... no place like home!
And SECU!
😎 Watching the North Carolina Credit Union Division in operation this week was [insert appropriate adjective] ... Whatever! Figured everybody needed a break.
In the past, SECU said "There Is A Difference!" in the way the Credit Union operated and in how it sought to enhance the lives of its member-owners. The goals were a good bit broader than just "pushing" a loan, or "selling" an insurance policy, or foaming at the mouth for a "most profitable year".
Simplified tax prep services was one unusual example used by over 100,000+ SECU members. Same rate lending for all members was also exceptional. But, the most birdbrain idea ever was probably those bluebird houses! Why would SECU do that? Completely crazy?
You would understand immediately if you had had the chance to meet Mr. Frank Newell of Warrenton, N.C. But, Frank passed away in 2020 [obit]. Leave it at this. You've heard about a "force of nature" personality. Well, Frank Newell was the poster child for that idea. He created the Eastern Bluebird Rescue Group (EBRG) in Warren County, one of N.C.'s most economically challenged areas.
Newell, as an SECU member, approached the Credit Union about selling "a few" bluebird boxes in the local branch office. The boxes at $12 were well-built and an exceptional member value. The EBRG was a non-profit, all the volunteers were members, Warren County and the bluebirds could use a little support - an everybody wins purpose. Frank said he would take care of all the logistics. SECU could up-charge if it wanted to... Nah, not for a little local project, no need for that.
The project caught on immediately, SECU members loved those bird boxes. They flew out the doors! Branches and members statewide demanded "equal treatment"! Now, 300,000+ happy, member bluebird box owners later, the Governor of North Carolina has just recognized Warren County as the "National Capital of the Eastern Bluebird"...
😎 It was that focus on hometown North Carolina, that interest in listening to "small" local ideas, that willingness to think "outside the [bluebird] box" which made "There Is A Difference" something special, something unique... y'know that unicorn.
No more... the "new-new" SECU leadership has, of course, now given 300,000+ members and the project "the bird". Guess it wasn't profitable... but for whom?
