At West Virginia Central Federal Credit Union, we appreciate and celebrate who we are and what we get to do each and every day. In recognition of that, we have a very special day coming as we prepare to celebrate International Credit Union (ICU) Day on October 21st. This day allows us to celebrate the credit union movement and the incredible impact we have had on all credit union members.
The history of credit unions and ICU Day is a story worth sharing. It is a story of an idea. A simple idea that people could pool their money and make loans to each other. It's the credit union idea, and it evolved from the cooperative activities of early 19th century Europe. The first of these cooperatives was an 1844 cooperative organized by a group of workers in Rochdale, England.
As time passed, a desire emerged to establish an annual occasion to acknowledge both the credit unions' important role in creating opportunity for their members and communities and the achievements of pioneers who laid the foundation for ongoing credit union success.
On January 17, 1927, the Credit Union League of Massachusetts celebrated the first official holiday for credit union members and workers. They selected January 17 because it was the birthday of America's "Apostle of Thrift," Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), who early credit union founders believed symbolized "the life and teaching embodied in the spirit and purpose of credit unions." Sadly, after a brief trial period, Credit Union Day quietly disappeared.
In 1948, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) decided to initiate a new national Credit Union Day celebration. CUNA and CUNA Mutual Insurance Society set aside the third Thursday of October as the national day of observance. By then, many more of America's credit union leaders believed there was a need for an occasion that would bring people together to reflect upon credit union history and achievements and to promote the credit union idea across the country.
At WV Central, we are excited to be celebrating credit unions and the credit union movement. To assure that we always adhere to the concepts set aside by the founders of the movement and the founders of WV Central, we adopted the following core values and credit union drivers.
Core Values – Passion – Teamwork – Excellence - Community - Innovation
CU Drivers - Sense of Purpose - Active and Visible Leadership – Communication - Sense of Urgency – Accountability
Over the next few months, we will discuss each of these in more detail.
Thank you for being a member of WV Central! We look forward to working together for the benefit of our entire membership!
Michael A. Tucker
President / CEO
