CEO Departs Family First Credit Union After “Lake America” Social-Media Post

Family First Credit Union announced that its former chief executive, Jane Smith, is no longer with the organization, effective immediately. The announcement was signed by board chair Maurice Patterson and interim chief operating officer Jason Acosta, who will serve as acting CEO. The company did not confirm whether the departure was directly tied to Smith’s recent social-media post that featured her family wearing “Lake America” sweatshirts, a reference to the U.S. president’s proposal to rename Lake Ontario.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” a move that sparked widespread criticism from Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, and cultural commentary such as a satirical name change on the animated series *South Park*. The proposal was widely reported as an attempt to assert a new American identity for the Great Lakes region.

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Family First issued a statement unequivocally rejecting the content of Smith’s post and later apologized to members for the concern and disappointment it caused. In an interview with a Michigan news outlet, Smith explained that the original image contained an artificial-intelligence marker, though a later repost by her sister omitted the marker. The company’s chief operations officer, Jason Acosta, assumed interim leadership following the announcement.

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U.S. Representative Timothy Kennedy (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation aimed at preventing the president’s renaming effort and prohibiting any future attempts to rename any of the five Great Lakes. The bill seeks to preserve the historic names of the lakes and block unilateral changes.

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These developments illustrate how a high-profile executive’s social-media activity intersected with a contentious national policy, prompting corporate distancing, public apologies, and a legislative response.

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