Before the memory of Constitution Corporate FCU is reduced to the result of a random Internet search, the one-year anniversary of its conservatorship was a time to reflect on a day that continues to impact a small but dedicated staff that served their members for more than 30 years.

Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Our CEO walked past my office window just before 2:30 p.m., his briefcase in hand. I remember thinking how unusual it was for him to park in front of the building when he preferred the exercise from parking in the rear lot.

They arrived together 20 minutes later. Dozens of agency representatives in dark suits emerged from five or six vehicles and walked across the parking lot to conserve our corporate. We were called to the board room where there was no blame placed, no apologies made and no sugar-coated message, just a frank statement that within a few months our corporate would no longer exist. The silence in the room was broken by relief that the speculation was finally over and disappointment that our corporate wasn't given a chance to survive. Suddenly, our CEO's departure in the middle of the day made sense.