IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Lauren Williams – CUNA Communications; (202) 626-7642; lwilliams@cuna.coop

Julie Lang – CUNA Councils; (800) 356-9655, ext. 4018; jlang@cuna.coop

Madison, Wis. (April 26, 2018) – Jessica Jones, Marielle Richie, Jeff Madland and seven credit unions were honored for their achievements in HR and organizational development in a ceremony at the 2018 CUNA HR & Organizational Development Council Conference, which was held April 22-25 in Fort Lauderdale.

“Considering the immense amount of innovation and dedication in the HR and Organizational Development field, choosing winners for these awards is never an easy task,” said Lisa Baron, CUNA HR & Organizational Development Council Chair and Sr. VP HR/Talent Management at Baxter Credit Union, Vernon Hills, IL. “However, these individuals stood above an already impressive field of candidates as truly exemplary, helping credit union professionals reach their true potential.”

• Jessica Jones, SVP Administrative Services, Universal 1 Credit Union, Dayton, OH, won the Professional of the Year Award. Jones was recognized for her dedication to updating, implementing and developing services for staff and members, embodying the “people helping people” spirit, streamlining credit union processes and updating compensation, incentive and benefit structures to be more competitive and structured.
• Marielle Richie, Education Coordinator, Gerber Federal Credit Union, Fremont, MI, won the Rising Star Award, which recognizes and honors an emerging professional in the credit union industry who has a focus on HR or organizational development. Richie was recognized for her instrumental role in transforming Gerber FCU’s Teller and Member Service Training programs, as well as her work as Student Branch Coordinator, bringing fundamental knowledge to staff and students alike.
• Jeff Madland, VP Human Resources, Eagle Community Credit Union, Foothill Ranch, CA, was presented with the Top Community Contributor Award. This award recognizes value and expertise shared with peers through collaboration within the Councils Community member networking platform.
• Best of Show – Excellence in HR & Organizational Development Awards, Innovative Staff Development (Assets More than $1 billion): Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire, WI, won for their Exploring Leadership Program. This program encourages the development of future leaders within RCU by using coaching, mentoring, learning sessions, group projects and more, ultimately saving thousands in turnover and recruiting costs by increasing internal promotion percentages and leadership comfort levels.

Additional Excellence Award winning entries include:

• Employee Engagement (Assets Less than $499M): Heartland Credit Union, Hutchinson, KS, for Cultivating Culture - It's the Heartland Way!.
• Employee Engagement (Assets $500M-$1B): iQ Credit Union, Vancouver, WA, for "We" and Community!
• Employee Engagement (Assets More than $1B): MSU Federal Credit Union, East Lansing, MI, for MSUFCU Connect.
• Innovative Staff Development (Assets $500M - $1B): Verity Credit Union, Seattle, WA, for Verity University.
• Innovative Staff Development (Assets More than $1B): Clearview Federal Credit Union, Moon Township, PA, for their Management Development Program.
• Management Practices (Assets More than $1B): KeyPoint Credit Union, Santa Clara, CA, for Tackling Employee Student Loan Debt.

The winners and their achievements will be featured in an upcoming issue of Credit Union Magazine. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org/awards.

# # #

CUNA Human Resource & Organizational Development Council
The CUNA Human Resource & Organizational Development Council is a member-led organization of credit union HR and training professionals dedicated to preparing its members for success by organizing networking opportunities, providing resources and fostering influence in the credit union movement. The Human Resource & Organizational Development is one of seven CUNA Councils, a network of more than 7,000 credit union professionals. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org.

About CUNA Councils
CUNA Councils is a member-led organization dedicated to connecting passionate people, great ideas, original content and relevant resources to find solutions and inspire achievement through the power of peer collaboration. CUNA Councils serves seven areas of credit unions including CEOs, lending, marketing and business development, finance, human resources and training development, technology and operations, sales and service. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org.