MANCHESTER, N.H. — When St. Mary's Bank Credit Union CEO RonRioux made the conversion from the banking industry to creditunions 15 years ago, he only needed to look up hill for a betterunderstanding and inspiration.

Problem was no one knew that. Knowing the credit union was thefirst in the U.S. and that the 100th anniversary wasn't terriblyfar off, Rioux sought out the credit union's roots.

After talking to some of the board members and doing someresearch on his own, Rioux discovered that the original site of St.Mary's Bank was just a block uphill. What had been the Boivinfamily home was then being used as an apartment building.

He called up the owner, who knew of the historic significancefor credit unions, and they met for lunch. Rioux told him if heever wanted to sell to let him know. Just two weeks later the ownercalled back and said he wanted, not to sell, but to donate thebuilding.

Rioux explained that he had never intended for St. Mary's Bankto own the building so they “moved quickly to set up a foundationto own the building.” Local publicity drew a woman in her 90s toattend the closing–the daughter of St. Mary's Bank's first manager.Gilberte Boivin, immortalized in the museums entryway (see photopage 1), took representatives from the credit union on a trip backin time and through what was once her home, her father's lawpractice, and the original St. Mary's Bank, capturing the entireevent on tape. Boivin had met the likes of Alphonse Desjardins andothers who helped to launch the credit union movement in theU.S.

Rioux, who currently serves as vice chairman of the museumboard, said of the museum, “It provides an opportunity to reallysay in touch with their roots and their beginnings. Credit unionswere originally started to serve people of modest means.”

Designers kept this in mind when putting it back together. Notonly did they stay true to the original architecture, but in itsfunctionality. The first floor portrays credit unions' beginnings,from placing a desk exactly as it had been in 1908–thanks toBoivin–to rooms, like NAFCU's, displaying the history of creditunions. The second floor shows how the credit union movement spreadacross the country. The third floor is a conference room,demonstrating the future of credit unions, Rioux explained.

“It's wonderful to see it operating the way it is now,” he said.“It's great because that's really why it was created.

The museum's executive director, Peggy Powell, operates themuseum, which is open to the public Monday, Wednesday and Fridayfrom 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; however, she said itdoesn't get much foot traffic from the general public.

Primarily, credit union groups come to see it and use theconference center. The museum also hosts events for its non-profitcommunity partners. Powell said it's not that unusual to haveevents going on four out of five days a week.

From this learning experience, Rioux was determined to expandcommunity outreach, working to serve the modern-day mill worker andimmigrants, as St. Mary's Bank had done at the turn of the lastcentury.

He said the credit union has adopted a philosophy of committingto projects over several years rather than just one for bestresults. “Doing it in multiple years requires a different level ofcommitment and lining up of resources…Without it, I don't thinkresults are as significant,” Rioux said. For example, Rioux wasinstrumental in getting the $35 million housing commitment in NewEngland going a couple of years ago. Not only did it end upreaching $70 million, but he added, that is something that neverwould have happened in the banking industry. He also started theCredit Union Consumers Cooperative ATM network.

St. Mary's bank provides a wide variety of loan products fromseveral dozen different mortgage products to emergency loans(particularly for heating oil up in New Hampshire) to lead paintloans. The credit union also just rolled out a payday loanalternative program and was part of a pilot program that isbecoming a full-blown effort providing regular mortgage loans onmanufactured housing.

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