RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Doug Huckaby is the first to admit that chance can set you on new, totally unexpected but wondrous paths. "If someone walked up to me and told me I'd spend 31 years as a credit union volunteer I never would have believed them," said Huckaby. "The way I became active in the organization was just by happenstance-I was going to buy a car and get a loan from a bank and a friend who belonged to a credit union told me `No you're going to a credit union' and he told me all about credit unions. I never set out to be an active volunteer. Well I bought the car with a credit union loan and have been dedicated to credit unions ever since." Things have a way of falling into place for the Louisiana native who first came to California just as part of his service in the U.S. Navy. Following service in Vietnam, where he earned three medals, Huckaby moved to Sacramento and enrolled in college. After earning a bachelor's degree in Speech Communication, he qualified for a state teaching certification and began his teaching career. In 1973, he moved to Riverside and taught speech, debate and social studies at the high school level. He also coached football, track and baseball. During his 26 years in Riverside schools, in addition to teaching, he held multiple principal positions, as well as administrative jobs at the district level. After retiring, he became director of Athletics at California Baptist University in 1999 until his retirement in June, 2005. Huckaby's credit union involvement started in 1974 with a stint serving on the Riverside County Schools Credit Union credit committee. "There happened to be an election coming up and there were two present board members nominated," said Huckaby. "Well I decided to run and since I was a teacher I had a lot of support from other educators. So they all came out to vote and I actually unseated the chairman of the board at the time." From that moment on Huckaby says he was hooked because it was such a different experience than working in public education. "What I enjoy most about serving on the credit union board is the passion," said Huckaby. "I absolutely believe in the concept of members helping members, a member owned organization and taking steps to help each other move ahead. It is not like a bank where only the few reap the rewards of a well run organization." In 1998, RCSCU merged with Riverside County Federal Credit Union to create Riverside County's Credit Union. In October 2004, the credit union changed its name to Altura Credit Union to reflect an expanded field of membership beyond Riverside County, California. "Serving on Altura's board has been an incredible adventure," said Huckaby. "When I joined the board, the credit union had just over $4 million in assets and 10,000 members. Today, we have more than 100,000 members and $740 million in assets. It's astounding. In addition to the credit union's growth, I'm proudest of the positive influence Altura has had on the Riverside community at large. We are a vital part of the community and that is so important." He credits not only great board dynamics among the nine directors but also Altura CU President/CEO Mark Hawkins for much of the credit union's success. A feeling that is mutual. "Volunteers like Doug are crucial to the success of the credit union movement. They bring the membership perspective as well as their real-world business experience to the board table. The contributions Doug made to Altura over the years are incalculable. His leadership will be greatly missed," said Hawkins. Board members generally meet once a month however, Huckaby says they are each involved in several committees so online meetings throughout the month are common. In addition, board members are active in the majority of Altura community events, employee recognition festivities and such community organizations as the local chamber of commerce. "You can't sit back and do nothing on this board," said Huckaby. "We e-mail each other questions all the time and on average meet at least four to five times a month for various activities and tasks. It goes a long way in bonding with one another and more importantly it shows the employees and the community that we are truly committed to discovering their needs. It is funny more people in the community recognized me as an Altura CU volunteer than as the ACU Director of Athletics." With such active members there hasn't been a lot of turnover but the board is constantly on the lookout for more volunteers. Directors serve three-year terms and are then up for election. Newly elected board members meet with all credit union and CUSO department heads to get a better understanding of how the credit union functions as a whole unit. They are then provided training on several service concepts and ideals drawing from such resources as "Good to Great". "Our approach may be unique because we started out as educators so the criteria to participate as a volunteer is not just being an active member and active in the community but we also believe we each have to grow professionally as board members and that means learning more about the credit union, the business world, the community, and the latest ways to help improve the board itself," said Huckaby. He adds that integral to any credit union growth is good CEO/board relations. "The magic word is having a `relationship' – it is critical," said Huckaby. "Without it the credit union doesn't stand a chance. Both sides have to realize that it is not a game of control or personal egos or agendas but rather about focusing and answering the question `is what we are doing good for members?' In that we have been very fortunate with our CEO who has really been a God send. He is truly visionary and we've seen and will continue to see the credit union accomplish great things." Despite his love of serving on Altura's board, when his daughter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina got married, it was an easy decision to retire, pack up and move closer to the "potential grandkids." An avid golfer Huckaby also looks forward to hitting the links during his retirement and would like to also do some athletic recruiting for CBU. True to his credit union roots, the first thing Huckaby did when he settled in his new state was join a local credit union (State Employees CU) and he isn't ruling out being an active board member again once he is more situated. "I think it is really unique for this little Cajun boy who never left the state of Louisiana except to join the Navy that of all the things I've done and cherish what ranks high is serving on the Altura credit union board-that is one of the things I brag about," said Huckaby. [email protected]