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Active in the community, whether behind the scenes or on the links, James Barbre, board director at Associated Credit Union, has always made time to help with all types of fundraising efforts.

It was on a small family farm in Georgia where James C. Barbre III's dedication to a life of service began.

The family didn't have much, he said, but his mother had drilled into her 11 children the value of giving one's time. From the age of six, Barbre, who is board director at the $1.3 billion Associated Credit Union in Norcross, Ga., and his siblings could always be found helping at the church by mowing the lawn, cleaning up the flower beds, and sweeping or polishing the alter and pews.

Whenever there was a need in the community, the Barbre family was there and did whatever they could to help.

“My mother would say to us, 'If you don't have anything to give, the main thing you always have to share is your time, which is worth more than wealth,'” he recalled. “I've tried to always live by that.”

For his decades of dedication and zeal to get more credit union directors engaged, Barbre was named CU Times' 2015 Trailblazer Volunteer of the Year.

Since he turned 20 in 1954, Barbre faithfully served on a board of a credit union or in the credit union industry, when he first learned about them and founded his first one, A&M Karagheusian Credit & Savings.

“Wade Harrison from the Georgia Credit Union League had spoken to the receptionist about who he could talk to about a credit union. I'd been working the night shift and she told him to talk to me,” Barbre said. “My first question was, 'What's a credit union?'”

One enlightening, 45-minute conversation later, he promised to speak with management when they returned in a few days. Barbre then found the six other charter members needed to start a credit union.

His reasoning behind the move was simple: A fair banking alternative was needed.

“Bankers at the time were preying on the weak and employees couldn't afford banking. The credit union was a great help to them,” he said.

It set Barbre on the path to becoming more involved in furthering the credit union movement. A big believer in the good credit unions could do, Barbre was elected chairman of the SW Georgia Chapter of Credit Unions in 1957 and began what would be 42 years of service to the Georgia Credit Union League in 1959.

From 1960 to 1972, Barbre founded four more credit unions in Georgia – Dalton Crown Tough Employees Credit Union, Delta Diversified Employees Credit Union, Salem Employees Credit Union and Rogers Finishing Employees Credit Union.

He also volunteered his services to the World Council of Credit Unions where he also founded countless cooperatives around the world.

“I think every board member should find ways to be available and be a part of any change that will benefit others,” Barbre said. “I've attended every league convention since 1954 and it opened a whole new world of education and opportunity to work and serve people better. Our challenge today is to find those people who have the desire and who really want to work and serve their credit union or the industry.”

Barbre said while there should be plenty of people interested in being of service, finding the right fit has been a challenge every organization, including credit unions, has faced.

“Any board needs a good cross-section of the communities and organizations served. By that I mean beyond age, are there people with expertise in different fields,” he said.

“I pushed for term limits for diversity as a way to get more people in. Let the good, bad and everything else spread around to a lot more people. Many put age limits on serving on a board, but today, I feel like I am just as energetic as a 40- to 50-year old.”

james barbre, volunteer, service to others, associated credit union During his 27 years of service on CUNA Mutual Group's board, Barbre was instrumental in the merger with Century Life, an Iowa-based life insurance company. The merger provided credit unions with a more robust offering of products, he said.

Recognizing the importance of diversity, Barbre led the charge to pass the 12-year term limit on CUNA Mutual's directors. He also pushed for the 12-year term limit for directors of Georgia Credit Union Affiliates in 2001, as well as doing away with age limits for board directors, which had previously been set at 65.

At Associated CU, Barbre was a huge advocate to approve a shift into mortgage and business lending, which has since driven growth. As an entrepreneur who has experienced his share of success and loss over the years, Barbre's takeaway has always been to learn and grow from every experience because “there is a tomorrow, we start over and do what we have to do.”

Regardless of age, to enact meaningful change and growth requires a willingness to learn, stay current and take risks that will ultimately benefit members, employees and the organization as a whole as well, he added.

“Too many directors see a balance sheet but don't really understand it,” Barbre said. “We must have an awareness and better understanding of those basics and regulations, policies, so we, as the board, can ask the right questions of the president and management.”

At Barbre's insistence, the board at Associated CU was required to undergo training and testing on several subjects annually, long before the NCUA mandated board eduation.

“Every board member has to really study and work to pass,” Barbre said.

Associated CU had taken a similar proactive approach to recruiting board and committee members. Discussions on what expertise gaps exist and how to fill them are held on an ongoing basis, according to Barbre. With bankers lobbying for more regulations to hinder credit union efforts to grow, and the industry's shrinking numbers, it's not the time to be too conservative or complacent with the status quo, he said.

“The big banks have too much authority in Washington,” he said, expressing concern over their efforts to limit business lending and other channels.

“I'm completely against forcing credit unions to be taxed, but I'm realistic enough to believe that while it would hurt for some time, eventually, we could overcome being taxed by changing the way we do things,” he added. “For now, we need to have more board members giving their time to serve on committees outside the credit union industry or volunteering to be involved with the government at local, state and national levels.”

Instant Insights /

Trailblazer Awards: Barbre Champions Learning and Growth Through CU Service

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