If You Wanted To Tell Congress What Credit Unions Are Really All About...

HERE SHE IS....

MARVEL EBENHAHN

... no finer example of the cooperative,
"People Helping People" philosophy.

Thank you Marvel
... right there with you m'am!

"IT'S AMAZING WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO WHEN THEY WORK TOGETHER." 

"IF WE CAN"T BE DIFFERENT, WHY ARE WE HERE?"

Some Really Good News!

https://www.ncsecu.org/AboutSECU/NewCEOAnnounced.html

Fred Byrd

 Fred Byrd has passed away at the age of 87.  Fred Byrd started out life as one of eight children, son of a hardscrabble sharecropper in rural Hoke County, North Carolina.  The funeral was held Saturday at Rock Springs Missionary Baptist Church - standing room only.

Might say that 70 or 80 years ago in the rural South, that the "odds for success" were not exactly stacked in Fred Byrd's favor; but Fred Byrd was a remarkable man.  Loved by many, admired and respected by all.

Fred Byrd was faithful in his mission in life to his five children, his church, his extended family reunion association, his friends and to his work. Those things Fred touched with his life were always improved; he wasn't always necessarily the leader, but he was always in-charge. The Minister said one of Fred's favorite pastimes was talking.  Fred was plain-spoken and freely shared his thoughts and opinions with others - whether you were ready or not! With Fred Byrd, you didn't have to wonder what he thought or felt. Fred didn't shirk his responsibility "to counsel" you when you needed it. The Minister said Fred even counseled him on his sermons: "Keep it simple and, most importantly, don't take all day!"

Fred Byrd counseled me often over the years; it was always advice well worth getting. I distinctly remember our "first session".... 

Ann Richardson Suggs...

Been meaning to tell you about Ann Suggs for a while, but things kept happening. Guess this might be a good time.

Ann Suggs was a "one of a kind" personality. Folks said that "God broke the mould" when He made Ann; and most of us were grateful for that.  Because  Ann, all "five foot nothing" of her, was always a force to be reckoned with, a verifiable force of nature - full force, full strength!  Ann only moved in one direction and at one speed - forward and fast.

Ann lost her husband Ray early in her marriage. She was left with two very young sons and an assortment of challenges - all daunting.  She made two choices - forward and fast; balancing rearing Ty and Chris with an exceptional 37 year career " running the money" for one of North Carolina's

largest and fastest growing counties.  Ann Suggs also served with distinction for nearly a quarter century on the Board of Directors of the Local Government FCU in Raleigh, where she fought hard "to give a voice to the people."  

Had a couple of opportunities to watch Ann negotiate the terms of an investment with some of those Wall Street types. Convinced me that, over all those years, the County well-maximized its investment income and that the brokers thoroughly earned their keep.  Ann was not a woman to whom you could say "no" easily.  She explained her world view succinctly: "My way or the highway!" It's kinda embarrassing to admit and hard to explain just how much fear a "five foot nothing" force of nature can strike in one's heart!  But Ann could - and Ann did!!  

Ann was smart, diligent, dedicated, honest and usually right in her decisions.  It was usually wisest "to take Ann's advice" and not try to fight "the force."  I only crossed her once..... 

Human Chemistry....

DOOK !

Couple of comments on the blog recently have referenced one of my alma maters ( had a rather "multi-faceted and checkered" academic experience!) - Duke University.

Duke is of course famous for basketball, but also enjoys a national reputation for academics and medicine.  Duke considers the university to be one of the "Southern Ivys" - as in league not poison - and hosts a highly distinguished faculty.   

Duke lost one of those highly regarded faculty members recently.  Dr. James Bonk taught chemistry at Duke for over 43 years, to over 30,000 students. He was definitely in the "legendary" category - tough, effective, fair, loved his students.

Let's just say the "chemistry" was right...

Perhaps the most famous and frequently told story abut Dr. Bonk dealt with four students, a critical final exam, and an all-weekend road trip of "spirited revelry" gone awry.  A tale of an 8:00 am Monday morning exam and four students, returning Sunday - "midnight plus some" - thoroughly devastated by hangovers and youthful exuberance contracted at a distinguished "ladies only" college in nearby Virginia. 

Well, it was like this ....

The solution? Bright idea, let's call Doc Bonk and tell him we had a flat tire and ask to reschedule the final exam ! They called Dr. Bonk; he listened to their story and agreed to the delay.  The students rejoiced at their salvation ! 

The following Friday the four students arrived for the rescheduled final and were given the test paper and placed in four separate classrooms.
The first question representing 5% of the grade was a relatively easy, straight-forward chemical equation and all the students relaxed.  They had survived; they had "dodged the bullet" of their weekend madness !

They turned to the second page of the exam which had the second question which represented 95 % of the exam score.  The question from Dr. Bonk was...

