Right now, I've got Aaron McCollum here, and he is the community lead for, don't tell me, Marine Credit Union. I said community in there again, for Marine Credit Union. And before we begin, I also had somebody, we've talked about this before, where the word Marine Credit Union comes from. And a lot of the credit unions, they started at businesses for their employees. And yours started at the Marine Motor Company, the off-board motor company.
Mercury Marine. Yes. Good morning to you, Don. Yeah. Good to be back. And yes, we got our namesake from Mercury Marine as a workforce credit union back in the late thirties. Yeah. You know, do you boat it all? I like to go on boats. I don't have a boat, but I wouldn't I wouldn't turn down a ride in a boat. Let's just say that. So when they had salmonorama, they would have it back now. But when they had it, they said.
You're going to go fishing with us on the first day of Samadorama, and I never went fishing in my life. And they said, all right, here you go. And I actually caught a fish. I think there was somebody under the boat hooking it onto my line so I could talk about it. I actually caught one. I put it back. I mean, I'm going to kill the fish. I don't want to eat them. So anyway, that was the only time I ever went fishing and I caught a fish. Oh. Yeah, you ever go fishing?
Yeah, growing up as a kid I did. I was just talking with my wife that we need to take our little ones fishing because I think it's get out and fish weekend or something like that. This stuff come in weekend. So I think we're going to go get the fishing license and get some fishing poles. The Rosen family weren't outdoorsy people. We never did anything outdoorsy. We were indoorsy people.
I like to be indoors, but I'm trying to get myself out. It's the nostalgia. Like I very vividly remember going fishing with my father at a lagoon when I was like six years old and just having those memories. So when I was a teenager, I lived on Long Island, so we were on the ocean. And my next neighbor, Billy Richard had a boat. And this boat was like being held together by spit and hope. Anyway, so we took it out there and immediately I saw water just like.
the fountains at the Bellagio shooting up through the bottom of the boat. And they said, it's leaking. He said, well, here, start bailing. I said, well, let's go back to shore. It's like Jaws. Let's go back to shore and get the fix this thing. And I spent the whole two hours bailing. And then it got too deep in there. We had to go back. Yeah, I would be scared. I'd be like, all right, I'm going to swim back to shore. And this is the ocean. It's not like a bay or anything. All right. Let's talk about what's going on. Community lead. And that is what now.
So as a community lead, I like to say I love to serve, support, and engage within our community. So promoting financial education is my primary goal and my main passion. And I serve our community other ways through volunteerism, through engaging with nonprofits and other great businesses here in Racine. And really just helping chart the course for a brighter, more empowered and secure future.
You got the temperament for it. Well, thank you so much. You really do. You've got that, you know, cool, calm. I can do it. Don't worry about it. I got everything under control. That's pretty good. Well, thank you. Let's talk about the Kenosha Kingfish. Now, if people want to know this, Modern League Baseball in Kenosha at Simmons Field, the Kenosha Kingfish, and they've been around, they packed the stadium. Yes, they do. And yesterday, so we do have a partnership with Kenosha Kingfish all summer long. And I'll share a little bit about that. But just yesterday,
In the historic Simmons Field history, we had the first ever financial literacy day. So students from all across were seeing Kenosha came to the ballpark and this was an effort in collaboration with the Junior Achievement and Marine Credit Union and the Kenosha Kingfish where we invited students. They had a great time at the ballpark. We had fun engaging lessons about financial education and
They learned about savings and spending and we had fun little games to promote that and it was so cool because that was from elementary all the way up to high schoolers and so that was a great time at the ballpark. They just opened up their
Home their season last week and so long summer ahead. We do have a lot of cool things that we're doing there So if you do go to a game if you go to a game Sunday through Thursday, you can use code promo code MCU 26 and get an $8 ticket
So save you some money for you and your family. That's MCU 26. In other words, Marine Credit Union MCU 26 where the 26 come from. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A little slow, but so Jeff. It's still early in the morning, but yes. And you can use that, say, have a fun family outing. And when you're there, keep eye out for two things. Each home game, there's a nonprofit that is highlighted
And in support it and so there's 36 home games. There's 36 non local nonprofits that are being supported And that's a little fun 50-50 raffle So if you're over 18 when I have fun at the ballpark have a little 50-50 raffle 50% Goes to the nonprofit and then 50% goes to one lucky winner every single home game We're part we're happy and to support that at we call that the
Marine Credit Union Community Connections and it's a great way to stay connected. And then also every home stolen base by the Kenosha Kingfish, the Kenosha Kingfish and Marine Credit Union are partnering together to support Halo Incorporated, which is a local non-profit food pantry and homeless shelter.
And so every stolen base by the Kingfish is $20 in a pot. And at the end of the year, at the last home game on August 6th, we're going to be presenting a check in honor and support of Halo.
