WACO, Texas -
After more than 50 years of service to the credit union movement, Billy F. Spivey retired Oct. 12 from his post as president of GENCO FCU, a position he held for 16 years. Spivey, 70, started his credit union career at William Cameron Employees FCU on Oct. 7, 1955, and previously was president of Waco VA FCU from 1963 to1972; Public Employees CU from 1972 to1984, and Texas Share Guaranty CU from 1984 to 1991. Spivey has served on the boards and committees of the CUNA & Affiliates, National Association of Share Insurance Corporations, Texas Credit Union League Services, CUES Texas Council and the Texas Credit Union Commission. He was named the Texas Credit Union Professional of the Year in 2001.
CUJ: Describe the situation when you arrived at GENCO.
Spivey: I arrived at the credit union on Aug. 16, 1991. We had $36 million in assets, less than 10,000 members and 19 employees. The credit union had been chartered to serve employees of General Tire and Rubber Co.'s Waco plant in 1953 and in 1985 that plant had closed. The board knew that it had to make some hard decisions, so the credit union began pursuing SEGs to shore up its membership.
CUJ: What goals did you have and what strategies did you use to accomplish them?
Spivey: Well, because the plant had closed, the credit union was struggling to maintain its membership base as well as grow. My objective, of course, was to resolve that issue and continuing growing the credit union. You do what you know to try and reach your goals. They already had been adding SEGs so we continued the process. In 1992, we acquired Lufkin Regional FCU, which expanded our territory. In 2000, we converted to a community charter and now serve all of Waco County and parts of Angelina County.
CUJ: What challenges did you face, both internally and externally?
Spivey: Most of the SEGs we served had less than 50 people, so we had to manage quite a few of them. There was some "old- school" thinking that was going on here, but I am fairly aggressive in accomplishing my goals and in the end got tremendous cooperation from staff and board.
One of my staff once referred to me as "a walking manager," because I rarely spent any time at my desk. The name just stuck.
CUJ: How has the CU grown during your tenure?
Spivey: Right now, GENCO FCU has $154 million in assets and 30,000 members out of a possible 220,000 potential members in Waco County.
We operate from six branches in Waco and Angelina counties. We've grown through service expansion and four or five mergers with smaller credit unions, some of which were troubled and others of which were just too small to compete.
CUJ: What does your credit union look like today?
Spivey: GENCO FCU is relatively strong financially and continues to grow. We built two branches in two years and remodeled our headquarters office. Neil Ling, the incoming CEO who has spent the last 13 years here, most recently as EVP, is walking into a solid, member-oriented credit union.
CUJ: What advice can you share with CU Journal readers?
Spivey: I'd say that credit unions have to remain credit unions, with a strong orientation toward member service that never waivers. We need the member more than the member needs us. That's something no credit union can afford to forget.
CUJ: What are your post-retirement plans?
Spivey: I want to do some traveling to Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and I'd like to stay connected to credit unions. Mostly, I've got four grandkids and I'm just going to enjoy the heck out of them. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
