November 20, 2023 • 25 mins
Exploring Leadership and Community Impact in the Credit Union World: A Conversation with Lori Herrick – SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, Sponsored by NetGiver
In this enlightening episode of the SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, proudly sponsored by NetGiver, we delve deep into the world of credit union leadership and its significant impact on communities. Recorded at the vibrant 2023 APEX conference in Mohegan Sun, Connecticut, our host, Glynn Frechette, welcomes Lori Herrick, the esteemed President and CEO of Manchester Municipal Credit Union.
Throughout the episode, Herrick shares her remarkable journey from a part-time assistant to a leading CEO in the credit union sector, spanning an impressive 26 years. Her story provides fascinating insights into her transformative role at Manchester Municipal Credit Union and her pioneering approach to member services. Lori discusses in detail the unique challenges and opportunities she has faced, shedding light on her personal experiences and leadership philosophy.
A significant focus of the conversation is on Lori's unwavering commitment to community involvement. She highlights various initiatives, including support for local food pantries and first responders, and discusses the credit union's innovative student loan program, which emphasizes financial responsibility and education.
As a CUNA board member, Lori offers a broader view of the industry's evolution, particularly concerning small credit unions. The episode also delves into how Manchester Municipal Credit Union cultivates a culture of giving back, promoting employee and member participation in community projects, going beyond mere financial assistance.
Join us in this episode of SEE YOU LEAD for an insightful journey into how leaders like Lori Herrick drive their credit unions toward significant community engagement, merging financial acumen with a deep commitment to social responsibility. It's an essential listen for anyone fascinated by the dynamic interplay of finance and community betterment in the credit union sphere.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Glynn (00:01):
Welcome to another episode of CU Lead, sponsored by
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.
(00:22):
I'm GlenN Frechette and today Iam joined by Lori Herrick.
Lori is the president and CEO ofManchester Municipal Credit
Union, which is headquarteredright up the street in
Manchester, Connecticut, not tobe confused with Manchester, New
Hampshire.
(00:42):
And that happens a lot.
Well, you know, I'm, I'm goingto say something quippy and I
mean no disrespect when I callyou New Englanders.
But there's a lot of names thatare in common or the same in
each of the states in NewEngland.
Lori (00:58):
Absolutely.
I get calls from Manchester, NewHampshire all
Glynn (01:01):
the time.
Well, I interviewed one of theCEOs during my time here at this
event.
From Manchester, New Hampshire.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we are for our listeners thatcan't see us.
We're at the Apex event in Whatis the name?
I know we're at Mohegan Sun inConnecticut, but what the heck
is the name of this city?
Lori (01:22):
We're in it's Uncasville What?
Uncasville.
Glynn (01:25):
Okay.
All right.
Fair enough.
Glad you said it because I sawit written and I wasn't even
going to attempt it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
Uncasville, Connecticut.
Yeah.
Do you, do you come to theMohegan Sun venue here in casino
for events?
We
Lori (01:39):
do.
Actually the league has a wineevent here, a wine gala every
single year.
It's a wonderful event.
It's, you know, to sponsorCULAC.
So, we're always here for thatevent.
And it's been several years nowthat we have come here for our
annual meeting.
And this is the third year thatwe have joined with CCUA.
(02:00):
So, it's just not Connecticut.
Now there's...
400 or 500.
I think 700 was going to be thetotal people in and out at this
conference.
Glynn (02:09):
You know, it's such a big hall and venue we're in.
It doesn't look like that's thecount and number we're dealing
with.
In fact, that was a surprise tohave you say that and hear it.
But think about the spaceMohegan Sun gives us.
You couldn't get this kind ofallowance out in Las
Lori (02:27):
Vegas.
Oh, absolutely not.
No, it's wonderful.
And there's a hundred vendors inthere as well.
That is, it's amazing.
It really is.
Glynn (02:35):
Well, Laura, you're, you and I are just getting to know
one another.
A lot of times I interviewguests whom I know we do not.
And I'd love for our listenersto also get to know you a bit
better if they do not already.
Can you talk to us about yourown journey and how long you've
been influencing credit unions?
Lori (02:53):
Absolutely.
So, I've been in credit unionsnow for 26 years.
I.
Fell into it.
It was just absolutely amazing.
I answered an ad to be apart-time assistant to a credit
union manager.
And it was the best, interview Iever had.
I got the job and fell in lovewith credit unions immediately.
(03:18):
She left 11 months later becauseshe was promoted to a much
larger credit union.
And three years later I becamethe ceo.
Glynn (03:27):
Three years.
You were a part time assistantto, was it a mid level manager,
a
Lori (03:33):
senior manager?
It was And she ended up gettingand we were a small credit union
at that point.
Well, we still are, but we were3 million in assets and she got
a like a promotion to a 25million credit union.
And that was huge, especiallyback then.
And so she took it and I workedreally hard for three years.
(03:54):
to learn everything I could, andthen the board offered me the
job.
Glynn (03:59):
Unbelievable.
Thrust right into the role.
Right into it.
Unbelievable.
So you've been the CEO for 23 ofthe 26 years then?
Ah, what a fantastic ride.
And you and I were talkingbefore we began recording,
you're also a CUNA board member,
Lori (04:16):
do I have that right?
I'm a CUNA board member and it'spretty funny on how this little
journey happened actually aswell.
You know Jill Nowacki?
Yes, very well.
Okay, so Jill was the CEO of theConnecticut Credit Union League.
And back in about 2016 or 17,she put my name in.
to be, because she knows, sheknew how passionate I was about
(04:39):
small credit unions.
And a lot of times, NCAAexaminers and other people that,
you know, know me pretty well,would call me and say, hey, can
you help this person with somepolicies?
Can you do this?
Can you do that?
With small credit unions.
And I was always on a smallcredit union committee, small
credit union this.
