Chip Filson
The Seated Boxer, an iconic ancient Greek work of art, shows a grizzled veteran of the ring, equal parts resigned and ready to spring into action.
What I like is a sense of respite from competition, the powerful athletic physique and the tiredness that surrounds his humanity. Is he a winner this day? Are there more fights to go? How will his efforts be remembered?
These are questions that all of us encounter, in literal or figurative ways, in our daily efforts.
Telling stories is a leadership art. They stick in our minds much longer than financial performance numbers or rhetorical marketing phrases.
They present authentic moments from real life situations with which all can relate.
Stories honor individual actions and illustrate the special service culture of a credit union.
One would also hope these are part of the messages shared with congressional staffs during Hill visits this week.
Here are two examples from WEOKIE CU’s CEO’s monthly staff update.
“David, a non-member, applied for a loan with 599 credit score. This app would have been easy to decline and move on due to his poor and limited credit. Wanda and Kyla worked together to figure out why he had such challenging credit.
“He has a great career with plenty of income. Long story short he had to spend some time in the hospital which caused a lot of medial debt and insurance was not cooperating. We were able to help him get an auto loan and hopefully, we created a member for life.”
(a member’s note)
“To whom it may concern: I have had the pleasure of working with Shirley for several days now. I just want to tell you that she is a breath of fresh air to customers!
Shirley went way out of her way to help me, while the other bank did everything they could do to cause problems. She initiated a 3-way call that helped solve the problems the other bank was trying to create. You rarely see this type of customer service anymore, Shirley is one of the best problem solvers I have ever seen. Just a note to whom it concern: she is a keeper!”
The CEO describes these efforts to take great care of members as follows:
Changemakers are individuals dedicated to positively impacting the people and places around them. They are often seen as visionary, collaborative, purposeful, and empathetic. They possess critical thinking and problem solving skills as a prerequisite.
No challenge is too big, every story is relevant, and every person has a purpose. Changemakers live the mission of changing the lives in our communities, one person at a time by being the best place our employees ever worked, and the best place our members have ever banked.
Yesterday I attended a briefing on the work of Via Stella, a Polish charity supported by the World Council of Credit Unions.
The meeting was held at Ukraine House in Washington, DC. Over 50 credit union people attended, including CEOs from the Polish and Ukrainian Self-Reliance credit union communities and multiple other credit union organizations and individuals.
The Foundation supports the millions of Ukrainian refugees in Poland with a three part “Pathway to Safety” program. These steps include the safe evacuation from the country especially for women, children and the elderly; finding housing, education and jobs; and providing financial support via the Polish credit union system. All funds go directly for these efforts; there is no overhead.
In an ad hoc, spontaneous fund raising moment, over $50,000 more was pledged in less than five minutes. The effort was initiated by credit union software entrepreneur Jay Mossman who pledged $25,000. He urged attendees to match his initiative. It was done quickly by the CEOs, directors and the board members of Via Stella.
There was no dwelling on the recent White House confrontation. There is no ambivalence about the circumstances of this war. The purpose was solely to demonstrate the American people’s support for Ukraine. This they did.
Their view, and the majority of Americans’ understanding of events, is shown in this front page New York Post headline.
This effort speaks louder than words. For all that is said during the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) underway now, in the end what is done is what matters.
NCUA Chairman Ed Callahan spoke to CUNA’s GAC conference in Washington DC on February 8, 1984.
He urged his listeners to support the most vital change in the system since the passage of the FCU Act in 1934.
His title was Finish the Job. He challenged credit unions to strengthen their NCUSIF insurance fund by backing legislation redesigning it using cooperative principles.
The talk is 11 minutes. Ed provides an update on the state of the credit union system in one word, “fantastic.” He puts the current situation in the context of 75 years of credit union history. He describes how deregulation is meeting the needs of the country’s changing economy.
His closing is a call to support a Better Way for the NCUSIF. He asks credit unions to compare the cost savings under the 1% solution to the current two premium model. And then to champion the change in a bill introduced by Senator Jake Garn.
