News Release - February 1, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS—“Fired-up” describes the atmosphere at the first gathering of ignite, where 20 innovative credit union professionals from 17 credit unions attended a kick-off meeting at the office of the Indiana Credit Union League.

The first of its kind at the state level, ignite is a joint venture between the Indiana League and three Indiana credit union representatives who are associated with the Filene Research Institute’s i3 program. Those three individuals are: Doug True, SVP of Technovation at FORUM CU and President of FORUM Solutions; Bob Falk, President and Chief Operating Officer at Purdue EFCU; and Nan Morrow, Vice President of Corporate Development at Centra CU. They comprise the ignite Leadership Team.

In addition to support from the Indiana Credit Union League and Servicecorp, ignite receives sponsorship support from Members United Corporate FCU and the CUNA Mutual Group.

Themed “Fuel for Innovation,” the kick-off meeting was the first opportunity for members of the working groups to meet one another and discuss various innovations they may engineer for credit unions and their members. The group of 20 was divided into four working groups of five members each, and they began developing ideas for their innovations, which will be introduced at meetings later in the year.

“ignite goes beyond networking to be a cross-credit union collaborative effort, where the groups will be solving issues we all face,” said Bob Falk, president of Purdue EFCU. “The best thing would be if these teams come up with solutions we’ve never dreamed of.”

“The ignite working groups are off to a fast start, and they are getting down to business right away,” said Doug True SVP of Technovation at FORUM CU and President of FORUM Solutions. “We are impressed they are already collaborating and using the ignite portal to share information and we’re looking forward to our May checkpoint, when we’ll gather again for an update on everyone’s progress.”

A special portal is the main communication tool for the ignite working groups. It has been generously donated by Passageways, a CUSO of Purdue EFCU. It will be used in a variety of ways by the working groups, including sharing project information, posing questions to on another, and keeping track of dates and time lines.

“This is a high-energy, impressive group of individuals,” said Nan Morrow, Vice President of Corporate Development at Centra CU. “Credit unions and their members across our state and potentially across the country, will be able to benefit from the innovations that they will develop.”

“As our League puts additional emphasis on offering more for the emerging leaders at Indiana’s credit unions, the ignite initiative fits perfectly into our plans,” said League President John McKenzie. “This group of talented, creative and enthusiastic individuals represents credit unions of varying types and sizes and we are looking forward to their contributions through being part of ignite.”

At the kick-off meeting, ideas were sparked by the featured speaker, Denise Gabel, Chief Innovation Officer with the Filene Research Institute, who also oversees the i3 program. She outlined the processes used by members of the i3 working groups and provided highlights of the innovative projects undertaken by those groups.

Debby Blake, Manager, Contact Center, FORUM CU
Tim Lukomski, CFO/VP Support Services, Heritage FCU
Carolyn Probasco, Manager/CEO, Members United FCU
Michael Hostetler, Marketing Coordinator, Finance Center FCU
Kevin Kosek, Director, Business Development, REGIONAL FCU
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Blake Dearing, Mortgage Sales Manager, FORUM CU
Lora Davison, CFO, Northern Indiana FCU
Jan Chronic, SVP Marketing, Eli Lilly FCU
Charles King, Corporate Attorney, Hoosier Hills CU
Gary Icenogle, VP Marketing & Business Development, NorthPark Community CU
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Becky Summers, Vice President, Teachers CU
Marie "Sam" Shanks, Executive VP, Indiana State University FCU
Jim Johnson, VP Member Services, Three Rivers FCU
Tony Meier, AVP - Business Development Officer, Evansville Teachers FCU
Kevin Sparks, VP/CFO, Crane FCU
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Brian Wilkerson, VP/COO, KEMBA CU
Chad Gramling, Product Manager, Three Rivers FCU
Joe Hasto, CFO, Eli Lilly FCU
Evelyn Royer, VP Risk Management/Support Services, Purdue EFCU
Michelle Peterson, Marketing Manager, Marion School ECU

Members of the ignite working groups are shown with representatives of the ignite Leadership Team and sponsor organizations.
Back row, from left:
League President John McKenzie; Tony Meier, Evansville Teachers FCU; Bob Falk, Purdue EFCU; Tim Lukomski, Heritage FCU; Kevin Sparks, Crane FCU; Brian Wilkerson, KEMBA CU; Joe Hasto, Eli Lilly FCU; Jim Johnson, Three Rivers FCU; Becky Summers, Teachers CU; Jan Chronic, Eli Lilly FCU; Marie "Sam" Shanks, Indiana State University FCU; Blake Dearing, FORUM CU; Charles King, Hoosier Hills CU; Lora Davison, CFO, Northern Indiana FCU; Kevin Kosek, REGIONAL FCU.
Seated, from left:
Doug True, FORUM CU; Denise Gabel, Filene Research Institute; Charlie White, Members United Corporate FCU; Nan Morrow, Centra CU; Gary Icenogle, NorthPark Community CU; Chad Gramling, Three Rivers FCU; Carolyn Probasco, Members United FCU; Debby Blake, FORUM CU; Michael Hostetler, Finance Center FCU; Michelle Peterson, Marion School ECU; Evelyn Royer, Purdue EFCU; League VP Communications Kay Neidlinger; League VP Consulting & Education Joe Guilfoy.

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