✅ Baseline. Prior to September, 2021, SECU had an uninterrupted 85-year record of growth in assets and membership, un-besmirched by sanction or scandal.
✅ Timeline. 🔺September, 2021 - "New/New" arrives at SECU. 🔺2022 - Chaos Ensues. 🔺October, 2022 - Annual meeting resolution🔺November/December, 2022 - Fireside Chats 🔺LGFCU Merger - Ayers/Naylor
A Question of Trust
Mr. Ayers Mr. Naylor
✅ Mr. Naylor: Sorry I was not at the SECU Annual Meeting [link starting at 8:16]..."because before the Resolution passed, I would have argued to have removed #2 because there was no factual evidence of that being true. I'm trying to stay away from the word lie"
You'll recall from yesterday's post [6/26 - Part 4], that in 2022 I began receiving numerous calls of concern about the SECU proposal to merge LGFCU. Several of the conversations were with Dwayne Naylor, who was an EVP at LGFCU at the time. I have known Mr. Naylor for decades. He has a well-established reputation for freely "shopping his concerns" about LGFCU to his credit union peers and former colleagues all across North Carolina - it's just his style, his persona.
Early in 2022, Mr. Naylor was adamantly against the proposed merger and his opposition is well-documented by credit union folks who received his calls - including me - and emails. As with Mr. Ayers, would assure you I'm "not guessing" about what Mr. Naylor said and wrote about the merger proposal. The record, as the legal practioners would say, is "on all fours".
It came as more than a surprise therefore to witness Mr. Naylor posturing on the stage at the Fireside chats making the above statement . Being caught on record lying is embarrassing to most folks. Mr. Naylor, as with Chris Ayer, has to date shown no remorse.
Might add that Mr. Naylor's predecessor as CEO at LGFCU was publicly quoted as follows about the "no formal proposal proposal, " trying to stay away from the word lie " SECU offer:
"There was no reason to merge with SECU,” said Smith. “There’s no reason
to merge if you like that separateness and uniqueness. You like your
unique membership base, and if we merged we would not have that."[link: CUToday 12/14/2022]
But who knows Mr. Naylor may claim Mr. Smith has taken up lying too?
Been asked: "Why are you so "angry" about what has happened at SECU?"
When I came to work at SECU many years ago it was made abundantly clear that honesty and integrity were held in the highest regard. The Big Man himself told me. "Honesty is not the best policy, it's the ONLY policy". The quickest way to be shown the door was to lie, cheat or steal - you know, the stuff your Mom taught you (or at least was supposed to).
ReplyDeleteHayes, Brady, Naylor, Ayers and the rest of This Board, what in the world has happened to you? Your Moms need to collectively take you all out behind the woodshed and, as my grandmother used to say, have a "come to Jesus" meeting with you.
Your behavior is unconscionable and inexcusable. Not only have you been shown to be inept you have broken your fiduciary bond to 2.7 million members and 7500 employees. The credit union needs to get back to serving its members the RIGHT way so you must get OUT of the way at this point.
#GiveUsOurCreditUnionBack
We are so past the point of hoping to see a change in this board or leadership team. Them getting out of the way is the only solution to returning SECU back to where it was built to be. Just hard to believe they just won't accept the wrongs they have done to the members or their staff.
DeleteIf Naylor had been honest in the beginning about just what Hayes and Ayers was doing on the sly, possibly some of this could have been avoided.
DeleteWas H.410 needed in order for LGFCU and SECU to merge?
ReplyDeleteBeen asked: "Why are you so "angry" about what has happened at SECU?".....cause you hate to see what you worked hard for and believed in be ruin by outsiders and a supposedly voluntary BOD
ReplyDeleteWhy are you so "angry" about what has happened at SECU?"
ReplyDeleteAs an employee I would be proud to take that question if you don't mind...
Please allow me to start my reply with a short story. Several weeks ago many of us sat before our monitors during a WebEx meeting and listened to some hired Outside Consultant ramble on about some meaningless study he had prepared for the SECU's Executive Team. He had his graphs, his spreadsheets, his bullet talking points. For every question he was asked, his reply while stroking his beard was, "well, that doesn't matter." Not once, but many times throughout the presentation this was his response. At the end of it all... He was actually very correct in his statement because NONE of what HE Said or SECU paid him for really mattered.
And for the reply;
Two years ago, This Board made the decision that Truth, Honesty and Integrity were no longer needed at SECU. Calls for help from members and employees went out to Mr. Blaine who served as CEO of this organization for 37 years.
Because SECU MEMBERS and EMPLOYEES MATTER to this gentleman who gave so much of his life's work to this cooperative. Because State Employees' Credit Union matters to the state of North Carolina. Because SECU's reputation in the credit union industry matters in our country.
"Well that doesn't matter" I am sure has been used many times by This Board, CEO and Executive Team Members.over the past two years. Every SECU member and SECU employee in the state have reason to be Angry.
Why you ask? Because - "WE" Are SECU.
