Press
Defense Credit Unions Induct Four into Their Hall of Honor
(September 5, 2013) — On August 14th, DCUC 50th Annual Conference attendees stepped out in their finest to celebrate four very special inductees to the DCUC Hall of Honor. Arty Arteaga, President/CEO of the Defense Credit Union Council, introduced the four very deserving people who have each dedicated their lives to the credit union movement and the philosophy of People Helping People, and presented the honorees their eagles and Hall of Honor medals. The four admirable honorees this year were:
The Council’s Recognition Task Force, led by Sharon Ichord, President/CEO, Mid Missouri CU, selected Robert Morgan for his long service in the credit union industry, especially with Defense Credit Unions and DCUC. Morgan was the president/CEO of ABNB FCU for twenty eight years and sat on the DCUC Board for seventeen years, serving as the Navy/Coast Guard Representative and holding almost every position on the board to include Chairman. Morgan also sat on the Armed Forces Financial Network Board for over ten years. Morgan’s involvement in the credit union community extends to decades of service for the Virginia Credit Union League and the Tidewater Chapter.
The Defense Council’s second inductee, Jean Yokum, was selected for her lifetime dedication to military credit unions. Initially employed as a teller with Langley FCU in 1953, she rose through the ranks to become President/CEO, where she served for thirty-three years. Yokum also served on the DCUC Board for twenty years and is a past chairman. Throughout her almost sixty years with the defense credit union community, Yokum worked tirelessly to create and promote better products and services for Langley FCU’s members and reach out to underserved communities. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her dedicated work, including NAFCU’s CEO of the Year and being inducted into the Credit Union Executives Society Hall of Fame.
Randy Smith, the immediate past President/CEO of Randolph-Brooks FCU (RBFCU), was honored next. Over the course of over twenty years with RBFCU, the credit union expanded from $295 million in assets to more than $5 billion and from 64,000 members to almost 400,000. Having served in the U.S. Air Force, Smith brought with him a deep understanding of the challenges military service members and their families face. He used this knowledge to provide RBFCU members better products and services to make their lives easier. Smith was very active outside the credit union community volunteering with the Children’s Miracle Network, the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, and the Alamo Colleges Foundation. Even with his broad range of service, he never lost his focus on serving the military membership, leading fundraising efforts to construct Fisher House locations in San Antonio.
Concluding the ceremony was the induction of Sharon Ichord, immediate past President/CEO of Mid Missouri CU. Ichord started her career with Mid Missouri CU in 1975 as a phone operator and retired in August 2013. During her tenure as President/CEO, she oversaw the expansion of the credit union from one facility to five facilities with a sixth branch in the design process. In addition to her work with the credit union, Ichord has been very active with state and national credit union associations to include chairing DCUC’s Hall of Honor selection Committee for the past ten years. According to Mid Missouri’s Board Chair, James Woods, “She is a professional in every sense of the word, and her dedication and loyalty to the Credit Union industry is unsurpassed.”
DCUC’s Hall of Honor was established thirteen years ago as a means of recognizing individuals whose contributions and inordinate support of the credit union movement added great value to the Defense Credit Union Council and defense credit union community. Former or current volunteers, and management and staff of DCUC member credit unions, whose lifelong achievements have been exceptionally noteworthy, are eligible for this prestigious award. Since August 2000, only 45 individuals have been selected for this coveted award, including those inducted Wednesday evening.