2020 Award RecipientsThe Kentucky Credit Union League is proud to recognize and award the professionals, volunteers, and credit unions that have made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the Credit Union Movement. Steve Brody Outstanding Volunteer Frank Moore Outstanding Professional Richard Zimmerman Outstanding Young Credit Union Leader Wayne R. Woodward Philosophy in Action
KENTUCKY AWARD RECIPIENTSThe Steve Brody Outstanding Volunteer Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments, time and effort in support and promotion of the credit union idea put forth by volunteers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 
Randy Overstreet, an Eastern Kentucky University graduate and career state government employee, has been a member of the Commonwealth Credit Union Board of Directors for the past 26 years. He retired as a Captain from the Kentucky State Police after a 26-year career. He is also retired from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Mr. Overstreet began his service to Commonwealth Credit Union beginning in 1991 where he served a three-year term on our Focus Group. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1994, serving on each of the committees-Asset Liability Management, Loan Review, Human Resources, Technology, and nominated for Chairperson for six years on the Governance Committee. During his time on the board, he has helped expand the credit union by 13 branches. His advocacy for both Commonwealth Credit Union members and employees shows his dedication to our mission statement of bettering lives. His 26-year tenure is a direct reflection of his dedication to Commonwealth Credit Union and his passion for the credit union movement. Mr. Overstreet is dedicated to the credit union movement. He volunteered his time to the Emerging Leaders program discussing the importance of volunteers in credit unions; he’s passionate about investing in our industry’s next set of leaders. He regularly attends the KYCUL annual meetings, and he has served on the Education Committee and Governmental Affairs Committee. Since his tenure on the Board, Commonwealth Credit Union achieved tremendous growth from $268M to $1.545B in assets. During his tenure, the credit union opened 13 new branches to better serve their members with more local access to their credit union. Mr. Overstreet also played an important role in the creation of Commonwealth’s online banking, which gives members more immediate access to their finances. All of these achievements were made in order to improve member experience and better their lives.
The Frank Moore Outstanding Professional Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments, time and effort in support and promotion of the credit union idea put forth by the credit union professionals in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
When Ms. Harbin became President/CEO of Commonwealth Credit Union, she realized that the culture needed to be reshaped to focus on employee empowerment, recognition, and care for others. Her mindset that internal service with your team members is as important as external service to your members was the catalyst for a complete culture renovation and the creation of what Commonwealth Credit Union refers to as Team 1. It is the basis for daily interactions, at the heart of the decisions that are made, and shaped the strategic goal to be an employer of choice. To this point, Commonwealth Credit Union was, just last year, named as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in Kentucky in the medium-sized category by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Under Ms. Harbin’s leadership, Commonwealth Credit Union’s vision became clear. Commonwealth Credit Union exists for the purpose of bettering lives through our passion to serve. Bettering lives is at the heart of every decision made at the credit union. With a clear vision and a set of credit union values that she commissioned to be created from the ground up, Ms. Harbin has positioned the credit union to be a leader among financial institutions, earning the credit union several community and industry awards, as well as national recognition. In the last year, Commonwealth Credit Union has received several accolades. Just this past year, Ms. Harbin was awarded two prestigious awards by Louisville Business First. From almost 100 applicants, Ms. Harbin was named a Most Admired CEO. This, the inaugural class of Most Admired CEOs, was chosen by Louisville Business First editors. She also received the honor of being named as a Best in Finance recipient. This award recognizes financial professionals in the Greater Louisville area for outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards. Last, and what really separates Ms. Harbin from other financial leaders, is her ability to listen. Shortly after becoming President/CEO, Karen launched #HeyKaren, an open-door approach to listening to employees, members, and the community. By visiting ccuky.org/heykaren, you can send your questions, concerns, and comments straight to the top. Ms. Harbin takes this communication seriously and responds to each and every one. Ms. Harbin is active in the financial and credit union industry. She has served on the Kentucky Credit Union League Board of Directors for five years; serving as Treasurer for 4 years, and now as Chair of both the Board of Directors and Annual Meeting Committee. She was appointed to the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions Board of Directors, where she served for 4 years. Additionally, she was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) and has served a two-year term, and the Volunteer Corporate Credit Union Asset and Liability Management (ALM) Committee. Most recently, Ms. Harbin was elected by her credit union peers for the Director-At-Large position on the board of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). She is looking forward to bringing her leadership and passion for the organization. By listening to the needs of her fellow credit unions and advocating on their behalf, she is confident she will play an integral role in NAFCU’s mission of strengthening credit unions.
