Herald & Lantern 29 February '84

business

Female Presidents Steer 2 Local S&Ls

By JOSEPH R. ZELNIK Neither Linda Brown nor Lucy Walker took a bookkeeping course in high school. Today thev’re presidents of Cape May County financial institutions. Brown, 32, is president and treasurer of First Savings & Loan Association of Sea Isle City: one office, staff of seven, assets of $23.6 million. Walker, 54, is president and manager of Crest Savings & Loan Association of Wildwood Crest: two offices, staff of eight, assets of $21.1 million. These “friendly competitors" took some special financial courses, but their climb to the top at their individual “S&Ls" came mostly up the rungs of on-the-job training. THEY WORK long hours, seldom take vacations, and love it. “It's very rewarding," sajd Walker. “It feels good to help people get their first home, to be instrumental in helping set them up forthe future.” Crest Savings issued 124 home mortgages totaling about $6 million last year. First Savings okayed 106 totaling $7.2 million. Most of Crest’s are in the Wildwoods. First's used to be predominantly in Sea Isle City, but last year the majority were outside the city. Brown said. Both financial institutions have five-year-term

Tourism Budget Backed

COURT HOUSE - The County Chamber of Commerce has recently added its support and endorsement to Governor Thomas Kean's proposed $4.6 million tourism budget for fiscal 1984-85. The chamber, which has long sought increased state spending to promote the tourism industry, has urged the legislature’s joint appropriations committee to leave intact the governors tourism budget proposal of $4.6 million. The chamber urges all operators to contact Sen. Lawrence Weiss, chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee, to urge that his • committee support the governor’s proposal. Copies and additional letters should be sent to Assemblyman Joseph - Chinnici, who is a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee. Sen. Weiss’ address is: Joint Appropriations Committee, State House, Trenton, 08625. 9 Chinnici’s address is: 431 Oxford St., Bridgeton, 08302. The chamber has also endorsed Sen. James Hurley’s proposal to use minimum security prisoners to clean up New Jersey’s highways. The chamber has cited the lack of funds available to the State Department of Transportation to maintain grass and weed cuttings and litter cleanup along the highways for several years.

“balloons” at 13 percent plus a two-point origination fee. Both also have longterm, fixed rates of 14 percent plus two points. Crest's is for 25 years; First’* is for 20. Walker also finds pleasure in “training young people to save." After 25 years in the business, she’s seeing some second-generation customers. TWENTY-FIVE years ago, many S&L’s had one savings account, the passbook. Today, Walker poinied out, there are Christmas clubs, Vacation clubs, CDs, NOWs, Super NOWs, IRAs, and the insured Money Market funds. The latter, created only 14 months ago, have been a real boon to local financial institutions. They account for about $6 million of Crest's $20 million in savings and $6.7 million of First’s $23 million. “They give us an excellent cash flow," said Walker. The former Lucy Inverse, she is a Philadelphia native who graduated from John Bartram High School in 1946 and married her high school sweetheart, Harry J. Walker. He was employed in the pressroom at the Philadelphia Inquirer; today he’s in branch operations for Marine Bank. They live in North Wildwood and have four grown daughters and three grandchildren. WALKER ENTERED the S&L business at Atco Savings in 1959 and came to Crest Savings as a teller in February, 1967. It had assets of $2 million then. She was promoted to secretary, assistant manager, manager executive vice president, and president in January 1983. She was elected this January to the board. of directors, another position attained by few women. Brown, the former Linda Rauscher, was born in Muncie, Ind., graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1969, and came to Avalon in April 1970. She lived with her grandparents, John and Mary Myefski, and worked briefly at Hoy’s Five and Ten. Her grandfather died in 1979 and her grandmother now lives with her, in Rio Grande. BROWN CAME to First

Candidate For Board

WOODBINE - William Gervasi, executive vice president of Local 1040, Communicatons Workers of America, which represents employes at the Woodbine Developmental Center, has announced his candidacy for representative to the state Pension Board in the upcoming PERS election. Gervasi announced his opposition to a number of changes in the state pension system proposed by a pension review Commission appointed by Gov. Thomas Kean? He has been a shop steward and president of the local.

9 Doris Ward ONE PRESIDENT TO ANOTHER — First Savings and Loan President Linda Brown,' left, and'Crest Savings and Loan President Lucy Walker are friendly competitors.

Savings as a teller in August 1970 and moved up through the ranks as assistant secretary, first secretary, treasurer, secretary, vice president and. in November 1979, president. Divorced, she has twins, Sean and Stephanie, now 12 and attending Middle Township Elementary School No. 4, and a son, Ethan, now 3.

Brown took five weeks off from work when she had the twins, three weeks when she had Ethan, who she brought with her to work when she first returned. The added responsibility of a thrid child led her to resign as president and serve as vice president from April 1981 to June 1982. “I like the job,” she said. “I enjoy it. I feel I doa good

job. The board is pleased And my father is proud of me . ’ ALTHOUGH they are the smallest of the country’s five S&Ls, Crest and First were the first to offer NOW (interest checking) accounts and among the first to computerize, the presidents said. Both institutions are known for paying some of the county/s highest interest rates. First reported •that 1983 was "one of its most successful years" with assets growing by $4 million. It paid depositors a record $1.9 million in interest last year. Crest also had a record year in 1983, with assets growing by $2 8 million. Walker said. And it paid its depositors $1.65 million in interest. Brown and Walker have been friends since they met in 1972 at a meeting of the Cape May County Savings League at the White Briar in Avalon. Brown is secretary of that association, a post Walker held several years ago. NEITHER HAS time for hobbies, although Walker

likes to boat and fish in the summer Brown reads, likes to go barefoot,' tries to go to aerobics once a week and spends her spare time with her children. She’s “down” to two packs of cigarettes a day. It was three. Walker doesn't smoke. Both are looking forward to a “vacation" in May They’ll attend the conven tion of the New Jersey Savings League in Boca Raton, Fla. Who knows — they may even get to the beach...

First Jersey Dividend JERSEY CITY - The board of directors of the First Jersey National Cocp. has declared a regular quarterly dividend on common stock of $.45 per share payable March 30 to shareholders of record on March 2. The dividend represents an increase in the annual dividend rate on the common stock to $1 80 per year from $1.60 per year.

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