Excerpts from Board Member Yolanda Wheat

Addressing the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference

February 24, 1998

Washington, D.C. -- "As I look out across this audience, I see that volunteerism is alive and well - it remains the backbone of the credit union movement. It is the volunteers on the Boards of Directors who set the policy, make the key financial decisions and, most importantly, do the hiring and the firing. Clearly, volunteers are in control of this movement, as they always have been.

"Credit union volunteers created and sustain this movement. Volunteers will determine its future. And with their customary innovation, ingenuity, commitment and compassion, volunteers will keep the movement true to its mission."

"Hard working Americans rely on credit unions for vital financial services. They need us to work together to keep credit union membership a real choice. Nancy Pierce, the president of Federal Employees Credit Union, recently noted that one in eight households cannot afford to do business with banks.

"She posed the most important question: "Where are those families going to go if credit unions can't serve them?" The troubling answer is: "NOWHERE" - and that answer explains why the field of membership issue is critical to the future viability of the credit union system."

"Being prepared for the Year 2000 will determine our chances for survival. Of course, we don't just want credit unions to survive, we want them to be thriving into the next millennium. Credit union staff and volunteers must continue their efforts to predict, plan, prepare and perform in a financial services industry that continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

"When the world faced the turn of the last century, could anyone have predicted the wide use of automobiles, freeways - the superhighway? Actually, two horses in every barn and people knee-deep in horse manure would have been a far more reasonable prediction.

"Now who can predict with any certainty what will happen in the next century? The great author Mark Twain once said, 'You cannot depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.' That may be a good rule of thumb as we plan for the 21st century credit union.

"From the regulator's perspective, credit unions are poised to remain competitive - even outdistance the competition - if only we can keep up with technology. Advances in the way credit unions use technology will necessitate technological changes in the examination and supervision process. We at the NCUA will do our part, too."