SAGINAW, Mich. — The departure of Family First Credit Union President and CEO Jane Smith has drawn media coverage far beyond the credit union industry, with national business outlets and publications in Canada, Britain and India reporting on the controversy over an AI-altered family photo.
CNBC and Banking Dive reported on Smith’s exit. Britain’s The Guardian framed the story around the political dispute over the name “Lake America,” while International Business Times UK examined how Smith’s private post became public. The story also appeared in Canada’s Canadian HR Reporter and India’s Hindustan Times. That range of coverage is unusual for a leadership change at a small credit union.
The outlets emphasized different parts of the episode. Banking Dive reported Smith’s account that she labeled the image as AI-generated when she posted it privately, but that her sister’s public repost carried no such label. International Business Times UK focused on that repost and Smith’s account of how it spread. Canadian HR Reporter treated the departure as a leadership and workplace conduct story, noting the board’s statement that executives are held to high ethical and professional standards.
As the CU Daily reported, Smith told Michigan television station WJRT that she used ChatGPT to alter a photo taken before a family trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, making the group appear to wear matching “Lake America” sweatshirts. She said the family never owned or wore the clothing and intended the image as a joke about President Donald Trump’s order directing U.S. agencies to use that name for Lake Ontario. After the image circulated publicly and drew criticism, Smith apologized, calling it “insensitive, distasteful and in poor judgment.” She also told the station that threats prompted the family to cut its trip short, as the CU Daily also reported.
‘Unacceptable Post’
The board of the $97-million Family First said the post was “unacceptable,” even though Smith made it in a personal capacity and said her conduct did not reflect the credit union’s values or meet its expectations for executive leadership. In a subsequent letter to members, board Chairman Maurice Patterson said Smith was no longer an employee, effective immediately, and named Chief Operations Officer Jason Acosta interim CEO.
““Jane Smith is no longer employed by Family First Credit Union, effective immediately,” said a statement the organization shared on social media. “We sincerely apologize for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community. We understand that members of our community may hold different perspectives about this decision. Our responsibility is to act in the best interest of the Credit Union, uphold the trust of our members and continue putting our community first.”
The letter did not say whether Smith was dismissed or resigned or give a reason for her departure. The credit union later apologized for the concern and pain the situation had caused while acknowledging that members might differ over its decision.
As the CU Daily reported here, the removal also attracted a Great Lake’s worth of comment from readers.
5 Responses
If she has such bad judgment personally, I wonder about the safety and soundness of her (former) credit union.
Yeah, wearing a sweatshirt as a joke makes your ability to run a credit union. Give me break and overreact a little more,
There was less viral outrage to the CEO that stole 95 million dollars in Mississippi. Geez.
True that. Something’s really wrong with that.
That’s a really good point, there’s been no talk outside CU circles about this huge fraud