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Political involvement continues to remain strong for Maine's credit unions, as nearly 25 credit union representatives made the journey to Washington, D.C., October 2-4, to participate in the Maine CU League's Hike the Hill Trip. "A great demonstration of advocacy with CU leaders, managers and volunteers all represented on the trip, sharing issues and perspective from nearly every region of the state," remarked Todd Mason (pictured above speaking with Senator Collins while hike participants look on), President of the Maine CU League.
(Senator King is pictured in his office as l-r Tucker Cole, President/CEO of Maine State CU, Todd Mason, President of the Maine CU League, and Scott Harriman, President/CEO of Cumberland County FCU, listen.)
During the two-day trip, representatives met with the legislative team at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) at CU House for a thorough update on federal issues. In addition, the group met individually with each member of Maine's Congressional Delegation. Each member reiterated their strong support for credit unions and praised the work that credit unions do for their communities. "It was nice to have each legislator voice their support for what credit unions do for their members, and discuss with them issues that are important to credit unions and the nearly 700,000 credit union members in Maine," added Mason.
(Congresswoman Pingree and Todd Mason, President of the Maine CU League, in her office on Capitol Hill.)
Among the issues discussed at the meetings with the Delegation were the credit union tax exemption; which all four universally support, member business lending; regulatory burden; and data security and breaches. "It's crtical for our Delegation to understand what is important to the ability of credit unions to serve their members, and the impact that certain regulation has on our operations. Having such a strong contingent participate in trips, such as these, and communicate that message in-person emphasizes how much of a priority these issues are," said Mason.
(Congressman Poliquin (center) took time to pose outside of his office with the Maine CU hike attendees, the second largest participation on the Maine CU League's Hike trip ever.)
For Hike participants, the value of in-person meetings with our Delegation is noticeable. "Sitting in the offices of each of our members' of Congress talking about issues, and sharing stories and examples is such an important part of advocacy. The fact that close to 25 representatives from throughout Maine took the time to come to Washington to meet with them speaks volumes about the level of involvement and engagement Maine credit unions have in the legislative process," observed Roger Sirois, President/CEO of Atlantic FCU and Chair of the Maine CU League's Governmental Affairs Committee, who participated in the trip. Ginny Hughes, President/CEO of Changing Seasons FCU, was participating in her first Hike and called the experience "well worth the time." Jen Hogan, President/CEO of Community CU, another first-time hiker, agreed. "This was my first Hike the Hill trip, and I enjoyed the level of engagement this trip provided with our Delegation. We were well-briefed on the issues by both CUNA and the League, and had the opportunity to talk about them with our elected officials and their staffs. There was a lot of value in participating, from both an advocacy and a learning standpoint."