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With fall officially here, credit union chapters are gathering for their year-end meetings. Some have already met, with others sending out save-the-dates for events being held before the end of 2023. The chapter gatherings are a valuable resource to credit unions, with meetups providing opportunities for training, networking, and community service.
Thanks to the new chapter restructure, chapters are seeing an increase in attendance and engagement. The new structure enhances what has long been in place, with membership in chapters now being open to all credit unions that have a branch in an existing chapter’s geographic region. For example, if a credit union is headquartered in the Greater Bangor area, but has a branch in Aroostook County, their branch in Northern Maine would be eligible to become a member of the Aroostook Chapter. This change boosts local engagement and strengthens collaboration among Maine credit unions.
While there has been a restructure, those already familiar with the Maine Credit Union League chapter system will maintain that familiarity—with the Alex Ferguson, Aroostook, Bangor, Jeannette G. Morin, Kennebec Valley, Norm Nolette, Northern Penobscot, and York Chapters continuing to be the collaborative entities.
As the chapters meet before the end of the year, each will have a common agenda item. Chapters have been asked to vote on adoption of the universal chapter bylaws before 2024 gets underway. With some credit unions being eligible to belong to multiple chapters, it’s important for there to be governance continuity between chapters. The Aroostook, Northern Penobscot, and York Chapters have already adopted the universal bylaws, with more voting on adoption at their upcoming meetings.
At the end of the day, having engaged, involved, and active chapters is an important part of the strong and vibrant collaboration that makes Maine’s credit union network strong. The new structure and universal bylaws will promote better engagement between credit unions, and serve as a vehicle for advocacy, philanthropy, financial literacy, networking, and education for years to come.
Questions?
If you are interested in learning more about chapters or seeing a schedule of upcoming events, visit the chapter page on the League’s website. With any further questions, please email Jake Holmes at jholmes@mainecul.org.