The recording is from a cassette of the live speech with the video overlays added later.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UcXPyUMtic)
This is an example of the profound change possible for credit unions when all parties work together to benefit members.
The annual Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington is the largest and, many would say, the most important convening of credit union leaders.
In the nation’s capital, attendees from around the country will hear from their congressional representatives. And from all three NCUA board members on the state of agency policy.
Today’s Washington is not a kind place. Tens of thousands of public servants have been summarily fired. Many remaining are at best uncertain and at worst fearful for their personal and professional futures.
The pretense of eliminating waste has been quickly demonstrated to be a political fraud. An unelected, billionaire, Elon Musk, who recently used a chainsaw to present his approach to responsibility is in charge of this political stunt.
Trump’s purpose is not governmental efficiency. Rather it is eliminating any federal role that acts as a check and balance over the animal spirits of the “free market” and its billionaire oligarchs.
Institutions, no matter how well funded and designed, cannot in themselves be constraints on abuses of power. Or destruction of the democratic process.
It is the people who are appointed as well as those who are elected that must exercise this critical responsibility.
For credit unions, their immediate representatives are the three-person NCUA board responsible for the agency’s management. That is why their views are so important.
What credit unions want to hear is how they are interpreting their responsibility having taken this oath of office:
I, [Hauptman, Harper, Otsuka] do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. (emphasis added)
The US Constitution requires the practice as explained in this 2019 article:
The reason is simple – public servants are just that – servants of the people. After much debate about an Oath, the framers of the U. S. Constitution included the requirement to take an Oath of Office in the Constitution itself.
Article VI of the Constitution says, “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution .
The author, Jeff Neal, states the intent: One purpose of the Oath of Office is to remind federal workers that they do not swear allegiance to a supervisor, an agency, a political appointee, or even to the President. The oath is to support and defend the U.S. Constitution and faithfully execute your duties. The intent is to protect the public from a government that might fall victim to political whims.
The three NCUA board members’ remarks in this current effort to concentrate political executive power in one person will be telling.
Will they simply state their role is to “comply” with the administration’s numerous directives of unlimited executive authority over an independent agency?
Or might they simply state their role as guardians of the NCUSIF purse and “protectors of the taxpayer” is their highest duty?
Or will they simply ignore reality and give an AI-like generated talk on regulatory priorities?
NCUA board members’ press interviews and comments at last Thursday’s public board meeting suggest they are still uncertain what their stance should be. One can understand their personal jeopardy and hesitancy to speak up. In their remarks, all three were like bipartisan deer frozen by the Trump administration’s headlights shining on all federal agencies. The sense of an overriding mission was at best formulaic.
But as the board members look out over the thousands of attendees in the convention center, they will see where their responsibility and true power really lies. It is with the people. For the grassroots may be slow to mobilize but will be unstoppable when activated for purpose.
The political temptation is to always seek a middle way, a consensus. All Americans and the rest of the world saw last Friday that we no longer live in “normal times.” When a leader of the free world visited the Oval Office and was publicly scolded by the President and his colleagues for not being “grateful,” for not having any “cards” to play, for “threatening WW III,” we know we are not living in normal times.
The people to which NCUA board members will be speaking at GAC and beyond hold the ultimate authority. How will they fulfill their oath of office? The circumstances are not easy, but leadership in crisis is what the Constitution depends on.
The fight for Cornerstone FCU’s Independence. The members postion is clear.
Lining up to vote and make their voice heard.
What happened next? The rest of the story.
And don’t overlook the video of the members voices in the story:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bWTWlgYvMw&list=PLF00vnVWOq4yp44pYYX77o2-BClvcQAyG)
All organizations and most individuals will at some point in their journey encounter a crisis. These could be threats to their livelihood or maybe existence.
It is important to remember that crises do not form character; they reveal it.
Yesterday the NCUA board met in public during grave uncertainty about the agency’s future. The board members’ response in this time of uncertainty will be for another time.
Today the President of Ukraine meets with President Trump. Zelensky has been leading his country in a war that has entered the fourth year.
