Wednesday October 31, 2007 - ACU honoured with province's top business award for outstanding community leadership.

Assiniboine Credit Union was honoured yesterday when the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce gave the financial co-operative the top business award in the province for being an outstanding community leader.

The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for “Contribution to the Community – Business’’ was presented by Lieutenant Governor John Harvard to ACU President, Al Morin before members of Manitoba’s business community Tuesday night.

“It’s an incredible honour to be recognized for what we do best - running a successful Manitoba business that knows how to be both profitable and compassionate. It is nice to see the Manitoba business community appreciates the value of our efforts in the community,” Morin said last night.

The Manitoba Chambers’ award is the second significant award for ACU this month. It received the Maclean’s Magazine Top 100 Employer in Canada and Top 15 Employer in Manitoba awards earlier this month, on the strength of the way it managed the merger of three credit unions and 24 branches in 2007.

In numerous local and national awards ACU has been recognized as an employer that has integrated its socially responsible mission into every facet of its operations engaging employees, members and partners with its community commitments.

“As a core part of Assiniboine Credit Union’s mission, we invest financial and non-financial skills, expertise and resources to foster self-reliant, sustainable communities and neighbourhoods. More than simply donations, although we do that through our Sustainable Community Grants and Sponsorships, we support, finance and partner with community-based organizations to help make our communities inclusive, environmentally sustainable and economically self reliant,” Morin said.

The Chambers’ award jurors recognized ACU for:

• providing access to affordable financial services to those not well served by traditional financial institutions;
• advancing a variety of community initiatives like affordable housing, micro financing and grants;
• committing to environmental stewardship;
• being one of Manitoba’s top employers; and
• having expertise in socially responsible investments… to name but a few.

Assiniboine manages $2 billion in assets for 105,000 members and has 520 employees.