The CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council and CUNA Technology Council recognized its best and brightest through ten awards presented at the recent CUNA Operations & Member Experience and CUNA Technology Council virtual conference, September 21-23. The winners and their achievements will be presented in a future issue of Credit union magazine.

Click here to see the full price presentation.

“We are delighted that so many professional credit union professionals are joining us in honoring the accomplishments of their peers,” said Brad Aspgren, Chair of the Awards and Recognition Committee and Senior Vice President of Operations , American Airlines FCU. “The work of the winners was inspiring.

The Technology Excellence Awards recognize credit union technology professionals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and innovation in their field. This year’s winners included:

• The best of the show: FCU Kinecta in Manhattan Beach, Calif., for their “Credit Card Pre-Approval Using Machine Learning” entry (assets> $ 500 million)
• Mountain America CU in Sandy, Utah, for their entry “Automated Balance Transfer Payment Tool” (assets> $ 500 million)
• GECU in El Paso, Texas, for their entry “Virtualization of GECU’s On Premise Core Mainframe Processing Infrastructure” (assets> $ 500 million)
• UFCU in Austin, Texas, for their “Reinventing the Loan Application Experience” entry (assets> $ 500 million)

The Excellence in Operations & Member Experience Awards are also presented to professionals who have facilitated unique, innovative or exceptional approaches to member service in their credit unions. This year’s winner is included

• The best of the show: Worker UC in Littleton, Massachusetts, for their entry “Workers PlanIt: Design and technology to upgrade personal service and advance member financial wellness” (assets> $ 500 million) in the Branch Design category
• UC capital in Fargo, ND, for the Branch Design category for their “New Veterans Blvd. Branch entrance (assets> $ 500 million)
• Carter FCU in Shreveport, Louisiana, won the Contact Center / E-Support Operations category for its entry “2020 RDC Growth: How Carter CU Was Prepared to Maintain the Pandemic” Lift “to Volume” (assets> $ 500 million)
• UNFCU in Long Island City, NY, won in the Miscellaneous category for its “Digital Card Access” entry (assets> $ 500 million)

The Professional of the Year award for the CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council and CUNA Technology Council recognizes individuals who exemplify excellence in all aspects of operations, member experience and information technology. This year’s winners:

• Professional of the Year 2021 for operations and member experience: Amy Rodriguez, Experiment Director, New Orleans Fire Department FCU, Metairie, La.
• Tech Professional of the Year 2021: Stephenie southard, RSSI, BCU, Vernon Hills, Illinois.

The Top Community Contributor Awards recognize the value and expertise shared with peers through collaboration within the CUNA board community. This year’s winners include:

• Winner of the 2021 Membership Operations and Experience Award for Top Community Contributor: Joe corna, Branch Manager, Honda FCU, Marysville, Ohio
• Winner of the 2021 award for best contributor to the tech community: Therese Fichtner, VP of Information Technology, NW Preferred FCU, Tigard, Ore.

Finally, Vendor Speed ​​Rounds provided exhibiting vendors with fast, high-impact opportunities to present and demonstrate their products and services to conference attendees. This year’s Best of Show winner is:

• 2021 Speed ​​Rounds – Best of Show Winner: interface.ai – Phone banking powered by artificial intelligence

interface.ai has developed an AI powered phone bank to solve all call center challenges for credit unions using Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) technology. Interface.ai’s AI-based telephone banking helps credit unions seamlessly manage their increased call volumes by automating the majority of calls in just weeks, ensuring CUs maintain service levels high levels and delivering personalized, human-like experiences on the 24×7 call center.

CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council and CUNA Technology Council congratulate the 17 worthy applicants from credit unions across the country. Next year’s conference will take place September 21-24, 2022 in Las Vegas.

Visit cunacouncils.org/ometech for more information.