Well, she put me in for a roleon CUNA's small credit union
(05:01):
committee, and I got the job.
or the seat, but she forgot totell me.
So, I got this letter telling mecongratulations.
You've been, you know, selectedto the Small Credit Union
Committee of CUNA.
And I had no idea what that was.
So I called the league and Jillsaid, Oh, got to tell you.
(05:23):
I put your name in.
Something I meant to
Glynn (05:25):
bring
Lori (05:25):
up.
And so, I got the seat on thesmall credit union committee,
which was just absolutelyamazing.
It gave it gave me a voice thaton a national level that I never
had.
I always had one in Connecticut.
Being on small credit unioncommittees and on the league
Hartford chapter committees.
And it put me on that committee,which we then you know, talk to
(05:49):
NCUA about things you know,small credit unions needed help
with.
And, and, you know, it just, itwas wonderful.
So I was on that committee forfive years and I was chair and
then the past chair, and thenyou, you roll off.
So I was rolling off and I waslike, Oh my goodness.
I, you know, I really love beingin this role.
And so I decided to run for aseat on the CUNA board.
(06:12):
anD I won the seat on thecommunity on the
Glynn (06:15):
CUNA board.
Amazing.
How long ago was that?
Lori (06:18):
I've just finished my second year.
Okay.
And CUNA is Hopefully in themiddle of a merger with NAVQ.
That's right.
And we will hopefully beAmerica's credit unions moving
forward And if that does happen,I have also been selected to
serve on the transition boardfor the next three years Wow.
Glynn (06:37):
Yeah, that was certainly big industry news when it was
announced.
Where are we?
We're in early October at themoment.
That was announced probably backin August.
August, the end of August.
Okay.
Gosh, time flies.
It does fly.
Well, thank you for bringing allof our listeners up to speed on
your own experience and past,which definitely serves well for
(06:58):
the questions that I have of youtoday.
So let's, let's dive in.
Okay.
doesn't matter, Lori, whetherwe're sitting in Nebraska.
Or California or Florida orConnecticut.
Serving credit union members andnonprofits within communities is
never more important than it istoday.
I'm just a reader and alistener, but I'm following what
(07:20):
the next year may include.
for a lot of us and certainlythe constituents that you serve.
Talk to us about you being aleader in your community
specifically as it relates tonon profits.
Lori (07:36):
So, you know, it's really important for us and for me to
my role in this credit unionthat I am as the CEO.
We're a common bond municipal.
So it is the police department,the fire department, the town
(07:57):
employees of Manchester and toget behind them and you know,
and help them with their needs.
We've had the police departmenttell us especially over the last
several years, you know, there'sa lot of homelessness out there.
And just simple things like whatcan we do?
how can we help 5 gift cards toCumberland Farms so that they
(08:20):
can hand them out when they dosee somebody, they can go in and
get a hot coffee and get a sliceof pizza.
or whatever.
So you know, just, you know,small things like that.
We're really involved heavily infood pantries.
Because food and security isanother thing that our credit
union is passionate about.
We're across the street from afood pantry.
(08:40):
So we see, the people there allthe time.
So these are, a couple of thingsthat we're really passionate
about and we try to get involvedhelping work volunteer donate
money anything that we can do.
And our members are incrediblygenerous as well.
We just had our annual meeting.
(09:01):
We made baskets, we had raffleswe raised 1300.
1300.
for, from our members, um, todonate to these these nonprofit
communiesty,
Glynn (09:11):
And it sounds as though they were also donating their
time with the assembly ofbaskets perhaps.
Oh my gosh, I think that'sawesome.
Yeah.
It's not an easy task to pulloff, to ask individuals to
participate in something that'simportant to you.
Yeah.
But boy, isn't that the essenceof what we do inside a credit
union nation?
Lori (09:31):
Yeah, it really is and to think that we had 90 or 100
members show up I'm a smallcredit union 36 million dollars
in assets.
I have 2500 members 100 or soshowed up for our annual
meeting.
We usually have a good turnoutlike that.
And to think that we made 1300off of those members who bought
(09:52):
raffle tickets for those basketsto win those baskets so that
they could donate.
And we tell them what we'redonating to, to the food
pantries, to you know, toveterans services, anything in
town that, you know, that it'sin need.
Glynn (10:07):
All things being relative.
100 of still 5 percent ish of2500.
So that's a huge accomplishment.
Imagine some of the largercredit unions across the country
if they were to draw, you know,500, 000 members times 5 percent
is a pretty big number.
I know the number.
I just don't want to reveal mymath skills.
(10:28):
Okay, so that's awesome.
I love to hear that.
Part of this podcast is alsofeaturing the real talent that
exists inside of our industrywith the people who work for
credit unions.
Do you find that you've createdthis culture of give back,
whether that's monetary giveback or giving with their feet,
(10:49):
as you've just described.
Do you feel like the thingsyou're doing contribute to
attracting great people?
Lori (10:56):
I really do, and I can, like, honestly tell you we, we
don't have turnover.
Sometimes I, I'm at a meetingand people are saying, Oh, it's
so hard to find employees.
It's so hard to find this.
My loan officer just hit 20years.
I lost a couple of people overCOVID, but they retired because
they were a little bit older andthey just said, you know what?
(11:19):
We don't really want to be, youknow, in working anymore.
We don't need to be.
And they retired off to the goodlife.
off to the good life.
Exactly.
But I don't have turnover.
I have, you know, my, theemployees that are there have
been there for years and years.
The one of the, one thing that Ithink makes a huge difference as
well to the, with theseemployees is I kind of hire
(11:43):
people and do exactly to themwhat was done to me.
Okay.
I'm hiring a teller.
that teller could be the nextCEO.
And so I want her to have allthe opportunities that I have.
I want her to learn everythingin the credit union.
