ALBANY, N.Y. — Numerous New York credit unions and individuals were recognized for their accomplishments during EXCEL 22, the New York Credit Union Association’s annual meeting and convention.
Among those recognized:
Hall of Fame Inductee
The NYCUA recognized Mark Pfisterer, past president/CEO of AmeriCU Credit Union, as the 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, which honors individuals who devoted their lives to the philosophy and success of the credit union movement, and who have made a significant impact on credit unions at the local, state or national levels.
The association noted Pfisterer had been active on NYCUA’s board of directors, serving from 2009–2020, and as chairman from 2015–2017. He also served as chair of the association’s Governmental Affairs Committee and as a trustee of the New York Credit Union Foundation. Additionally, Pfisterer served on the UsNet Shared Branching board for 23 years, serving as treasurer, vice chair and chairman from 2005 until his retirement in 2020.
“I congratulate Mark Pfisterer on his well-deserved induction into the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame this year,” said William J. Mellin, NYCUA president and CEO. “Not only is Mark Pfisterer an asset to NYCUA for all he does, during his tenure he grew AmeriCU’s assets exponentially while at the same time dedicating his career to the ‘people helping people’ philosophy of the credit union movement.”
Credit Union House Hall of Leaders
NYCUA also recognized the two newest New York state members of the Credit Union House Hall of Leaders, which is located in the Credit Union House in Washington, DC., and recognizes champions of the credit union movement for their leadership and commitment to the philosophy of people helping people.
2022 inductees include Mike Vadala, past president/CEO of the Summit Federal Credit Union, and Paula Stopera, past president/CEO of CAP COM Federal Credit Union, who received the award posthumously.
Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award
Western New York FCU received the award in the $50 million – $250 million asset category for its “Wear Jeans With a Purpose” initiative, allowing staff to wear jeans on Fridays in exchange for a $75 donation to the charity of their choice. Western New York FCU contributed an additional $25, totaling $100 donation per participating employee to 15 local community organizations in need.
Sunmark Credit Union received the award in the $250 million – $1 billion asset category for its “Summer of Kindness” initiative. Sunmark Credit Union partnered with Beekman 1802, a national company founded by an act of kindness, and invited children up to age 12 to “deposit kindness” by submitting their ideas on how they would spread kindness in their local communities. The credit union’s Kindness Crew, comprised of Sunmark Credit Union, Foundation and Beekman employees worked with the children to bring these Kindness Projects to life, with a total of eight projects completed from July to early September.
CAP COM Federal Credit Union received the award in the more than $1 billion asset category for its CAP COM CARES Foundation Infrastructure Initiative Program, which allowed its community partners to build accessible bathrooms for constituents. The program was formed with the initial intention of giving 10 organizations gifts of $5,000, but after seeing more applications than anticipated, the total allocation for the program was increased to 20 organizations, which helped fund new roofs, building expansions, equipment to start a podcast, software upgrades and much more.
SeaComm Federal Credit Union and Teachers Federal Credit Union received honorable mentions for displaying exceptional commitment to their communities and the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.”
Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award,
NYCUA said it recognized Teachers Federal Credit Union for its digital transformation initiative as part of a larger vision to become “America’s credit union” by using the latest technologies and reinventing how Teachers FCU associates conduct business to best serve member needs.
Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award
Visions Federal Credit Union was recognized with the Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award for its “Wallet Wellness” program, which includes self-guided lessons, one-on-one certified financial counseling, curated presentations — available both virtually and in person — as well as outreach to schools and businesses throughout its communities. The initiative continues to expand and year over year growth of individuals impacted is a testament to Visions FCU’s hard work and commitment to community.
Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award
NYCUA recognized Teachers Federal Credit Union with the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award for its “Teaching With TikTok” initiative to reach a younger demographic using the social media platform TikTok to provide financial education content nothing short of scroll stopping, eye-catching and entertaining. Teachers FCU aimed to educate the harder-to-reach Gen-Z demographic, and over the year, highlighted key financial content using videos and trending sounds to make continuous learning fun and easy.
Outstanding Professional Award
Ed Butler has been employed with Visions Federal Credit Union since college and has worked as everything from a teller to the executive vice president during his 42-year employment. “He has been predominantly focused on lending and serves to be a wealth of knowledge. Butler has provided oversight to the following departments: human resources, information technology, business performance, internal operations, governmental affairs and everything member-facing. He also has been instrumental in annual strategic planning exercises for the organization and has been attending the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference for over 10 years,” the association said.
Outstanding Young Professional
“Cody Seward’s unique understanding of credit union initiatives allows him to look at the bigger picture: not just what is going to benefit The Summit Federal Credit Union, but what is going to benefit the movement both at the state and national levels,” the NYCUA said. “Since 2018, Seward has served as the treasurer for the NYCUA’s Young Professionals Commission. In addition to managing the financial affairs of the commission, he has developed and implemented initiatives specifically for credit union young professionals, and assisted the Association with its mission to engage, connect and empower the next generation of industry leaders.”
Outstanding Volunteer Award
Nancy Kappler-Foster has been a member of Hudson Valley Credit Union for over 30 years, and a committed volunteer for two-thirds of that time. She began her service to Hudson Valley Credit Union’s cooperative in 2002 as a member of the supervisory committee, eventually chairing the committee in 2010 and 2011. Since joining the board of directors in 2012, she has held positions including assistant treasurer (2013–2014), treasurer (2015–2019), and finally chairman of the board as of December 2019.