ANCHORAGE, Alaska-William Eckhardt is the winner of the Herb Wegner Lifetime Achievement Award, the credit union community's highest honor, but don't expect him to get overly excited.
The humble head of $4.6-billion Alaska USA Federal Credit Union has built a large operation that stretches from here to California, yet for the majority of interactions with the media he lets others take the spotlight.
Indeed, in keeping with his nature, when asked what being named winner of the prestigious award meant to him, Eckhardt told Credit Union Journal a self-deprecating joke and deflected the praise to his staff and management team.
"To be honest, when I first heard it I thought 'I must be getting old and at the end of my career,'" he said with a chuckle. "But I don't think I'm old or at the end. It is an honor, certainly, but no one person deserves this honor. It is a team effort and a number of people have contributed to our success over the years. It is a just reward for an entire organization."
From College to Credit Unions
Eckhardt, better known as Bill in credit union circles, began his credit union career in 1971 where he is today-working for Alaska USA. At the time the credit union was relatively small by today's standards, just $36 million in assets. It had 36 employees in one office that included the CU's branch, all in a building owned by another company.
"Right out of college I went to work for Alaska USA," he recalled. "I have been here going on 41 years now. I started as the assistant manager. I just wanted a job. I didn't have thoughts on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was just learning the business. Assistant manager of a small office meant I was a jack of all trades. I had to do whatever was needed to get the job done, so I was familiar with all facets of the organization."
In 1977, the CU's manager left and Eckhardt was given his first opportunity to be CEO. He said having only been on the job for six years he was not sure he was ready, so he passed on the opportunity.
"The board hired someone else and two years later that person left," he reported. "The board offered me the position again and I took the job of CEO on my 30th birthday."
Looking back, Eckhardt recalls, "everybody" was his mentor. He said when he was young he spent his time learning all he could, and he remains grateful for the opportunity to get input from credit union professionals not only in Alaska, but nationally.
"I actually knew Herb Wegner," he said, referring to the former CUNA President after whom the award is named. "I am probably one of the few guys around who did. Herb was an energetic guy with a lot of good ideas. From Herb I learned the vision of what credit unions could be in the future."
Eckhardt said Wegner had a "grand vision" in the 1970s, including the then revolutionary idea that credit unions could do more than just be a place for a savings account and a loan, including offering checking accounts, which credit unions were prevented for offering for many years. Through the development of a national organization and a network of credit unions, Eckhardt said it was Wegner's belief that CUs could get rules changed in the best interests of credit unions.
"I met a lot of people at CUNA, CUES, CUNA Mutual and NAFCU, and I learned from everybody I ran into," Eckhardt said. "I was a sponge when I was younger, just absorbing everything I could."
Lengthy List of Achievements
Although it is difficult to get Eckhardt to say much about the accomplishments he has engineered during his four decades at Alaska USA, his contemporaries are not nearly as shy.
The nominating letters sent to the National Credit Union Foundation paint a picture of someone who consistently looked for ways to solve problems and led with a positive example.
Rosie Holub, whose own lengthy credit union career was capped by serving as president of the Missouri CU Association until her retirement in 2010, noted that she had worked for Eckhardt for six years as part of Alaska USA's senior management team.
"I witnessed first hand Bill's achievements, leadership and contributions to the credit union industry," Holub wrote. "During the early 1990s, the volatile economy in Alaska produced a massive mortgage market meltdown stressing all sectors of the financial services industry-not unlike what happened in the Lower 48 the end of the following decade! Being the largest consumer financial institution in Alaska, the credit union faced enormous challenges to manage the rapidly rising delinquency and foreclosure rates.
"Times like those not only build character, but display strength of character. Bill, with his team, worked diligently during this recessed economy to help members stay in their homes, when possible, through debt consolidation loans and mortgage modifications," Holub continued. "What is most notable is that Bill remained positive and identified the opportunity during this most stressful time to capitalize on his diversification strategy in the Pacific Northwest and Lower 48 which proved to stabilize the effect of the Alaskan economic downturn on the credit union by achieving significant growth in these markets."
Holub noted that under Eckhardt Alaska USA was the first credit union to offer mortgage loans and share drafts, was the first to serve members nationally and internationally through a dedicated member service center, and was one of the first credit unions to initiate a commercial lending division, provide mortgage servicing, and implement a trust services operation.