This post is about the character of the people who elected him President during this battle for their freedom. And an example of American supporters.
I want to introduce you to three Ukrainians. Here are the first two, an obstetrician and his nurse attendant in their “office” near Kiev.
They literally have their hands full with their work-in this case, twins. And an exhausted mother.
Their children’s hospital was hit by a Russian missile and destroyed last fall. So in November 2024, a group from St. John’s Episcopal Church , Chevy Chase, MD, held a fundraising dinner with St. Andrew’s Orthodox, a local Ukrainian church.
They hoped to raise funds the doctor needed to purchase a new neonatal unit for their rebuilt hospital clinic. That evening, the group of Americans contributed the entire amount. The funds were sent to Ukraine immediately. A new neonatal unit was purchased and put into use within 60 days of the dinner.
Here is the third Ukrainian I want you to meet. This photo of a current occupant of this new unit came yesterday. Ukraine’s next generation.
Amercans and Ukrainians are together working to build a better future for this new generation.
As context for this Presidential discussion about continuing America’s support for Ukraine, I believe two recent articles provide insight into the character of the Ukrainian people. The first is the initial two paragraphs from a longer analysis called:
Ukraine’s deep history of peacekeeping in other wars
Even in the most difficult times, Ukraine has demonstrated a willingness to help others by participating in peacekeeping missions worldwide. However, the world has delayed decisive help now that Ukraine is the one that needs peacekeeping. It is a question of justice: can countries who contribute to peacekeeping count on reciprocity when they are threatened?
Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was known for its peacekeeping efforts. It participated in 36 military operations, becoming the ninth largest contributing country of military personnel to UN peacekeeping missions. (click the above link for the the full article which describes these UN missions)
A digital-only English language news site was started in late 2021 by young Ukrainian journalist entrepreneurs, called The Kiev Independent. It is a subscription only model, publishes dozens of stories daily and relies entirely on online “member” subscriptions.
When the February 2022 Russian invasion began, it focused on daily war coverage for readers outside Ukraine.
When the January U.S. AID cutoff threatened other local Ukrainian language news outlets, the Independent asked its readers to send funds to support these smaller news sources. Here is the report about this effort of less than a week:
Feb 8, 2025 from Editor-in-Chief, Olga Rudenko
Even more good news. Last week, we launched a fundraising campaign to help out three Ukrainian newsrooms in the cities close to the front lines. They were all hit by the freeze of U.S. foreign aid and we wanted to offset some of the damage.
We aimed to raise $50,000 and ended up raising $66,000 in just three days. Over 700 people contributed — a huge thank you for that! We are now in the process of transferring the funds to the newsrooms. Each will get about $23,000, which will cover their expenses for the next couple of months. They are shocked and grateful.
These are brief but I believe representative examples of the character of the country which elected Zelensky President.
The public reports of their meeting will display two examples of leadership. One whose character and that of its people is under daily wartime attack. And one who uses threats as a standard political tactic.
The character example I prefer is that of the US-Ukrainian group that helped restore the neonatal unit of a children’s hospital near Kiev.
Bylaws require every credit union to hold an annual meeting. The agenda includes reports by the Chair, CEO, other timely updates and the election of directors for open seats on the board.
In many credit unions this event is purely administrative and perfunctory. It is merely a compliance task, carefully managed to end quickly, and to avoid any real member dialogue.
Such an approach this year could be the most costly political mistake a credit union could make with its members. Here’s why:
The future of the federal regulatory system is being overhauled for greater efficiency, simpler design and more direct White House control. No more independent agency policy making. One example of a question being raised is whether the government should have two separate deposit insurance funds.
Credit unions, like most industries, have deployed traditional lobbying capabilities to counter political risks to their operations. These common tactics include raising more PAC dollars, hiring lobbyists with ties to those in office, funding PR campaigns, etc.
Credit unions will never outspend or out-hire their opponents. Money is not the source of their political influence in DC or in their respective states.
