NEWPORT NEWS, Va.-No one was more surprised that Jean Yokum, CEO of Langley FCU, had been recognized with NAFCU's CEO of the Year Award for credit unions with assets of $150 million or more, than Jean Yokum herself.
"I didn't even know I was nominated," she said.
It wasn't until after the awards were announced that Yokum, who is well known in national credit union circles, learned her board chairman had submitted her for the award. It's just the latest recognition for a credit union that has been a pioneer in many areas, especially with services to benefit a heavily military membership.
"Over the last several years, Langley FCU has emerged as a real innovator in the field of financial literacy," Yokum explained. "We've built payday loan alternative programs, credit builder products, savings programs and more. We opened a member education center, and are active with numerous in-school savings and educational programs."
The CU also installed a new telephone system, redesigned its website, and converted its online banking system to a new platform. "Financially, we had a strong year and continued our philosophy of protecting the members' assets through strong capitalization," Yokum said — the CU's net worth is 11.8%. "Plus, despite the challenging economic environment, we continued growing in terms of members and assets."
Personally, Yokum remains very involved in the community, and sits on many boards, including the Virginia Air & Space Center and its Foundation, USO of Hampton Roads, and Langley Civic Leaders Association. Few people have the history in credit unions as does Yokum.
"I started out as a teller at Langley in 1953 and worked in just about every position in the credit union on my way to becoming president in 1979," she said. "I have had a wonderful career with LFCU for over 55 years. I am told that is a world record for a credit union employee."
At that time, the now-$1.5-billion CU had $75 million in assets, 38,239 members, and three branches. Today it has 170,000 members and 17 branches. "We've come a long way, and that growth can be attributed to our dedication to providing excellent member service and our promise to be good stewards of our members' funds," Yokum said. "We have had extremely talented and hardworking volunteer board members and staff over the years, and have always excelled at hiring."
Yokum said that the CU does not have to do anything in particular right during the current economic climate, as all along it has been building its reserves.
"However, we're doing much of what other credit unions across the country are doing, scrutinizing expenses, increasing efficiencies, and trying to be innovative in our efforts to curb the rising tide of delinquency," she said. "We make sound investments and don't put our members' assets at risk. We believe in strong capitalization and in the last year, our practice of keeping healthy reserves has paid dividends."
Yokum noted that members of the community, who previously banked with other financial institutions, are turning to CUs. "We have benefited from our strong financial position and image in the community," she said.
As for the future of CUs, Yokum expects ongoing mergers — "especially in light of the financial crisis," she said. But while she anticipates the number of CUs and corporates will shrink she also believes overall membership will grow.
"More and more people are becoming aware of credit unions and the benefits we provide," she said. "We have a tremendous model. I hope one day — with technology allowing smaller players to compete with larger organizations — we'll see more credit unions being created. It may take a simplified process to make this happen, but it would be nice to once again see individual entities being formed to provide personal, cooperative financial services for their members or employees."
