FORT WORTH, Texas -- From her first day on the job aspresident/CEO, Lily Newfarmer said she knew that aggressive planswere needed to get members to use the array of products andservices at Tarrant County Credit Union.

Having previously served as executive vice president, Newfarmertook the helm of the $45 million credit union in 2001. She was in aprime spot to see what needed to be done and what had to be scaledback.

"When I took over, we had negative earnings for the first timein the credit union's history. I knew we had to do three things:incent the staff, reward our members and stay tuned in and infocus."

Over the next seven years, Tarrant County increased itsmarketing dollars, implemented staff incentives that included tyingyear-end bonuses to specific goals, joined a shared branchingnetwork with 38 others in Fort Worth and 2,000 nationwide, andconverted to a community charter in 2004. Four branches are nowopen with another two scheduled for 2009 that will offer Saturdayand after hours. The credit union's membership grew organicallyfrom 5,700 in August 2001 to more than 7,500 members today,Newfarmer said.

A critical piece of the puzzle for more member participationstarted with the credit union's employees. Tarrant County measureshow effective staffers are at getting members to use more productsand services. Newfarmer emphasized that jobs are not in jeopardy ifemployees don't reach their annual goals. Part of their meritincrease is linked to how employees give back to the community. Apoint system keeps track of time offered.

"We don't want to force people, but we've found that peoplereally want to do good," Newfarmer said. "Even when they havereached their maximum point level, they still sign on to do moreevents in the community."

Staffers really entrench themselves in the community. One time,employees made more than 3,000 peanut butter and honey sandwichesand gave them out to the homeless. Others participate inwalk-a-thons. Tarrant County has partnered with the YWCA's fosterprogram for young girls. Fort Worth has a shelter for 15 girlsunder the age of 18. As tenants leave, credit union employees willgo in and apply fresh paint and decorations to newly vacated rooms.Taking it one step further, Newfarmer said she is in talks with theYWCA to mentor some of the young ladies, including offering thementry-level jobs at the credit union. For its outreach efforts,Tarrant County was awarded the 2007 Dora Maxwell SocialResponsibility Recognition award at the state level for creditunions in the $20 million to $50 million asset category.

"We want all levels [of staff] to see the bigger picture,"Newfarmer said.

Meanwhile, the decision to convert to a community charter nearlyfour years ago had to do with the increased competition and theconcern that Tarrant County members could have their pick offinancial institutions, including bigger credit unions, but thescenario did not work the other way around, Newfarmer explained.The credit union, which at one point had two branches in countybuildings, also wanted to change the way it was perceived by countyofficials. Tarrant County started sponsoring county employeeappreciation days, golf tournaments and other events.

"At that time, we were in two facilities. On any given day, wecould be asked to leave," Newfarmer said. "Now [in 2009] we've beeninvited to open more facilities. They are building these for us asopposed to us sweating about losing our space."

Tarrant County's members are considered to be very stable withlong-term ties with many falling into the A and B borrowingcategories, Newfarmer pointed out. The concern here was whether thecredit union was doing enough to reach out to C and D borrowers,she said.

"We thought, 'surely, we're not serving everybody.' Are thesepeople being preyed on by predatory lenders?" Newfarmerwondered.

To be sure the credit union started offering second-chance loansand checking accounts in 2006. A payday alternative loan with asavings component feature, longer repayment terms and lower ratesmade its debut on Aug. 1. So far, roughly 30 loans have beenapproved based mostly on word of mouth.

Newfarmer was dismayed when she heard the average householdsavings rate had dropped to the negative range. Tarrant County tooka page from Bank of America's "Keep the Change" program, whichencouraged customers to round up change on debit transactions tothe nearest dollar for deposit in a savings account. With a fewtweaks, the credit union launched its version called "Change isGood." Since its rollout in 2006, 600 members have signed on,amassing nearly $30,000 in change saved.

This spring, the credit union also opened up 100 new checkingaccounts when it started offering an early bird feature thatallowed members to get their direct deposited paychecks a dayearlier. A Web poll that asked what members would do if they couldget their paychecks sooner, revealed that the majority would use ittoward gas costs, Newfarmer said.

"It was an initiative we had planned for 2009, but because ofthe price of fuel and everything else, we thought it would bebetter to roll it this year on September 1," she said, adding thecredit union's board was all for it.

Having a progressive board has helped Tarrant County, as oneexaminer put it, to "have the service of a $500 million creditunion," Newfarmer said. In fact, the credit union doesn't even lookat its peers, choosing instead to go up three levels.

"They get it," she said of the board and management team.

And, mergers are adamantly not an option, Newfarmer said. Largercredit unions have beckoned but are politely refused. For TarrantCounty, operating expenses tend to be higher than it peers, but theincrease is made up when members are rewarded, she said.

"It would be a hard fight," Newfarmer said on

merging. "When we started offering financial education classes,I think we solidified that we have value. We knew we had todistinguish ourselves because the competition is fierce."

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