December 21, 2023 • 11 mins
Leadership and Community Service in Credit Unions: A Conversation with John Howard - SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, Sponsored by NetGiver
In this episode of the SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, sponsored by NetGiver, join our host, Glynn Frechette, in an engaging conversation with John Howard, CEO of Merrimack Valley Credit Union. Recorded at the Apex conference, John shares his journey from banking to the credit union sector, highlighting the stark contrasts and unique satisfactions of each.
John delves into the core principles of credit unions, emphasizing their commitment to members over profits. He discusses the cooperative spirit within the industry, where helping people isn't just a slogan but an ingrained practice. John also sheds light on the vital role of credit unions in community support, from responding to local crises to helping individuals with financial challenges.
Tune in to this insightful episode to explore the intersection of leadership, community service, and the cooperative environment of credit unions. It's an inspiring listen for anyone interested in how financial institutions can be more than just money managers – they can be community builders.
SEE YOU LEAD, a DNT BLNK Venture Studio Brand
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to another episode ofSee You Lead, sponsored by
(00:03):
NetGiver, the app and platformthat enables donors and
nonprofits to give and receiveon a no fee basis.
On this podcast, We featurecredit union industry executives
and the impacts they make oncommunities everywhere.
Glynn (00:20):
I am Glenn for set.
And today I am joined by johnHoward.
CEO of Merrimack Valley CreditUnion in Lawrence, Mass.
And what I should probably sayto our listeners is we're here
at Apex, which is a CCUA eventthat they host annually.
So John, help our listeningaudience to get an appreciation
(00:43):
for how long you've beeninfluencing and impacting the
industry.
Talk to us about
John (00:47):
your journey.
Sure.
So it's it's only been about adecade and a half journey.
I am a former banker.
I've worked all over the UnitedStates in banking and and, and,
and I love the banking industryand I love the trading industry,
but they are very different.
As far as the people who lovetheir members who love their
customers, I think there's a lotof similarity.
Everybody loves their teller andevery teller loves their ways,
(01:09):
their own members or their owncustomers if they're a bank.
So there's a lot of similaritiesthere, but there's a huge
difference in that the levelthat we will go to help
remember, it's not for profit.
We're not here to make a profit.
We're not here to make ourquarterings.
We're here to help our membersto be there when they need us,
when they need help.
We are there.
To help each other, you know,it's, it's the kind of industry
(01:30):
where, you know, I was sayingpeople helping people.
It is absolutely true.
It is ingrained in the DNA ofpeople in the credit union
industry.
There is no competition.
There's only cooperation.
Everybody works together, evenif we're in the same
neighborhoods, you know, thesame areas.
I'll call a CEO of anothercredit union who's in the same
geographic area I am, that'sdoing great, and I'll ask him
the same question and he willanswer me.
(01:51):
Right.
Completely honest and tell me,completely steer me in the right
direction.
So it's great that way.
And, and so that's a big part ofit.
The other part of this is, is,well, it's not the other part.
It's just people.
It's, it's the people side.
It's everything's about thepeople side.
We're here to help.
We're not here to hurt.
We're here, you know, we have asaying, you know, people before
profit, not just today, butevery day.
(02:13):
And it's true.
You know, it's, it's, we're notthere for the profit side of it.
We have to earn a profit.
We have to be, to be safe andsound.
You know, as we continue togrow, we got to keep our capital
ratio where it is.
So you have to show.
a positive net income to makesure you're always maintaining
that balance and always there tohave the money to pay for the
increasing costs of inflation orwhatever that happens each year.
Right.
But that's where it stops.
You know, as, as a bank, let'ssay, or as any profitable
(02:35):
institution that's driven bythose stakeholders, they have to
continue to grow their earningsas much as possible because
their shareholders want thoseearnings, that dividend to them.
In the credit union industry, ifwe had a certain level of
profitability that was beyondwhat we should for a credit
union, we'd give it right backto our members.
Our members are the shareholder.
And that's I think the bigdifference.
Glynn (02:55):
John, as you're aware, this podcast is about leadership
across Credit Union Nation andthe philanthropic giving that is
a part of, really, the fabric ofcredit unions everywhere.
Talk to us about your leadershipposition within your own
community.
John (03:12):
Sure.
So that's a Just like beforewhen I said the DNA of the
credit union industry, the DNAof also the credit union
industry is about the peopleside and the community side and
help with non profits.
It's not even non profits, it'sjust helping people.
We're very much a leader in ourcommunity and our industry.
When you look at where theChamber of Commerce goes when
they're looking for help, wherethe Selectmen go when they're
(03:34):
looking for help, the Councilmengo when they're looking for
help.
