New blood could be good for Coast Central

In Kelly Walsh’s My Word in the Times-Standard on Jan. 12, 2023, he seems to imply that the Members Voice Slate, made up of Rees Hughes, James Kloor, and Maricela Aceves Wexler, might be running for the three seats on the Coast Central Credit Union’s Board of Directors to get some kind of financial reward for themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you have been lucky enough to know one or all of these people personally, you know they are incredibly dedicated and hardworking community volunteers who want the best for their community. As successful and popular as CCCU is on the North Coast, it has become clear that the board has not been willing to consider ideas that other highly successful credit unions have done to help their communities flourish.

The board chair has served on the board for 46 years. If they are elected, the Members Voice Slate simply hopes that by sticking together they will be a strong enough new voice on the board to be heard. Their goal is to have the board, and the very capable staff, evaluate some of the things that other credit unions do to help their communities, and see if any of them would be good for both the north coast and CCCU.

I have served on a few nonprofit boards, and am currently serving on the board of the Humboldt Trails Council, which is near and dear to my heart. A little new blood can be good for an organization, and if any or all of these three candidates wanted to join our board I am sure we would be glad to have them.

Strong organizations, like CCCU, are usually secure organizations. So to me, the question is, why does this board feel so threatened by some of its member/owners, that aren’t hand selected by them, joining the board hoping to find ways to improve both the organization and their community?