Money and Stuff

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OAS FCU’s Volunteer Appreciation Lunch took place on Thursday August 11. For this event the Credit Union gathers all the volunteers, to show its appreciation for the great effort these people make, day by day, for the good of our organization.

They also use the occasion to bid a friendly farewell to the volunteers who are leaving, and to give a warm welcome to those joining the ranks.

This year the volunteers leaving were:

A picture from the lunch.

• Beatriz Pineres, from the credit committee
• Joel Andrews, from the credit committee
• Rocio Suarez, from the community relations and membership committee
• Laura Altallufa, from the nominations committee 

And they welcomed:

• Jan Astaphan, to the asset and liability committee
• Melene Glynn, to the governance committee
• Daniel Terceros, to the technology committee (as associate volunteer)
• Adam Siegel, to the nominations committee
• Gerald Prado, to the community relations and membership committee
• Luis Noe-Bustamante, to the community relations and membership committee
• Miguel Garcia, to the community relations and membership committee

I should explain now, because likely many readers don’t know this, that OAS FCU has many, many committees. During the elections we vote for the members of the credit

committee and the board of directors, and those are only volunteers that we the members vote for (the results of the elections are always announced during the Annual Meeting). But this joint venture that is our Credit union counts with many more dedicated volunteers who put their knowledge about different subjects at the service of the greater good, when they join one or several of our committees. These volunteers meet every month to work as a team and make recommendations in their areas of expertise, in order to promote an optimal performance in multiple areas of the Credit Union. We have the following groups, all formed by volunteers:

- The asset and liability committee: it’s one of the most specialized groups. They examine the quality of investments and loans of the Credit Union to ensure that the internal accounts are in the best possible shape, for the benefit of the organization (and by default, us members, too). They review the income and expenses to make sure that we have strong finances.

- The community relations and membership committee: this group works as liaison with members and the community that surrounds the Credit Union, helping it tighten the bonds between members, the community and the Credit Union.

- The credit committee: they examine, evaluate and approve members loan applications

A small token of appreciation for the volunteers.

weekly, make recommendations to seek professional financial counseling when they believe that a member might be having financial difficulties, and they inform the board of directors when they believe that loan parameters should be altered or could be improved, often suggesting new types of credits based on their experiences of seeing our members’ needs week after week (however, let’s be clear that they never, ever use information about any member when communicating with the board; member confidentiality is strictly maintained within this committee).

- The governance committee: they are responsible for confirming that the board of directors maintains strong ethics in their workings and in directing the Credit Union, through (among other) the approval of good policies and the training of both personnel and volunteers.

- The nominations committee: they obtain and evaluate candidates for the credit committee, the board of directors, all other committees, and they observe the election process to ensure that it follows all applicable laws.

The supervisory committee: they tackle making sure that the Credit Union follows all the rules and regulations to which it must abide. They oversee the writing, revision and edits of our policies so that they are up to date and correct at all times. Additionally, they manage member complaints. Finally, they perform internal audits and address the external ones, making sure that the Credit Union performs any actions requested by the external auditors.

The technology committee: maintains the Credit Union ahead and abreast of technologies

Anna Chisman, also a volunteer, is the current
Chairwoman of the board of directors.

that both Credit Union and members need to manage their money.

- And to end, we have the board of directors: they are the group that directs the Credit Union. They instruct the creation and amendment of policies, and they approve any new or changed ones. They delegate Credit Union operations to management, but they supervise that work; they decide on the future direction of the Credit Union and promote membership through delegates; they oversee the process of hiring of management and supervise the proper inner workings of the Credit Union via multiple additional functions.


As you see, there are a good many people, very qualified people, watching for the good of our Credit Union by making their knowledge available to us, without asking for anything in return. People interested in the common good. If you believe that your knowledge or expertise would be of benefit in one of the areas that I mentioned and would like to end a hand, please contact Laura Martinez of the nominations committee.