ADRIAN — Although Lenco Credit Union is 56 years old this year, only two people have ever served as its president and CEO.

Now a third person is joining those ranks, as longtime leader Ben Neal prepares to retire and hand over the reins to Fran Brant.

Neal started working at the credit union in 1985, not long after graduating from college. He became president about a decade ago upon the retirement of David Chambers.

He has seen a lot of growth since he started working at Lenco. The credit union’s assets have expanded from $4 million in 1985 to $143 million today. Membership has grown as well — both in terms of numbers and in terms of who can join. Lenco was originally founded to serve teachers, but a little over 25 years ago, the National Credit Union Administration — the federal agency that regulates credit unions — made it easier to form community charters. Now it’s open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Lenawee, Hillsdale, Jackson, Monroe or Washtenaw counties.

Services have expanded as well; for example, the credit union started offering mortgages about a decade ago.

And there have been plenty of other changes. Most notably, although the credit union did have computers in 1985, the technology was in its infancy.

“We were writing receipts and then entering the information into people’s accounts,” Neal said.

Reflecting on his four decades with the credit union, Neal said: “It’s been a privilege to serve the members. It’s been made simple by a very good board that I’ve served under over the years, mentoring by a good friend and former CEO, Dave Chambers, and also made easy by the tremendous staffs I’ve had over the years.”

Neal’s successor is a lifelong Lenawee County resident, having grown up at Devils Lake and attended Addison Community Schools. Brant has lived in Adrian since a few years after graduating from Eastern Michigan University.

Brant has about 30 years of experience in financial services, having started out working in banks. She joined Lenco in 2024 as vice president of consumer lending. She said she aims to have a “member-first” approach as president and CEO.

“I just am a strong believer in giving back to our community,” she said.

She aims to continue keeping pace with technology, noting as one example that the credit union has added support for digital wallets. A new website is coming soon as well.

Brant’s children attended Madison schools, and she has served with numerous organizations including the Lenawee County Association of Realtors, Catherine Cobb Shelter, Zonta of Lenawee, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club, and Catholic Charities.