By Kelly Murphy-Redd
Jerry Williams retired as the highly respected and successful President/CEO of Eglin Federal Credit Union (EFCU) and moved back into his newly remodeled home four weeks prior to this interview. He and his wife, Jean, feel like they have a new home. It even has that “new house smell.” They love their Poquito Bayou neighborhood, knowing their neighbors, and walking their rescue dogs. Jerry and Jean have been married 21 years.
Jerry was born in Crestview. His dad was a farm boy from Baker and his mother a city girl from Bloomington, Ind. Jerry’s Army vet dad and his mother met in Indiana. They married and moved to Baker. It turned out “Green Acres” was not the place to be, for her, and they moved to Fort Walton Beach when Jerry was age six.
After attending local elementary and high schools, he attended OWJC and UWF, earning a degree in mathematics. His dad was an air conditioning mechanic on Eglin AFB and Jerry credits learning his blue-collar work ethic and trouble-shooting skills from him. He credits his people skills to his mother. A real mix of the two people.
After he graduated high school, his mom and dad took a contract labor job to clean the EFCU building on Eglin AFB at night. While attending OWJC, Jerry cleaned the Hurlburt location at night to pay for school.
He went on to be engineer support for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in West Palm Beach. In Jerry’s words, he was a geek who applied mathematical formulas to the engineer’s work. He was then offered a job at a small defense contractor developing the AMRAAM missile seeker at Eglin, AFB.
Bill Webster, president of a small company in Fort Walton Beach, lured Jerry away from the defense industry. They moved to Memphis where Bill started a company developing software for credit unions. EFCU was their largest client. Bill eventually sold his company and moved back to Fort Walton Beach. While Jerry was in Memphis, Jim Appleton, president of EFCU, called and offered him the position of Vice President of Data Processing. He moved back to Fort Walton Beach in 1994.
He held various IT positions over 20 years. During this time, he met his wife Jean who was Bill Webster’s sister. She was working at Bank of America.
Thinking about the future and the idea he may be considered for president one day, he decided it was time to “quit being a nerd” and get out of the computer room. Jerry joined co-worker Sherry Harlow at FWB Chamber events. He talks glowingly about chairing the Military Affairs Committee, being an Honorary Commander at Hurlburt Field, and being an Eglin 33rd Fighter Wing Civic leader. These associations gave him deep appreciation and knowledge about military bases in our community and opened many doors.
In 2014, he was made president of EFCU. He was invited to numerous events and felt he was invited because of the person he was, not the position he held. He retired after 30 years of service to EFCU. Jerry knows there will be less invitations coming his way. Still passionate about being involved in the community, he told his co-worker Neko Stubblefield, he still makes a great “+1.”
When asked how he created the enthusiastic culture at EFCU, as demonstrated by the large turnout of employees at events and their contagious excitement, Jerry says the more involved he was, the more involved his employees were. Leading by example, he told the team he would “be at the front of the band leading the charge.” He also worked to make sure there were resources to support community involvement. EFCU eventually joined at the highest membership levels at all chambers with his board’s support.
He and Jean enjoyed traveling to conferences and being involved in the community. They discovered they enjoyed bike riding together. They recently completed a six-day, 171-mile ride along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Retirement holds challenges for Jerry and Jean. He has been diagnosed with Genetic Ataxia, a general term for diminished motor skills. There are 75-100 variations, but it basically means a faulty protein is causing the cerebellum to die. He has Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6). The blessing about this variation is, it is late onset and slow progression.
The symptoms start with awkwardness and progress to fumbling and falling. Walking on uneven terrain or stairs is very difficult. His progression will involve using a cane, a walker and then a wheel chair. Talking and eating will be affected. He and Jean have remodeled their home to be accessible, no matter what happens.
Jerry wasn’t born with a quitter gene. If he falls down, he gets up. He will minimize the effect and maximize what he can do. In the past, he’s been scuba diving and sky diving. At 57 he competed in an Ironman triathlon. He can’t run now, but can still bike and swim. He uses a recumbent mountain bike and magnetic shoes and pedals. There is a Multiple Sclerosis medication that is showing some promise and there will be decisions about whether he should try it or worry about side effects. He’s not done yet and is inspired by wounded warrior friends facing greater challenges than he faces.
Jerry says he will keep moving forward and keep giving back. It is what it is, and it will become what it will become. He doesn’t want sympathy, but instead seeks awareness and understanding. He’s not ignoring his diagnosis, but charging ahead. He considers himself blessed.
