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VISITORS CENTER DEDICATION FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO Chicago, Illinois June 28, 2001 ..................................................................... Thank you, Chair man Greenspan. I’m ver y pleased to be here for this opening and dedication. I appreciate all of you taking time to be here today. The Fed touches the lives of the citizens of the Seventh District in many important ways. But it’s also fairly complex and even a bit mysterious. As a public institution with important public responsibility, the Fed has an obligation to actively reach out and communicate in a cost-effective and understandable way. We’re committed to delivering unbiased infor mation and educational resources to the public and to policymakers. And we’re committed to being more open and approachable to give the public a better understanding of the economy and the Federal Reser ve. An important part of that effort is the opening of this Visitors Center, which will make our building a more inv iting space for staff, customers, and stakeholders. As you’ll see in just a few minutes, the Center deals with a serious subject in a fun and entertaining way. It uses interactive computer games, v ideos, and even a kinetic sculpture to explain what the Chicago Fed is all about, how money and banking have evolved in the U.S., and how the Federal Reser ve affects the lives of all U.S. citizens. You’ll see a million dollar bills stuffed in a cube weighing over a ton; you’ll have a chance to try your skill detecting counterfeit bills; you’ll see some very rare historical currency and gold coins; and you’ll see our money pit filled with 132,000 coins, which flashes with neon lights when you step on it. That last feature has been described in a local paper as the Federal Reserve meets Saturday Night Fever. The Center takes a dynamic approach to a traditionally dry subject. We tried to do for money and the Fed what the Sue exhibit at the Field Museum does for paleontology. And although the Center is fun, it provides a lot of the same information you’d find in a high school economics textbook. Using the Visitors Center to make our building a more inviting space is an important goal for us. This building is magnificent but it’s also somewhat foreboding-by design. When it was finished in 1922, a local Michael Moskow Speeches 2001 395 paper noted that the building was intended to convey “the impression of dignity and strength, in harmony with the power and purpose of the institution.” In other words, it’s impressive but intimidating. And that can make it tougher for us to reach out to the District. We want our customers and stakeholders to learn more about us, and we want to learn more about them. As Chairman Greenspan noted, our directors play a particularly important role in this effort, and I’d like to thank our Chicago and Detroit directors for their invaluable service. Now if you go back 25 years, I think it’s fair to say that the Fed was not regularly in the public eye—and we preferred it that way. That began to change in the mid-1970s when the Board of Governors and the Reserve Banks realized we had to do more to communicate and interact with the people in our region. As a result, Public Information Departments were created at all 12 Reserve Banks. Nancy Goodman was the key player in these pioneering efforts at the Chicago Fed. In fact, Nancy was the driving force in guiding the Bank’s communication and outreach during the past three decades. She literally created the Public Information function in 1976. Nancy was also a pioneer in another important way. As Chairman Greenspan said, she was the first woman in the Chicago Fed’s history to serve as a senior vice president and member of the management committee. That was a role she assumed in 1994, shortly before I joined the Bank as president and CEO. I was fortunate to have Nancy working directly with me from day one. I quickly learned to rely heavily on her as a trusted adviser and a valued colleague. We’re very pleased to have Nancy’s family and friends here with us today, including her husband Sam and her children Greer and Max. While we are celebrating Nancy’s many career accomplishments with this dedication, Nancy’s family and friends were central to her life. I’d like to close by reading the text of the dedication plaque inside the Visitors Center: “This Center is dedicated to the memory of Nancy M. Goodman, a valued colleague and trusted adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 1968 to 2000. Nancy, who was instrumental in the creation of this Center, was the first woman to serve the Bank as a senior vice president and member of the management committee. On May 31, 2000, Nancy passed away, leav ing a legacy as an outstanding communicator and an exceptional leader.” We believe this major new Visitors Center, which we are dedicating in her honor today, reflects some of Nancy’s best qualities: substantive, sophisticated, informative, and fun. We hope you’ll find that we met these goals. I will now ask Chairman Greenspan to join me in cutting the ribbon to officially open the Visitors Center. 396 Michael Moskow Speeches 2001