When Mike Mercer spearheaded a special outreach campaign in Georgia, the name of that project sums up what he, and the credit union movement, have always sought to do: "Helping People Afford Life."
And after a lifetime of doing just that, Mercer, CEO of the Georgia CU Affiliates, is one of three winners of the 2015 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement.
"Anyone who knows Mike knows he's an innovator and status quo challenger who has always pushed leaders to re-think old habits and consider new ways of doing things," said John Gregoire, chair of NCUF Wegner Awards Selection Committee and president of The ProCon Group. "From his role at the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, time as CUNA chairman, his work with the Polish credit union system, and more, Mike always has displayed tremendous insight and innovation."
The Foundation noted that in his role as president and CEO of Georgia CU Affiliates, Mercer has been an advocate for improving the financial lives of individuals and families on local, national and international levels. Mercer is also the primary architect for the "Helping People Afford Life" outreach campaign, which highlights areas where credit unions help people access the knowledge, advice and programs that will enable them to make good decisions and thrive financially.
Georgia credit unions, the group said, were able to help their members save more than $130 million in 2013 alone.
Mercer also has ties to the country of Poland, becoming known as the principal "ambassador" of the Poland-Georgia credit union partnership program. "As a key driver in the creation and implementation of this international partnership, Mercer's vision of improving people's financial lives through credit union membership has allowed the citizens of Poland to benefit from the same financial service opportunities as people in the United States," the Foundation noted.
In an interview with Credit Union Journal, Mercer said he first got involved with Polish credit unions when he met Grzegorz Bierecki at a Government Affairs Conference in the early 1990s. "He told us about how leaders from the Solidarity Movement in Poland were looking for ways to inject democracy into the lives of people at the local level," Mercer explained. "Grzegorz was moved by the words not for profit, not for charity, but for service.' After his talk, we invited him to join us on Hill visits the following day. He met Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), who was very intrigued with the idea that the Poles would form democratic organizations that would help mobilize savings."
By 1995, Mercer noted, Georgia credit unions entered into a formal agreement with the Polish CUs built around mutual learning activities. "We learned much about the importance of cooperatives to free society and I would like to think that the Poles learned a few things about operating consumer financial institutions from the Georgia credit union folks," he said.
As a result, 62 credit unions and more than 1.8 million members benefit from cooperative principles in action. The Georgia-Polish partnership model has now become the flagship for other international partnerships worldwide.
In 2007, the government of Poland awarded Mercer with the "Order of the Knights Cross," the highest Polish governmental award available to non-Polish citizens, in recognition of his contributions to the growth and development of the Polish credit union system.
"One may wonder why the Polish credit unions folks, including myself, became so close with Georgia and Mike," said Grzegorz Bierecki, Senator of the Republic of Poland and Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Cooperative Savings and CU. "I think one of the answers is an attitude, the quality of non-preaching advice, equality in our relations, respect for different cultures and ways of life without being judgmental and supercilious. These are some basic characteristics of Mike Mercer as our mentor, our credit unions' professor."
In the U.S., Mercer's advocacy was crucial in securing the support of then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to shepherd the Credit Union Membership Access Act in the 105th United States Congress.
"Mike is an outspoken, articulate leader," said Bill Cheney, CEO of SchoolsFirst FCU, a $10.7-billion institution based in Santa Ana, Calif.
Cheney noted that Mercer's career in the credit union movement has spanned across four decades, starting in the late 1970s.
Mercer began his career as one of the first employees of U.S. Central Corporate FCU.
In 1980, Mercer moved to Atlanta to help recapitalize the former Georgia Central CU. By 1985, Mercer was named president and CEO of the Georgia CU Affiliates, which included the Georgia CU League and Georgia Central CU. During his tenure as League president, Mercer served on CUNA, CUNA Mutual Group and Association of American CU Leagues.
"He has personally impacted thousands of credit unions and tens of millions of credit union members through his work, first in the Corporate Credit Union Network and now almost 30 years as president/CEO of the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates," Cheney said. "Mike is never willing to sit on the sidelines or accept the status quo, Mike pushes people's thinking, he encourages innovation and change, and he always has an eye to the future in the best interest of our movement."
Dennis Dollar, an Alabama-based CU consultant and himself a former Wegner award winner, said of Mercer: "Mike has been a recognized true credit union stalwart and standard-bearer for so many years that we sometime feel he's always been there in Georgia and always will be. He is an unadulterated credit union champion, a serious-minded innovator and one of the most influential advocates the industry has in its ranks. He is certainly a deserving Wegner award recipient."
Mercer is also a member of the board of the National Cooperative Bank, and is the only credit union professional in NCB's history to hold the position of Chairman.
"At NCB, Mike's vision and understanding of cooperative values has proven to transcend industries and has been a welcomed injection of energy into the pursuit of our mission," said Charles E. Snyder, president and CEO of NCB. "If I have learned one thing about Mike during his tenure, it is that his engagement, commitment and passion for the cooperative movement is steadfast and true. In his role as Board Chair he is an embodiment of cooperative principles."
In 2005, Mercer was recognized for his work with Georgia credit unions with a Georgia Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Mike's career with credit unions is totally and fully associated with creative and innovative approaches for credit unions to grow and prosper," said Dan Mica, principal of The DMA Group, a consulting firm, and former CUNA president and CEO. "To use Mike's own words, his personal vision and creativity make him a center of gravity' for all those interested in unique ways to preserve the best of the past and move forward to the cutting edge of the future."
Mercer said CUs have long worked together to enhance their ability to serve members. In the 1980s, he noted, CUs embraced many new service capabilities following the Monetary Control Act of 1980, redesigned deposit insurance with leadership from the administration of NCUA chairman Edgar Callahan, laid the groundwork for more open fields of membership.
Mercer also explained that the failure of the savings and loan industry provided some valuable lessons. "Credit unions learned that they had to demonstrate their commitment to purpose. Without that, unique government relationships go away," he said. "The importance of portfolio diversity and real attention to risk management became crystal clear. Capital truly is the license for private enterprise. Without it, the impacts of the tech bust in 2000 or the real estate bust in 2007 could have been fatal. And, delivering on the member value proposition is key to competitive vitality. The lessons of the S & L failures have provided credit unions with a picture of how things can go bad. Twenty-five years later, credit unions are in a great place."
As for the future of credit unions, Mercer predicts that consolidation will continue unabated, but CUs will also continue to take business from the for-profit providers. "Credit unions will become regarded as an ally to the so-called middle class, perhaps all but the top 5% and the chronically under-banked," he said. "People will come to regard credit unions as progressive suppliers of financial services and consultative assistance. Credit unions will also have become actively involved in helping members with education and employment — value extensions beyond financial services."