Ed Callahan... A Look Back

Always suspected that the problem with Ed Callahan was that as a youth he was beaten too often by Nuns in parochial school or, perhaps, not beaten enough. Well, whatever, either way the Nuns left their mark – an indomitable spirit!

Ed Callahan was Irish – brash, pugnacious, loud, hard drinking, fun loving – alive! But why be redundant? I said he was Irish!

For over a quarter of a century, we all watched and observed as Ed Callahan created shock waves in the credit union world. No one was neutral about Ed Callahan. His friends were fiercely loyal, his enemies equally committed. Ed inspired many and angered quite a few. Ed had style; he had presence. With Ed, you weren’t allowed to make contact without becoming involved, excited, immersed, engaged.

At Marquette, Ed must have played football in the same way he played life – without a helmet. You had no doubt that Ed Callahan always played for keeps. He had no intentions of losing, that was not one of the options. Ed was very straight-forward; your choices were always clear. The mission was defined; and, there was only one direct path to the goal. That path was either with you, around you, over you, under you, or through you; you could step aside or get on board. It was your choice; but your choice never changed the mission, nor the path, nor the goal.

Some said that Ed was a visionary...

The Bar - S Ranch and Phyllis Bradley....

Heard from a very special person over the holidays. Miz B has just moved to Florida with her husband for "some sun and fun".  Thought she deserved to be "re-M-Bar S'ed" one more time for deserting her home State... 

Here's the reprise from 2012 ....

Thought I might relate to you a legendary member relationship which exists within the CU for which I work. Hope you aren't embarrassed by a little nudity...

The story starts with a super branch manager, Phyllis Bradley, who has recently retired as our leader in the community of Reidsville, NC. Phyllis is special as a leader, because she has always been afflicted with the problem that she truly cared about her members - and they knew it!!
 

People Helping People!

Really can cause a problem for a credit union when members find out you care.  It leads to all kinds of wild expectations from the membership.  

I mean, if they think you really care;  they expect you "to find a way", "to make it work", "to understand their problem", "to protect their dignity", "to share their pain", "to believe in their dreams", "to give them hope" when the chips are down.  To "stand in there" with them, when all others have fallen back on "rules and excuses" of why the member is no longer a valued fellow traveler in this fantastical human odyssey - called life!

John Sprunt Hill

N.C. Historical Marker:

John Sprunt Hill

(1869-1961)

Banker and attorney.
 Leader in the Credit Union

Movement.
Benefactor of the UNC Library.

Lived here.

John Sprunt Hill was one of  North Carolina's most successful and distinguished bankers, he said...

❖ "Credit Unions are not banks. Banks are aggregations of money; Credit Unions are aggregations of men [and women!]."

❖ "Credit Unions capitalize the character of the membership."

❖ "A Credit Union organized within a group, the members of which have no credit problems, obviously fills no need and organizations of this type should not be encouraged."

❖ "Credit Unions increase the general prosperity, and thereby improve the community and its other businesses, helping others to attain a better economic status." 

... there was a time in the past when bankers not only sought to make money, but also sought to make a real difference in people's lives.

On Leadership: Mike Fryzel

Thought I might repost (from 3/5/2014) this one on

Mike Fryzel given Mr. Mark McWatters' recent CUTimes (8/18/2015) opinion piece (see here).

[Mr. McWatters is different; he favors the truth.]

Mr. Mike Fryzel

It may come as quite a surprise to some of you, but I received a personal note last week from NCUA Board member Mike Fryzel. The note said: 

Dear Jim,

    I think you are a very fine person, despite what others say about you.

                                            Sincerely,
                                          Mike Fryzel

"Just for safe keeping."

Actually, this card was the second personal note that I had received from Mr. Fryzel. The first one, a couple of years back, came with a roll of duct tape and a note which encouraged me to "put it to good use".  On that occasion , I returned the roll of duct tape to Mr. Fryzel and encouraged him to "store it some place inappropriate".

The first time I met Mike Fryzel was in the Fall of 2008. He had just been appointed to the Chair of the NCUA Board by President Bush. He walked on to the national stage and directly into the middle of a dangerous, financial catastrophe of uncertain proportions - with even the most optimistic estimate being "extremely bad"!  Mike Fryzel inherited an absolute mess from his predecessors at NCUA, triggering a domino collapse of the Corporate system which bankrupted the NCUSIF.

You will always discover the true character and integrity of a person in times of great stress and uncertainty. Credit unions were more than fortunate to have a seasoned, thoughtful leader take the NCUA helm in the midst of this crisis.  There was no sure course nor direction, no proven path to provide guidance. Fryzel had to listen, learn, reflect, and decide - and then have the courage to act.  "Under fire" not all decisions will be right - and not all were - but the credit union movement did, under Mike Fryzel's leadership, survive to fight another day.

