WASHINGTON–The three winners of the Herb Wegner Awards accepted their honors during the annual dinner here, in conjunction with GAC. Here's a look at what each had to say:
Stan Hollen: A Career of Firsts
WASHINGTON–Stan Hollen got his start in credit unions at age 19 at a small CU for the Joan of Arc company in Illinois.
His career would go on to have numerous “firsts” right through his retirement in 2016.
Hollen, recognized with the Herb Wegner Award for Individual Achievement, eventually moved on to Caterpillar Credit Union (now CEFCU) in Peoria, Ill., where he helped to lead the fight to add share drafts at credit unions when they were not available.
“We fought the banks and had some very tough fights in Peoria over share drafts,” he recalled.
It wasn’t the only tough fight. Hollen said he helped to write the first AICPA accounting guide for credit unions. “I wrote the language that defined shares as a liability,” he said. “That was a big deal. We got taken to the woodshed over that.”
Hollen would go on to lead The Golden 1 Credit Union in Sacramento, Calif., where it would become the first issuer of Visa debit cards by a credit union, and was also the early investor in and believer in CU Direct. He moved on to lead Liberty Check Printers, and then took over as head of CO-OP Financial Services, where in addition to overseeing significant growth, he also led the creation of the Miracle Match program for Children’s Miracle Network, which generates in excess of $11 million for CMN every year.
During his career, more than 15 of his former direct reports went on to become CEOs of credit unions, and numerous others got their start under Hollen’s leadership.
“This is, as others have said, not just my award, it’s other people who have contributed greatly. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Hollen said in accepting the award. “The best thing we can do is make a difference in our industry, and hopefully I’ve done that.”
The Cooperative Trust & The Crashers
WASHINGTON–In 2010, Brent Dixon walked into the office of George Hofheimer at the Filene Research Institute in Madison and expressed his disappointment that there weren’t more young people participating in credit union events such as CUNA’s GAC.
Hofheimer responded by saying, “That’s cool. Why don’t you do something about it?”
Seventeen years later, Dixon was back at GAC to accept the Herb Wegner Award for Organizational Achievement, after helping to do something about it.
Dixon helped launch the “Crashers” movement, which is more formally organized as the Cooperative Trust and overseen by the Filene Research Institute.
“This room is a support system, and a big one,” said Dixon in remarks to the Herb Wegner Awards Dinner. “This award to the Cooperative Trust community is an award for hundreds of people. This is yours.”
Following up on Hofheimer’s challenge, Dixon led 25 people to GAC the following year, all staying in a youth hostel with plans to “crash” the GAC by basically inviting themselves.
“Since then many mentors have guided this community by asking mentees to be active participants instead of passive observers,” said Dixon. “Within a year there were 50 projects launched, and we were still making everything up as we went. Thank goodness for the mentors.”
CUNA opened the door to the Crashers, but with a caveat, said Dixon: “They kept us accountable by saying the price of admission is your participation here and when you go home.”
“This is a critical time for our members and the future of our movement, but the fact we are up here is an indication that when we come together, we can be extremely powerful,” said Dixon. “The Crashers are not here to blend in. They are here to push forward. Credit unions, you are not here to blend in, you are here to push forward.”
Also accepting the award was James Marshall, who now leads the Cooperative Trust program. Marshall quoted Ed Filene, who once said, “You young people will solve your social problems, I’m sure, much more successfully than we solved ours. But that is nothing to gloat about. You ought to do a better job than we did.”
“To me he was saying it is the job of those who come next to keep pushing forward, keep moving forward,” said Marshall. “In less than a decade we’ve gone from this thing to a community of 1,400 young credit union professionals all over the world. It has been a true collaborative effort. Since inception, the Cooperative Trust has seen incredible growth in action. We have a community committed to bettering themselves. We have a community of builders, of do-ers. That gives me hope. My final ask of you is not to hit snooze on this incredible issue of credit union talent. We will not exist without the leaders we have, and we will not exist without the credit union talent we will have.”
From Illegal Immigrant, To Community Serving CEO
WASHINGTON–A credit union CEO who spent 13 years of her life as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. was recognized with the Herb Wegner Award for Individual Achievement here.
Maria Martinez, president and CEO of Border FCU in El Paso, Texas, shared her story with credit unions here during the awards dinner.
“Receiving this award is a dream come true and a big responsibility, and I hope to live up to the expectations for the rest of my life,” said Martinez. “I accept this award on behalf of my credit union staff, board, our members and the communities we serve.”
Martinez, whose acceptance remarks were streamed on Facebook Live so others in her community could watch them, said she was recently asked what has been her greatest victory, to which she responded, “The opportunity to be the leader of this credit union.”
“I grew up in a home where we didn’t have a lot of money, but there was a lot of love and compassion,” she said. “When we immigrated to this country (from Mexico) we were undocumented for 13 years. Yes, the border patrol was after us, but they couldn’t find us. I remember one time they came and knocked on the door, and my aunt would say, ‘No open.’ And we would hide in the closet. But even then I was able to continue my education, so I got my accounting degree and then through the Immigration Reform Act of 1986, and with the amnesty we were able to legalize our status. So, I am legal. So, you can tell ICE to go away. This granted me the freedom to serve entire communities, to mentor others, to implement programs for the underserved and the youth.”