When Brent first talked to me about CrashTheGAC I had that same feeling you probably had 20 years ago…this is going to be something special.

Like you I was ready to foot the bill myself but fortunately my boss saw this as an opportunity I couldn’t pass up and agreed to pay for my airfare.

I really hope there are 30-something CU folks out there reading this and looking at this site knowing this is a great opportunity for them. There is a good chance this doesn’t happen again, so do what you can to be a part of it now.

Looking forward to meeting and hanging out with 20 of the coolest CU peeps around.

Let’s stay together…Let’s learn together…Let’s go make history together!

In February of 1991, thousands of credit union people descended on Washington, DC for “Operation Grassroots” in conjunction with that year’s GAC. Those who couldn’t travel to DC organized and attended local grassroots events at the chapter/state level to raise awareness of CU legislative & regulatory issues.

Our chapter decided to charter a bus to take people to DC for the rally. About 40 credit union professionals and volunteers rode 6 hours on the bus until we arrived at the appointed DC hotel. I bought my own ticket for the bus and couldn’t afford the DC hotel rates, so I took a cab to stay with friends of my parents. They were good enough to feed me and give me a warm bed.

The next morning, I took another cab to the US Capital. There, nearly 10,000 credit union people from all over the country were gathering for the rally. It was one of the most amazing events in which I have ever participated.

Of course I ran into my CEO during the rally and he was quite surprised to see me. He gave me the “what are you doing here?” look. I told him I had taken 2 vacation days and paid my own way to attend. After that, I was budgeted to attend more and more credit union meetings, both in-state and out.

Through the connections I made throughout the movement, I was able to land a job with CUNA Mutual. That eventually led me to the South Carolina Credit Union League and their service corp, Palmetto Cooperative Services. While PCS is an independent CUSO today, we are still firmly grounded in the credit union movement.

If PCS can help to inspire a future credit union leader, just as I was inspired back in 1991, our sponsorship will have been paid back. That’s why I wanted us to be a part of this very special event.

I am so glad to see CUNA supporting the event and the sponsorship by Palmetto Cooperative Services.