Member Spotlight: Colleen Desselle

CUNA MBD Council
November 9, 2010 | COMMENTS

Colleen Desselle is director of marketing for CSE Federal Credit Union in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A native of Lake Charles, she was raised in nearby Sulphur and calls herself “a credit union grandbaby.”

“My grandfather started my account when I was 13 years old,” she says. “I came to work at my credit union as a part-time employee and moved up the ranks. I've been with CSE for 16 years and am knowledgeable in member service and consumer and mortgage lending.”

Biggest credit union challenge

We are not a community credit union; however that has not stopped our growth. We continue to take in on average five new employee groups and over 100 new accounts each month.

Best advice

Research! Back your thoughts up with numbers/statistics and keep talking because someone is listening.

Greatest Council Benefits

Networking, new ideas, and the camaraderie of sharing.

Best part of my job

Our members and staff—it’s rewarding to belong to such a great organization. Knowing the information I'm providing to people may help them make better financial decisions is also gratifying.

Hardest part of my job

Getting board and management buy-in for parts of marketing that may be difficult to measure.

Success story

Seems the more opportunities we have to help within the community the bigger the voice we have and our members and non-members appreciate the work we are doing. Last year we offered to sell rubber ducks for the Children's Miracle Network local duck race. We had three days and sold over $1000 to help them reach their goal. Our staff is great about helping out with our volunteer events.

Biggest misconception people have about my job

That it's fun and easy! Marketing is one of the hardest jobs I've ever had. Marketing is more than just making things pretty. We keep a plan, monitor marketing spending, and try to make the masses happy. The end product is fun, and we look forward to success, but it's a lot of work getting there. My staff wants to be utilized more strategically and we are working hard to get there.

Hobbies and interests

I love watching my kids do the things they love, like baseball, football, and dancing. I enjoy antique shopping and fishing and dabbling in art.

Recent book

Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren

Life goal not yet achieved

Taking a cruise with the family.

Something that always makes me laugh

Saturday morning ticklefest at the Desselle house.

Favorite quote

“Consumers buy for their reasons, not yours.”

I enjoy listening to . . .

Taylor Swift—thanks to my kids.

How I would explain the credit union difference to a prospective new member

Credit unions are co-operative financial institutions where people help people by bringing their money together and forming a financial alternative to banks. They are member-owned, not-for-profits that exist to serve the common good of all.