I want her to, you know, to, youknow, we do C.
P.
D.
Online, especially now thatthere's not a lot of education
(12:05):
things to go to.
So, you know, they're onlinetraining and things like that.
But but more than that, it'smentoring my Myself or or one of
the other people in there, wewant them all to succeed and we
want to grow from within.
And I feel like it was right forme and I really think it would
be right for our credit union aswell.
(12:25):
So that's how we've alwaysThat's how I've always looked at
it.
That teller could be the nextCEO.
Like I said We're I'm veryblessed and I I've said that
about everything the job thatI've gotten the roles that I've
played just the things thatmight the board has always been
behind, behind me 100%.
We have a really wonderfulcredit union and a board and the
(12:47):
membership, but we started astudent loan program in 2008
that nobody else has.
And I've done web webinars on itand I share all my policies.
So it is a homegrown.
Student loan program.
Let's hear it.
Glynn (13:01):
Please.
I would love to.
Lori (13:02):
Really?
Okay.
So, basically, when you come into get a student loan The
student has to come in, theparent has to come in we educate
the student on what they'regoing to be, you know, spending.
It's immediate repayment.
I do not let any defermentbecause that's where you get
into trouble.
But, if you're going to take outa 15, 000 loan for 15 years, you
(13:23):
know, it's a great interestrate.
We've tried to keep it reallylow.
It's probably in the 5 6 percentarea right now.
You know, the parents are goingto need to pay the 100 a month
while you're in school.
Oh, oh,
Glynn (13:33):
so it's, you, you really mean immediate repayment.
Oh, immediately.
Upon
Lori (13:38):
disbursement.
Upon disbursement, absolutely.
Wow.
It keeps you, they know thatthey have a payment due every
single year every single month,excuse me.
And they don't forget about it.
It's not accruing interest.
So when they graduate that, youknow, 10, is now 16, 000, 18,
000.
When they graduate that 10, 000loan, you know, is 6, 000
(13:59):
because their parents have paidfor it while they were in
school.
Once they graduate and they geta job, now it's theirs.
And if they make their loanpayments on time for a year, the
parents are removed from that.
And now the parents don't haveall this burden on them of, you
know, debt.
(14:19):
Student loan debt on their, ontheir credit
Glynn (14:21):
as well.
Stating the obvious here, Lori,that you have keenly recognized.
Now you're also attractingyounger members to the credit
union.
Absolutely.
It's no longer just theirparents credit union.
It becomes theirs.
Lori (14:33):
And I just want to tell you a funny story.
I'm in the vendor hall.
yesterday and I met one of mymembers who has a student loan
with us and I knew his father,but I really didn't know him.
And he looked at my tag and hesaid, Oh my God, I have my
student loan with you.
Super cool.
It is super cool.
And so those members do.
(14:55):
And I've done, I haven't done ananalysis in a little while, but
last year, those student loansthat I have on my books, which
I've never had a delinquency andthey're not dischargeable
bankruptcy now have about 800,000 in other loans, car loans,
personal loans, their check andaccount direct deposit coming
in.
You know, they're my members.
(15:16):
So my age demographic on thiscredit union is definitely me.
Lowering tremendously because ofthese student loans that we've
done.
Glynn (15:24):
And even if you haven't put a young person into one of
these loans, they simplyinvestigated it, perhaps you're
getting a new member that way,even if they aren't a loan
participant.
Absolutely.
I would, I would suspect.
Lori (15:40):
But it's a win.
It's, you know, and we arealways about a win win for, you
know, for, for both.
It's a win win for the creditunion because we're gaining
younger members.
We're giving them a loan at agreat rate and they're winning
because they're not graduatingfrom college and all of a sudden
four and a half or five yearslater.
(16:02):
opening these bills up that theyhad no idea what they really did
sign for.
They have no idea.
Our members know exactly whatthey've signed for, exactly what
they're gonna pay.
And every year they have to comein and apply for the loan again
because we want to make surethey're going to the same
school.
People transfer all the time.
Sometimes, you know, collegerates go up a little bit.
(16:23):
We encourage them to go back andtalk to them again.
And say, I can, I can, you know,my parents and we can afford
this much.
Can you come down a little bit?
Can I get a little bit more of agrant?
Let's have the conversation.
Tremendous response from that.
Yeah.
They've come back and said, Igot 2, 500 more off that bill.
(16:45):
Thank you so
Glynn (16:45):
much.
Oh my gosh.
I love that we're chatting aboutthis because as you and I are
both aware, it's very hot topicat the moment.
Yes.
On a national level.
My suspicion is it will make itsway to someone's platform
running for president of theUnited States.
Yeah.
So this is a hot topic, nodoubt.
It's a hot topic.
And you might be asked for youropinion as we move nearer to
Lori (17:08):
an election.
Well, I have to tell you, I wason a webinar call with the small
credit union committee with CUNAtalking to chairman at the time,
Chairman Rodney Hood and heasked me, so what's your special
sauce at your credit union?
And I was like, oh, andeverybody at the table said,
your student loans, your studentloans.
(17:29):
So I said, my student loans.
You're right.
You know, they are.
And he said.
How, how can you do studentloans and not have any
delinquencies or charge offs andthe government can't do that?
And I said, because we educateour young people on the cost of
college and, you know, and whatthey're going to pay back.
And we don't defer payments.
(17:49):
And it's about education.
And and, and they definitelyunderstand.
They know what they're gettinginto.
I
Glynn (17:56):
love it.
I love it.
I want to transition into atopic that has also become not
controversial per se, but howabout one of hypersensitivity
over the last couple of years?
And that is socialresponsibility.
I also think that's a fairlybroad topic.
As soon as I say it, people'sminds typically go toward the
(18:20):
DEI initiative.
