About Annie Vamper
When Annie Wilma Vamper passed away on May 19, 1990, the Community Development Credit Union movement lost one of its heroes — and an important part of its history. For more than 30 years, Annie Vamper served in virtually every role that the credit union movement has to offer. Born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1933, she started as a volunteer with the College City Elks Lodge FCU in 1958. By 1962, she began working with the M.C.E. FCU, where she served as manager until 1966.
During the War on Poverty in the 1960s, Annie was recruited to become the Credit Union Coordinator for Dade Economic Opportunity Program in Florida, where she organized, chartered, and trained the staff of twelve neighborhood credit unions. Her work caught the attention of the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions, and she became a Limited-Income Credit Union Specialist for the Southeast Region. She joined the team of Project Moneywise, to promote consumer education and cooperation among low-income people. In 1972, as the nation began to turn away from the problems of the poor, Annie returned to managing a credit union, Coulter Electronics Employees FCU, where she served for 8 years before being recruited again by the National Credit Union Administration.
With the passage of the Community Development Credit Union Revolving Loan Fund, NCUA moved to establish a new CDCU division, and Annie became its second in command. But by 1982, the office was dissolved, a victim of deregulation and the ebbing interest in programs to help the poor. Annie accepted a transfer to New Jersey, where she entered into training to become a field examiner for NCUA. But by this time, her unique skills and interest no longer were valued by the agency. In September 1983, she left NCUA for the last time.
It was then that she came to the Inclusiv, joining its only remaining staff member, Cliff Rosenthal, in the rebuilding Inclusiv. She became Associate Director — and chief financial officer, Capitalization Program staff, regulatory analyst, and “godmother” to half a dozen new CDCUs formed during the 1980s.
Until her death in 1990, she gave every ounce of her strength, her commitment, and her love to the CDCU movement. In 1993, the "Helping Hands" Award was created to honor Annie Vamper’s memory, along with the dedication of Inclusiv’s training center at our New York City headquarters.
The "Helping Hands" Award celebrates those individuals whose unselfish work for the CDCU movement carry-on Annie’s legacy.
Past Award Winners
2023
Sue Cuevas, President/CEO, Nueva Esperanza Community CU (Toledo, OH)
Sheilah Montgomery, President/CEO, Florida A&M University FCU (Tallahassee, FL)
2022
Judy S. DeLucca, President/CEO, New Orleans Firemen’s FCU (Metairie, LA)
Maria J. Martínez, President/CEO, Border, FCU (Del Rio, TX)
Gregg H. Brown, President/CEO, South Side Community FCU (Chicago, IL)
2019
Maurice Smith, CEO, Local Government FCU (Raleigh, NC)
2018
Linda Levy, President/CEO, Lower East Side People’s FCU (New York, NY)
2017
Jim Masini, Board Treasurer, North Side Community FCU (Chicago, IL)
2016
Laura Aguirre, President/CEO, Hawaii First FCU (Kamuela, HI)
2015
Eunice Rogers, President/CEO, NRS Community Development FCU (Birmingham, AL)
2014
Rita L. Haynes, CEO Emeritus, Faith Community United Credit Union (Cleveland, OH)
2013
Harriet B. May, Retired President/CEO, GECU (El Paso, TX)
2012
Phillip H. (Phil) Conner, Mt. Zion Indianapolis FCU (Indianapolis, IN)
Helen Godfrey Smith, Shreveport FCU (Shreveport, LA)
2011
Mignhon Tourné, ASI FCU (Harahan, LA)
Kim Vermander, Communicating Arts CU (Detroit, MI)
2010
Rebecca "Becky" Anderson, Northwest Baptist FCU (Seattle, WA)
Marcus Bordelon, Appalachian FCU (Berea, KY)
2009
No award presented in 2009.
2008
Ed Jacob, Northside Community FCU (Chicago, IL)
Daniel Morrisey, Queen of Peace Arlington FCU (Arlington, VA)
2007
William Bynum, Hope FCU (Jackson, MS)
John Dupree, Jr., Shiloh of Alexandria FCU (Alexandria, VA)
2006
Rev. Dr. Tommy Chapelle, NRS Community Development FCU (Birmingham, AL)
John Isbister, Santa Cruz Community CU (Santa Cruz, CA)
Thad Moore, Self-Help CU (Durham, NC)
2005
Lillian M. Bent, Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY)
Daisy Q. White, 1st Delta FCU (Marks, MS)
2004
William Myers, Alternatives FCU ( Ithaca, NY)
José Feliciano Vélez, Electro-Coop (San Juan, PR)
2003
Eddie Ayers, Demopolis FCU (Demopolis, AL)
Lillie Hackney, Imani FCU (Memphis, TN)
2002
Maria Berkowitz, Central Appalachian Peoples FCU (Berea, KY)
James Gilliam, St. Luke CU (Windsor, NC)
Mary Spink, Lower East Side People’s FCU (New York, NY)
2001
Audrey Cerise, ASI FCU (New Orleans, LA)
Robert L. Coleman, Jr., Northwest Baptist FCU (Seattle, WA)
Loretta Moesta, OUR FCU (Eugene, OR)
James H. Parson, Church of the Master FCU (New York, NY)
2000
John Stovall, Zion United CU (Denver, CO)
Antonio & Elodia Elizondo, Weslaco Catholic FCU (Weslaco, TX)
Charles Green, Cory Methodist Church CU (Cleveland, OH)
Reverend Carl Brown, Quitman County CD FCU (Marks, MS)
1999
Almedia Knight & Daisy Dobbins, Brooklyn Ecumenical FCU (Brooklyn, NY)
Ruth C. Carter, New Hope Baptist Church of East Orange FCU (East Orange, NJ)
Dr. Hiram Crawford, Jr., Israel Methcomm FCU (Chicago, IL)
Jerry Weitz, Mission Area FCU (San Francisco, CA)
Catherine Mayfield, St. Charles Borromeo Church FCU (NewYork, NY)
1998
Robert Shipe, First American CU (Window Rock, AZ)
Bette Mercia, Binghampton Housing Authority Residents FCU (Binghamton, NY)
Elizabeth Ahart, Faith Community United CU (Cleveland, OH)
Ruth Atkins, Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY)
1997
Curtis W. Monroe, D. Edward Wells FCU (Springfield, MA)
Carl E. Stewart, Water & Power FCU (Los Angeles, CA)
1996
Joy Cousminer, Bethex FCU (Bronx, NY)
Eugene Sklar, Union Settlement FCU (New York, NY)
Adolfo Alayon, Community Action of Bedford Stuyvesant (Brooklyn, NY)
1995
Woodrow Keown, College Station CD FCU (College Station, AR)
Clyde Johnson, South-Central People’s FCU (Los Angeles, CA)
1994
Mary Walker, Hill District FCU (Pittsburgh, PA)
James Caskey, South Baltimore Community FCU (Baltimore, MD)
Sr. Ann Kendrick & Lois Kitsch, Community Trust FCU (Apopka, FL)
1993
Earnest Johnson, Federation of Southern Cooperatives (Epes, AL)
Clifford N. Rosenthal, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (New York, NY)