The Texas Credit Union Foundation will honor the dedication, commitment and hard work of Texas’ best financial literacy advocates with the presentation of its annual FOCUS Awards during a special award ceremony at the Texas Credit Union League’s 6th Annual Meeting & Expo April 7, at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine.

The 2010 FOCUS Awards recipients include the following leaders who have demonstrated their unwavering passion to providing financial literacy:

• Lee Stafford, financial educator/marketing specialist with Education Credit Union in Amarillo, in the Individual category;
• Mandy Clayton, financial education specialist with FivePoint Credit Union in Nederland, in the Project National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) Network Member category;
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union in Universal City in the Credit Union category;
• The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions in the Chapter category; and
• El Paso Credit Union Affordable Housing LLC CUSO in the Organization category.

This year’s winners diversified their creativity and delivery in the following ways:

• Lee Stafford launched Education Credit Union’s financial literacy program in January 2009 and presented the merits of financial education to an outstanding 4, 663 individuals;
• Mandy Clayton, through a partnership with Junior Achievement of the Golden Triangle and the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP), increased her credit union’s financial education recipients total from 600 individuals in 2008 to more than 3,000 in 2009;
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union’s Jr. Duel in Ol’ San Antonio engaged 10 area high schools in a competitive program revolving around money managing principles found in the NEFE HSFPP curriculum;
• The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions’ second annual Youth Financial Literacy Fair welcomed more than 200 individuals to a selection of booths operated by staffers of various Austin credit unions, Foundation volunteers and the Office of the Comptroller; and
• The El Paso Credit Union Affordable Housing CUSO teaches valuable financial and homeowner classes, free of charge, to local communities.  In 2009 alone, 73 classes were held, in English and Spanish, for 1,125 participants.

“The Foundation’s FOCUS Awards recognize the brightest leaders in the Texas credit union movement for the difference they are making within the lives of their members and communities, and it is a tremendous honor to recognize these champions of the financial literacy cause in front of their peers and families,” says Courtney Nickles, CUDE, executive director of the Foundation.