I have been studying the impact of loyalty on the success of our credit union. It is clear that building an organization that members can be loyal to is critical to our long-term success. In addition, the current economic challenges that we face have made it clear that loyalty to our community is important to the viability of Southern Oregon. After a recent meeting I was struck by the intense loyalty to Southern Oregon by one of our communities’ unsung heroes.
In this time when we all need to hear stories of hope and passion I was reminded of the story of Brain McQuade. Brian is the Southern Oregon Corporate Sales Manager for Umpqua Dairy. I first came to know Brian as a member of our credit union and was immediately struck by his passion for and loyalty to, his company. After that first meeting with Brian I felt incredibly guilty whenever a competitor’s milk product ended up in my refrigerator. And as I got to know Brian I was encouraged by his loyalty not only to Umpqua Dairy, but to Southern Oregon.
Brian has been a champion for Umpqua Dairy and Southern Oregon. Local and national retailers are selling Umpqua products because of Brian’s passion. Many folks in Southern Oregon owe their livelihoods to Brian’s relentless pursuit of making sure that if you are going to do business in Southern Oregon, you must use Southern Oregon products.
Fortunately, his loyalty to our community does not stop there. He can be seen scooping ice cream for a Boys and Girls Club fundraiser, driving an Umpqua truck in a local parade, teaching a Junior Achievement class on financial literacy to grade school kids, or purchasing a lamb at the 4H and FFA auction. Brian and his wife have personally donated their own funds and personally purchased Umpqua Dairy products to donate to community organizations such as ACCESS, Kids Unlimited, MDA, Multiple Sclerosis, fire fighter and law enforcement groups, and a variety of causes that make our community a better place to live.
Brian, thanks so much for being the consummate example of how loyalty to our community is making Southern Oregon a better place to live!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
We DO Have a Voice!
During the last week of February I had the opportunity to attend a Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. This conference proved to be timely since our elected officials are working furiously to address our country’s economic crisis. The timing was ideal since our elected representative’s expediency has resulted in them not having enough information to fully grasp the long-term impacts of short-term fixes.
One of these short-term fixes is bankruptcy legislation that would result in a bankruptcy judge being able to “cram down” the value of a home in bankruptcy. This post does not provide me the opportunity to discuss the details of the legislation. However, the legislation is well intentioned and seems like a reasonable solution, but it failed to fully consider the long-term impacts of the proposal. As a representative of our members I am charged with protecting the funds that they entrust to us. This legislation would make us reconsider mortgage lending due to the possibility of not being able to collect the full balance we lend to our members.
My point here is to discuss that we do have a voice with our elected officials. I was surprised that during our visits with our Senators and Congressman that they were not aware of how this legislation could eventually hurt consumers instead of help them. With over 150 citizens from Oregon, and over 4,000 from the rest of the country, explaining this to our elected representatives they became aware of the full impact of the decision they were about to make. Armed with this new information they delayed the vote on this important legislation until they could gain a greater understanding of the impact it might have and what alternatives there might be. In my mind, this was a confirmation of the power of a unified voice. Our voice was heard! So, I encourage you to speak up and be heard for you will never know how powerful your voice is until you use it!!
One of these short-term fixes is bankruptcy legislation that would result in a bankruptcy judge being able to “cram down” the value of a home in bankruptcy. This post does not provide me the opportunity to discuss the details of the legislation. However, the legislation is well intentioned and seems like a reasonable solution, but it failed to fully consider the long-term impacts of the proposal. As a representative of our members I am charged with protecting the funds that they entrust to us. This legislation would make us reconsider mortgage lending due to the possibility of not being able to collect the full balance we lend to our members.
My point here is to discuss that we do have a voice with our elected officials. I was surprised that during our visits with our Senators and Congressman that they were not aware of how this legislation could eventually hurt consumers instead of help them. With over 150 citizens from Oregon, and over 4,000 from the rest of the country, explaining this to our elected representatives they became aware of the full impact of the decision they were about to make. Armed with this new information they delayed the vote on this important legislation until they could gain a greater understanding of the impact it might have and what alternatives there might be. In my mind, this was a confirmation of the power of a unified voice. Our voice was heard! So, I encourage you to speak up and be heard for you will never know how powerful your voice is until you use it!!
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