Election Watch 2010
Credit Union Political Spotlight
Fran Amos
Fran Amos is woman who embodies the credit union philosophy of "people helping people". A lifelong credit union member, Fran first ran for her local county commissioner's seat in 1989 and has been dedicated to helping her community ever since.
In addition to her public service, Fran also finds time to serve as the Board Vice-Chair of her credit union, BestSource CU. Prior to joining BestSource, Fran also served on the Board at Lakes Community CU for 14 years. Being active in her credit union fits into her philosophy of community involvement since the members in your local credit union are also the members of your community!
Fran started her career at Bell and worked there for 35 years in community relations. Bell always encouraged their employees to become more involved, as did Fran's father. She said her job really prepared her for public office because she had to find many ways to help customers when things went wrong. At her father's suggestion, Fran sat in on several county commissioner meetings before deciding to run for office. This enabled her to better understand the job requirements. Fran was one of eight candidates when she first ran for office, which turned out to be a valuable learning experience. She came in fourth in the field and realized name recognition was key to winning an election. Fran served as her local county commissioner for eight years before deciding to run for the Michigan State House. She held that post for the next six years. Term limits forced Fran to retire from the State House in 2008 and she is now running for Michigan State Senator.
Over the years there is not one aspect of campaigning that Fran has not done—stuffing envelopes, running phone banks, hosting and attending fundraisers, putting up signs, and going door to door. However, her favorite part by far is going door to door. By her own estimation, she knocked on more than 24,000 doors the first time she ran for the State House. To date for her campaign for State Senator, she is already up to 13,000! Door knocking allows her to meet her potential constituents and listen to their views and concerns. She knows being an elected official is a full time job and she is more than up to the task.
Fundraising is another vital part of running office—you cannot get elected if you don't have the funds. Fran is fortunate to have met some steadfast supporters over the years who are more than willing to host fundraisers for her campaign. Since they want her to win, they offer before she even asks. In addition to her own fundraisers, she hosts and attends them on behalf of other candidates.
As Fran says "The job is wonderful, it's getting there that's the most difficult." Her advice to those who are considering running for public office themselves is that you have to want to serve the people since 80% of your time will be spent doing just that.
Fran has been involved in many organizations over the years in addition to winning many awards. She still manages to find the time to serve on several Boards - chief among them are: American Business Women Association, Christmas in Action, Community Mental Health Board, Mercy Place Board, Michigan Library Board, and National Foundation of Women Legislators. Some of her many awards and honors are: Michigan Bell Telephone Innovation Award, 1990; Oakland University Distinguished Alumni Service Award, 1990; Top Ten Business Women in the Nation, American Business Women Association, 2000; Friend of Mental Health, Community Network Services, 2008; and Leadership Award, Association of Children's Mental Health, 2008.
