Al Parent
Vice president of collections, LBS Financial Credit Union
I joined the United States Marine Corps in 1979 after graduating from high school. My military occupational specialty was dragon gunner and my primary duty was to support ground troops in an anti-tank capacity. I deployed twice to Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.
I live by the Marine Corps motto, "semper fidelis," which means "always faithful." I am faithful to my credit union, our members, and my team.
My leadership training in the Marines taught me to lead like I would expect to be lead. Collections can be a tough business. Collectors can work under a great deal of pressure and don’t need a leader that adds to it, but rather one that helps alleviate it. I also learned to treat people with dignity and respect and that is what I teach my team.
My biggest takeaway from the Marines is my leadership skills, which I believe are what have contributed to my success and the success of LBS Financial Credit Union. The collections team at LBS is strong and other than retirements, we have little to no turnover.