With Dan Newberry at the helm of its mortgage operations, TTCU The Credit Union has nearly quadrupled its real estate portfolio in five years, growing from annual average production of $36 million in 2011 to more than $142 million in 2016.

Newberry first joined the Tulsa, Okla., credit union as a member in 1989 when he received his first paycheck for his job as a bat boy for the Tulsa Drillers, a minor league baseball team.

“I didn’t know what to do with it until my brother introduced me to TTCU,” he says.

Newberry joined the $1.7 billion asset credit union’s staff in 2011 to develop a mortgage division. The former owner of a private mortgage company, Newberry introduced operational efficiencies coupled with a member-centric approach.

In 2015, he launched Integrity Title and Closing, a credit union service organization that provides title services aimed at protecting members from excessive fees.

Newberry sees continued mortgage opportunities for TTCU. “If we don’t take care of our members, someone else is going to abuse them,” he says. “I’m proud to work in an organization that focuses on members. It’s more than a job, and it’s not just about revenue for the credit union. I feel exceptionally blessed and humbled to be part of this industry and part of the credit union movement.”

Newberry also serves in the Oklahoma State Senate and as chair of the Business and Commerce Committee, where he has championed the credit union cause. He credits his extraordinary managers and team members for helping him balance his many credit union, legislative, community, and family responsibilities.

Newberry’s credit union heroes are TTCU President/CEO Tim Lyons and Cornerstone Credit Union League President/CEO Dick Ensweiler. Lyons has instilled him with the importance of leaving the world a better place. “Tim taught me that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and we have a responsibility to leave a legacy to those who come behind us,” Newberry says.

He admires Ensweiler for his lifelong commitment to protecting and expanding the credit union mission and his ability to find positive solutions to problems.

Newberry has put those life lessons into action. He and his wife launched the Paul Revere Reading Society, a program connecting current political figures with historical ones, after they learned about the far-reaching consequences of illiteracy.

Through the program, Paul Revere—played by an actor—reads “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” to children. He then talks about the challenges of the American Revolution, as well as the scourge of illiteracy in today’s society, and encourages children to read.

After three months, Revere returns with a literary character, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, to induct the students into the Paul Revere Reading Society. Children receive medals with designations from private to general based on the number of books they’ve read.

The couple’s bull mastiff Ike, a certified therapy dog, also lends a paw. Children, many from foster care, read to Ike in a calming environment.

“We’re passionate about helping children learn to read,” Newberry says.