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Australian CUs have experienced strong growth in retail deposits at the expense of their regional banking rivals. http://ow.ly/goIE 2 days ago

Yakima Valley CUs have benefited from larger banks troubles as membership, deposit growth, and overall presence expand. http://ow.ly/goHD 2 days ago

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Wash. State CUs have seen a 313% mortgage loan increase over the last 10 years, with lower car loan, savings deposit increases. See Mon. NN. 2 days ago

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Oregon state campaign uses models from CUs

BEAVERTON, Ore. (4/6/07)--The Credit Union Association of Oregon (CUAO) is "Oregonizing" its statewide awareness campaign, You Belong, with models and locations from the credit union community in new ads.

The ads begin in newspapers and billboards this month. They feature catchy reasons to convey the credit union difference.

The Credit Union Association of Oregon's statewide awareness campaign, You Belong, is shown on a billboard featuring Noah Oliver, son of Alisha Oliver, assistant vice president of branch operations for the Slayton branch of NW Preferred FCU. (Photo provided by the Credit Union Association of Oregon)

Kicking off the campaign is Reason No. 13: Our Stock is in You. It features poster child Noah Oliver, son of Alisha Oliver, assistant vice president of branch operations at the Stayton branch of NW Preferred FCU, handing his piggy bank to a teller.

"Credit unions--mine in particular--are such a big part of our lives, so for him to be able to help bring awareness to the credit union movement in such a small way makes me proud," said Noah's mother. "I firmly believe in this industry and what we do for people; for Noah to be involved in the cause is fabulous."

CUAO says it received a great response from credit unions to its call for models, which asked for children in a variety of ages. "We wanted to use models from our own credit unions as a way to really personalize the campaign and also to thank our credit unions for participating in the campaign," said Laura Wieking, manager of communications for CUAO.

Also participating in the photo shoot were kids representing Cutting Edge FCU, Milwaukie; Oregon Community CU, Eugene; and Pacific Northwest FCU and NW Priority CU, both of Portland.

Although one image will be used in the formal campaign, the participating credit unions can use customized campaign materials that incorporate their model in their branches. A second image, also using credit union models, is in production.