The annual meeting of the Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union, which took place Tuesday evening at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park, always feels like a family picnic, right down to the tasty light supper. Always on hand are board members and staff plus some of our 1,000 members (all are welcome). Everyone gets to enter a raffle for free, with a half-dozen winners taking home gift card and other prizes.
This year, with cake and song, we celebrated the 65th birthday of our devoted longtime board chair, Dan Valdez, emerging energetic as ever from some health challenges. He would’ve blown out the candles, too, but right after vice chair Jennifer Goodman Miramontes lit them, I chose to give an impromptu speech, paying tribute to ECFC and Dan. As you might imagine, the candles burned down.
I attend annually as a credit union member and former trustee as well as cub reporter for The Episcopal News. The big story was that, once again this year, federal and state tax officials sent certificates paying tribute to those who volunteer in our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which helped 136 individuals and families complete their returns.
CEO Johnny Lee also reported on the $6.4 million credit union’s core ministry of offering loans to institutions, especially our missions and parishes, and individuals affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. This year we booked 45 loans totaling nearly $500,000.
That’s good, but we and our federal regulators want the number to go higher. Our diocese founded the credit union in 1994, after civil insurrections in Los Angeles illuminated deep socioeconomic inequities, including access to bank loans. ECFCU exists to lend out more of its money, especially to those having trouble getting credit elsewhere.
Learn more at our new web site. Consider joining or taking out a loan. And maybe we’ll see you next year at the picnic.
