Owatonna, Minn. – HomeTown Credit Union of Owatonna has been honored with a 2022 Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award. The award, sponsored by the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), recognizes leadership within the credit union movement on behalf of youth financial literacy.

HomeTown was honored for the Northfield College and Career Readiness Partnership including the “Let's Master Money” Gameshow. In the Spring of 2022, our Community Education Coordinator, Kurt Halverson, partnered with Northfield High School to present a 3-part series on financial wellness to their full senior class. The sessions covered budgeting, credit, and other financial topics. The series ended in a financial literacy gameshow where the contestants were tested on their financial wellness knowledge for a chance to win time in the "HomeTown Hurricane" money tornado machine.

HomeTown CEO, Kim, Westphal stated, “One of the Credit Union’s Core Values is that of education. Through the efforts of Kurt, we were able to provide financial literacy education to more than 2,000 members and non-members. These initiatives included free one-on-one financial coaching sessions for members and non-members, presentations to classes through schools and community education organizations, and partnerships with local non-profits to provide financial education to their client base.” 

HomeTown Credit Union’s winning entry will advance to the national competition, where it will compete with financial education projects from credit unions in other states.

The award is named in honor of Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement, who established the first “caisse populaire” (people’s bank) in Quebec in 1900, and helped establish the first American credit union in New Hampshire in 1909. Desjardins was an ardent believer in the value of teaching children to save, and he promoted the idea of in-school savings programs.