Consultant and former OCC examiner Ancin Cooley offers this assessment:
In reflecting on the history of the credit union movement, one fact stands out: our strength has always been rooted in our members and communities. . .While political wins and advocacy play a role, we must never lose sight of our true source of standing. . .our focus should be on empowering our members and meeting their needs.
Activating Member-Owners
People’s voices and votes are the ultimate power in a democracy. The first call to action with members should be in the upcoming annual meetings. To make this event a rallying cry, the traditional approach must be rethought. However, this is not a new challenge.
In March 2023 Silicon Valley and two other banks failed in quick succession as the Federal Reserve increased interest rates. Many credit unions instantly changed their meeting’s scripts. In one I attended, the CEO after summarizing the prior year’s performance, pivoted to explain why her credit union and the industry generally did not have similar problems.
The message was to assure members their funds were safe. Do nothing and trust your credit union.
This time the message is quite different. The challenge is to educate members about changes being considered and ask them to act, not just stay the course. Member-owners contacting their congressional representatives, en masse, is the most powerful influence on political behavior.
In 1998 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a banking challenge to changes NCUA made in its field of membership regulations in the early 1980’s. If implemented, the decision would have limited credit unions to their original, or a single, field of membership. The law the Court interpreted had to be changed and fast.
One of the means to both engage and empower members was a newly created website called The Committee of 70 Million. The name was an echo of Revolutionary War grass roots organizations.
It was created by Scott Patterson, a recently hired techie at Callahan & Associates. Although the country and credit unions were in an early phase of the Internet era, with social media still unknown, this platform could be linked to every credit union on the Internet.
The site explained the what was at stake and suggested multiple ways members could reach out to their congressional representatives. Here are six slides from a much longer review in 2001 of the site’s options, information and impact.
The site was then adapted for voting in the Presidential election year 2000.
Trump promised total disruption of the federal government bureaucracy. He is on course. Now is the time for mobilizing member-owners.
The annual meeting should be converted to a town hall format. This is an opportunity to connect and inform about the political changes. The members’ questions and reactions can be used to plan next steps. After all, it is likely 50% or more voted for Trump’s message.
Credit unions must gain members’ respect and trust for the steps you will propose. The most important message however, is that this is not just another political fire drill.
Note: To receive the full slide deck, contact Scott Patterson at spatterson@gmail.com.
The prime agenda item for Thursday’s NCUA board is the NCUSIF’s year end audit and setting the NOL cap for December 2025. The political context in Washington at this moment makes this meeting critically important.
Will the public discussion reinforce the understanding of the Fund’s extraordinary performance and its unique cooperative design? Will its decade long performance of insured losses below a basis point, confirm its critical role in credit union’s unique purpose in America’s financial system?
The 2024 external CPA audit was released last week. It continues to show the financial stability of the cooperative system and the strength of its unique deposit insurance model.
This track record is especially vital in this time of an administration challenging all aspects of federal agency performance. This includes the federal regulatory structures, including FDIC’s oversight. For some the NCUSIF’s functions appear quite similar. Could its future also hang in the balance?
It will be vital that the Fund’s uniqueness be affirmed during this update. Especially these three characteristics:
How Board members present the NCUSIF’s demonstrated financial success may be crucial to its continued independence, not to mention NCUA’s. If credit unions lose their fund in a regulatory realignment, would the singular credit union system be far behind?
We knew yearend 2024 financial outcomes would be superb based on the November 21, 2024 NCUSIF board update as of September 30. The yearend equity ratio is above .302% showing the importance of the NOL cap. If it had been at its longtime cap of 1.3%, credit unions could have received a small dividend for 2024.
Will the Board’s discussion of this and other topics be anchored by full transparency, supported by real facts and the historical record versus hypothetical conjecturing?
The fund’s effectiveness is not based on its total assets, but rather, as in all insurance underwriting, its size to relative to insured risk. For example, the allowance account at $237 million is set aside from retained earnings. It equals 1.3 basis points of insured savings at yearend. Only once in the past ten years have total cash insured expense losses exceeded reserve level.
