STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.–There are few people whose life and career path have been affected by credit unions as Dr. Frederick Pellum.
Pellum grew up in the Atlanta area and his mother was close friends with African-American Credit Union CEO Renee Sattiewhite, whom his own mother refers to as Pellum’s “bonus mama.”
Today, Dr. Pellum has a background in digital media and taught for 11 years at the University of Miami before leaving because he believed significant amounts of information on finances and money were not reaching a significant population in the country, especially African-Americans.
“Growing up I was doing manual labor and I worked outside doing landscaping in the Georgia sun in the summertime. I remember vividly being out there with those older guys and thinking, ‘I’ve got to get some education’,” he related, drawing laughter.
Lessons Learned in Stuffing Bags
When he was 17 he was asked by Sattiewhite to help stuff some bags for an AACUC meeting.
“That’s when I realized I could get compensated for doing something inside,” he said. “She showed me pictures of the events and gatherings and explained to me about credit unions. She showed me some of these high-ranking African-Americans; they are wearing suits and they were not in church. And they deal with money—legally.”
Pellum, whose first financial account was with Georgia United CU, graduated from college and also did some work for AACUC related to graphic design around the associations Pete Crear awards.
“I learned in that process how to work at an industry pace with excellence,” he related. “I wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity without AACUC. I decided to go to grad school and a lot the work with AACUC helped with my acceptance at the University of Miami.”
Rejecting ‘Limits’
Sharing a story with which many in the audience concurred, he said he attended grad school primarily because teachers had told him his future was “limited. Imagine teachers saying to you that a jail is ‘going to be the home for some of you.’ I am the last person to tell you ‘can’t’ do something.”
Pellum finished grad school around 2007 and became a university professor. It was also around that time he heard someone talking about how “dividends” work, and he realized the investments that he represented to others. Today, he represents that dividend for the ROI AACUC made in him.
‘Thank You for That’
Pellum, whose wife also spoke to the meeting, said he had heard at one point a number of years ago that anyone can be a multi-millionaire, they just don’t know where to find the information. He investigated, agreed, gathered the information and now offers solutions in the area of financial education and building wealth.
“I thank you all for that,” he said.
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