Banking on Community

CEO Case leads JDECU in growing membership, giving back to Moore County

12:05 p.m. Aug. 20, 2025

HALEY PAYNE ROBERTS
MCO Senior Staff Writer

In many cases, money makes the world go ’round, so the institutions that manage it are crucial to a community’s thriving. Moore County is home to several financial institutions, and Jack Daniel Employees Credit Union (JDECU) thrives under the leadership of CEO Pam Case, who has spent more than 25 years in finance, ensuring the credit union serves both its members and the wider community.

Case’s journey began in Lynchburg before college in Nashville, where unexpected twists shaped her path. “I grew up here. I wanted to get away after high school, so I went to college in Nashville and majored in accounting. It was one of those things where I didn’t know where I wanted to end up, but it was where I started,” she said.

“When I graduated, I had no idea where I was headed. I had married before college, so I really thought about the fact that my husband was in the military and that we might be stationed overseas. While I was in college, I started making connections just in case, but that didn’t happen.”

‘It was a lot of learning’

Her first job was with a newly formed construction company. “I stayed there for about six months. I learned to work with attorneys’ offices and to stand on my own. I was the only person in the office, and the rest of the crew was traveling across the country. We built storefronts for places like Genesco, Garmin, and Journey Shoes. Cool Springs Mall was one of our first projects. I learned how to book airline tickets and get crews here, there, and everywhere. It was a lot of learning.”

Case returned to Lynchburg while her husband was deployed to Iraq and took a state accounting job auditing city schools, utility districts, and nonprofits. “When you start life, you don’t know where it’s going to lead you. While I was there, I met some really good people, and I really got a baseline of being able to do an audit and to discern what’s going on. It taught me a lot. At that time, I’d never even heard of a credit union,” she said.

A rare opportunity then arose at the distillery. “A job came up in the accounting department, which didn’t happen very often because people got in those jobs and stayed there. I went into accounts payable. From there, I would take any kind of project that they’d give me. The credit union then came open as far as the supervisory committee. They taught me, and I covered for them in the credit union for a week, back and forth,” she explained.

“Then, the job came open to manage. I’m not sure why they thought they should hire me, but they did. From there, I came in, and there were only two of us at the credit union at the time. It was still at the distillery.”

A Memorable First Day

Her first day in charge coincided with the dawn of Y2K. “Jan. 1, 2000, I was there at midnight. That was my first day, and that was the day that everyone thought the computers were going to shut down and not come back up,” Case recalled. “It’s been a learning experience. I still sometimes feel like I don’t know everything.

“We went from two employees to 10. It was about a $7 million credit union at the time that I started, and now we’re at $53 million or so.”

JDECU began in 1977 with Bill Thomas managing a simple box in his desk drawer. “People would come and make deposits. Then, it grew to the point that they could do small loans and has since developed from there.

“Jack Daniel’s has always supported us. They still provide services like bringing our mail and maintaining the grounds, but the building is actually owned by the credit union. We have a very close relationship with them,” she said.

Case is eager to explain what makes credit unions unique.

“Credit unions are volunteer-based. The board of directors is volunteers, not paid employees. We call it a ‘people helping people’ institution. People bring us money, and our job is to either loan it out or invest it the best way we can. We’re a not-for-profit. That doesn’t mean we don’t make a profit. It means we make a profit enough to give back and do the services we need to do. Every member has the same voting rights. One membership is five dollars, and everyone has the right to vote for who runs the credit union.”

“Our accounting is different from banks. We have to keep a higher reserve than banks – 7% or higher – or the state regulates us. Our job is to give back to our members, which is why we sometimes have better savings rates. In order to be in our credit union, you have to qualify. Ours are the employees of Jack Daniel Distillery and their families. In 2012, we added the county government and their families,” Case said.

Investing in Moore County

JDECU also educates the next generation. “We added the Lynchburg Elementary School students in partnership with the University of Tennessee,” she said. “Our job is to reach out to students and get their parents to get them to join. We go there to give incentives and make it fun for them. Hopefully, during their time at school, they can save and get the benefits of saving. We’re hoping to expand this year into middle and high schools.”

The credit union now serves over 3,000 members. “Some signed up on day one and are still members and have brought their families in. Some of the most rewarding parts are people who will tell their family members to come see us because we’ll help. We’re not here to judge how people live. Our job is to help people live their lives and be financially successful in whatever endeavors they wish to do. The word of mouth over the years has been the best advertising we’ve had,” Case said.

Beyond members, JDECU invests in the county. “We do blood drives. We’ve had a Relay for Life team in the past. We sponsor the music group on Saturday night during Frontier Days. We have an angel tree at Christmas and an Apple Tree before school. We always try to do our part in supporting people,” she said.