John Wilkening, Chief Retail Officer of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union (Notre Dame FCU), headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, was chosen as Professional of the Year by the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU). Wilkening and other winners in NAFCU’s 2019 Annual Awards Competition will be honored during NAFCU’s 52nd Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in New Orleans, LA. June 18-21, 2019.
A proud native of Chicagoland, raised in the Goose Island neighborhood of Whiting, IN, Wilkening graduated from Indiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Public Relations. Upon arrival at Notre Dame FCU in March of 2015, Wilkening took immediate action in training his team to turn them into Financial Physicians.
His mantra during his 25 years in banking has been to change a life a day, and this has been instilled in each partner (employee) at Notre Dame FCU. His team of knowledgeable Financial Physicians are now trained to do the best thing for the Member with each interaction—no matter what.
"While many retail leaders out there are good at sales and business development, no one does it like John. He not only genuinely cares about our partners, but the community as well. The culture that John creates by putting the employee first generates incredible morale. This rare mix provides just the right culture to lead to phenomenal results for the organization as a whole,” said Notre Dame FCU President and CEO, Tom Gryp.
This year’s NAFCU Annual Awards Competition honored eight winners in total and was selected by a committee of credit union leaders. Nominees for CEO of the Year, Credit Union of the Year, Professional of the Year and Volunteer of the Year were judged in two categories: credit unions with assets of more than $250 million and those with assets of $250 million or less. Wilkening was a winner among credit unions with more than $250 million in assets.
Annual Awards Competition winners will be celebrated during the conference’s general session and breakfast on June 19 and profiled in the July-August edition of The NAFCU Journal magazine.
Notre Dame FCU Chief Retail Officer John Wilkening