NCOFCU Annual Meeting & Election

Notification of Annual Meeting & Election

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the members and Election results of NCOFCU will be held Saturday October 10th, 2015, 10:00 AM at NCOFCU’s Annual Meeting & Educational Conference in Nashville, TN.

Directors Election

The Board of Directors Election will be held by electronic ballot and the results will be announced at the Annual Meeting.

• Nominations for the 3 recurring positions up for re-election are required to be either a staff member or volunteer of a paid member credit union.
• Apply through the Nominating Committee by completing the Directors application on-line at; Directors Application   no later than 9/11/2015 11:59 p.m.

Protecting and preserving the vision and purpose of firefighter credit unions is paramount to the continued success of the firefighter credit union movement. The National Coalition of Firefighter's Credit Unions Inc. (NCOFCU), a 501 c 3 not for profit, is the only organization exclusively representing firefighters and their credit unions.  The coalition meets once a year at their annual conference and continues their established relationships through NCOFCU's Website, Newsroom, Facebook and Twitter This exclusive networking leads to the continued discussions of best business practices, products and services which cannot be found anywhere else.

Membership in NCOFCU is a great opportunity for your credit union to protect and preserve the vision and purpose of Firefighters and their Credit Unions by joining the coalition. Membership Application

Sincerely,

Grant Sheehan Executive Director/CEO
National Coalition of Firefighters Credit Unions Inc.
305-951-3306
grant@ncofcu.org

Minutes Show Fed Believes Economy ‘Approaching The Point’ Of A Rate Increase

 

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials believe the economy is “approaching the point” where “policy firming” will be needed—in other words, the point at which it will see a need to raise short-term interest rates.

The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee released minutes of its July meeting yesterday with its members indicating they are still waiting on more evidence the economy has returned to solid footing before they will move on rates.

“Most judged that the conditions for policy firming had not yet been achieved, but they noted that conditions were approaching that point,” the released minutes state, adding nearly all of the FOMC committee members said “they would need to see more evidence that economic growth was sufficiently strong.”

Short-term interest rates have been near zero since the financial crisis, and regulators and other analysts have been cautioning credit unions for more than a year to prepare for a rate increase that has yet to materialize. Analysts continue to say they believe the Fed will move before year-end to raise short-term rates.

“Many members thought that labor market underutilization would be largely eliminated in the near term if economic activity evolved as they expected,” the minutes said.

The Federal Reserve has said it anticipates inflation will increase in the months ahead. Prices, excluding energy and food, are up 1.8% this year over 2014.

The minutes show that most committee members, including Chairwoman Janet Yellen, say they do not see a need to wait for prices to continue to increase before they would favor raising rates.

Boston Fire Dept. Gets Cancer Awareness Program

www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

All,

The Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) announced today it is providing occupational cancer awareness and prevention training to the Boston Fire Department (BFD). Since Commissioner Joe Finn  took the reigns, among numerous leadership changes, CANCER and his IAFF Local 718 Firefighters have become a major priority.

As you know, cancer is

the leading cause

of firefighter line-of-duty deaths in the United States. Cancer caused 60 percent of line-of-duty deaths for career firefighters between 2002-2014, according to International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) data. Naturally, volunteer and call Firefighters across North America even more so increase the overall numbers. DO YOU REALIZE:

Cancer has caused 67 (SIXTY SEVEN) percent of the Boston Fire Department's line-of-duty deaths for the same period....

"Boston firefighters develop cancer at a rate two-and-a-half times higher than other Boston residents," said BFD Commissioner Joseph Finn. "We have recognized cancer's effect on our firefighters, and FCSN's department-wide prevention training is an important part of our ongoing, comprehensive safety, health, and wellness program."

FCSN collaborated with Finn and leaders of IAFF Local 718 to bring its cancer-prevention training to Boston. "Since 1990, the Boston Fire Department has lost 160 members to cancer,"

said Richard Paris, president of IAFF Local 718. "It's a staggering number. We know that cancer is killing our members, and we're making a collaborative effort to save the lives of Boston firefighters. FCSN's training focuses on preventive measures the department and firefighters can take to reduce exposure to carcinogens and help avoid contracting this deadly disease."

FCSN President Bryan Frieders, a division chief with the San Gabriel (CA) Fire Department, praised Boston's collaborative, aggressive approach to reducing firefighters' occupational cancer risk. "Addressing the occupational cancer epidemic requires a cultural change for the fire service," Frieders said.

"Joe Finn and Richie Paris are leading from the front. Their work together with FCSN illustrates how effective labor-management relationships can be to enhance the safety and well-being of firefighters."

FCSN's training for the Boston Fire Department's 1,400 members began in July. Russell Osgood, a firefighter with the Portsmouth (NH) Fire Department and an FCSN state director, is FCSN's lead instructor for the Boston training. The Boston training is part of an FCSN pilot program funded by a FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety grant. FCSN's firefighter cancer prevention pilot combines FCSN's proven awareness and prevention training with a new train-the-trainer component. The train-the-trainer component will help FCSN ensure consistent, accurate education delivered with highly personal interaction by fellow firefighters and other qualified instructors. Please direct inquiries about FCSN's firefighter cancer prevention pilot to Tim Elliott

attelliott@fcsn.net.

