101st Annual Meeting Highlights

Our Centennial Year In Review

On Wednesday, May 14, we presented our 101st Annual Meeting, joined by 91 members and their guests. We reflected on the accomplishments of our Centennial year and got a peek at how we have begun our second century of service to our members and community.  Board Chairman Joe Battaglia reported several highlights from 2024, including the addition of 217 new members, the funding of 737 loans totaling over $9.7 million, and welcoming a brand new SEG group, (The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Local #2349) to our membership family! Chairman Battaglia also spoke about our year-long Centennial Celebration and how significant it was to be recognized by Luminate Louisiana Credit Unions as the first and longest-operating credit union in Louisiana! To see how we celebrated all year long, check out the Year in Review photo gallery below!

Supervisory Committee Chairman, Charlie Chandilora, presented in his report that 4 audits (Member Account Verification; ACH Audit; Agreed Upon Procedures; and Bank Secrecy Audit) were all clean with no significant findings. We congratulate Dennis Brouphy & Louis E. Adams on their election to the Board of Directors by acclamation. The Financials report was shared by Board Treasurer, Dennis Brouphy, which showed a 2024 net income of $252,369 and assets totaling $50.1 million.

Chairman Battaglia announced that he was stepping down from his role as the meeting came to an end. A copy of the annual report can be viewed by scrolling all the down on this page.

Centennial year in review: video slideshow

Chairman Battaglia & CEO Michelle Duhe spotlighted our year-long Centennial Celebration and were quite pleased to see such an increase in member engagement and changes to our profile in the community created through our year-long events such as:

  • I Love POECU week

  • Shamrock Sweepstakes

  • Shred & Switch to eStatments Day

  • Frozen Treat Summer

  • Credit Union Fest

  • Pumpkin Prize Path

  • Free Photos with Santa

  • and many more!
    A slideshow reflecting all Centennial activities was shown before the meeting began. You can watch it here >>>>

2025 Meeting Photos

Raffle Prize Winners

Congratulations to Our Winners of $100 Each

  1. Jeanne Ruda

  2. Deanne Jones

  3. Nellie Dennis

  4. Johnthreesixteen Smith

  5. Nicholas J. Shambra Jr.

  6. Herbert Bellock

  7. Joe Lopinto

  8. Beatrice Haynes

  9. Joy Vullo

  10. Mary Parfait

  11. Parker Wegman

  12. Janice McGee

  13. Danielle Beamon

  14. Jesse Tauzier

  15. Greta Boudoin

Congratulations to our 50/50 Winners!
Want to know who split the cash pot?

 

  • Stacy Melton

  • Marie Michelle Duhe.

Michelle Duhe and Stacy Melton won the 50/50 and split the pot

Awards and Achievements

Scholarship Winner

 

We are very proud to announce Miss. Jamari Butler as the winner of our 2025 Guy L. Comes Memorial Scholarship!

Jamari is an exemplary scholar who graduated with a 3.8 GPA from Benjamin Franklin High School. While there, she served as President of the Slam Poetry Club and was devoted to many extracurriculars, including Talent Advanced Theatre, Black Girls United, Crochet for a Cause, and Choir. She also displayed athletic achievement on the Varsity Volleyball team.

We congratulate Jamari and wish her much success as she pursues a college degree in Psychology at Florida A&M University.

 

Employee of the Year

 

We were thrilled to name Jody Brooks, Director of Marketing & Business Development, our 2024 Employee of the Year!

Jody coordinated all aspects of our year-long 100th Anniversary Celebration, which included a Centennial video showcasing the legacy and future of POECU. She hosted events every month to bolster member engagement and visibility in the community. In her first year as Director of Marketing & Business Development, she brought fresh ideas, strong strategy and sincere passion that’s energized our organization! She also ushered in our first new SEG in years - the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees.

 

Special Honors Bestowed on our Retiring Board Members

 

Joe Battaglia, Chairman of the Board, announced his retirement from the Board after 2 years of service as Chairman. After leading POECU through our Centennial, Joe felt it was a perfect time to pass the torch, knowing that POECU is in great hands to move into the 101st year and beyond.

Joe has spent over 35 years exhibiting passion and commitment to the entire Credit Union movement and has achieved many milestones in his storied career. In addition to serving as Board Chairman, he was also a member of the Supervisory Committee and was the former Executive Vice President of POECU. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Homeland FCU. Through it all, he often traveled to DC and Baton Rouge as an advocate for credit unions lobbying Congress to maintain credit union tax exemption status and to support pro-credit union legislation. Joe was proud to share stories of all the good things that credit unions do for our members and local communites . Thank you Joe, your hard work has been instrumental to the advancement of POECU and the entire Credit Union Movement!

 

Terry Kennard was unable to join us at this year’s meeting, where his retirement from our Board of Directors was also announced. Terry has served on the POECU Board of Directors since 1998. In his 28 years of dedicated service, he served on numerous sub-committees including: the Compensation Committee, the Insurance Committee & the Marketing Committee. All of his work has helped POECU to grow, evolve and remain relevant in the financial instution environment.

We are so appreciative of your decades of passion and commitment to the members of our POECU family!

 

Missed the Meeting?

Receive a printed copy of the Annual Report emailed to you by contacting the Credit Union at memberservices@poecu.org or call (504) 885-6871

If you prefer to view a digital version of the report, just click the photo to the left.
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