FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Marking its 75th year as one of the state's oldest trade associations, the Washington Credit Union League said last week it is on a months-long mission to collect memorabilia from CU executives across the U.S. as part of its fall celebration.

League officials said they hope to compile a complete collection of “historical videos, documents, newspaper clippings and photographs” charting the growth of Washington state CUs.

“We are hoping CEOs, credit union staffers and volunteers who may have worked at Washington State credit unions over the years will send us material as well as be interviewed for the historic preservation,” said a league spokesman.

The project described as “momentous in scope” is being directed by the Historical Preservation Task Force, formed last year and headed by Bruce Rouillard, president emeritus of the league.

All contributions, which will be returned to donors, will be on public display in the league's gallery and also be used for the organization's annual meeting in Vancouver in September.

The exhibit, said the league, is designed to “place our history in front of tomorrow's professionals, advancing the joy of the business.”

“Anyone who is interested in being interviewed or has information related to the state credit union movement and would like to contribute” is asked to contact Historic Preservation Task Force Liaison Allison Mattich at [email protected] or 1-800-552-0680, ext. 116.

All items, said the league, will be duplicated and returned to the contributor unless the contributor wishes to make a permanent donation.

“We know that there are many long-time credit union members, volunteers and professionals with institutional and industry knowledge that is invaluable to the credit union movement,” said Rouillard. “While we have compiled a lengthy listing of folks to locate and with whom to visit, one of the task force's early responsibilities is to find those people we may have inadvertently missed and collect their information.”

–[email protected]