For Corey Miller, thetrailblazing consumer lending manager at Northwest Community CreditUnion, the key word in his job title has been and remains“consumer.”

Not, he is quick to state, in the sense of encouraging out ofcontrol or over-limit consumption, but recognizing the importanceof the consumer experience in the overall member relationship.

“I come from a retail background and I think I have that retailsensibility,” said the 2014 CU Times Trailblazer Lending Executiveof the Year.

“You know, that old thing about the customer always being rightand wanting to give customers an experience they are going to tellother people about later. I think that's a dimension I bring tolending,” Miller said.

This is something the 88,000-member, $831 million credit unionin Eugene, Ore., noted in Miller's nomination as a Trailblazer, aswell as the way he works with the front-line credit union staff tobuild those connections and ties with the third-party venders withwhich Northwest works.

Miller described his job as being something of a hybrid,concerned with both numbers and solid loan underwriting and withthe interpersonal and human connection. Such an approach is part ofthe attitude he picked up not only while working in retail but alsofrom living in a wide variety of places as part of a militaryfamily. These include Alaska where, he said, he had his firstexperience with the difference being part of credit union brings,joining Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union while living inAnchorage.

Every place he has lived, Miller explained, has broadened hisexperience and willingness to work with different people and helpedprepare him for his position at Northwest.

But while Miller credits his retail and geographic backgroundsfor helping him excel at this job, his results suggestdetermination, skill and enthusiasm play a role as well.

According to credit union records and backed up by NCUA data,consumer loans at Northwest grew by more than 27% in 2011-12 andalmost 20% in 2012-13.

Rather than purchasing investments or keeping more cash on hand,Northwest makes loans to members, maintaining a 98% loan-to-depositratio that Miller is quick to point out did not start with him butwhich had been a significant tradition at the credit union sincebefore his arrival more than 20 years ago.

“Being loaned out so much did not start with me,” Miller said,“But I think I have helped keep the tradition going.”

Among other accomplishments, balances on auto loans made inbranches have increased just more than 13% and almost 36% in eachof the past two years. Indirect lending with auto dealers alsoincreased sharply as the credit union worked hard to strengthenexisting relationships with dealers and build new ones and, at thesame time, Northwest has seen balances on its Visa cards increaseby 15% each of the past two years.

According to NCUA, Northwest closed 2013 with more than 17,000card accounts and a total balance exceeding $40 million.

“It's not just getting an idea of what a member can afford in,for example, a Visa card,” Miller said. “It's what does a memberreally want and need from their Visa card. What are the card andthe rate and the rewards that will make the card a real resourcefor the member, not just now, but into the future?”

Sometimes volunteering means taking part in fundraisingauctions. But while Miller helped this cake bring more than $500,he confessed he did not bake it. “I am a pretty good cook, but notas good a baker,” he said.

Combining a member-centered focus and cooperation with otherparts of the credit union such as data processing and marketinghelped Miller create a cross selling program which put Visa cardsin the hands of more new members than ever before, the credit unionexplained.

“Many people try to cross sell to new members, but they don'tapproach from a qualified offer or screen existing members withbusiness intelligence to qualify them for the specific rate, termand limit to provide an individualized, pre-approved offer” wroteCEO John Iglesias in Miller's nomination.

And this sense of cooperation with other credit unionprofessionals to reach overall goals does not stop at the doors toNorthwest as Miller is known for his work with other credit unionsin areas where he has achieved success in indirect lending andbuilding a stronger, more member-centered sales culture, hisnomination said.

In addition, Miller has helped Northwest achieve this successwhile being a single father of two sons, fully volunteering intheir school and sports activities and going back to school toobtain a business degree.

Miller said he had always intended to go back to school, but thedisruption and difficulty caused by the untimely death of his wifehad prevented him from doing so until now, when his sons are olderand he has more control over his time.

“Part of the volunteering was for them (his sons) of course, butpart of it was also because community is a big part what creditunions do and what we’re about,” Miller said.

In addition to volunteering hundreds of hours at his son'sschool and to helping build their baseball program, Miller has alsobeen a steady and enthusiastic volunteer for Children's MiracleNetwork and other causes which credit unions widely support.

“To weigh his success against his generosity with his time andhis community commitment, is to realize that he is a builder ofcharacter as well as an exemplar of it,” wrote Iglesias, adding: “Iam proud he serves Northwest Community Credit Union.”