SAN DIMAS, Calif. — NPR listeners will like the flavor of a newpodcast series produced by WesCorp, which shares the human side ofcredit unions.

With two episodes already posted on the corporate's Web site,Surviving Katrina is hosted by Account Executive Amy Rapp, who gotthe idea to retrospectively profile the hurricane-damaged creditunions while attending a conference in New Orleans this past June.While in town, Rapp paid a visit to WesCorp member University ofNew

Orleans Credit Union, and was touched by the stories of CEOChris Maurer and his staff.

“They told me they packed up their cars and thought they wouldbe gone for the weekend, and didn't come home for several months,”Rapp said. “But, the drive to keep the credit union going and getmembers access to their money remained a top priority. To thinkthat these people would put other people before themselves in asituation as stressful as losing your home is really a testament totheir character.”

Luckily, the $20 million credit union's headquarters is on theuniversity campus, which escaped major flood damage. However, thestaff did not return to the home office until January 2006, manycommuting 100 miles one way to a temporary office, hosted by aBaton Rogue credit union. Many staff members also lost theirhomes.

Rapp said she plans to continue the podcast after the Katrinaepisodes are finished, and will focus on profiles of small creditunions, who she encourages to come forward with their

unique stories and resourceful solutions.

“These are credit union stories you just don't hear very often,and the idea of the series is to let credit unions share who theyare and what they can do, whether it's how they educate theunderserved or how they saved data in a natural disaster,” Rappsaid.

The podcasts are recorded by WesCorp Public Relations DirectorWalter Laskos in his San Dimas office, as Rapp interviews subjectsby phone.

“I have a laptop that has recording software on it, and a littlegizmo that attaches to the telephone, and we record theconversation right into the laptop,” Laskos said. “What's nice iswith audio only, unlike television, your mind has to create thepictures, so in some respects, the medium is a little moreengaging.”

Laskos said the podcast was originally intended to be sharedamong WesCorp employees, to raise awareness of the importance oftheir small asset sized members.

“This helps us remember that in addition to all the investmentand payment systems stuff we do, we are also a credit union. We'reall about our members, large or small.”

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