Spire II, the Sequel

Well, I got a mailing from the newly renamed Spire Federal Credit Union announcing the new name and logo I described earlier. According to the FAQ included with the letter, the credit union "had several graphic artists create five designs that were then tested in the marketplace. The one chosen tested the best."

Makes you wonder what the other four looked like.

The FAQ also shared this gem, in answer to the question "What does 'Spire' mean?":

A spire is the highest point or summit of something, like the distant spires of the mountains. The name reflects our organizational goals to reach the top and be the best.

A quick check of everyone's favorite online reference (the Wikipedia, of course) gives us this meaning for spire:

A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit." Symbolically, spires have two functions. The first is to proclaim a martial power. A spire, with its reminiscence of the spear point, gives the impression of strength. The second is to reach up toward the skies. The celestial and hopeful gesture of the spire is one reason for its association with religious buildings.

No mention of mountains there -- just spears and churches. It does mention reaching up toward the sky, but nothing about the need for a cross-shaped star at the top of the spire.