So that's kind of neat. Yes. Yes. Yesterday, when we were at the game, they stole three bases. So. Uh-oh. Yeah. So we're excited. Your boss is out there with the calculator. No. Whose dumb idea was this? No. It was a great idea. It's great. We're inspiring them to steal the bases and be aggressive on the baseline. Yeah, that's great. You ever throw, you ever pitch a ball at a ballpark like Simmonsfield? In high school, I played baseball and we played at the Madison Mallards. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I've never threw out like a ceremonial first pitch. I did. Oh, really? Okay. Was it a ball or strike? Well, I prayed. I said, please make this get over the plate, please. And I went right over the plate, right into the, it wasn't fast, but I got it over the plate into the catcher's mid. Answered prayer. Look at that. I said, please just don't let me hit somebody in the crowd with this pitch. And I did it. Nice. Throw some meatballs. What'd you say? I said, throw us some meatballs. That's what they call it.
Alright, Aaron McCulliby is here from Marine Credit Union talking about all the community events that the Marine Credit Union is involved in. Volunteerism in community events like Girls on the Run, what's that? Yeah, so Girls on the Run. This was in May, right? Yeah, just on Sunday. It's usually the last day of May and that is...
Essentially a fun little 5k race. I shouldn't say little, there was over 5,000 participants, girls and guys from all ages, all backgrounds got together at American Family Field to raise awareness for certain causes and just have a great fun time. And so this is our, I want to say fourth year supporting that event. Each year gets bigger and better. And so it was such a great atmosphere to be a part of.
We also love giving back, like I said, in terms of volunteering. And so we empower our teammates to serve out in the community. Actually, we encourage and reward them for that. And so we also took it upon ourselves our second year adopting a highway here in the area, cleaning up, making our community a little bit brighter and greener. And so that's always a fun time. We do that a handful of times throughout the summer.
And then I'm really excited about this one. We just had Memorial Day not too long ago. And this is our fourth annual coming up in June here, June 14th through the 20th, our MCU for Vets Ruckmarch. And so this is a really cool little opportunity that we do to raise awareness 62 miles in seven days. And the main goal is no veteran left behind.
We have actually a former employee who is very passionate and she initiated the Ruck March and she still continues to do it in honor and support and so we have teammates supporting her. She walks over 62 miles.
the Fox Valley area to raise awareness and all proceeds raised go back to supporting veterans missions and nonprofits. So that's great. We love a good ol' Habitat for Humanity. Love the folks there. We got a chance to support the community build here last month and then we're really excited about this one here in partnership with the Volunteer Center of Racine.
June 22nd through the 26th, we're supporting the second annual Rock the Block, which is like a community cleanup, community service week where youth and community leaders and people who just want to give back to support their community, support by doing fun little projects as a team in Racine, right on in partnership with the cop house on Mead Street.
If you're interested in serving and volunteering, please reach out to VolunteerCenterOfRecine.org to learn more information about that or check out our website at marinescu.com. You know, when you say girls on the run, it sounds like a prison break. Girls on the run, careful. Everybody look out. Also adopt a highway. Remember that on Seinfeld when Kramer adopted a highway and decided to repaint the lanes on the highway? He said, well, that's my highway. I adopted it. No, you can't do anything like that.
Let's talk about small business support during tourism season. This is important. You go to small towns, support small businesses, even around here. Yeah, small towns and large towns, right? You know, it feels small, but it is pretty large, right? And we have a lot of great local businesses and a lot of downtown is so vibrant. It really is. It really is. And we're grateful to partner with Festival Hall and Park.
And they do a lot of great things. The Rotary Park area has the farmers market and a lot of great vibrant events throughout the whole summer. So stay posted on that. But just take a fun family walk with downtown area, check out some of the local shops. Supporting local is such a rewarding thing because you're reinvesting into your community. You're giving back, you're supporting a mom and pop shop.
Now, here's something, spending a summer without getting into debt. It's tough because people just want to spend, go, visit, travel, but there's a way to do it. Enjoy your summer without going into heavy debt. Absolutely, absolutely. And I think it's important to have those conversations in a healthy way with your family, with your spouse, with your kiddos. I have four little kiddos and we are going to be smart making memories and not debt.
You know, if you are planning a summer vacation, set yourself a specific dollar amount and get your buy in from your family. You know, saving monthly, planning ahead, you know, having a separate savings account for Christmas club, but you're doing a summer club. Yeah, exactly. A little vacation club. And then in addition to that, have an unexpected expenses.
little savings account too, you know, sometimes we don't plan for a broken tire or something to go wrong with your vehicle. By your tongue. Yeah, yeah. And so just, you know, prioritize those memories, you know, there's a lot of fun things that you can do for low cost or even free and want to give a huge shout out to our friends at the library because if you haven't been there in a long time, you should really check it out. You can get a lot of cool
um, museum passes to go to different children's museums or go to different experiences. So definitely check that out. Road trips. Uh, my wife and I, we, during when COVID hit, we stopped at the road trips for a while, but you got to kick a bump and start, starting with them again. We, as we belong to the route 66 association of Illinois. So we do a lot of route 66 stuff throughout the country. And we also did one going through Nebraska into Wyoming, South Dakota.
it's fun taking a road trip. And you don't have to spend your whole savings doing it. And nowadays, you could save points on different, you know, whether you shop at a supermarket, you get points for stuff, points on gasoline, save them up, use them. And some of the supermarkets, they use BP, Sitco, save all your points. And then when you go on a road trip, you get free gas.