I think of credit unions ashaving been the poster Children
of all things, socialresponsibility for many decades,
not just the last three years.
What I'd love to hear from you,Lori, is Your perspective on
where we sit and how you helpthe cause along specific to
(18:42):
social
Lori (18:42):
responsibility.
You know, that's such a greatquestion because like you said,
when you first asked thequestion, your mind goes to,
right, D.
I.
Or whatever.
And I have been in so manymeetings and lectures and, and
all this stuff.
And it always came back to thesame thing for me.
We've always done this.
(19:03):
This is nothing new at all.
The social responsibility thatwe feel is to our members to
make sure that their financialwell being is always looked at.
And like I said, We never lookedat these people as, Oh, we're
going to make a little bit ofmoney off of them.
We looked at it as we're goingto give them a loan for the
least amount of interest ratethat we can to get them back on
(19:25):
their feet and help them withthe student loans or with, you
know, first time home buyer orconsolidation.
And it's the same way with ourboard, with you know, our
employees, we've treated themjust like.
Like you want to be treated andI would never treat anybody any
different.
And so I feel like the lastthree years that this has become
(19:47):
such a hot topic, but I feellike we've done that the whole
entire time.
And it's no different for usright now than it was 10 or 15
years ago.
Great.
So
Glynn (19:58):
you can look at your staff and say, we got this.
Absolutely.
We've always had this.
Always had it.
Yeah.
You'd be glad to know thatyou're in good company.
Other CEOs feel similarly.
That Credit Union Nation hasalways done a fantastic job of
stepping up.
Can't say the same necessarilyfor for profit organizations.
(20:18):
No disrespect to them.
They all have a, we all have aplace in this world.
But it's just a littledifferent.
Yeah,
Lori (20:26):
you're right.
And even with my credit union,there was, you know, a few years
ago, and I, you know, there wasthe talk of Boards getting paid,
you know, getting paid, youknow, boards could get this or
boards could get that.
And there was, there was this,it was a topic.
Yeah.
And my board heard about it andsaid, we have always
(20:46):
differentiated ourselves of, wedon't.
It's a volunteer position.
Right.
We don't want that.
to get paid.
We don't expect to get paid.
This is something that we'vealways done.
And it's a volunteer positionand we're going to continue to
stand that way.
So I really give my board hugekudos
Glynn (21:04):
for that.
That's huge.
Are any of them here with you atthis conference?
Okay.
Lori (21:08):
And I'm really sad about it,
Glynn (21:09):
Well, maybe a good place for us to end is on a personal
note.
So, for me, what I'd like to dofor those that are willing to
volunteer their time and have achat with me, is I want you to
be able to plug an organizationthat's It's perhaps near and
dear and personal for yourfamily.
This way our listeners can do alittle research and find out
(21:29):
more about that organization.
Do you have one?
Lori (21:31):
Oh, you know, it was really hard to just pick one
because I have so many that arenear and dear to my heart, but
this one is the best.
I just love this so much.
So have you ever heard of Tunnelto Towers?
Glynn (21:47):
Tunnel to Towers?
Yeah.
Lori (21:49):
No.
Really?
No.
So Tunnel to Towers is huge andit's T to T to the number to T
dot org.
Is the website.
Wait, do it again slowly.
T Yep.
Two number two t.org.
Okay.
Okay, so it's tunnel to towers.
Okay.
And what it is, is Frank Siller,whose brother was a firefighter
(22:12):
in, new York City and during 911.
So he lost, you know, the wholeunit and he lost his brother and
everything.
So he started this mission abouthelping first responders, people
that have lost their lives.
Family members and veterans ofall kinds.
(22:35):
So he, this is what he asked forfrom the average everyday
citizen is 11 a month.
Okay.
11 a month.
And what he does is he pays offthe homes of maybe, you know, of
people who have been, theirloved ones have been killed in
battle over in Iraq or Iran orin, you know, in anywhere.
(22:59):
We had two police officers inBristol, Connecticut killed last
year.
He paid their mortgages off.
So this is what he does.
And it's all about taking careof the veterans and the people,
our first responders who takecare of of of us.
There's a gentleman in floridawho donated, I think it was 1000
(23:20):
acres of land and he's buildinghomes, smart homes for, uh,
People, you know, all theveterans that have come back
that have lost legs or arms andyou know are disabled in any way
He's building smart homes forthem that with wheelchair
accessibility and all this Justit's an amazing organization
(23:41):
Incredible that just it's allabout veterans first responders
and helping the family membersnot have to worry about paying
Glynn (23:51):
I wonder, was he featured here on the 60 Minute Special
that aired right on 9 11 thisyear?
He
Lori (23:58):
probably was because he is very, you know, and there are a
lot of celebrities that endorsehim as well that are huge You
know, Cole Houser.
I believe his name is.
Oh, yeah, sure.
From Yellowstone, he's a hugesupporter.
Rob Lowe is a huge supporter.
There are just a lot ofcelebrities that are, that
(24:19):
support his cause.
And 98 percent of the donationsthat are given go straight to
The mortgages, you know,building these homes and things
of that nature.
He's amazing.
He's in his whole organizationis just amazing.
There's so many people that havegotten behind him.
So the
Glynn (24:38):
name must come from something that has to do with
the towers,
Lori (24:41):
right?
Well, his brother ran into thetowers, went into the tunnel
into the towers.
He was a fire fireman to savepeople and he never came out.
So it's.
tunnel, two towers.
Love it.
Okay.
Glynn (24:54):
So no boy, I, I'm ashamed that I don't know anything about
it, but now I do.
And that's, that's the purposeof me asking that question, as I
always want to learn aboutorganizations as do our
listeners.
Lori (25:05):
It's unbelievable.
It's so near and dear to myheart.
My family, I happen to come froma family of veterans as well.
World War One, World War TwoVietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq.
