PHOENIX, Ariz. -
Rising To The Occasion
"WOCCU can rise to the challenge, but the problem may come in China's perception of the organization's resources," says Plank, whose term as chair ends at the organization's 2007 World CU Conference, held this week in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. "The Chinese are used to very big numbers when it comes to people addressing such issues."
Dealing with profound changes to the CU movement aren't new to Plank, who also is retiring on July 31 as president/CEO of the Arizona CU League, a position he assumed about the same time that he joined the WOCCU board. In his 40-plus years serving U.S. credit unions, Plank has seen credit unions emerge from back-of-the-plant operations to a more significant financial alternative for members. Plank's role as league executive during that period has enabled him to help member institutions meet the growing challenges and opportunities facing the movement across four decades and among several states.
"Every state I worked for had its own personality and we all had to be careful not to lose sight of the fact that we were here to serve our members," Plank said.
Credit unions in many ways were still an emerging entity when a 25-year-old Plank joined the Iowa CU League as a credit union representative in 1966. Leagues and regulators had a more "paternalistic" attitude toward credit unions then because many were still volunteer-driven, requiring a higher level of professional assistance.
"At that time credit unions were such that a person with a sixth-grade education could act as treasurer," Plank said. "As consultants, we operated more as management staff for some credit unions."
When Plank joined the league, Iowa's largest credit union had $13 million in assets, with aggregate assets of $160 million for all of the state's credit unions combined. The introduction of share drafts in 1970s served as catalyst that propelled the CU movement forward, he said.
"If share drafts had not been successful, credit unions would still be the same stodgy mom-and-pop shops they were back then," Plank said. "Share drafts woke credit unions up to a whole range of modern services."
Plank's professional progress took him from Iowa in 1973 to serve as managing director of the South Dakota CU League, then back to Iowa two years later, where he became executive vice president and chief lobbyist for the association. In 1984, he assumed presidency of what is now the Minnesota CU Network, Inc., then one of two trade groups representing the state's credit unions. After Plank went to Arizona in 1996, the two groups merged.
"I'd been there for 14 years and was considered the 'bad guy' keeping the two organizations apart," Plank said. "Once I left, the two organizations came together into the one that exists today."
Once in Arizona, Plank refocused the league not just on helping credit unions improve individual operations, but also helping cultivate the environment in which the institutions operated.
"There was a leadership void when I arrived," Plank said. "The main strategy I employed was getting people to assume responsibility for their actions."
That increased responsibility, as well as responsiveness to credit union needs by the league, coupled with the state's rapid-fire growth in helping boost credit union membership and services. Currently, the state's 56 credit unions boast more than $11 billion in aggregate assets and serve 1.5 million members, an impressive penetration rate in a state with a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau population of 6.2 million. Nonetheless, Plank says, there were always issues to deal with at the league level as credit unions of different sizes vied for greater representations and service. The debate over whether to provide financial services to undocumented citizens, an issue raising questions in all states, is especially acute in a border state like Arizona, Plank said.
"We've tried to create situations that give our credit unions choices, something a lot of leagues are undertaking," Plank said. "There's no huge hurdle for Arizona credit unions, and the league sees itself as being in the 'let's-take-care-of-it' business."
The same might be said for WOCCU, on the verge of one of the largest projects in the organization's history. Plank's optimism is tempered by operational considerations that could hamstring effective organizational growth, he said.
Personnel issues, especially when WOCCU has to staff up for major projects, have always challenged the organization. The core group under president/CEO Pete Crear is well seasoned and highly professional, but project staff, especially those in other countries, sometimes cause issues in the execution of initiatives, Plank said.
In addition, too many credit union people still see WOCCU as an exclusively developmental organization, failing to realize that it has representational responsibilities for some fairly sophisticated credit union movements, not only those in the U.S. and Canada, but also places like Poland and Brazil. In addition, WOCCU's advocacy role as it extends to other countries, particularly as it relates to creating the checks-and-balance systems necessary for safe operations on behalf of members' money, can be thorny even under the best circumstances, he said.
Challenges Ahead
But those will be challenges for incoming chair Melvin Edwards, head of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Union, Plank says. However, the retiring executive, who has no immediate future plans, is proud of the WOCCU over which Edwards will assume leadership.
"Melvin is inheriting a strong organization," Plank says. "He's a volunteer, so he'll have to quickly learn how to manage his time in the face of the growing demands that will be placed on it."
A LOOK BACK AT GARY PLANK'S CAREER
1966
Gary Plank joins Iowa CU League as representative; helps charter 85 CUs over the next 5 years; lobbies Iowa state legislature on CUs' behalf
1971
Named managing director of South Dakota CU League
1973
Enticed back to Iowa, Plank's named SVP, then EVP and chief lobbyist of Iowa CU League
1984
Becomes president of what is now the Minnesota CU Network, Inc., then one of two associations serving state credit unions
1993
Wins American Association of CU League Executives "Eagle" leadership award
1996
Named president of the Arizona CU League. Retires from the position on July 31, 2007
1997
Elected to WOCCU board; moves through chairs of Treasurer, 2nd Vice Chair and 1st Vice Chair
2005
Elected to a two-year term as WOCCU chair.
2007
Wins AACUL Gene Farley League Leadership Award and Arizona CU League Very Outstanding CU Person Award
