In 1986, I began working for Missouri Electric Cooperatives Credit Union in Jefferson City, Missouri. My title was office assistant that meant that I posted deposits, made withdrawals, completed loan paperwork and wrote the quarterly newsletter. I worked for an amazing woman, Martha, who made sure I understood what credit unions were all about. She taught me about one member, one vote, about the volunteer board of directors and committee members. The one thing that she shared with me that was truer than anything she ever said was, "Kerri, once you work for a credit union, you'll never work for any other type of organization." I don't know if she realized that she set my future for the next 26 years.
So, each time we moved when my husband was transferred, I got a job in a credit union. It wasn't until I got my first job in marketing at Central Florida Educators' Federal Credit Union as the marketing assistant, that my career truly began. My boss, Sue, and I would visit many of the 250+ schools in four counties to speak to school personnel about the benefits of credit union membership. Sharing credit unions with others became the highlight of my job and I began getting involved in the local chapter of credit unions. It was at these meetings that I met a woman that would be pick up the torch from Martha to open my eyes to the real impact of credit unions in the United States and around the world.
Her name is Lois and I saw a presentation she gave on teaching youth about money management and credit unions through classroom presentations. I was fascinated by the idea of helping children learn something I never learned in school or at home. I had made all the mistakes young adults made and had learned through trial and error. After the presentation, I introduced myself to Lois and a lifelong friend was made.
Over the next year, Lois and I traveled the state of Florida speaking to most of the credit union chapters. Many times, we couldn't take time off from our full-time jobs so we would jump in the car after work and drive a couple of hours to do our presentation and drive home that night. It was amazing that how many times I didn't get home till the wee hours of the morning only to get up early to be ready for work the next day.
On one of these trips, Lois commanded me (I learned over the years, not many people can tell Lois "no" and I am one of those people) to attend this training called, Credit Union Development Education or CUDE. "What kind of training is it?" I asked. "You'll love it," she said. That was the extent of her description of the training. So, I applied for a scholarship for the training from our state league and won it. My employer paid for my airfare and I covered all other expenses.
As I waited to leave, people would ask me about the training I was going to and I would say, "It's in Madison, WI and its held in a monastery in November." I every time I would get this look like "Are you crazy?" One friend told me that since I grew up a Baptist that the Catholics have a special ceremony to cleanse Baptists in particular. To say the least, I was a little freaked out!
I had to arrive a day early because of the flight schedule. As the cabbie pulled up front to the yellow/tan stucco building, I thought to myself, "it doesn't look too intimidating." Boy, was I wrong. I walked in and there was a elderly lady sitting at the reception desk and without too many words, she directed me to my "room." To say it was stark, was an understatement. It was a twin bed, chest and a desk. The restrooms were down the hall and there were no locks on the doors.
As I unpacked my suitcase that was bigger than the bed, I looked up at the Crucifix that hung just above the bed and wondered what the heck I had got my self into. Four weeks before training, I began receiving packets of articles to read before I arrived. They covered all kinds of things that didn't seem to be inter-related.
After I unpacked, I decided to explore my home for the next six days. I walked down the hall and I heard in a Southern drawl that reminded me of my own family in Southern Alabama, "Hey, are you here for DE training?" Tammy was from Mississippi and a second generation credit union employee. That night, we found a TV in a small room and decked out in our PJs, we watch something while we guessed what we had gotten ourselves into. She had a bit more information about the training because her friends had shared a bit more than Lois had but it was still pretty cryptic.
The first day of training started at 8 a.m. and ended well after 9 p.m. that was followed by games in the basement of St. Benie's. We played Pit and cards while we drank. During the days, we explored the development issues, learned to give presentations (they even video taped us and critiqued our presentation) and made lifelong friendships.
I have never worked so hard and learned so much in such a short span of time as I did those six days in 1994 and it was the most rewarding thing I have ever accomplished. Those days, opened my eyes to world in a way that I had never even imagined. I learned why credit unions can be the vehicle to help people improve their quality of life.
When I graduated, I became a part of a group of people who are making a difference in the lives of people here and around the world through credit unions. Some have gone on to run credit unions, some to lead state leagues and others that have served as a presidential appointee to the federal agency that oversees credit unions. Some have went on to offer technical assistance to countries around the world and some have created innovate products and services to meet member needs'.
I have had the opportunity to travel to six countries and all but five states to work with credit unions and state organizations. The Credit Union Development Education program set me on a path that I am so proud to look back on that is filled with at projects I was able to collaborate on; however, nothing compares to the friendships I made along the way.
Last week, credit unions lost one of its most ardent supporters, Tom. I met him about 10 years ago and he was a person that no one ever forgot. He was teddy bear of a man that served his country to retirement then dedicated his free time to volunteering on his credit union's board and the CUDE program.
I learned from CUDE that people matter - all people. It opened my eyes to the world and gave me the opportunity to see some of it for myself. I learned that the greatest asset that any country has is it's people. We all breathe, eat, love and have the desire to improve our lot in life for the benefit of the next generation; however not everyone have the tools they need to achieve the simple things in life.
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