For those of you who don't know it, Mr. Fryzel - lawyer, Illinois regulator, experienced businessman - hails from Chicago, "America's Second City".  As to his leadership role at NCUA….

Soft Eyes...

Sautee-Nacoochee, Georgia

Youngest son Thomas got married in North Georgia a couple of weeks ago and that was a good thing; his wife's name is Julia.

It was a good thing, because for the last few years his father (a very, very nice and reasonable person) had come under constant attack and increasing pressure from Thomas' three sisters and mother.  

The complaints from sisters and mother alike had a common theme:  "You need to talk to your son about Julia! He's going to keep fooling around, mess up, and let her get away! You've got to do something!" Guess you can figure out what a remarkable person Julia is when "from the get-go" she has three future sisters-in-law and a future mother-in-law, firmly in her corner, agitating on her behalf - just unbelievable, right!?!

My response was always:  "Don't worry; it's going to work out." Which invariably evoked a highly skeptical, hands-on-hip rebuke: "Oh yeah, well how do you know?" To which my reply was simply: "I just know."

Most women when they hear that kind of answer from a man are pretty sure he doesn't know what he is talking about.  Most of the time they are right. But not in this case; so, let me tell you how I knew.

If you've been around in life awhile, you can always tell when a man is in love with a woman.  It's really easy if you just pay attention. It's not how he acts; it's never what he says - he can fool you on those two! The tell-tale sign, the dead-giveaway is always in how he looks at her - those eyes don't lie!

He had it really, really bad... !!

A man who really loves a woman will always have "soft eyes" for her. Yep, you can always tell by those soft eyes! And, the first time I ever saw Thomas around Julia, he had the softest eyes for her I had ever seen.  

In fact it was the "worst case" of soft eyes I'd ever seen...

Thomas had it so bad he looked like Bambi!

And, if you'll take a look...

The Times They Are A Changin...

Mr. Bill Cheney
CEO, CUNA

"Cometh the hour, cometh the man?"

The Road To Damassachusetts?...

Renewal, Renaissance, Revival?

"The apostle Paul was a master communicator.  Paul was the right man in the right place at the right time.  He was well-prepared and well-educated for the task at hand.  And, although he used his oratorical skills; at the same time, he always arrived at the same, simple message."  

"Now Paul could have stood around all day and cursed the darkness.  But instead he decided to turn on the light.  In the same way we can wring our hands and talk about the state of affairs in our world all day long.  Or we can do something about it."

"Not only did Paul take action, but he also took the time to learn about the people he was speaking to.  That is because the way to change a culture is to invade it...."  - Greg Laurie

So, with the latest move, does the Credit Union Movement have a new, master communicator-apostle ready to...

Let the Celebrations Begin...

There is rejoicing in Region III...

[This picture is a "derivative".]

.... the imperious Czar is toastada !

 The end of an error... e-r-rr... era!

Run, Credit Unions, Run....

"UNITE FOR....
     
    ..... GASPS,
                ..... GROANS,
                   .... GRIMACES,
                           
     ....... FOR GOOD!"

... AND FOR KIDS !!!
(... NOT "KID" GOATS, REAL KIDS !!)

On Losing A Special Neighbor...

Her obituary said in part:

"....she enjoyed being where she was and with whom she shared the experience. 

 She was never in a hurry to get somewhere else.

She was that way with her friends, 

who remember feeling better about themselves

for being with her."

...it wasn't actually formatted as poetry,
 but clearly it is....

.... and so was she!

Region III......

Pinnochioan Leadership....
... afire with integrity.

One In A Millie!

The Divine
Miz M!

No one quite knows when Millie Fowler first came to the Credit Union – our records don’t go back that far.

All I know for sure is Millie was here when I arrived; she was already here when everybody else arrived, too! Millie may have founded the Credit Union for all I know, but without a doubt, Millie Fowler is one of the foundation stones upon which the Credit Union has been built.

Before any of you get too upset with me for making people feel old, would like to note that Millie and I are in the same age bracket – we are now both over “the speed limit”. Actually,
come to think of it, we’re both at that point in life where if we “drove our age”… we’d both be frequently stopped and ticketed… which would not be a good thing for Millie. As I understand it, Millie already has quite a driving record on Bald Head Island – some sort of golf cart recklessness. And, Millie was not only charged for the accident and assessed damages; she was also fined for creating endless, hysterical laughter among her granddaughters!

I did take a look at Millie’s initial employment application with the Credit Union – had to handle it carefully – parchment becomes somewhat brittle with the passage of time. Had always thought Millie was from Raleigh – she had led me to believe she was a truly sophisticated, urban dweller.  Was surprised that Millie is actually from one of Raleigh’s “outer suburbs” – Fuquay Varina!  Truth be told, Millie really grew up in Fuquay Springs, years before the monumental Fuquay/Varina merger – a transaction which created, at best back then, a very small “two horse town”. Suspect there’s actually a good bit of country in Ms. Fowler – as with most of us!

