EL PASO, Texas — When Harriet May, now CEO of the $1.3 billionGECU first walked into the institution in early 1974, she plannedto stay only about five years.

“I figured at five years I would be vested in their retirementsystem and I could move on and have a nice little fund set asidefor retirement,” May explained, humor in her voice at the memory ofher earlier life. “But I didn't count on this place–the philosophythat just seems to ooze from the walls of this place–getting to meas much as it did.”

May majored in math in college and had been anticipating acareer in the sciences after one of her professors discouraged herfrom pursuing accounting, calling it “old science.” But with noimmediate prospects for a laboratory job, May took her acumen withnumbers into an area bank, following a friend to work at the creditunion after about a year.

May has rarely looked back since. As she prepares to accept thisyear's National Credit Union Foundation's Herb Wegner Award forIndividual Achievement, it appears that she has had as much of animpact on her credit union as her credit union has had on her.

May came face-to-face with the credit union philosophy early inher career.

“I don't want to look back and talk badly about my time at thebank,” May said, “but I liked working at the credit union muchbetter.” May said the CU showed her greater respect, for one thing.Pay at the CU included time and a half for working overtime,moreover, she felt that a career at the credit union was going tobe more about people than profits–a difference she came toappreciate as she moved through the ranks to eventually become CEOin 1996.

Interestingly, May's staff at GECU nominated her for the awardin secret, foreseeing her objections.

“I was stunned,” May said. “I remember asking 'what have youdone' and whether or not they were crazy.”

But when the Foundation reviewed the application and the sheafof testimonials from staff and leaders of other organizations andcredit unions, they decided that May deserved theaward–particularly for her groundbreaking work in housing.

May recognized the importance of helping lower-income memberseventually buy homes as well as the importance of timing. “Youknow, if you have a lower income member who comes to you and says'I was in your homeownership seminar last week and I want to workwith you on buying a home, it may be two or two-and-a-half yearsbefore that member finally qualifies for a mortgage,” sheexplained. “That's a lot of time and work and effort spent helpingthat member achieve their dream.”

Credit unions wanting to impact their members should realizethat the purchase of a home will have a huge impact on a member'slife, involving their relationship to saving, budgeting, anddecisions made when the member walks outside and finds the airconditioner leaking. “It's a whole world of things they never hadto think about, consider and handle before,” May noted. “Allwrapped up in the home.”

In order to help empower GECU and eight other local creditunions better manage their mortgage programs, May was instrumentalin founding the El Paso Affordable Housing CUSO, an effort the CUslaunched with the NCUF, Texas Credit Union Foundation, and otherlocal groups.

At first, GECU and the others created the CUSO to help handlesome of the financial education and management aspects of theirmortgage programs more easily. But they soon found the CUSO alsoserved as a good vehicle to apply for grants and other types ofdownpayment assistance on behalf of their members and other localorganizations, as well as to negotiate the secondary market andensure compliance with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's rules.

Since the CUSO's launch, it has helped file over 32,000 taxreturns so that lower-income credit union members can have accessto Earned Income Tax Credits that they can, in turn, put intoindividual development accounts or otherwise save toward their newhome. Over 370 financial education workshops have been held,reaching 6,200 El Paso residents and leading to 400 buying theirfirst home. The CUSO has opened over 10,000 first-time homebuyersavings accounts and made $14 million in mortgages for lower incomeresidents.

May feels that the thread running through all of heraccomplishments was the credit union commitment to meeting theneeds of individual members who–without the CU, might remainforever mired in poor financial habits and at the mercy of paydaylenders and other unsavory financial institutions.

“As an industry we should continue to focus on what makes usdifferent, what makes us credit unions and on how we can have themost impact on the financial lives and hopes of our members,” shesaid. “That may be our biggest challenge going forward.”

–[email protected]