From coast to coast, credit unions announced new executive promotions and appointments. A couple of credit union professionals also were honored for career achievements.

EAST

Michael Wolfe (pictured at left) was appointed vice president of lending at the $409 million Belco Community Credit Union in Harrisburg, Pa. He joined Belco in 2006 as a business lending manager and worked in financial services for more than 20 years.

The $258 million University Credit Union in Orono, Maine, announced the promotions of four executives: Deb White-Rideout was promoted to senior vice president of operations and human resources from vice president of operations and human resources; Renee Ouellette was promoted to senior vice president of finance and technology from vice present of finance and technology; April Gleason was promoted to vice president of lending from assistant vice president of lending and Eileen Byram was promoted to vice president of risk management from assistant vice president.

The foundation of the $18 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., hired Mark Smith as program director and Molly Schar as vice president of development and communications. Smith previously served as executive director of Blue Star Families, a military non-profit organization. Schar previously held posts with the American Red Cross, the World Council of Credit Unions and the NCUA.

MIDWEST

Faith Tholkes, director of mortgage sales of the $579 million Ideal Credit Union in Woodbury, Minn., was named super mortgage professional for 2014 by Mpls.St.Paul magazine and Twin Cities Business magazine. Tholkes, pictured at left, was the only credit union representative on the list. Tholkes started her career with Ideal CU in 1996. She joined the mortgage department in 1998 and was promoted to director of mortgage sales last year.

The $75 million Hopewell Federal Credit Union in Heath, Ohio hired Shawna Miller as a branch manager. She most recently served as a branch manager of Bremen Bank in Pataskala.

Kylie Svorec was appointed to the position of branch manager for the $1.7 billion United Federal Credit Union. Svorec previously worked as an assistant branch manager for the St. Joseph, Mich.-based cooperative. Her prior financial industry experience includes member service advisor and teller position at UFCU.

SOUTH

The $8.1 billion Security Service Federal Credit Union in San Antonio appointed Brandy Ralston-Lint (pictured at left) as vice president of public relations. She previously served as a public relations manager for the Children's Hospital in San Antonio and worked as a television reporter in Lubbock and San Antonio.

The $194 million Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union in Houston hired Kenneth Jackson to lead its business development operations.  Most recently, he served as a project manager for the Cy-Fair Independent School District.

WEST

Paul Gephart was appointed chief financial officer for the $227 million Icon Credit Union in Boise, Idaho. He previously served as director of finance at Home Federal Bank in Nampa. Gephart also worked as a controller for Merchants & Southern Bank and chief financial officer for Community National Bancorp.

Teresa Freeborn president/CEO of the $974 million Xceed Financial Credit Union in El Segundo, Calif., was honored for her personal career achievements and her contributions to the success of other women in business as part of the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Freeborn, shown at left, received two gold Stevie awards in the mentor or coach of the year category and the female executive of the year category. She also received a silver Stevie award in the woman of the year category. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are global honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run.

The $1.1 billion Orange County's Credit Union in Santa Ana, Calif., announced the appointments of Zaheed Khakoo as branch manager,  Donald Carazo as assistant vice president of collections and Carmela Hurley as card services manager. Khakoo  most recently worked for JPMorgan Chase as a private client banker. Carazo holds more than 12 years of collections experience and worked for Carrington Property Services and the $718 million Altura Credit Union in Riverside, Calif.  Hurley has spent more than 20 years in the payment industry including at a major card processor, other credit unions, and the e-commerce division of a major retailer. 

TRADES

NAFCU appointed Catherine Safady as its new vice president of membership and sales. Prior to joining NAFCU, Safady worked at the International Academy-Amman, founded by Queen Rania Al Abdullah in Amman, Jordan. She also worked as vice president of marketing for Tree Top Kids, a specialty retail store, and as director of advertising and business development at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

VENDORS

Michigan Business Connection announced Mark R. Terry will retire from the Ann Arbor-based CUSO on Dec. 31. He began working at MBC in January 2005 and was credited with being a major contributor to the company's growth.

Patricia Hamilton, with more than 30 years of mortgage industry experience, joined the StoneHill Group in Atlanta as a business development manager. Most recently, Hamilton managed sales in the western territory for HomeBridge Funding, a correspondent lender. The ShoneHill Group is a national provider of quality control, due diligence, and mortgage fulfillment solutions for banks and credit unions.