Rita Haynes Honored With Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award

WASHINGTON – For her dedication to the development and promotion of community development credit unions, Rita Haynes, CEO of Faith Community United Credit Union, has been named this year's recipient of the Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award by the African-American Credit Union Coalition. During her tenure, Cleveland-based Faith Community United CU, has grown to become the largest faith-based credit union in Ohio with more than $9 million in assets. She has been with the credit union movement for 40 years, with Faith Community United CU since 1959 and has been CEO for the past 13 years. Haynes, who also serves as board chair of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, has used that platform to promote and guide CDCUs on a national scale. The AACUC made the award announcement during its reception meeting held during CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference. She will be presented with the award at the AACUC's annual meeting on August 12-14 in Nassau, Bahamas. At its 2004 annual meeting, the AACUC also named Haynes at the first recipient of a scholarship to CUNA Mutual Group's Discovery Conference, which will take place June 15-18 in Orlando. The award is named for Pete Crear, longtime industry veteran and pioneer who currently serves as CUNA's executive vice president of external relations.