In Washington, D.C.
This month, instead of focusing on the daily ebb and flow of advocacy, politics, and electoral machinations, I wanted to spend some time on the other ways that we all practice advocacy in less obvious ways. While lots happened in July, from hearings on the confirmation of the newest NCUA Chair, John Krews, to the jumpstarting of Reconciliation 3.0 and the passage of Board Modernization legislation, for now, let’s focus elsewhere.
In Our Communities
Specifically, in this example, I want to focus on the Great Bourbon Raffle. For me, the raffle is emblematic of all the varied and virtuous efforts that are undertaken across Kentucky by Credit Unions from Middlesboro to Mayfield and everywhere in between.
As has been said many times, effective advocacy is about telling your story, and central to the story of Credit Unions is the idea of "people helping people." That’s what efforts like the Great Bourbon Raffle are at their core: undertakings that provide us an opportunity to put our ability to help others in need ahead of ourselves and our own personal to-do lists.
What This Means for You
By the time this newsletter hits your inbox, there will be only 12 days left before the end of ticket sales for the Great Bourbon Raffle. If you, like me, see this as an advocacy opportunity, please consider not only securing your ticket, but sharing this opportunity with friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and with your members. The more we spread the word, the greater our impact can be.
Please reach out with any questions or if we can be of service in any way.
Sincerely,
Kyle Hagerty
SVP & Chief Advocacy Officer
Great Bourbon Raffle 2026
The Great Bourbon Raffle is an annual event hosted by Kentucky’s Credit Unions, in partnership with Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids). CU4Kids is a cooperative network of credit unions that support nonprofit children’s hospitals in the U.S. through various charitable donations and fundraising activities.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was founded more than 40 years ago with the vision to Change Kids’ Health, Change the Future. To date, they have raised over $9 billion for 170 children’s hospitals.
Every ticket purchased is a chance to win any of the 50 available bourbon packages! Check out each package below!
Service One Credit Union Announces Heather Glass as New Member of Supervisory Committee
Service One Credit Union is pleased to announce Heather Glass, CPA, has been appointed to its Supervisory Committee.
Heather brings a strong background in financial management to the committee. She currently serves as a Pedagogical Assistant Professor of Accounting and Advisor for Beta Alpha Psi at Western Kentucky University, where she teaches courses in financial and managerial accounting and helps prepare the next generation of accounting professionals.
A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Heather earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2009 before completing her Master of Accountancy at the College of Charleston in 2010. She became a Certified Public Accountant in 2013.
Before joining WKU’s faculty, Glass held accounting roles with Fruit of the Loom and the Western Kentucky University Foundation, gaining experience in cost accounting, financial reporting, and fund accounting.
“Heather brings a strong combination of technical accounting knowledge, professional experience, and a commitment to developing future accounting professionals,” said Justin Morris, President and CEO of Service One Credit Union. “Her perspective will strengthen the committee’s oversight work and help ensure we continue operating with the accountability our members expect.”
“I am honored to join the Supervisory Committee and contribute to an organization that is committed to serving its members and community,” said Glass. “I look forward to using my experience to support strong financial oversight and sound governance.”
Heather joined the Gordon Ford College of Business as full-time faculty in 2021. She lives in Bowling Green with her husband, Aaron, and their two children.
Service One Credit Union Announces Kathleen Tosh as New Member of Supervisory Committee
Service One Credit Union is pleased to announce Kathleen Tosh has been appointed to its Supervisory Committee.
Tosh brings more than 27 years of banking and financial services experience to the committee. Throughout her career, she held a variety of roles including teller, lending secretary, various managerial positions, and Vice President of Network Administration for a three-bank holding company.
“Since becoming a member of Service One Credit Union, I have appreciated how deeply the organization is invested in the community,” said Tosh. “I look forward to drawing on my financial-services experience to support strong oversight and help protect the interests of our members.”
The Supervisory Committee oversees audits, evaluates internal controls, and helps ensure compliance with applicable regulations and policies. The committee helps protect the interests of both the credit union and its members.
“Kathleen understands financial institutions from the front line to the executive level,” said Justin Morris, President and CEO of Service One Credit Union. “That breadth of experience, along with the care she shows for others in her community, will bring a valuable and practical perspective to the Supervisory Committee.”
Tosh has been retired for just over two years and enjoys spending her time walking, crocheting, and assisting elderly members of her community. She and her family reside in Bowling Green.
Abound’s Jake Darabos to Serve on KCTCS Foundation Board
Jake Darabos, Chief Financial and Administration Officer for Abound Credit Union, will serve on the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) Foundation Board. He was unanimously approved at last month’s KCTCS Foundation Board meeting.
“Jake is an incredible advocate for education in Central Kentucky. His work with high schools, colleges, and the military make him a great fit for the KCTCS Foundation board,” says Ray Springsteen, President & CEO of Abound Credit Union. “We’re proud of the strong partnership the credit union has built with KCTCS over the years. With Abound leaders working together with local non-profits to support education and meet other vital needs, we can help ensure that all Kentuckians have access to life-changing resources to build a brighter future.”
The Foundation was established in 1999 to advance the vision, mission, goals and objectives of KCTCS and be a cooperative and supportive resource for foundations and funding for the System.