Totally agree. Very well said
DeleteThis Board has made it very clear nothing matters to them, not the members and certainly not the staff. Unless stopped they will take this credit union to a place that doesn't matter as well. Getting harder and harder to see the old SECU values now. I feel it every time I enter my local branch, thanks to this blog I understand the fault does not lie with the local staff. Something must be done or we are going to lose what was once the best financial institution in the state. I am angry too.
DeleteI remember that WebEx, I checked out after the 3rd Well, that don't matter. Just like everything else they have done here - waste of credit union time, money, resources and NO positive results.
DeleteHow about a quick run down of what this Board and Administration has caused at SECU:
ReplyDeleteLoss of services for the members
Lack of leadership and trust for the employees
Loss of reputation for the organization
Lack of thrift, waste those members' money
Loss of who the true Owners are
Lack of accountability from This Board
Could the members be pretty safe in saying this retired CEO has given this credit union well over 15 volunteer hours a month since October 2022? We won't get into the value of those hours, wouldn't want to make This Board angry too.
ReplyDeleteNo comparison since this board's 15 hours a month has been spent thinking of ways to further ruin our credit union. Vacate those seats Directors and let us members put someone in them that will go back to working for us, not for their own benefits.
DeleteAfter 2 years (?) and a bunch of money, less than 1/4th of branch/MSS employees will see a pay adjustment from the Gallagher study. Got to love being paid 'at market' where the average branch employee is struggling to afford groceries
ReplyDeleteI also was surprised at how few employees were being underpaid. However if there are many employees who are unable to afford groceries, that would have been an issue well before Hayes showed up. I think he was a moron but let’s be real, the salary issue has been there for years. Man I’d love to actually see the final report from the salary study and how they are defining our job positions to determine what the salaries should be.
DeleteWas there a board meeting last night?
ReplyDeleteThink I saw several of them at Salisbury Street last night slipping the may financials into the dumpster
DeleteWhy are we employees angry? We are angry because the bankers that were brought in to change our amazing culture into “ industry standard” know nothing about wha
ReplyDeletewe have stood for since the beginning nor do they care! We are angry because these people were brought in with positions of control and we have had no voice other than this blog (thank you Mr. B). We have been humiliated, demoted and forced to stand by and watch our beloved SECU crumble! Why are many of us still here? HOPE… that we can be a part of the repair! Ms. Brady needs to get busy and get these toxic so called leaders out of OUR credit union! BOD’s if you have a shred of decency PLEASE RESIGN so that we can we can move forward with the honesty and integrity we were built on!
Amen
DeleteDitto everything you said @ 6.01. Toxic workplace because of these outsiders who know nothing of the SECU way of doing business. We (members and employees) need these disastrous new/new folks out so that we, the old/proper folks can begin the long process of repairing our SECU!
Delete
ReplyDeleteFrom: HAYES, JIM
Sent: Thursday, October 6, 2022 5:46 PM
To: All Employees
Subject: Update
Hello TeamSECU… Have I told you lately?? You are AWESOME!!!
So let me address a few things. Because I’m fearing that you are only getting half the story on some things.
There is something I want to add… as I hear there are rumors about Local Govt FCU. For those who may not know, LGFCU recently named a new CEO, to replace the retiring Maurice Smith. Dwayne Naylor is their new CEO. Well, Dwayne hit the ground running. He reached out to me soon after being named CEO and inquired about breaking away from SECU and becoming independent. I personally, would always want to be independent and control my own destiny. That’s just how I feel. Turns out Dwayne felt the same way and went away to a planning meeting with his Board and they all decided to become independent, breaking away from their dependencies on SECU. This decision was solely their own decision and one that I think Dwayne has had on his mind for quite some time. So yes, its true, Local Govt will begin the process soon to break away and be independent. They set their own internal goal to have this done in 2023. Of course, it remains to be seen if this timeline can be met, as there are lots of complications with de-converting a credit union after 30 years. But I committed to Dwayne that we would support him and his (and his Board’s) vision of gaining their own independence. So we will have a team dedicated to helping make this successful. They already have Civic credit union that they will be merging into. Civic already has its own core and systems. Civic is fully operational and ready to receive Local Govt.
I would ask that you don’t spread this too much. I know the rumors are already flying. But Local Govt is preparing a press release now to be released some time next week I think. But again, this was their decision and idea. I want to reiterate, we did NOT tell them to leave or ask them to leave. This was their idea and their board voted on it to break away. I applaud them for making that decision. But it was their decision for sure.
Thanks everyone. Stay about the line!!! Thank you…
Jim
Wreaks of desperate concealment.
DeleteThat last paragraph says it all about his personality. Always felt he was paranoid.
DeleteThat last paragraph. Didn't this blogger warn you can't pass something off as truth just because you repeat it over & over & over again. "It was their decision" is that right Gymy boy?
DeleteUnadulterated BS! This Board brought this disgrace liar to secu
ReplyDeleteYes. Total BS. Always advocating others to stay above the line so he can stay BELOW the radar.
Delete