A state senator has called usrecently and said, Hey, there's
a flooding.
We all knew about this in thenews, the flooding taking place
in this geographic region, whichis part of ours.
What can you guys do?
We put together a little fundand promised to give them a fast
ease and end of credit, a lowinterest rate, far lower than
(03:57):
what they get anywhere else.
It's basically a free loan toget them out of the mess that
they're in.
As a community leader, andthere's other ones, there's
other Canadians here, I'mlooking at a CEO down the hall
here, and they're just like us,so that's a big part of our
industry.
It's not just us, it's all of ustogether, working together.
It's, that's the base of whatour foundation is.
(04:18):
We're, everything we're buildingis to help people through the
process and the communities thatwe serve.
And so that's the huge pieces ofwhat a credit
Glynn (04:25):
unionistry is.
And it almost feels like therecovery if you find yourself in
a deficit scenario.
And many credit unions arechallenged today in the same way
other banks are.
There are no financialinstitutions immune.
bUt the recovery period islessened when you have catered
to the, to the people of thecommunity as compared to large
(04:48):
corps, as an
John (04:49):
example.
And you know, the piece of it aswell with our industry, we help
each other.
So that if somebody got overtheir skis, they can call us and
say, listen, I need to increaserevenue.
Can you sell me some loans?
Because we make, credit unionsand banks make more money on
loans than they do oninvestment.
So if we're sitting there for abunch of loans and we say, do
you have any loans, you guys cankeep the servicing, but I'll
hold it on my balance sheetbecause I need to grow this
(05:11):
revenue, I'm in a little bit oftrouble.
In a heartbeat, we do that andwe get them out of trouble.
We have a very connectedindustry.
If a vendor helps another creditunion.
It makes us all want to helpthat vendor.
And so we go, you know, getbusiness from that vendor, so
long as it's a product thatworks with everything else, all
things B Depot.
That's what this industry does.
It's so
Glynn (05:29):
interconnected that way.
I think it's awesome.
I want to be able to give you anopportunity to highlight your
employees for just a moment.
I'm going to take a leap as I dooften times thinking about
employees of other creditunions.
Social responsibility has becomeparamount in the hiring process.
Of trying to bring on newassociates, and from a
(05:50):
leadership perspective, yourresponsibility is to make
certain your employees care alot about the members they serve
and that translates into thecommunities that are served.
Can you spend just a secondthere talking about the employee
makeup and how they care aboutthe membership, specifically
referring to philanthropicgiving?
John (06:10):
I would kind of go down two different paths with this.
The type of team member that wehave on our team and then the
philanthropic giving side.
Because unless you have a stronginstitution, you cannot be a
philanthropic giver.
Unless you have a stronginstitution, there is no money
to hand to anybody else.
You're in trouble yourself.
So, you have to have a strongteam, you have to have a strong
organization.
It has to be a machine that justhums in order to be able to
(06:33):
support others.
That, that machine's not hummingwhether it's a personal person
in their life, or his life, oran organization.
So, on the, on that side, theproductive side, we have a, I'm
so blessed we have such afantastic team of people who are
they don't make hundreds likethey're running down the street.
They really have an objective toaccomplish something in their
(06:55):
life.
It's not just a career.
They're building something.
We talk about socialresponsibility.
Social responsibility covers alot of things.
It's not just about giving.
Giving is, in my opinion,usually, it usually helps the
symptoms of the problem.
It doesn't fix the problem.
Unless the folks that you'regiving to are organized to start
to solve this problem.
(07:16):
so, we have, our second corevalue is called elevating
people.
And it's, it's in our first corevalue, and it's not in any
order, 1, 2, 3, but it's it's,we have, our first core value is
one team.
We are one team.
And it started out with usindividually as a team.
You know, looking at ourselvesinternally to build the greatest
culture and the strongestorganization that we can build.
(07:38):
But now it's enveloped out ofus, now that we've got that
under control on the internalside.
Now, what we're doing isfocusing that and giving that
great culture we have externallyto our members and to our
community.
So now pulling them into thisone team family that we have.
The second core value is aboutelevating people.
And it's not only on theinternal side, it's also on the
(07:58):
external side.
How do we help people who mayhave A really poor credit score,
or they have a poor credithistory.
And helping them to fix thatproblem.
We commit to our team is this,you join our team.
From the minute you join ourteam, we have a responsibility
to you to make you moremarketable.
We hope you never leave.
We don't want you to ever leave.
We hope you stay your entirecareer, whatever your choice is.
(08:21):
You decide it's better for yourfamily to take this next
opportunity someplace else orsomething or whatever it might
be.
