Fifteen years

Roughly 15 years ago, a good friend let me know about a job opening at a place called NAFCU.

Long story made short, I got the job.  (And something else – my colleague, friend, and credit union legal and lobbying guru, Carrie Hunt – started at NAFCU practically on the same day!)

What a blessing!  A friend asked me what was the best part about working at a trade association. I told him that, for me, it was the best way to truly understand an industry. And that deep understanding leads to the fact that it is more than an industry. It is a group of men and women across our country working their tails off to make things better, every single day. You get to learn their hopes, dreams, and frustrations.

And that industry? Our industry, if you’ll allow me? It’s the better mousetrap. Perfect? Nope. But I haven’t seen a better model to deliver financial services to Main Street.  The credit union model strips away greed and short-sightedness, placing the entire focus on the member-owner.  We’re local. We are “farm to table” financial services. Heck, we’re as close to “organic” banking as you’ll get. But we’re also sophisticated. I’ve been blessed to travel across the country and around the globe. Credit unions have been more than able to handle anything I’ve thrown at them, or needed.

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