I mean, my family on both sides.
Servants?
Servants.
Oh, that's awesome.
So it's, it's a huge veterans,anything veterans is huge for
(25:26):
me.
And this one hits home.
Glynn (25:27):
Well, Lori, we, we didn't know each other let's call it 35
minutes ago, but now I feel likeI know you exceptionally well.
Awesome.
I,
Lori (25:35):
me too.
Yeah.
And it was, it was such a niceTalk.
Nice chat.
I loved it.
It was very, very nice.
I promised
Glynn (25:41):
you would be a piece of cake and you absolutely
Lori (25:43):
crushed it.
Well, I don't know about that,but I was a little nervous and
you said that I wasn't going tobe, but I said, I'm a little
nervous.
Glynn (25:49):
Well, so nice to talk with you.
Enjoy the rest of yourconference.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Welcome to another episode of CU Lead, sponsored by
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.
(00:22):
I'm GlenN Frechette and today Iam joined by Lori Herrick.
Lori is the president and CEO ofManchester Municipal Credit
Union, which is headquarteredright up the street in
Manchester, Connecticut, not tobe confused with Manchester, New
Hampshire.
(00:42):
And that happens a lot.
Well, you know, I'm, I'm goingto say something quippy and I
mean no disrespect when I callyou New Englanders.
But there's a lot of names thatare in common or the same in
each of the states in NewEngland.
Lori (00:58):
Absolutely.
I get calls from Manchester, NewHampshire all
Glynn (01:01):
the time.
Well, I interviewed one of theCEOs during my time here at this
event.
From Manchester, New Hampshire.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we are for our listeners thatcan't see us.
We're at the Apex event in Whatis the name?
I know we're at Mohegan Sun inConnecticut, but what the heck
is the name of this city?
Lori (01:22):
We're in it's Uncasville What?
Uncasville.
Glynn (01:25):
Okay.
All right.
Fair enough.
Glad you said it because I sawit written and I wasn't even
going to attempt it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
Uncasville, Connecticut.
Yeah.
Do you, do you come to theMohegan Sun venue here in casino
for events?
We
Lori (01:39):
do.
Actually the league has a wineevent here, a wine gala every
single year.
It's a wonderful event.
It's, you know, to sponsorCULAC.
So, we're always here for thatevent.
And it's been several years nowthat we have come here for our
annual meeting.
And this is the third year thatwe have joined with CCUA.
(02:00):
So, it's just not Connecticut.
Now there's...
400 or 500.
I think 700 was going to be thetotal people in and out at this
conference.
Glynn (02:09):
You know, it's such a big hall and venue we're in.
It doesn't look like that's thecount and number we're dealing
with.
In fact, that was a surprise tohave you say that and hear it.
But think about the spaceMohegan Sun gives us.
You couldn't get this kind ofallowance out in Las
Lori (02:27):
Vegas.
Oh, absolutely not.
No, it's wonderful.
And there's a hundred vendors inthere as well.
That is, it's amazing.
It really is.
Glynn (02:35):
Well, Laura, you're, you and I are just getting to know
one another.
A lot of times I interviewguests whom I know we do not.
And I'd love for our listenersto also get to know you a bit
better if they do not already.
Can you talk to us about yourown journey and how long you've
been influencing credit unions?
Lori (02:53):
Absolutely.
So, I've been in credit unionsnow for 26 years.
I.
Fell into it.
It was just absolutely amazing.
I answered an ad to be apart-time assistant to a credit
union manager.
And it was the best, interview Iever had.
I got the job and fell in lovewith credit unions immediately.
(03:18):
She left 11 months later becauseshe was promoted to a much
larger credit union.
And three years later I becamethe ceo.
Glynn (03:27):
Three years.
You were a part time assistantto, was it a mid level manager,
a
Lori (03:33):
senior manager?
It was And she ended up gettingand we were a small credit union
at that point.
Well, we still are, but we were3 million in assets and she got
a like a promotion to a 25million credit union.
And that was huge, especiallyback then.
And so she took it and I workedreally hard for three years.
(03:54):
to learn everything I could, andthen the board offered me the
job.
Glynn (03:59):
Unbelievable.
Thrust right into the role.
Right into it.
Unbelievable.
So you've been the CEO for 23 ofthe 26 years then?
Ah, what a fantastic ride.
And you and I were talkingbefore we began recording,
you're also a CUNA board member,
Lori (04:16):
do I have that right?
I'm a CUNA board member and it'spretty funny on how this little
journey happened actually aswell.
You know Jill Nowacki?
Yes, very well.
Okay, so Jill was the CEO of theConnecticut Credit Union League.
And back in about 2016 or 17,she put my name in.
to be, because she knows, sheknew how passionate I was about
(04:39):
small credit unions.
And a lot of times, NCAAexaminers and other people that,
you know, know me pretty well,would call me and say, hey, can
you help this person with somepolicies?
Can you do this?
Can you do that?
With small credit unions.
And I was always on a smallcredit union committee, small
credit union this.
Well, she put me in for a roleon CUNA's small credit union
(05:01):
committee, and I got the job.
or the seat, but she forgot totell me.
So, I got this letter telling mecongratulations.
You've been, you know, selectedto the Small Credit Union
Committee of CUNA.
And I had no idea what that was.
So I called the league and Jillsaid, Oh, got to tell you.
(05:23):
I put your name in.
Something I meant to
Glynn (05:25):
bring
Lori (05:25):
up.
And so, I got the seat on thesmall credit union committee,
which was just absolutelyamazing.
It gave it gave me a voice thaton a national level that I never
had.
I always had one in Connecticut.
Being on small credit unioncommittees and on the league
Hartford chapter committees.
And it put me on that committee,which we then you know, talk to
(05:49):
NCUA about things you know,small credit unions needed help
with.
