Left to right: Janet Cowell, Dix Park Conservancy CEO; Jama Campbell, SECU Foundation executive director; Jim Hayes, SECU president/CEO; Bob Brinson, SECU Foundation Board chair; Mary-Ann Baldwin, Raleigh mayor; Chris Ayers, SECU Board chair and Orage Quarles, Dix Park Board chair. (Photo credit: SECU).
The Raleigh, N.C.-based State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) and the SECU Foundation have together donated $5 million to the local Dix Park Conservancy to help support the development of a 308-acre area site into an urban park just south of downtown Raleigh. It's the largest combined donation from the credit union and the Foundation in its history.
According to a joint statement from the organizations, SECU ($52.1 billion in assets, 2.7 million members) gave $3 million and the SECU Foundation added $2 million for the park as a way to "honor the history and legacy of the land while bringing expansion to the landscape and surrounding communities."
Bob Brinson, the SECU Foundation's board chair, said, "Through the Foundation's mission and collaborative efforts with the Conservancy, we are bringing an innovative project to life that demonstrates our shared philosophy of 'People Helping People®' through new and lasting connections. It's a pleasure to share in the preservation of Dix Park through the restoration of historic buildings that will welcome, educate and serve hundreds of thousands of visitors."
The combined donation will go to the transformation of historic homes at the park entrance into a Welcome Center and Conservancy offices, as well as the construction of new outdoor seating, gardens and pathways to connect Dix Park to other green spaces.
"We support and join the vision for the development of Dix Park, an exciting initiative that will bring tremendous value to downtown Raleigh, the capital area and our state well into the future," Chris Ayers, SECU's board chair, said. "Dix Park will be a tangible reflection of the people who live and work here by offering recreational, educational, social and environmental benefits for our community and visitors from across the globe. We couldn't be more pleased to join the many supporters and respected community leaders working together to make this project happen."
View of the Raleigh, N.C., downtown skyline from Dix Park (Source: AdobeStock). "SECU's traditions and values make it the perfect partner for Dix Park on this landmark project," Janet Cowell, president/CEO of Dix Park Conservancy, said. "From its founding, SECU has supported state employees, thousands who have worked at our campus over the decades. And fundamentally, SECU is about people helping people. The professionals who lived in these historic homes also dedicated themselves to helping people. And going forward, Dix Park will help countless visitors connect with their environment and community. We thank SECU and the SECU Foundation for their generous support. And we look forward to enjoying the new facilities, reflecting on the thousands of people who came before and celebrating the countless visitors who will learn and flourish here in the future."
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
