SEE YOU LEAD

SEE YOU LEAD Episode 26: Lori Herrick President & CEO, Manchester Municipal FCU

• Liz Rose • Season 1 • Episode 26

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Exploring Leadership and Community Impact in the Credit Union World: A Conversation with Lori Herrick – SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, Sponsored by NetGiver

In this enlightening episode of the SEE YOU LEAD Podcast, proudly sponsored by NetGiver, we delve deep into the world of credit union leadership and its significant impact on communities. Recorded at the vibrant 2023 APEX conference in Mohegan Sun, Connecticut, our host, Glynn Frechette, welcomes Lori Herrick, the esteemed President and CEO of Manchester Municipal Credit Union.

Throughout the episode, Herrick shares her remarkable journey from a part-time assistant to a leading CEO in the credit union sector, spanning an impressive 26 years. Her story provides fascinating insights into her transformative role at Manchester Municipal Credit Union and her pioneering approach to member services. Lori discusses in detail the unique challenges and opportunities she has faced, shedding light on her personal experiences and leadership philosophy.

A significant focus of the conversation is on Lori's unwavering commitment to community involvement. She highlights various initiatives, including support for local food pantries and first responders, and discusses the credit union's innovative student loan program, which emphasizes financial responsibility and education.

As a CUNA board member, Lori offers a broader view of the industry's evolution, particularly concerning small credit unions. The episode also delves into how Manchester Municipal Credit Union cultivates a culture of giving back, promoting employee and member participation in community projects, going beyond mere financial assistance.

Join us in this episode of SEE YOU LEAD for an insightful journey into how leaders like Lori Herrick drive their credit unions toward significant community engagement, merging financial acumen with a deep commitment to social responsibility. It's an essential listen for anyone fascinated by the dynamic interplay of finance and community betterment in the credit union sphere.

SEE YOU LEAD, a DNT BLNK Venture Studio Brand

Glynn:

Welcome to another episode of CU Lead, sponsored by NetGiver, the app and platform that enables donors and nonprofits to give and receive on a no fee basis. On this podcast, we feature credit union industry executives and the impacts they make on communities everywhere. I'm GlenN Frechette and today I am joined by Lori Herrick. Lori is the president and CEO of Manchester Municipal Credit Union, which is headquartered right up the street in Manchester, Connecticut, not to be confused with Manchester, New Hampshire. And that happens a lot. Well, you know, I'm, I'm going to say something quippy and I mean no disrespect when I call you New Englanders. But there's a lot of names that are in common or the same in each of the states in New England.

Lori:

Absolutely. I get calls from Manchester, New Hampshire all

Glynn:

the time. Well, I interviewed one of the CEOs during my time here at this event. From Manchester, New Hampshire. Yeah. Yeah. So we are for our listeners that can't see us. We're at the Apex event in What is the name? I know we're at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, but what the heck is the name of this city?

Lori:

We're in it's Uncasville What? Uncasville.

Glynn:

Okay. All right. Fair enough. Glad you said it because I saw it written and I wasn't even going to attempt it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Uncasville, Connecticut. Yeah. Do you, do you come to the Mohegan Sun venue here in casino for events? We

Lori:

do. Actually the league has a wine event here, a wine gala every single year. It's a wonderful event. It's, you know, to sponsor CULAC. So, we're always here for that event. And it's been several years now that we have come here for our annual meeting. And this is the third year that we have joined with CCUA. So, it's just not Connecticut. Now there's... 400 or 500. I think 700 was going to be the total people in and out at this conference.

Glynn:

You know, it's such a big hall and venue we're in. It doesn't look like that's the count and number we're dealing with. In fact, that was a surprise to have you say that and hear it. But think about the space Mohegan Sun gives us. You couldn't get this kind of allowance out in Las

Lori:

Vegas. Oh, absolutely not. No, it's wonderful. And there's a hundred vendors in there as well. That is, it's amazing. It really is.

Glynn:

Well, Laura, you're, you and I are just getting to know one another. A lot of times I interview guests whom I know we do not. And I'd love for our listeners to also get to know you a bit better if they do not already. Can you talk to us about your own journey and how long you've been influencing credit unions?

