World Council Delegates Elect New Board Members

Madison, WI-During the World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) 2004 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, August 3, delegates elected five new board members, and three were appointed respectively by Credit Union National Association (CUNA), USA and Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC). The AGM was held concurrently with World Council's International Leadership Institute in Nassau, Bahamas.

Reelected board members include Neil McDonald, New Zealand Association of Credit Unions; Sylvester Kadzola, Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives; Melvin Edwards, Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions; and Sincrito Cifuentes, Guatemala's FENECOAC. Mark Bailey of the Irish League of Credit Unions was elected to the board for the first time. In addition to the elections, several appointments were announced. The Credit Union National Association has reappointed both Ron Hance and Barry Jolette to two-year terms that will expire in 2006. Credit union Central of Canada (CUCC) has appointed Wayne Nygren to a two- year term, which will expire in 2006, replacing Marcel Chorel.

Other current board members include Dave Chatfield (US); Gary Plank (US); Bobby McVeigh (Canada); Grzegorz Bierecki (Poland), Neville Parsons (Australia) and Manuel Rabines (Panama). WOCCU's President & CEO, Arthur Arnold also sits ex-officio on World Council's Board. All board members, whether elected or appointed, serve two- year terms.

At the re-organization meeting following the AGM, the Board members unanimously decided to renew the mandate given to the existing Board's Officers for another year. The Board's Officers for year 2004/2005 include chairman L.R. (Bobby) McVeigh (Canada); 1st vice chairman Gary Plank (USA); 2nd vice chairman, Melvin Edwards (St.Kitts); treasurer, Barry Jolette (USA); and secretary, Manuel Rabines (Peru). The new Board was sworn in by immediate World Council past chairman, Gerry Foley (Ireland) during the International Credit Union Leadership General Session.

On behalf of the WOCCU Board, chairman McVeigh thanked the delegates and member organizations they represent for the trust they have given to the Board and pledged to continue to work in the interest of WOCCU member organizations, their credit unions and their 123 million members worldwide. He also reported back on WOCCU's delegates having approved a by-law change that morning at WOCCU's AGM, making WOCCU even more inclusive by allowing national credit union movements with assets up to $50 million to join WOCCU at minimum annual dues of $2,500. The change to the bylaw was part of WOCCU's ongoing "Operation Open Up."

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.