Message by Mr. Arthur Renaud, the President of the Board of Directors of the GCCU

Once again it is indeed my honor to address you as president on the occasion of our 23rd Annual General Meeting and as we celebrate our 25th year of existence under the theme “Recognising contributions, celebrating achievements, a financial family on the move”. I’m indeed proud to report that we have made significant strides with a membership of over six thousand, assets of over twenty five million, savings of over twenty million and loans over nineteen million. We have definitely played our part in impacting in the lives of our citizens; I think the credit union needs a round of applause for that.

As a credit union that is focus on the development of its people, over the years we have successfully been able to develop and deliver a number of member centred and innovative products and services which we have been able to deliver in a very accommodating environment. Our efforts to directly impact the development of our members have not only been recognised locally but have led to other partnerships. One search initiative that we are very proud of is our focus and the development of micro sector and as you go around the town of Grenville in particular you would observe how many small businesses that the credit union has invested in with the view to develop the micro sector, they need again a round of applause for this investment.

This has led to partnership with organisation such as Caribbean capacity to building project and United Nation trust fund human security project. Through those partnerships we are now getting assistance with both financial and technical support which many of our members can testify to and I say that because we have been engaging our membership in training and as you have heard from Garfin representative, he alluded to the fact as well, he understands the important so he made mention of it. This is ongoing my dear colleagues, the time would come when every one of you would have the opportunity to train so that you can make financial and prudent decisions. So as we celebrate we are very mindful that our achievements to date did not happen over night, some of our early pioneers made great personal sacrifice and commitment. Persons such as Mr. Roy Richardson, Mr. Junior Noel, Mr. Kingston David, Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Jones, Mr. Eugene Joseph, brother Leroy Cadet, Mr. Perceval Burke, Mr. Emerson Murray, Mr. Clifford Mc Intyre, Mr. Gordon Horsford, Mr. Eversley Andrew, Mr. Alfred Andrew, Ms. Winfred Baptiste, Mr. Baptiste and many more who have championed the cause. Over the years we’ve continued to see a good level of commitment and dedication from many members who would have served as officers from time to time with a staff that is well equipped.

Additionally I would like to recognise you members for your loyalty and contribution over the years because without you there is no credit union, without you the members there is no survival for the credit union. So as we gather to discuss the business of our credit union over the last year I must indeed remind you that these are trying economic times and therefore requires significant adjustment in financial attitudes, consistent with our core values, caring for members, moral integrity, trust, financial prudence, social responsibility and co-operation, it is now more critical that as members we continue to practice those values.