On Oct. 10, Hurricane Michael hit Florida with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. It was the first Category 5 storm to hit the Panhandle, and the fourth strongest landfalling hurricane in the contiguous U.S. The hurricane caused 49 deaths and an estimated $25 billion in damage, making it one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives impacted in one way or another: lives were lost, houses destroyed, businesses disrupted. On the ground, the affected communities lost electricity and cell service; fuel to power backup generators and vehicles was scarce; tires were easily damaged as people drove through town in the wake of the storm to begin a clean-up process that continues to this day.
When disaster strikes, one thing that everyone needs is access to their money. Innovations Federal Credit Union ($272.5M, Panama City, FL) knew what it had to do: re-open and provide financial services to members in need. When it did open, four days later, it was the first financial institution to do so.
Recently, I had the chance to sit down with CUbroadcast’s Mike Lawson and the credit union’s CEO David Southall to talk about Innovation’s recovery efforts and Callahan’s Anatomy series. Enjoy.