Lori:

Absolutely. So, I've been in credit unions now for 26 years. I. Fell into it. It was just absolutely amazing. I answered an ad to be a part-time assistant to a credit union manager. And it was the best, interview I ever had. I got the job and fell in love with credit unions immediately. She left 11 months later because she was promoted to a much larger credit union. And three years later I became the ceo.

Glynn:

Three years. You were a part time assistant to, was it a mid level manager, a

Lori:

senior manager? It was And she ended up getting and we were a small credit union at that point. Well, we still are, but we were 3 million in assets and she got a like a promotion to a 25 million credit union. And that was huge, especially back then. And so she took it and I worked really hard for three years. to learn everything I could, and then the board offered me the job.

Glynn:

Unbelievable. Thrust right into the role. Right into it. Unbelievable. So you've been the CEO for 23 of the 26 years then? Ah, what a fantastic ride. And you and I were talking before we began recording, you're also a CUNA board member,

Lori:

do I have that right? I'm a CUNA board member and it's pretty funny on how this little journey happened actually as well. You know Jill Nowacki? Yes, very well. Okay, so Jill was the CEO of the Connecticut Credit Union League. And back in about 2016 or 17, she put my name in. to be, because she knows, she knew how passionate I was about small credit unions. And a lot of times, NCAA examiners and other people that, you know, know me pretty well, would call me and say, hey, can you help this person with some policies? Can you do this? Can you do that? With small credit unions. And I was always on a small credit union committee, small credit union this. Well, she put me in for a role on CUNA's small credit union committee, and I got the job. or the seat, but she forgot to tell me. So, I got this letter telling me congratulations. You've been, you know, selected to the Small Credit Union Committee of CUNA. And I had no idea what that was. So I called the league and Jill said, Oh, got to tell you. I put your name in. Something I meant to

Glynn:

bring

Lori:

up. And so, I got the seat on the small credit union committee, which was just absolutely amazing. It gave it gave me a voice that on a national level that I never had. I always had one in Connecticut. Being on small credit union committees and on the league Hartford chapter committees. And it put me on that committee, which we then you know, talk to NCUA about things you know, small credit unions needed help with. And, and, you know, it just, it was wonderful. So I was on that committee for five years and I was chair and then the past chair, and then you, you roll off. So I was rolling off and I was like, Oh my goodness. I, you know, I really love being in this role. And so I decided to run for a seat on the CUNA board. anD I won the seat on the community on the

Glynn:

CUNA board. Amazing. How long ago was that?

Lori:

I've just finished my second year. Okay. And CUNA is Hopefully in the middle of a merger with NAVQ. That's right. And we will hopefully be America's credit unions moving forward And if that does happen, I have also been selected to serve on the transition board for the next three years Wow.

Glynn:

Yeah, that was certainly big industry news when it was announced. Where are we? We're in early October at the moment. That was announced probably back in August. August, the end of August. Okay. Gosh, time flies. It does fly. Well, thank you for bringing all of our listeners up to speed on your own experience and past, which definitely serves well for the questions that I have of you today. So let's, let's dive in. Okay. doesn't matter, Lori, whether we're sitting in Nebraska. Or California or Florida or Connecticut. Serving credit union members and nonprofits within communities is never more important than it is today. I'm just a reader and a listener, but I'm following what the next year may include. for a lot of us and certainly the constituents that you serve. Talk to us about you being a leader in your community specifically as it relates to non profits.

Lori:

So, you know, it's really important for us and for me to my role in this credit union that I am as the CEO. We're a common bond municipal. So it is the police department, the fire department, the town employees of Manchester and to get behind them and you know, and help them with their needs. We've had the police department tell us especially over the last several years, you know, there's a lot of homelessness out there. And just simple things like what can we do? how can we help 5 gift cards to Cumberland Farms so that they can hand them out when they do see somebody, they can go in and get a hot coffee and get a slice of pizza. or whatever. So you know, just, you know, small things like that. We're really involved heavily in food pantries. Because food and security is another thing that our credit union is passionate about. We're across the street from a food pantry. So we see, the people there all the time. So these are, a couple of things that we're really passionate about and we try to get involved helping work volunteer donate money anything that we can do. And our members are incredibly generous as well. We just had our annual meeting. We made baskets, we had raffles we raised 1300. 1300. for, from our members, um, to donate to these these nonprofit communiesty,

Glynn:

And it sounds as though they were also donating their time with the assembly of baskets perhaps. Oh my gosh, I think that's awesome. Yeah. It's not an easy task to pull off, to ask individuals to participate in something that's important to you. Yeah. But boy, isn't that the essence of what we do inside a credit union nation?