And, and, you know, it just, itwas wonderful.
So I was on that committee forfive years and I was chair and
then the past chair, and thenyou, you roll off.
So I was rolling off and I waslike, Oh my goodness.
I, you know, I really love beingin this role.
And so I decided to run for aseat on the CUNA board.
(06:12):
anD I won the seat on thecommunity on the
Glynn (06:15):
CUNA board.
Amazing.
How long ago was that?
Lori (06:18):
I've just finished my second year.
Okay.
And CUNA is Hopefully in themiddle of a merger with NAVQ.
That's right.
And we will hopefully beAmerica's credit unions moving
forward And if that does happen,I have also been selected to
serve on the transition boardfor the next three years Wow.
Glynn (06:37):
Yeah, that was certainly big industry news when it was
announced.
Where are we?
We're in early October at themoment.
That was announced probably backin August.
August, the end of August.
Okay.
Gosh, time flies.
It does fly.
Well, thank you for bringing allof our listeners up to speed on
your own experience and past,which definitely serves well for
(06:58):
the questions that I have of youtoday.
So let's, let's dive in.
Okay.
doesn't matter, Lori, whetherwe're sitting in Nebraska.
Or California or Florida orConnecticut.
Serving credit union members andnonprofits within communities is
never more important than it istoday.
I'm just a reader and alistener, but I'm following what
(07:20):
the next year may include.
for a lot of us and certainlythe constituents that you serve.
Talk to us about you being aleader in your community
specifically as it relates tonon profits.
Lori (07:36):
So, you know, it's really important for us and for me to
my role in this credit unionthat I am as the CEO.
We're a common bond municipal.
So it is the police department,the fire department, the town
(07:57):
employees of Manchester and toget behind them and you know,
and help them with their needs.
We've had the police departmenttell us especially over the last
several years, you know, there'sa lot of homelessness out there.
And just simple things like whatcan we do?
how can we help 5 gift cards toCumberland Farms so that they
(08:20):
can hand them out when they dosee somebody, they can go in and
get a hot coffee and get a sliceof pizza.
or whatever.
So you know, just, you know,small things like that.
We're really involved heavily infood pantries.
Because food and security isanother thing that our credit
union is passionate about.
We're across the street from afood pantry.
(08:40):
So we see, the people there allthe time.
So these are, a couple of thingsthat we're really passionate
about and we try to get involvedhelping work volunteer donate
money anything that we can do.
And our members are incrediblygenerous as well.
We just had our annual meeting.
(09:01):
We made baskets, we had raffleswe raised 1300.
1300.
for, from our members, um, todonate to these these nonprofit
communiesty,
Glynn (09:11):
And it sounds as though they were also donating their
time with the assembly ofbaskets perhaps.
Oh my gosh, I think that'sawesome.
Yeah.
It's not an easy task to pulloff, to ask individuals to
participate in something that'simportant to you.
Yeah.
But boy, isn't that the essenceof what we do inside a credit
union nation?
Lori (09:31):
Yeah, it really is and to think that we had 90 or 100
members show up I'm a smallcredit union 36 million dollars
in assets.
I have 2500 members 100 or soshowed up for our annual
meeting.
We usually have a good turnoutlike that.
And to think that we made 1300off of those members who bought
(09:52):
raffle tickets for those basketsto win those baskets so that
they could donate.
And we tell them what we'redonating to, to the food
pantries, to you know, toveterans services, anything in
town that, you know, that it'sin need.
Glynn (10:07):
All things being relative.
100 of still 5 percent ish of2500.
So that's a huge accomplishment.
Imagine some of the largercredit unions across the country
if they were to draw, you know,500, 000 members times 5 percent
is a pretty big number.
I know the number.
I just don't want to reveal mymath skills.
(10:28):
Okay, so that's awesome.
I love to hear that.
Part of this podcast is alsofeaturing the real talent that
exists inside of our industrywith the people who work for
credit unions.
Do you find that you've createdthis culture of give back,
whether that's monetary giveback or giving with their feet,
(10:49):
as you've just described.
Do you feel like the thingsyou're doing contribute to
attracting great people?
Lori (10:56):
I really do, and I can, like, honestly tell you we, we
don't have turnover.
Sometimes I, I'm at a meetingand people are saying, Oh, it's
so hard to find employees.
It's so hard to find this.
My loan officer just hit 20years.
I lost a couple of people overCOVID, but they retired because
they were a little bit older andthey just said, you know what?
(11:19):
We don't really want to be, youknow, in working anymore.
We don't need to be.
And they retired off to the goodlife.
off to the good life.
Exactly.
But I don't have turnover.
I have, you know, my, theemployees that are there have
been there for years and years.
The one of the, one thing that Ithink makes a huge difference as
well to the, with theseemployees is I kind of hire
(11:43):
people and do exactly to themwhat was done to me.
Okay.
I'm hiring a teller.
that teller could be the nextCEO.
And so I want her to have allthe opportunities that I have.
I want her to learn everythingin the credit union.
I want her to, you know, to, youknow, we do C.
P.
D.
Online, especially now thatthere's not a lot of education
(12:05):
things to go to.
So, you know, they're onlinetraining and things like that.
But but more than that, it'smentoring my Myself or or one of
the other people in there, wewant them all to succeed and we
want to grow from within.
And I feel like it was right forme and I really think it would
be right for our credit union aswell.
(12:25):
So that's how we've alwaysThat's how I've always looked at
it.
That teller could be the nextCEO.
Like I said We're I'm veryblessed and I I've said that
about everything the job thatI've gotten the roles that I've
played just the things thatmight the board has always been
behind, behind me 100%.
We have a really wonderfulcredit union and a board and the
(12:47):
membership, but we started astudent loan program in 2008
that nobody else has.
And I've done web webinars on itand I share all my policies.
