Many employers expound on putting families first. This year's top nonprofit winner actually practices it.

Byron Edgett, CEO and president of Spokane Federal Credit Union (SFCU), is retiring after 30 years because, as he explains it, "I'm 62 and I can." In line to take his place is Susan Blain. Blain has worked at the small credit union for 26 years. Together, they personify the reasons SFCU was chosen as this year's best nonprofit to work for. Committed but easygoing, friendly and lighthearted, professional but flexible in their approach, Edgett and Blain are dream managers.  

Susan Blain moved to Washington from South Carolina, where she had worked at Michelin Tire Credit Union. Her husband had been transferred to Fairchild Air Force Base.

"I started as a teller, then vault teller, supervisor, then VP," Blain says, illustrating the credit union's practice of recruiting from within. "It never occurred to me to leave."

"That's because I gave Susan her first car ride on a snowy road, and she swore she'd get even with me," laughs Edgett. "This is how she's doing it; she's taking my job."

SFCU is by no means one of the bigger credit unions in the state. With only 13,000 members, explains Blain, "We really know our customers. I have members for whom I opened their first accounts, and now I'm looking into car loans for their children." SFCU's intimate setting is guaranteed by the fact that they do not operate under a community charter. "We serve federal, state and county employees, and a few select employee groups," Blain says.  

Employees especially appreciate the close-knit, trusting atmosphere. "We have very little turnover, and most of our employees have been here a very long time," says Charlotte Nemec, vice president of administration.

Human resource success isn't serendipity. Fish!, an organizational philosophy, penetrates every aspect of the credit union, from how supervisors and employees treat their customer members to how they approach each other. The Fish! protocol emerged in 1998 from the film Fish! Catch the Energy, Release the Potential, which examines how the Seattle Pike Place Market's famous fishmongers can make spending 12-hour, grueling shifts in outdoor conditions palatable, even fun, for both themselves and their buyers.

"There are four principles," explains Blain. "Be There for each other and your customers; Choose your attitude about how you will show up and approach work; Make someone's day; and, just as important, don't forget to Play."

The Fish! philosophy at SFCU translates into providing employees the option of working flexible schedules. With a complete benefits package available to anyone clocking in 25 hours or more per week, 20 percent of their employees utilize flextime.

Louisa Rivas' story is typical at SFCU. The graduate of Spokane Community College's teller training program has been with the credit union for nearly six years. "I started out as a teller, and they promote from within, so now I'm here in internal screening and compliance," she says. Rivas is responsible for reviewing SFCU's lending practices. Her workdays start at 8:45 a.m. and end at 3:00 so that she can pick her daughter up from school each day. Would she ever leave her current position for a comparable job with better pay?

"Oh my gosh, no! This is my home away from home. They have become like my extended family. The idea of changing jobs, I can't even imagine," she gushes. "Money is always part of it; money is great, but my medical is fully paid for, I have a retirement plan, and I have time for my family. Maybe if I could take all the people I work with along."