CUNA
  • Advocacy
    • Priorities we’re fighting for
    • Actions you can take
  • News
  • Learn
  • Compliance
  • Shop
  • Topics
    • Community Service
    • Compliance
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Credit Union System
    • Directors
    • Human Resources
    • Leadership
    • Lending
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Policy & Issues
    • Sales & Service
    • Technology
  • Credit Union Magazine
    • Buyers' Guide
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Edition
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • COVID-19
  • Advertise
  • Awards
    • Nominate Credit Union Hero
    • Nominate Credit Union Rock Star
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Contact
Learn More about Member Value

News

Member Benefits
Learn more
Learn more about the benefits of membership.
Home » No task too small for CU volunteer
Directors CU Rock Stars 2016
Valery Sadofsky

No task too small for CU volunteer

Director does whatever needs to be done to keep 'struggling CU afloat.'

October 4, 2016
Dianne Molvig
Valery Sadofsky

Perseverance and fortitude.

Those are words employees at Electchester Federal Credit Union use to describe Valery Sadofsky and the work she does to keep “our struggling credit union afloat.”

Valery Sadofsky

Click to enlarge. Valery Sadofsky spends up to 30 hours a week providing member services and other tasks for Electchester FCU. She even finds time to bake treats. “I just want to help out,” she says.

The $470,000 asset credit union in Flushing N.Y., serves residents and employees of Electchester Housing, a 2,500-unit housing co-op in a working-class Queens neighborhood.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 built the co-op in 1949 to provide affordable housing for its members.

Sadofsky and her family moved to the housing co-op in 1990 and soon joined Electchester Federal.

She quickly became an active credit union volunteer, including serving on the board and supervisory committee over the years. In 2005, she took over the post of treasurer.

It was a sudden development, she notes, due to the previous treasurer’s departure.

“I had to learn a lot,” she says. “I felt I was at the bottom of the ocean swimming up.”

Sadofsky now devotes up to 30 hours a week working for her credit union and receives only a modest stipend.

She pays her own way to attend meetings and training events, and she’s always looking out for her credit union’s bottom line.

“I do whatever needs to be done to save a penny,” she notes, whether it's sleuthing for the best deal when buying paper or cleaning the credit union office herself.

You’ll also find her creating marketing fliers, providing member services, developing a new website, doing the accounting, and handling the financial reports. And those are just a few of her responsibilities.

Still, she somehow finds time to bake banana bread or apple cobbler for treats for those who stop by the office.

Her dedication to her credit union clearly runs deep.

“This is our home,” she says. “Our credit union serves this community and our members. I just want to help out.”

KEYWORDS Rock Stars volunteer
Credit Union Magazine - Winter 2020

Winter 2020

Credit Union Magazine’s Winter 2020 edition features CUNA’s 2021 lending outlook, CEO insights on adjusting to the pandemic, and board recruitment strategies.
Digital Edition •  Subscribe

Trending

  • Harper: SIF premium not ‘if’ but ‘when and how much’

  • NCUA’s SAR proposal should be adopted ‘as soon as reasonably practical’

  • Advice for a new CEO

Tweets by CUNA_News

Polls

Who should be the 2021 Credit Union Hero of the Year?

View Results
More

Champion of America’s Credit Unions

Credit Union National Association is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions. We work tirelessly to protect your best interests in Washington and all 50 states. We fuel your professional growth at every level and champion the credit union story at every turn.

More CUNA

  • About
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Recommended Websites
  • Privacy Policy

Resources for

  • CUNA Board Members
  • Credit Union Advocates
  • Leagues
  • Press
  • Vendors