President's Message

If A Picture Speaks a Thousands Words

There is a common saying that “everyone has a story to tell.” What’s more, is that everyone has a story that is worth telling. These are the stories that educate, illuminate, inspire, or even improve other people’s lives by moving them to take positive or corrective actions.

Not everyone knows or believes they have a story worth telling. Some choose not to tell their stories for fear of showing either weakness or hubris. Still, others believe they do not have the time or audience to tell their valuable story. When these things happen, we all lose tremendous opportunities. There’s a good saying in the world of communications: “No one can tell your story better than you.” And without you stepping up and telling these stories, the public may never know about them. Not to put too fine a point on this, but “the public” is your potential member.

Our member credit unions are stuffed to the gills with valuable, memorable, and persuasive stories. From member successes to feel-good events, and community impact, these are the stories that demonstrate the Credit Union Advantage most persuasively. Maybe it’s the young couple with no credit beating the odds to land their first-ever home loan, or maybe a person with a troubled financial history finally achieving financial independence. Maybe a teller in your credit union recognized the subtle signs of elder abuse because of the strength of the personal relationships with a member. Maybe your credit union funded a local nonprofit that delivers truly essential community service. Stuffed to the gills…

Please start (or continue) telling your stories. The good news is that you can do that quickly at CUNA’s Advancing Communities site. This online platform aggregates our truly life-saving financial work. And it is easy to upload short videos or written messages. As always, the League is here to help you craft the best message and tell your story in the best way for you. The visual medium is an incredibly powerful one, and the do-it-yourself nature of this platform extends to everyone the chance to get those important stories out there.

So please try it out – there is no better way to spread the word about The Credit Union Advantage than to polish off your stories and tell them in an easy and relatable way. If we can do this, our entire industry will be all the better for it.

For an example, please see the video of my testimony on the financial literacy bill recently passed by the Connecticut Senate on the Advancing Communities.

As Always,

Bruce