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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