Roger Heacock, former CEO of Black Hills Federal Credit Union (Rapid City, SD) was recently inducted into the Dakota Credit Union Association (DakCU) Hall of Fame during the association’s Annual Summit held at the Delta Marriott Convention Center in Fargo, North Dakota.
Roger served the credit union industry for 45 years, starting at the tiny Rosebud FCU in 1975, then joining Black Hills FCU in 1978, becoming the CEO in 1983. He retired earlier this year. Throughout his career, Heacock has been a dedicated champion for serving the underserved and those in need of access to financial services in some of South Dakota’s most impoverished areas. Under his leadership, Black Hills FCU grew from $23 million in assets to over $1.5 billion, expanded from 5 branches to 15, and tripled membership to more than 77,000 members.
Heacock also has a long history of service at the national and state levels. He was a member of the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019 and continues to serve on the CUNA Strategic Services Board of Directors. He has represented credit unions in Washington, DC on many occasions during congressional testimony. His contributions are seemingly endless and include serving on CUNA’s Field of Membership (FOM) Task Force, the Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Community Credit Union Committee. He served on the National Association of Community Credit Unions (NACCU) Board for 5 years, the South Dakota Credit Union League Board for 26 years, and the South Dakota Credit Union League Services Corporate Board for more than 20 years.
In honor of 42 years of servant leadership and his longtime commitment to credit union advocacy and grass roots engagement, the DakCU Board of Directors, in cooperation and support from Black Hills FCU and the South Dakota and North Dakota Governmental Affairs Committees, have established the Roger Heacock GAC-HTH Scholarship fund.
“I believe this is an appropriate tribute to Roger’s legacy here in the Dakotas and is well-deserved recognition of his ongoing passion for credit union advocacy,” said Jeff Olson, DakCU President/CEO. “Roger truly led by example and consistently motivated others to be engaged on all fronts. More than anyone I have known, Roger understood that public opinion, policy shifts, and regulations affect how we serve our members, and that it is important and necessary for our movement to commit our time and resources to an effort that defines any policy debate on our own terms,” he added.
The Roger Heacock Scholarship will provide financial assistance for affiliated members to attend the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) or the DakCU Legislative-Regulatory Hike the Hill (HTH) to cultivate, promote, and energize member credit union professionals and volunteers in the grassroots advocacy process.
Roger Heacock (center) with his wife, Chris Heacock and Jeff Olson, DakCU President/CEO