Barbara Perkins is a MEMBER NOMINATED CANDIDATE for election to the SECU Board. Why should you vote for Barbara Perkins?
Here's why! SECU
needs firmly principled Board members who will represent the best
interests of the membership - not their own self-interests.
Here's what Ms. Perkins had to say:
SECU Board of Directors
In May of 1975, my husband had just graduated from NCSU in Accountancy
& Economics and didn't yet have a job. I had been taking my classes
over the last 3 years while working full time as a classroom teacher.
Our first child was due next month, my paycheck was ending for the
summer, and his GI Bill ended at graduation. We both drove Volkswagens,
so a larger car, though not necessary, would be a better family option.
I went to the loan officer who knew me as an undergraduate at UNC. He
knew I worked part-time while going to school, had graduated in three
and a half years, and that my parents had been long standing members of
the credit union with good credit histories. I doubt we even had a
credit score but he knew I would pay back the loan, so he granted us a
car loan. That loan came from the policy of the Credit Union of having staff from the community working in the community branch and it was a win for both us and the credit union.
Since that time, I have payed it forward serving in many volunteer capacities. For the credit union, I have served on the loan review committee
for more years than I can remember. There were changes to the
committees expanding from centrally located committees in Raleigh only
to statewide regional committees to a single committee for an entire
city or group of branches within a city. These changes were based on member needs
for quicker turnaround, not having to travel so far to appeal a branch
decision, and decisions being made based on knowledge of the people in
the community. When reviewing loans, I brought specialized knowledge of
how to read a tax return or understand the cash flow of an investment
vs. the taxable income but as that expectant mother on the verge of a
new career, I understood the personal side of a request.
I
remember one member turned down by the branch who had a terrible credit
history. She explained to our review committee that her husband had
left her five years before with enormous credit card debt and 5 kids
to feed. Since that time, she had worked two jobs and finally paid off
all the debt, a fact which was verified by the reader. That woman
deserved that loan and it was granted. Risk based lending in a case like this would be unaffordable. Despite being the second largest credit union in the US, we write off less than 1% of
our loans. That includes the times when we had basic transportation
loans, mortgages over 100% of appraisal, reverse mortgages, real estate
downturns and refinancing mortgages at no cost automatically as the
rates went down. I don't have access to the statistics but I would
conjecture that 60-70% of our membership would be penalized by this
practice even though they pay back their loans. The payroll deduction
option makes that possible. I, for one, and many of my friends and
associates that I have talked to are willing to forego a percentage
point of interest to pay it forward.
Enlarging
the credit union, bringing in outside members and employees, and growth
may have some unexpected consequences. When we become just like every
other institution, we lose who we are and will, in my opinion, lose
membership in the long run. Another concept I would like to see
statistics on. Most of all, as an advisory board member at the Centennial Campus and a person who reads the
newsletter
that comes with my statement, I was shocked to find out about the
change of direction by the Board at the Annual Meeting. As the NC SECU
Foundation Board of Directors know, I read the press releases
that come to the advisory board members and share them with my friends
and acquaintances as I am expected to do. With all these opportunities
to bring things to the attention of members of the organization which you represent, do you not feel an obligation to ask us about your policies directing our funds or inform us of your intentions to change our underlying policies that got us where we are today? Since we have become the second largest credit union in the US, with
profits every quarter of our existence, I hope you will reflect on the
prior policies you are looking to change and consider the value of
keeping our core values the same.
As a systems
accountant, I enjoy innovation and progress. I have worked for many
agencies including those with the largest budgets in state government,
for corporate entities including ones owned by icons in the financial
and development worlds, and even for the university as both a professor
and an accountant. Accountants see the value in technology and the
opportunities it can bring. So I do not see myself as someone averse to
change. I do believe, however, in risk/reward analysis, paying it
forward, focusing on the membership needs and benefits, and
transparency. I hope that you believe in the same values. I ask for a
timely and thorough response to the Resolution presented at the Annual Meeting which was passed without objection at the 2022 Annual Meeting. I look
forward to hearing from you soon.
I now do have
a credit score. I also have a relationship with a community bank
because I believe in diversity of investments. I know other members do
as well. That's why I think some of these changes may have unintended
consequences.
Barbara Perkins
Former LRC Committee member
Current Advisory Board Member
Retired State Employee
My CPA certificate was retired, continuing NCCPA member after 40 years of practice
Member of NC SECU
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All of that, plus she never was involved with the hiring of Mr. Hayes. Personally, if I had ever been involved with such a damaging choice, I would have resigned rather than try to defend such an atrocious action, but honor was never the current board's strong suit. Good luck Ma'am I voted for you without reservation
ReplyDeleteShe will be a breath of fresh air our board
ReplyDeleteWow! Another impressive articulate letter from a member nominated candidate. Where are the letters from the board explaining their reasons for all the policy reversals of the previous 85 years? Where are the stats that Barbara Perkins requested? Hidden from the members. Vote Perkins, Clements Stone!
