2019 Trusted Advisers Legacy Adviser: Judy Hadsall

SBJ photo by Jessica Rosa

Resume Highlights

• Manages $6.1 million portfolio for credit union with roughly 12,000 clients

• Chairwoman of the Heartland Credit Union Association, board chairwoman for Old Missouri Mutual Insurance Co. and board member of Community Partnership of the Ozarks

• Bachelor’s in general business-comprehensive, Missouri State University, and MBA, Drury University

Judy Hadsall this year led a branding change of a name that was 85 years old.

The longtime CU Community Credit Union became Multipli Credit Union.

“We felt we needed to change our name for the future,” says Hadsall, the credit union’s president and CEO, in a promotional video about the rebrand. “We hope that it will open people’s eyes that we can serve anybody in the community.”

The credit union started with an association to City Utilities of Springfield and its employees. It’s evolved to cover people who live or work in a seven-county area of southwest Missouri, as well as employees of select companies, including CU.

Hadsall’s next step is leading in construction of a new headquarters for the new-look credit union.

Multipli Credit Union officials this summer began rolling out plans to build a 40,000-square-foot center at 1850 S. Blackman Road in east Springfield. The designs feature Multipli’s vibrant green color theme, a rooftop patio and underground parking.

With roughly $134 million in assets, Multipli is Springfield’s fourth-largest credit union, according to Springfield Business Journal research.

Hadsall’s been on board since 1997, when assets were just $22 million. In that time, she’s also spearheaded the quadrupling of the loan portfolio from $15 million and a merger with the $11.5 million Southwest Missouri Credit Union in 2012.

Hadsall’s taken to heart her statement about serving anybody in the community.

Even though she’s at the top of the credit union, Hadsall has made a practice to connect with some unlikely clients: the impoverished in the Springfield area.

“I assist consumers and our members with low incomes to better navigate the banking system,” Hadsall says. “These individuals face a number of barriers that restrict access and understanding to the financial system.”

To combat those issues, Hadsall says her role is to better understand those consumer needs and match them to appropriate products; engage with low-income service partners, such as the Northwest Project and Community Partnership of the Ozarks; provide incentives for participating in the mainstream financial system; and sometimes being willing to meet off-site for the convenience of the customer who may have transportation challenges.

“Unfortunately, consumers with low incomes are less likely than other consumers to be able to access affordable credit, and they often use payday lending products to meet their needs,” Hadsall says. “I work with these individuals to help them navigate the volume and variety of financial products and services that are out there and hopefully provide them financial empowerment.”

Through the Northwest Project to reverse poverty in the city, she’s helped over 20 families establish relationships with Multipli Credit Union. That’s led to $60,000 in loans issued, $40,000 of which has been repaid.

The parents of one family drastically improved their credit scores: to 794 from 531 for the father and 650 for the mother, who didn’t have a credit history prior.

“These families have moved past the poverty level, reduced debt, increased their incomes and, for some, are moving into their own homes,” Hadsall says. “They now feel like they’re part of a community and that builds hope and it helps with resiliency.”

But Hadsall says she doesn’t forget who she works for: “We put our members first,” she says. “We never forget that it’s their money. It’s how we do business.”