Lori:

Yeah, it really is and to think that we had 90 or 100 members show up I'm a small credit union 36 million dollars in assets. I have 2500 members 100 or so showed up for our annual meeting. We usually have a good turnout like that. And to think that we made 1300 off of those members who bought raffle tickets for those baskets to win those baskets so that they could donate. And we tell them what we're donating to, to the food pantries, to you know, to veterans services, anything in town that, you know, that it's in need.

Glynn:

All things being relative. 100 of still 5 percent ish of 2500. So that's a huge accomplishment. Imagine some of the larger credit unions across the country if they were to draw, you know, 500, 000 members times 5 percent is a pretty big number. I know the number. I just don't want to reveal my math skills. Okay, so that's awesome. I love to hear that. Part of this podcast is also featuring the real talent that exists inside of our industry with the people who work for credit unions. Do you find that you've created this culture of give back, whether that's monetary give back or giving with their feet, as you've just described. Do you feel like the things you're doing contribute to attracting great people?

Lori:

I really do, and I can, like, honestly tell you we, we don't have turnover. Sometimes I, I'm at a meeting and people are saying, Oh, it's so hard to find employees. It's so hard to find this. My loan officer just hit 20 years. I lost a couple of people over COVID, but they retired because they were a little bit older and they just said, you know what? We don't really want to be, you know, in working anymore. We don't need to be. And they retired off to the good life. off to the good life. Exactly. But I don't have turnover. I have, you know, my, the employees that are there have been there for years and years. The one of the, one thing that I think makes a huge difference as well to the, with these employees is I kind of hire people and do exactly to them what was done to me. Okay. I'm hiring a teller. that teller could be the next CEO. And so I want her to have all the opportunities that I have. I want her to learn everything in the credit union. I want her to, you know, to, you know, we do C. P. D. Online, especially now that there's not a lot of education things to go to. So, you know, they're online training and things like that. But but more than that, it's mentoring my Myself or or one of the other people in there, we want them all to succeed and we want to grow from within. And I feel like it was right for me and I really think it would be right for our credit union as well. So that's how we've always That's how I've always looked at it. That teller could be the next CEO. Like I said We're I'm very blessed and I I've said that about everything the job that I've gotten the roles that I've played just the things that might the board has always been behind, behind me 100%. We have a really wonderful credit union and a board and the membership, but we started a student loan program in 2008 that nobody else has. And I've done web webinars on it and I share all my policies. So it is a homegrown. Student loan program. Let's hear it.

Glynn:

Please. I would love to.

Lori:

Really? Okay. So, basically, when you come in to get a student loan The student has to come in, the parent has to come in we educate the student on what they're going to be, you know, spending. It's immediate repayment. I do not let any deferment because that's where you get into trouble. But, if you're going to take out a 15, 000 loan for 15 years, you know, it's a great interest rate. We've tried to keep it really low. It's probably in the 5 6 percent area right now. You know, the parents are going to need to pay the 100 a month while you're in school. Oh, oh,

Glynn:

so it's, you, you really mean immediate repayment. Oh, immediately. Upon

Lori:

disbursement. Upon disbursement, absolutely. Wow. It keeps you, they know that they have a payment due every single year every single month, excuse me. And they don't forget about it. It's not accruing interest. So when they graduate that, you know, 10, is now 16, 000, 18, 000. When they graduate that 10, 000 loan, you know, is 6, 000 because their parents have paid for it while they were in school. Once they graduate and they get a job, now it's theirs. And if they make their loan payments on time for a year, the parents are removed from that. And now the parents don't have all this burden on them of, you know, debt. Student loan debt on their, on their credit

Glynn:

as well. Stating the obvious here, Lori, that you have keenly recognized. Now you're also attracting younger members to the credit union. Absolutely. It's no longer just their parents credit union. It becomes theirs.

