By Ray Birch
WESTMINSTER, Colo.—Carroll Beach believes if someone works long enough within credit unions, there’s a good chance they may someday work side-by-side with a family member.
Beach, whose 58-year career included heading the then Colorado CU League for 30 years and then working with the former Credit Union Service Center Corporation (CSCU) for another eight, contends the credit union movement’s pull is strong enough to encourage kids and relatives to become part of the industry.
Beach began his credit union career working side-by-side with his wife, Ruth, and then ended his time in the movement working closely with his son, Craig.
Beach’s remarks are among a series of CUToday.info stories that look at why credit unions have become a family business for so many credit union employees over the years.
Began as a Teacher
Carroll Beach
Beach graduated from the University of Kansas in 1961 with a degree in education and an emphasis on political science.
“I went to work teaching social studies at a small grade school in western Kansas. I taught there for a couple years, seventh and eighth grades. And, thank God for teacher’s manuals,” he said.
His interest in teaching eventually shifted his focus to credit unions. When Beach was working at a junior high school in Kansas, he was asked by the math teacher if he would serve on the board of a small credit union that served the school.
“I didn’t even know anything about credit unions, not even what they were,” said Beach. “It was a little, bitty credit union, Emporia City Teachers Federal CU (which later became Lyon County Teachers FCU), with $25,000 in assets. I got on the board and the next thing I know they made me chairman.”
The credit union then asked Beach and his wife if they would keep the books.
“We got an extra $50 a month. So, I said yes,” Beach said.
Character Loans
At the time the credit union made what were once a CU break and butter, character loans, where the collateral was just the quality of the borrower, recalled Beach, who acknowledged that while he and his wife managed the books, neither were accountants.
That led the then Kansas Credit Union League to help by occasionally sending a representative to assist Beach and his wife--and the credit union. That league connection eventually led Beach to his role in Colorado.
Craig Beach
“The Kansas League eventually thought I would make a good representative for them,” Beach said. “They hired me and I did a lot of league stuff—lobbying, education…all kinds of things. And then, in 1973, I applied for the CEO job in in Colorado.”
Beach held that role at the Colorado League for 30 years, retiring at 63.
“I've had the opportunity to go through all facets of the credit union movement,” Beach noted. “When I was with the Colorado league I was also chairman of U.S. Central—but I was not in that role when it was shuttered” (in 2009).
Son Enters CUs
Toward the close of his career at the Colorado league, his son, Craig, decided to become involved in the credit union movement.
“He graduated from college in 1987 and his first job was a teller at a credit union in Denver. If you asked him he would tell you that it was a pretty interesting experience,” Beach said.
Craig was eventually recruited to work at the Alabama Credit Union League as an auditor and he moved to Montgomery, Ala.
“He was there for a couple of years and then then he was recruited by Mike Mercer (former CEO of the then Georgia league) to work for the Georgia Credit Union League,” Beach said.
Craig became vice president at the league before moving on to work for CUSC in Atlanta.
“CUSC is the organization that started shared branching and we had the software and hardware, too, to make that program work nationally,” Beach said.
Coming Aboard
With Craig at CUSC and the senior Beach retired from the Colorado league and doing consulting, Carroll was asked to join CUSC, where within six months he was asked to lead the organization.
“What I thought would be a few months of work turned out to be eight-and-a-half years,” Beach said. “When I arrived, Craig was already there as vice president, and we were then able to work together. I’m certain there were some concerns initially about the nepotism, but we were able to work well together.”
Caroll said he learned lessons from that working relationship with his son.
“We handled things in a very professional way. I think sometimes credit unions do realize the pitfalls of nepotism,” Beach said. “But, on the other hand, we create some great opportunities by having families become a part of the credit union movement, working together.”
Going to Carolina
CUSC was purchased by Co-Op Financial Services—now Co-op Solutions—in 2007, and when the senior Beach finally retired in 2011, he was leading what had become the Co-Op Shared Branch Network. His son, then, took over for his father. Craig eventually moved on to become EVP/COO for the Carolinas Credit Union League, where he works today.