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Shortly after the 2015-2016 League Committees were finalized, two of your League's Committees held meetings. On Thursday, September 10, the Social Responsibility Committee held its first meeting of the year, while the Governmental Affairs Committee met via conference call on Wednesday, September 16.
As the fourth quarter of 2015 nears, your League's Social Responsibility Committee received an update on the 2015 Maine CUs' Campaign for Ending Hunger and discussed fundraising ideas and opportunities as the Campaign enters its busiest time of year. "While many credit unions raise funds for ending hunger throughout the year, the majority of funds are still raised from September - December. We met to look for ways in which the Committee could help credit unions with fundraising options, as well as potentially new initiatives to bring forward. The enthusiasm and commitment by the Committee to another successful year was very contagious and I look forward to helping in any way I can," stated new Committee Chair, Vicki Stuart.
Your League's Vice President of Governmental and Public Affairs, Jon Paradise, said events, so far, this year have been strong with a record-setting amount raised at your League's Convention Golf Tournament and Silent Auction, as well as the funds contributed by the Norm Nolette Golf Tournament. "Combined, both events raised more than $115,000, so we are off to a strong start but there's still a long way to go to last year's total of $552,000."
On Wednesday, September 16, your League's Governmental Affairs Committee held a Conference Call primarily to discuss ideas for potential legislation for next session. With cloture date for bills for next session happening on September 25th, time for new bills to be submitted and considered is limited. "Bills for the second session of the Legislature are supposed to be limited to 'emergency' legislation only so our options are somewhat prohibitive. We did receive several suggestions from the Committee and credit unions, and we discussed how we might proceed moving forward," explained Elise Baldacci, your League's Director of Governmental Affairs.
Roger Sirois, Chair of the Committee, applauded the level of engagement and thought that the Committee puts into the process and how best to achieve "our goals. The Committee plays an important role in providing feedback, direction and the practical application of legislation, and is a key component of our legislative success."