Who doesn't love free gas or at least discounted discounted gas. Yeah. Yeah. It's I don't know how free it is, but it definitely adds up and there's a lot of great apps, you know, quick trip app. And like he said, BP, it all adds up and you can have fun little getaways, you know, go to a state park or go a couple of counties over, you know, it doesn't have to be a full across country road trip.
And then, like I said, do the legwork estimate how many miles? How much do you want to spend in gas? How much do you want to spend for food or for the activities piece, right? And just visualize that and help get your family's buy-in and support with them. I remember every summer, my dad, he had two weeks off in August, first two weeks in August. He took them off. He was the boss. We took the first two weeks in August. And we went away on trips, road trips, because we didn't fly anywhere.
road trips, and we just left. There was no cell phones, no communication. We just left. We didn't book hotels in advance. Wherever we ended, that's where he went looking for a hotel. And I loved him. We went through all of New England, into Canada. That's where we mainly went. And that was it, two weeks in August. And the best part is no cell phones, no distractions. You just went there and had fun.
take me back yeah those were the days no cell phones no distractions but i totally agree i think i especially with the family. I personally would rather take a road trip for those memories and for the family bonding.
as opposed to taking a flight. I love flying. I think it's fun. But at the same time, it's also stressful, especially if you have kids and you're trying to run through the or a nut job on the plane with you. Yeah, you never know what you're going to get. But when you're, you know, you can sing songs, you can do fun games and ask fun family questions. We we love taking road trips as I shared before. Three of my kiddos are my adoptive kiddos. And, you know, we've
Taking them across country in this summer. We're planning our big thing is We're going to the Mall of America. Oh, yeah as a kid I went there once on a road trip with my aunt and we just wanted to have that fun experience So we said, okay, here's each kid is gonna get X amount you get to spend it however you want But we're obviously gonna do some other fun stuff too. But yeah, just
plan it out, have some fun. You know, we made it a three day week or a weekend where we're going to go to the Mall of America and we're going to go catch a baseball game. And we got those baseball tickets for free because we got our gas at Quicktrip. So it's all full circle, you know? You know, I, I wondered why they never taught us anything to do with money in high school. I learned about the Pythagorean theory. I learned that pi is 3.14 things I'll never use in my entire life.
Never use that information. I wish they would have taught us how to spend money and save money. Now they do. But they didn't at my school. We learned all things that I have never using in my entire life. But I know Pi is 3.14. I know that. I don't know what to use it for, but I have it in my head. Anyway, thanks for that. And shout out to Act 60. That's something that recently passed that more or less states that effective actually this year, any graduating senior has to take at least
a half a semester, a semester of financial education. I wish they offered it. They didn't know. At home economics, the girls had home economics, but they wouldn't give it to the boys. I mean, things changed since the 1960s. Yeah, just a little bit. Things have changed. So grateful for that progress. And it's so cool to see.
I mean, they're teaching entrepreneurship, they're teaching social media marketing in high school, all sorts of cool things that I had to pay college dollars for. And I think the future is so bright. The students are very hungry and excited to learn and grow. And I think that, especially after seeing it yesterday, it was more further evidence is that no matter if you're in K5 or an 11th grade,
They are asking the right questions. They have that desire to learn and grow and really feel empowered. And so everything we talked about is at what website? Yeah, you can check out our marinecu.com website. You can visit us. What is it?
marinecu.com. You said it right. So it's not MCU, it's marinecu.com. And then you can also check us out on social media, Marine Credit Union. If you want to stay posted or up to date, what I'm doing here in Racine, Kenosha in the southeastern Wisconsin, you can also check out Aaron McCollum, Community Lead on Facebook. If you see me out at a community event, please come out and say hi.
Stop on into our office on Green Bay Road here in Racine. And we just love to support our community. We love to support you. We like to say we're here to chart your course to a more financially empowered future. And we are just so blessed to be a part of this community. Look at you. What a perfect cameraman for this job. Let me tell you.
Thank you. I had less nine seconds in this job. As long as there's no community events on Saturdays, right Tom? Thank you very much for coming by. We'll see you in July. Yes, sir. I'm going to bring some teammates with me in July. You bring anybody you want in here. All right. Aaron McCullum, community lead for Marine Credit Union, marinescu.com. Check it out. If you missed anything about what we talked about, we'll have the podcast up later tonight.
