GROVEPORT, Ohio -
Jack R. Harper, First Service FCU, Groveport, Ohio
Jack Harper was a banker when he first became involved in credit unions, working in the Credit Union Services division of Bank One, the Columbus, Ohio processor of credit union credit card accounts.
The high-touch standards required to service those members, an anathema to most bankers and not required when processing bank cards, fascinated Harper. Soon thereafter those standards changed the way the young executive thought of financial services.
"Service level expectations were set higher for credit union members than for bank customers," Harper said. "But it was just treating people the way they wanted to be treated, and that's how I would want to be treated, too."
The conscientiousness that led to a career change caught up with Harper, but in a good way. Harper's recognition as NAFCU's Professional of the Year (Assets Less than $150 Million) for his 15 years as CEO of First Service Federal Credit Union reflects his continued focus on member service and a sincere desire to benefit the $101-million institution's 19,000 members.
"The whole member-service approach really appeals to me as a way to financially serve consumers," Harper said. "This has been a great experience."
Harper soon left Bank One, when he worked in mortgages as well as card services, moving to the former Ohio Central Credit Union in Columbus' Dublin suburb, where he served as chief financial officer.
In February 1992, Harper moved to First Service FCU and, five years after that, Ohio Central converted to a mutual savings bank. "I'm glad I wasn't around for that," Harper said.
But Harper was not without challenges in his new position. The then $30-million credit union, formed in 1956 as Lockborne Air Force Base Federal Credit Union, had two years before been named with several other credit unions in a suit filed by the American Bankers Association challenging the institution's community charter, awarded in 1984 to offset anticipated declines caused by the base's downsizing.
The banker's lawsuit ran out of steam when HR 1151 turned the tables on the litigants, who no longer found it wise to pursue the suit against First Service FCU and others formed under pre-existing guidelines. But the impact of the previous 24 months had been hard-felt by the institution.
Harper knew there was work to be done building credit union assets, strengthening the loan portfolio and increasing its membership base, which then numbered 8,000. Changes to the immediate area, including commercial revitalization of the former military reserve and the move to the area of several manufacturing and distribution facilities gave Harper the basis he needed to grow the credit union.
The change didn't happen overnight, but through effective management Harper was able to build a service base that produces an average annual loan growth of 17.7%, average annual share growth of 15.5%, and average annual asset growth of 16.5%.
The credit union also became the first in Ohio to offer online account access and is a leader in offering multifactor authentication.
First Service FCU also excels at community service and is engaged in what seems to be an endless array of community programs aimed at supporting healthcare, educational and social initiatives, including the Children's Miracle Network.
Such support is critical to the role Harper sees the credit union playing in its communities. "We try to give back as much as we can because the communities have been so good to us over the years," Harper said.
Where Advantage Lies
Those challenges will continue as First Service Federal Credit Union seeks to relocate its headquarters. With a charter enabling the institution to serve all of Franklin County, including the city of Columbus, Harper would like to see the four-branch institution more centrally located in a region currently overrun with banks, including a rise in de novos started by bankers who lost their jobs through their industry's continuing merger-mania.
"There are tremendous opportunities for credit unions our size to maintain those core relationships that aren't financially worthwhile to banks," Harper said. The pending acquisition by Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. of Sky Bank of Bowling Green, Ky., and anticipated disenfranchisement of bank customers will help that initiative, he said.
"We always benefit when something like that happens," Harper added referring to the merger, due to close in August.
