John Carlson Announces Retirement

​Highmark’s CEO plans to retire in June after 32 years of service and incredible growth taking the credit union from $12M to more than $245M. 

John Carlson

Highmark Credit Union’s CEO/President, John Carlson, has announced plans to retire June 30, 2024, after 32 years of service.
 
Carlson started his credit union career in June of 1992, having moved to Rapid City from Minnesota, where he had been the president/CEO of First American Bank of Watertown. He had previously worked in ag lending.
 
Dana West, chair of the Board of Directors for Highmark, shared, “When Carlson was hired to lead Rapid City Federal Credit Union (now Highmark), it was a $12 million asset institution. Under his forward-thinking and steady guidance, Highmark is now a credit union with over $245 million in assets and an outstanding community reputation. He led us through so much more than a name change. There is no way we can thank John Carlson enough for what he has done for Highmark Credit Union.”
 
Membership grew exponentially during his tenure; Highmark now serves over 13,500 members in the region. With a penchant for social gatherings and business development, Carlson enjoyed working closely with the Rapid City chamber, as well as with other regional economic entities.
 
He was a graduate of the 1993 LRC program, served as chairman of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, chaired the boards of the Black Hills Workshop Foundation and the Western Dakota Tech Foundation, and served as president of the Rushmore Rotary. Lynn Greff, board member when Carlson was hired, noted, “We appreciate John for his tremendous community involvement, honesty, fairness, forward thinking and for being a true believer in the credit union philosophy of “people helping people”.
 
There will be an open house and “meet & greet” for John Carlson and the incoming president, Mindy Howard, on Friday, May 10th from 3 – 6 p.m. (MT) at The Hive, Main Street Square, Rapid City.

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