Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Just this week, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that it was ending its decades long telethon.

Good for them.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I have nothing but love and respect for the telethon. If you are raising money to fight terrible diseases, you have my support and wishes for God's speed. 

I say "good for them," though, because I'm sure the decision to end the telethon was difficult. 

Talk about fire power!

The telethon was huge. It was an event. Think about Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin together on your television. Talk about must-watch TV...

But as time moves forward, what was fresh can become stale. What was unique, loses its edge. 

So often, people cling to the past. If we do this, if we do that, if we keep searching - we'll find that old magic. We'll get the band back together!

Or they punt. Let's study this more. What about a task force? How about a new name? A new slogan?

Kudos to the MDA. They made a brave choice to embrace today's world. I'm sure a lot of people made a lot of money off of the telethon. But who are they serving? The telethon, or people stricken with muscle-related diseases. The MDA will continue to tell stories and raise money. They'll do it through social media. Through video. 

They are adapting. 

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do stopping something that is old and comfortable to start something new. 

It is something we think about a lot here at NAFCU.

Advocacy. Education. Compliance help. You demand it, so we deliver it. As efficiently and effectively as we can.

But where can we do better? What should we change? 

Our board drives that discussion. As do our members. Go to our website - you'll see our email addresses. Our phone numbers.

Talk to us. Talk to me. Let us know what you need.

And if you think we need to change, let us know.

The world is changing. Our industry is changing.

I'm pretty sure we're not immune at NAFCU.