NYCUA board includes Summit, AmeriCU officials

Scholarship program helps 30 students       

ALBANY — Executives from federal credit unions operating in Central New York are serving on the board of directors of the New York Credit Union Association (NYCUA).

NYCUA also announced that its scholarship program provided financial help to more than two dozen college-bound credit-union members this year.

Board members

Laurie Baker, senior VP and COO of the Rochester–based Summit Federal Credit Union (FCU), is serving on the NYCUA board. Summit operates a half-dozen branch offices in Central New York.

The NYCUA board also includes Mark Pfisterer, president and CEO of Rome–based AmeriCU Credit Union.

Baker was elected to serve a three-year term in the more than $100 million asset category during NYCUA’s 2019 annual meeting held in June, per a news release on the NYCUA website. The board seat that Baker occupies was one of four seats for which NYCUA held elections during the annual meeting.

In addition, Mark Welshoff of O&R Utilities FCU in Orange County was elected in the $25 million asset category; Vicky Burdick of Jamestown Area Community FCU was selected in the $25 million to $100 million asset category; and Ann Hynes of SPX FCU in Chili, near Rochester, was also chosen in the $25 million to $100 million asset category. Hynes was also appointed board chairwoman, NYCUA said. Robyn Young of Great Erie FCU in Orchard Park was named vice chair and Tony Rohrmeier of Hudson Valley FCU was appointed treasurer. John Gibardi of Entertainment Industries FCU was again named secretary.

Besides AmeriCU’s Pfisterer, the 10-member board also includes Marie Betti of Western New York FCU, Barbara Dillon of SUNY Geneseo FCU, and Frank DeGraw of Sunmark FCU.

Scholarship program

NYCUA’s Statewide Scholarship Program provided $21,500 in financial assistance to 30 college-bound credit-union members this year. The students represent 18 New York credit unions and 10 regional chapters from throughout New York.

Nearly 1,500 students from more than 75 credit unions applied for the scholarships, which ranged from $500 to $1,250, NYCUA said.

The program was open to New York credit-union members who are high-school seniors planning to enroll in a two- or four-year college. Award recipients were selected based on academic performance, honors and awards, extracurricular activities, community activities, leadership roles, and an essay.

“As college costs continue to rise, families are being forced to look for alternatives to pay for higher education,” Tanya Buechner, director of marketing at the Albany–based SEFCU, which operates five branches in the Binghamton region and five offices in the Syracuse area. “The New York Credit Union Association’s scholarship program recognizes students who excel in the classroom, on the field, and as a leader, and students who receive these awards can focus on their studies and not how to pay tuition.”

In addition to the scholarships awarded through NYCUA’s statewide program, New York state credit unions awarded more than $2.7 million in total scholarships to college-bound members last year.