The recent passing of Elizabeth N. Hamilton, 92, marked the end of what may be the longest tenure at a credit union in American history, according to Summit Credit Union, Greensboro, N.C.
Hamilton, known as “Sis,” who died on May 30, served as chief executive officer of Summit for an astounding 55 years, and served on the board for 70 years.
Glenn Kirk, executive vice president of marketing and business development at Summit CU, told Credit Union Journal that Hamilton was 78 years old when she retired in 2003. She did not seek re-election to the board of directors in 2013 at the age of 88.
Hamilton’s career began in the early years of World War II, as a teenager in 1942 after accepting a job at Southern Bell Telephone Company – which was the original field of membership for the credit union. She quickly rose to become secretary of the board of directors – and then, in 1948, manager of what was then called Tri-City Telco Credit Union.
“She was hired by Bell South… as the secretary to the gentleman who was chairman of the board and he got her on the board to take minutes,” Kirk said.
Kirk also noted that when Hamilton began her career as chief executive, she started with just a desk drawer, serving only a few hundred members. By the time of her retirement as CEO, Summit CU had just under $100 million in assets at her retirement. (It now boasts more than $230 million in assets).
While serving as CEO of Summit CU, she also managed several other credit unions -- First Carolina Central CU, Guilford County Employees CU, Wake Forest University Employees’ FCU, KRH FCU and NCFB CU. “Most of her multiple credit union management [activities] was during the late 1980s into the early 1990s,” Kirk related.
In addition to her work at Summit CU, Hamilton also spent 12 years on the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors Council Board, was elected to the CUNA board in 1967, and also served 25 years on the North Carolina Credit Union League Board as its first female board member.
Jim Blaine, the former CEO of the $36.5 billion State Employees Credit Union of Raleigh, N.C., knew Hamilton well.
“’Seventy years of service’ is probably all I need to say about Sis Hamilton,” Blaine told Credit Union Journal. “Really, what else is there to add?”
Describing Hamilton as an “amazing individual,” Blaine marveled at her longevity in the credit union industry, in this current era of “10-second soundbites, six-month marriages, and ‘keep-me-entertained-or-else’ attention spans.”
“Most of us truly can't conceive of the idea of 70 years of service,” he added. “Collectively within credit unions, we have thrown off so many of our beliefs in loyalty, we've discarded so many of our traditions and principles, we've disconnected ourselves from so many of our communities, but Sis Hamilton was that unique exception among us. Sis was firm, solid, sure, held fast, was always committed. She lived a highly focused life, with a singularity of purpose: service to her credit union, service to her family, service to her fellow man.”