Lori:

And I just want to tell you a funny story. I'm in the vendor hall. yesterday and I met one of my members who has a student loan with us and I knew his father, but I really didn't know him. And he looked at my tag and he said, Oh my God, I have my student loan with you. Super cool. It is super cool. And so those members do. And I've done, I haven't done an analysis in a little while, but last year, those student loans that I have on my books, which I've never had a delinquency and they're not dischargeable bankruptcy now have about 800, 000 in other loans, car loans, personal loans, their check and account direct deposit coming in. You know, they're my members. So my age demographic on this credit union is definitely me. Lowering tremendously because of these student loans that we've done.

Glynn:

And even if you haven't put a young person into one of these loans, they simply investigated it, perhaps you're getting a new member that way, even if they aren't a loan participant. Absolutely. I would, I would suspect.

Lori:

But it's a win. It's, you know, and we are always about a win win for, you know, for, for both. It's a win win for the credit union because we're gaining younger members. We're giving them a loan at a great rate and they're winning because they're not graduating from college and all of a sudden four and a half or five years later. opening these bills up that they had no idea what they really did sign for. They have no idea. Our members know exactly what they've signed for, exactly what they're gonna pay. And every year they have to come in and apply for the loan again because we want to make sure they're going to the same school. People transfer all the time. Sometimes, you know, college rates go up a little bit. We encourage them to go back and talk to them again. And say, I can, I can, you know, my parents and we can afford this much. Can you come down a little bit? Can I get a little bit more of a grant? Let's have the conversation. Tremendous response from that. Yeah. They've come back and said, I got 2, 500 more off that bill. Thank you so

Glynn:

much. Oh my gosh. I love that we're chatting about this because as you and I are both aware, it's very hot topic at the moment. Yes. On a national level. My suspicion is it will make its way to someone's platform running for president of the United States. Yeah. So this is a hot topic, no doubt. It's a hot topic. And you might be asked for your opinion as we move nearer to

Lori:

an election. Well, I have to tell you, I was on a webinar call with the small credit union committee with CUNA talking to chairman at the time, Chairman Rodney Hood and he asked me, so what's your special sauce at your credit union? And I was like, oh, and everybody at the table said, your student loans, your student loans. So I said, my student loans. You're right. You know, they are. And he said. How, how can you do student loans and not have any delinquencies or charge offs and the government can't do that? And I said, because we educate our young people on the cost of college and, you know, and what they're going to pay back. And we don't defer payments. And it's about education. And and, and they definitely understand. They know what they're getting into. I

Glynn:

love it. I love it. I want to transition into a topic that has also become not controversial per se, but how about one of hypersensitivity over the last couple of years? And that is social responsibility. I also think that's a fairly broad topic. As soon as I say it, people's minds typically go toward the DEI initiative. I think of credit unions as having been the poster Children of all things, social responsibility for many decades, not just the last three years. What I'd love to hear from you, Lori, is Your perspective on where we sit and how you help the cause along specific to social

Lori:

responsibility. You know, that's such a great question because like you said, when you first asked the question, your mind goes to, right, D. I. Or whatever. And I have been in so many meetings and lectures and, and all this stuff. And it always came back to the same thing for me. We've always done this. This is nothing new at all. The social responsibility that we feel is to our members to make sure that their financial well being is always looked at. And like I said, We never looked at these people as, Oh, we're going to make a little bit of money off of them. We looked at it as we're going to give them a loan for the least amount of interest rate that we can to get them back on their feet and help them with the student loans or with, you know, first time home buyer or consolidation. And it's the same way with our board, with you know, our employees, we've treated them just like. Like you want to be treated and I would never treat anybody any different. And so I feel like the last three years that this has become such a hot topic, but I feel like we've done that the whole entire time. And it's no different for us right now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Great. So

Glynn:

you can look at your staff and say, we got this. Absolutely. We've always had this. Always had it. Yeah. You'd be glad to know that you're in good company. Other CEOs feel similarly. That Credit Union Nation has always done a fantastic job of stepping up. Can't say the same necessarily for for profit organizations. No disrespect to them. They all have a, we all have a place in this world. But it's just a little different. Yeah,

Lori:

you're right. And even with my credit union, there was, you know, a few years ago, and I, you know, there was the talk of Boards getting paid, you know, getting paid, you know, boards could get this or boards could get that. And there was, there was this, it was a topic. Yeah. And my board heard about it and said, we have always differentiated ourselves of, we don't. It's a volunteer position. Right. We don't want that. to get paid. We don't expect to get paid. This is something that we've always done. And it's a volunteer position and we're going to continue to stand that way. So I really give my board huge kudos

Glynn:

for that. That's huge. Are any of them here with you at this conference? Okay.