We commit to them that from theminute that they join our team
to the minute they leave, theywill be thankfully joined our
team because they will be moredeveloped, more marketable than
they were before.
Glynn (08:38):
Oh, I gotcha.
So these core values that you'vejust outlined, not only are they
of course known to the employeebase, you're widely publicizing
them to the broader membershipcommunity.
We're just
John (08:48):
going through a branding, a new rebranding here that'll be
rolling out in 2025.
And so that's a huge part of it.
Our third, our third isembracing accountability.
We have a philosophy.
It's called See It, Own It,Solve It, Do It.
So if you see something, you ownit now.
And it's your responsibility tosolve it.
And once you solve for theproblem, then you gotta do it.
(09:08):
You gotta execute it.
See it, own it, solve it, do it.
Glynn (09:11):
I like to be able to give back to my guests for taking the
time to sit down with me.
Perhaps a nonprofit organizationthat's important to your family.
You know, it's one thing to cometo work every day and hold up a
flag and talk about what'simportant to the credit union
and I know you're genuine witheverything you've said to me
thus far, but I want to makethis a little bit personal for
(09:32):
your sake.
Is there an organization you'dlike to plug?
Make sure you're crystal clearon how our listeners would get a
chance to, to research
John (09:41):
or whomever that is.
If it's okay, instead of namingone, one, one organization
something that's important tome.
Would it be okay if I talkedabout a problem?
Oh,
Glynn (09:51):
yes.
Right on.
Let's do it.
John (09:52):
So, and there's a lot of organizations helping this
problem.
It's the problem ofhomelessness.
So, I'm involved in severalorganizations about
homelessness, but one of thethings that I am trying to
create awareness for and talk tothe folks about is when you look
at homelessness, it's rampantnowadays.
I mean, there's so many problemsin our cities and elsewhere
where homelessness is rampant.
Homelessness is just, it'salmost become an epidemic level
(10:15):
itself.
It's like, it's reached levelsthat are outside the charts.
And so you wonder why.
And when you're involved in theorganizations like I am as well,
and this is where I've learnedthis, many of the organizations
solve or work to heal or treatthe symptoms.
It doesn't solve the problems,but it treats the symptoms of
the problems.
Glynn (10:32):
The most difficult task of being homeless is
John (10:38):
Having
Glynn (10:38):
to ask someone else to part with their own money.
So that unto itself is a realchallenge, right?
Is, is you're in survival mode,but humbling yourself when
you're at the point of greatestneed to ask someone else for,
for their money.
What a pleasure talking withyou.
Yeah, it was super fun, Greattime with you, John.
(11:00):
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us on thisepisode of See You Lead brought
to you by NetGiver, the no feedonation platform for donors and
nonprofits.
We hope you stay engaged, stayinspired, and continue leading
with purpose.
Until next time.
Welcome to another episode ofSee You Lead, sponsored by
(00:03):
NetGiver, the app and platformthat enables donors and
nonprofits to give and receiveon a no fee basis.
On this podcast, We featurecredit union industry executives
and the impacts they make oncommunities everywhere.
Glynn (00:20):
I am Glenn for set.
And today I am joined by johnHoward.
CEO of Merrimack Valley CreditUnion in Lawrence, Mass.
And what I should probably sayto our listeners is we're here
at Apex, which is a CCUA eventthat they host annually.
So John, help our listeningaudience to get an appreciation
(00:43):
for how long you've beeninfluencing and impacting the
industry.
Talk to us about
John (00:47):
your journey.
Sure.
So it's it's only been about adecade and a half journey.
I am a former banker.
I've worked all over the UnitedStates in banking and and, and,
and I love the banking industryand I love the trading industry,
but they are very different.
As far as the people who lovetheir members who love their
customers, I think there's a lotof similarity.
Everybody loves their teller andevery teller loves their ways,
(01:09):
their own members or their owncustomers if they're a bank.
So there's a lot of similaritiesthere, but there's a huge
difference in that the levelthat we will go to help
remember, it's not for profit.
We're not here to make a profit.
We're not here to make ourquarterings.
We're here to help our membersto be there when they need us,
when they need help.
We are there.
To help each other, you know,it's, it's the kind of industry
(01:30):
where, you know, I was sayingpeople helping people.
It is absolutely true.
It is ingrained in the DNA ofpeople in the credit union
industry.
There is no competition.
There's only cooperation.
Everybody works together, evenif we're in the same
neighborhoods, you know, thesame areas.
I'll call a CEO of anothercredit union who's in the same
geographic area I am, that'sdoing great, and I'll ask him
the same question and he willanswer me.
(01:51):
Right.
