It's that time of the year again when Credit Union Journal publishes its annual Best Practices issue, awarding progressive credit unions and, in many cases, their vendors, too, for impressive accomplishments in 2011. Many of this year's best ideas and practices cover health and wellness, lending, internal counsel, employee education, online tools, member service, and many more. There are so many awards this year that the magazine's winners will spill over into next week's issue as well. To find out more about this year's competition, we invited CU Journal's Publisher, Frank Diekmann, on the show to give us the inside scoop. As usual, Frank delivers with trends noticed, surprise stories, and the overall goal of this annual issue. Enjoy the program!

What you will learn...
1. What new trends from winners did you see this year that will spill over to 2012?
2. Any surprises this year? If so, what?
3. What differences in best practices have you seen over the years? (How have they evolved?)
4. How do you think this annual issue benefits the industry?
5. Where do you see credit unions headed in 2012? (Nice boost from BTD to carry into 2012?)

Visit:
Credit Union Journal
2011 Best Practices

Everybody who knows Passageways knows the company is all about creating collaboration with its portal technologies. Well, a funny thing happened during my interview withPassageways' Co-founder and VP, Chris Beltran, we took a left turn during our portal discussion and ventured down the compelling road of how credit unions can collaborate better to achieve greater success as a whole. Very timely after BTD. This was a very intriguing interview with Chris that you should check out. Many thanks to Chris for being on the show and providing some captivating content. Enjoy the program!

What you will learn...
1. What's the latest news in portal trends these days?
2. Who uses it at a credit union?
3. How do you see portals increasing credit unions' value?
4. What are three ways it can help?
5. How do you see this technology benefiting the industry as a whole?
6. Seems communication is key, where collaboration comes into play. How is this important?
7. Based on your experience, what can credit unions do to make themselves more attractive?

Visit...
www.passageways.com

As we slowly, and I mean slowly, emerge from our economic woes of the past few years, more and more credit unions are looking at new technology solutions to enhance their operations and member services. A big hammer in that toolbox is the core processing system. This is a major decision -- and plenty of credit unions are starting to look around to see what's out there. Are the established cores maintaining? Are the new cores capable? How do you know you even need a new system? These are questions we pose toGonzoBanker's Scott Hodgins, as he prepares to provide this information in great detail inan upcoming webinar with CUES. For credit unions thinking about this possibility, this is must-see episode. Enjoy the show!

What you will learn...
1. You are holding a webinar on core processors with CUES on Dec. 6, tell me about it?
2. What should credit unions look for in a core processor today?
3. How has this market changed over the years?
4. As a result of the changes, are more credit unions looking for a new core these days?
5. You mention that several new core processors have burst onto the scene lately. What's different about them as opposed to the established players?
6. What are three signs your credit union may need a new core processing system?
7. What are a couple of challenges credit unions are experiencing in their search for a new vendor?

Visit...
Cornerstone Advisors
GonzoBanker
"Taking a Closer Look at Your Core Processor" webinar

With all the Bank Transfer Day hoopla and everybody under the sun telling credit unions what they should do now, credit union branding expert Mark Arnold comes along and throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing. Mark recently wrote a blog post entitled,"What Your Credit Union Should Stop Doing", which literally stopped me in my tracks. So I had to invite him on the show to share with you what he meant by this converse statement. What transpired next had to be one of the most energetic and engaging interviews I've conducted on CUbroadcast. Mark is loaded with tons of energy frothing fantastic ideas that any credit union should stop and take notice. Many thanks for Mark being on the show. Check it out!

What you'll learn:
1. You recently wrote a blog post that was quite refreshing for credit unions: "What Your Credit Union Should Stop Doing". What do you mean by this statement?
2. So what things should credit unions stop doing?
3. Can you briefly address each one:
• What products are your members not using?
• Where have you created confusion for your staff?
• What product line has too many choices?
• Where is your management team overloaded?
• What products are outdated?
4. What do you hope credit unions will take away from this post?
5. Based on your expertise, what can credit unions do better to increase their marketshare and remain healthy?

Visit:
MarkArnold.com
What Should Your Credit Union Stop Doing blog post
Think Huge blog

Verity Credit Union started its VerityMom campaign last year holding a contest of Seattle area moms belonging to Verity CU to blog, produce videos, tweet, etc. for the credit union targeting moms. The campaign was such a huge success, Verity is doing it again for 2012 -- recently announcing their latest "Mom". (Congratulations Danielle Gahl!) We invited VerityMom campaign creator/manager, Melina Young, to provide us with reasons why Verity started this campaign, why target just moms, how they auditioned their 2011 "mom", campaign results, and more. It's a fascinating interview showing how today's credit unions can segment powerful portions of their membership to boost exposure as well as business. Melina does a great job giving us the inside scoop. Enjoy the show!

What you'll learn...
1. Tell me about your VerityMoms program. What is it?
2. How did this program start and why moms?
3. How long have you been running this program?
4. How has it benefited your credit union and ultimately your members?
5. What do you think other credit unions can learn from this program?
6. What are you looking for in a mom candidate?
7. When will the new candidate be named and what does she do for Verity?
8. Based on your expertise, what can credit unions in general do to better market themselves to gain members?

Visit:
Verity Credit Union
VerityMom campaign page
Currency Marketing