Credit Union Times - October 1, 2008 - (Page 30) NJCUL Annual Meeting Gentile Provides Calm, Revival After Corner-Office Tempest at NJCUL NJCUL, Foundation Find REAL Solutions By SARAH SNELL COOKE CU Times Editor-in-Chief ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Credit Union League had a reputation for changing CEOs as often as some change the oil in their vehicles. Paul Gentile, who has headed up the league for just the last 10 months, is looking to change all that. “We’ve added a number of credit unions,” he commented during an interview at the NJCUL annual meeting last week, his first as CEO. “People say, ‘How’d you get those credit unions back.’” Prior to Gentile, the league was without a permanent CEO for about six months after the firing of Bob Walls, formerly the CEO of the Delaware Credit Union League. Tom Shaughnessy before that was fired, convicted of embezzling approximately $300,000. The league chose not to renew the contract of Russell Clark, who held the top spot before that for six years. “New Jersey had one of the lowest affiliation rates in the country, and I really don’t know why,” Gentile continued. He noted that it’s a strong credit union state with solid chapter events, but he acknowledged that the CEO position has been like a revolving door. “Now I think people are getting excited. I think we’ll have one of the best affiliation rates in two years,” he predicted. Gentile is wearing out the shoe leather to accomplish this feat, traveling credit union to credit union function and back again. Since he took the reins, NJCUL has gained seven new members; net figures were not available at press time. Gentile said one of the most crucial things the league has done is create an office in Trenton, the state’s capital. He explained that the federal credit unions in the state, which account for nearly all credit unions in New Jersey didn’t understand why lobbying in Trenton was important to them. However, Gentile highlighted the ability to take municipal deposits, as banks are already permitted to do, as one example of why credit unions need to be there. Additionally, he said he is interested in enhancing the New Jersey state charter and stressed how important the dual chartering system is. “The division of banking is open to working with us,” Gentile said. He added that some federal charters are considering con(Continued on next page) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Credit Union League and the New Jersey Credit Union Foundation have joined forces with REAL Solutions to help low-income members break the debt cycle. REAL Solutions was designed by the National Credit Union Foundation to help credit unions provide turnkey products, like payday loan alternatives, to their members. The goal is to turn these consumers into long-term members. “The great thing about this is that it’s not just a program for large credit unions, it’s not just for smaller credit unions. It’s a program for all sizes of credit unions,” NJCUL President/CEO Paul Gentile said in making the announcement. —scooke@cutimes.com Tellagent Rolls Out Second Generation All-in-One Kiosk ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Attendees of the New Jersey Credit Union League Annual Meeting last week got a glimpse of the new Freedom Centre eBank Tellagent is offering as a way to serve the underserved and create income for credit unions. The full-service kiosk was created by Tellagent together with Pantel Systems Inc. to combat check cashers and provide a safer option for those not in the financial mainstream. In addition to check cashing, the machine offers ATM cash dispensing, bill payment prepaid phone and wireless cards and gift cards, all without an account. Tellagent, founded in 2000, is a CUSO of Paragon Federal Credit Union in Montvale, N.J. “The word is empowerment,” Pantel’s Eric Kash said. He pointed out that the average low-income family makes $18,000 a year and gives $4,000 of that up to check cashers in fees, which “breaches the poverty line.” Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, which is piloting the machine in its Harlem branch, has a local woman who is Latino standing by the machine to assist with transactions and talk to those in line about the benefits of joining the credit union. LESPFCU is offering the check cashing for free if users open an account for a $1 minimum. Two other kiosks have been placed in mid-sized grocery stores in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Coming soon, Kash promised grocery store courtesy cards will be able to be swiped to obtain the coupons often given at check out from the shopper’s previous trip. The benefit to the grocery store is to provide dynamic inventory management. The kiosks are also equipped with a video display monitor for advertising. For example, if the store sees some perishables about to exceed their sale date, they can simply put them on sale via the monitor. According to Kash, debit and payroll cards with direct deposit, money orders, money transfers, Inter(Continued on next page) Visitors to the vendor hall took in a demonstration of how the Freedom Centre eBank works. Credit Union of New Jersey Vice President of Sales and Marketing Valerie Metzker and dancer Noel Rodriguez (left) tried to Cha-Cha their way into the top spot during the New Jersey Credit Union League’s Dancing With the Credit Union Superstars competition. They impressed the judges, earning a score of 37 but it was Vladimir Popov and Jersey Shore FCU CEO Virginia Williams (right) who took home the top prize with a perfect 40. 30 Credit Union Times, October 1, 2008 cutimes.com http://www.cutimes.com
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