The League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates presented awards and announced their new Board of Directors, and a few credit unions including GTE Financial and Reliant Credit Union announced promotions.

New Hires

Corridor Platforms has named three new vice presidents to its executive sales team; Bjoern Nordmann, Chad Schilling and John Mangan. Each has significant industry knowledge and expertise in working with both credit unions and banks of all sizes. Nordmann and Schilling will concentrate on mid-market banks and credit unions, while Mangan will focus on the mid-market as well as tier one institutions.

Recognitions

On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates (LSCU & Affiliates) presented the LSCU Awards for Volunteer of the Year at the 2024 Southeast Credit Union Conference & Expo (SCUCE) in Orlando, Florida. The LSCU Awards recognizes credit unions and credit union professionals who demonstrate exemplary service and accomplish significant achievements in the movement. The Volunteer of the Year award recognizes credit union volunteers who have selflessly contributed time, effort, and talent to the development of the credit union movement in their state.

The winners of the Volunteer of the Year award are as follows:

Ronnie Reed of Family Savings Credit Union (Alabama)

Ann Strickland of Miami Postal Service Credit Union (Florida)

Susan Ammons of GeoVista Federal Credit Union (Georgia)

On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates (LSCU & Affiliates) presented the Professional and Young Professional of the Year Awards at the 2024 Southeast Credit Union Conference & Expo (SCUCE) in Orlando, Florida. The LSCU Awards program recognizes credit unions and credit union professionals who demonstrate exemplary service and accomplish significant achievements in the credit union industry. The Professional of the Year Award recognizes credit union professionals for their impactful contributions to advance the credit union movement in their state and/or the nation.

The winners of the Professional of the Year Award are:

Derrick E. Ragland, Jr., of APCO Employees Credit Union (Alabama)

Laurie Cappelli of Community Credit Union of Florida (Florida)

Diane McCoy of Rome Kraft Employees Credit Union (Georgia)

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) is proud to announce that Priscilla Jaworski-Quintanilla, Assistant Manager of SBA/Commercial Lending at RCU, has been named the recipient of the 4th Annual Los Cien Puente y Ganas Individual Award. This honor recognizes her unwavering dedication and impactful contributions to the Latino community in Sonoma County.

Promotions

GTE Financial is happy to congratulate the promotion of two tenured leaders, Priscilla Abreu to Vice President Digital Payments and Fraud Operations and Troy Hepler to Vice President Systems Operations. Both individuals oversee high-growth, critical areas of operation that are pivotal in delivering the credit union's industry-leading member experience.

Reliant Credit Union is pleased to announce Jim Dowling has taken on a new role as Business Lending Specialist. Reliant strives to offer interesting and rewarding work for all employees and takes pride in helping to foster employee growth and development.

Royal Credit Union (Royal) announces Cody Kroening’s promotion to Business Banking Officer. In this position, Kroening’s responsibilities entail building relationships with new and existing business Members by providing support, service, and assistance with lending needs. He is based in Stillwater and serves Stillwater, Hugo, and surrounding communities.

Retirements

Centra Credit Union Concierge Martha Titus has retired after 53 years of service to Centra. The credit union celebrated her tenure on June 23 during a party at Centra’s headquarters. Titus joined the credit union in 1970, when it had less than $100 million in assets. Throughout her tenure, Titus served in eight different roles at the credit union in multiple departments and saw the credit union grow to more than $2 billion in assets with more than 425 Team Members.

Appointments

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union held its 2024 Annual Meeting on June 18, 2024. The event was live-streamed, and members were invited to participate virtually to hear executive/board reports and appointments to the Corporate’s Board of Directors.

There were three candidates for three open board seats, so the following individuals were re-elected during the meeting for three-year terms: Daniel Berry, CEO of Duke University Federal Credit Union in Durham, N.C.; Paul Hughes, president/CEO of Greenville Federal Credit Union in Greenville, S.C.; and Jerry King, president/CEO of DEXSTA Federal Credit Union in Wilmington, Del.

At Vizo Financial’s Board of Directors’ reorganization meeting, the following officers were appointed: chair, Jeff Chelius, CFO of Riverfront Federal Credit Union in Wyomissing, Pa.; vice chair, Daniel Berry, CEO of Duke University Federal Credit Union in Durham, N.C.; treasurer, Genice DeCorte, CEO of HealthShare Credit Union in Greensboro, N.C.; and secretary, Derek Fuzzell, chief financial and strategy officer of PAHO/WHO Federal Credit Union in Washington, D.C.

Committee appointments included the following:

Supervisory Committee: chair, Amy Lichwa, CEO of Norwin Teachers Federal Credit Union in Irwin, Pa.; Elba Arenas, president/CEO of MC Federal Credit Union in Danville, Pa.; and Maria LaVelle, CEO of Pheple Federal Credit Union in Greensburg, Pa.

The League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU) is proud to announce the seating of its Board of Directors for 2024-25 and the election of the Board’s leadership. The Board’s officers were elected following the LSCU Annual Business Meeting held in Orlando on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

The LSCU Board of Directors is made up of 18 credit union President/CEOs. Alabama, Florida, and Georgia each elect six representatives to the Board and Directors serve three-year terms. Each board member represents a specific state and credit union size of membership.

The leadership of the new Board of Directors is:

Chair Richard J. “Rick” Skaggs, President/CEO, USF Federal Credit Union

Chair-Elect Ola Anise, President/CEO, Azalea City Credit Union

Vice Chair Roy Bibb, President/CEO, MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union

Treasurer Bobby Michael, President/CEO, All In Credit Union

Secretary Steve Moseley, President/CEO, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union

Nook proudly welcomes Kyle Stutzman, a seasoned community banking and credit union executive, as its newest strategic advisor. With his expertise and passion for technology and financial innovation, Stutzman brings valuable industry knowledge to Nook. Kyle Stutzman joins Nook with an extensive background engaging with fintechs, banks, and credit unions on technology trends, data trends, automation, tech operations, and digital transformation. His strategic advisory will be crucial for navigating to the changing financial landscape and seizing new opportunities as Nook continues expanding its credit union network.