Specific areas of importance for board oversight include:
Yet the fund continues to invest long in November, extending its duration risk, at a time of a reset in what a normal yield environemnt may be. To sustain the Fund’s equity ratio a yield between 2.5-3.0% is necessary based on 40 years of actual operating results. The critical topic is what will the board require to improve the Fund’s interest rate risk management and turn around this continuing portfolio underperformance?
The continued use of Federal, not private GAP accounting misleads, mischaracterizes and distorts the fund’s actual financial standing. The terminology and schedules used with the Fund’s accounts are totally irrelevant since the NCUSIF is not an appropriated entity.
Federal GAAP removes specific information accounts from the NCUSIF’s financial statements. For example is the portfolio’s actual value $22 or $23 billion? Where is the net income total? Or retained earnings? These traditional GAP terms do not appear.
The federal terms and schedules used are not relevant for the NCUSIF and convey an incorrect impression that the NCUSIF is somehow a federally appropriated fund. Or red meat for an uninformed DOGE analyst.
At a minimum private GAP financial statements presentation should be presented alongside the Federal GAP. For private GAP is how all three of NCUA’s other managed funds are presented.
I am looking forward to the meeting. Every credit union should as well.
Often events for good or otherwise are quickly forgotten. Deeds are overwhelmed by subsequent activity. We want to live in the present, project hope into the future, and allow the past to stay there.
The following is a situation of self-dealing where all the principals are doing their best to help us forget.
The circumstances of the $634 million Finance Center (FCCU) merger with Valley Strong was analyzed in A theft of $10 million or Just Spreading Goodwill, You be the Judge. (January 26, 2022)
The two credit unions’ main offices were 240 miles apart. Prior to the merger, FCCU had reported member capital of over $100 million (17% net worth), a falling loan to asset ratio which at points were below its net worth ratio. The two primary executives, the CEO Michael Duffy and the COO Nora Stroh were brother and sister. They had been in these leadership role since the early 1990’s, They had paid themselves over $1.0 million in compensation in several years prior to the merger. CEO Duffy also served on FCCU’s five-person board.
The member’s Merger Notice contained all the rhetorical promises (consolidation of energy and resources) for a future of better products and expanded services. Bonuses for FCCU’s five senior executives and future employment prospects were presented.
A complicated formula for a member dividend from the credit union’s $100 million net worth was outlined. And, the diversion of $10 million to a non-profit newly organized by CEO Michael Duffy and FCCU’s board Chair Morales, with a ten-year Valley Strong funding commitment of $2.5 million, was presented as a merger benefit.
Two years later in January 2024 I wrote a follow up story: The Pied Piper of Area Code 209 or What Happened to the FCCU Members $10 Million?
Part II of the analysis detailed the immediate fall in Valley Strong’s financial performance, the $800,000 in merger bonus payments to four FCCU’s senior executives with their continued “employment” at Valley strong. Their salaries ranged from $353,000 to $1.088 million.
The blog also presented the financial filng of the newly created FCCU2 charity from its initial IRS 990 report. Part II The Pied Piper of Stockton. (February 1, 2024)
In a Game with No Rules (February 2, 2024) two FCCU member’s comments critiquing the merger’s premise and “giving away the member’s $10 million” showed the reality from the owners’ perspective.
California and NCUA regulatory approvals were critiqued. Their combined inaction was more harmful than mere benign neglect. The cooperative system’s fundamental soundness was being compromised. I asserted that credit union mergers have become a game without rules. Longtime, sound credit unions were being transferred out of existence where the only concrete benefits were for the CEO and senior staff who initiated the transaction.
The CEO, senior executives and board of FCCU negotiated the merger of their overcapitalized institution in return for $800,000 of immediate bonuses and continued employment in vacuous responsibilities (Chief advocacy Officer, Legacy Ambassador). The undisclosed terms of their future employment compensation and benefits resulted in their receiving $2.5 million in 2022, per the IRS 990 form filed by Valley Strong.
