An out and about week!
The work of a Chief Executive is by no means all done behind a desk
these days, nor is it "wall to wall" meetings (though it can seem
like it sometimes!). To carry out the role successfully you have to get
out and about, meeting colleagues and members of the community and finding out
what makes our organisation, and the large region we serve, tick.
It's certainly been one of those weeks for me, but I must say I've
enjoyed every minute of it.
Hessle opportunities
On Monday I was in Hessle, with Carmel (our School Project Officer for
Haltemprice), meeting Councillor Paul Hogan, a local elected
member, to look at opportunities for opening school banks and making our credit
union more accessible to this quite large suburban community (the town where I
grew up in fact). Councillor Hogan was also interested in whether
HEYCU could provide banking services for the local businesses. When our
new IT/Banking platform is in place this may be possible, including business
loans.
Afterwards we popped into the Council's combined library and customer
service centre (the Hessle Centre) and were pleased to find the
staff well briefed about the Credit Union and keen to help local residents pay
into their Credit Union accounts using the cash deposit facility.
Goole
On Tuesday morning it was over to Goole but unfortunately the railway
line was blocked just south of the town so it was necessary to take a two and a
half hour detour via Doncaster. A good job I had lots of
paperwork to catch up with while sitting on the train! Apologies to any
members who went along to our branch that morning only to find it shut.
Only the previous week there were problems with the river bridge, and it's
amazing how incidents like that can cause a major snarl up in a town.
Holderness happenings
By contrast Wednesday morning found me heading east on a bus to Withernsea.
It was a lovely journey across rural Holderness, bathed in spring
sunshine. After greeting our volunteers, Mareth and Malcolm at the Credit
Union Contact Point, Julie (our School Project Officer for Holderness) and I
took part in a photo-call arranged by East Riding of Yorkshire Council with Councillor
Jackie Cracknell, the Portfolio Holder for Community Involvement, to
celebrate the extension of our Pennies2Pounds school banks. Jayne
Nendick, the ever-so-busy CEO of The Shores, who has
"opened a few doors for us", was also able to join in. We
really appreciate the County helping to fund P2P, and I am sure that future
generations who get the chance to save up from early childhood to gain
financial resilience, will be glad too – one day!
One of our members came up to me and said how much he liked his Credit
Union account, and couldn't praise the service enough. In these times
when the big banks seem to make it difficult for their customers to contact
them, with automated overseas call centres and reduced branch networks, he said
it was so nice to pick up the phone and speak to a "human voice" who
genuinely wanted to help. That's part of the credit union difference, you
see, our members are what we are all about. It was kind of him to tell me and I
know our staff really appreciate the feedback.
Welcome to our new Bishop
This week it was announced that Rev Canon Alison White has been appointed
the new Bishop of Hull. Although Bishop Alison is only the
second woman to be made a Church of England Bishop she won’t want to be
judged on that, but on her contribution to the life of our City and
County. We congratulate her and look forward to meeting her.
We got to know the previous Bishop, Richard Frith, quite well for he
made a point of joining our Credit Union on International Credit Union Day
2013, just after being delegated to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Task
Group on Responsible Credit and Savings (see the wenbsite ToyourCredit for
more details). So, a warm welcome to Bishop Alison, and the membership
form is in the post!
Jam Jar Account planning
Thursday afternoon I was back at base chairing a planning meeting for
the Jam Jar Account that we are launching in partnership with Hull City
Council. This product will be welcomed by people who’d like some help
to budget, especially with Universal Credit on the way.
Easter Competition
Our junior savers will be wondering who’s going to win the
magnificant Chocolate Easter Egg that is rather tantalisingly
on display just outside my office. All will be revealed next week
(if it’s still there, that is!).
Christmas Saver
At the end of March our 2015 Christmas Saver Campaign comes to an end –
so get a move on if you haven’t opened an account yet to claim your £10
bonus!
Hull Business Improvement District Awards 2015
Only a few days left to nominate city centre businesses for this year’s
Hull BID awards – I am thrilled to find that we’ve had some nominations!
Thank you, kind members.
Our Dream Loan makes dreams come true!
Anyone need a loan for a spring garden ‘make over’? Now is
the time to apply. Have a look at our Dream Loan - it's like a bank
loan but at a lower interest rate.
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