On The Future of State Credit Union Leagues:
"The biggest change I have seen in the leagues is the shift in emphasis to critically important political advocacy. It has become Job 1, not to the exclusion of education and other aspects of the leagues, but it is the top priority."
On Bank Attacks:
"Credit unions have been under attack pretty much for the entire 40 years that I have been in credit unions, but they have gotten more severe and more sophisticated over time. Herb Wegner and Jonathan Lindley at CUNA were visionaries, really. By the end of the 70s, it was clear that credit unions had the potential to be a political force-and that they would need to become one...After a while bankers will get tired of this fight, in fact, some of them already are, but that's not going to happen while zealots like Harris Simmons and Howard Headlee are around. As credit unions continue to develop political skill and muscle, credit unions will do well, as long as they see that the tax exemption is a political question. It is not a financial matter, it is not about the need for more tax dollars. It's all politics and nothing else."
On The Future of Credit Unions:
"I'd like to see and really do expect to see credit unions do well despite the bank attempts to box credit unions in. We have our challenges, but if we stick together, we can overcome those challenges. That unity will be all the more important for the credit union movement going forward. And quit using bank services!"
On Effective Leadership:
"Every job I have taken over the years has required some level of proficiency and expertise, but with all of them, relationships are the key element to leadership and management. I worked to create sincerely good relationships with my team. And you have to have a sincere appreciation for diversity-not just the diversity we usually think about: race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion-but also diversity of personalities and what meets the needs of different people and what presses their buttons and moves them."
On Credit Union Charter Conversions:
"I don't think we will see an increase in conversion activity. The option should be maintained so that if a credit union really needed to convert for business reasons it could, but I haven't seen that, yet. What I've seen is greed and insider enrichment. But, if we credit unions were to lose the tax battle and still had to work under the current restrictions without the tax exemption, then there would be a compelling reason to convert. I applaud the efforts of Bucky Sebastian and Jim Blaine putting together a group of credit union believers. It is unfortunate that some credit unions have voted to convert and take the hard-earned capital and direct that to the pockets of insiders. Leagues have a role to help make sure credit union members are treated fairly. Credit unions pay dues to leagues and leagues must provide the services those credit unions need, but they must also make sure members are treated fairly and expose insider enrichment. Every single one of us in the credit union movement should be making decisions with the members' best interests in mind."
