ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The nation's 9/11 commemoration on Sept. 11 brought out the best among credit unions.
Winning special praise from the U.S. Department of Defense was Pentagon Federal Credit Union, which joined an elite list of 11 corporate sponsors funding a series of pre-9/11 events on Sept. 10 including a freedom walk, a mall concert and a light display.
"Pentagon Federal should be congratulated for demonstrating this act of remembrance," said a spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, citing the CU's additional role in support of the military.
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No mention was made of the financial commitment, but Pentagon joined a group including Wal-Mart Stores, Lockheed Marietta, Bank of America and the Washington Times in paying for a 1.8 mile Freedom Walk, a concert by the opera diva Denyce Graves and the "184 Beams of Light" display.
The symbolic light display, which represents the 184 Pentagon victims of the 2001 attack, should serve "to support the healing process of those who lost loved ones and remind the rest of us that there is a high cost to freedom," said a Pentagon FCU statement.
Pentagon FCU, said DoD, remains an active backer of the "America Supports You" campaign aiding military families also run by a DoD unit.
Members of the Pentagon FCU staff joined by Defense Credit Union Council President Art Arteaga took part for the second year in a row in the Freedom Walk, which began at the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial concluding at the Pentagon South parking lot adjacent to the crash site of the hijacked airplane.
Regarding the light display and the "America Supports You" campaign, Pentagon FCU said instrumental in the effort has been James R. Schenck, senior vice president of operations. The projects serve to keep Sept. 11 "a day of remembrance, healing, respecting and honoring our many American heroes," said Pentagon FCU.
As Pentagon has since 2001, Frank Pollack, president/CEO in an e-mail to employees said "we must never take for granted" the sacrifice of military men and women who strive to protect the freedom of all Americans and "each day and most especially today please remember to thank them for their service to our country."
Elsewhere, military CUs across the U.S. took part in local memorial ceremonies. Fort Sill Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma said it placed patriotic memorial wreaths on easels in its branches with CU staffers represented at local events.
But some CUs stay away from any 9/11 related ads, etc., out of respect. Gordon Simmons, president/CEO of the $1.05 billion Service Federal Credit Union in Portsmouth, N.H. said his CU was following a board policy adopted years ago of steering away from "capitalizing on the tragedy of 9/11."
"I even find all the TV movies offensive," remarked Simmons.
In deference to the families of those who lost loved ones, "we decided long ago that we would not have any kind of mention or promotion and that included even an ad in the paper marking the observance," said Simmons whose 100,000 military member CU has worldwide branches. –[email protected]
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