth, in which participants will learn how to effectively present the National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program (NEFE HSFPP).

These “Train the Trainer” sessions are open to credit union staff, teachers, and community partners who are interested in teaching or distributing the NEFE curriculum, a curriculum that is approved by the Texas Education Agency for use in Texas classrooms. NEFE “Train the Trainer” sessions are sponsored by TCUF as a service to Texas credit unions and the communities they serve. Participants will receive an instructor’s manual, student workbook, and practical hands on content training. Additional student workbooks and supplementary materials for future classroom presentations are free of charge as well.

“TCUF is committed to being an essential partner for our member credit unions, and one way we are able to demonstrate that commitment is by providing credit unions with these free ‘train the trainer’ sessions so that they can be more successful in their financial education outreach efforts,” says Courtney Nickles, executive director of the Texas Credit Union Foundation. “Together we can help Texas youth make sound money management decisions.”

While the “train the trainer” session is free, pre-registration is required as space is limited. To learn more about the NEFE curriculum and to download the registration form, please visit www.tcuf.coop. If you have any questions, please contact TCUF, at (800) 953-8283.

The Chapter is again offering the Raymond Shands Memorial Scholarship to Southwest CUNA Management School for employees of member and affiliated credit unions. The scholarship is in honor of Raymond Shands, a long time member of the chapter board and a 1974 graduate of SWCMS.

The application and instructions can be downloaded here:

• Scholarship Application

For more information, conact: Terrie Johnson, of Texas Trust CU and Chair of our scholarship committee.

Our friends with the Southwest Lending Council asked us to remind all of our member credit unions and vendors of their conference coming up May 24-26.

Information and registration can be found here

The Chapter is once again offering scholarships to Southwest CUNA Management School for employees of member and affiliated credit unions. Beginning this year, we are honoring one of the best people we’ve ever known by renaming our scholarship as the Raymond Shands Memorial Scholarship. Raymond was a SWCMS alum, graduating in 1974.

The application and instructions can be downloaded here:

• Scholarship Application

For more information, conact: Nancy Croix-Stroud, President of First Class American CU and Chair of our scholarship committee.

Friday the 13th could be your lucky day. Attend the Brett Christensen lending training sponsored by your TCUL Lending Council and you may just find out how be a better lender. Here’s the details…

This session will cover specific mistakes that credit unions make in the management of the lending operation, the loan interview and the underwriting of loans that lead to low loan-to-share rations or higher than average loan losses.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Management’s misguided attempt to hire and train Superman and Superwoman.
• Why you need a good cop/bad cop sales model.
• Policies written for examiners, not members.
• A good loan interview is more than filling in blanks of a loan origination software package.
• Twenty underwriting mistakes you must avoid.

This timely training session is essential for your credit union’s lending success in this difficult economic climate.

When:

Friday, November 13, 2009 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where:

Fort Worth Botanic Gardens

3220 Botanic Garden Blvd

Fort Worth, TX 76107-3496

(817) 871-7686

How Much:

TCUL Lending Council Members, $50.00

Non-TCUL Lending Council Members, $75.00 (non-member registration includes a 2009 TCUL Lending Council membership) Space is limited. Seating will be allocated to the first 45 registrations

Lunch will be provided

Register:

Registration is via internet only from the “Council Roundtable” section of the TCUL Lending Council home page

Questions: Contact Mike Delker VP, Credit Union Relations

We have a sales training session scheduled for the morning of May 20th at EECU. $25 includes breakfast and a great educational session. For more information or to RSVP, contact Raymond Shands.

The Chapter is again offering scholarships to Southwest CUNA Management School for employees of member and affiliated credit unions. The application and instructions can be downloaded here:

• Scholarship Application

For more information, conact: Nancy Croix-Stroud, President of First Class American CU and Chair of our scholarship committee.

To: CEOs in the Fort Worth Chapter Credit Unions

From: Pat Mott

I am personally inviting you or a representative from your credit union to attend Southwest Corporate FCU’s Financial Review Roundtable on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at the Radisson Fossil Creek (2540 Meacham Blvd.) from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. The roundtable is free and open to all credit union management and volunteers.

The event is designed to give you an opportunity for expanded discussion of Southwest Corporate’s financial reports.

If you have not yet registered, you can do so at Southwest Corporate’s Site

I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Pat Mott, President/CEO

Arlington Federal Credit Union

Southwest Corporate FCU Board Member

I was tempted to title this post “Misery Loves Company”, but local credit unions are uniting in their efforts to fight ever-increasing losses due to account fraud.

The initial meeting of the Chapter’s Fraud Roundtable will be on July 26th from 3 to 5 p.m. at Fort Worth City Credit Union at 2309 Montomery St.

The purpose of the group is to share experiences and successes credit unions have had with fraud. Please send your fraud experts with their stories, their examples and the tools they use. If your credit union doesn’t have a “fraud expert”, send someone anyway, we expect that everyone will benefit from the exchange.

This will be an open forum and will serve as a springboard to future meetings and training sessions. For more information contact Sandra Szymanski

Ever wonder how your Credit Union got where it is and where it will be tomorrow?

Meeting the challenges of the daily operations of your Credit Union seems like enough to worry about and now you have to find the resources and time for planning?

Come and learn the how and why of strategic planning for Small Credit Unions in a program titled Strategic Planning for Small Credit Unions Presented by Carl Banks from NCUA

This meeting, in conjunction with NCUA’s Office Of Small Credit Union Initiatives is developed to help the smaller credit union’s Managers and Board Members implement or refine their strategic planning process.

The meeting will be Thursday, May 24, 2007 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in the Fort Worth City Credit Union Board Room at 2309 Montgomery Street just north of the Interstate 30 West. Take the Montgomery Street exit just after the University Street exit just west of downtown Fort Worth

Please RSVP to: Rita Dexter or call 817-921-9302 ext. 15