Meet Your Dakota Credit Union Association Board

Order of business at DakCU Annual Meeting includes reorganization of the board. We appreciate these credit union professionals stepping up as volunteers to work on your behalf!  

Rapid City, SD – The Dakota Credit Union Association (DakCU) held their annual meeting on May 11, 2022, at the Holiday Inn – Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City, South Dakota. Two board of director seats up for election were uncontested: SD Division A – Jarrod Reisner; and ND Division B – Lacey Fetsch. Both incumbents agreed to serve another term.  SD Division C was also up for election, with one candidate: Katie Bredvik, CEO of Coteau Valley FCU. Katie was elected by acclamation.

The DakCU board is made up of seven members consisting of three North Dakota division members and three South Dakota division members, along with one multi-state at-large position. The board oversees the association as well as the Dakota League Service Corp (DLSC), the for-profit service corporation of DakCU. Following a reorganizational meeting, we are pleased to announce our 2022 board members and their roles. 

Katie Bredvik – SD Division C. Katie was named CEO of Coteau Valley FCU in 2017. She is a lifelong resident of the Sisseton area. She attended Black Hills State University in Spearfish, and later graduated from Lake Area Tech in Watertown with degrees in business and photography. She completed CUNA Management School in 2021, earning her Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation. 

Lacey Fetsch – ND Division B. Lacey began working at University FCU (Grand Forks, ND) in 2004 while attending the University of ND. After graduating from UND with a BA in Banking and Financial Economics, she became a full-time employee and held the titles of Loan Officer and Director of Operations before becoming CEO in 2016. She graduated with High Honors from CUNA Management School in 2018 and holds the Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation. She has served on the Maurie C. Byrne Chapter since 2011. She was elected to the DakCU board in 2019.

Jarrod Reisner – SD Division A. Jarrod began working at Black Hills FCU (Rapid City, SD) in 2009. His current title is Chief Financial Officer. He graduated from SD State University with a BS in Management and holds a CPA license. He has been on the association board since 2016, is a member of the SD GAC, and is a board member for Midwest Business Solutions, LLC dba Pactola.

Sean Rinkenberger – Multi State At Large. Sean has worked at First community Credit Union (Jamestown, ND) since 2015, starting as Controller, and taking on the CFO role in 2016. He holds a CPA license, making his start in public accounting where he worked with financial institutions ranging in size from $20 million to over $1 billion in total assets. He was elected to the association board in 2018.

Darla Schafer – ND Division C. Before becoming the Manager of Flasher Community CU (Flasher, ND), Darla served on the credit union’s board of directors. She holds an Associate Degree in Electronic Technology from Bismarck State College and an Associate Degree in Theology from Yankton College. Darla is a longtime member of the Dakota Credit Union Foundation Board and has been a member of the ND GAC for more than ten years.  
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Melanie Stillwell – ND Division A. Melanie is the CEO of Western Cooperative CU (Williston, ND) and was first elected to the association Board in 2017. She has vast experience in the credit union industry, as a senior vice president of finance, as a former NCUA examiner, as an executive vice president, and as CEO. She holds degrees in both accounting and finance as well as a CPA Certificate.

Dawn VanAsh – SD Division B. Dawn has been involved with credit unions for 35 years. Starting as a teller, she was promoted to several roles including loan officer and assistant manager, prior to becoming CEO of Oahe FCU (Pierre, SD). A South Dakota native, she is a graduate of CUNA management School and was elected to the DakCU board in 2020.

In other business:
Board Chair Jarrod Reisner provided an overview of how DakCU funds were spent in the past year. He also explained the newly established Dakota Advocacy Fund (DAF) and the Statewide Awareness Program (SWAP), and acknowledged Dakota credit union professionals who serve on national committees, thanking them for their service to the industry.

Darla Schafer, Chair of the Dakota Credit Union Service Corp, provided an update on the for-profit arm of the association. DakCU continues to form new relationships with preferred service providers to offer affordable and effective solutions for our credit unions, that enhance their service to their members.

As Chair of the Dakota Credit Union Foundation, Schafer also recognized the foundation board members and thanked them for their service. In addition, she provided an update of the foundation’s financial status and distributions in 2021.

DakCU President/CEO Jeff Olson concluded the meeting by providing a “state of the credit union system” overview, and a summary of advocacy wins, which were quite extensive in the last year.