Credit union practitioners were honoured at the Edward Filene Credit Union Awards and the Joe Biden Development Educator Awards.
The ceremony took place in London and featured Marlene Shiels, chief executive of Capital Credit Union in Edinburgh.
“We have work to do,” she said at the ceremony. “Let all of us be the one who makes the difference. Share the values and ethics of credit unions with all you meet.”
Ms Shiels is one of the small number of people from the credit union movement in the UK and overseas be given an OBE, for her contribution to financial services and financial inclusion.
The Joe Biden Awards for Development Educators from around the world acknowledge the contribution of active graduate development educators. Their qualifications denote the development educator courses they took.
This year’s winners were:
- Justine Lynn Limocon, PhDE, Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Cebu City, Philippines (Asia);
- Paul Dawson, ACDE, First Choice Credit Union, New South Wales, Australia (Australasia)
- Carla Decker, CUDE, DEUK, CaribDE, CanadaDE, Academic Director & Lead Facilitator, Caribbean DE programme
- Christina Stoneman, Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd, Treorchy, Wales (Europe)
The Edward Filene Awards for Performance Excellence recognise the work of credit unions and practitioners to demonstrate how the sector can be a viable alternative offering financial services in Great Britain and Ireland.
Speaking at the ceremony, Barry Epstein, a co-trustee of the promoting body, the ICULD&E Foundation said: “The standard of Award entrants improves year on year, being a tribute to their standards of delivery of products and services to the consumer by giving them an ethical, alternative choice for their financial affairs”
The winners were:
Single Benefactor of the Year (organisation): Karbon Homes (Derwentside Homes), partners of Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co. Durham
Single Benefactor to a Credit Union (individual): Ian Gylee, President, Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd, Treorchy
Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of the Year:
Winner – Amanda Ivey, Chief Executive Officer, Commsave Credit Union Ltd, Northampton
Runner Up – Lesley Richardson, Chief Executive Officer, Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Highly Commended – John Murphy – Manager, Glenamaddy Credit Union Ltd, Glenamaddy, Co. Galway, Ireland
Young Credit Union Leader, either paid or unpaid and aged between 17 and 35 in 2017
Winner – Bethany Moss, South Yorkshire Credit Union Ltd., Doncaster, S. Yorks
Runner Up – Vanessa Atkinson, Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Customer Service Officer of the Year 2017
Winner – Christine Bates, Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd., Treorchy, Wales
Runner-up – Natasha Aldred, South Yorkshire Credit Union Ltd, Doncaster, S. Yorks
Highly Commended – Katherine Rickerby, Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Hosting Saving Schemes for Primary and Secondary School pupils
Winner – Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Achieving Business Growth without resorting to grant funding
Winner – Commsave Credit Union Ltd, Northampton
Runner Up – Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Joint Highly Commended – Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd, Treorchy, Wales and Glenamaddy Credit Union Ltd, Glenamaddy, Co.Galway, Ireland
Trading and Innovation
Winner – Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Credit Union serving as a financial incubator for seed, small and medium enterprises operated by credit union owner-members
Winner – Killarney Credit Union Ltd, Killarney, Co.Kerry, Ireland
Credit Union Advocacy with local and national politicians
Joint Winners – Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd, Treorchy, Wales and Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Community Mobilisation and Outreach
Winner – Killarney Credit Union Ltd, Killarney, Co.Kerry, Ireland
Runner Up – Salford Credit Union Ltd, Salford, Greater Manchester
Joint Highly Commended – Dragonsavers Credit Union Ltd, Treorchy, Wales and Prince Bishops Community Bank
Dispensing Financial Education to the entire Common Bond
Winner – Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Use of the Media
Winner – Salford Credit Union Ltd, Salford, Greater Manchester
Joint Runners Up – Dragonsavers Credit Union, Treorchy, Wales and Killarney Credit Union Ltd, Killarney
Highly Commended – Prince Bishops Community Bank, Stanley, Co.Durham
Award for making a film describing the activity of an individual or a credit union (open only to Award winners)
Winner – Justine Limocon, Lamac Multipurpose Co-operative, Cebu City, Philippines
Runner Up – Killarney Credit Union Ltd, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland
“Beacon” Credit Union of the Year 2017
Winner – Commsave Credit Union Ltd, Northampton
Edward Filene Supreme Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2017
Winner: Prince Bishops Community Bank, the credit union that has achieved the highest aggregate score over all the categories of performance excellence open to it.