These five senior executives gave up all leadership roles and accountabilities. They no longer report to a board and their performance is not subject to external examination or audits. The team which they supposedly joined is 240 miles distant (Stockton to Bakersfield). But their full pay and more continued.
This continuing compensation was in addition to receiving the benefits from retirement plans they previously awarded themselves in FCCU and reported in the IRS 990 filings.
Old habits are hard to change. The continued self-dealing, clothed in philanthropic disguise as evidenced in FCCU’s final years, continues with the diverted $10 million (sic) in members’ equity.
In 2022, the first full year of activity by the newly created 501C3, we learned the following as described in The Pied Piper, Part III:
In the continuing credit union Valley Strong’s 2023 IRS return, three former FCCU senior executives were still on the payroll earning the following: Nora Stroh $1.662 million; Steve Liega $1.311 million; and Michael Duffy $1.021 million. The two senior “at will” FCCU employees in 2022 were no longer listed.
Stroh’s total compensation was the highest of any credit union employee, and Liega’s the third highest just behind Valley Strong’s CEO. Both former FCCU executives had unusual compensation \structures. Each received salaries less than the prior year 2022. In Valley’s 990 Schedule O listing, Stroh received other reportable compensation of $ 1.332 million and Liega, $971.537.
No other of the 39 Valley Strong employees listed any amount close tp these numbers. This unusual compensation suggests a transfer of some asset other than normal salary/benefits and bonus cash payments.
Even with the two “at will” FCCU employees gone, the three remaining at Valley Strong received total compensation of $3.994 million . That amount was $1.473 million greater than all five together earned in 2022. None of this post merger largess was disclosed in the Member notice as is required by NCUA rules.
The effort to transform the FCCU 2 foundation into a non-public, inaccessible entity continued in 2023. IRS filings are required only once per year, often filed late into the next reporting period.
Here are summary totals from The 54 Fund’s first three years filings. 2023’s is the most recent we have.
| Year | Assets Y/E | Income | Expenses | Grants |
| 2021 | $11.974 M | $19.7 K | $5.2 K | $0 |
| 2022 | $12.058 M | $368.7 K | $106 K | $272.5 K |
| 2023 | $13.302 M | $592.1 K(1) | $222 K | $438.5 K |
(1) Revenue before deducting a $157.5K loss on sale of investments.
As part of its “going dark” operations, the Fund affirms in IRS Part XIV 2 that “the foundation only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.”
The Fund has no office or web site. When calling the the telephone listed a recording says an answering machine has not been connected. All directors and the books and records are reportedly held at the single post office box address. It must be a very big box!
I could find no public information about ithe Fund’s activities other than the listing of donations in the IRS filings. I would surmise that many Stockton recipients would be grateful for these annual tokens of manna from this minimalist financial resurrection by FCCU’s former leadership team.
Despite this ongoing lack of pubic information, an analysis of 2023’s filing shows:
In summary, the Fund distributes only the bare minimum required by the 5% IRS test. It grew total assets by over $1.3 million from increases in the market value of investments. Operating expenses rose at a faster pace than contributions.
The Fund has received two $250,000 initial payments from Valley Strong as part of a ten-year $2.5 million pledge reported in the Member Notice. This planning suggests he Fund never intended to distribute all of its assets. Instead it has become a personal petty cash account for a rump group of former FCCU leaders to further an impression of public philanthropy-with members money.
The 54 Fund’s financial giving meets only the minimum IRS contribution requirements. This charity is a closely held, unelected, private entity with no public accountability. The former CEO of FCCU keep the books. His self selected previos directors make all decisions. The purpose continues their pevious public performance as Stockton philanthropists. But it is not their money they use but the former member owners of Finance Center Credit Union which they closed down.
Similar to the final five years of the credit union’s operations, the Fund has became a personal platform for promoting Michael Duffy. It is not resolving the needs of the former member-owners of the credit union or the Stockton community with its multiple, tiny token grants.
