WATERLOO, Iowa (November 26, 2018): Veridian Credit Union joined United Auto Workers Local 838 to host the 38th annual Mike and Leona Adams Thanksgiving Dinner on Monday, Nov. 25. Volunteers served a traditional Thanksgiving feast at the UAW Local 838 Union Hall in Waterloo, Iowa for 535 people. The Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging delivered an additional 252 dinners to its current Meals on Wheels recipients. In total, the event served a free meal to 787 people this year.
The event is named for former Veridian board member Mike Adams and his wife, Leona. The late couple built a partnership between the credit union and the local UAW to offer the first free Thanksgiving dinner in 1982, when many Iowans were impacted by tough economic times and struggled to make ends meet.
“Mike and Leona built a legacy of service-oriented leadership,” said Veridian President and CEO Monte Berg. “We’re grateful for their example, and it’s our honor to help carry it forward.”
Although both Mike and Leona have both passed, the tradition that still bears their names has grown. Each dinner includes turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, dinner roll, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. The event also offers other free services, including a haircut from Clip Art Corner, blood pressure check from Cedar Valley Hospice and transportation from Cedar Falls, Evansdale or Waterloo by Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County.
Other local contributors to the event include retirees of the UAW Local 838; the Women’s Auxiliary of UAW Local 838, Anderson Erickson Dairy, Cedar Valley Hospice, Clip Art Corner, College Square Hy-Vee, Martin Bros. Distributing Co., Inc., Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County, Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging and Special Occasions Party and Event Rental.
Veridian Credit Union, founded in 1934 in Waterloo, Iowa, is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. The credit union offers a full range of business and consumer financial services and employs more than 800 people throughout 30 branches. For more information, visit veridiancu.org or call (800) 235-3228.