In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it’s a nice moment to pause and look back on 2019 to consider all the things to be thankful for in credit union advocacy … and there have been a lot! The year is not quite over, but as of November 28th we are thankful for several things:
- There have been in-district meetings with 27 state and federal legislators this year, which were utilized to grow understanding of issues and develop positive connections with credit union people in their “back yards”!
- There have been more than 225 people from 23 separate credit unions engage in these meetings, touching almost every corner of the state.
- In addition, 28 credit union advocates from five separate credit unions connected with 10 legislators at in-district political events around Georgia. Engaging at these types of events is a terrific way to reconnect (or grow a new relationship) for the industry.
- There are more than 70 Georgia credit unions that have their member numbers included in Project Zip Code, and 48 credit unions have updated their numbers in the past three years. This effort matters. It helps articulate the depth and breadth of the industry in the areas legislators pay attention to – their districts!
- In Congress, there are countless issues tackled every day to protect credit unions. But D.C. moves in a different manner than the state Legislature, so it’s hard (at times) to see the forest for the trees. But in just the past two months the U.S. House has passed two bills to help remove regulatory burdens on credit unions … one on updating BSA/CTR thresholds and another on removing the regulatory hurdles in place to serve people in or around the legal cannabis-based businesses. Georgia credit unions were particularly helpful with this first issue, engaging U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-11) multiple times on the issue of which he introduced at the start of this year.
- There were more than 340 bills lobbied for credit unions in the Georgia state legislative session in 2019, with several controversial issues being addressed in the most positive manner for credit unions (for the top 20 list, please click here).
- There were 76 credit union advocates who attended the State GAC/Grassroots Day for credit unions in 2019 … an impressive number in itself (we plan for 50), but even more so when one factors in that the event had to be rescheduled during the session due to a “snow” day and moved to April once the state session had adjourned!
But above all … we are thankful for you, the credit unions who engage in advocacy, to enhance the entire movement day in and day out. Thank you for all that you do to make a positive difference for not just your credit union, but all credit unions!
