2009 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award
State-Level Judging Action Plan

Credit Union Leagues

1. Review the 2009 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award program materials, available on CUNA's Web site.
2. Establish and announce the procedures (including entry fee, if any) and deadline for entries in the state-level competitions. (First-place award winners (no more than one chapter and/or one credit union entry per asset category) must arrive at CUNA by SEPTEMBER 4, 2009, for judging in the national competition.
3. Appoint a staff member to serve as project manager.
4. Establish a method to receive, review, and score the entries. (Be sure and verify the asset size of each credit union as of 12/31/08 before judging.)
5. Customize the Sample Letter from the league president encouraging credit union participation in the Desjardins Award recognition program.
6. Send letter and entry form to all credit unions.
7. Print Sample Newsletter Article and logos in league publications.
8. Select state-level judges.
9. Credit unions and chapters will submit their entries and evidentiary material in a three-ring binder or spiral bound notebook along with a completed Entry Form and a completed Checklist to the league.
10. Conduct state-level judging to determine one first-place winner in each asset category and/or one chapter winner and as many honorable mention winners as judges deem appropriate. (Maximum of one credit union entry per asset category per state and/or one chapter entry per state are eligible for national judging.)
11. Announce state first-place and honorable mention winners using the Sample Press Release.
12. Forward the first-place state-level winning entries to CUNA & Affiliates by SEPTEMBER 4, 2009. Include the completed State-level Submission Form (listing all of the first-place entries) and Entry Fee Payment Form with a share draft in the correct amount.
13. Notify national winners, if any, upon notification from CUNA.
14. Return nonwinning entries, if any, upon receipt from CUNA in November 2009.
15. Return winning entries, if any, upon receipt from CUNA in March 2010.

CUNA

1. Judges evaluate state-level entries during the national competition in October 2009 and choose national Desjardins Award first-place and honorable mention winners.
2. To ensure the integrity of the program, judges will select winners only if they meet the criteria for each category and the judges decide that an award is warranted.
3. The staff liaison to the Desjardins Award notifies the leagues of national winners from their states. (Leagues in turn notify each winning credit union or credit union chapter.)
4. CUNA sends press releases to national winners' leagues and to trade publications.
5. CUNA invites representatives of winning leagues and credit unions to a private awards reception at its February 2010 Governmental Affairs Conference, where winning entries will be on display.

Direct questions about the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award to Philip Heckman (800-356-9655, ext. 4088).