Lori:

And I'm really sad about it,

Glynn:

Well, maybe a good place for us to end is on a personal note. So, for me, what I'd like to do for those that are willing to volunteer their time and have a chat with me, is I want you to be able to plug an organization that's It's perhaps near and dear and personal for your family. This way our listeners can do a little research and find out more about that organization. Do you have one?

Lori:

Oh, you know, it was really hard to just pick one because I have so many that are near and dear to my heart, but this one is the best. I just love this so much. So have you ever heard of Tunnel to Towers?

Glynn:

Tunnel to Towers? Yeah.

Lori:

No. Really? No. So Tunnel to Towers is huge and it's T to T to the number to T dot org. Is the website. Wait, do it again slowly. T Yep. Two number two t.org. Okay. Okay, so it's tunnel to towers. Okay. And what it is, is Frank Siller, whose brother was a firefighter in, new York City and during 9 11. So he lost, you know, the whole unit and he lost his brother and everything. So he started this mission about helping first responders, people that have lost their lives. Family members and veterans of all kinds. So he, this is what he asked for from the average everyday citizen is 11 a month. Okay. 11 a month. And what he does is he pays off the homes of maybe, you know, of people who have been, their loved ones have been killed in battle over in Iraq or Iran or in, you know, in anywhere. We had two police officers in Bristol, Connecticut killed last year. He paid their mortgages off. So this is what he does. And it's all about taking care of the veterans and the people, our first responders who take care of of of us. There's a gentleman in florida who donated, I think it was 1000 acres of land and he's building homes, smart homes for, uh, People, you know, all the veterans that have come back that have lost legs or arms and you know are disabled in any way He's building smart homes for them that with wheelchair accessibility and all this Just it's an amazing organization Incredible that just it's all about veterans first responders and helping the family members not have to worry about paying

Glynn:

I wonder, was he featured here on the 60 Minute Special that aired right on 9 11 this year? He

Lori:

probably was because he is very, you know, and there are a lot of celebrities that endorse him as well that are huge You know, Cole Houser. I believe his name is. Oh, yeah, sure. From Yellowstone, he's a huge supporter. Rob Lowe is a huge supporter. There are just a lot of celebrities that are, that support his cause. And 98 percent of the donations that are given go straight to The mortgages, you know, building these homes and things of that nature. He's amazing. He's in his whole organization is just amazing. There's so many people that have gotten behind him. So the

Glynn:

name must come from something that has to do with the towers,

Lori:

right? Well, his brother ran into the towers, went into the tunnel into the towers. He was a fire fireman to save people and he never came out. So it's. tunnel, two towers. Love it. Okay.

Glynn:

So no boy, I, I'm ashamed that I don't know anything about it, but now I do. And that's, that's the purpose of me asking that question, as I always want to learn about organizations as do our listeners.

Lori:

It's unbelievable. It's so near and dear to my heart. My family, I happen to come from a family of veterans as well. World War One, World War Two Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq. I mean, my family on both sides. Servants? Servants. Oh, that's awesome. So it's, it's a huge veterans, anything veterans is huge for me. And this one hits home.

Glynn:

Well, Lori, we, we didn't know each other let's call it 35 minutes ago, but now I feel like I know you exceptionally well. Awesome. I,

Lori:

me too. Yeah. And it was, it was such a nice Talk. Nice chat. I loved it. It was very, very nice. I promised

Glynn:

you would be a piece of cake and you absolutely

Lori:

crushed it. Well, I don't know about that, but I was a little nervous and you said that I wasn't going to be, but I said, I'm a little nervous.

Glynn:

Well, so nice to talk with you. Enjoy the rest of your conference. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.