Diversity and Inclusion Program Recognized

Piedmont Advantage Credit Union was recently awarded the Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Service Award by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation for its Diversity and Inclusion (DI) Program designed to build a healthier and more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where all its employees experience belonging and well-being.

This award is given to a North Carolina or South Carolina credit union for its practical application of the credit union philosophy within its operations. According to the National Credit Union Administration, “credit unions exist to serve their members,” by offering access to all of the financial products and services the financial industry has to offer.

“At Piedmont Advantage, our employees work extremely hard to provide a safe, caring place for individuals to have access to affordable credit and financial services needed to grow and sustain their wealth,” said Piedmont Advantage’s President & CEO Dion Williams.

Piedmont Advantage’s DI Program is managed by a committee of employees. Upon forming and launching a DI Program in 2020, the committee produced an animated training video, “Diversity and Inclusion: The Story Begins,” and hosted virtual roundtables on relevant topics of the day to encourage the sharing of different perspectives.

The committee also published in-house an electronic newsletter, featuring Piedmont Advantage’s employees’ unique backgrounds and perspectives, and coordinated employee participation in community activities, like a recent Juneteenth run in Winston-Salem.

“As our Diversity and Inclusion Committee has demonstrated, we empower our employees to work together and within the communities we serve to make a difference. This distinguished honor pays homage to a group of passionate employees, who took on the challenge to advance the principles of diversity and inclusion in the workplace,” Williams said.

“Other financial institutions have hired staff for their DI programs and frankly have engaged in more talking than doing. Our employee-driven committee wasted no time ‘doing.’ We are a better organization because of this,” he added.

As a first place recipient, Piedmont Advantage’s award submission has been forwarded by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) for national consideration.

CUNA will announce national award recipients in November.