The Dakota Credit Union Association (DCUA) held their Annual Meeting on October 6, 2020 at the Denny Sanford Premier Convention Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The highlight of the meeting was the election of DCUA Board Members.
The DCUA Board is made up of seven members consisting of three North Dakota division members and three South Dakota division members, along with one multi-state at-large position. Board members hold various positions on the DCUA Board of Directors that oversees the association as well as the Dakota League Service Corp (DLSC), the for-profit service corporation of DCUA.
Here are the results from the 2020 election:
Dawn VanAsh was duly elected to be the new Dakota Credit Union Association Board Member representing SD Division B and will be the DLSC 2nd Vice Chair. She has been involved with credit unions for more than 30 years. Starting as a teller, she was promoted to several roles including loan officer and assistant manager, prior to becoming CEO of Oahe FCU (Pierre, SD). A South Dakota native, she is a graduate of CUNA management School. Her previous work experience included retail sales and working for the State of South Dakota.
Melanie Stillwell was uncontested in ND Division A and has graciously volunteered to continue serving on the board as 1st Vice Chair. She is the CEO of Western Cooperative CU (Williston, ND) and was first elected to the Association Board in 2017. Melanie has vast experience in the credit union industry, as a senior vice president of finance, as a former NCUA examiner, as an executive vice president, and as CEO. She holds degrees in both accounting and finance as well as a CPA Certificate.
Other board members who have terms expiring next year or later include:
Jarrod Reisner – SD Division A, Board Chair. Jarrod began working at Black Hills FCU (Rapid City, SD) in 2009. His current title is SVP/Chief Financial Officer. He graduated from SD State University with a BS in Management and holds a CPA license. He has been on the CUAD Board of Directors since 2016, is a member of the SD GAC, and is a current board member for Midwest Business Solutions, LLC dba Pactola.
Sean Rinkenberger – Multi State At Large, 2nd Vice Chair. Sean has worked at First community Credit Union (Jamestown, ND) since 2015, starting as Controller, and taking on the CFO role in 2016. He holds a CPA license and got his start in public accounting where he worked with financial institutions ranging in size from $20 million to over $1 billion in total assets.
Lacey Fetsch – ND Division B, Secretary/Treasurer. Lacey began working at University FCU (Grand Forks, ND) in 2004while attending the University of ND. After graduating from UND with a BA in Banking and Financial Economics, she became a full-time employee and held the titles of Loan Officer and Director of Operations before becoming CEO in 2016. She graduated with High Honors from CUNA Management School in 2018and holds the Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation. She served as Secretary of the Maurie C Byrne Chapter of Credit Unions from 2011 to 2017 and has served as the President of this Chapter from 2017 to today.
Darla Schafer– ND Division C, DLSC Chair. Before becoming the Manager of Flasher Community CU (Flasher, ND), Darla served on the credit union’s board of directors. She holds anAssociate’s Degree in Electronic Technology from Bismarck State Collegeand an Associate’s Degree in Theology from Yankton College. Darla is a longtime member of the Credit Union Foundation of the Dakotas (CUFD) Board and has been a member of the ND GAC for more than ten years.
Jerry Peterson – SD Division C. DLSC First Vice Chair. Jerry is a current board member of Consumer’s FCU (Gregory, SD) where he has been a member since 1983. He began serving as a director in the early 1990s and has been a board member ever since. He has also served on the South Dakota Credit Union League Boardand was on the association board when the two leagues first merged. Jerry retired from the Gregory County Register of Deeds, where he worked for 36 years. He continues to be active in community development and local charities.
L to R: Jerry Peterson, Sean Rinkenberger; Dawn VanAsh; Melanie Stillwell; Lacey TerWee; and Jarod Reisner.