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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

Walking by a bulletin board on the way to check his mail at Birmingham-Southern College, Bill Connor stopped to take a peak at the latest job postings on the board. Little did he know, that moment would set the stage for the next 44 years of his life with America’s First Federal Credit Union.

“People would thumb tack jobs up there and I saw that they were looking for a soon to be accounting graduate for an audit position,” Connor recalled. “They had just opened the downtown office and had one audit person, so they were looking for a staffer right out of school. I had no idea what a credit union was then, but they were looking for an accounting grad, which is why I stopped and looked at the posting. I had no idea what it would amount to.”

Now, after dedicating 44 years of his life to the place he started his career, Connor and AmFirst have announced that he will also end his career there when he retires in March 2025.

Connor started with the the credit union just before he graduated, serving as a teller in addition to working in the student and phone loan departments before shifting into an audit position following graduation.

He worked his way up the ranks, becoming Chief Financial Officer in 1996 before being named Chief Executive Officer in 2010.

He knew, however, now was the right time to make the decision to retire.

“I think most people probably know when the right time is, particularly when you’ve had a long career at one organization and seen as much change as I’ve seen in 40 something years,” Connor said. “You get to a point where you feel like you’ve done everything you can do and get to a point where the younger generation is coming along and can add value to the organization more than you can. I always felt like I never wanted to stay too long. I wanted to be able to walk away with my head held high and proud of what we’ve worked to build.”

Connor said he was blessed to have had the mentors that he did in his career both in the organization and at other organizations, while he is grateful for the growth opportunities AmFirst presented him over the years.

“This organization has provided me with a career path to go from an entry level audit position to the CEO office,” he said. “I’m not sure how many have those kinds of opportunities. I had opportunities for additional roles and responsibilities. Some I wasn’t quite prepared for, but I look back now and they were like watershed moments because they allowed me to continue to grow and understand the depths of this organization. And I have to thank the board of directors, who have allowed me to run the organization how I see fit to establish the right culture. That’s not something every CEO has, but in my case, my board has been very permissive in allowing me to lead the organization from a culture and strategic perspective.”

A new era

With Connor announcing his retirement, AmFirst has been proactive in naming fellow Shelby County resident and current Shelby County Commissioner Kevin Morris as the organization’s next CEO after being approved by the board of directors.

“Kevin’s depth of experience and his passion for our credit union, its members, and our staff make him ideally suited to lead our credit union into the future,” AmFirst Board of Directors Chairman Ross Mitchell said.

Currently the Senior Vice President and Chief Retail Officer, Morris is celebrating 11 years at AmFirst in September. He started in consumer lending before taking on a lending services role, eventually becoming Chief Lending Officer and then Chief Retail Officer.

“I told Bill 11 years ago that I didn’t want a dead-end job,” Morris said. “I saw enough growth to get me through my career path with AmFirst, but I never expected it to turn out the way it did.”

Morris said it is a humbling honor to earn this position, adding that one of his favorite Bible verses will now hold truer than ever and that is, “Even the son of a man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

He did say it would be much easier to transition into the role if Connor wasn’t so good at his job.

“I told him it would be easier if you sucked. Some deadbeat guy that I followed,” Morris said with a laugh. “The pressure wouldn’t be on, but he has put this company on a trajectory as a community leader and philanthropic leader. He’s provided a space for parents and families to get homes and thrive in their areas.”

Now, Morris looks at this as an opportunity to continue that mission and serve more than 450 employees and the communities they represent.

“I am humbled. It is heavy. It is my responsibility to continue this culture and beat the drum the loudest,” he said. “I know I can do that with the group of leadership that we have here and the staff we have here. The market we are in allows us to do that. In Shelby County, we do the right thing. We do that across the 808 square miles. AmFirst does that in all of the areas we serve, including Birmingham, which is an area that is vital to who we are.”

Morris said he will use some of the same advice his dad gave him after his first child was born.

After saying the next 18-20 years of his life would change, his dad looked at him and said, “Did they die or did you?”

“Just like I’ve never quit giving guidance to my kids, I have 450 plus people expecting me to lead, 200,000 members expecting me to lead,” Morris said. “That’s what I love most. I’m thankful because it’s not about me, it’s about the membership and this organization. I’ve been successful in my life being just me. Not always being the loudest voice, sometimes just being the voice that listens.”

Connor said it is Kevin’s servant leadership style that makes him a good fit for the position, but also the fact that it is an internal person who understands the mission.

