Credit union president loves the assets he finds in Reno

Civic pride is born of many things, but you don't have to be native to an area to fall in love with it as James Hunting proves.

Hunting came to Reno after college, but his passion and involvement for the city would make any Reno-born resident proud.

Hunting is the president and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union, a position he's held for nine years. Helming the intimate retail financial institution has been a successful surprise for Hunting, much like discovering Reno.

Growing up in the Bay Area, Hunting went to college at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He received an offer from Nevada Blue Shield to work as an analyst, and almost immediately decided that Reno was where he would put down roots. He worked for Blue Shield for a few years before taking a job with then-Sierra Pacific Power Company. He worked for the power company more than 18 years, mostly in deregulation planning. When the merger of Sierra Pacific Power with Nevada Power happened, Hunting made a decision to leave the company because he didn't want to leave Reno.

"I could have ended up moving to Las Vegas," he says. "I had gotten another job, but then I heard about the job with the credit union."

The step from corporate planning to retail credit banking wasn't as dramatic as it may sound. Hunting was on the credit union board of directors and found some similarities between the two positions. For the credit union, he notes, "It was time for a change."

"It's a fascinating business. To me there was an advantage to knowing a different end of finance, and not being from old retail banking world," he says. "For instance, we were a non-cash institution when I started. Being new, I asked why and was told 'That's just what we do.' I said how about tomorrow we start giving out cash, instead of checks? The customers loved it. It's funny what people can get used to."

Helping people see things in a new light is just one of the traits Hunting brings to his involvement with the Downtown Improvement Association. He's worked with the group for 10 years, serving as president for three years.

Watching and helping the city navigate through tough issues such as the Virginia Street Bridge and the creation of the Reno Ace's ballpark is a great source of satisfaction for Hunting.

"I'm so proud of the DIA. There have been moments of truth when things needed to be said and the association said them. It's been nice to get those things done. And hopefully you leave things better than when you found them" he says.

Hunting is an avid fan of athletics at the University of Nevada, Reno, following both basketball and football, and he's a regular at the Reno Aces games, too. His granddaughter and grandson are often in tow. From catching a foul ball and getting it signed by Trent Oeltjen to seeing his grandson take left field with his Little League team, Hunting can't say enough good things about the Aces' experience. He even speaks kindly of the naysayers who felt the ballpark and team would never become a reality.

"Over the years, there were so many phony developers, when the real thing showed up, I'm not sure people recognized it. But what's neat about going to the games was it was people socializing, young and old. Some weren't even watching the games. It was just fun," he says.

The grandchildren keep Hunting and his wife Shirley very busy, as they attend sporting events and the like.

But he also loves to take advantage of Reno's recreational climate. Along with golf and hiking, Hunting and his son-in-law have purchased land in nearby Clio, Calif., near Graeagle, and hope to start building soon.

But he's all too familiar with the economic crunch that keeps construction plans at bay. And while he's obviously a fan of the credit union, it doesn't mean he thinks they are the only option.

"It's extremely important that we have healthy banks in our area. I have a lot of respect for banks. We just serve different clients and we have a slightly different business model. Credit unions have come to the forefront lately; financial people start talking about credit unions as the alternative. We have a different purpose; it's to serve a set of members," he explains.

Count Saint Mary's as one of the credit union's newest participants.

Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union recently opened a branch in the hospital's Wellness Center, and with Hunting's fondness for downtown Reno, the location couldn't be anymore perfect.

The basics:

Who: James Hunting

What: President and chief executive officer, Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union

Family: Wife, Shirley. One daughter, two grandchildren.

He says: "When the tide goes out you can see who is swimming naked."