LOS ANGELES–Inclusive presented its Annie Vamper Helping Hands Awards to Maurice Smith, CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union and Civic Federal Credit Union.
A longtime credit union advocate and the immediate past chairman of CUNA, Smith was awarded the Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award at the 2019 Inclusiv Conference here.
The award recognizes individuals who are making extraordinary contributions to the community development credit union movement and is named for Annie Vamper, who dedicated her life to serving low- and moderate-income people through credit unions.
“I am humbled by my selection as the 2019 recipient of Inclusiv's Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award,” said Smith. “At LGFCU, we work closely with Inclusiv to implement financial inclusion opportunities focused on the achievement of our members' financial stability. We don't see financial inclusion as elective; indeed, it is simply our obligation as citizens of this world.”
Advocate for Diversity
Smith has advocated for the addition of diversity, equality and inclusion as an eighth principle to the existing 7 cooperative principles that guide credit unions. The CUNA board recently announced it supported the inclusion of the DEI as an eighth principle, as CUTodayinfo reported.
"A focus on diversity, equality and inclusion is an opportunity for our industry to advance economic justice and human dignity for the people and communities community development credit unions serve," said Cathie Mahon, Inclusiv president and CEO. "It is our honor to work with Maurice, whose commitment to financial inclusion is an inspiration to our movement.”
In addition to the Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award, Smith has received many honors over his almost 40-year career, including the African-American Credit Union Coalition's Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year.
Smith began his career in financial services as a loan officer for State Employees' Credit Union, joining LGFCU in 1992 as executive vice president. He was promoted to president in 1999, and named CEO in 2017. LGFCU and Civic FCU serve the financial needs of employees, officials, officeholders and volunteers of local government in North Carolina.
A ‘Confession’
“I’d like to take a moment to share a confession with each of you. I have an obsession and it's eating me up. I'm losing sleep at night, and I am consumed with this idea that there must be a way to eradicate poverty. And I know what you're thinking, he's nuts. I've been called that before. How can you do that?” said Smith in accepting the award.
“There are so many social determinants that lead people down this path of impoverishment. There are so many challenges in the world, societal ills, and sometimes this work is subject to the whims of political parties and administrations. There are scalability challenges and problems with sustainability. And much of the work is transactional in nature, with making loans and offering services, one product at a time.
‘We Can Help’
“But somehow I believe, here in this room, that you all share this sort of Pollyannaish view,” he continued. “That we can do something about humankind. That we can help people live better lives. And it's become an obsession. I don't know how to shake it. I wish I could find something easier to do. But I can't shake this notion that somewhere in an audience like this – this inclusive membership with the dedication and commitment you have for your communities – that someone has the solution to how we address the challenges that people face each and every day of their lives.”