Blizzard Closes Airports, Shops-But CUs Plow On

DALLAS-Last week's massive blizzard was a history-making event for some credit unions, and just another wintry week for others.

Jerry Clancy, CEO at Lone Star FISCU in Dallas noted that, Feb. 1 was the first time in the CU's more than 40-year history that it has closed because of weather.

"Commerce just almost ceased, and when you consider that we're hosting the Super Bowl, it was a bad time for that," he said. "People just couldn't get around, couldn't leave their hotels and couldn't get to the shops."

He added that on subsequent days the CU had been fairly busy, with a steady stream of customers, although only about half the staff was able to make it in because of ongoing inclement weather.

To the northeast, at Plain Dealer FCU in Cleveland, CEO William Pelger professed that the CU remained open for business despite the weather, which he said wasn't that bad by Ohio standards. The institution has never closed due to inclement weather in the 13 years he's been there.

Bonnie Sklar at the Credit Union Association of New York said that only a few branches throughout New York state reported closing, with no widespread closures on account of the storm not being as bad as originally predicted in that part of the country. "It was really a non-event here," she said from her office in Albany, N.Y "Six to 8 inches, that's a very doable thing."

"By and large, all of our credit unions are open," said Michael Wishnow of the Pennsylvania CU Association. "When other things are closed, the credit unions are open."

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