Why 1 Former State 'League' Is Happy To Be A League Again

On June 7, the board of the Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey voted unanimously to shelve the "Credit Union Affiliates" name and revert back to the "New Jersey Credit Union League."

The move makes New Jersey's credit union trade association the first in the nation to re-adopt "League" in its name. The vote came at a time when many other state leagues are considering changing their names from League to Association, Affiliates, Network and a host of other identities.

The move back to League was a long time in coming. Many credit unions never embraced or recognized the name Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey since its adoption in 1998. Many of our elected officials and business associates continued to refer to us as "the League" despite the change in our operational name.

The New Jersey Credit Union League board, with input from many member credit unions, determined that the term League was more readily identifiable as a credit union organization. The New Jersey Credit Union League is a title that better represents the focus and mission of our organization. It helps to differentiate credit unions from other financial collectives and associations. We see this change as another positive step toward reaffirming the goals and purpose of our organization. The name change is one of many steps we've taken to better serve our member credit unions.

The New Jersey Credit Union League was originally founded in 1934 as the official state trade association for credit unions in our state. In November of 1999, the announcement was made that NJCUL would operate as the Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey. While Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey was the name under which the League was doing business, the legal name of the organization remained the New Jersey Credit Union League.

Thomas Shaughnessy is President/CEO of the New Jersey Credit Union League. This article originally appeared in the League's newsletter, Exchange, in July.