Dedicated to You, AllSouth AllStar, Maude

Ask any of our team members at our Operations Center about working with Maude, and they'll tell you how valuable she is – she's the glue that helps keep everything together. An essential part of everyday tasks and big projects, Maude is our facilities specialist. In her 44th year of service, it's safe to say that Maude values AllSouth just as much as we value her. Maude is exceptionally hardworking, committed to helping anyone she can, and thoughtful with her actions and words.

When Maude started with AllSouth, we were Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union and had just one location at Fort Jackson. Over the past four decades, Maude has worn many hats and has been here throughout the credit union's growth. She began her career as a teller and was quickly promoted to data processing. Maude then became a checking supervisor before later taking on the role of operations manager at our Fort Jackson location. Soon after that, our President and CEO, Bill Koehler, asked Maude to help work on a special project finding potential ATM sites. She explained that this job was especially challenging, requiring lots of thought and time for each machine and lots of moving around.

After the ATM special project was complete, Maude was asked if she would be interested in joining the facilities team. She recalls being especially excited about this opportunity because she would have a permanent home base at our Operations Center, something she'd been missing. Working in facilities proved to be her perfect fit, allowing her to use all of her skills and talents working with our team members and taking care of our office space. Maude occasionally works with members or outside of the office on special projects, but her roots and majority of her daily duties now take place at our Operations Center. 

Maude will tell you herself that her main mode of operation is to put fires out. She's always on the move, anticipating what needs to be done and proactively responding to what is happening, usually one step ahead of the curve. Plumbing to power, invoices to insurance, locks or leaks, Maude sums it up best, "I take action as needed." Each day is new and full of unique challenges, but she always starts her morning going through our building, turning on all the lights, and checking to make sure everything is in order and working properly. Maude gets here early to help ensure our team members' days will be able to start smoothly. 

When asked what she likes best about her job, Maude's answer is simple – helping people. She says, "Whatever I can do to help, employee or member, is the most important thing. Giving good service is very important to me. I have given 100% at every location I've been at and in whatever position I've held." Her nature is to assist those around her, and she is fiercely loyal. Maude is very fond of our credit union and her team of three, which is small but mighty. She prides herself on getting whatever her team needs from her done in a timely manner. Her team has to communicate constantly to ensure that all of our buildings (including our 23 locations) are ready to support our team and members.

 
Maude's direct supervisor, Wes, says, "you might see her taking a lap around our Operations Center – she's looking for what needs to be done next." She's always the first to ask, "how can I help with that?" and follows through. She is kind and unexpectedly witty but is absolutely no-nonsense. Our facilities manager Caroline says, "Maude is like the energizer bunny – she just keeps going and going!" and "she faces every day with determination and humor." It makes sense; Maude's philosophy has pretty much always been to find what she likes and commit to it. She shared that this was her father's advice when she graduated high school as a 16-year-old, and it seems to have worked out. For Maude, this commitment is not to be taken lightly, and it's more than just showing up to do your job; it's "showing a genuine concern for the well-being of the state of things and others around me, that's how I really am, and that's what's really important to me," she says. 

Outside of work, her busyness continues. Maude is passionate about spending time with her precious grandchildren in the Upstate, hitting the trails every day with her dog, reading, and working on her home - keeping up with her own facilities. Rumor has it she spends her lunch breaks going home to walk her dog, or as she says, the dog walks her. Maude lives in an area with lots of stores and enjoys shopping quite a bit. Looking to the future, Maude is excited to see what 2023 brings her, hoping to travel to Europe to visit family and getting in plenty of dog walks.