Tom Deigan Retires

Former Chairperson of the Community Alliance Credit Union Board of Directors, Tom Deigan, retired at the recent Annual General Meeting, after 40 years of service to members and the community.

Mr Deigan started his involvement with the Credit Union in 1969, as a member of the Collieries Employees Credit Union, and played a fundamental role in its amalgamation with Southern Mutual Credit Union in 1972 to form Illawarra Credit Union.

He became Deputy Chairperson of Illawarra Credit Union in 1973 and held this position until 1978, when he commenced his role as Chairperson. Mr Deigan was Chairperson of Illawarra Credit Union, and then Community Alliance Credit Union (following the merger of ICU and Unicom Credit Union) for 30 years. He stood down as Chairperson at the 2008 Annual General Meeting.

“The amalgamation of the Collieries Employees Credit Union and Southern Mutual Credit Union definitely stands out as a high point in my career,” Mr Deigan said. “The establishment of the Illawarra Credit Union broadened the base of the organisation and in some ways made things a lot easier.”

Mr Diegan said he couldn’t have carried out his role effectively without the assistance of his fellow Directors.

“Having a group of people who think along similar lines and support the credit union philosophy was really important,” he said.

“You look back and say, well I was head of the organisation for so long, but not a lot could have been achieved without the support of those around me.”

Mr Deigan said the most significant change in the Credit Union during his time as Director was the increased work associated with regulatory compliance.

“Since credit unions were covered by Corporations Law in 2000, we have been required to comply with many changes to laws and new regulations,” he said. “This compliance takes an increasing amount of time and money to manage, and has been a challenge for all credit unions.”

Despite this, Mr Deigan said he struggled to find words to describe his feelings about retiring.

“The 40 years seem to have passed quickly. I’m happy to go, but I know what I am leaving. I will miss most the ability to make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

“I have a lot of good memories here and it will be sad to go.”

Director Jan Dillon also retired at the recent Annual General Meeting. Ms Dillon joined the board of Community Alliance Credit Union in 2006 and was previously Chairperson of Western City Credit Union. She served as a Director for 19 years and was most recently a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.