Matthew Cropp is editor of Credit Union History. Contact 802-338-1002 or [email protected]

After sitting through years of my credit union’s sparsely attended annual meetings, which seemed to be held for the sole reason that doing so is required by law, I decided to try something new this year and run for the board of directors. There had not been a contested election since I joined the organization as a member back in late 2007, and a majority of seats were up for grabs in a single election. Realizing the importance of this latter fluke, I rounded up a few like-minded members, and, after drawing up a platform of reforms aimed at increasing transparency and opportunities for member participation, we announced our intention to run by posting an event on our credit union’s Facebook page.