FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2015
Contact:
Joanne Belanger, 608-243-5000×2833,
joanne.belanger@summitcreditunion.com
Cheryl Tessier, APR, 608-695-6510,
ctessier@finessepr.net
Summit awarded Cooperative Builder and TOP COOP honors
MADISON, Wisconsin — Summit Credit Union was recently awarded the prestigious Cooperative Builder Award, as well as the international TOP COOP Award of Merit.
The Cooperative Builder Award is the Cooperative Network’s highest honor, reserved for individuals who advance the cooperative movement at the local, state, regional or national level. Honorees are members, employees or friends of notable cooperatives. This year, Kim Sponem, CEO/president of Summit Credit Union, won the award in recognition of her work benefitting Summit and the cooperative movement as a whole.
Sponem, who has a nearly 20-year history with Summit, serves on the Wisconsin Credit Union League Governmental Affairs Committee and the UW–Madison School of Human Ecology Board of Visitors. She is also a board member for the Credit Union Executives Society, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Federation of America. Sponem is an active member of the L15 Group, an international group of credit union CEOs from the US, Canada and Australia who discuss the advancements and challenges in the credit union movement in each country.
“As a builder of credit unions, Kim deserves much credit. But as an innovator who understands that credit unions must do much more for members, and communities, than just provide low-cost, consumer-friendly financial services, she stands out as an effective, visionary leader.” said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.
Sponem was one of four recipients of the Cooperative Builder Award on Nov. 18 at the Cooperative Network’s annual meeting in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Summit Credit Union was also awarded the TOP COOP Award of Merit in the category of Involvement and Mobilization as part of the second annual International Summit of Cooperatives held in Canada. Specifically, this international award recognizes the excellence of Summit’s Co-op Connection, the free public event Summit hosts to celebrate cooperatives and their contributions to communities. The event also kicks off National Co-op Month.
The fourth annual Co-op Connection, held Oct. 4, drew a crowd of nearly 3,000 people and featured 25 interactive booths with co-ops and co-op support organizations, free product samples of cupcakes, bars and fair-trade coffee, live demonstrations including martial arts and balloon animals, and live music from a local singer-songwriter.
“Despite the chilly weather, folks came out to learn about cooperatives and the value they bring to communities. Our goals for the event were met and then some,” Sponem said. “We are honored that the Co-op Connection was recognized with a TOP COOP Award of Merit and that Summit Credit Union is itself becoming recognized as a leader in the co-op movement. It’s yet another reason for our members to be proud of their credit union.”
The International Summit of Cooperatives, which took place in Quebec City from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9, honored eight winners from six countries with inaugural TOP COOP awards. The awards are part of an international competition with the aim of showcasing and honoring enterprises that promote their cooperative’s positioning through innovative advertising and communication campaigns and initiatives. The first edition received 30 entries from 10 countries. Winners and finalists were determined by a jury of no less than 24 individuals representing 16 nations.
About Summit Credit Union:
Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative open to anyone in Wisconsin. Summit holds $2.1 billion in assets and has more than 142,000 members with 30 locations throughout the Madison and Milwaukee areas. For more information, visit www.summitcreditunion.com or call 608-243-5000 or 1-800-236-5560.
About Cooperative Network:
Cooperative Network serves more than 400 Wisconsin and Minnesota member-cooperatives by providing government relations, education, marketing and technical services for a wide variety of cooperatives including farm supply, health, dairy marketing, consumer, financial, livestock marketing, telecommunications, electric, housing, insurance, worker-owned cooperatives and more. For more information about the Cooperative Network, visit www.cooperativenetwork.coop.
About International Summit of Cooperatives:
The International Summit of Cooperatives is a nonprofit organization based in Montreal, Canada. Its mission is to identify the main business challenges facing cooperative and mutual enterprises and to provide them with solutions to encourage their development and improve their performance while promoting the benefits of the cooperative business model on the world stage. For more information about the International Summit of Cooperatives, visit www.intlsummit.coop.
