State’s top credit union professional award presented to Dave Whitehead
HARRISBURG, PA (May 23, 2017) — The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association (the Association) has awarded Dave Whitehead, CEO of Merck, Sharp & Dohme FCU, with the William W. Pratt Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2017 Credit Union Professional of the Year. The award was presented on May 19 at the Association’s 83rd Connect Convention at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA.
Whitehead has served as the CEO of Merck, Sharp & Dohme FCU for two decades, first taking over the role in 1997. At the time, Merck, Sharp & Dohme FCU was in the middle of a period of low membership and poor financial performance. With his leadership, the credit union was not only successful in recovering, but excelling. Prior to his time at Merck Sharp & Dohme FCU, Whitehead was CFO at Atlantic Employees FCU.
Whitehead is an active participant and firm believer in the credit union movement. He served on the Board of the Montgomery County Chapter of Credit unions from 2002—2010 and the Board of Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU from 2006-2016, the last three years as treasurer. He also has been on the Association awards committee since 2013. Whitehead boasts an impressive list of awards and honors from his years in the movement. Among this list is the national and state Dora Maxwell Award for Social Responsibility, several Louise Herring Awards for Philosophy in Action, the DesJardins Awards for Financial Education for both Youth and Adults, and CUNA’s Diamond Awards for marketing.
“Dave started at Merck, Sharp & Dohme FCU at a time when there was a lack of member trust and poor financial performance. Through his initiatives of offering fair and competitive financial products and services, the trust of the membership was regained and hence, financial performance improved,” said Merck, Sharp & Dohme Second Vice Chairman of the Board Robert Muzslay. “Day by day he always keeps the interests of the membership in high regard and remembers that he has a financial stewardship to properly manage the members’ money so they can achieve their financial dreams.”
The Professional of the Year Award is presented in memory of William W. Pratt, who for more than three decades worked on behalf of credit unions. When Pratt began working at the Association in 1942, there were 550 credit unions in Pennsylvania – when he retired in 1965, there were nearly 1,300 credit unions in the Commonwealth.
Credit unions are financial cooperatives that provide affordable financial services to help their owner/members. The Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Credit Union Association is a trade association that provides legislative, promotional, educational, and operational support for credit unions in Pennsylvania. There are 440 credit unions headquartered in Pennsylvania with assets in excess of $41.5 billion and 3.9 million members. For additional information about credit unions or to find a credit union near you, visit www.ibelong.org.
Dave Whitehead
About Pennsylvania Credit Union Association
Credit unions are financial cooperatives that provide affordable financial services to help their owner/members. The Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Credit Union Association is a trade association that provides legislative, promotional, educational, and operational support for credit unions in Pennsylvania. There are 363 credit unions headquartered in Pennsylvania with assets in excess of $50 billion and 4.2 million members. For additional information about credit unions or to find a credit union near you, visit www.ibelong.org.
