5 minutes
Last night at CEO/Executive Team Network in Savannah, Ga., CUES honored its 2016 executive award winners and hall of famers.
David Brock, CCUE, CCE, CIE, CEO of $582 million Community Credit Union, Rockledge, Fla., was named the CUES Outstanding Chief Executive. He is shown in the photo at right with CUES Chair Joe Hearn, CCE, president/CEO of Dupaco Community Credit Union, Dupuque, Iowa (left); and John Pembroke (right), CUES' president/CEO.
Brock took the stage and said, "First I want to thank CUES for selecting me. CUES has been a great resource to me for my entire career. The thought leadership that you get exposed to and the educational programs are just second to none. And then I'm truly grateful that I've been able to spend the last 40 years now working as a credit union professional. The past 25 years at Community Credit Union in Florida have been just exceptional. I've been blessed to have a wonderful board of directors that has supported me, that has encouraged me and that has been extremely patient with me over the years."
Brock introduced several members of his excecutive team who were in attendance.
"Any success our team has had has come about because we continue to stay curious and we continue to learn about our industry. You have to work at it. As Frederick Douglass said, 'If there is no struggle, there is no progress.'"
Brock thanked his wife, who joined via FaceTime, and concluded by saying, "What a great opportunity [we have] to work in an industry that you can employ both your head and your heart."
The CUES Outstanding Chief Executive award recognizes leaders at the CEO level who display professional achievement, support employee motivation, and are dedicated to their community.
Scott Daukas, CSE, chief risk officer at $1 billion TwinStar Credit Union, Olympia, Wash., was named CUES Exceptional Leader. Daukas (center) is congratulated in the photo at right by Hearn and Pembroke.
Upon accepting his award, Daukas said: "It's overwhelming and humbling when you think about all the people who are in this room and also those that represent the credit union industry so well. ... A group of people, like yourselves, who understand leadership, you know that without a strong functioning team it's really hard to have any kind of individual accolades. ... I want to publicly recognize Mr. Jeff Kennedy, CSE, CEO of TwinStar Credit Union, my exceptional leader at our shop. [He is] someone who knows how to put a team together and supports all of us individually and allows us to play to our strengths. Nothing that I have done individually could have been done without the support of him and the rest of the team."
The CUES Exceptional Leader award goes to non-chief executive officers and acknowledges these decision-makers for their ambition, participation and devotion to their credit union and the industry.
In addition, the following three executives were inducted into the CUES Hall of Fame. They are shown in the photo at right, from left: Hearn, Joseph Melbourne, Jr.; Sally Dischler, CCUE, CCE; William Raker, CCE; and Pembroke.
Sally Dischler, CCUE, CCE, president/CEO of $236 million Heartland Credit Union, Madison, Wis., said: "My story is a little different. I started at the credit union at the ripe young age of 17. People asked me, 'What college did you graduate from?' and I said, 'I think it's the school of hard knocks.' Because of that, I'm extremely grateful to CUES and the programs that they offer that have helped me develop my executive leadership talents. When I look back at the career of 40 years, I am very honored to accept this award."
Joseph Melbourne, Jr, president/CEO of $1.5 billion CFE Federal Credit Union, Lake Mary, Fla., said: "I've been in the business since 1983 and I've been CEO for the last 19 years. I truthfully love what I do. I've come to work every day for the last 19 years and it's been the greatest thing in my life. I've met a lot of fine people in this busines, a lot of people who care about what they do and understand what we are here for, who care about our membership. That's what we do. We care about people."
Melbourne, who will retire on March 31, introduced his successor Kevin Miller, CCE, EVP/general counsel at CFE FCU, and joked that he would be coming in on April 1. Then he concluded: "I'm going to miss the industry. For you young people who are just getting involved with it, enjoy your career. It's a great career."
William Raker, CCE, president/CEO $1 billion Firefly Credit Union, Burnsville, Minn., said: "This is a terrific opportunity for me to express my appreciation to the credit union movement, to all the people who I've known and had the opportunity of working with. Recognition like what's been shown here this evening comes when people have an opportunity to contribute and when they are enabled to do that. Working in the credit union world, there are endless opportunities to help people and do good things and I have enjoyed every moment of that. The enablement part has come from the support that I've had with my board of directors, the executive team and my entire staff at the credit union.
"In excess of 40 years working with credit unions and in the credit union world, I've come to five forks in the road. And I took every one of them. And fortunately every road I went down, every path that I took, kept me in the credit union world, kept me focused and interested in how much more I could do for my fellow people. I appreciate the opportunities that I've had to do that. ... It's a great world to be in. I'm fortunate to be a part of it."
The CUES Hall of Fame recognizes a lifetime of achievement and dedication to the credit union movement. These extraordinary leaders were chosen by CUES’ board of directors for their contributions to their profession and the industry; involvement in community service; and education and history of self-improvement.
