Michigan's generous assistance to the nascent credit union movement in Macedonia has earned five individuals and the MCUL a prestigious national award.
 USAID Chief of Staff Brock Bierman, second from left, joins President's Volunteer Service Award recipients, from left, Carolyn Miller, Kevin O'Connor, Hank Hubbard and Drew Egan. |
Brock Bierman, chief of staff for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, attended the MCUL Board of Directors meeting Dec. 12 to personally present, "on behalf of the President of the United States," the President's Volunteer Service Award.
Present to receive the award were CUcorp President/COO Drew Egan; Communicating Arts CU (MW) President/CEO Hank Hubbard; MCUL Consultant Carolyn Miller; and credit union consultant and former CEO Kevin O'Connor. Egan also accepted the award on behalf of MCUL Senior Consultant Doris Brown. MCUL Chairman Terry Pierce and President/CEO David Adams accepted the MCUL's award.
Bierman praised the work of the award recipients as an example of the "citizen diplomacy" helping promote understanding and better relations between the U.S. and the other nations across the globe.
"The impact of MCUL's voluntary service extends beyond good will — it has helped USAID accomplish its mission through the sharing of technical expertise and best practices which, in turn, empowers the Macedonian people to contribute to their country's economic growth and development," Bierman said.
"Receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award is a tremendous individual honor — but these awards were only made possible through the support and assistance of Michigan credit unions and the MCUL," Egan said.
"The Macedonian project is just an example of how the core credit union values of service and volunteerism transcend the barriers of nationality, culture and language. We're all gratified by the role we've been fortunate enough to play in helping credit unions in Macedonia, but we're particularly proud of the commitment shown in this effort by the Michigan credit union movement to credit union philosophy and values."
The Macedonian project was launched in 2002 as a cooperative effort among the MCUL, the World Council of Credit Unions, Michigan credit unions and Macedonia. Through the project, Michigan has provided volunteer consulting, office equipment and financial resources to help firmly establish a growing credit union movement in Macedonia. Located in southeastern Europe and formerly part of Yugoslavia, the landlocked nation is bordered by Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania |