CHICAGO Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark N.J., who is widely credited with leading a revival in that poverty and crime-ridden city, said he sees great parallels between the credit union business model and what has helped him to make improvements in his city.
Speaking to the CO-OP THINK ’13 Conference, Booker said, “We need to do the things other people don’t do so we can get the results other people don’t get. We brought people together from all sectors to get everyone excited about a great mission. We challenged them to use a god-given talent of creativity. We need to think our way out of the problems. We were in a state of sedentary agitation, when you are so upset about the world but you’re not getting up to do anything about it. People forget how powerful they are.”
Credit unions, he said, are a prime example of what can be done when people come together. “You are the genius of our collective strength. We can bring together the collective aspirations to do things other people say is impossible. I don’t think this is just something that is possible; I believe it is and must be our destiny.”
