A true friend of the counties

Under Smith's leadership, LGFCU continues to stregthen its relationship with Association, counties

By Todd McGee
Communications Director

Maurice Smith, president of the Local Government Federal Credit Union, admits he was a little surprised when he found out he would be sitting at the head table during the President's Banquet at the NCACC Annual Conference in Catawba County.

LGFCU President Maurice Smith received the Association's Friend of the Counties Award on Aug. 29 during the NCACC's Annual Conference in Catawba County. (Photo by Todd McGee)

Smith had been invited to attend the event by NCACC Executive Director David F. Thompson, ostensibly as a way to recognize the LGFCU's long-standing relationship with the NCACC and counties. Everybody else at the head table, including his wife, knew that Smith was about to be given the Association's Friend of the Counties Award.

"Initially, I thought, 'This is nice sitting at the head table and getting to see every one,'" Smith said. "But then I felt a little sheepish and wondered, 'Why am I up here?' I was astounded."

The award is further recognition of the strong relationship that exists between the NCACC and LGFCU, which have been linked at the hip since before the credit union even existed. In the 1970s, several banks sued the State Employees Credit Union over its decision to allow local government employees to become members.

The banks, upset that SECU was siphoning away potential customers, won their suit at the N.C. Supreme Court, arguing that SECU's charter did not allow it to include local government employees. But as the old saying goes, sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for.

Staff with the NCACC and the N.C. League of Municipalities were following the developments closely and had even filed briefs in support of the SECU during the court case. When the decision was handed down, NCACC and NCLM leaders began working with officials at SECU to launch a credit union designed for local government employees.

The LGFCU was launched in 1983. Today it boasts more than 175,000 members, many of whom would likely be customers of commercial banks had some of their now-defunct predecessors not sued the SECU three decades ago.

"From the very beginning of the idea of having a local government credit union, the Association was right there on the front line the whole way," said Smith. "The affinity that our credit union has with the Association runs deep and long."

Smith joined the SECU as a loan officer trainee in 1979 – when the court case was meandering through the state's judicial system – after graduating from UNC-Wilmington with a degree in business administration. After a 13-year career with the SECU, he joined the LGFCU in 1992 as executive vice president.

He became LGFCU president in 1999 and has overseen a decade of rapid growth and expansion. He has also been the driving force behind the LGFCU's decision to become more involved with the NCACC and the NCLM. This year, he jumped at the chance to enlist the LGFCU as the sponsor for the Association's Employee Productivity Awards program. For the first 17 years the awards program had been sponsored by former Food Lion founder Ralph W. Ketner, who once worked for Rowan County Government.

"The Productivity Awards seems like one of the most exciting programs available to county employees," he said. "It seems like a program that rewards and encourages individuals to be their best … and look for innovative ways to service the public. That's our kind of initiative. Our folks leaped for joy when we found out about it. It is our intention of never letting it go. We want to set the record for sponsoring these awards."

Besides donating $10,000 each year to sponsor the awards program, the LGFCU supports the NCACC and the NCLM through a variety of endeavors. The LGFCU provides sponsorship funds for virtually all the NCACC conferences and meetings, makes available more than $60,000 per year in scholarship funds for local government employees to attend training sessions at the School of Government, and recently started LGFCU Financial Partners, which makes commercial loans to local governments, principally to purchase equipment and other infrastructure needs for fire departments.

In addition, the LGFCU built a state-of-the-art conference center in the Quorum Center and allows both the NCACC and NCLM to use the facility free-of-charge throughout the year. Besides being home to the LGFCU and the NCACC's Risk Management Pools, the Quorum Center now houses the N.C. Sheriff's Association and several other local government associations. Smith has surrounded himself with his members, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I can't think of anything else I'd rather do," Smith said. "We have a good mission. We have a talented staff. We have a dedicated Board of Directors. And I think we serve the best constituency in North Carolina – the public service employees, particularly at the local government level. We find our members to be very civic-minded, very community-oriented and to have a strong concern for building a better community. Those sort of principles line up very well with what we do as a credit union."

Three named to LGFCU councils

Three county employees were named to LGFCU advisory councils in September. Appointments included: Craven County Human Resources Technician Candice Conner (Central Coast), Warren County Human Resources Manager Elgin Lane (North Triangle) and Wake County Benefits Specialist Phyllis Jackson (Wake).

Advisory council members represent the philosophical character of the credit union and contribute their time without compensation, function as LGFCU's eyes and ears throughout the state, serving as liaisons between credit union members and non-members and LGFCU management. There are 22 councils statewide.