At its 2015 Leadership Conference on June 17th, CU*Answers recognized Element Federal CU in Charleston, West Virginia, and its CEO, Linda Bodie, as the winner of the 5th annual “Spirit of CU*Answers” award, for the credit union’s aggressive efforts to expand the online retail experience for its members.
“I seldom see a ‘start today’ attitude like what I see when I talk to Linda Bodie,” said CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes as he announced the award to the nearly 200 assembled credit union professionals. “Element specializes in ‘get-to-market-now’ to build a future, then invest more when that future seems positive,” Karnes said. “Where some might see low-tech, I see go-tech: priced properly, and with the intent to prove it first and then grow based on a right-sized analysis.”
The Spirit of CU*Answers award, established in 2011, recognizes a client credit union for excellence in a variety of areas. In addition to the focus on collaboration and cooperation exemplified by this year’s winner, the award also allows the CUSO to recognize credit unions who have strong volunteer programs, who’ve demonstrated particularly strong execution and performance or a high level of adoption of CU*Answers tools, who have found new ways to demonstrate commitment to the 7 Cooperative Principles, or who’ve started new businesses in the network.