“At KCTCS, we know that student success doesn't happen in isolation - it takes colleges, employers, nonprofits, and community leaders working together to create pathways to opportunity. Jake embodies that collaborative spirit and has been a strong advocate for our colleges across Kentucky,” says Dr. Megan Stith, Vice Chancellor of Advancement at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and a fellow KCTCS Foundation board member. “His financial expertise, strategic leadership, and genuine commitment to strengthening our communities make him an exceptional addition to the KCTCS Foundation board.”
“I’m thrilled to serve on the KCTCS Foundation Board,” says Darabos. “Being a friend-raiser and advocate for the System comes naturally to me and the Foundation’s role aligns with Abound’s deep commitment to the Kentucky communities we serve. It’s a perfect fit and I look forward to contributing my financial skills and expertise.”
Darabos also serves on the board at the Central Kentucky Community Foundation and is on the advisory board for Western Kentucky University Finance.
Learn more about Abound’s community commitment and financial education initiatives at AboundCU.com.
Commonwealth Credit Union Supports Kentucky's State Workforce at Annual Safety Roadeo
Commonwealth Credit Union was honored to be part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s 20th Annual State Equipment Operators’ Safety and Training Roadeo in June 2026 — a statewide gathering that highlights the skill, dedication, and safety standards that keep Kentucky moving. The event brought together equipment operators, district leaders, and Cabinet leadership from across the Commonwealth to strengthen best practices, refine technical abilities, and celebrate the essential work of Kentucky’s transportation professionals.
CCU’s involvement underscored the organization’s commitment to supporting Kentucky’s state workforce, our largest Select Employer Group. By being present throughout several District Roadeos and at the statewide competition, CCU had the opportunity to connect directly with employees who serve communities every day. Team members met attendees at a centrally located tent, answered questions about financial wellness resources, and assisted with account openings, Certificates, and loan applications — reinforcing CCU’s dedication to helping state workers build long term financial stability.
The Roadeo itself reflects the Cabinet’s focus on excellence and safety. Operators demonstrate proficiency with graders, backhoes, skid steers, tractors with mowers, and single and tandem axle dump trucks in a hands on, competitive environment. Top performers advance to the Regional Level, highlighting the significance of the event in strengthening Kentucky’s transportation infrastructure and workforce readiness.
For Commonwealth Credit Union, being represented at the Roadeo is more than participation — it is a continuation of the organization’s commitment to showing up for the people who keep Kentucky’s roads safe and communities connected. Seeing CCU engaged alongside Cabinet leadership and hundreds of operators reinforces the organization’s role as a trusted partner dedicated to supporting the well being of Kentucky families and the employees who serve them.
From the President's Desk
Set the Parameters Before You Need Them
Artificial intelligence is already operating inside your credit union. Not "someday." Now.
Someone in lending is using a free chatbot to clean up a denial letter. Someone in marketing is generating social copy. Your core provider, your fraud platform, and your loan origination system have all quietly added AI features to their release notes. None of that required a board vote — which is precisely the problem.
The question in front of every board and management team is no longer whether to use AI. It is whether the credit union has defined the boundaries within which it will be used.
The regulatory posture is not a reprieve
NCUA has not issued AI-specific rules, and it has signaled no intention to build a separate examination module for AI. Leaders sometimes read that as breathing room. It isn't.
The agency's consistent message is that existing regulation is technology-neutral. Information security standards apply whether a member is served by phone, email, or an AI-enabled tool. Fair lending law applies to a credit decision regardless of what produced the recommendation. Third-party due diligence expectations apply to an AI vendor exactly as they apply to any other critical vendor — NCUA's AI resources point directly back to Letters 07-CU-13 and 01-CU-20.
In other words, there is no new rulebook coming to tell you what you should have done. Examiners will evaluate AI use under the frameworks already on the shelf: safety and soundness, third-party risk, model risk, data security, and fair lending.
What "risk parameters" actually look like
This does not require a hundred-page policy. It requires five decisions, made deliberately and documented.
1. Know what you're running. Build an inventory of AI in use, including AI embedded in vendor platforms you didn't think of as AI purchases. You cannot govern what you haven't catalogued.
2. Tier by member impact. Summarizing a board packet is not the same activity as scoring a loan. Draw a bright line: any use that materially affects a member — credit decisions, pricing, fraud holds, account closures, collections — is high-impact and requires a human decision-maker, documented reasoning, and an adverse action explanation you can actually defend.
3. Define the data boundary. State plainly what member information may never be entered into a public or unvetted tool. Most AI risk in credit unions today is not algorithmic bias; it is a well-meaning employee pasting member data into a consumer website.
4. Extend vendor due diligence to AI. Where does the data go, who trains on it, what happens at contract termination, and can the vendor explain how the output is produced?
5. Retain the ability to stop. Monitoring, periodic validation, and a clear off switch. If a tool starts producing results you can't explain, someone needs the authority to shut it down that afternoon.
The board's role is policy, not prohibition.
Some boards will be tempted to ban AI outright. That approach fails in practice — it doesn't stop use, it simply drives it underground and out of view.
A short, board-approved acceptable use policy, reviewed annually, does more for a credit union than a prohibition ever will. It answers the first three questions an examiner is likely to ask, and it gives staff something they genuinely want: clarity about where the lines are.
Here is the part that gets missed. Risk parameters are not a brake. They are what allows a credit union to move quickly with confidence. The institutions that defined their boundaries early are the ones adopting fastest today, because their people are not guessing.
Set the parameters. Then go build something.
Sincerely,
Jim Kasch
League President
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