ReplyDeleteAnd if the other 8 will have the decency to resign.
ReplyDelete18
ReplyDeleteDays
19
Hours
26
Minutes
22
Seconds ...
Until October 10th ...
Please VOTE - please don't wait - IT MATTERS!!!!
ReplyDeleteDo get some interesting emails:
ReplyDelete"Jim,
I just opened the totally one-sided letter from the NCGREA last night after being out of town for a few days. This morning I called their office to find out if my dues had paid for that letter to be sent out and was told by Josephine not to worry, that the credit union had paid for it to be sent. (It’s interesting how no one thinks that might be a conflict of interest.). She said that NCGREA just wanted its members to be aware of the situation so that they could determine for themselves what to do. So why did they only give the current board’s names?
Thought you would be interested to know how it was financed."
.*** ...I"m not a member of NCRGEA, but perhaps someone can call Josephine (Lanier) at NCRGEA and find out about this.
WOW! I guess I shouldn't be surprised that SECU paid for the mailing from NCGREA because of all the crazy stuff they have done over the last 2 years. However, I continue to be stunned by their actions.
DeleteI would certainly think that someone from SECU wrote the letter as well.
Would love to see the line item for election propaganda in SECU's next financial statements.
DeleteWell the board and CEO control our money, hence the reason we need to tell them enough of this spending like drunken sailors and vote em out. Who do they think they are congress?
DeleteHow many more black-eyes are we members going to have to take from this Board? They need to resign immediately, using our money to pay for their election propaganda, Enough!
ReplyDeleteAyers needs to lead off the resignations now.
The Board is not going to resign. Hopefully the 3 can be replaced this year. The remaining board will not change their minds. So next year you will have to do it all over again. Then you will have enough voices in the room to make changes.
ReplyDeleteMy fear is the damage done up to this point will take years to fix. You have to slow down the momentum before moving the opposite direction. I have been a member for over 20 years but my credit union doesn't even resemble, in attitude, the one I joined. It is amazing how fast the right or wrong people at the top can change an organization.
I have my ticket for the annual meeting, hope the rest of you sign up to get yours. Maybe the snack this year will be popcorn.
I also hope that the regulators pay attention to the process and for transparency help facilitate the election - too much on the line to leave it up the paid folks. I don't trust the executive group of SECU any longer.
"Trust is like a vase.. once it's broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be same again."
DeleteWalter Inglis Anderson
Hey. Patty Munns, again. Last week or so I emailed Tim O'Connell, Executive Director the day I received their letter of support for the incumbent Board members and as nice as possible expressed my concerns about the one-sided show of support in the NCRGEA letter---just not right/fair. We had a good conversation and Tim was as nice as could be. It was clear to me he was in a bind and because the letter had already gone out there was nothing to be done. We left it with we would agree to disagree.
ReplyDeleteIn that same email I asked the question who all paid for the mailing. Tim kind of danced around it but today I thought perhaps I had not made my self-clear with the way I worded the question---so today I had another conversation with Tim. SECU is a supporter of NCRGEA and yes NCRGEA paid the mailing invoice from the various supporter's funds. Tim stressed that there are other companies that contribute to that same fund---so it was not all paid for by SECU. Since I had Tim on the phone, I told him he had no idea of the low morale of employees and the negative policies and directives this Board has developed.
ALL he knew from Leigh B. and Stacy was about RBL. Since the letter has a massive reach please get out and vote for the member nominated folks.
Let's work hard to ger our Credit Union back to "people helping people"!
Jim Blaine told me more than once that I embarrassed him over the course of my long career (and I did). Hope this is not one of those times!
Patty hope you are doing well. So they don't feel the need to publish anything else since their info wasn't truly correct? Wonder if Barbara could sue them for what they printed? Maybe ask 'the judge' and see what he thinks!
DeleteThank you, Patty. We appreciate your contribution.
DeleteYes, Patty! Hope you don't get a follow up letter from Timmy's lawyer, ol' Judge Cozart, for disagreeing with him!
Delete"You Get What You Tolerate" ...
ReplyDeletePerkins, Clement, and Stone - our member nominated candidates- are top tier and I will be proud to see them serve on our board. I’ve recruited as many friends and family as possible to vote for them. I hope the rest of you are doing the same. It’s critical.
ReplyDelete