Delegates at the 41st Annual General Meeting of the League held on December 10, 2021 elected directors to the new Board for the next year. Replacing the annual meeting originally planned for May 2021, it was the Co-operative League’s first AGM to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the AGM, the new Board elected Sis. Miriam Roache as President, making her the second woman to head the Co-operative League and the national credit union sector. Sis. Roache became President as she entered her 3rd year of service on the League Board.
The 7-member Board was designated as follows:
Sis. Miriam Roache – President Bro. Jerome DeShong – Director
Bro. Richard Browne – Vice President Bro. Cecil Charles – Director
Bro. Jerold Jackson – Treasurer Sis. Cynthia Hope-Browne
Sis. Cecelia Williams – Secretary
Demographic data compiled by the Co-operative League for 2021 revealed that women comprised approximately 53% of the combined membership of the credit union movement, while at the leadership level, 33% of women were elected to Boards.
“I am humbled, honored and ready to guide the League forward,” Sis. Roache said during her thank you remarks after her election.
Sis. Roache had previously served as the Co-operative League’s Vice-President, a post she held since 2019. She has had extensive experience in the credit union movement, where she has given volunteer service in several capacities, including that of President of the SVG Teachers Co-operative Credit Union.
Incorporated in 1964, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Co-operative League is the national umbrella organization of local credit unions and general co-operatives. The League’s mandate is to co-ordinate, monitor and promote activities for the development, growth, expansion and integration of Co-operative Societies in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and perform representational, advocacy and other functions as may be determined by its members.