DALLAS — Back in 1977, Jody Beck didn't even know what a credit union was.
Thirty-two years later and going into retirement, Beck has become "synonymous" with Southwest Corporate FCU, an institution she helped to create.
Credit Union Journal caught up with Beck just days after she officially retired as senior vice president of operations of Southwest Corp.
Credit Union Journal: How & why did you first get into the CU industry?
Beck: In the late 1960s I had started working for a company that had access to a credit union through its parent company. My husband and I were considering getting a loan and someone said "why don't you go to the credit union?" I had never even heard of a credit union but I decided to check it out. Back in those days you had to be a member for three to six months to qualify for a loan, so that part didn't work out. But I did join.
A couple of years later, I was put in charge of the company's employee benefit programs and it was a natural extension that I should serve on the board of the credit union. I started learning more about credit unions and loved everything that I learned. I took credit union courses at the junior college to get a better understanding. When the company I worked for became independent of the parent company, we employees decided to start our own credit union. Of course, we didn't realize the impracticality of forming a credit union for only 800 employees scattered all across the nation. But we forged ahead and I became the manager of that small credit union on a part-time basis (along with my regular job) for a couple of years.
Shortly before our family moved to Dallas with my husband's job, the company I was working for announced that they were moving to Denver. It would have been very difficult to keep our little credit union going with all the changes, so we decided to voluntarily liquidate. So, early on I had the experience of chartering, and then voluntarily liquidating, a credit union. Both were interesting learning experiences.
CUJ: Of what accomplishments during your career are you most proud and why?
Beck: Obviously, the fact that I had a part in overseeing Southwest Corporate's growth from three employees and $70 million in assets when I started, to over 230 employees with nearly $12 billion in assets today, has been very rewarding. I think this growth is a result of being able to evolve with the times and meet the changing needs of credit unions through three decades. Being from the operations side of the business, I'm also very proud of the Information Technology capabilities we have built that enable us to respond quickly to the product and service needs of credit unions, and keep a high level of efficiency in our internal operations. Another source of pride is our item processing operations. We have always tried to stay on the leading edge of the many changes in this area including early adoption of image processing which has more recently evolved into all types of remote deposit processing offerings. This has kept our members right up with, and many times ahead of, the banks.
CUJ: Knowing what you now know, is there anything you would do differently if you were just starting out in your career today?
Beck: Not much. I feel fortunate that I learned about credit unions early on in my career, and have been able to spend most of my career working with and for them.
CUJ: What "lessons learned" would you share with up-and-coming credit union leaders?
Beck: Know what makes credit unions different, and find ways to keep the credit union philosophy alive.
CUJ: Will you leave credit union land "cold turkey," or do your future plans include some sort of CU activity?
Beck: I will take a break for a while to build a new home and assist in my husband's business until he completely retires in a year or so. But I do have a continuing desire to promote financial literacy. I have served on the Texas Credit Union Foundation Board for the last three years, and they have a highly recognized program in place for the high schools in Texas. I would like to be able to spend some time working with the foundation to continue to advance this program, as well as the many other projects they undertake.