So it is a homegrown.
Student loan program.
Let's hear it.
Glynn (13:01):
Please.
I would love to.
Lori (13:02):
Really?
Okay.
So, basically, when you come into get a student loan The
student has to come in, theparent has to come in we educate
the student on what they'regoing to be, you know, spending.
It's immediate repayment.
I do not let any defermentbecause that's where you get
into trouble.
But, if you're going to take outa 15, 000 loan for 15 years, you
(13:23):
know, it's a great interestrate.
We've tried to keep it reallylow.
It's probably in the 5 6 percentarea right now.
You know, the parents are goingto need to pay the 100 a month
while you're in school.
Oh, oh,
Glynn (13:33):
so it's, you, you really mean immediate repayment.
Oh, immediately.
Upon
Lori (13:38):
disbursement.
Upon disbursement, absolutely.
Wow.
It keeps you, they know thatthey have a payment due every
single year every single month,excuse me.
And they don't forget about it.
It's not accruing interest.
So when they graduate that, youknow, 10, is now 16, 000, 18,
000.
When they graduate that 10, 000loan, you know, is 6, 000
(13:59):
because their parents have paidfor it while they were in
school.
Once they graduate and they geta job, now it's theirs.
And if they make their loanpayments on time for a year, the
parents are removed from that.
And now the parents don't haveall this burden on them of, you
know, debt.
(14:19):
Student loan debt on their, ontheir credit
Glynn (14:21):
as well.
Stating the obvious here, Lori,that you have keenly recognized.
Now you're also attractingyounger members to the credit
union.
Absolutely.
It's no longer just theirparents credit union.
It becomes theirs.
Lori (14:33):
And I just want to tell you a funny story.
I'm in the vendor hall.
yesterday and I met one of mymembers who has a student loan
with us and I knew his father,but I really didn't know him.
And he looked at my tag and hesaid, Oh my God, I have my
student loan with you.
Super cool.
It is super cool.
And so those members do.
(14:55):
And I've done, I haven't done ananalysis in a little while, but
last year, those student loansthat I have on my books, which
I've never had a delinquency andthey're not dischargeable
bankruptcy now have about 800,000 in other loans, car loans,
personal loans, their check andaccount direct deposit coming
in.
You know, they're my members.
(15:16):
So my age demographic on thiscredit union is definitely me.
Lowering tremendously because ofthese student loans that we've
done.
Glynn (15:24):
And even if you haven't put a young person into one of
these loans, they simplyinvestigated it, perhaps you're
getting a new member that way,even if they aren't a loan
participant.
Absolutely.
I would, I would suspect.
Lori (15:40):
But it's a win.
It's, you know, and we arealways about a win win for, you
know, for, for both.
It's a win win for the creditunion because we're gaining
younger members.
We're giving them a loan at agreat rate and they're winning
because they're not graduatingfrom college and all of a sudden
four and a half or five yearslater.
(16:02):
opening these bills up that theyhad no idea what they really did
sign for.
They have no idea.
Our members know exactly whatthey've signed for, exactly what
they're gonna pay.
And every year they have to comein and apply for the loan again
because we want to make surethey're going to the same
school.
People transfer all the time.
Sometimes, you know, collegerates go up a little bit.
(16:23):
We encourage them to go back andtalk to them again.
And say, I can, I can, you know,my parents and we can afford
this much.
Can you come down a little bit?
Can I get a little bit more of agrant?
Let's have the conversation.
Tremendous response from that.
Yeah.
They've come back and said, Igot 2, 500 more off that bill.
(16:45):
Thank you so
Glynn (16:45):
much.
Oh my gosh.
I love that we're chatting aboutthis because as you and I are
both aware, it's very hot topicat the moment.
Yes.
On a national level.
My suspicion is it will make itsway to someone's platform
running for president of theUnited States.
Yeah.
So this is a hot topic, nodoubt.
It's a hot topic.
And you might be asked for youropinion as we move nearer to
Lori (17:08):
an election.
Well, I have to tell you, I wason a webinar call with the small
credit union committee with CUNAtalking to chairman at the time,
Chairman Rodney Hood and heasked me, so what's your special
sauce at your credit union?
And I was like, oh, andeverybody at the table said,
your student loans, your studentloans.
(17:29):
So I said, my student loans.
You're right.
You know, they are.
And he said.
How, how can you do studentloans and not have any
delinquencies or charge offs andthe government can't do that?
And I said, because we educateour young people on the cost of
college and, you know, and whatthey're going to pay back.
And we don't defer payments.
(17:49):
And it's about education.
And and, and they definitelyunderstand.
They know what they're gettinginto.
I
Glynn (17:56):
love it.
I love it.
I want to transition into atopic that has also become not
controversial per se, but howabout one of hypersensitivity
over the last couple of years?
And that is socialresponsibility.
I also think that's a fairlybroad topic.
As soon as I say it, people'sminds typically go toward the
(18:20):
DEI initiative.
I think of credit unions ashaving been the poster Children
of all things, socialresponsibility for many decades,
not just the last three years.
What I'd love to hear from you,Lori, is Your perspective on
where we sit and how you helpthe cause along specific to
(18:42):
social
Lori (18:42):
responsibility.
You know, that's such a greatquestion because like you said,
when you first asked thequestion, your mind goes to,
right, D.
I.
Or whatever.
And I have been in so manymeetings and lectures and, and
all this stuff.
And it always came back to thesame thing for me.
We've always done this.
(19:03):
This is nothing new at all.
The social responsibility thatwe feel is to our members to
make sure that their financialwell being is always looked at.
And like I said, We never lookedat these people as, Oh, we're
going to make a little bit ofmoney off of them.
We looked at it as we're goingto give them a loan for the
least amount of interest ratethat we can to get them back on
(19:25):
their feet and help them withthe student loans or with, you
know, first time home buyer orconsolidation.