Ahead of His Time
In addition to being a "pioneer" in implementing and offering products and services, Holub said Eckhardt was ahead of his time in that he has always placed a priority on political advocacy.
"Bill believes that it is imperative that credit unions generate the political influence necessary to ensure a positive credit union operating environment that promotes credit union growth, enhances the federal charter, and isn't encumbered by overly burdensome regulation," she wrote.
Holub noted Eckhardt "is not a man of many words; he is a man of many good works," and added, Eckhardt's greatest quality is his willingness to share his knowledge and insight.
"He has demonstrated that admirable quality over and over again by providing assistance in any way possible to those within our movement who seek to develop and implement innovative products and services."
Working & Learning
David Chatfield, another CU veteran and former head of the California and Nevada CU Leagues, also worked closely with Eckhardt and wrote a glowing nomination letter to the NCUF. Chatfield said he has been "privileged" to know Eckhardt for more than 35 years, "and to work with him and learn from him during much of that time."
Their paths first intertwined in Alaska when Eckhardt became CEO of Alaska USA shortly after Chatfield became president of the Alaska Credit Union League in 1978. In 1980, Chatfield made the jump to the management team at Alaska USA and reported directly to Eckhardt.
"It should be noted that I left Alaska USA only because President Reagan appointed me to the National Credit Union Administration Board," Chatfield wrote. "I was the first person from the credit union movement ever to be appointed to the NCUA Board, and that would not have been possible without Bill Eckhardt's personal involvement and substantial influence."
Under Eckhardt's leadership, Chatfield said, Alaska USA has consistently achieved "amazing advances" in operational innovation and member services, despite what to others might seem insurmountable obstacles due to its remote location, vast geography (the largest state, more than twice as large as the next largest), harsh environment (extreme weather and frequently subject to earthquake and volcanic activity), and extreme boom and bust economic conditions.
The Alaskan Spirit
"A lifetime in Alaska and exceptional management skills has enabled Bill to lead Alaska USA to not just survive, but thrive in its approach to operations and the unique 'Alaska USA' brand of member service," Chatfield declared.
Eckhardt acknowledged there are a number of developments during his career that he is proud of. He described several of these as simply being "opportunistic."
"Some of the acquisitions were opportunities that came along," he said. "Other things we achieved because of the uniqueness of Alaska. In the late 1970s and early 1980s when ATMs were becoming popular, we wanted a network of ATMs, but none of the suppliers were interested in coming up here. So we started our own network that included several credit unions and even some banks. Today it is still operating as Alaska Option. We operate it and own the majority of the shares. It serves Alaska and other parts of the U.S."
This pattern was repeated several times, Eckhardt continued. He said when something could not get done "we figured it out for ourselves and did it."
"There is a frontier spirit to Alaska so we went with it even when people said something had never been done before," he said. "And everything we did we did with the best interests of members in mind."
Hard Hit By Oil Decline
In the 1980s Alaska suffered through a severe recession precipitated by a sharp decline in the price of oil, Eckhardt recalled. Many people lost jobs and real estate values dropped, but Eckhardt said the its management team "figured out how to survive that, expanded, and came out a stronger institution." The 1980s were a lesson learned.
"Given the challenges I am proud we survived," he said. "It was a difficult time and we learned a lot. We had a lot of real estate loans on our books. We expanded geographically into Washington and we expanded our services, including adding credit cards. Expanding was a gutsy move but we felt it was necessary to survive and we are proud of it. What we did back then paid dividends during the most recent recession. We remain very strong today, with very little risk in our loan portfolio."
Alaska USA earned $41.7 million in net income in 2011, after paying $9.4 million to the Corporate Stabilization Fund. Its net worth ratio was 8.7% ("well capitalized").
In 2010 it posted $27 million in net income, despite paying almost $9.2 million in assessments.
According to Eckhardt, there is nothing substantial he would have done differently during his four-decade career.
"Probably a million things, but no one thing stands out. When you look back you think you might have done this or that a little bit differently, but no major things," he said. "We might have gone to the Lower 48 sooner but for NCUA rules, but there was not an opportunity. But after the opportunity revealed itself we diversified and that helped us."
As for his immediate future, Eckhardt reiterated he has no intention of retiring any time soon, and noted that he has a son in high school who he needs to get through college.
"The job is challenging but I don't think it is more challenging than it was a few years ago," Eckhardt said. "It is still fun, I still have my health and I still enjoy work."
