Credit Unions Get Washington on the RUN

The Credit Union Brand was spread throughout the Capital City this fine spring Sunday morning by 6,500 runners all affixed with the registration tags touting the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run.

A credit union consortium, the Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., stepped in to raise almost $200,000 to sponsor the prominent event and donate funds to the Children's Miracle Network after the race's financially ailing sponsor, Nortel, Inc., pulled out late last year.

"This is a real step in a direction we haven't gone before in getting the credit union name recognized," Theresa Mann, president of FDIC Employees FCU and vice chair of the consortium, told The Credit Union Journal.

CUNA Chairman Barry Jolette, president, San Mateo CU, and NAFCU Chairman Jim Mills, president, Three Rivers FCU, held the finishers' tape as Kenyan Rueben Cheruiyot won the event for the second time in three years with a time of 47:12 and a few minutes later when Rumania's Luminita Talpos won the women's race at 52:51.

Dozens of credit union executives ran the race, with HEW Federal Credit Union sending two teams of runners.

About half the runners--more than 3,000 from over 700 credit unions across the country-identified themselves as credit union members--on their registration forms.

The credit union consortium, 58 credit unions and credit union organizations, including CUNA and NAFCU, raised $140,000 to sponsor the event, and another $55,000 for the credit union-backed charity.

More than 10,000 people participated in the high-profile event, now in its 30th year, which included a shorter, 3 mile run, and a childrens' walk and other events throughout the weekend.