Completely honest and tell me,completely steer me in the right
direction.
So it's great that way.
And, and so that's a big part ofit.
The other part of this is, is,well, it's not the other part.
It's just people.
It's, it's the people side.
It's everything's about thepeople side.
We're here to help.
We're not here to hurt.
We're here, you know, we have asaying, you know, people before
profit, not just today, butevery day.
(02:13):
And it's true.
You know, it's, it's, we're notthere for the profit side of it.
We have to earn a profit.
We have to be, to be safe andsound.
You know, as we continue togrow, we got to keep our capital
ratio where it is.
So you have to show.
a positive net income to makesure you're always maintaining
that balance and always there tohave the money to pay for the
increasing costs of inflation orwhatever that happens each year.
Right.
But that's where it stops.
You know, as, as a bank, let'ssay, or as any profitable
(02:35):
institution that's driven bythose stakeholders, they have to
continue to grow their earningsas much as possible because
their shareholders want thoseearnings, that dividend to them.
In the credit union industry, ifwe had a certain level of
profitability that was beyondwhat we should for a credit
union, we'd give it right backto our members.
Our members are the shareholder.
And that's I think the bigdifference.
Glynn (02:55):
John, as you're aware, this podcast is about leadership
across Credit Union Nation andthe philanthropic giving that is
a part of, really, the fabric ofcredit unions everywhere.
Talk to us about your leadershipposition within your own
community.
John (03:12):
Sure.
So that's a Just like beforewhen I said the DNA of the
credit union industry, the DNAof also the credit union
industry is about the peopleside and the community side and
help with non profits.
It's not even non profits, it'sjust helping people.
We're very much a leader in ourcommunity and our industry.
When you look at where theChamber of Commerce goes when
they're looking for help, wherethe Selectmen go when they're
(03:34):
looking for help, the Councilmengo when they're looking for
help.
A state senator has called usrecently and said, Hey, there's
a flooding.
We all knew about this in thenews, the flooding taking place
in this geographic region, whichis part of ours.
What can you guys do?
We put together a little fundand promised to give them a fast
ease and end of credit, a lowinterest rate, far lower than
(03:57):
what they get anywhere else.
It's basically a free loan toget them out of the mess that
they're in.
As a community leader, andthere's other ones, there's
other Canadians here, I'mlooking at a CEO down the hall
here, and they're just like us,so that's a big part of our
industry.
It's not just us, it's all of ustogether, working together.
It's, that's the base of whatour foundation is.
(04:18):
We're, everything we're buildingis to help people through the
process and the communities thatwe serve.
And so that's the huge pieces ofwhat a credit
Glynn (04:25):
unionistry is.
And it almost feels like therecovery if you find yourself in
a deficit scenario.
And many credit unions arechallenged today in the same way
other banks are.
There are no financialinstitutions immune.
bUt the recovery period islessened when you have catered
to the, to the people of thecommunity as compared to large
(04:48):
corps, as an
John (04:49):
example.
And you know, the piece of it aswell with our industry, we help
each other.
So that if somebody got overtheir skis, they can call us and
say, listen, I need to increaserevenue.
Can you sell me some loans?
Because we make, credit unionsand banks make more money on
loans than they do oninvestment.
So if we're sitting there for abunch of loans and we say, do
you have any loans, you guys cankeep the servicing, but I'll
hold it on my balance sheetbecause I need to grow this
(05:11):
revenue, I'm in a little bit oftrouble.
In a heartbeat, we do that andwe get them out of trouble.
We have a very connectedindustry.
If a vendor helps another creditunion.
It makes us all want to helpthat vendor.
And so we go, you know, getbusiness from that vendor, so
long as it's a product thatworks with everything else, all
things B Depot.
That's what this industry does.
It's so
Glynn (05:29):
interconnected that way.
I think it's awesome.
I want to be able to give you anopportunity to highlight your
employees for just a moment.
I'm going to take a leap as I dooften times thinking about
employees of other creditunions.
Social responsibility has becomeparamount in the hiring process.
Of trying to bring on newassociates, and from a
(05:50):
leadership perspective, yourresponsibility is to make
certain your employees care alot about the members they serve
and that translates into thecommunities that are served.
Can you spend just a secondthere talking about the employee
makeup and how they care aboutthe membership, specifically
referring to philanthropicgiving?
John (06:10):
I would kind of go down two different paths with this.
The type of team member that wehave on our team and then the
philanthropic giving side.
Because unless you have a stronginstitution, you cannot be a
philanthropic giver.
Unless you have a stronginstitution, there is no money
to hand to anybody else.
You're in trouble yourself.
