NEW ORLEANS — In many ways, the $23 million UNO Federal Credit Union Member Appreciation Day was a quieter affair than most others.
The heat and humidity on a sweltering August day in New Orleans meant that the CU had to hold the event inside, in the lobby of the building hosting its headquarters. And where other CUs host barbecues for member appreciation days, UNO members celebrated with popcorn and homemade lemonade.
But according to Terry Arroyo, a member service representative for the CU, the credit union held its first ever member appreciation day because it wanted to try to show its members, after all that has happened, how very appreciated they are and how glad the CU is to have them back.
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"It was a very special day," Arroyo said, her voice catching slightly as she spoke. "It was a day when we wanted to do something for our members to let them know how proud of them we are and how much we appreciate them coming back and being part of our family again."
Arroyo's voice caught because the Aug. 25 member appreciation day took place almost one year, to the day, after levies breached by hurricane Katrina allowed millions of gallons of water to spill into New Orleans and surrounding areas. UNO FCU, and the schools whose staff and members it serves, was largely flooded, its students and staff scattered, its physical plant and offices waterlogged and much of it heavily damaged or lost. The CU, and the school, are still coming back, Arroyo said. The students and staff are not totally back and the CU only recently got back into space on campus. But where some had predicted the school and CU would never come back, both institutions have made huge strides and where the CU had only been able to provide popcorn and lemonade this year, Arroyo said, member reaction had been so favorable that the CU had purchased its own popcorn machine so that every Friday can be member appreciation day.
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