The Richard Zimmerman Outstanding Young Credit Union Leader Memorial Award is presented to recognize the accomplishments of young people who have made significant contributions to the support and promotion of the credit union idea.
Mr. Duncan has most recently served as a Mastermind Leader for the CUES Emerge program which was formerly known as CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec (which he was a finalist in the 2018 competition). As a Mastermind he led a group of credit union professionals across the nation through the Emerge course and coached them through creating a business case as they prepare for the competition phase. He also had the opportunity to present at the CUES CEO/Exec team Network. He is also very involved with CUNA in which he has been a Crasher at three different CUNA conferences (GAC, Lending, and Marketing and BD). He has served on committees for the Lending membership council and the Marketing conference committee, as well. Mr. Duncan was also a speaker at the Lending conference on “Using Innovation to Attract and Retain Millennial Members and Employees”. In 2017, he was featured in CUNA’s CU Magazine as a CU Rockstar and featured twice in CU Marketing Magazine. Mr. Duncan completed the Kentcuky Credit Union League’s Emerging Leader program in 2018. Mr. Duncan is very involved in his church and local youth group. He leads a group of about 20 High School students on a weekly basis in a mentoring role. He also has served or lead on 11 international mission trips and four local mission trips to help the underserved. He has assisted with local financial education programs as well as served in a volunteer role for Kids Cancer Alliance which started during his time in the Emerging Leaders Program. Mr. Duncan created a program that would help credit union employees develop called FLIP, or Future Leaders in Innovation Program. This program was designed to give staff a platform to share their ideas with CU leaders to help bring about real change at the CU and within their employees. This idea was shared at a nationwide CU conference and is continuing to be developed. He also has written a proposal for Young Leader programs that has been shared and utilized at a few different credit unions across the nation.
The Wayne R. Woodward Philosophy in Action Award was established to recognize an individual, group of individuals, or organization that by act or deed, above and beyond the norm, personifies the credit union philosophy of "People Helping People."
The first arm of this program, "MCCU @ Work" represents an institutional culture where our staff is committed to taking a hands-on approach to creating beneficial change in the locales they serve. From 2017 to 2020, employees have dedicated over 1900 total hours volunteering for local non-profits and community organizations within their field of membership. All told, over 60 different events and groups in FIVCO and beyond were served. In addition, over the past four years Members Choice employees have combined their volunteer hours with internal fundraising as part of MCCU @ Work, raising over $16,000 through giving campaigns just among staff (with an average of a little over $290 per person, per year). They are so passionate to help others, that they took the initiative to establish an MCCU Employee Benevolence Fund in 2019. In addition to the giving above, this Fund has already raised $8,000 and made grants to 19 individuals and organizations in the area in need. The second prong of the "People Helping People" program at MCCU is the "MCCU Connect" program. The Connect program seeks to leverage MCCU's strengths to improve specific areas of need in their area. After speaking with community leaders and stakeholders, they identified two areas where they could make a substantial difference- increasing financial literacy at all levels and providing individuals with work ready experience. This financial education initiative touches area residents from childhood to adulthood. MCCU staff partners with local school districts and uses credit union industry developed materials to teach students the financial concepts they need to reach their monetary goals. Over the past four years this has grown to reach hundreds of students in eight separate school districts and spans from the elementary to high school levels. Secondly, MCCU has collaborated with a local community college to create a mentorship program. Each semester, business students at Ashland Community and Technical College are given 12 weeks of hands on training in every area of the credit union, culminating in a keystone project where they present a proposal to the board of directors for adoption. This was in response to local businesses stating they needed candidates with more experience and skills that would help them be successful in the work environment. There has been so much interest in the project that it has been expanded into a mentorship open to folks in the community (2019) and a separate mentorship for middle school students (2020). In addition to work-ready skills, the mentorship carries a strong financial education element, with individual budgeting, discussion of credit union products, and credit counseling for those over 18 years of age. Alongside this, MCCU-Connect presents a series of talks each year as a free service to area students. This include financial topics such as budgeting, the importance of credit scores, and different types of loans and accounts, but covers broader skills like dealing with conflict in the workplace. Members Choice is represented on the college's Business Advisory Council and helped them create the "Work Ready" program that began in 2019 and allows graduates to complete a program over two years preparing them for success in the workplace. MCCU