So, you have to have a strongteam, you have to have a strong
organization.
It has to be a machine that justhums in order to be able to
(06:33):
support others.
That, that machine's not hummingwhether it's a personal person
in their life, or his life, oran organization.
So, on the, on that side, theproductive side, we have a, I'm
so blessed we have such afantastic team of people who are
they don't make hundreds likethey're running down the street.
They really have an objective toaccomplish something in their
(06:55):
life.
It's not just a career.
They're building something.
We talk about socialresponsibility.
Social responsibility covers alot of things.
It's not just about giving.
Giving is, in my opinion,usually, it usually helps the
symptoms of the problem.
It doesn't fix the problem.
Unless the folks that you'regiving to are organized to start
to solve this problem.
(07:16):
so, we have, our second corevalue is called elevating
people.
And it's, it's in our first corevalue, and it's not in any
order, 1, 2, 3, but it's it's,we have, our first core value is
one team.
We are one team.
And it started out with usindividually as a team.
You know, looking at ourselvesinternally to build the greatest
culture and the strongestorganization that we can build.
(07:38):
But now it's enveloped out ofus, now that we've got that
under control on the internalside.
Now, what we're doing isfocusing that and giving that
great culture we have externallyto our members and to our
community.
So now pulling them into thisone team family that we have.
The second core value is aboutelevating people.
And it's not only on theinternal side, it's also on the
(07:58):
external side.
How do we help people who mayhave A really poor credit score,
or they have a poor credithistory.
And helping them to fix thatproblem.
We commit to our team is this,you join our team.
From the minute you join ourteam, we have a responsibility
to you to make you moremarketable.
We hope you never leave.
We don't want you to ever leave.
We hope you stay your entirecareer, whatever your choice is.
(08:21):
You decide it's better for yourfamily to take this next
opportunity someplace else orsomething or whatever it might
be.
We commit to them that from theminute that they join our team
to the minute they leave, theywill be thankfully joined our
team because they will be moredeveloped, more marketable than
they were before.
Glynn (08:38):
Oh, I gotcha.
So these core values that you'vejust outlined, not only are they
of course known to the employeebase, you're widely publicizing
them to the broader membershipcommunity.
We're just
John (08:48):
going through a branding, a new rebranding here that'll be
rolling out in 2025.
And so that's a huge part of it.
Our third, our third isembracing accountability.
We have a philosophy.
It's called See It, Own It,Solve It, Do It.
So if you see something, you ownit now.
And it's your responsibility tosolve it.
And once you solve for theproblem, then you gotta do it.
(09:08):
You gotta execute it.
See it, own it, solve it, do it.
Glynn (09:11):
I like to be able to give back to my guests for taking the
time to sit down with me.
Perhaps a nonprofit organizationthat's important to your family.
You know, it's one thing to cometo work every day and hold up a
flag and talk about what'simportant to the credit union
and I know you're genuine witheverything you've said to me
thus far, but I want to makethis a little bit personal for
(09:32):
your sake.
Is there an organization you'dlike to plug?
Make sure you're crystal clearon how our listeners would get a
chance to, to research
John (09:41):
or whomever that is.
If it's okay, instead of namingone, one, one organization
something that's important tome.
Would it be okay if I talkedabout a problem?
Oh,
Glynn (09:51):
yes.
Right on.
Let's do it.
John (09:52):
So, and there's a lot of organizations helping this
problem.
It's the problem ofhomelessness.
So, I'm involved in severalorganizations about
homelessness, but one of thethings that I am trying to
create awareness for and talk tothe folks about is when you look
at homelessness, it's rampantnowadays.
I mean, there's so many problemsin our cities and elsewhere
where homelessness is rampant.
Homelessness is just, it'salmost become an epidemic level
(10:15):
itself.
It's like, it's reached levelsthat are outside the charts.
And so you wonder why.
And when you're involved in theorganizations like I am as well,
and this is where I've learnedthis, many of the organizations
solve or work to heal or treatthe symptoms.
It doesn't solve the problems,but it treats the symptoms of
the problems.
Glynn (10:32):
The most difficult task of being homeless is
John (10:38):
Having
Glynn (10:38):
to ask someone else to part with their own money.
So that unto itself is a realchallenge, right?
Is, is you're in survival mode,but humbling yourself when
you're at the point of greatestneed to ask someone else for,
for their money.
What a pleasure talking withyou.
Yeah, it was super fun, Greattime with you, John.
(11:00):
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us on thisepisode of See You Lead brought
to you by NetGiver, the no feedonation platform for donors and
nonprofits.
We hope you stay engaged, stayinspired, and continue leading
with purpose.
Until next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!