Clift honored for her 50 years at BDCU

It was one heck of a week for Mary Beth Clift.

On Aug. 22, more than 100 family, friends and colleagues, both past and current, filled Southwest Diner to honor her for her 50 years of service to the Boulder Dam Credit Union and the community. Three days later, current staff gathered before the credit union opened to welcome Mayor Joe Hardy and a few city staffers who came to not only read a proclamation in Clift’s honor on her actual 50th anniversary (Aug. 25, 1975) but she was also awarded a key to the city by Hardy, a longtime friend. Then, the next night she was recognized by the entire Boulder City Council during the official presentation of the Mary Beth Clift Day proclamation.

“Part of it read, “Her legacy is woven into the fabric of Boulder City, where community truly means something. For half a century, Mary Beth Clift has demonstrated that credit unions are more than financial institutions, they are pillars of a community and Mary Beth Clift has been one of ours.”

On the busy week she said, “It’s been overwhelming because I’m not one who likes attention drawn to myself. I appreciate everything the city has done as well as my family, friends and colleagues. I’ve seen people I haven’t seen in years.”

The decision to make it to the half-century mark is one she made almost a decade ago.

“Nobody had ever done it before,” she said of the credit union’s staffers. “So, it became a challenge to me after my 40th year. People would ask me about it and one day I decided that was my goal.”

She then said that her last day will be Dec. 31 of this year, something that had yet to be announced to staff at the time of this interview but was the next day.

Looking back

Clift came to Boulder City not long before coming to work for the credit union. Her husband at the time, Rich Robles, had been offered the job as parks and recreation director for the city. Having worked for Bank of America in California for five years, she was no stranger to the banking industry. Upon moving here, she accepted a job in 1973 at Bank of Nevada, where The Dillinger is currently located.

Back then, the credit union was very small in terms of staff, members and assets. Bill Ferrence was in charge at that time and would go to the Bank of Nevada to make the credit union’s deposits.

“He’d come in daily and after about six months, he asked if I’d like to come work for him,” she said. “He said he’d make it worth my while. But I came over and got a 10 cent-an-hour cut in pay. That’s was always a joke with us.

“Back then, we had so many people come in who had worked at Hoover Dam. I wished I had listened more and taken notes. So many had worked on the dam and had these wonderful stories.”

Prior to improvements in banking technology such as ATMs, direct deposit and online banking, Clift said the credit union’s lobby was far busier than it is today. It was then that she began to know both the faces and names of many of the residents in town because in-person banking was almost a must. It’s also back when the credit union got the affectionate nickname of the “credit reunion” because it was the place to see and be seen.

“There are some amazing people in this town,” she said. “I’ve help open accounts for people and then later opened ones for their children and their grandchildren. I’ve seen generations. That’s been very special for me and is something I will definitely miss.”

Just a trio of bosses

Eric Estes, who served as president and CEO of the credit union for more than 20 years following the passing of Ferrence, said there’s more to it than Clift simply working at the credit union for five decades.

“It’s the employee she has been for all those years,” he said. “Mary Beth has an incredible gift of making every member feel like they have their own personal credit union representative. Her passion, energy and enthusiasm have not changed in all the years I’ve known her. To me a hero is someone who has set their life aside to make others’ lives better and this is the life and career Mary Beth has led.”

Current President and CEO Steele Hendrix echoed those thoughts.

“It’s not every day you get to honor someone who has dedicated half a century to shaping the heart and soul of an organization,” he said. “Mary Beth has not only been the face of Boulder Dam Credit Union — she has been a cornerstone of our success, a mentor to generations, and a living example of loyalty, excellence, and integrity. Congratulations on 50 remarkable years.”

That admiration and appreciation is mutual.

“It’s very unusual to work somewhere for 50 years and have just three CEOs,” she said. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities. Bill gave me a lot of self-confidence and pushed me to do things he always told me he thought I could achieve within the industry and I did. There was nobody like Bill. But all three have been wonderful to work for.”

Asked what she thought Ferrence would say seeing her hit the 50-year mark, Clift smiled and said, “He’d say, ‘way to go. I knew you could do it.’” He helped make me the person I am today.”

Clift admitted that going for 60 years was not out of the realm of possibility. That is until recently. She took a two-week trip to Norway and caught the travel bug. She then rattled off over more than a half-dozen foreign and domestic locations on her travel docket. She also plans to sleep in more and be available for lunches with friends.

“People talk about how they know when it’s time. When I got back from Norway, I knew,” she said. “While I’m excited about the next chapter of my life, I’m going to miss the people so much.”