WASHINGTON–The director of America’s Credit Union Museum is urging credit unions to share their stories with the Manchester, N.H. museum.
In brief remarks before Mitchell Stankovic’s Underground meeting in Washington, Stephanie Smith said the museum—which is housed in the home where the first credit union in the U.S. operated—is the result of the factory workers who formed that first CU—St. Mary’s Bank—and that they were the “true disruptors.”
“They’re the ones that pooled their resources, came together and created a new financial solution,” said Smith. “For other people in their community that was revolutionary. When Alphonse Desjardins came to Manchester, it was not sentiment, it was activism in action. The museum is here because it’s important to share the legacy and to capture the legacy.”
New Exhibits
Smith said it’s not just about origin stories, but stories that are currently taking place, and she pointed to new exhibits that have highlighted Herstory (women in credit unions), African American voices, and unsung heroes.
“My challenge to you is to look around the room and recognize that the people that you’re surrounded by are the people who are writing the stories today of the credit union movement,” said Smith. “It isn’t about things in glass cases and dusty boxes of artifacts. We’ve got plenty of that. It’s also about sharing the story of what the credit union is. So, I have a challenge for all of you…share your story in America’s Credit Union Museum, because it’s important to share the difference of not of just why we started but of how we’ve adapted going forward.”
