HAMPTON, Va. – If there have been two constants in Jean Yokum's career at Langley Federal Credit Union, they have been change and growth. The first change came only two weeks after she started as a 22-year-old part-time teller in 1953 – she was soon promoted to a full-time position. Yokum, who last month celebrated her 50th anniversary with the $925 million Langley FCU with nearly half of them as president and CEO, hasn't stopped moving up since. “I get impatient when people don't move,” Yokum says. “I'm a problem solver, and I get things done quickly because tomorrow there's going to be another situation. The staff says they can't keep up with me, and I love to hear those words. I say, `When you can, it's time for me to move on.'” Born Norma Jean Mace, Yokum came to Langley, Va., from Valley Head, W. Va., as a young bride. Chuck Yokum, her husband – and high school sweetheart – had been drafted to the Korean conflict, joined the Air Force and was stationed to the base in Langley. He later would stay at Langley as a member of NASA. Chuck heard about the part-time teller position and encouraged Jean to apply for the job. “He was always so encouraging,” Yokum says about her husband, who passed away 10 years ago this October. “He never fussed when I worked long hours, and he was always supportive. I couldn't have done this without him.” From early on Yokum made an impression as a dedicated and extremely efficient worker – becoming somewhat of a “celebrity” for memorizing each credit union member's account number. “It saved a lot of time,” Yokum says. “We didn't have computers to look things up then; we had to go to the files. Even now, I can still remember a lot of those account numbers. I was always good with numbers.” After about five years on the teller line, Yokum was transferred to the accounting department. “At first I was very upset because I was leaving our members,” Yokum says. “But, after a while, I got to like accounting as much as I liked being a teller. As long as I'm around people I'm fine. I'm still that way today.” Yokum earned her first supervisor position while working in accounting, becoming head of the department in the early 1960s. In 1967, she added her to duties by taking over as assistant manger of the credit union and running the office for former CEO William Pickens. When Pickens retired in 1979, Yokum was the logical choice for succession, but she didn't apply for the job until the last possible day. “Everyone encouraged me to apply,” Yokum says. “I just wasn't sure I could do the job.” Yokum rarely would doubt her abilities again. Shortly after taking over as CEO, Yokum was faced with a major financial crisis at the credit union: Millions of dollars were leaving Langley in favor of certificates of deposit and their 12% interest rate being offered at other financials. Yokum responded by getting Langley to offer CDs to its members, which stopped the outpouring of funds. She also battled with the board of directors in the 1980s over offering indirect auto loans through local car dealers; the board objected, but Yokum won out in the end and, again, provided a profitable outcome. One of Yokum's biggest nightmares in the early years as CEO was the transition to a computer-based system. “It took nine months to get it straightened out,” Yokum says. “One time, all the terminals crashed, and we stayed half the night doing all the postings again. I had to work especially hard during that time to keep the staff and the members happy.” Computers have been the biggest source for change in the credit union industry, according to Yokum, along with the need to provide members with more products and services. And Langley certainly has responded accordingly – increasing the membership to more than 140,000, increasing assets to $925 million, expanding the number of branches and making a greater move toward automation and online banking. “We're really responding to what the members want,” Yokum says. “They want branches, and we open branches. The branches are so busy. You'll never believe how busy they are. And as long as I'm CEO, you will always get a person on the phone when you call here.” Yokum soon may be making her biggest change as CEO -the move toward retirement – but she says as long as her health holds up, she'll stay in the job. “I tried to practice retiring once,” Yokum says. “I stayed in my night clothes for better than half the day, and I did a real good job for two or three days. But, then I decided I just wasn't ready. “I don't worry about it too much. The man upstairs always has taken care of me, and he will take care of me when I retire,” she adds. What will Yokum do with her free time when she ultimately does leave the job? Cooking, travel and shopping are among her favorite activities. In 1996, a local paper – in a feature about Yokum as an atypical CEO – highlighted her love for shoe shopping particularly and ran a photo of Yokum using her special “shoe” phone, which is shaped like a black patent leather pump. “When it comes to owning shoes, only Imelda Marcos may be able to match her thousand-plus pairs,” Daily Press reporter Mark Krewatch wrote. “When it comes to calling the shots at the credit union where she started as a teller., associates say Yokum is unrivaled.” But the number one activity on her list is spending time with her family – her son, Randy; his wife, Sherri; and her grandchildren, Trevor, 9, and Miranda, 5. And, by traveling from home vs. the office, Yokum will cut 10 minutes off her drive to see them. “I'm really lucky to have a family that's so supportive,” Yokum says. “It's a small family, but it's very supportive.” “I can't imagine who wouldn't be proud,” Randy says. “It's very impressive. She has set a professional standard for me and, hopefully, one for my children. I sometimes wonder if it's a quality you're born with to be a great leader, but whether it's handed down or learned, she definitely has influenced me.”