Killarney Credit Union scoops three international awards

Killarney Credit Union received four international awards for excellence last weekend (Saturday 25th November) at an awards ceremony in Bloomsbury, London. The credit union were the recipients of awards from the International Credit Union Leadership Development and Education Foundation.
They were the category winners in the Edward Filene Credit Union Awards for Excellence -Great Britain and Ireland. They were outright winners in the category “Engaging in community outreach and mobilisation” and in the category “Serving as a financial incubator for seed, small and medium sized businesses”. They were runners up in the category “Use of the Media”. They were award a special award for Film Production on the night. 
Speaking about the awards, Pat Delaney, Chairman of Killarney Credit Union stated “it is wonderful accolade to receive these awards from the International Credit Union Leadership Development and Education Foundation. We are honoured to be recognised for our efforts as a credit union by a panel of international business and credit union experts. The adjudication process was comprehensive in nature and it is wonderful to be recognised for credit union excellence in both the UK and Ireland” he concluded.
Previous winners of the Edward Filene Awards were Glenamaddy Credit Union in Galway, there has been no other Irish credit union winner since 2011. In attendance was representatives from credit unions throughout the world including the United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia and United States who received awards as Development Educators for credit unions.
The Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker was Marlene Shiels, O.B.E., F.C.I.B.S.(Hon), I-CUDE, Chief Executive Officer of Capital Credit Union Ltd, Edinburgh who has recently been invested with the “Order of the British Empire” (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen; it is believed she is the first credit unionist to be so honoured.
In presenting the award for Performance Excellence for a Credit Union serving as a financial incubator for seed, small and medium enterprises operated by credit union owner-members, the judge stated
“Killarney Credit Union is a powerhouse of social enterprise and community social and economic empowerment, passionate evangelists for what they do, and so has become the winning credit union for performance excellence in lending to owner-members to develop their businesses. They added “As someone long involved in the alternative business finance sector, I can only be impressed by the professional standard and legal compliance of this business growth and bridging loan initiative, which never loses its focus on supporting the local community. The financial capability is there, behind the scenes, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the credit union shines through” they concluded.
In presenting the award for Performance Excellence for Engaging in community outreach and mobilisation by a credit union, the judges stated
“Killarney Credit Union is an extraordinary credit union”. They added “Sport is an integral part of the Irish psyche, so this simple but effective method of tapping into the competitive nature and local loyalties has reaped great rewards” they concluded.
As runner up in the “Use of the Media” category, the credit union was recognised for its use of social media and website for engagement with its members and communicating relevant messages to its target audience.
Representing the credit union on the night were Pat Delaney, Chairman of Killarney Credit Union, Stephen Darmody, Financial Controller and Helen Courtney Power, Business Development Officer.
Pat Delaney added “we would like to thank the Foundation for these awards and are proud to bring home the awards back to South Kerry and proudly display them in our 3 branches” he concluded.

l-r Helen Courtney Power, Business Development Officer, Pat Delaney, Board Chairman and Stephen Darmody, Financial Controller, Killarney Credit Union with their winning awards in the Edward Filene Credit Union Awards for Excellence -Great Britain and Ireland at an awards ceremony in Bloomsbury, London on Saturday 25th November 2017.

Photo 1: Helen Courtney Power, Business Development Officer, Killarney Credit Union accepting the award on behalf of Killarney Credit Union in the Edward Filene Credit Union Awards for Excellence -Great Britain and Ireland from Marlene Shiels, O.B.E., F.C.I.B.S.(Hon), I-CUDE, Chief Executive Officer of Capital Credit Union Ltd, Edinburgh at an awards ceremony in London on Saturday 25th November.

For more information on the foundation: http://www.iculdef.org