NEW ORLEANS – Gov. Kathleen Blanco took to the airwaves urging residents of New Orleans to leave the city or else face the destructive wrath of Hurricane Katrina. Blanco, who came on the industry's radar screen in 2003 in her campaign for governor when it was discovered she is a board director at $272 million La Capitol FCU, has been working with state, local and parish officials to ensure that New Orleanians actually had enough time and access to leave the city. "While no evacuation of this kind is perfect and I know that the citizens of the region are under great stress and strain, I am thankful to say that we've successfully evacuated hundreds of thousands of citizens in the last 24 hours," Blanco said in a statement posted on her Web site the day before Katrina hit. Louisiana credit unions took heed to Blanco's pleas to leave as many in the affected areas closed down Aug. 29. Blanco, one of 11 on La Capitol's board, has been described as a "consensus builder," according to Susan Leake, president/CEO of the CU. The former lieutenant governor and school teacher talked with Credit Union Times last year and reiterated the movement's role in serving the underserved.