This past week, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions turned 50. Given that I’ve been associated with NAFCU since 2000, first as a vice president and in recent years as an independent contractor (one-third of NAFCU’s existence!), I’ve developed an affinity for this organization that supports America’s federally insured credit unions.

In an article I wrote earlier this year for NAFCU’s magazine (“NAFCU Turns 50: Celebrating a Half-Century of Service“), I noted that NAFCU remains just as nimble, just responsive to its members and just as innovative as it was when it was founded.

Credit unions have come a long way since 1967 when they had 19 million members and $13 billion in assets. Today, credit unions have over 107 million members and $1.3 trillion in assets. They’ve made a difference in the lives of countless Americans, and NAFCU has been a major part of that.

In my estimation, NAFCU has been successful for three reasons:

1. Over the years, it’s stayed true to its principles of federal advocacy, compliance assistance and education.
2. It’s built a culture of member service that its employees embody in everything they do.
3. It is unswervingly committed to bringing the benefits of credit union membership to consumers.

So hats off to NAFCU and 50 years of serving America’s credit unions!