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Barely a day or two goes by without Maine's credit unions being covered in the media. Whether it is one of the many outreach efforts coordinated by the Maine CU League, or an individual CU being interviewed for a local fundraiser the CU is doing in the community, positive coverage of Maine's credit unions remains strong.
In August, a statewide radio audience heard an in-depth segment on Maine CUs on Maine Public Radio's popular, weekday program, Maine Calling. Todd Mason, President of the League, utilized the opportunity to highlight not only the benefits that credit unions provide to the nearly 690,000 credit union members in Maine, but also spoke about a variety of other topics, including financial education, community service, technology and the willingness of credit unions to provide small dollar loans. "In 2016, Maine credit unions provided more than 23,000 loans of $2,000 or less to members; these are loans that, often times, cost a credit union money to make but are made because that's what credit unions do," Mason explained. He also reinforced the important role that Maine credit unions have in assisting small businesses "who are denied loans by banks because they are not large enough. So, they turn to a credit union who provide a lifeline when it comes to access to credit to small businesses across Maine." Many of the callers and email messages to the show were from "happy credit union members praising their local credit union."
During the past month, radio stations also provided a platform for the League to discuss the Maine CUs' Campaign for Ending Hunger with Jon Paradise, Vice President of Governmental and Public Affairs, appearing on at least one radio show in every, significant radio market in Maine. "Anytime you can say that a Campaign has raised more than $7 million and all the money stays in Maine, it has a positive impact," Paradise noted. On the subject of ending hunger, Dave DeFroscia, President/CEO of Brewer FCU, and Dave Stanhope, AVP, were interviewed on two popular Bangor radio stations, WKIT and WZON, talking about the credit union's upcoming yard sale for ending hunger.
Radio was not the only medium that carried segments featuring Maine CUs. In August, the League highlighted financial education and offered tips to help consumers save money, including opening an account a credit union, in two different segments of "Saving You Money," which aired on WGME CBS 13 and FOX 23. Jake Holmes (pictured above doing an interview on a Bangor TV station), the Young & Free Maine Spokester for Maine's credit unions, also appeared in TV segments talking about the high cost of college textbooks and promoting the 'Bucks for Books' contest, that Maine's credit unions are conducting now through September 15. So far, Holmes has been on WGME CBS 13, FOX 23, FOX Bangor, and WVII ABC 7.
"Maine credit unions have a great story to tell, and it's great to see opportunities to tell it continuing to be available. All of the media coverage strengthens the credit union brand," explained Paradise.