ALBANY, N.Y. – One morning in 1988 Patrick Calhoun returned from a weekend in New Hampshire to his job at the New York Credit York League. He found his boss anxiously waiting for him. "Where were you?," his boss demanded. "Why didn't we have a phone number for you?" When Calhoun asked what was so urgent, he was told, "You're the new president of State Employees Federal Credit Union." Calhoun discovered he had been picked to head the then-struggling credit union. The credit union was restored to financial health, the interim post soon became permanent, and Calhoun's still there. Calhoun's path to that job took him through much of the United States. After obtaining his B.A. from the University of New Mexico, he worked in the insurance industry. He decided he wanted to leave New Mexico, and took a job as assistant manager with Atlantic Federal Credit Union in Dallas. Then, as many of the credit union's members were transferred to Alaska by sponsor Atlantic Richfield, Calhoun moved to Anchorage to establish a branch there. Next stop was as an independent consultant for NCUA. Then, as he decided he'd like to live in the New England area, he received a call from the New York Credit Union League. Would he be interested in a job in New York? He quickly said no and hung up. The league called again to explain they weren't in New York City, upstate New York was actually pretty rural, and he'd indeed be close to New England. So he began work as a consultant for the league. They wanted someone who could work with large credit unions facing problems. That's what he was doing when the SEFCU job opened up. SEFCU was chartered in 1934 to serve New York State employees in Albany. Membership was extended to state workers in adjacent counties in 1972, and a 1983 merger brought Syracuse employees into the credit union. Diversification began in 1989. Today state employees still form about 30 to 40% of the membership. But the tight state budget really hasn't hit them and their credit union as much as an outsider might expect. "Any impact was mitigated years ago when we began diversifying our membership," Calhoun explains. "The biggest impact we've seen is early retirement. A large number of people accept early retirement incentives. Then they come back as independent contractors." With a varied membership, the credit union doesn't use the name State Employees Federal Credit Union any more except on official documents. It's simply called SEFCU (sef-q). Yes, diversification has its benefits. But it's also brought some challenges, as SEFCU moves into new cities and tries to reach out to the unbanked. "The biggest challenge facing financial institutions in upstate New York is the economy," Calhoun says. "Traditionally it has not been too strong. Now it's extremely weak. Even here in Albany, the capital region was largely sheltered from economic downturns by the presence of government. But as government itself goes further and further into debt, it affects the cushion that used to be here. "In Syracuse and Binghamton, where we also operate, the economic downturn is much more evident. One indication of how slow things are is the fact the number of residents stays about the same, but the population ages." A few years ago SEFCU took a long look at the situation and decided it could help by assisting with small business development and contributing as much as possible back into the local economies where the credit union operates. One step was to take into the FOM an entire underserved community, Schenectady. SEFCU began working with an affordable housing group. One of the organization's goals was to attract a financial institution to an area of the city that had been abandoned by banks. In fact, one local activist declared the entire city was underserved. SEFCU stepped in and opened a branch in the Hamilton Hill district in April 2001. The neighborhood was plagued by a high crime rate, including daily gunfire from crack houses. There was a lot of debate about whether it was wise to move in there. But Calhoun says the branch has enjoyed tremendous success. "In fact, people from outside the area drive into Hamilton Hill to do business," he reports. "When we opened our doors, 197 households with incomes under $20,000 a year had a SEFCU member in them. As of our last measurement, there were 512 households. "We didn't think the branch would break even until after three or four years. It was almost immediately profitable." Yes, SEFCU has a highly-developed on-line banking system used by at least a third of all members. With electronic access and ATMs, many members rarely walk into the credit union. However, "Maybe it's just the nature of the communities we're in that people still like to come in and transact business face-to-face" Calhoun says. That seems true whether the neighborhood is prosperous or not. "One of our leased branches went into an affluent area of north Albany. It has drive-up facilities, huge television screens, and is on a good drive pattern for many people," he notes. "We're getting ready to put a branch in Arbor Hill in downtown Albany, a low-income area. When we put a branch there it becomes very symbolic to the residents that their neighborhood hasn't been abandoned. In fact, it was so important we be in Arbor Hill the mayor went out of his way to help us find a building." Calhoun is just finishing a term as chairman of the New York Credit Union League and also serves on the CUNA Board. Yes, he says, it's difficult to juggle the demands on his time, but the board is very supportive and realizes how important it is today for SEFCU to have a voice in what's happening with legislation in Washington as well as Albany. The Calhoun family includes five grown children and 10 grandchildren. "We spend a lot of time on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where we built a house a while back," he says. He likes fishing in the surf there, but the last time he went it was raining and the water temperature was only 40 degrees. His wife decided she would skip that outing, thank you. While the grandchildren are a little young yet to demand a visit to Grandmother and Grandfather at the Cape, the Calhouns' dog loves to travel there. A Portuguese Water Dog, he lives up to his heritage by romping in the surf and playing in the sand like a child. The Calhouns also enjoy good food, and have favorite restaurants as far away as St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where they like to vacation. "In fact, when you start to know chefs, you know you've overeaten," Calhoun quips. -

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