FCSN's 2013 white paper, "Taking Action Against Cancer in the Fire Service," provides lifesaving details about recognizing and reducing firefighters' cancer risks. An excerpt with 11 immediate actions firefighters should take to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow firefighters is available as a free download from http://bit.ly/1HH4zVA. The full white paper is available as a free download HERE:

http://www.firefightercancersupport.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Taking-Action-against-Cancer-in-the-Fire-Service.pdf

Take Care. Be Careful. Pass it On.

BillyG

The Secret List 8-3-2015-1445 hours

www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=4162d8d3-c4f6-4310-b07e-bc631cc9fc2b&c=6a2ac1a0-cd33-11e3-b78e-d4ae527b79b7&ch=6b20e170-cd33-11e3-b7e0-d4ae527b79b7

Fed still holds off on rate increase | 2015-07-30 | CUNA News

 

WASHINGTON (7/30/15)--Citing “moderate” economic expansion, the Federal Open Market Committee continues to do “a balancing act,” said CUNA Senior Economist Perc Pineda.

The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy-making body completed its meeting Wednesday without edging up the federal funds interest rate. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the committee will opt for an interest-rate increase sometime this fall. The July meeting, however, was not the time.

“The Federal Reserve continues to do a balancing act: the U.S. economy is not in a recession and definitely not overheating,” Pineda told News Now. “Changes in monetary policy after all are meant to influence an underperforming or an overheating economy.”

Household spending growth has been moderate, and housing has shown additional improvement, the committee said. Labor conditions continue to improve with declining unemployment and solid job gains.

Inflation is anticipated to remain near its recent low level in the near term, but the committee expects it to gradually rise to 2% over the medium term.

“The Committee currently anticipates that, even after employment and inflation are near mandate-consistent levels, economic conditions may, for some time, warrant keeping the target federal funds rate below levels the Committee views as normal in the longer run,” it said in its statement at the conclusion of Wednesday’s meeting.

Pineda said, “My sense is that raising federal funds rate is really a continuation of the gradual normalization of monetary policy that started last year with the end of quantitative easing (QE). If you look at the trend, monetary base has started to decrease last year when QE ended.  We at CUNA had said before that a rate lift-off may have some ‘announcement effect’ but definitely is not going to stall U.S. economic expansion.”

The baseline forecast is for the Fed to begin normalizing interest rates in September--the first of two increases this year--by raising the target range for the fed funds rate to between 0.25% and 0.5% from between 0% and 0.25%.

“If the Fed doesn’t begin normalizing interest rates in September it will be because of low inflation or strains in global financial market,” said Moody’s analyst Ryan Sweet (Economy.com July 29).

The committee next meets Sept. 16-17.

NCOFCU and Social Media

This is just a reminder that NCOFCU is is everywhere you want to be!

• Facebook
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Stay informed as to what is happening at NCOFCU and the hundreds of followers of NCOFCU. Like Us, Follow Us

Stay in touch with the friends you meet at the conference, Share you thoughts and photos.

Check us out NOW at the above links..or www.ncofcu.org

Is Your Board Packet Online?

 

Is Your Board Packet Online?

Let us show you just how easy it is to get your board packets online.

MyBoardPacket is known as the “easiest to use” and most affordable secure solution on the market. Contact us today to schedule a demo or request pricing information.

To receive your special NCOFCU member discount, let them know who referred you! “NCOFCU”

Contact Them Now →

Join NCOFCU partner Vining Sparks this Thursday for their economic outlook webinar

Join NCOFCU partner Vining Sparks this Thursday for their economic outlook webinar

If you are a portfolio manager, CFO, or CEO/president be sure to join NCOFCU partner Vining Sparks this Thursday, July 16, at 11 a.m. ET for its third quarter economic outlook webinar.

Vining Sparks' Chief Economist Craig Dismuke will evaluate economic developments and fixed income sector performance to identify risks and opportunities within the U.S. market.

To attend this free webinar register today! You will receive instructions to access the webinar after your registration is confirmed. If you do not receive a registration confirmation email, please contact Vining Sparks via email.

This educational event is offered to institutional investors only. Vining Sparks is a member of FINRA/SIPC.

3 Firefighter Credit Unions Make the Top 200 List

Congratulations to Boston Firefighters Credit Union, Denver Fire Department Federal Credit Union and Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union.

Check out complete list and methods of evaluation at: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/health.aspx#healthiest

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

Firefighters First Credit Union President & CEO Mike Mastro -35 years of legendary service

"We would like to congratulate and to thank Firefighters First Credit Union President & CEO Mike Mastro for providing 35 years of legendary service and leadership to the Credit Union and its members! Mike joined the Fire Family in 1980 as an accounting and investment controller and quickly worked his way up to President/CEO. Today, Firefighters First exclusively serves full-time, paid, active and retired professional firefighters and their families throughout the State of California, and has over 32,000 members and assets of $1 billion

Firefighters First Credit Union
Board of Directors and Staff
(https://www.firefightersfirstcu.org)"