Like a lot of people, in the beginning I did not know what a credit union was. But I had the good fortune to work for a true mentor in the early 1970s. Don Beall at NASA Federal Credit Union preached the credit union philosophy to his staff and we participated in promoting many innovative ideas, including share drafts and shared ATMs. When he suggested that I might provide marketing services as a freelancer, I decided to try it. Opportunity had knocked, but at that time I had no idea what I was in for.

The adventure began. Getting typesetting at one place, working with printers at others, I found myself in the car as much as in my office. Then I met my husband-to-be. He was the director of the graphic design department of an engineering firm in Northern Virginia. His company could provide designers, typesetters, a photographer with dark room facilities, a receptionist, office space ?- even underground parking! We started working together in January 1979 and it was great! In August of 1980, we decided to venture out on our own. Buddy and I incorporated Visions to meet the marketing needs of a small but growing number of credit union clients in the Washington, D.C. area. Our primary objective was to have all that we possibly could under one roof. We knew we needed to control quality and schedules.

Since that time many things have changed. No more rubber cement for the designers - they're all on Macs. We don't hand-deliver proofs - we send them in e-mails. Even pre-press is electronic! But, as technology has changed the way we work and as we have grown, we have stayed true to our first objective: keep everything in-house. We've also stayed true to credit unions. Today we enjoy fulfilling relationships with wonderful credit union people all across the country.

Visions is a family-owned business. Two of our sons have worked at Visions, as have two sisters (one as an illustrator and one on our Board of Directors) and one cousin (the author of Sam's Search). And we love our staff as if they were family. They are dedicated, talented, and a great group of friends!

Life is good!