staff were also involved with the broader "Work Ready" development for the FIVCO area over the past five years. The final tier of MCCU-Connect reaches adults. With a large percentage of area adults who are currently classified by the state as living below the poverty line, staff at MCCU has worked to give them the resources and knowledge to reach economic security. Working with non-profits and housing authorities, MCCU-Connect offers year-round educational sessions for economically disadvantaged adults in a three county area that includes counselling and special savings programs for those who are interested. The lectures and articles tied to this are 100% drawn from the work of MCCU staff. Combined, these three tiers of MCCU-Connect were so successful that Members Choice was awarded the Desjardins for the state of Kentucky in 2018 and was recognized at CUNA's Great American Conference in 2019. To give a small sampling of Member Choice staff's community work, 55 employees hold leadership positions in Rotary, Lions, Women's Business Council, Young Women's leadership Council, Community Development Leadership program (MCCU staff has a co-chair for each of the 8 weeks), 17 local churches, United Way, Emmaus Respite and Resource Center, Leadership KY, Leadership EKY, Hillcrest-Bruce Mission, Continuing the Legacy Foundation, OLBH Foundation, and The Neighborhood. MCCU employees are on the coaching staffs of nine youth athletic teams. In 2019 alone, MCCU staff were involved with supporting Ashland In Motion's First Friday, The Dressing Room, Jesus Prom, Bank On, Relay for Life, Ashland YMCA, and Winter Wonderland of Lights, just to name a few. The key event of the MCCU @ Work program is the Ashland Build A Bed project. In 2018 a local non-profit brought to our attention that 70 children in the surrounding area would not have beds to sleep in at night. MCCU staff and volunteers pulled together area credit unions and local businesses and partnered with the Build A Bed program and Morehead State University to remedy this. As the result of their hard work, the Build A Bed program:2018 Build 70 beds (Fulfilled MSU’s applications they could not do for the FIVCO area). Raised $10,000, and overage was split between the credit unions. 2019 Built 100 beds. Took over the FIVCO area, raised $20,000, partnered with several local high school Key Clubs to run nighttime donations. From their partnership and work on this project with the Key Club (Boyd County High School), the program won Diamond Level Distinguished Club (2020, 2019, and 2018) three years in a row. In 2020 they built 204 beds, provided 204 children with beds/nighttime kits, raised over $50,000 (includes $25,000 grant from State Farm) cash and in-kind donations for nighttime bags. The program has been so successful that it is now one of MCCU's (and NE Kentucky's) signature events and involves close to 60 local organizations and almost 400 volunteers. They have been asked to coordinate Build a Bed for the entire eastern part of the state and each year it grows from strength to strength.
CUNA AWARD RECIPIENTS
Dora Maxwell Award Social Responsibility Award
The 2020 recipients of this award are: $50-$250 Million Assets - Class Act Federal Credit Union More than $1 Billion Assets - Commonwealth Credit Union
More than $1 Billion Assets - Commonwealth Credit Union
The 2020 recipients of this award are: Dejardins Financial Education (Adult) $50-$250 Million Assets - Expree Credit Union More than $1 Billion Assets - Commonwealth Credit Union
Desjardins Financial Education (Youth) $50-$250 Million Assets - Class Act Federal Credit Union $250-$1 Billion Assets - Ashland Credit Union More than $1 Billion Assets - Commonwealth Credit Union |
Karen Harbin is the embodiment of Commonwealth Credit Union's purpose of bettering lives through passion to serve. She is not only a familiar face to her employees throughout Commonwealth CU's 15 branches, but also to individuals throughout the 24 counties in Commonwealth’s service area. Ms. Harbin embraces the responsibility of being held accountable for the overall organizational performance, vision, and financial stability of the Credit Union. She provides effective leadership for staff, communicates the vision, provides guidance on the organization’s mission, and positions the Credit Union to meet the present and future needs of its members. Ms. Harbin’s comprehensive understanding of the laws and regulations that govern the industry ensures that the credit union’s policies and procedures are successfully formulated. In addition to her daily job duties, Ms. Harbin serves as a member of the Board of Directors, balancing the role of a volunteer with the authority that is given to the President/CEO position. In this capacity, she keeps the Board informed of critical issues and interprets financial and operational reports for the Board as needed.
Clark Duncan is dedicated to the Credit Union movement. In his time at Abound he has worked as a Member Service Representative, Training Coordinator, Branch Manager and is currently the Director of Digital Experience. He is leading a project team to implement a new and enhanced digital banking platform for an improved member experience. Over the years, he has shown dedication to the credit union movement through his involvement at the local and national level, both within the industry and through his work in the community.
In an effort to exemplify the credit union motto of "People Helping People", over the past four years the staff at Members Choice Credit Union has launched two initiatives to better engage the community and represent the credit union movement in their area in a positive manner.
Louise Herring Award Philosophy in Action Award
Desjardins Financial Education AwardOur Sponsors