FCCU’s senior executives and board negotiated a merger that rewarded their own self interest, not the members’ well being. The 2023 extraordinary compensation Valley Srong paid to two of the former FCCU senior executives was not disclosed in the Member Notice. This failure was on top of the additional $2.0 million sent to the new Fund versus the $10 million listed in the Notice.
This continuing saga of self-dealing was designed by the CEO of FCCU, but was enabled by the Valley Strong Board and CEO. They only had eyes on the prize of free capital and a $630 million asset transfer. The inaction of NCUA and California state regulators who approved this deeply cynical transaction is a critical failure of supervisory responsibility.
Cooperative mergers, for a number of CEO’s, have become a Game with No Rules. It is whatever one can get away with in private deal making. There is no added value for members. just future promises. Board members approve these transactions and payments oblivious to their fiduciary obligations. The process of members voting is nothing more than a sham. Regulators routinely approve communications that lack any meaningful substantive disclosures. Those who benefit from the event control the entire member manipulated voting approval.
This continuing blight on the cooperative system undermines the basic foundation for the soundness of any financial system: the trust of the users.
This is however an opportunity for cooperative leaders to demonstrate both moral and common sense clarity. Who wlll stand up and say “enough is enough”?
Without leaders’ voices, this rampage will continue. The future of an alternative cooperative system is at stake. But not from political change from DC, but rather from internal decay.
Some credit unions act out the belief that their future is the same as that of the for profit, self-interested commercial competitors. But this internal corruption is only succeeds until members see the reality behind these tortured transaction. Their response may be either fire (anger) or ice (apathy). Both are equally fatal to the member-owned model.
Note: Because of embedded video links and pictures, this post is best read in the browser format)
Three years ago today Russia invaded the independent country of Ukraine.
The attack’s intent and the expectation of many outsiders was that the country would be subjugated in a matter of days, or at most, weeks.
Three years later, Ukraine has shown the incredible resilience of people willing to sacrifice for their country’s freedom.
The fog of war, time, elections and competing events have clouded the perceptions of some about the largest conflict on the European continent since WW II..
In this current moment of uncertainty about the war’s end, we must state the obvious: Ukraine has won. They have fought the second largest army in the world to a standstill. Their nation’s courage has earned them the respect of freedom loving people the world over.
Their determination against overwhelming odds inspires all persons yearning for freedom the will to prevail. Most importantly, Ukraine’s fight is protecting all other democracies in Europe from Russian imperialism.
Putin’s quarter century dictatorial reign is at great risk. Russia is desperate for a ceasefire. Its central bank rate is 21% and its inflation 9%. Between 900,000 and a million troops have been killed and wounded. An estimated 25 to 30 of its oil refineries have been hit and disabled. Economic change is frozen by sanctions.
And Ukraine’s democratically engaged population has shown the Russian people the need to rediscover their humanity and self-determination. The example of the Ukrainian people’s revolution is why Putin began this conflict.
Following are scenes from three years of total war showing clearly what the world understood then, and is still the reality today.
Zelensky’s words days after Russia’s direct attack on Kiev: I am here. I don’t need a ride; I need ammunition.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3cU9d9ciY4)
Om February 28, 2022, New York’s Metropolitan Opera opened its performance by singing Ukraine’s National Anthem. The sole person without music, hand on heart, is a Ukrainian. One of hundreds of spontaneous presentations showing the American public’s support.
A soldier and his wife await their first child.
A civilian engineer builds drones for the front line.
Opening day at Wrigley Field, Chicago 2022.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59k-qONWAlc)
Soldiers on recuperation receive sunflowers.
In the first days, civilians practice with wooden guns, until the real ones are available.
Citizens create a roadblock on a road that leads to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, in Enerhodar, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
The siege of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine was a key part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The plant was a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and the last holdout in Mariupol before the city fell to Russian forces.
(Photo by Wojciech Grzedzinski/ for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Ukrainian Flag in the Sanctuary of Chevy Chase Pesbyterian Church, Washington DC 2022
Music Mission Kiev Women’s Chorus Concert in Alexandria, VA (2024)
A country whose people’s spirit will never be broken.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgTI8FPwW0Q)