THROUGHOUT HER CAREER, Kaytlin Greenley of Coosa Valley (Ga.) Credit Union has excelled at a variety of credit union jobs.

At the moment, Greenley is excelling as the assistant manager for marketing. She’s a credit union evangelist, educating current and prospective members about the difference between credit unions and other financial institutions.

“I love being out and about with people and talking to them about the potential they have with credit union membership. We’re the better option,” Greenley says Luckily, Coosa Valley offers Greenley plenty of chances to be “out and about” by participating in 80 community events a year. “We’re educating people about what a credit union is,” she says. “They’re the owners. We’re not selling people something. We’re educating them.”

Greenley would know.

She’s worked an assortment of jobs during her 10 years at Coosa Valley, starting as a part-time teller, advancing to full-time teller, and then to member services, loan processing, administrative assistant, marketing assistant, and her current post, as assistant manager for marketing.

She ascended to that position in August and sees it as another stepping stone on her path to becoming a CEO.

“No goal is out of reach if you want it and work real hard to get it,” she says. “You have to have an open mind and you’ll get there.”

Greenley credits her parents with instilling in her the attitude of work and success. “They showed me that no matter what obstacle was in front of me, I could succeed. They’ve always been my personal cheerleaders.”

As she moves up in the credit union, she doesn’t want to forget her roots or the roots of the credit union, which started when nine General Electric (Coosa Valley was formerly GE Credit Union) employees put $45 in a cigar box for a fund from which either could borrow.

“We want to be that personal George Bailey [from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’] for our members,” Greenley adds. “If all we have left is $2, we want to use it for our members, not for us.”

The education and legacy she hopes to provide for the next generation of credit union leaders is that no matter where a person’s beginnings are, they can achieve success.

“I started at the bottom” she says. “I want them to think, ‘If she can do it, then I can do it.’ ”