“He knows the organization and that’s the good thing about the board selecting him,” Connor said. “He knows the people, the people know him, he knows the culture, so it’s not a steep incline for him to step in other than learning the role of CEOs. The learning curve would be a lot steeper if we were bringing in someone from like Tennessee that doesn’t know anything about our organization. You never know what you might get. I have been and continue to be very protective of this culture we have built here and I am excited that Kevin will continue to maintain that culture.”

Keeping AmFirst Community First

The common theme among both Connor and Morris is AmFirst’s commitment to community.

When he took over as CEO in 2010, that was Connor’s main mission.

“My top priority was the opportunity to extend the credit union into the community and our opportunity to be hands and feet for our employees and members,” Connor said. “That’s what I focused on coming into the job. I never felt like AmFirst had the visibility it should have for an organization that’s been in the Birmingham market since 1936. I took that as an opportunity to say we are going to elevate our presence in the community and be effective in schools, chambers, churches, nonprofits and all of those organizations that make up the fiber of the community to help them do what they do because they help us do what we do.”

AmFirst has become heavily involved in nonprofits, has been at the forefront of supporting local schools and has all branch managers representing a local chamber of commerce, in addition to other employees.

“It has been very beneficial for our staff, allowing them to take additional roles outside of the organization and impress upon them that my expectation extends beyond this building or the branch they are in,” Connor said. “An important part of who you are as an AmFirst employee is how you engage in the community. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities and nonprofit opportunities to get engaged. I want this to be more than just a job from 8-5. Get fulfillment from what they do here, but also in the community as well.”

One of the main reasons Morris even decided to go after a job with AmFirst 11 years ago was that exact stance from Connor.

“Corley Ellis and Rux Carter, two of my good friends, I looked at them and realized they are truly able to give back to the community in their company,” Morris said. “I was traveling all over the country and it was more about the bottom line than anything. That’s when I started looking into community banking. I was looking for a way to stay active in the community and pick up the philanthropic side of being able to attend community events and endeavors. That’s part of me that needs to be fed.”

That’s when Morris found the opportunity at AmFirst, eventually landing the job and immediately seeing that it wasn’t about numbers but relationships.

“The door opened and Bill was instantly a phenomenal leader,” Morris said. “He allowed me to be me and be active in Shelby County, on the local chamber, part of the board of education and part of the commission. He allowed me to do that and grow my relationships. It was all about improving the lives of members and the communities we serve.”

Morris said that is what makes the difference at AmFirst more than numbers.

Like Connor, his goals remain to give employees every opportunity possible as well as being visible in the community, which is something they can offer that a lot of big banks may not be able to.

“People want to see you out in their communities and at local events,” Morris said. “They want to see you and be proud to say, ‘That’s my credit union.’ They want you to be visible, see your ad in the local program or a sign on the field. When you parlay that into seeing the people who work at your local branch or credit union, it means something.” 

Working toward the future

With the transition from Connor to Morris still seven months away and not effective until March 1, the two will start working on cross training in September to prepare Morris for his new role and plan to have everything settled by the end of 2024, leaving January and February to be smooth months during an already-busy stretch.

Neither expects any significant changes with the move with Morris taking July and August to make sure the lending area of the credit union is in good shape before shifting focus to CEO training.

“I think we are going to hold fast to what has made us successful and that is making sure we invest in our people first and making sure they are active in the community and make home life important,” Morris said.

He did mention the hopes for expansion within Shelby County and possibly other areas as AmFirst looks to continue expanding their brand and impact into other communities.

The credit union also recently announced a major deal with Jacksonville State University, naming the school’s football stadium AmFirst Stadium, growing another partnership and expanding their relationships.

“Growth can be defined by different things, but it is defined by relational to me,” Morris said. “Someone telling our story for us, local businesses sharing what we did for them, someone sharing their story at a local grocery store and how we didn’t hurt them at a time of need, but helped them get on the other side. That’s why I do this. It’s not about me. If the only reason you respect me is because of my title, I’m not doing something right and that’s what I want to focus on. People know me as Kevin and not the title. It’s about that impact and this title just broadens the impact I can have.”

Morris said he would have grossly underestimated his five-year plan if he had written one, crediting God for having a bigger plan than he ever did, humbling him and opening doors rather than closing them even if he couldn’t see it.

He also said Connor has been an instrumental leader in helping him grow, calling him the best of many good leaders he has had.

“Bill is phenomenal. He definitely changed the trajectory of this company,” Morris said. “He is already putting faith in me because he knows decisions made now will impact me and not him. I am awfully thankful. For the group of people on the board to say I’m the guy to lead us into that next level is humbling. Just to follow in Bill’s footsteps is important to me to support his legacy.”

Now, 44 years after his predecessor started with the organization, Morris proudly takes on the challenge of continuing his legacy and making AmFirst a community fixture.