And it's the same way with ourboard, with you know, our
employees, we've treated themjust like.
Like you want to be treated andI would never treat anybody any
different.
And so I feel like the lastthree years that this has become
(19:47):
such a hot topic, but I feellike we've done that the whole
entire time.
And it's no different for usright now than it was 10 or 15
years ago.
Great.
So
Glynn (19:58):
you can look at your staff and say, we got this.
Absolutely.
We've always had this.
Always had it.
Yeah.
You'd be glad to know thatyou're in good company.
Other CEOs feel similarly.
That Credit Union Nation hasalways done a fantastic job of
stepping up.
Can't say the same necessarilyfor for profit organizations.
(20:18):
No disrespect to them.
They all have a, we all have aplace in this world.
But it's just a littledifferent.
Yeah,
Lori (20:26):
you're right.
And even with my credit union,there was, you know, a few years
ago, and I, you know, there wasthe talk of Boards getting paid,
you know, getting paid, youknow, boards could get this or
boards could get that.
And there was, there was this,it was a topic.
Yeah.
And my board heard about it andsaid, we have always
(20:46):
differentiated ourselves of, wedon't.
It's a volunteer position.
Right.
We don't want that.
to get paid.
We don't expect to get paid.
This is something that we'vealways done.
And it's a volunteer positionand we're going to continue to
stand that way.
So I really give my board hugekudos
Glynn (21:04):
for that.
That's huge.
Are any of them here with you atthis conference?
Okay.
Lori (21:08):
And I'm really sad about it,
Glynn (21:09):
Well, maybe a good place for us to end is on a personal
note.
So, for me, what I'd like to dofor those that are willing to
volunteer their time and have achat with me, is I want you to
be able to plug an organizationthat's It's perhaps near and
dear and personal for yourfamily.
This way our listeners can do alittle research and find out
(21:29):
more about that organization.
Do you have one?
Lori (21:31):
Oh, you know, it was really hard to just pick one
because I have so many that arenear and dear to my heart, but
this one is the best.
I just love this so much.
So have you ever heard of Tunnelto Towers?
Glynn (21:47):
Tunnel to Towers?
Yeah.
Lori (21:49):
No.
Really?
No.
So Tunnel to Towers is huge andit's T to T to the number to T
dot org.
Is the website.
Wait, do it again slowly.
T Yep.
Two number two t.org.
Okay.
Okay, so it's tunnel to towers.
Okay.
And what it is, is Frank Siller,whose brother was a firefighter
(22:12):
in, new York City and during 911.
So he lost, you know, the wholeunit and he lost his brother and
everything.
So he started this mission abouthelping first responders, people
that have lost their lives.
Family members and veterans ofall kinds.
(22:35):
So he, this is what he asked forfrom the average everyday
citizen is 11 a month.
Okay.
11 a month.
And what he does is he pays offthe homes of maybe, you know, of
people who have been, theirloved ones have been killed in
battle over in Iraq or Iran orin, you know, in anywhere.
(22:59):
We had two police officers inBristol, Connecticut killed last
year.
He paid their mortgages off.
So this is what he does.
And it's all about taking careof the veterans and the people,
our first responders who takecare of of of us.
There's a gentleman in floridawho donated, I think it was 1000
(23:20):
acres of land and he's buildinghomes, smart homes for, uh,
People, you know, all theveterans that have come back
that have lost legs or arms andyou know are disabled in any way
He's building smart homes forthem that with wheelchair
accessibility and all this Justit's an amazing organization
(23:41):
Incredible that just it's allabout veterans first responders
and helping the family membersnot have to worry about paying
Glynn (23:51):
I wonder, was he featured here on the 60 Minute Special
that aired right on 9 11 thisyear?
He
Lori (23:58):
probably was because he is very, you know, and there are a
lot of celebrities that endorsehim as well that are huge You
know, Cole Houser.
I believe his name is.
Oh, yeah, sure.
From Yellowstone, he's a hugesupporter.
Rob Lowe is a huge supporter.
There are just a lot ofcelebrities that are, that
(24:19):
support his cause.
And 98 percent of the donationsthat are given go straight to
The mortgages, you know,building these homes and things
of that nature.
He's amazing.
He's in his whole organizationis just amazing.
There's so many people that havegotten behind him.
So the
Glynn (24:38):
name must come from something that has to do with
the towers,
Lori (24:41):
right?
Well, his brother ran into thetowers, went into the tunnel
into the towers.
He was a fire fireman to savepeople and he never came out.
So it's.
tunnel, two towers.
Love it.
Okay.
Glynn (24:54):
So no boy, I, I'm ashamed that I don't know anything about
it, but now I do.
And that's, that's the purposeof me asking that question, as I
always want to learn aboutorganizations as do our
listeners.
Lori (25:05):
It's unbelievable.
It's so near and dear to myheart.
My family, I happen to come froma family of veterans as well.
World War One, World War TwoVietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq.
I mean, my family on both sides.
Servants?
Servants.
Oh, that's awesome.
So it's, it's a huge veterans,anything veterans is huge for
(25:26):
me.
And this one hits home.
Glynn (25:27):
Well, Lori, we, we didn't know each other let's call it 35
minutes ago, but now I feel likeI know you exceptionally well.
Awesome.
I,
Lori (25:35):
me too.
Yeah.
And it was, it was such a niceTalk.
Nice chat.
I loved it.
It was very, very nice.
I promised
Glynn (25:41):
you would be a piece of cake and you absolutely
Lori (25:43):
crushed it.
Well, I don't know about that,but I was a little nervous and
you said that I wasn't going tobe, but I said, I'm a little
nervous.
Glynn (25:49):
Well, so nice to talk with you.
Enjoy the rest of yourconference.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
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