EL PASO, Texas - It’s not easy to make an impression at GECU here. While Harriet May, president and CEO at GECU has been named the recipient of the 2008 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Individual Achievement, she’s actually the third Wegner award winner from the same credit union.
Former CEO R.C. Morgan won a Wegner Award in 1989, while Rufino Carbajal, Jr. won an Award for Individual Achievement in 2003.
Today, Carbajal, now CEO at West Texas Credit Union in El Paso, says of May, “In spite of being the CEO of one of the largest financial institutions in the state, Harriet is a humble and approachable person who loves to share her extensive knowledge and support to the smaller credit unions in our area. She’s a great credit union advocate. Her personal achievements are many and worthy of national recognition.”
Others agree. “As a leader, Harriet’s ideas and programs on Latino issues and low-wealth service opportunities are appreciated by credit union executives, leagues, national credit union organizations, but most importantly, consumers living in El Paso,” said Mark Meyer, executive director of the Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis.
May was instrumental in helping establish El Paso Affordable Housing CUSO (EPAHCUSO). She persuaded seven other area credit unions about the need to expand access to home ownership. The CUSO has provided 32,450 free tax returns, $42.7-million in refunds, 370 financial education workshops reaching 6,200 people and 400 first-time homebuyers, 10,500 first-time Homebuyers Savings Accounts, and $14 million in mortgages for qualified low-income residents. May has guided the CUSO since its inception, and chaired it since 2003.
A Quarter In Poverty
The CUSO’s work is especially challenging in El Paso County, where 25% of residents – 200,000 people – live in poverty.
“The border region is not like the balance of the country,” according to Sandra Sanchez Almanzan, Director of Fannie Mae’s National Rural/Border Initiatives. “The area has long been plagued by predatory lenders. The lack of systemic and far-reaching culturally appropriate consumer education hasn’t always been available. When Harriet led the eight credit unions in El Paso to create EPAHCUO, it was, I believe, a watershed event for consumer mortgage lending in the marketplace.”
“I have to credit the Texas Credit Union Foundation and the National Credit Union Foundation,” said May. “They contacted one of my fellow CEOs, Ray Ponteri from El Paso Employees. They invited seven other credit unions to join in, so eight of us met and were able to get a grant from NCUF to get a feasibility study with New Mexico State University as to whether it was something we could make happen.”
The research, conducted in 1999 by the NMSU College of Business, concluded it could happen. Two years later, EPAHCUSO officially formed. “There was definitely a market, but one of the keys was to get funding,” says May. “That’s been our No. 1 issue. We realized that rather quickly, so we found ways to help people–not just members–to get down payment assistance. That then allowed us to get loans into the system through Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae worked closely with us to come up with unique programs that really fit our area. It’s been a group effort all along.”
Early on after the CUSO was formed, May realized that the needs of local citizens were deeper than first thought. “The main thing we quickly realized was that it wasn’t just a matter of getting funding for these loans, for down payment assistance–it was really a matter of financial education,” says May. “That’s where I’ve been the most involved–financial literacy and education.”
“We’d do a first-time homebuyers seminar, covering the basics,” and individuals would make appointments with mortgage loan officers. “As we worked with them, we’d find it might take two to two-and-a-half years for them to go through the process,” she said.
They taught basics like how to establish credit and accumulate a down payment. “That’s where the CUSO came in–that’s our primary focus, to take these people and work them through the process,” May says.
‘Amazing’ Attendance
The CUSO started with some financial literacy programs, working with several area institutions and agencies to teach the classes at various locations, three hours a night over four nights.
“It was amazing how many people would attend,” says May. The sessions were even held in GECU’s lobby once or twice a month. “Pretty soon the CUSO was out of resources, so we started training our own employees to conduct classes, and our own employees were seeing more need,” May says.
In the meantime, GECU did an ethnographic study with the Filene Institute. Researchers came to GECU, visited several members’ homes, and interviewed them in-depth. The interviews revealed a broad spectrum of attitudes and behaviors that members practiced to manage their financial lives.
“We found out some incredible stuff–how members transact business – the needs of the individuals was just amazing,” says May. “We found out that people don’t manage their money the same way, and they don’t understand the process. They know what works for them and what helps them get through. Everybody’s needs are different, but nobody has the information to help them with their issues, and they’re afraid to ask for help. The intricacies of how they paid their bills every months blew us away.”
One GECU member, for example, who’d fully paid his mortgage was borrowing on his credit card to make the payments and at one point was laid off. “It was more important to him to pay his mortgage off in four years than to not have credit cards,” said May. His mother had told him it was important to never owe for your home. “We found all these unique features of how individuals manage their money.” As a result, May helped design various financial literacy training sessions. “We have a myriad of different classes,” says May. For example, they hold one session for newlyweds. “Couples have a hard time coming together” financially, she says. Recently, they conducted an extreme financial makeover–they selected six families and did budgeting and set savings growth goals. We followed them all year long with counselors–each family had a counselor assigned to them.”
The family that best achieved their goals received $10,000, while each other family received $2,500. “Coming out of the CUSO and the housing and savings issues, we believe that if we can teach El Paso to save, we can help our community, we can help people be in homes, pay their bills–we can improve our whole economy here–that’s been our goal,” says May. “We’re trying any avenue we can to teach people how to help themselves–how to manage their own finances.”
Lessons From A Pioneer
May learned about the credit union philosophy from a veteran. “I was hired by (Texas CU pioneer) R.C. Morgan, who I believe was a great leader in the credit union movement,” she says. “He instilled in me and other executives the philosophy of what credit unions were about.”
“When I came to work, I figured I’d be here five years,” she laughed. “My retirement would be vested, I could spend the money anywhere I wanted. You know, I was a young person – you’re talking ‘financial literacy.’ But before that time was over, it got in my blood.”
Today, May has two 40-year employees on her management staff, and two or three others have been there 35 years. May has been around for 34 years. “The length of service of those who worked under Mr. Morgan is incredible,” she observed.
May has been a tireless crusader for the credit union cause on the state, national and international levels. She’s treasurer for CUNA and director of credit union-owned Town North National Bank. She’s been a member of the Filene Institute Research Council, a delegate to the World Council, and sits on the Pulse EFT Oversight Committee. Last spring, she was appointed to the Thrift Institution Advisory council and was invited to join other delegates for a private meeting with President George W. Bush to discuss financial literacy issues in America. She’s twice served as chair for the Texas league, and has been very active with the Texas/Mexico CU Relationships Committee.
May has the advantage of a long-term perspective. “Think of the impact that credit unions had on the banking industry in the mid-1970s, when we started offering checking accounts,” she said. May worked in a bank through her college years and remembers that bank patrons were paying at least $4-$5 in monthly fees, or 50 cents a check.
“If you take $4 in 1968 and take the current value to today, what would that be?” she asks.
The average cost of most checking accounts today, she says, whether it’s a bank or credit union, are free. “If credit unions had not started creating a not-for-profit competitor to for-profit entities on checking account, what would (the average consumer) be paying?”
“The only reason we’ve been able to maintain our uniqueness and differences is because we all, in a unified voice, stand tall and say, “We’re going to do what we believe in and stick to our guns,” May said.