Millie grew up in Fuquay with three sisters and a brother – Clara, Mary, Sherry, Jimmy.  And reared three daughters of her own – Allison, Betsy, and Susan. There are now six grandchildren… and by the way Patrick, Millie keeps counting on you for that first great, great grandchild. Not to put any pressure on you Patrick, or to publicly embarrass you… but just get on with it, will you!!

Thought one comment on Millie’s original employment application – in response to the question “Are you a U.S. citizen?” – was refreshing. Her response to the question was: “Yes, I have lived in the U.S. my entire life except for the six months I lived in Charleston, South Carolina…” Guess that’s why they call parts of South Carolina “the Low Country”.

Phil Greer....

The game is over. Phil Greer has won.

The game is over. Phil Greer has won.

The game is over. Phil Greer has won!

What a wonderfully remarkable thought....!  

Many of us have spent the last year hoping that this day would not come too soon.  Watching Phil's struggles at Hospice over the last week, made many of us pray that this day would not be delayed.  There is a time and a season for all things.....

Phil Greer was a faithful shepherd to his family.

Phil Greer loved his sisters Pam and Frances, and tolerated pretty well their spouses, Dave and Mike.  Phil adored his daughters, Aynsley and Mary Chandler -  both gifted with beauty, intelligence and caring hearts.  They gave him great comfort.  And, their husbands, Cade and Scott - who stole his daughters' hearts from him! - must be exceptional men; since Phil, as a father-in-law, always spoke of both with great respect.  

We all knew that "Big Daddy" worshipped his grandchildren. Mary Weldon, Greer, and Martha owned his heart.  And, we all knew that one of the top reasons Phil waged this difficult struggle so firmly, over the last year, was to assure he had the chance of seeing the birth of Harris and Louisa - and Phil was delighted with both!  It was more than delight; it was a great joy in his life.  A pair of Cavalier King Charles spaniels - Molly and Tapper - were also first-tier family members and licked Phil's face at Hospice to cool the fever and force his smile in a very dark hour....

Hubert Hoosman....

MLK, Jr. Memorial dedication is this weekend!  Little flashback on why Hubert Hoosman is 'da man when it comes down "to getting things done" in life: 

Feel it’s time for you to hear my side of the story on “the little scuffle” which broke out between Hubert Hoosman and me at the GAC back in February. The “dust up” occurred downstairs around the exhibit area near the Washington Hilton coffee shop. Evidently, several of you who witnessed the brouhaha assumed it was a “racial incident”; and, knowing Hubert Hoosman to be a fine gentleman, readily assumed that I had provoked the whole thing! Well, you’re right, it was my fault; but, just perhaps, you may have reached the right conclusion for entirely the wrong reasons. Let me explain.

Dave Serlo

  How does one capture the essence of a man who dedicated over 40 years of his life to the Credit Union Movement - to you and to me?  We seem to have thrown off so many of our ideas of loyalty; we've discarded so many of our cooperative traditions; we've disconnected ourselves from so many of our places of community.  Who has time for others - in this day and time?

David Serlo did.  David Serlo was that unusual exception, that unique example among us.  David Serlo remained loyal, firm, solid, committed.  David Serlo always held fast.  Held fast to a life with a highly focused singularity of purpose - of service to his family, to his Church, to his community, to PSCU, to the entire Credit Union Movement - to you and to me.

David Serlo, over 40 years, held all the trusted leadership positions; received all the honors; helped fashion most of the important rules and regulations; and anchored many major credit union endeavors.  David Serlo argued, fought, and cajoled faithfully and firmly on behalf of the philosophy and purpose of credit unions.  He tutored, mentored, and inspired most of our current credit union leaders.  David Serlo coaxed, convinced, and then converted innumerable people into supporting and promoting the credit union cause.  David Serlo was "the real thing" in credit unions - a leader by example.  A loyal servant, a true believer in every fibre of his body, every inch of his heart and soul.

What a remarkably wonderful person; what an elegant, patient, charming man.  What a thoughtful, intelligent, and inspirational guiding light.  I'm not alone in this assessment; all who knew and worked with David Serlo held him in the highest esteem, with unquestioned respect.

David Serlo not only helped show us the "true path' for credit unions; David Serlo helped design and build most of those paths!  You know the PSCU story, that history, that record of principled leadership as well as I do - loyal, firm, solid, committed.

The Credit Union Movement needs to honor - and more importantly never forget - those who quietly, diligently, and humbly provide the example, who set the standard.  Perhaps we need a David Serlo Award -  an Award for purpose, an Award for service, an Award for those who hold fast.