ENDICOTT, N.Y. -
Frank E. Berrish, Visions Federal Credit Union, Endicott, N.Y.
As floodwaters rose to 16-foot levels throughout New York State's Southern Tier in the last week of June 2006, Frank Berrish made a decision that might have caused even the most dedicated credit union executives to blanch. Berrish, president/CEO of Visions Federal Credit Union, decided he had to serve his members.
The entire Eastern Seaboard, from upstate New York to the Carolinas, had been saturated with rain, causing lakes, rivers and streams to overflow their banks and resulting in the region's worst flooding in 25 years. Visions FCU's Endicott, N.Y. headquarters found itself in the thick of the disaster, to which 16 deaths were ultimately attributed, and with 15 of the credit union's staff gone missing. With the help of a dedicated disaster recovery team, Berrish kept the credit union open and ATMs stocked with cash that members desperately needed while other area financial institutions shuttered their doors, their executives headed for higher ground.
In awarding Berrish this year's Professional of the Year (Assets More than $150 million) honor, NAFCU's awards committee cited advancements made during the executive's 30-year career as the CEO of Visions, formerly IBM Endicott/Owego Employees Federal Credit Union. But Berrish believes providing member service during the flood played a pivotal role in the awards committee's decision; thus, he doesn't consider the honor his alone.
"I don't look on this as my award," said Berrish, who earned the same honor the first time NAFCU presented it in 1978. "This award really belongs to the credit union."
What Berrish did do was provide leadership, not only during the flood but in the face of numerous challenges over the years, including changing charters twice and growing the credit union to its current level of $1.6 billion in assets. Berrish, the son of Windsor, N.Y. motel owners, was a regional comptroller for Bankers Trust Co., headquartered in New York City, when in 1975 he made the move to what was then an IBM credit union.
"My banker friends made fun of me because I was moving from a $32-million bank holding company to a $20-million credit union," Berrish said. "When we hit the $100-million mark, they stopped laughing and now that we're over a billion they don't say anything at all."
Visions FCU is also the largest financial institution in Broome County, N.Y., commanding a market share of 30.69%. At year-end 2006, Visions had 13.59% capital, an expense ratio of 2.01% and an average employee-to-expense ratio of $5.96 million per employee. But growth wasn't always easy, especially when the credit union's original sponsor began suffering financial problems that caused significant cutbacks in its local workforce.
"Originally we enjoyed good growth through our IBM affiliation, but in 1992 the company became our nemesis as it struggled financially," Berrish said. "Over the next year IBM employment in our area went from 17,500 to just 1,800."
The credit union diversified, first into serving select employee groups and ultimately to a community charter. The institution diversified its loan portfolio, too, added more products, and increased its emphasis on member satisfaction, including instituting a benchmarking survey, shopper programs and extensive employee training.
The efforts earned the credit union a 96.1% member satisfaction rating and a 97.2% "excellent" quality-of-service rating in an independent third-party survey. Last year, Visions FCU received NACCU's Community Credit Union of the Year Award as well as numerous honors from the New York State Credit Union League, including an Outstanding Professional of the Year Award for Berrish.
"I've always been a hard worker," said Berrish who, at age 10 was manning the front desk at the family motel and by age 17 managing four departments of a large local sporting goods store.
That industriousness has helped support credit union growth, including the development of a management team averaging 15 years' tenure for each member. "They're overworked and they know it, but they still stick around," Berrish said.
That dedication and hard work on everyone's part helped build the credit union and, in the wake of last year's flooding, put their commitment levels to the test. It was a test Visions FCU and its management team passed with flying colors, Berrish said.
"These are the things that test the fiber of an institution," he added. "That's why I look at this honor as not just an award for me, but for the entire credit union."
